Luxi's first real work day ;)

So while I worked on Friday after we brought home our newest addition, Chris was home to supervise / run interference so I could, in-fact, work.   Then Luxi and I had the weekend together before my first unassisted work day.   That weekend helped a lot as I learned what her natural routine is - when she's likely to need to go out, when she's likely to sleep, and how to swing those slightly if I needed to ;)

And it worked.  So far.  I'm not sure how the 5pm meeting will go since that's when usually the cats and Luxor get dinner - and the cats are very good at making their starvation known.  But we'll see.

😂 she almost looks like a corgi here!

So far today Luxi has be out approximately 29835382375 times for short bio breaks - since this involves a flight of stairs each time, I'm getting my steps! (Luxi can go up those ones now and seems to love doing so, but she is too little to go down them).  At lunch she visited the lovely receptionist at the vet's office, wandered around the waiting room, and got weighed.   Thereby giving both more driving and not-scary vet visit.  She weighs a total of 8lbs.  Less than either of the cats ;-P.   We also played ball in the yard which is a riot.  I tried to film some of it, but was less successful since full attention and both hands required.   I get mildly worried when in her enthusiasm she somersaults or randomly wipes out in dramatic fashion -- only cause I'm afraid she'll hurt herself long term.  But it is extremely cute to watch.   She snored her way through my meeting with my boss which was immediately *after* lunch. Win.

I've discovered one toy that is the Luxi equivalent of screen time.  Lol I've seen a lot about making sure you're involved in play and not just letting them take the toy and go self-amuse, but sometimes I need her to self-amuse for a little while, and this one little crinkly toy, in her pen, solved that for like an hour so I could get some heads down work done while she was still awake.

Rapidly becoming a favourite toy - at least for me ;-P

In between meetings we went out on the driveway to watch the world go by.  She is definitely hesitant about new things - it seems every new thing - but she generally gets over it pretty quickly.  Run backwards, hide, then come explore.  As long as the thing sticks around long enough she can explore!  She's getting mildly more accepting of kids on bikes, and seems okay with basketball -- unless the bounce it off the backboard ;-P.  So. Much. Drama.

Training-wise, rules-based things are going really well.  Esp given that she's 8 wks old.  Eg - no charging the crate door when I open it, going in the crate, jumping on a bed and lying down (mildly amusing cause I can't get her to follow a lure to lie down for anything -- figure I'll give that till next week and try again).

Not biting humans is a WIP (this is my indicator that she's over tired, when she can't be easily redirected to one of her many chewable things - and/or when she goes into attack-puppy mode.  If I make it through this with no face/neck injuries it'll be a win!   Other things, response to name, marker word, the aforementioned down, I'm failing at.  Sometimes I know I've got the timing wrong (step one - awareness ;-p), sometimes I have no idea why, sometimes I can't even lure what I'm going for lol.   She figured out paw in about 30 seconds today (treat based obv - she's 8 wks old people, words can wait.) - she's *overly* enthusiastic about it now, so will prob leave that one alone for a bit.  But it's one step on the way to jazz-paws!

So hard to see this look and still go back to work

So far we're accident free today.  We'll see how the rest of the day goes.   So far she's been great about hanging out in her pen (I'm on the couch next to it although she can only see me from one part of it) or her crate (which is closed when I want her to sleep or when I leave the house).   This is huge progress even from yesterday where she would cry or try to escape if she was in the pen and couldn't see me.

Tomorrow has many more meetings so will be an interesting test of if this is sustainable or if I go to backup plan of hiring the teenager around the corner to come puppy sit.   

Now, if only some of her daytime sleep hours could move to nighttime sleep hours.   Ideally the evening ones ;-P. Then I'd be set :).   I'm not doing all that great on consistent 5ish hours a night (cause let's be honest. I don't fall asleep the second she does - she's getting her 6.  I would like 8+ 😂. I'm hitting more like 4.5-5.  Yet another reason is a good thing I don't have young kids!). Luxi will get there in a couple weeks or a month, children?  Not so much.

Luxor says welcome to the weekend :)

Supreme cuteness

So puppy day 2 - I definitely won’t be doing every day posts 😂.   But I have 10 mins to kill and So Many Photos, so why not ;)

A solid 6h sleep and a willingness to chill for another hour after her bio break was much appreciated this am.   

Today we’re figuring each other out and routines.   Knock on wood as of rn we’ve had no house accidents today so that’s a win - but she’s also home alone rn sooo *shrug*.  In her crate, but that resulted in her needing a bath last night so we’ll see.  Won’t be gone as long today so hopefully that’ll help.

We had some fun playing chase and tug w this one

We went for 3 mini drives today.  The first one she was concerned about and sounded like a stressed guinea pig for most of the drive 😂.   Second one she didn’t seem to mind (keep in mind both of these drives were under 2km.   Like the route I walk when I have no time to go for a walk ;)).  3rd drive was maybe 10 mins and she fell asleep during it lol.  Taking that as a good sign.

She seems to like being on the floor behind me instead of on the seat. 
She fell asleep here for a good 10 mins.

She “helped” me take care of the roses today (which for those who don’t know - which is prob like 98% of you - are outside of our fence so is somewhere she hasn’t seen before).   We then hung out there for a bit for experiencing the world going by.  Socializing my puppy may turn out to be good for my mental health 😂.  Turns out if I need her to chill and just watch the world go by, I have to do the same thing with her ;)

Helping ;)

The cats are adjusting faster than I expected.   They both stayed on the couch with me when she had her after dinner I-DON’T-WANT-A-NAP crate time temper tantrum ;).  Later this evening, Mori was chasing Luxi's leash while I was holding her and decided to follow it even after she was settled on the couch.  This is the closest they've come yet.

Two formally dressed chaos goblins on one couch!

She is scared of them if they’re on the same level and wants to pounce on them if she’s higher than they are (couch).  So definitely will be keeping a close eye on that and hope one of them swats her early (ideally anywhere that’s not her eyes!).  

Potential agility puppy much?  Lol this made me laugh.  Totally unscripted :)

I carried her down to the end of the street and a little bit up the next one - we live in an area where lots of people are regularly out in the evening.  She saw powered wheelchair (not sure about that), multiple kids on bikes (no problem), a basket ball (not sure), and met a few people until she showed signs of having enough of that, so I brought her home.  She's showing signs of being overtired now, so potentially too much for one day.   She's currently rearranging furniture in her puppy pen.   lol definitely a working dog. Lesson learned. 

Extremely cute land shark

Luxi definitely just put herself in her crate and went to sleep.  So for all the yelling and drama I get occasionally (not every time, maybe 50%?) she's clearly decided that's a good safe place to go sleep.  Win. 

Overall though, all things trending right.  She’s so tiny.  I really can’t get my head around it.  And it’s been a long time since I’ve had a dog that didn’t know anything so having to remember starting from scratch.  Well - not quite actually.  Huge credit to her breeder who clearly put a ton of time in w her since I can handle her everywhere (ears, paws, belly, tail, etc) and she has zero concerns,  and she def had crate basics before we got her.  So very much appreciated.   BUT compared to Sash, and even Tucker, we’re starting from scratch ;).  

She is so cute though.  And there are nose prints on my car windows again.   That shouldn't make me as happy as it does.

Happy Gotcha Day!!!

So I started my new job on Wednesday, so of *course followed that up by right after work on Thursday leaving to pick up our new puppy!   Not gonna lie, an extra week here would've been good for my sanity.  However, here we are :) 

I can't believe it's been less than 24h.  Here goes...

She is super interested in everything

The drive to Hannover took us just under 3h (previous visits have been about 2h20min so that wasn't the best start ;).  However, we got there and got loaded up and were home again by about 10:30.  Luxor was good on the ride home, slept some and spent a lot of it investigating and crawling around the limited amount I would let her go.  Yes I realize she probably should've been in a crate, but after seeing her reaction to the crate when we got home I'm just as glad we didn't try that in the car first!  And sometimes you just have to snuggle your new puppy.

Getting used to her new home

Her first night was good.  It took about 10-15 mins of extreme puppy temper tantrum (puts Mori's yelling to shame!) and then she slept for more than 6h.  So a definite win.  Sadly I did *not* sleep anywhere near that long so made today even more of a challenge.  

Chris took her out first thing this am and gave her a bit of breakfast before putting her back in her crate for a bit.  When I got up a little later I did the rest of her breakfast, with lots of real basics - teaching her that "yes" is a good word and to follow a food lure.   She thought that was a great game.  Very willing to engage for both food and treats.  Also entirely willing to go into the crate -- she just doesn't love staying there after ;) 

Meeting Enola

I was working today so tried to plan puppy time around meetings, and relied on Chris for when that didn't work out.   Overall, it worked out very well.  Lots of go out, play, train a bit, sleep, rinse and repeat most of the day.   Only had a couple minor accidents - one of which was in the crate when C and I were both out, so that resulted in needing to clean both crate AND puppy.   She was not amused. 

Exploring the back yard

Overall though, she's happy to run back and forth between Chris and I, she's extremely curious and adventurous, yet just a little cautious -- she has gone in the pond, entirely of her own volition, and met Nola -- which she was very not sure about but took on slowly while Nola was throughly ignoring her while eating treats ;)  She also really likes to hide under things, so I have high hopes eventually the crate will go over well.   When she's exposed to something new she explores it, approaches and retreats a few times, and then decides the world is good.

Exploring the pond - she found it, went all the way in, and came back out

She's had an unreasonable amount of treats along with her actual food - we'll have to right size that 😂   But for day 1, how can you not?   No drive today, so she'll need to go for a car ride tomorrow.   That's where she'll need to learn about the backseat - I think we're going to drive around to the other side of the house so I can take care of the roses 😂    So exciting.   I will be a happy human when we get to walking on a leash but we're not there yet.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's the highlights.  Cross your fingers for us that we both get some sleep tonight - C is off for two weeks tomorrow, so we'll be on our own, and I still need to make sure Mori gets his attention too!

Moriarty - The original formally dressed chaos goblin

London Afternoon Adventures

Hope, the blue whale skeleton, was the main thing Chris wanted to see
You kinda can't miss her ;)

So after spending the morning doing our own things, Chris and I met up at the Natural History Museum, for which we had purchased tickets in advance, and went in with no problem.  This one does not have AC and was *hot*.  Hot enough that we were mildly selective about what we wanted to see and how long we wanted to see it.  But we caught some good stuff and it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re around.  Lots more people here than we’ve seen most places - but it was also like 2pm, so that could’ve added to it! 

I've been fascinated by giraffes ever since our trip to Tanzania
So this was super cool.

Once we’d seen what we wanted to see, it occurred to us that if we were quick, we could get in the Tower of London today as well.   So we hopped on the subway and were on our way!  When we got there, the ticket person warned us there was only 2.5h till closing and they recommend at least 3h.   Since we weren’t sure we’d have time on our trip back (or energy!) we decided we could definitely make that work.  We walk fast ;) 

Also, we were late enough a lot of people had cleared out!

Chris’ priority was to view the Crown Jewels.  I actually had v little interest in that but was super curious to see what else there was to see.   So the first thing we learned is “the Tower of London” is not, in-fact, one tower but rather multiple buildings and much larger than either of us had expected.   So we found the one that housed the Crown Jewels first and there was *zero* line which was lovely given that we could see the path set up for where people are supposed to queue when there is one, and it was most definitely NOT short lol.   Photography is prohibited in there, so once we were past the door, no pics.  

The last photo we could take

You follow a set past through several rooms, all the rooms are quite dark, which really lets the jewels sparkle.   They do all have info plaques, and while it wasn’t crowded comparatively (see “no line” above) it was still cozy and you would have to be a little patient to see every piece in detail, esp from multiple angles.  The display with the primary jewels had moving sidewalks on either side which made me chuckle and is a highly effective way of keeping the crowds moving.  Although I learned later C looped back so he could ride the other sidewalk and see the other side of the jewels lol.

You can get a bit of an idea of the expected queues....

Suffice to say, I lost C in there early on and got out well before him, so by the time he came out I had read the map and had some idea of things either of us might like to see while we were there.   The white tower - mostly for C cause it’s where the armour display was and partially for me cause I like towers ;).  I spent a lot of time taking random photos while I waited for Chris, who I expect could’ve spent even more time ;). 

This still makes me laugh ;)

The embattlements which you can walk along that were even more cool cause every room we came to had different and interesting information.   

On our way up to what was a much longer and more interesting walk than I'd expected!

The prisons and torture chambers cause psychology and morbid fascination.   These actually were mildly less interesting *except* for the graffiti carved into the wall by prisoners over the years.  And some of the displays had really interesting history / stories to read.  

I loved the random animal sculptures throughout,
a reference to the menagerie that used to live there

And of course the medieval palace for Chris ;). 

Those who lived like kings, might've lived like this
I'll keep my indoor pluming and internet thanks ;)

There were random houses on the property with “private property” signs that we never really figured out who they belonged to.  And the Ravens of Poe’s legend continue to attack tourists ;)

Beware the Ravens

After the Tower of London we went for a stroll across Tower Bridge - we couldn’t go up it as it was already closed, but still nice to walk across and take some photos :)

Yes I quite happily walked across it again :)

Really long, jam-packed, day.  But was so incredibly worth it.   We can sleep on the plane tomorrow ;)

Independent London Adventures

View of London from across Tower Bridge

So today Chris and I went on different adventures for the first part of the day to see our own things, with a plan to meet up a the Natural History Museum mid-afternoon.  Chris was visiting a craft store and then the Wallace Collection (medieval armour) and the Victoria and Albert museum.   He’s not a blogger so that’s all you get of that adventure :). I can tell you the store errand was successful and he enjoyed the two museums.  I get the impression the Wallace Collection was slightly disappointing only because a section of it was closed for research, and he loved the V&A; but you’d have to ask him.

Random side-street on the commute to the office

For me - I took up commuting again ;).  My job at RBC I worked closely with some people in our London office, so I went to visit.  There are a few I’m really going to miss now that I’m moving to a new role, and I got to see most of them today, if only briefly.  The commute in was like every commute ever.   Crowded and busy with people very focused on getting where they’re going — be it coffee or office.  The subway was sardine-packed, not even enough room to read your phone.   The walk to the office was not far from the station, but what I really enjoyed was how the new and the old have combined over time.   Plaques remembering what was there before the great fire of 1666 alongside new skyscrapers under construction.   And some random streets or areas that just don’t seem to fit the hustle and bustle of office life at all.

Office Patio - pretty civilized!

The office itself has far more security than we do in Toronto - in any of the Toronto offices that I’m aware of (and I’ve been in a large number of them lol).  Apparently terrorism was a problem for a while, so it was unfortunately deemed necessary.   I needed to be on a list, then - even with a Visitor pass - Peter (my colleague) had to come down and escort me upstairs.   Can’t even get to an elevator without a badge.  This office is also significantly nicer than our Toronto ones ;).  Lol it’s newer than most, so fair enough, but still mildly envious.   Not envious enough to give up the upcoming remote role though!   

The old city wall and a random other building...

I had a tour of the office, got to see the lovely outdoor patio, chatted with some people, then Peter and I went for a walk around the area.   We stopped in this tiny random museum I would never have even noticed (also free) that is all about the City Wall that used to exist, and still does in places.  

There's a walk that you can follow where it used to be, but sadly didn't have time for that today.  

I loved this sundial, that's surrounded by England's history.

Shakespeare section for reasons that will be obvious shortly ;)

We continued our wandering and he was remarkably patient with my touristing as we passed the Tower of London and walked across Tower Bridge.  I was taking ALL the photos lol.

On Tower Bridge

Eventually it was time to head back.  I got to connect with one other colleague who wasn’t available in my earlier tour that I really wanted to say hi to, and then I had to head off because I had tickets for…

Pretty much exactly as I'd imagined it

A tour of the Globe theatre!   For those who don’t actually know me in person, I’ve studied a LOT of Shakespeare in my background (although you may have got that from the Chaucer infatuation in Canterbury lol most people don’t get to Chaucer without going through Shakespeare first).  It is, obviously, not the original - although you can see the site of the original from it.  The first one burned down - more than once I believe ;).   Being made of wood and with a thatched roof.   At some point someone shot a cannon from the upper level as an effect during a play and, well, it didn’t end well ;-P.   Anyways, a while back they decided to rebuild it using original materials and construction — with the addition of sprinklers and fire retardant covering in the thatched roof!   Apparently after the first season or two, they also changed the footing of the ground level to be concrete cause the dirt floor got dusty and miserable and/or turned into a mud pit when it rained.   Fair.   They do run all weather - comparing it to going to a concert in the rain.  It’s an experience.  The only exception in very recent years is they cancelled a couple due to extreme heat.

Rich boxes to the left :)

In the tour they’d park us somewhere to tell us stuff, and then move us to a different section to do more of that.  So we saw top row centre, middle row side, and ground floor other side, right by the stage.   This was actually incredibly effective as it let you get a feel for what it might’ve been like.   Some interesting pieces I found — the seats are wooden benches with no backs (with the sole exception being the royal boxes), and when you buy tickets you can rent a pillow to go along with it — definitely recommend this option.   But in reality, I would try very hard to get a front row balcony seat, cause (and I did this sitting in one) you could lean forward on the railing as a reasonably comfortable way to sit when you can’t lean backwards.  The ground level is an interesting idea and would certainly be a good view - but you can’t leave during the performance, so unless you’re willing and able to stand on concrete for a couple hours straight, I’d probably skip this option!  From today’s perspective, the historical “gentleman’s” boxes would be in a less-ideal location; we’re used to the point of going to a play is to watch the play, so front and centre is good.   But here, part of the point of going to the play was see and be seen, so the prime real estate is up a level immediately beside the stage.  Found that mildly interesting :).  But if you buy tickets, those aren’t the most expensive, cause you won’t actually have a great view of the stage.    The stage itself has two levels and trap doors both in the floor and from the ceiling.  The underneath of the ceiling is painted to be a night sky.   All of this based on drawings and notes from the period.  

The stage is broken in to three:
Heaven (above)
The Earth (stage level)
Hell (underneath - used for things like the burial scene in Hamlet)

By far the coolest part of this whole thing though is that while we were getting this tour, the cast was rehearsing for the play that’s opening next weekend.  This significantly contributed to the experience, because we got to watch part of actual play — so details that would never have occurred to me, like when ten people stomp on a hollow wooden stage at the same time, it makes a significant amount of noise.   And seeing how the actors adapt their performance for a round stage — for instance, some of the ones that had their backs to us when we were sitting far stage right, were doing things with their hands behind their backs or other random things that you wouldn’t see (or need) straight on but added an excellent nuance here.  We were asked not to take any photos of the actors, so use your imagination ;)

Anyways - it was really cool to see, the tour was interesting, but watching the rehearsal made it really amazing.  And constant flashbacks to some parts of my uni days that I really enjoyed :).  My Shakespeare prof in undergrad was incredible and really shaped my love for that work.

So after that, I found my way back to meet Chris (the hardest part of which was actually finding the subway 😂- had to go upstairs and cross a train platform before going back underground), and we had almost perfect timing meeting up which was convenient. 

Tower of London - which I didn't know then, I would see more of later that afternoon!