Somewhere to hang the welcome mat

We found this incredible local guy - Jim Briggs of Jim's Custom Doors and Molding who does gorgeous doors and woodworking so we took over some of the huge wood panels that we salvaged out of the old mobile home to see if he would make a door or two for the house.

Of course Jim couldn't be nicer and it is very cool to see some of the projects he has going at his shop. We are pretty small potatoes compared but he still did an amazing job.

The wood panels are big 8' by 4' and 2" thick cedar panels that lined the living room and some bedrooms in the mobile home that was on the property. They were originally milled from trees on the property so it was important to integrate them into the new house in some way and what better way but the front and back doors.

The back door (technically side door that is on the north wall of the house) also needed some special installation in the form of a doggy door. But no ordinary doggy door. It needed to be tall enough for Denali to get in and close enough to the ground that Ziggy could jump through. We also worried about energy efficiency as some of the dog doors don't close very well after repeated use and we wanted something that would hold up to all four, yes four dogs now, using it multiple times a day.

After a lot of research we came across this door.

The Plexidor opens up sideways rather than one large mono-flap like most dog doors. This type of design holds up much better and is more energy efficient with a tighter closure than most doors. It is also safer via the locking mechanism and is NOT white which was very important.

So with the new doggy door in-hand, Jim got to work on the doors. And in no time we had a front and back door ready to go.

Front Door

Back Door with opening where the doggie door will fit in

We also had to source the hardware for the doors. The hardware we really wanted were handmade from Chili and about $700 per door. So we had to settle for something a little simpler and we went with simple black hinges, hey, you gotta make compromises here and there and pick your indulgences.

So now the doors await a good coating of tongue oil and then they can be installed. We aren't in a hurry to get them installed until all the big construction work is complete in the house for fear the glass gets broken or they get dinged up. So they are in safe storage in the house for now. 

Next up, that pesky plumbing and venting. And pesky is putting it nicely.

Dog CPR - Everyone needs to know

Puppy CPR - A must save for dog owners

(Click to enlarge)[Via: Carrington College's Veterinary Tech Program ]

Good Use of the Crawl Space

Doggies being smart and staying cool. They realized how much cooler it is in the crawl space under the house. 

Goodbye Princess Puzzle

On Saturday we lost Princess Puzzle. She was 14yo and the vet thinks she had a stroke. Puzzle has been the matriarch of our puppy family for many years now. Her adoration of my mom was second to none. She was the loveliest of ladies but yet as tough as they come and known for taking a few kitties out in her time. 

Puzzle was rescued by my mom at the Fair Hill International 3-D event in 1998 right by a driving hazard named "The Puzzle". She wasn't with my mom 10 minutes when she got caught up in her leash and broke her leg (the thought was it was a previous break, unhealed). So Bagel and I's first introduction to Puzzle was her flailing around with a cast on her leg for a few weeks.

She was a great traveler and it wasn't long before she moved with my mom and Bagel down to Virginia. Throughout her life there were multiple trips to Arizona and California among other states she had listed on her passport.

She was the softest puppy and you could tickle her ears for hours. Obviously a very tolerant one (as seen in the shot above), she was very patient with "the boys" and when Wolf joined the family they became thick friends.

A few weeks ago Puzzle flew out to California to retire in the sunshine with no stairs to deal with and a nicer climate. She adapted well, bonded with Wolf again and enjoyed snoozing in the front of the house in the sun, barking at the deer that weren't there and coming for cuddles every 15 minutes.

Puzzle is buried at the house in California overlooking the property. She is sorely missed but we had the best life with her. She was a pure pleasure. So incredibly loved.

Newest Addition to the Family

Well, we (Jo) did it again, another addition to the family. At the moment he is unnamed though my mom loves the name Ryder...we will see if it sticks, my vote is for Basil. So Noname, as we will call him for now was found in Georgia along with his brother Wiley who is now part of Amy Daum's family, and is a suspected result of a house foreclosure. They seemed to have been kicked out and have been living on the street for about 2 months before strolling onto the Chattahoochee Hills property where Rich Temple picked them up and relocated them to Virginia.

So far he seems to have a fabulous temperament and though painfully skinny, settling in well with Puzzle and learning the ropes quickly. I think he will be the perfect addition to the East Coast portion of our family and we are excited for the day when he makes his move West with Jo and Miss Puzzle and can meet his West coast family (who run free and naked all day long, little hooligans).

So welcome little Noname, we are thrilled to have you and your crazy long tail!!

Update to post - 8-5-2009 - His name is Grady.

For those who have to pick up and dispose of in public

Check out Olive, they provide green doggy options, in particular doggy poop bags that biodegrade in 40 days!!!

Stealing a Post

This will be Ziggy's new bed (of course he will still sleep on our bed) but how awesome is this.....

Ziggy's New Bed

Puppy Love

One member of our team here in the foothills, is Denali. He is my mom's dog but is too big and rambunctious to live in Virginia so is out here with us till my mom can get here. He is rather large - 100+lbs and very tall, hence his name which actually means "the Tall One". (He is named after the mountain NOT the SUV, thank you very much).

Well, Big D, as we call him, or DeeDee, or Deedle or I call him the Yeti, Kyle calls him the Woolly Mammoth and Jess calls him Sasquatch. Some days he is called other things that won't be repeated as  my mom reads this blog and will wash my mouth if she knew what we really called her beloved son.

He is just very interested in the world around him, both on four legs and 2 (on 2 he is over 6ft tall). He is also very hairy, we pull the equivalent of 2 peekanees off him every week. (Denali is the one on the right) -


He has good days and bad days but overall we love him like crazy and he and Ziggy and Wolf are the bestest of friends. He and Ziggy fully entertain each other and I appreciate living in the wilderness knowing that the Yeti is outside looking out for us. More to deter some larger mammals than unwanted human visitors. But having said this there is a long list of his "accomplishments" a few are below -

The slippers weren't even 24 hours old he also has the ability to get itno trash cans and pull food from tables - so Kyle thought this would be a great idea - and people think we should get a goat - We have one!!


So far to date, I have now been snapped by these things over 6 times and Denali was snapped once, it went off as he was carrying it around in his mouth and he never even flinched. Plan B....

On a side note, I heard this piece on NPR yesterday about putting hair around plants to act as an insecticide and it also conserves water around the plant and has proven to help it grow 30% larger. Well, I think we should start marketing Denali hair, only problem is that they said that Blonde hair isn't as productive as brunettes - hmmmm, this is a good punchline in there somewhere.

Puppy Love

Thought you would like to see the rest of the team who will be working on the house -
Project Manager, Resource Coordinator and heckler - Ziggy


The real brains of the job is Wolf - he is the engineer, methodical, thinks all his calculations through to ensure every detail is taken care of....and then sleeps.


Then we have the brawn of the operation - all the heavy lifting, large machinery operation and moving is the job of our site guy - Denali - he is tough, really he is.

Our Project Team

Thought you would like to see the rest of the team who will be working on the house -
Project Manager, Resource Coordinator and heckler - Ziggy


The real brains of the job is Wolf - he is the engineer, methodical, thinks all his calculations through to ensure every detail is taken care of....and then sleeps.


Then we have the brawn of the operation - all the heavy lifting, large machinery operation and moving is the job of our site guy - Denali - he is tough, really he is.