Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Crazy Hanna Explained

After this past weekend, with its clouds, threats of rain and downright chilly (for spring!) temperatures, the work week arrived right on cue with a gloriously sunny, warm and breezy day! Just my luck ... but aside from work, my preoccupation today was getting the new refrigerator delivered and installed so we could save most of the food we had in the freezer on ice over the weekend. I managed to salvage the majority of things, but some stuff totally thawed and got soggy, so I had to pitch it ... still, it could have been much worse!

Last night we cleared out the kitchen and set about giving it a good cleaning and mopping ... you can't believe the dirt that accumulates behind a refrigerator over six years! It was nasty, so out came Mr. Clean and the mop (and several buckets of very hot water), and after a few moppings I had the kitchen looking pretty good ... it needed it anyway after all the muddy paws over the past few weeks, so at least the refrigerator came into a clean home for a good start.

And arrive it did, late this afternoon when the Sears guys rolled up outside ... they were very efficient and quick about it and were done in perhaps 25 minutes or less. They marched in, measured everything, carried in the new fridge and set it up, then hauled "old unreliable" away in short order ... good bye Harvest Gold, hello modern black! We couldn't be happier with the new one ... even though it's a bit smaller, it seems to have so much more space, and is sooo quiet in comparison with the old one. With its Energy Star rating, it's also going to save on the electric bills (something the old one was awful about ... it was a pure power hog), and we even get a $50 rebate back from the utility company for buying a more efficient model. Add to that the special they had at the store, we also get a $75 rebate that covers the delivery and haul away, so not a bad deal in all, considering we'll get $125 back in rebates ... have to admit that made the whole experience a lot more palatable....

Ok, I know you're really here for the crazy puppy pictures, so here goes, along with an explanation of what probably appeared to be naughty behavior in that shot from last night. This is a game we play with Hanna in the mornings on weekends ... one or both of us will put a hand under the comforter and wiggle it around like some kind of critter, and it drives her wild! She darts from one side of the bed to the other trying to catch it and though I think she really understands that it's one of us (she will nip but never really bite), she has a ball playing this game....

Aha! I've got it for sure this time, I just know!

I'm gonna get you, no matter what it takes ... so there!

I'm done now. It's time to go to bed, ok?

I took all of these photos in the space of probably 10 minutes, from start to finish ... that's how easily Hanna's "switches" work: she's up for play as long as we are, but when it's time to settle down for the night, she takes the cue without complaint and promptly gets with the program. We both swear that she has been the easiest dog either of us has ever had to train ... it seems that just a few repetitions and demonstrations of what we want her to do, and she's got it down! She's a really sharp little gal, it's easy to see, and though that will sometimes mean she's a bit willful (just a terrier!), it's a small compromise to make for having such a bright little pup sharing our lives. Though when I first had Pepa, that was a constant source of frustration and discouragement, but once I got her through that rebellious stage, she grew into one of the best dogs I've ever known. We haven't had any of that with Hanna (so far) and training her has been joyful and fun, just like it should be! You can't imagine how gratifying it's been to watch her learn new things and understand her little quirks more and more, one of which we just discovered last night: she barks at wiggling brooms! So the broom can join Mr. Rake Monster and the roaring Vacuum as her least favorite implements around the house....

32 comments:

Mildred said...

My cat does that (though not necessarily because we want her to - more because she has jungle fantasy's..)

CONEFLOWER said...

Ah Ha!! Now it all makes sense! I had a cat that would do that too. Usually it was my feet moving that she would attack. She got barred from the bedroom for that.

Our first and bigger cairn hated the vacuum. He would actually attack it with teeth and lunges. Somehow, enough "no" commands finally sunk in and he stopped.

Yes, the delight of dogs (terriers especially) is that they will listen to reason (when they're finished doing whatever they're doing). I'm so glad Hannah is being a great little friend for you. It helps to soften your losses of last year. May be she is the best of Pepa and Rolly all rolled into one new sweet fur friend.

Roses and Lilacs said...

My fridge is making some unusual sounds lately. Wonder how much longer before it expires.

My cats play that game too--mice in the tall weeds fantasy;) Toby sunk his claws thru the comforter and put four holes in my foot a few days ago. (My fault for letting the claws get that sharp.)
Marnie

Larry Kollar said...

When I was in high school, we had a cat who wasn't afraid of the vacuum cleaner — indeed, when I was doing the stairs, she come and play with the nozzle. I'd suck a foot or a tail in & she'd attack it.

Bummer about the fridge. Spoiled food around here gets fed to the four-legged garbage disposals, who are more than happy to have sauce on top of their kibble…

Shanster said...

How weird! Our fridge went out on Friday... and we'd just purchased 1/4 of a cow and put it in our freezer. sigh. We didn't lose anything and it turned out to be the fan motor, so $125 total cost vs. a new fridge... can't complain. It's working now!

That first picture is hilarious! The look in her eye makes me laugh! She sounds like a joy. Lucky people and lucky dog!

Annie in Austin said...

Washing machine & cellphone failures here, IVG...what the heck is going on with our appliances?

Your movie poll results were interesting - glad you liked Ironman, anyway.
What I actually popped in for was to see if you've heard about the last episodes of Pushing Daisies being broadcast?

Looks like May 30th will be a big date night here!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

boran2 said...

Good luck with the new fridge, IVG! Ours is circa 1995 and likely uses way too much power. One of the days we'll get a new one.

Those wonderful shots of Hanna show both her fun and serious sides. I can't even get the 10 year old boran2 boy to change so quickly.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Mildred,
I see from the other comments here that your cat is not unique in that regard! I've never had a cat (I'm allergic), so their ways are even more mysterious to me. :-)

BTW, feel free to add me to your list. I'll get you on mine soon too ... just have been real busy so far this week.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Cnneflower,
Seems common with cats, but that makes sense since they're such hunters, but then Hanna has very strong hunting instincts as well, we can already tell.

Dogs and vacuums are an unhappy combo, that's for sure! Pepa used to run upstairs when it came out and Hanna usually goes and hides under the dining room table and watches. I can't believe they got that little JRT on that commercial to actually ride around on the vacuum!

Hanna usually is a good listener but I know what you mean about that "I'm busy" attitude they get. With one exception (Coco the corgi), I've always had a terrier of some sort, so guess I always will! :-)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
Uh oh, I hope I haven't started a trend with fridge expirations! It's a big expense but wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but then, we didn't get anything fancy either. Some of the ones we saw had positively bone chilling prices on them!

Ouch! I think it sounds like Toby might have to stay off the bed now after that episode! You're the third person to mention that behavior, so it must be very common....

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey FAR,
Somehow that doesn't surprise me that you would taunt a cat with the vacuum! :-) No way I could get near Hanna that way, she'd be gone in a flash!

Hanna only gets very very small tastes of people food here ... keeping a close eye on her waist line you know! Though anything that falls on the floor when I'm cooking is fair game, whether I like it or not!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shanster,
Sorry to hear about your fridge too ... and the same night? Spoooky! Glad you were able to get yours fixed, but honestly ours was beyond hope even though it did come back, zombie-like, briefly on Sunday morning for a few hours.

I love catching those crazy looks she gets in her eyes while playing ... she's so very intense about it. She's brought a lot of laughter to our house since she arrived and truly is joy incarnate! We are sooo lucky!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Annie,
Sorry to hear about your appliance failures too ... we replaced our washer and dryer back in January, so we should be good to go for a while with those.

I thought the poll results were interesting too... still don't know who the adventurous one was who saw Persepolis, but I'm curious! You might enjoy that well, because it's not as grim as I thought it would be since it's about Iran during the revolution, but the main character (the writer as a girl) is so engaging it really draws you in.

I had heard rumors (on the Pie Maker site) that it was going to be all 3 episodes on the 30th, but according to your link, it's 3 weeks starting the 30. The DVR will be whirring, but I've already got season 2 on pre-order at Amazon (it comes out in July), so I'll have them all by then. I'm really angry/sad to see that show pass into fabled history. Guess I know where we will both be at 8:00 CDT that night! I'll have some popcorn in your honor, since you tipped me off to it originally!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey B2!
So far so good with the new fridge, now we just have to get it all arranged the way we want and we'll be set. It's rated at only costing $41/yr in electricity, so that's got to be better than that old power hog took, more like that amount a month!

Hanna definitely does have those two sides, but tends mostly to the fun side, which is totally Jack Russell Terrier personality! I can't imagine having a 10 yr old, so you have my admiration. I don't think I could keep up!

Gail said...

Hi IVG! We had to replace our washer and dryer earlier this year...while at the appliance center...I spied a beautiful new gas range that I promised I would use everyday! We didn't get it! It was too high end for our kitchen! You don't want to build a new kitchen around a stove;-) Well, if someone else was paying for it I would.

Hannah is adorable. Is she aware that she has wrapped you guys around her paw yet!

I bought a replacement Kopper King! He's gorgeous, not blooming yet, but gorgeous.

Gail

Gail

Dog_geek said...

LOL - Love the puppy pics!

I just got a good look under our fridge yesterday, and it was totally scary! I don't know how long ours will last - it came with the house and it looks pretty old, but I'm definitely scared for what we might find under it whenever we need to get rid of it. I had to fish something out from under it yesterday, and I found a whole "Ol Roy" dog biscuit, which I know I've never bought, much less shoved under the fridge - so I'm guessing it has been there since before we moved in 6 years ago! YIKES!

Roses and Lilacs said...

You folks are awfully quiet out in Iowa this last week. Vacation, gardening? Hope everything is ok.
Marnie

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