A Peaceful Happy Saturday

Today was a wonderful day.  We are still experiencing high winds from the storms this week, so it was a good day to be inside.  We started the day at a training class for Liesl.  She has taken classes in the past all the way up to the Intermediate level.  I wanted her to learn a couple of new things, plus get a refresher in a couple of areas.  (Schnauzers are notorious for not coming when called right away.  They are really stubborn and if they are doing something interesting they will "ignore" you.)  With a smart, stubborn dog you have to be really firm and stay one step ahead of them.  Liesl in general is a really good, well behaved dog and pretty mellow for her breed.  She loves to learn and gets really excited when she gets something so this was a good opportunity.  We learned a couple of new things, including some hand signals, which is really helpful.  The trainer was excellent and packed the class full of information.  I was glad that there was not a lot of repetition.  Liesl had a lot of fun and totally crashed when we got home.  She was so good in the class and was excited about her new tricks.  

One of the interesting things that the behaviorist talked about is that at "settle down time" in the evening, we should take the time to massage our dogs.  She said that just as humans carry stress in our necks and backs, dogs carry stress in their lower back and back legs, so it is important to rub down these areas for them.  She also said to give their little feet and ears a little rub down, too.  The behaviorist was right and Liesl seemed to really appreciate her little mini massage.  

Several weeks ago, I picked up bedding and edging flowers at Home Depot but the weather has been so lousy that I could not get them planted.  Today I made a gorgeous color bowl for my front steps.  It is so colorful and happy looking.  So professional looking for less than $10.  Yay!  I still have more plants to get in the ground and hope to get it done this week.  

Best of all today, I got to stitch.  It was so cold and blustery so it was nice to be inside with my sleepy dog.  I got to catch up on all of my favorite TV shows and work on my sampler.  I also got to putter around my house.  It was perfect.  It has been a really hectic month at work and so I was happy to get rest and have some quiet.  It was perfect.