Dear Lee

Dear Lee,

It's Saturday and you have been gone now for four days.  I've been saying all day, I've made it half way.  It's been hard, though not as hard as I thought.  Mostly, I just miss you.  We've been managing fine, Moose, Otis and Me.  Otis has been snuggling on the couch with me all morning.  We all slept in till 9:00!  Now I'm just taking a break from school work to give you an update on our week. I know you won't be able to even read it until you are home next week, but I thought I could send it out to the Universe.

So far most of our antics have been Moose related.  He got out of his Kennel on Wednesday.  On Friday, I came home to his bed torn apart (sigh).  On our walk on Thursday evening, we had an encounter with two dogs not on leashes which was scary because Moose went all bat crap crazy.  Now I have cheese with me on every walk for those moments.  I had to babysit Wednesday night.  Their heat was all messed up so it was like 80 degrees in the apartment.  Kept having to open a window, let it get cold, then close the window.  Moose came with us.  Despite the heat, he did really well.  We came home at 5:00 am exhausted from a night of not sleeping.

Let's see... I have a ton of school work still left to do and I find it harder to focus on work when you aren't here.  I just feel a bit lonely and can't seem to escape into writing a paper.  It's easier to escape into Angry Birds :)  Plus I'm feeling some stress by all the other things that need to get done, like dishes and groceries and laundry and bills.  Not to mention walks and workouts and cooking and you get the idea.  I just wish you were here to talk me through it all.

So, you aren't missing too much around here.  The leaves haven't opened up like you thought they might.  It's been chilly.  It does get close to 60 in the day but still drops down to 30 at night, and the last few days the sun has only peeked out a couple of times, so it stays chillier.  I like it like that.  I think Moose does too.

Sending you all kinds of love and hugs.  It looks like it's been raining in Paxson.  I hope you are staying warm and dry and hope everything is going successfully and you'll be home sooner rather than later.  I love you.

Kate

Welcome Moose!

Last week, Lee and I went to meet Moose, the sweetest dog in the entire world. He came home with us and is living here for a mandatory 2 week trial period before we are allowed to adopt him. But there is no doubt. He's staying.

 Moose is a Newfie and Lab mix. Lee says he seems more Newfie, but to me he just looks like a big, black golden retriever. But I really don't know anything about dogs. At puppy class (yes, we already have him in dog obedience school) two different people said they thought he looked like he had Chow in him. I just shrugged my shoulders because, okay, what's a chow?

 All those details aside, he's an absolute doll. Happy, loves to play with his squeaky ball (which annoys Lee but I, surprisingly, don't mind) and is very interested in Otis. In a week, we have had many successful times with both Otis and Moose in the living room, sleeping and happy. It's not always like that. Moose gets too close. But he's learning, and in the meantime, Otis has the upstairs to himself. And Lee keeps reminding me that it will take time and if I believe they will be okay, they will be okay. So that's my mantra. They will be okay. And it's not all wonderful. There are a few behaviors that we need to work on, like pulling on the leash when we walk, and growling at the neighbors (that one was shocking). But that's why we are in doggy school. We'll learn, and he'll settle in.

 Having a dog has been all consuming. I am exhausted. Many people have said to me that getting a dog is the step before having kids. Having a dog has me questioning if I could handle kids! I'm pooped!

 Here are some pictures to help you fall in love with our new munchkin. We are totally smitten!