Queen of All She Surveys

When I first got Lola, I lived near CalTech and we often walked those grounds. I took advantage of a large climbable sculpture and various ledges to teach Lola "up" and "off". She liked being high up, where she could survey all the land.

After we moved to the house, I began taking Lola to a local park (only a few blocks away). In the spirit of reinforcing her "up" and "off" training, I often took her to this ledge (which I think little kids are supposed to jump off of) and late one evening it occurred to me that she might like to go up on one of the jungle gyms. I thought she'd be a little hesitant, but she followed me right up like a trooper. She really likes being high up, where she can scan the whole park:



Her view (click on picture to see notes):

Happy Halloween!

Inspired by Merlin, Lola wanted to be a dragon this year. (I wanted her to be a Cheerio, but she vetoed that.)

Nothing Much Changes

This was Lola in the yard about a year & half ago:




This is her more recently as she now likes to spend her evenings in the yard:



She loves the yard...perhaps more than looking out the window from my bed. She'll spend the whole night out there if I let her. She'll run around the yard for a bit, then sit, then sniff around the edge of the house or the fence, then lie on the back porch, then run around some more, then...well, you get the idea. :)



Note: The orange tree is a little bigger & you can see the new composite fence.

Where in the World is Lola San Diego?

Have a Wicked Halloween!

...says Elphaba (I mean, Lola.)



Unfortunately, I left her flying monkey at the office.
(You can see the full outfit here: wormieness photostream)

Corporal Cuddling

Lola is funny. Sometimes, when I pet her or cuddle up to her, she will first enjoy all the skritching (I am her personal back & butt scratcher) and then quite suddenly, as if she just had endured a terrible punishment, she'll be all "Mom! Stop touching me! It's embarrassing!" and then scamper off. Lately, though, she has been quite content to go to bed with me at bedtime. I rub her tummy till I fall asleep; if she's wired, she'll stick her face right in front of mine, ostensibly either making sure I'm asleep or not dead (not sure which) and then leave to her own bed. Sometimes she sticks around, trying to to stick her head under the temporary window blind and see whatever is OUTSIDE (yes, it's annoying & wakes me up). If she's not wired, sometimes she falls asleep too. (A year ago, she would NEVER stay on the bed with me, much less sleep on it. I guess she getting used to me. Or the bed. Probably the bed. :) ) Sometimes, she realizes she's drifting off & startles herself awake, as if saying, "OMG! I almost fell asleep on mom's bed. Eww."

She's currently hunting flies in the bedroom.

For more on Corporal Cuddling (or the aspect ratios of Kitties), watch this video.

Happy weekend!

Lola sez...

Hoppy Bunny Day!

New Daycare

Lola's long time daycare has closed for good and I'm quite sad. Lola had been going there for almost two years - she had a few doggie pals who understood her and the staff was always great with her. I was always comfortable leaving her there for cage-free boarding. The good news is that one of their employees also does dog-sitting & walking on the side and I feel very comfortable hiring her to doggy-sit Lola so that she can stay at home if I need to go out of town and walk her on the days when I have to work till 7pm (all the doggy daycares around here close at 7pm).

As for daycare, my schedule at work is improving & by next fall I may not even "need" daycare. (Lola has a lot more fun staying at home in the house than she ever did in the apartment and while Lola is not particularly doggy anti-social, she really does prefer the company of people over other dogs.) For the spring, though, I may have to find something. I've seen Hounds Lounge and Planet Doggy, and I hope to go see Wagville later this week (Wagville is a little out of my way, but I thought I'd check it out anyway). I'm also going to look around to see if there is a place near work.

I suppose the good thing is that this happened during winter break. :/

Happy Holidays!

Lola wanted to be Santa's little helper. :)

(I had meant to post this while I visited family, but I didn't have internet access... I have much to blog about.)

I hope everyone is having a great holiday.

Merry Christmas (belated) & Happy New Year!

Happy Halloween!

[Lola must head to her Luau now.]


She was supposed to have an ankle bracelet, but she kept flinging it off. She did NOT like having something on her leg. For more details, click on the pic.

We both hope everyone had a good Halloween!
I did mean to post this earlier but I work late on Wednesdays. Sorry.

I love...

...coming home to this face:



I could have a good day or bad day, but it doesn't matter - Lola just makes me smile.

Jindo in the Yard

Lola & I spent Sunday morning in the yard - she played with the dirty, disgusting ball as well as her KONG squeaker ball and chased flies & bugs. She had a grand time.

Cat on a hot tin roof...

well, not exactly.

I was in the office typing away at the computer when I asked Lola to join me. She jumped up onto the Ottoman (where she usually takes a nap while I type away). And she just sat there. Looking out the window. She has seen squirrels and birds out the window, but never this:



She started barking like crazy ["Mom! OMG! A kitty! Right there!"] & I calmed her down. She stayed there, entranced, hoping against hope that somehow the kitty would be magically transported into the office (or she to the roof):



:)

But, mom, this one's *dirty*

The landscapers found a dirty, muddy, disgusting tennis ball buried in the front yard; they thought it was Lola's (it wasn't) and left it on the front porch. When I went to take Lola out for a walk, Lola spotted it & immediately took it into her mouth. She was all, "this is the best ball ever!" I played with her a little, bouncing it & tossing & she dutifully chased it. Then she took it in her mouth, turned around and stood in front of the door until I opened it. She stepped into the house, dropped the ball inside and came back out ready for her walk...all with a very "oh, hey, that ball's neat. I will keep it. Thank you." attitude. When we got back from the walk, she wanted to play with it again. We did. Then she took it to her bed & settled in:






It's not like she doesn't have a half dozen of her own...but apparently she likes the ones that are left abandoned [This is the second one she has picked up & kept. The first was found in an alley near the old apartment.]


Also: I forgot to take the camera on her playdate with Kaylee (which was just as well - when I got home, I discovered that the batteries needed recharging.) The girls had fun - Kaylee ran around and played nice, like the good girl she is. Lola watched the other dogs play. :) It was nice to spend time with D & Wes. Thanks for coming over guys!

Mom, I need a 'Paw'dicure...

Lola sometimes sleeps like that - her front legs ramrod straight. That can't be comfortable. I have no idea why/how her hind paws ended up under Red, her bed buddy:



I wonder what was going through her head...

"Mom! Don't take a picture! My paws are horrible!"

OR...

"What? My paws were cold. I was trying to sleep here, woman, till you came over and woke me."

Tomorrow she's going on a playdate with Kaylee! Yay!

Glamour Wednesday

Last Wednesday, I got a haircut & Lola got a bath (at home). Not even a bath kept her away from squirrel watching:



[note: she was mostly dry at this point so there was no sogginess transferred to my bed.]

Excuse My Mess...

I guess she got tired of watching the squirrels through the window. :)
[And hey, look, my palm tree lamp!]

Must Sleep... & random updates

Lola has been dreaming a lot lately. I'm not sure why - maybe she is dreaming of catching the squirrels she keeps watching from the window? :)



Have I told you how ecstatic she gets when the squirrels actually walk on our roof? It's so cute to watch her get so excited.

Her allergies had not really bothered her since we moved to the house - she had been just fine with just some Benadryll in the morning. A couple of days ago she started chewing her paws and her mouth was itchy [notice the swollen red area around her mouth], so she's back on Atopica. That stuff is like a magic. I gave her one pill last night and today she's been itch free. Yay!

Doggie TV

Lola's newest bed is apparently a queen-sized Serta with a view (yes, squirrels and kitties right outside!).



Mind you, this was a bed that she didn't really like all that much in the apartment. I actually had to bribe her with treats to get her to join me. Now? She will sit there all day long if allowed, just watching the world go by [read squirrels are just outside!] She will even skip breakfast, if it means she gets to stay on the bed. Silly pup.


[sorry about the glare...again. I'm working on it. Also, you can see my temporary curtain/cold weather blocker (made of fleece & bought on super-sale at Jo-Ann fabrics).]

Lola didn't used to like to go on the sofa before. At the apartment, I would ask her to come up so I could scratch her, then she'd endure that as long as she could then leave me to return to Bed #1. I could understand that, though; the sofa was a little slippery for her. Here at the house, I temporarily placed Bed #2 on the sofa and Lola luuuves that:



(click on picture for notes)

She's really liking the couch now. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she can look out the window and watch the squirrels outside. :)