Puppy Kindergarten III

This past Tuesday we went to another session of Puppy Kindergarten. We were the second group to arrive. A fellow was already in the room with his Pug puppy. The Pug was at last week’s class and he is a bundle of energy, running around the room and snorting at everything. We let Moxy down so she could sniff around the room. The Pug was also let loose to explore. Moxy was terrified of the little pup even though she was about twice his size. Slowly she became less scared but she still didn’t play.

Then a German Shepherd and two Yellow Labs arrived. Moxy really studied the other dogs while they played and wanted to go up to them but on her terms. For example, she wanted to sniff the other dogs but she didn’t want to be sniffed. Eventually she started to play with one of the Yellow Labs. However, the instructor thought they were getting a bit rough so we separated them and started the class. At one point Moxy started barking at the Yellow Lab because she wanted to play with him. We laughed at first and then quieted her down.

Moxy is great with the sit command and she’s slowly picking up down and stay. She’s still not great at walking on the leash with the other dogs around because the other dogs distract and scare her a bit. The instructor had us individually take our dogs off of the leash to see if each dog would follow his/ her owner. Rangi and I knew Moxy would be great at this because she's always following us on our walks through the woods. She was the top performer in this task.

At the end of the class the instructor had the other puppies leave and Moxy played with Monte, a toy dog. The two are about the same side and had a great time together. We’re thrilled that she’s becoming more social.

Making an Apple Pie for Thanksgiving

In my family I am the designated pie maker. I learned how to make a good piecrust in 4-H when I was 13 years old. My pies have been a staple at every Thanksgiving meal since then.

Piecrust is essentially just flour and fat. There isn’t much flavor in the dough. I think the purpose of a crust is to hold a yummy filling and that’s why it doesn’t have or need flavor. A few years ago Rangi mentioned that the crust was flavorless and asked if there was a way to add flavor to it. I did a bit of research and discovered an apple pie recipe that adds cheese to the crust. I made this for my rellys (Aussie for relatives) and this pie has been requested ever since.

This year I decided to try to make the crust in the Cuisinart. Usually I make the crust manually cutting the Crisco and butter in with two knives. Yesterday I was in a bit of a rush so the Cuisinart method looked like the way to go. Well, I’ll never do that again.

Initially it appeared to be a faster method. The Crisco and butter quickly formed pea shapes in the flour as a pulsed the ingredients together. Then it was time to add the water and cheese. The dough did not mix well at all. It clumped together in the mixing bowl, parts of it were wet and others dry. I quickly transferred the mixture into another bowl to mix it by hand and discovered that it was too sticky and wet. It also felt like I beat the heck out of the gluten. I added more flour to create the proper consistency and decided to let the dough rest overnight in the fridge.

This morning I put together the pie together. The dough was still a bit sticky and I didn’t put enough flour on the granite board so I had to roll out the bottom portion 3 times before I was able to pick it up and put it in the pie plate. Hopefully it has still retained some of its flakiness. The top portion was easier to work with because I used a generous about of flour on the granite surface and diligently floured the top and bottom of the dough.

The pie is now cooking. I had to take it out to apply a glaze and a nice flake came off of the edge so I was able to sample the product. The crust was surprisingly light and flaky. Hopefully the pie will come out nicely. I’ll let you know in my next post.

1st Grade Reader – Dan’s Pet

As some of you know, each Thursday I assist in a 1st grade class. I really enjoy my time there and have learned a lot from the experience. The teacher has noticed that the kids like having me in the classroom and that my skills as a teacher are improving.

This past Thursday the teacher decided to give the children a quiz from the standard reader’s notebook. The story, “Dan’s Pet” was read aloud in class and then the students were given the quiz.

The story is about a boy, Dan, who is allowed to have a pet chick that he named Pam. Dan helps feed the chick and the hens. One day, Dan can’t find the chick. His mom shows him that the chick is in the barn laying eggs and some of them have hatched so there are more chicks.

Some of the quiz questions involved selecting the correct word to properly complete a question.

For example:
Dan helped _____ the hens.
(a) feed (b) look (c) fly

The answer is (a) feed. On one of the questions some students confused the word brown and down. Both have the same ending and it is easy for a 1st grader to differentiate between the b and the d. Most of these questions and answers were straight forward.

Other questions dealt with reading comprehension and memory. For example, What did Dan name the chick? I had a problem with two of the questions in this section. One question was:

What was Dan’s pet?
(a) cat (b) chick (c) hen.

The answer was (b) chick. However, a child could come to the conclusion that the chick grew into a hen and then had more babies. So, I really think this is an unfair set of answers. If option (c) was a dog or a horse then it would be easy to answer. However, this text is forcing children to dumb down their thinking and to figure out how the author wants them to think. I pointed this out to the teacher but she said that (b) was the right answer and I should show the children the page that said Dan has a chick.

I did what the teacher instructed and none of the children who selected hen questioned my explanation. I wonder what the children would have said if I asked them why they selected hen.

The next quiz question that bothered me was the last one. The last question was, “What was Dan’s surprise?” Each child had to draw a picture or write a few words on what Dan’s surprise was in the story. The correct answer was that Dan’s chicks had other chicks. However, several children wrote that the surprise was that Dan got to have a pet. The children who wrote the wrong answer were ones that don’t have pets but would like to have one. Once again, I think that the children are being forced to fit a certain mold rather than be individuals. I would have worded the question differently and asked, “How did Pam surprise Dan?

On Thursday, the teacher I work with had recess duty so I went out with her to observe the children play. There is a nice patch of mature fir and pine trees behind the school that have carpeted the ground with dry needles. This time of year, the children use the needles to create forts by pushing the carpet aside with their feet and creating piles that represent walls. Some children are protective of their forts and only allow certain friends to enter. Other children play complicated games of keep away or capture.

I noticed that there were two older children with bright orange vests roaming the playground. The teacher explained that these were 4th graders who were assigned to mediate disputes between the children. The system worked well because sometimes the first and second graders felt more comfortable talking to another child rather than an adult.

Later that day I got to read a story to the children. This is one of my favorite activities with them. They all sit around me on the carpet as I read from a book and show them the pictures. While they look at the pictures I let them talk about the story and ask questions. The children are great at relating the story to themselves and the world around them. This also helps with reading comprehension.

At the end of the school day I was leaving the building and saw one of the children from my class waiting on the steps for her mom. She reached out and gave me a big hug. That’s probably one of the best things about being in an elementary school. There are lots and lots of hugs.

Puppy Kindergarten II

Last night we took Moxy to her second puppy kindergarten class. My mom stopped by right before we left and dropped off a nice big fluffy dog bed for Moxy. Unfortunately Moxy got a little car sick on the way over so she looked a bit ragged when we got there. On top of that she was still nervous around the other people and dogs. However, she also appeared a bit more interested and curious about what the other puppies were doing.

Puppy kindergarten begins with playtime. The puppies are taken off their leash so they can play and get to know each other. Moxy still wasn’t ready to play but she did let some of the other dogs come up to her and sniff her. This time Rangi and I were both less nervous so I think that also helped.

Moxy did a better job during the class portion. She is learning the sit and come command. The down command is a bit confusing to her and she was introduced to stay. The instructor brought out a flexible tunnel that the dogs had to go through. Moxy didn’t have a problem with this once she was brought to the entrance. I think her main problem during class is that she is overwhelmed by the other puppies and people.

Rangi and I were both excited at the end of class when she finally decided to play with another dog, Snickers. Snickers’ mom is a really nice lady who has been friendly with Moxy and trying to gently introducer her dog to Moxy. It worked. Both Moxy and Snickers were romping around for the last couple of minutes. Unfortunately it was time for class to end so they didn’t get a lot of playtime. Hopefully Moxy will start the next class in a more playful mood.

When Rangi, Moxy and I got home Moxy settled in her new bed while Rangi and I had dinner. I made lamb stew earlier that day. Rangi and I were watching Moxy sleep and he said, “We have the best looking dog in the class. Do you think the other owners think their dog is the best looking?” I laughed and thought to myself. “Rangi is turning into a real dog person.”

Cousin's Visit

Yesterday my aunt, cousin and cousin's baby came to visit. The baby is about 11 months old and started taking her first steps about a month or so ago. I can't believe how big she has gotten since I last saw her this summer. My cousin is now living in Pittsburg with her family but they will all be moving to Vermont in the next year.

My cousin was excited to have her daughter meet the puppy. Unfortunately Moxy is still really shy around strangers and wouldn't go near the baby. Moxy is getting braver with adults so I guess we should take what we can get. Towards the end of the visit, Moxy was more at ease around my cousin and aunt.

They also had a chance to look at our wedding album. I am terrible about remembering to take it out for folks who might be interested in it. If you're reading this and would like to view the album remind me to take it out the next time you visit.

Tonight Rangi and I will be taking Moxy to puppy kindergarten. Right now she is a little nippy and jumpy. This will change with training and age. However, it’s nice to have a professional trainer give us guidance on how to effectively work with Moxy. She has gotten better about going to sleep in her crate. But I do need to get up around 3 am to let her out to go to the bathroom if we all go to sleep around 10 pm.

Amazon Discount

OK, I don't know how many of you make purchases through Amazon.com, but if you do you might want to know about this. Amazon is rolling out a new search engine A9. A search box for it appears on the Amazon Web site. If you use this search engine then you'll automatically receive an additional π/2% (1.57%) off the purchase price. You don't need to do anything extra. The discount will appear when you check out your items.

Here are the restrictions:

A9.com Instant Rewards will not be applied to the purchase of gift certificates or gift cards, such as Amazon.com Gift Certificates, Target GiftCards, or Borders Gift Cards.

A9.com Instant Rewards will not be applied to purchases from Amazon.com zShops or Amazon.com Auctions; payments and contributions made using the Amazon.com Honor System; Marketplace Pre-Orders; or In-Store Pickup purchases.

A9.com Instant Rewards may be inactivated for any Amazon.com account at any time depending on the number of A9.com Web searches performed.

Product searches performed on Amazon.com will not help to qualify an account for A9.com Instant Rewards.

You do not have to click on sponsored links to qualify an account for A9.com Instant Rewards.

The A9.com Instant Reward rate is π/2% (1.57%) off the total purchase price, including tax and shipping.

The exact amount of the A9.com Instant Reward stated on the order summary is only an estimate. After taxes are finalized, the exact amount of the Instant Reward will be finalized.

A9.com Instant Rewards are not for use on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, or any Web site other than www.amazon.com.

Amazon.com reserves the right to change or discontinue the A9.com Instant Reward program at any time.

Weekend of Movies

On Friday night Rangi and I went to see the movie Napoleon Dynamite at the HOP. Both Rangi and I liked the movie. Bob, a fellow we know from the Dartmouth Film Society, sat next to us. He had already seen the movie once. He said it was even better the second time because of all the little details. For example, the credits at the beginning of the film are created with various food items that are eaten during the movie. Here is the plot summary:

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Preston, Idaho's most curious resident, Napoleon Dynamite (Heder), lives with his grandma and his 32-year-old brother (who cruises chat rooms for ladies) and works to help his best friend, Pedro (Efren Ramirez), snatch the Student Body President title from mean teen Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff).

Before the movie we stopped by the newly renovated Dartmouth Bookstore. It used to be a family owned story but the business was not doing well so it was sold to Barnes and Noble. The only part of the store that has really changed is the front area. There is now a little cafe there that sells Starbucks Coffee and desserts by the Cheesecake Factory. Other than that, you wouldn't be able to tell that it's a chain store. It still feels like the old Dartmouth Bookstore when you begin browsing for books.

Yesterday Rangi spent the morning stacking the rest of our wood on the porch. He took Moxy outside to keep him company. In the afternoon, we all took a walk through the construction that's taking place behind our property. The road has been steamrolled, the sewer lines and fire hydrants are in. Now they need to build the 12 houses. Two foundations have been poured and one foundation has the walls and roof are up. It looks like it's going to be a brick two-story house. Both foundations have a smaller footprint than I thought they would. I think the houses are going to sell for around $300,000 so I thought they would be a bit bigger.

We then went over to KUA. There were a few soccer games we wanted to see. This was also a good chance for Moxy to be around other people and dogs. We want to socialize her so she's comfortable around different people. Moxy was a bit overwhelmed but she behaved much better at the games than she did at puppy kindergarten. It was a nice sunny fall day but there was a bit of a chill in the air. I felt bad for the players on the field who had to handle the cold, hard soccer ball. I remember what it feels like to have that solid ball smack against my thigh as I played the game.

In the evening Rangi, Mom and I went to Claremont to see Pixar's new animated film The Incredibles. Both Rangi and I preferred this movie to Napoleon Dynamite. However, these are such different movies that they really shouldn't be compared. Here is the plot summary:

Mr. Incredible (2004)
Mr. Incredible is a superhero; or he used to be, until a surge of frivolous lawsuits against superheroes submitted by the people they've saved forced the government to hide them in witness protection programs so they could lead normal, anonymous lives. Now known exclusively by his secret identity, Bob Parr, he lives with his wife Helen, formerly Elastigirl, and their three children Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack. He works as an insurance claims specialist, and he's fed up with his pushy boss and his immoral profession, but his wife's worked too hard to build a normal life for her family to abide his nostalgia for heroism. After inadvertently uncovering a diabolical plan, the family of five must bring together their respective strengths to save the day.

Tomorrow my aunt, cousin and cousin's baby are going to stop by for a visit. My cousin can't wait to see how her little girl reacts to Moxy. I'm interested to see how Moxy reacts to a 10-month old. Maybe she won't be afraid of a person that's more her size.

Rangi & Civil Air Patrol

As many of you know, Rangi is an active member of the Civil Air Patrol. He has spent a lot of time updating the Lebanon Squadron Web site, http://lebanon.nhwgcap.org/. It’s a good place to go if you want more information on the organization.

Rangi recently received three awards for his dedication to the organization. He received two Commander’s Commendations for outstanding duty performance. One was for his overall dedication and another for rescuing a pilot of a downed aircraft. His third award was a Certificate of Recognition for Lifesaving for outstanding humanitarian service for the rescue.

>The rescue occurred on July 5. A pilot was flying his son home after a long weekend of camping. He was flying on a cloudy day under visual flight rules and ran into Mt. Kearsarge. The pilot survived but the son died on impact.

Let me know if you want more information on the save. Rangi wrote up a great briefing with all the details. I’m really proud of him for what he did. He and Charlie, the commander of the squadron, were two of the first people at the scene of the crash.

The photo below shows Rangi in his CAP uniform. He has several ribbons. I'll try to take a close-up photo of them at a later date and have Rangi explain the meaning of each. I have been told what they mean but have to confess I can't remember all of the details

Moxy's Bad Habit

OK, I think I may have started a bad habit with Moxy. She’s very cuddly right now and loves to snuggle in my lap and fall asleep. She was so cute and out of sorts that I let her fall asleep in my lap the first two days she was here. I am trying to get her to sleep in her crate or on her blanket during the day. However, when she gets sleeping she won’t stay in those spots and will seek me out and do everything she can to get into my lap. Rangi and I don’t want her on the couch so I won’t let her on my lap unless I’m sitting on the floor.

Today I have made an attempt to not let her sleep on my lap. However, Moxy has now taken to sleeping on my legs. It’s really funny and I image it can’t be that comfortable for her. I’m going to have to start crate training during the day so she learns to sleep in her crate.

Gramma and I had a nice lunch today at Salt Hill in Lebanon. Then she came to the house to meet Moxy. Moxy was a bit scared of her, which means puppy kindergarten is a great investment. For those of you who don’t know, Gramma used to live on a non-working farm in Vermont and stray animals would just flock to her. If Moxy is scared of her then she’s probably going to be scared of everybody.

A KUA classmate of mine is going to stop by for a visit tomorrow. He has two dogs and has taken in rescue animals. It will be interesting to see how Moxy reacts to him.

Puppy Kindergarten

Well, Rangi and I took Moxy to Puppy Kindergarten last night. To be honest, I never heard of Puppy Kindergarten until I got the brochure from Complete Canine. I'm glad we went because it turns out Moxy is scared of other people and other puppies. I had previously noticed that she seemed scared of our neighbor and a vendor who came to visit but didn't think much of either incident until last night.

Moxy was all eyes as she watched the other puppies play in the center of the room. But she didn't want to join in the play. Instead, she wanted to crawl onto my lap and shiver. The trainer told me to have Moxy on the floor. Moxy sat and watched but didn’t join.

The instructor had us work on the commands sit, down and come. Moxy did well with sit but got confused with down and was so stressed that she had a hard time with the come command. She just wanted to stay at the edge of the room and watch. I thought she would do well with the come command because she’s great when we take her out for walks in the woods and the field. She stays within eyesight and generally comes when we call her.

Moxy has created this game of sorts. She keeps all of her toys on the red blanket she’s claimed. If we move a toy off of the blanket then she brings it back to the red blanket. We’re now testing the game by spreading her toys through out the living room to see if she’ll spend time collecting them all. I’ll let you know how the experiment turns out.

The Morning After

Well, it's about 8 am and Rangi and I did manage to get some sleep. We put Moxy in her area around 10:14 pm last night and she cried for about half an hour, which was rough on Rangi and I. I didn't actually put her in the crate because I knew the first night would be rough and I didn't want her to associate her crate with bad feelings. Instead, we blocked off the entryway to our house with her food and water dish, toys, toilet training pads and the crate. The crate has a soft bed in it along with treats and a hot water bottle. To be honest, I don't know if she used it or not because the treats weren't eaten.

Moxy woke up around 1 am and her whine had a sort of Doppler affect so I was afraid that she managed to get into another room. I went to check on her and she spotted me so I figured I could warm up her water bottle. I also cleaned up a mess she made on the floor rather than on the training pad. I should have known that would happen. Luckily it's a surface that's easy to clean. Moxy was so excited to see me and whined for about half an hour after I left. She was quite until 5:55.

We got up around 6:15 to a bit of a surprise. Moxy had escaped the entryway and was trapped in the living room/ kitchen/ dining area. I think that's why she was quite for so long. She really likes sleeping in front of the brown chair. I think that's her spot now. However, we still need to determine the best way to house train her at night. I'm going to go to the Complete Canine for crate training advice.

This morning Moxy was so excited to see Rangi and I. She didn't have any accidents after we woke up. Rangi took her for a walk to get the paper. I didn't go because I thought it would be a good bonding activity for the two of them. Rangi is trying to train Moxy to carry the paper up. The paper now has a few teeth marks and one small tear. Unfortunately, I didn't grab the camera fast enough to carry that part of their trip. I know the photo below is quite large but is shows a lot of neat features around our house. The front of our house faces west so the morning light on the valley looks beautiful on a sunny day. In the top right hand corner you can see part of the raised garden bed Rangi has been building. On the left side you can see the black plastic that covers our green wood. Some of the wood is from a pine tree Rangi cut down behind our house and some came from an apple tree that was blown down in a terrible spring storm. Of course, you can also see Rangi and Moxy enjoying each other’s company.

Other Weekend Activities

On Saturday Rangi and I met Linda and my mom at Dimmicks for breakfast. It's a great place to go because they server blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup and the prices are incredibly reasonable. It was nice to sit down and visit with everyone on a Saturday morning.

Then we went off to the Holstein frame sale. Holstein has a local warehouse and this time of year they open their doors for a day or so and have a great sale. I was a little nervous that Rangi would hate the experience because he's not fond of shopping and dislikes crowds. When we arrive my mom, Linda and I were excited because there was no line. However, we because quickly disappointed when we walked in because the selection was dismal. It turns out the warehouse didn't get the shipment it was expecting. Also, a few early arrivers took several crates' worth of frames with them. I think some folks go there to buy frames that they can resell for a profit. In my opinion, the warehouse should create a rule to prevent this. Maybe they could restrict the number of identical frames bought by a customer. I don't think a regular consumer would need more than 10 of the same frame. Then again, I could be wrong...

Rangi was a great sport. I think the lack of a crowd helped. He was a bit disappointed with the selection. But I wonder if a larger selection would have been overwhelming for him. He picked out a nice box that contained 5 beautiful black frames with 2 display shelves for $15.00. I don't know where we'll use the shelves but the frames were a bargain since they were made for Burns.

After the shopping we headed home. Rangi spent the day working on the raised garden beds. The night before Rangi said we could get a puppy so I had a hard time focusing on my schoolwork. I found out that some Brittany puppies were available locally and made an appointment to go see them. As you know from the previous post, we got one. This was unexpected because I thought we would need time to make a decision and get prepared. I'm just glad the pet store was open on Sunday.

On Saturday night we went to my mom's house to play bridge with her and Joan. I partnered with my mom and Rangi was partnered with Joan. Rangi and Joan kept getting great cards and won the rubber twice. My mom and I won once. Don't ask me where the term 'won the rubber' came from. Rangi and I asked but neither my mom nor Joan knew the answer.

It's Sunday night and both Rangi and the puppy are pretty tired. I'm going to make some soup for dinner. Hopefully the puppy, Moxy will be happy in her new home and won't whine too much. As I recall, my first Brittany, Belle, whined a lot on her first night home.

New Puppy Arrival

Well, this has been a big weekend for Rangi and me. I am an animal lover and have wanted to get a new pet ever since my ferret, Fee, died in 2000. The timing and housing situation hasn't cooperated. Rangi and I moved into our new home in December 2004 and since then I have been busy with work and school. I left my job about a month ago so since then I have been itching to get a dog.

At first I thought it would be nice to adopt a dog through a rescue organization like American Brittany Rescue or National Brittany Rescue (NBRAN). About a week ago a nice lady came with two adult Brittanys for a house visit. She came all the way down from Orford. However, this really upset Rangi because her dogs smelled. They weren't well groomed. She was currently caring for 8 dogs so I'm sure it was impossible to brush and bath them all regularly.
So, this weekend we decided to visit some Brittany puppies that were for sale. One puppy did a great job of winning Rangi over. The children who raised the puppies called the one we selected Moxy and we decided to keep the name. We thought about calling her Ginger or Apple but those names didn't seem to stick.

Moxy has already been for a long walk around the neighborhood and has only had one small accident after she woke up from a nap. She has also picked her favorite sleeping spot on the floor by the brown chair in front of the wood stove.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting the Complete Canine to pick up some training videos and to sign up for obedience classes. I need to figure out how to properly crate train Moxy. Then I'll schedule her first vet appointment and get her registered with the town.

Oh, yes, and then I need to stop procrastinating and working on my papers. It will be nice having Moxy around to keep me company while I'm studying at home and Rangi is at work.