It Is My 4th Birthday!

 It is my birthday!!! I turned four day!!!  We are going to go to Wendy's for lunch  Mom said she ordered me something special from Amazon and it should be here today.  We took a walk on the beach and now I am resting until my trip to Wendy's.

We ordered a refrigerator/freezer from Amazon for the van.  It looks like a cooler.  The first one went missing in Katy, TX.  Mom thinks it was stolen because the tracking stops in Katy.  Amazon refunded our money, $448 and we ordered another one.  Unfortuantely, they didn't have the one we wanted so we had to choose a different one.  We ended up buying one that was "like new".  It was $88 less and it arrived yesterday.  It doesn't appear to have been used at all.  We have found some decent deals buying "like new".  It fits in its' spot and today we will turn it on to see how well it works.  

We are getting closer to being ready to take our "shake down" trip.  That is a short trip that you take to see how everything works and if we need to make improvements or pack more things.   We are planning on going to a state park that is a few hours from us. 

Jaxson,

The Birthday Boy

Getting Closer To Camping In Our Van

 Dad bought us a cargo van last September.  He is turning it into a camping van.  He works every day on it and finally we are getting close to being able to camp in it.

A few weeks ago, he installed the AC unit. This was something he was nervous about because he had to cut out a hole in the roof.  He was also concerned because he had to get the 80 pound air conditioning unit to the top of the van.  He decided renting a lift was the best thing to do.  The lift had to be delivered to us because it wouldn't fit in the van.  Dad said he saw the delivery driver coming with it but before it reached us, it slid off the trailer and unto to the street.  😆  The rental place is just down the street, so I guess the guy didn't think it needed to be strapped down.  The guy delivered it to us but then about ten minutes after he left, he called and said he was bringing us a different one.  I guess they decided that one should be looked at before it was used by a customer.  Mom helped Dad that day.  She mainly helped him move the AC unit to the lift and then held the ladder and handed him things since he was on the roof.  It went much smoother than they expected and now we have AC that will run when we are parked.

Putting it on the lift.

Up it goes.

Dad checking it out.

It fits!

I don't think I have shown you what Dad put on the back of the van yet. 

It is not a photo of me, but I think he looks just like me.

Mom said that we needed to name the van so since Dad always says it is my "crate", it is called The Grey Crate. 😃  My Dad is pretty funny.

Jaxson,

The Grey Who Is Ready To Have Some Adventures

I'm Stylin' In My New Hawaiian Collars

 We live in a high rise building and we have employees. They work the front desk, do housekeeping and maintenance.  Recently, they were allowed to pick out new uniforms.  They chose Hawaiian shirts. I decided I wanted to fit in since I have a job too.  I am a mail and package carrier so Mom decided to make me Hawaiian collars.

Mom found the fabric for my collars on ETSY.  She would have preferred to shop in person, but the nearest Joann's Fabrics is about 45 minutes away and she is still not really shopping at many stores.  She looked at their fabric online and couldn't really find anything she liked, plus she would have had to order 2 yards of material and she only needs like a 1/4 of  a yard to make a collar for me.  The ETSY fabric was 18" x 30" and it came in five different styles, so it was a good option.

Mom has a love-hate relationship with making collars. She loves when they are finished but she hates making them.  The last step in the process is usually when she starts cussing.  She has to sew around the hardware and it is a very hard to get the fabric in the position she wants because it is so small and in an awkward position. There just has to be a better way but Mom started making collars in 2006 or 2007 and still hasn't figured it out. 

The collar making process went fairly well this time.  She didn't break any needles and she only had to re-thread the machine a few times.  I don't think I heard her cuss.  It was a success!  I ended up with three new collars.  Mom calls it my "beachwear".

Here I am with the first collar.

I refused to try on the other two, so Mom just put them on top of me.

We put away my red and black collar which Mom calls my "lumberjax" collar aka my winter collar.  Mom says I look so handsome in it, but the warm weather is here so I need to wear something that reflects that.  I am also supporting a turquoise name collar because it looks nicer with the new collar. It is not in the photo though.  Mom is all about trying to color coordinate me. 😛

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Is Sporting A Hawaiian Collar 

I Went To The Vet

 Happy Easter!

We have had a very busy week here.  Dad left the Island twice last week! 😲  On Wednesday, he bought new tires for our van.  He hadn't planned on it but he had one tire that couldn't be repaired and another one had a slice in it.  He ended up getting a good deal on the tires, so he bought four.  On Thursday, he and Mom went to an RV store to pick up the AC unit for the van.  They were gone for three hours!  They rarely leave the Island since Covid began.  I think the last time Mom left the Island was in October.  Actually, the last time they left, I cut my leg.  I got a little wild while they were gone. That is a whole other story.

On Friday, I had to go to the vet for my yearly check-up.  Mom was quite worried.  She works hard on my teeth, but greyhounds are known for their bad teeth.  She said she was a failure because she said I was going to have to have a dental.  She was also concerned with my weight.  It turns out that I have only gained two pounds in the past 14 months.  After I was weighed, the vet assistant needed to take my blood to check to make sure my heart worm preventative is working.  Well, she put a strap on my leg and that scared me.  I did the greyhound scream of death.  I scared her good.  I think she put it in my permanent file that I am dramatic because when the vet came in, he mentioned it.  Anyway, she took my blood and I was fine with that.  I just didn't like the strap she used on my leg.  Mom said she has never seen anyone do that to a dog.  

Waiting my turn at the vet

The vet came in and he checked my teeth.  You know what he did?  He removed the plaque right then and there.  He said it was easy to remove with his nail.  He showed Dad how to do it in the future, so I do not have to get a dental after all.  Mom was very relieved.  The vet said I should lose three pounds. Mom suggested five, but he said to try for three. Mom told him that I like fruits and veggies and he said those are great and they are free foods for me.  I like this man!  My blood tests came back fine, so I shouldn't have to see the vet for another year. 

Sleeping after the vet visit

I was exhausted after my vet visit and didn't even ask to go to the Walmart grocery pick-up. 

Mom is making a ham, sweet potatoes and green beans for our Easter dinner.  I love green beans.  She puts them in the Instant Pot with potatoes and they are delicious.  

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Scared The Vet Assistant

Plants and Flowers

Last February, Dad bought Mom an orchid for her birthday. She has always wanted one.  She really didn't know if she would be able to keep it alive, but it is still alive and now it has bloomed! 

Last year, Mom decided she wanted some house plants We live in a very small place, so we can't have many. She bought two: a philodendron and a snake plant. They have both grown a lot in a year and today, she re-potted the snake plant.  She said it is going to live on the balcony until winter.

Mom is wanting to get a dwarf snake plant.  Shhhh....don't tell Dad.  She might be able to sneak it in since it will be small. 😃

Mom told me when they had a house, she had tulips and daffodils in their yard.  We don't have a yard now, but she said you can force bulbs to bloom if you refrigerate the bulbs long enough before you plant them in containers.  She did that this year, but so far only two have bloomed.  They are pretty, but she is disappointed that only two bloomed.

I think she is going to try to grow some flowers on the balcony again this year.  We have not had good luck with that.  She said she thinks the salt air kills them.  She did plant moss roses last year and they survived the winter.  She replanted it today, but it doesn't looks too happy right now.  We will post photos if it makes it through the week.  

We had a very bad freeze here in Galveston in February and our landscaping around our building looks really bad now.  We don't know how much of it will pull through.  It is pretty sad.  

New neighbors moved into the unit that is two doors down from us.  They have two small dogs and they told us one is nice and one is not nice.  They are only going to be here on weekends and eventually they are going to rent their unit out. There are ten units on our floor and we are the only ones that live here full-time.  We are getting long-term renters in the unit right next to us later this week.  I hope they are nice because they will be here until next year.

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Is Not Impressed With Plants