"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.

"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!