The Countdown

It's begun! The countdown to Christmas, the countdown to Lilly and the countdown to lowland snow (the last is a little dubious). The fireplace and windows are done. My gardener came last Friday and did a massive yard cleanup from the hurricane that was fall. PB can finally lie on the grass and not come in covered in pine needles looking more like a giant hedgehog.

My friend Ryan from work and his wife gave me a fantastic deal on some gorgeous leather furniture for the cost of a tank of gas. They delivered it Thursday night which allowed me to move my giant sofa to my bedroom. It will serve as a huge bed for whichever dog wants to sleep on it.

Last Thursday was also our inaugural day of skiing. It was a gorgeous day but icy although Ben insisted it was "hard packed" rather than icy. Uh huh. We stopped at our favorite lunch spot on the way down, Zeke's on Highway 2. They serve 1/3 pound Elk burgers which is our standard post skiing meal. I start to fantasize about them about an hour before we leave Stevens. Perfect start to the ski season.

Later that day, Ben and I met for our usual Christmas Tully's coffee prior to going to cut down our Christmas trees. By the time we start traipsing around the back 40, it's pitch black, which even with the aid of a flashlight, makes picking out the perfect tree a little more challenging. Being the girl, I tend to take *far* longer picking out the perfect tree and then even longer sawing it down. It's quite amusing. We loaded up our cars and I white knuckled it all the way home as I wouldn't say I tied down my tree quite as securely as recommended by Washington State law!

Once we got home, we set up my tree and moved furniture around. I was then able to decorate and provide the cats with a thousand Christmas delights (ornaments) and PB with yet another reason to stand outside and stare malevolently inside at the new intruder (the tree).

Hopefully PB's stocking won't catch fire...

PB is a little peeved at the fact that he can longer lie on the sofa with me as it is just big enough for me but not him. The cats however, are thrilled with the new furniture and believe the sofa was provided entirely for them.

Just big enough for two oversize cat egos.

So the house and yard are ready, Christmas cards have been written, gifts have all been purchased and the few dog items I needed for Lilly have been acquired. We are ready for the Lilly countdown! Lilly will be picked up in Amarillo this Tuesday evening and arrive in Fife, WA next Saturday afternoon. It has been incredibly long in the making as it has been very difficult working with the rescue in Texas but I think we are finally set.

Experience with PB taught me to clear my schedule and make sure I have nothing big coming up so I can devote my time to helping both Lilly and PB adjust to each other. I took a couple days off of work to ensure that happens, consulted with our fabulous behaviorist and reread some of my dog books that focus on multi dog households as it's been awhile and Hudson was quite sick by the time PB arrived on scene. I can't wait for her arrival and I think it will help the PB immensely once we are all settled as he has become more needy lately. Having a companion and playmate to hang out with will hopefully alleviate some of his dependence on me as the center of his world.

As always, we are playing the name game. I am thinking of changing Lilly to Lola but haven't decided for sure and of course Baby still presents the biggest name challenge. In the meantime, here is a photo of a maremma who is a dead ringer for Lilly. Unfortunately, they took her profile off of petfinder so the real Lilly photos will have to wait.

Not the actual Lilly. But close.

As for our countdown to snow, the weather has been suspiciously calm, cold and quiet. We can only hope for mountains of lowland snow this year but I refuse to acknowledge the possibility it won't come! PB has his dew claws crossed and waits patiently on the deck for his beloved snow to fall.

Where are you snow?