It's getting better all the time.

Conditions at 6:30 - pouring rain and 12*
Later - 14* and more rain - lots of it

Yesterday Lloyd called me at work to give me the same recipe I'd seen online to rid Cooper of the skunk perfume. He got it from Jan, who claimed it works well. I'd read several accounts on the web and some said it worked, some said it didn't. I think there are lots of factors that may affect how well it works - length of fur, size of dog, degree of coverage, etc.

So I stopped at Shoppers on my way home and picked up three bottles of Peroxide, to give it a try.

After eating supper, cleaning up, and doing a few little things around the house, I finally put on some old clothes to give him his second bath in two days. He's usually quite good in the bath, and it's handy having the hand held shower to rinse with but the peroxide, baking soda, soap mixture was cold and he was shivering and not a happy puppy while I washed him with it. Once I started rinsing him with warm water, he finally warmed up then just sat down in the tub and let me pour the water all over him. Of course, there's no easy way to get him dried off enough not to get water everywhere when he invariably shakes himself once out of the tub. Good thing my bathroom is all ceramic tile.

Once he was sufficiently shook, I let him out of the bathroom and turned on the gas fireplace in the living room. He has a fuzzy blanket in front of the fire and that's his favorite place to be when it's cold. So he spent the next little while in front of the fire and by bed time, he was all dry. I have to say, it worked. He even slept at the foot of my bed last night.

Now this morning it's raining out and I thought he might smell a bit after getting wet, but he hates the rain, and doesn't stay out long enough to get very wet. So all is well out here on the hill. Now he's lounging, nice and dry and much happier.

It's Friday and only two more sleeps till the walk. I'm a little short of my goal of $500 but I think $325 is a decent amount. Brenda advises that she's near her goal as well, so we've done well. I found out yesterday that two girls from work are going to participate as well but they plan to run. I told them I'd wave as they fly by. I don't know if the girls from Advancement are participating or not. I know they were thinking about it. We'll see just how many people we know when we get there. (well, I know Brenda will know lots, but I may know one or two!)

They're still calling for great weather so I hope that forecast holds. A couple were in yesterday at work who are also planning to do it and they said it can be VERY windy out there on the bridge. One of the guys suggested that I carry bricks to help hold me down, but I assured him that I had enough natural weight that it wouldn't be a problem. I knew those extra pounds would be useful one day.

I received an email from Fran. She and the other two girls have made their flight reservations for their trip here to watch curling. In true Fran fashion, all flights take place late in the day. No 6:00 am departures for her! And why not, they're all retired, so there is no rush to get where they're going. They will be arriving on February 17th and leaving on March 1st. I hope the weather cooperates a little during that time and we can get out and do some touring around. We'll have to see how it goes. At least I'll have my new studded winter tires on, so that will make getting around much easier. The next time I'm in the area of the Civic Centre I'll stop in and see if the tickets are there yet. I know they are reserved but just don't know if they are ready to be picked up yet.