It's now "All puppy, all the time" –

– which means NO time to blog! As could be expected, the last three days have upended my life.

Sunday morning our friends picked me up as planned while snowflakes swirled around the car. This was worrisome, because the puppies were located 132 miles away in The Dalles, which is up the Columbia River Gorge – a route that is notorious for bad driving conditions in winter weather. But it stopped snowing before long and then the sun came out. Between the unexpectedly glorious views in nice weather and the rare palindromic date of 02/02/2020, it felt like our trip to get our new family members was being smiled on from above.

Once there, money was exchanged for warm, wiggling puppies, registration papers, and some unexpected information. One, they had grabbed the wrong receipt to give me when we put down Poppy's deposit. What I had listed Jasmine as the mother, but actually it is Lexi. No biggy, but so much for a 'flower' name! Two, we learned that the puppies had never ever been outside the house they were whelped in before we carried them to the car. Their veterinarian had told them that there is a prevalence of Parvovirus in their town, so out of an abundance of caution, they kept them inside (yes, for ALL functions). 😳 They cautioned us to avoid places frequented by other dogs until they had at least gotten their second shot in two more weeks, so we drove straight home without stopping for a potty break. Fortunately, the puppies mostly slept and the humans were able to make it, too. I kept myself busy adoring my perfect pup and documenting her cuteness for posterity. 😉

But first, I'll show you sister Penny,

and Penny's preferred travel position.

POPPY!

As soon as we got home Sunday Poppy had a drink and snack, then set about exploring her new world, inside and out. She growled at some trees, listened intently to the sound of birds, sampled all kinds of plant material, and met Chuckie in several mutually curious and friendly encounters. She also started charming the men of the family.

Sunday night, as expected, was frequently interrupted by puppy whines, yips, and howls. Every couple of hours I took her outside to pee just in case that was the reason for her distress. She did pee every time, but she also complained bitterly about having to go back in her crate. It was a looong night, made more difficult by the fact that I'd finally succumbed to Rick's "cold of death" that he'd been pitifully complaining about for the past week. Sunday wasn't too bad; my nose and eyes ran and I sneezed frequently, but felt fine. Sunday night I took some nighttime cold medicine, and Monday morning before work I took some daytime cold medicine. But by Monday afternoon....

Monday morning I got Poppy, a small crate, toys, food, food and water dishes loaded up and headed to work. Poppy managed to scale the full flight of stairs all by herself, and then was able to play with her toys and blanket (above) for awhile because we were the only ones there. Then she fell asleep in her crate and I was able to get my work done – just in time to drive straight to Salem to pick up Brian. Poppy wasn't real happy with the extended crate time, but Brian was happy to give her a lap on the way home.

By the time we got home Monday afternoon, Poppy was ready to play but I was in tough shape, achy and chilled. I tried to take a nap with Poppy, but she didn't sleep long. When Rick got home I started to make supper, but got hit with nausea and a headache and went to bed. Fortunately, Rick was willing to watch the baby, and Brian did my evening chores for me. By 10:30 that night I felt much better . . . just in time for an even more disrupted night.

Today has gone well, though. I discovered that the adjustable soft gray harness I bought fits now, as does one of the coats that the new neighbors lent us from their dog's younger days. With this added insulation Poppy is much more comfortable outside, so she has played with Chuckie more, and we walked down to the barn to see the chickens, sheep and horses for the first time. She put herself down for naps twice today. She's a smart little thing and has scored 99% on potty-training, something I was worried about since she was used to going on the floor at her breeder's house. I've heard both my men tell her how adorable she is, and I'm sure we'll get her nighttimes sorted out soon. She is, after all, only seven weeks and a day old!

'Nuff puppy pictures for you? 😉

That's it for now at . . .