“I know you by heart

You are inside my heart.” 

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess

Yes, I planned and planned and planned, but I guess as happens with so many things in life, quite probably ALL things in life, nothing is ever as you expect. Certainly it has been a joy and delight having Noodle here with us for the past 9 days, but equally it has been an unexpectedly strict learning curve, filled with all the bloopers and frustration you might imagine. Time has felt scarce to write up a proper blog post, so here I'll start to catch up with some of my favourite photos since the last post. Because it's easier at the moment,  I've started a Noodle Monkey-Nut Facebook Page and also Instagram and Vine accounts which I will most times share to the Facebook page anyway. 

December 21, 2014 - day after arrival

modelling my lovely new jumper | me learning my new potty place with daddy

my first trip outside in my Alfie sling

mommy says Greta Garbo has nothing on me

in my bed with the lovely knitted
blanket Grandy gave me

“'What day is it?'... 'It's today,' squeaked Piglet. 'My favorite day,' said Pooh."

“'What day is it?'...

'It's today,' squeaked Piglet.

'My favourite day,' said Pooh." 

~ A.A. Milne


Noodle is home!! I've been busy adjusting our schedules and it's been hard to find a few minutes, and to my delight LOTS of people are asking me for photos. If you know me at all, you know that I love to take photos, and the fact that anyone is risking being inundated with doggie photos for the conceivable future without you asking makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Not as warm and fuzzy as Noodle, though. She's the warmest and the fuzziest. 

Just when we got there, these three were sleeping in a little ball together.
Only three sisters left to go to their forever homes.
Noodle is in the middle, and up she comes to greet us!

She was very calm while Mrs Breeder cleaned her ears and
checked her over one last time.

In the car, we put her on some blankets between us in the back seat, with the blanket with her mum and litter smells around her. Only a few tiny squeaks from her, and she quickly settled cuddled up to her Daddy. 

At one point she started to squiggle around. She wasn't crying, but she seemed to be fidgeting. We thought maybe she had to go potty. So we stopped on the side of the road and took her to a patch of grass to see if she'd go. She didn't, and shortly after this photo was taken she started to have a little romp in the long grass! Not so fast little one... back into the car we went...

where she quickly got comfy on S again. Cute enough to eat.

She made it home with no crying and no accidents. We don't have many photos for the evening, because we were busy getting her settled in,
and jumping right into our house-training/crate training schedule.
A+ performance right up until bedtime at 10:30 PM.
She was totally relaxed and well behaved.

One of my many favourite parts ♥

"Nearly only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades."

"Nearly only counts 

in horseshoes 

and hand-grenades." 

~ Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book)

Only ONE SLEEP LEFT before our lives change forever. I've never really truly been able to say that before -- I mean, there were things and times that would apply in retrospect, but not any that I was able to anticipate beforehand. This moment in time is truly special because of that alone.

Before I am overwhelmed with loads more interesting stuff to write about and share photos of, I thought I'd wrap up my preparation inventory...

Snugglesafe Microwave Heating Pad -- made
especially for pets. It's rock hard and can't be
punctured with needle-sharp teeth. It gets great
 reviews, and although I found it a tad cheaper,
it was one of those things seems to command a
certain price for a reason.

Another one of those things was this Tangle Teezer 

which I thought was a worthy preventative 

purchase. It's made for humans, but it was

contantly being mentioned on The Cockapoo 

Owners FB page when people were asking about 

grooming and particularly the cockapoo tendency to

have problems with matting.

Who doesn't love a chipmunk?
Especially one who crinkles and
plays dead?

KONGGGG!! Building an arsenal
of quality stuffable chew toys
for crate training.

Hedgehogs. Enough said.

(L) More Kong products. I found a seller on ebay who was doing a 3 for 2
deal (which I, um, used twice ...more Kongs in the post). Message
me if you want info on the seller! (R) Petstages Rag Rope Ball which got amazing reviews online. Plus it's super pretty.

Did I mention ONE SLEEP LEFT??

"Her little butterfly soul

fluttered incessantly

between memory and

dubious expectation."

— George Eliot (Adam Bede)

2 sleeps to go and it feels somewhat unreal. Except it is real. And as S rightly pointed out: "Every second or third of your thoughts is about puppies". I won't share the context of that statement, except to say that I have been relatively obsessed and it probably isn't always the best of states for others to endure. And all the stuff I've been reading is jumbling into one big ball of (almost) confusion.

≈

So yes, even when out and about yesterday, I found myself wandering to the nearest PAH (Pets at Home) to 'just have a look', but also to find a water bowl, something that somehow slipped off my Noodle Prep radar... and since we know where my thoughts were, when I walked through the Silver Jubilee Park, all I could imagine was taking Noodle there to run and play. But then, it seemed a bit lonely.

Silver Jubilee Park sans The Noodle - a bit dreamy and quiet

My 'just a look' at PAH turned into a little more than just a look, obviously, but I'm pleased to say I walked out of there with only 3 items aside from Noodle's new water bowl -- which, however lovely, is pretty standard (black melamine with a stainless steel insert) and I forgot to take a photo of it!

Here's the other stuff:

Two temptations were too much - the deer is so cute
(and crinkly) I almost wanted it just for myself.
The knot was inexplicably half price and the
treats are actually practical - as a supplement to
the secret weapon (to be revealed in a future post).

Before it becomes useless to do so, here are some of the other (more practical and comparatively boring) things that have been purchased so far:

Purply cheapy fleece from IKEA. Can't knock the detail for costing almost nothing

Pink-y slightly more pricey fleece
with a distressed look that I
actually quite like. Also from IKEA.

 

Noodle's very own pillow! Don't tell anyone,
but stuffed inside is S's age-old stinky old
pillow that found a better purpose.

“What's in a name?
That which we call a rose 
by any other name
would smell as sweet."

~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

this rose is called Noodle Monkey-Nut... Noodle for short

Received this 'bench pic' from Mrs Breeder on Saturday. Thank goodness the sun came out! Our little Noodle is with her three sisters and 4 brothers! She must have taken 1000 photos to get 3 reasonably good ones out of them. If only I could see a video of the photo shoot - THAT would be cute and hilarious I'm sure.

ONLY 5 SLEEPS UNTIL NOODLE COMES HOME!

"Time is the longest distance

between two places."

~Tennessee Williams

The waiting had started to feel like the event. Now we're within two weeks of Noodle coming to live with us and it doesn't feel real. I'm sure she'll cure us of that very quickly by wrapping us around her rather cute paws. Mrs. Breeder returned from her holiday Saturday, and I waited until mid-afternoon Sunday until I sent her a text. Shortly thereafter I received this brand new photo of Noodle! 

She sure has grown and is cute as a button (if I do say so myself)! Though, I can't say she looks exactly thrilled to be made to sit still! I reckon she was wiggling around quite a bit because the two other pictures received are a tad blurry. I wish I could stop her growing just until we get her home...  I don't want to miss an inch of it! But alas, she is too far away to visit. Only one more weekend without the little Monkey-Nut in the house. Amazing. I really need to switch to turbo gear. I suppose it's not THAT long to wait and there's certainly a LOT to do and read and learn. Is it possible for time to move too slowly and also too quickly in the same instant? Hmmm.

In the meantime, here's some more stuff:

Ancol 8"-12" adjustable collar and lead in blue tartan.
Nicer quality than I actually expected
(don't know why as both had really good reviews)
and very pretty!

I grabbed this for a really good pricewhile I was in the US 
visiting my parents. It's an Alfie Pet Reversible Sling 
by Petoga Couture. Time will tell how useful it will be, 
but it seems a good quality and I've already put it 
through the wash. I kind of like the idea of 
Noodle being camouflaged in the inside of the bag.

Also from Ancol this little thermal fleece
jacket. She'll probably swim in it for a
while, but I thought it couldn't hurt
to get her something warm for when
she's little. Especially as she'll be potty
training in the winter weather. Sorry 
about the lousy photo! 

"Even miracles take a little time."

~ Brothers Grimm - The Fairy Godmother, Cinderella

*sigh* what will she look like now?

Noodle turned 6 weeks old yesterday, and I haven't seen her since 2 1/2 weeks ago. Mrs. Breeder returns from her holiday this coming Saturday,  and shortly thereafter we'll hopefully receive the photos and video we've been promised. I definitely feel sad that I'm not getting a glimpse of her in between, but I guess I just have to be as patient as I can.

I have  a feeling of sort of detached disbelief half the time, kind of like when you go on holiday to a far away place and your brain can't quite take in where you actually are. Is she really going to be here in just over two weeks? I think that's it, or maybe I'm just in a hazy bubble because I've been poorly for what seems an eternity with the bug that came and never left.

just look at those paws!!

I haven't been very good at posting in here, but I think that's partly the illness and partly the fact that I can't see Noodle in any way, or even contact anyone who is with her for questions. It's somewhat an excruciating way to wait.

In the meantime, we've been preparing for her homecoming and the flat is filling up with all things Noodle.

I'm pleased with our progress, and not too much has been spent unnecessarily. I think most of the important things are in place, with the notable exception of food. So ... Inventory time!! WHO DOESN'T LIKE AN INVENTORY?  (...this is me making believe that this sort of thing passes for any practical organisational motivation... when in reality it is mainly a way to satisfy my desire to photograph, catalogue and archive - completely impractical most times, but definitely good fun.**)

'Her Fabulous Crate', bed and Vetbed

Perhaps the most important purchase we will ever have made for Miss Noodle Monkey-Nut. The CRATE! This one found from NorfolkPetcare on ebay --  a source strongly backed by several lovely ladies on the I Love My Cockapoo forum.

Officially listed as a '36 inch 3 Door Heavy Duty Dual Coated Galvanised & Hammerite Powder Coated Dog Cage', it doesn't feel or appear as if it will disappoint. Since it will likely be big and durable enough to be Noodle's "forever room" it shall now be referred to reverently as Her Fabulous Crate.

Inside is lined with giraffe print Vetbed (more on this a bit below)
and is seen in it's temporary place for her homecoming.Another super important purchase (but one she will very likely grow out of sooner than we'd like to admit) is her BED:

 Again, the I Love My Cockapoo forum saved me on this one. I was about to buy a nice, fluffy, comfy pillowy bed when I decided to ask pose the question. The overwhelming response was something akin to: you'd be a complete idiot if you spent money on anything that her little teeth will be ripping apart in no time flat. Cardboard boxes were even recommended. I settled on the Marchioro Perla Dog Bed, in wine colour and size 21" X 14". It has rubber feet to hold it in place and  ventilation holes in the base. Altogether sturdy and doesn't look too shabby either.

Inside is an oval fitting piece of Vetbed :

I almost feel embarrassed that I had to ask myself not too long ago "What is Vetbed, and which one should I buy?" 
Petlife Vetbed appears to be the Holy Grail of pet bedding, and the only Vetbed is the ORIGINAL Petlife Vetbed (which fortunately is available in a variety of colours and patterns). Make no mistake, it isn't cheap, but I have good reason to believe that this bedding hailed by many in the know as "nearly puppy-proof", will last many years if it wears out at all. According to Petlife, there are 7 Benefits Which Apply to Our Complete Vetbed® Range. Have a look for yourself, and check back here because if these mats don't live up to their reputation, I'll be sorely disappointed and might want to shout about it.
I bought:

• Two 21" X 14" chocolate oval pieces (two so if one gets soiled, I can use the other while the first is washing) 

• One 90cm X 60cm giraffe patterned strip which perfectly fits in Her Almighty Crate

WAY more cushy and thick than I even expected it to be. We even considered sleeping on it ourselves the first night. It could still happen.

Check back for more inventory fun in the next post! 

** so much fun that my current inventory will spill into another blog post as not to shock you with too much excitement at once.