Saturday, August 04, 2012

Why I Hurt So Much

Aka what I've done so far today.

1. Baked bread in bread machine.

2. Had breakfast & brushed teeth.

3. Washed dog.
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Holy crap, dog shampoo is expensive!!!! Granted, I bought it at a drug store (normally more expensive) rather than the grocery store (didn't have any), but *still*... I think it cost around three times as much as the stuff I use on myself!

Doggy before:
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Doggy after:
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Does he look less stinky? I think he's somewhat less stinky, but would need several more washes before I got it all out. (Even though I was using warm water, he was starting to shiver, so I just did the quick wash. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow when it's supposed to be warmer.)

Surprisingly, I didn't get my clothes wet at all while washing him! However, the whole time he thought he was going to get a walk, so...

4. Took doggy for a walk. (Doggy pulls... the "leash" dad loaned me has a large loop to wrap around your torso, to give you more leverage. I still have a knot in my neck from the first walk on Thursday evening.) On the last loop around the block, doggy spotted two wandering kitties at the same time, and went nuts. I stood and held my ground for a bit while he whined and howled, finally I used the whistle and dragged him off.

5. I washed off two plastic patio chairs that dad hasn't taken yet, so that I could sit and pet doggy for a while. (The two were stacked, and I figured I might as well wash the second while the first one dripped off.) I forgot to take before and after photos of these.

6. Petted doggy for a while. (Got dog hair all over my hands and clothes.)

7. Weeded for a while, so that I would be outside in the yard with him (or at least nearby, when I was weeding the part along the back lane.) I filled two trash cans with the weeds from along the back lane. The weeds from the back yard (not including the back-back area, which still needs weeding) probably could have filled two more, but I'm down to a half can (dad put some stuff in the last trash can earlier this week), and so I figured I'd save a bit of space for household stuff. So the back yard weeds are wilting in two piles on the patio for now.

8. While weeding, I also sorted the random firewood into two piles: "probably short enough" and "needs to be cut shorter". My dad told a neighbour he could have the firewood, and I'm hoping that having it in two piles will make it more likely to leave. There's still more out in the back-back yard, but I think I got pretty much all of it in the back yard (besides the dead tree that needs pulling down) into the two piles.

I forgot "before" photos, so you'll have to take my word that these photos represent an improvement in the condition of the back yard:

Weeds and short firewood:
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Big pile of weeds:
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(Previously I had the thought "if I pull the weeds before they go to seed, I can probably compost them"... flaw in that thought: it's been way to hot to get out and weed, and they've pretty much all gone to seed. Yeah, I could have composted some of this, but I figured pulling was enough of an accomplishment... some time when they're less out of control I'll have more energy for sorting and composting them.)

Yay, virtually no weeds:
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(There's a maple that I need to attack, but it's under the sawhorses full of crap, and I was just doing stuff I could pull without tools or just that little dandelion-weeder thingy today.) Also, considerably less crap! (Moved firewood and a bunch of random crap into more organized, "hope it will leave" piles on the patio.)

Random crap, but also virtually no weeds (big maple behind the dead tree needs bigger tools):
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Fewer weeds:
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(More maples, and I wasn't in the mood to wade into the brambles today. I did pull what I could reach, though.)

Considerably fewer weeds, but lots of junk:
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(Any tips on what I should do to the dandelion roots between the pavers? I'm thinking maybe pouring boiling water on them?)

Hmmm... apparently I didn't take a photo of the big pile of "needs to be shorter" firewood, but that could be because my battery died at this point. A lot of it was just branches, but there were also some logs that were around four feet long (at a guess) that contributed to sore muscles. Also no photos of the weeded laneway or full trash cans. Oh well, maybe later.

9. Had shower. (Boy, was I *dirty* after weeding! Plus the dog had jumped on me a couple times at one point.)

When I went in, the doggy was sitting on the garage step where he could see me in the kitchen for a bit. When I came down after my shower, he was still there.

Sleepy doggy:
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Or not:
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10. Doing laundry (first small load of dirty-doggy clothes and towels in dryer, second real load in washer).

Dryer buzzed (washer still going), which means the shorts I need for painting shelves are now clean. I think I may let myself sit for a bit more before painting, though. I hurt. Plus I'm hungry.

Off to find food....

6 comments:

Catlady said...

Baby shampoo - much cheaper, and appropriately mild....

Gorgeous looking dog - older, isn't he? Is he settling in and eating yet? And how are you holding up allergy-wise?

noricum said...

I thought about baby shampoo, but didn't want to "screw up" with someone else's dog.

He did eat all his food that night after I went in, so I think he just wanted attention before I left for the night.

I'm doing fine, allergy-wise, but then he's outdoors.

Scunge said...

White vinegar poured directly on the dandelions will kill them,good luck with the roots. You can either dilute or do it full strength.

Scunge said...

So what breed is Doggy? He looks like either a Griffin or a wire haired German Short-hair Pointer.

noricum said...

Good guess! He's a Deutche Draathaar (aka certified German wirehair pointer). The wirehairs are related to the short-hairs, but are two distinct breeds (subbreeds?).

Doggy went home today. I kind of miss him, but I'm out of pick-up bags, and my joints could use the break from walking him. ;)

Scunge said...

We had a female German Short Hair when I was a kid,my folks bred her once and we kept one of her puppies. Then he got too protective and my brother took him to college with him. We gave the female back to the breeder even though she had been spayed. We lived across from a 300 acre field that we had free use of and could not keep her exercised enough. We got a lab after that,well I did the lab was my thirteenth birthday present. :)