BOXER ADVENTURES

Today I got up and decided that I'd had enough running the local roads. Unfortunately, no one plows any of our local trails. I debated whether is was worth the trip to Syracuse to run the Onondaga Lake Trail. In some ways it felt like it would be a stupid waste of time to drive over an hour there and back to only run a handful of mile, but I just needed a change of scenery. So we packed up a lunch and headed out.  The dogs were happy to be in the car not caring where we were going, just that we were all on a trip. I needed my sunglasses on for the first time in way too long. We arrived at the trail and found it PACKED with walkers, runners, a few brave bicyclists, and many dogs happy to be out in the warm sun.  .  I ran with Booker while Marc walked Sisko. It was, to be honest, a rough start.  Booker was way over-stimulated from all the people and the dogs.  Right off the bat we had a Goldendoodle lunge at us as we tried to run by - which Booker thought meant...

 Adventures?  What stinking adventures? The only thing that we've been doing is sitting in the house and trying not to freeze to death or die of boredom! Somehow we have all survived and when I got up this morning and it wasn't below zero, and I had the day off, I hopes to get the dogs out for a bit. But first, Lincoln's Birthday has always been the day off that we get our taxes done.  So we worked on that all morning, while the dogs both pestered, chased each other around and generally let us know that they wanted to be entertained.   With that finished it was mid-morning and the sun was out.  I asked Alexa what the temps were outside and she shared with me that it was 20 degrees.  That is COLD for most people, but when you've been mired in the deep freeze it felt almost tolerable! We got more snow yesterday and the plow drivers had clearly been in no hurry to get our road cleared off, and it was wet sloppy snow.   Sisko's CCL has been heali...

 A major cold snap with a TON of snow is keeping us inside - I hate it. Today, I wanted to get in a short walk, just for the dogs to stretch their legs. I think it took us longer to get dressed since then to walk since we had to put on so many layers! They were happy to be out.  When we got home it was cuddle time.  

 We live in an old house and the kitchen wasn't really built to be the center of the house like houses are now.  And counterspace is limited. I had bought several years ago a rolling kitchen island, but it was pretty small.  I decided to upgrade. I purchased a new kitchen island and it came in 2 boxes that needed to be assembled.   Of course, I know 2 dogs that were VERY eager to assist. It took us about 2.5 hours to get the whole thing assembled.  They bailed on us pretty quickly, as soon as they realized how boring the project was!! But we ended up getting it together.

 Today I had the day off for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. We are living in tough times and sometimes I think my only sanity is the boys. I took them out for a cold walk this morning.  They find the joy in such little things and I looked for peace of mind. You see this look?  It's my foundation. The "Hi Mom - just checking in!" The first of the year, I started brushing their teeth.  I have never brushed my dogs' teeth - with all the dogs I have had, they chew on bones and their teeth have always been in good shape.  But with Sisko's gum problems, he has never been a chewer.  Even though I had that extensive - and EXPENSIVE surgery done 2 years ago, the gums immediately started growing back. So I finally got my ass in gear and started brushing their teeth.  Booker doesn't really need it, but I figured as long as I was doing Sisko's every night I might as well do Booker's. It really doesn't take that long, and with the flavored toothpaste, t...

 We are predicted to get a massive storm this week.  If you are a local person reading this, you know that predicting is hard due to Lake Effect snow.  This means you could literally get FEET of snow and just a few miles one side or another of the Lake Effect band get a dusting! It was cold, windy and snowing.  We decided to take the dogs to a local park and get in a couple of miles and then go stock up on supplies. The park had only a few brave souls.  We went to the edge of the park and let the boys off leash to run.  I, personally, was miserable.  But they had a ball.  Sisko ran around and stuck his head in the snow until he got tired.   Booker could have gone all day. At least they had fun and got in some off leash running time! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Booker and Sisko (@boxeradventuresny)

 This morning it was kind of crappy out once again, and my plan was to take Booker for a short walk and then run later on the treadmill while watching football.  As I started to get ready, Sisko came running and was so excited.  I looked and could barely see any limping, so I decided to take him with us. As I was putting on Booker's collar, Sisko looked downcast and went over and laid on his bed sure that he would not be going once again.  I'll tell you what - dogs can just break your heart.  Fortunately I didn't have to break his and called him and he came running so so happy. It was only 2 miles, but he was so happy to be out for a walk!  The conditions were slushy and sloppy, but he didn't care. We got back and since I was already dressed and cold, I decided to keep Booker and go for a short run. I didn't know this, but Marc told me later that poor Sisko stood in our entryway and barked after we dropped him off until Marc (who was riding his bike trainer...