Leaving on a jet plane.

On Friday, despite it being kind of a busy time at work, the weather taking a turn for much better at home, and my desperate fear of flying, hubby and I are leaving for a week-long vacation in BC.

We booked this trip way before Rosie was a twinkle in our eyes, so there are some canine logistics to be worked out. Turns out, Rosie doesn't pack light. I need to gather up her crate, her food, her bed, her dishes, her many toys, her leashes, etc., etc., pack it up and take it, along with the dog, to my parents' place, where she will be pampered for a week (I hope). I'm sad to be leaving her, and will miss her terribly, but on the other hand I am looking forward to a week of doing whatever we want whenever we want and, especially, sleeping in. I intend to sleep a lot.

Rosie's becoming quite the little lady now. She's biting me a lot less (though this morning was still a bit rough) so my hands are healing up nicely. She is responding to the squirt bottle training technique we adopted out of desperation, which we use only when she's going nuts on the cat or biting us. Now, sometimes she will calm down when we just hold the spray bottle. Sometimes she licks it. Maybe it won't be effective for very long but for now Loki's appreciating the reprieve.

She has become a real dog. It's funny; one minute she's a tiny delicate puppy who can't even get up onto the futon, and the next minute she's a DOG, jumping up on all the furniture and running over the back of the couch. She's getting leggy, and is all claws and elbows. We keep her lean and exercise her a lot so she's not chubby, and the large-breed puppy food we feed her is keeping her growth at a nice slow rate, so she's not over-size or stressed. She has a lovely face and we've taught her to "kiss kiss" which is the cutest thing going. She loves routine, so when she wakes me up at 5:30 a.m. to pee, she immediately comes back inside and heads straight to the futon for a snoozy cuddle time. I kind of look forward to it, even though I protest the early start.

Anyway, next week will be mommy and daddy time. We're looking forward to going to the Vancouver aquarium and visiting the otters behind the scenes. I am very much looking forward to visiting my cousin who I haven't seen in 12 years, and her husband and four children who I have never met (she has another on the way!). I can't wait to stay with my girlfriend in Kelowna for a few days, and hang out with her little dude (and observe the growth of his new little baby brother/sister, due this summer). We will get our baby mojo on with all of these pregnant mommies around!

When we get back, I fully expect spring to be in full swing. Already the grow-op is going full speed, I have the lights rigged on timers and EVerything. So far I've started:

- Red peppers (up)
- Cayenne peppers (coming up)
- Striped tomatoes (waaay up)
- Roma Tomatoes (waaay up)
- Melons (just started on Saturday)
- Squash (ditto)
- Basil (")
- Thai basil (")
- Pumpkins (")
- Ground cherries (")

Hopefully the snow will be long gone when we get back and then my order of operations will be:

1. Fix my fences - the snow toppled them.
2. Get a new garden gate, esp. now with the dog
3. Get a tie-out for Rosie, for the front lawn
4. Till the garden. Dig in compost. Remove weeds and dead stuff.
5. Make rows in the garden.
6. Plant the spring crops (spinach, coriander, etc.)
7. Get the new greenhouse-row cover-coldframe set up in the garden
8. Plant out the tomatoes and peppers in said coldframe
9. Figure out a spot for the large vines - the pumpkins, squash, and melons.
...and everything after that is status quo.

I hope I have time for the garden this year. We're looking for an electric lawnmower too, and some flagstones, so I can finally dress up the area around the firepit with my new side-by-side Muskoka chair (and table) from Costco, on a wee flagstone patio. We also have to (sigh) start thinking about the renovations again. I need an influx of money.

OK I'm getting ahead of myself. One thing at a time. We're off to BC. I can't wait.