Librocubicularist- April 2016

I have only read a fraction of what I normally do this month. Between December and March, I've read 20-30 books a month but this month I've only hit 9. I feel like I don't have much to choose from for reviews right now.

I blame our pets.

We really thought that our cats would at least get used to the Gil more quickly than this. We even hoped that they might eventually become friends and cuddle and hang out. Right now, Curry is the only one who will even tolerate Gil and some days even he isn't sure about the situation. Baldur and Carmel both still hiss and hit at him anytime he gets too close. (Although it is sometimes helpful for keeping him off the couch.) As we continue to work on his training and he calms down I still hope they will get closer.

While they are usually pretty mild the disagreements between our pets are both the reason and the inspiration for my short reading list this month.


Catify to Satisfy by Jackson Galaxy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book discusses different ways that cats claim ownership of a space and how to translate that into creating a home where they feel safe and comfortable. There are tips for creating safe spaces like catios for your cats to enjoy the outdoors as well as devise a series of shelves for a cat highway around the house. It also includes information about choosing the right litter box for your cat and how to integrate them into your house in a way that lets them be accessible to the cats but unobtrusive to humans.

I also read the precursor to this book Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!).

Be the Dog: Secrets of the Natural Dog Owner by Steve Duno

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Be the Dog discusses how to train your dog by working with their natural instincts instead of fighting against them. All dogs have certain instincts some common to all dogs and some more specific to the breed. If you know that your dog was bred for hunting small animals in burrows then they have a need to dig and you can work to find ways for your dog to fulfill that purpose without destroying your lawn by giving him an approved spot to dig.
It also stresses that the more you work to teach your dog, the better behaved he will become. Learning more commands means your dog is smarter and will become better able to understand the consequences of his actions. There is a list of basic commands and tips for teaching them as well as suggestions for activities to help your dog feel like he's a contributing member of the pack.


Charm Love Friendship Bracelets: 35 Unique Designs with Polymer Clay, Macrame, Knotting, and Braiding * Make your own charms with polymer clay! by Sherri Haab

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The projects in this book take traditional friendship bracelets and embellish them by adding charms and chain. The first section has tips for working with polymer clay to make your own charms and bead as well as detailing different kinds of knots you can use. After that, the book contains instructions for lots of different bracelets using all sorts of materials including chain, rhinestones, and charms. My favorite design is the one using handmade polymer clay roses. While I haven't tried any of the projects yet I found the book inspiring.

Dog Bandana

It has been a great weekend for Gil. I had the day off Friday and we went for a walk at the park with my parents. After his excitement on Wednesday, he was pleased to meet some well-behaved dogs out walking with their own people as well. Made him feel better about life in general, restored his faith in dogmanity or something like that. Then I spent the afternoon making him a bandana.

DIY Dog Bandana

Materials:

1/2 yard cotton fabric
Matching thread
Paper for template

Step One: Make a template

I actually used a template that I found on this blog. The instructions said to enlarge it 200% but when I did it looked much too big, so I made another at 150%. All you need to do is make a triangle as long as you want the bandana from top to point plus a few inches on top to make a pocket. The length needs to be big enough to fit around your dog's neck.

The red line shows the pattern I made at 200% the blue 150%

Step Two: Cut fabric

I actually made my bandana slightly different than the previous tutorial suggested. The template is made to be placed on a fold, both along the side and one top so that it makes it's own lining. I cut it with a fold only on the side.

Step Three: Sew Edges

Fold each edge over a quarter inch and iron, then fold over again. Stitch all the way around the edges.

Step Four: Fold Over and Sew Pocket

Fold the top section in down and sew it in place.

Even with the template being made smaller it still turned out a little big on Gil. I'm not sure what happened. I think maybe it got enlarged some already when I first printed it. But since I didn't have it made for Easter this year and Gil is still growing, I didn't want it to look to small and silly next year.

I really think this fabric is cute. The dog in bunny ears is my favorite and I like the fact that you can find the dog that stepped in the dye and made all the footprints.

I also worked a daytime shift on Saturday (usually I work the evening/closing shift) so Gil didn't have to be kenneled while my husband went to his game night. We had a very nice evening hanging out in the backyard, enjoying the nice weather.

Then yesterday, we grilled for the first time since we adopted Gil. He had a lot of fun hanging out with us both outside and smelling meat. We didn't share this time because we were having steaks but maybe next time. He did get to have a special treat of Dogsters ice-cream. He LOVED it!

We also had some nice clouds to enjoy while we cooked.

Whoops!

Just a quick apology for not having a post today. A little too much excitement yesterday made me completely forget what day it was and that I needed to get something typed up.

After I got off work last night I took our puppy, Gil's for a walk to strecth his legs after being kenneled while we were gone. We walked down the same streets we normally do but yesterday we ran into some neighborhood dogs running loose. Not the dogs of anyone we know. They swarmed around Gil and I had to pick him up to get him away from them. Thankfully there were only two strange dogs and my Mom was with me. There were also two people from houses nearby who heard the ruckus and came out to help. I had to carry him most of the way home before one of the other dogs stopped following us.

We've looked him over and he seems alright. No broken skin or bite marks or anything. The people who came out told us that those dogs are loose a lot. They pointed out the house they belong at and told us that all the cars were there and the garage door was open so the people should have been there looking after their dogs. They said they have called to complain and reported them before but nothing has been done.

The layout of our neighborhood makes it very hard to avoid that street. We are closed off on one side by a highway where the streets dead end and a busy street I'd rather not cross for a daily walk on the other. It leaves up with a long street down the middle and about two blocks on either side. This house is just two doors off of the main street. In order to avoid those dogs I'm going to have to put the dog in the car and drive him to the park to walk.

Don't get me wrong, he likes the park, but I'd rather not have it be an everyday thing. I'm very sad that to find that I can't safely walk my dog in my own neighborhood.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Well, not has really been going on around here. I have been reading about pets and working with our puppy, Gil, to try and get him all trained up. The more I read about dogs and live with one for the first time ever, the more I realize that we're never really going to be finished training him but he's well on the way to knowing some important basic commands. We were really excited last week because he managed to go eight whole days without having an accident in the house but then both Saturday and Sunday he peed in the house. We have to keep reminding ourselves that he's only a baby. At three months old he's so big and does so well with training some days it's easy to forget.

He'll be disappointed when he gets to big to fit on that shelf.

One of the books I've read is Be the Dog: Secrets of the Natural Dog Owner by Steve Duno. It is about learning to work with your dog better by understanding how dogs think and working with their natural instincts. For me, the most interesting part is the section that lists different things you can do to enrich your dog's environment and keep him entertained. I've been having to keep a close eye on Gil both because he isn't fully housetrained and because he keeps finding things to get into that he shouldn't and I'm looking forward to a time when he can keep himself safely occupied and I can get more crafting and other things done. With this in mind, we bought him a Kong toy over the weekend and have started feeding him part of his dinner inside it. It isn't much but it does give us a few extra minutes.



We used some of that extra time to complete some super important chores this weekend. First, we finished our taxes. Then we had to replace our front door knob. For a while now it's been kind of sticking making it awkward to open but at the end of the week, it decided it didn't want to close without jiggling the handle either and that's a big problem. . . especially when you are running in and out with a puppy several times a day. I'm sure everyone who visits will be happy to see it now opens much more smoothly but we have the added chore of getting keys made. It came with two but we need some spares to leave with friends in case of emergency. Next, we mowed the yard. Well, mostly, it's not completely done but enough to give Gil an open space without giant clumps to trip over.

Because our cats want their pictures taken too.

Also, on a somewhat random note, I've always wanted to host a Christmas cookie exchange party but am usually too busy/ tired from work but now, I think a puppy and cat treat exchange party could be just as fun and not dependent on a certain time of year. Who's in?

Growing Project List

My list of projects to work on was already out of control but our pets have decided it's time to pile on more. Our To Do List for the upcoming weekend already included the usual grocery shopping and cleaning but then we noticed that the lawn needs mowing so we added that. Then I saw one of our cat's get his claws stuck in something and we thought we really should give everyone a trim.

Also, while we know we won't be able to complete them for a while, we were planning to do some preliminary work for building a cat tower. Right now we just have a small tower by the couch. Sometimes two of them share it but it's really only built for one (especially when that one is our 20 lb cat Baldur). We think we should build something they can all share, maybe in the dining room where there's a nice morning sunbeam. I've even made a list of ideas to create a Zelda themed cat tower. Other pet projects we are considering include cat shelves in other rooms of the house, a litter box screen of some sort to keep the dog out of it, and building a half door for our office so the cats can get in but the dog can't. We've been keeping the office closed because it's not been puppy proofed at all but one of the litter boxes is in there and the door seems like an easy fix.

Then throughout the week, the animals have added projects to the list. First, we noticed that we have a broken drawer in the kitchen that Gil's started getting into and that it won't be long before he can reach the counter. Then Curry figured out how to open the closet where we keep their food so that has to be fixed. Finally, the cat's have torn up the carpet under our bedroom door so much that sometimes it won't open because the carpet is pushed up in the way.

In almost an afterthought we also decided we need to think up some kind of storage plan for all of the new pet toys and treats and leashes and such we have cluttering things up at the moment. Hopefully we can all find some time to relax together as well but it sounds like its going to be a long and not so relaxing weekend.

Drive-in Etiquette Tips

Over the weekend, we made our first trip to the drive-in movies this season. We saw a double feature with Kung Fu Panda 3 and Batman vs Superman. It was a bit chilly but we made sure we had extra blankets to snuggle up in so we stayed nice and cozy.

These pictures show the weather before we left the house and at the end of the first movie.

We also had a hybrid homemade/ takeout dinner. We made orange chicken at home and packed it up in a couple of bento style lunchboxes we have, then picked up appetizers on our way to the theatre. We also made what I consider an important purchase to upgrade the experience. For around $7 we got a car console organizer to use as a cup and snack holder in the back.

We had a great time, but also some problems with bad drive-in manners. So here are some tips for enjoying the drive-in without disturbing others.

Things to do before you go:

1. Make sure you know how your headlights work.

For example do they come on automatically when you start the car? How do you turn them back off? What about when you have your car in the accessory position? (Don't know what the accessory position is? Read this.) Check to be sure you know how to turn your lights out quickly and keep them off while driving at the theatre.

2. Check how to turn off your interior lights.

Most will automatically shut off after a certain amount of time. The front light in our truck takes a really long time to shut off so we usually bring along a piece of cardboard to tuck behind the visors and cover it up.

3. Know how to quickly turn off your alarm.

Just in case you accidentally bump the alarm somehow or set it off by opening the door to go get popcorn you should know how to quickly disable your car alarm so it doesn't disturb your neighbours.

At the Theatre:

1. Keep your lights out.

Driving at the theatre with your headlights on does two things. First, the extra light makes it difficult to see the screen. Second, it's super bright and will hurt everyone's eyes after they have adjusted to the dark. Turning on your interior lights creates the same problem although on a smaller scale. This extends to people not watching the movie. We had a situation where the car in front of us obviously ran down their battery and another car drove in to give them a jump. The problem is they drove in with their lights on, shined them directly at us while getting into position, and left them on for the duration of the charging.

2. Try not to leave during the movie.

I know there can be circumstances that would cause you to need to leave early but try to avoid it. Even if you turn your lights off immediately after starting your car it will still be a major distraction for those still enjoying the movie.

3. Obey the policy on pets.

Not all drive-in allow pets but some do. But, that doesn't mean you should bring every dog to the movies. We're looking forward to a time when we can take our dog but right now he gets bored easily and when he's bored he gets into stuff and whines, all of which would be disturbing to people around us. Likewise, if you have a dog that barks a lot or isn't great around strangers or other dogs it's probably not a great idea to bring them to the drive-in. However, if you have a quiet dog who's content to hang out at your feet for a few hours by all means enjoy a night out with your favorite canine companion.

We made sure we took Gil on an extra long walk before we left so he was tuckered out and ready to sleep. Then when we came home, even though it was nearly 1am, we let him out of the kennel to play for 45 minutes or so before going back to bed. I'm pretty sure he forgives us because before this he never wanted to get in the car but after that walk in the park he tried to get in the truck twice today.

Becoming More Pet Friendly

It has been almost a month since we adopted our puppy, Gil. Between taking him for walks to work off some of his excess puppy energy, taking him out for bathroom breaks, training, and generally trying to keep out of stuff I'm beginning to feel like I'll never time to do anything non-dog related ever again. I know that things will get easier as he grows up and learns more commands but also at the same time more difficult because he's going to get SO much bigger.

For the most part, he's well behaved, he's just been trying my patience this week. He very quickly figured out that ringing the bell means he gets to go outside and has started ringing it whenever he's bored and wants to go out to play. We are trying to bring him back in right away if acts like he just wants to play so he learns that it's only for the bathroom but it's rough. Sometimes he'll ring it as soon as you come back inside before you can even get the leash back off.

We have also had a little trouble with the cats this week. Even though we have been feeding them on separate sides of a gate I think having him around is making the cats rush. A couple of times Curry has thrown up from eating too quickly. While everyone seems to be getting along ok we think we need to build the cats a larger cat tower or some other places where they can feel safe from the puppy. I'm trying to think about the best place as well as possibilities for making something geeky and awesome like the cat condos below.

We also need to find a way to block the litter box off from Gil. We have a top entry box in the office but Baldur doesn't like to use it so the other box is just a regular covered litter box and Gil has been getting into it. I already wanted to put a counter of some sort in that space for folding laundry so maybe we can build a cabinet to hide the box there.

There will definitly be more pet related projects happening around our house. I hope to get some regular non-pet focused things done but right now, working towards a well mannered and well behaved dog that we can easily take camping or just out to the drive-in with us is top priority.

Child Shirt to Dog Shirt

This weekend we had another dog play date, taking Gil to my brother-in-laws to meet their German Shepard, Toph. She's not used to having other dogs in the house and is quite a bit bigger than Gil but everything went pretty well. They shared toys and treats so that was good. Gil also seems to be getting better with car rides because he didn't whine at all this trip.

We learned that he really likes frisbees and would rather fetch that than a tennis ball. I'm also excited because he's finally learning how to tell us he needs to go outside. We got a bell for our front door and he seems to be doing well ring that. Since he has a short coat and doesn't seem to like being out when it's chilly we decided to make him a shirt even though he will grow out of it soon so that we can start getting him used to it. At the same time, we didn't want to spend a lot of money so we used a child's t-shirt, Star Wars so that he looks super cool when riding around in the Imperial Truck.

Materials:

1 Kids T-Shirt (I used a size 2X)
Paper for pattern
Velcro
Thread to match shirt color

Step One: Measure your dog. 

You will need to know how long they are along the back, how big around the tummy, and around the neck. I had to get help to hold Gil still long enough to measure and even then he made it difficult by squirming around. Hopefully, as he gets older and better trained that sort of thing will become easier. His measurements were 13 on the back, 18 around his belly, and 10 around the neck.

Step Two: Make a pattern and test the size.

I used this tutorial from Sew Doggy Style to make my pattern. Again, I needed help to try it on because Gil didn't want to sit still.

Step Three: Align pattern with the shirt and cut out.

Measure the design on the shirt to find the center and fold the shirt in half. Try to line everything up so that the curve on the pattern matches up with the collar on the shirt.

Depending on the size you may need to make a few adjustments, I needed to add a bit onto the shoulders to make that pattern fit. You should be able to cut both the front and back at the same time. Be sure to add a little bit for the seam allowance.

Step Four: Cut and Sew Belly Straps

Use the extra fabric from the shirt to cut the straps. Sew the straps and turn them right side out. Iron flat.

Step Five: Sew Shirt

Place the right sides together and pin the straps in place. The straps will be inside. Sew most of the way around then turn everything right side out.

 I actually forgot to pin the straps in at this point and had to sew them on later. I figure since he will outgrow this shirt soon the seams showing isn't a big deal, plus he's always moving so no one is likely to notice. Iron everything flat and sew the opening closed. I decided to put the opening at the neck because it seemed like he'd be less likely to chew at the seam there but I'm not sure how much difference it really makes.

This shows where the straps should have been sewn on.

This is the front view of where I sewed them on after. You don't really even see it because the strap ends up under his belly.

Step Six: Add Velcro Closures

Sew velcro along either side of the neck opening and on either belly strap, making sure they overlap correctly.

Belly Straps

Neck Closure

Finished Shirt

After trying it on Gil it looks like I needed to overlap the straps more to make it really fit correctly but he still looked adorable. It just means he can still grow into the shirt a bit. We only left it on long enough to get a few pictures because he's never worn anything besides his collar. We can work up to longer times gradually to help him get used to wearing things.

You can really see how it's slipping down around his shoulders in the bottom pictures.