Discuss Making my 'reappearance' on IKEAFANS.com. We're Personalizing the IKEA Experience. Making my 'reappearance' - How'd you like a place to consult with your trusted forum friends about matters not entirely or necessarily related to kitchens or IKEA? Here it is! Use your discretion and remember that these forums are moderated and PUBLIC!.
Some of you may have noticed I've been absent from the boards for a while (or maybe not! ). I am making an effort at a 'comeback' so to speak, and thought I would offer an explanation.
This summer, I lost my two closest colleagues when they retired. One was my boss, for whom I had worked for over a decade. She was awesome. I could always count on her for a different perspective on a challenge, and sage advice. These losses hit me like a brick wall when I returned to work after vacation at the end of August. All of a sudden, I didn't want to be there anymore. I had zero motivation. I quickly realized that working from home in that state was very dangerous. As a result, I have been in the office full-time since the last week of August.
I have to say, I'm not finding it as difficult to get up early and barricade myself in my office downtown as I imagined it would be. Likely, that is tempered by the fact that
DS
and I now have brekkie together and she drops me off at the bus stop. However, the full day at the office coupled with the commute was leaving me totally exhausted at the end of the day.
Added to this is the fact we have been having ever-increasing problems keeping our dog in the yard. He has learned to scale the chain-link as it is. For the past week, we have had to tie him in the yard when we aren't physically with him, because he was also escaping when we were home, but not directly paying attention to him. Because of the ongoing sprucing-up in preparation for the (hopefully) eventual sale of our house, we haven't been able to spend much time with him, and he has been a very unhappy camper. At a loss for solutions, we ordered an electric fencing unit and will be installing it this weekend. We, and our neighbours, really hope it works.
The potential prospect of this wonderful country property coupled with the desire to 'drop out' of the workforce asap got us thinking outside the box, and we have come up with a plan. As a result, I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, and have a renewed energy for, well, everything. The best thing is, the plan works regardless of whether we get this property or not.
And, to those of you so inclined, please cross your fingers for us. We began the offer process for the 'retirement homestead' last night. Hopefully, we'll know within a week if we can agree on a price.
Martine
DS definition
DS can mean Dear Son, Dear Spouse or Dear Sister. You may need to ask for clarification, or read between the lines.
Martine, I did notice you were gone, and missed you! I sympathize with all the emotions that change brings. It is a process, and you're doing the best thing by being proactive and giving yourself options. Sometimes we need to get blasted out of our rut, sometimes we just fall out, but either way it brings some excitement, some stress, some exhilaration and some disappointment. But it's life, and meant to be lived through, and it will make you even more interesting as time goes by!
I feel for your poor pup...he's dealing with the same sort of issues, probably!
Welcome back, Martine! I thought you were just busy with the potential new house (and the wayward pup), but I'm very sorry to hear about the changes at work. Good luck with both dog and house,
BTW
.
Nice to "see" you again. I, too, figured you were busy with the new property. I can relate to that low period when colleagues depart . . . and I'm glad that you've come out with renewed resolve.
As for your dog - I think he REALLY wants to retire to the country!
Thanks to you all for the warm welcome back, and the good wishes.
What has happened with the dog is easy to explain: because of surgery he had to his knee in January, he had to be in the house 24/7 for 2 1/2 months. I also had to give him physio 3x daily and short walks 2 - 3x daily. Trying to minimize the fur mess, he was brushed almost daily, and got regular pedicures. He got used to the non-stop attention, and understandably wants it back.
What he really wants now is to be with us all the time. Unfortunately, my allergies prevent us from being able to have him be a full-time indoor dog. Besides, we don't use the AC in the summer and the house would be way too hot for him, and he doesn't 'do' stairs, and he's not allowed in the kitchen because he could just 'help himself' to anything on the counter, so his space on the ground floor would be limited.
If the fencing doesn't work, we have already decided we will actively try to find him a new family willing to take in a big, slobbery, lovable, mischievous but charming hound.
Hi Martine, and welcome back. I've been gone alot myself with my hours. I can't see why your electric fence wouldn't work. I know you mentioned it before, but when do you find out if your offer is accepted?
The electric fence might not work if he is able to 'take' the zap and rip the wire down. He's a big boy, and like most big dogs, very stoic. When he had blown his knee (both ligaments torn right through :shock the vet was moving his leg this way and that and he never even turned his head, even though the vet said it must be hurting like the dickens.
We picked up the rest of the supplies for the fence tonight, so we should be able to get it set up tomorrow, hopefully.
We sent the list of conditions by e-mail last night, and asked the agent to call us yesterday evening, or today, to discuss price. He mis-read and called this evening, when we were out running errands with a dying cellphone battery. We agreed to talk on Sunday. I'm sure there's going to be some negotiating back and forth, and it may take some time, like everything else with this deal. I'm trying very hard to be relaxed about it, since it will happen in it's own time.
When you say electric fence, are you talking about the kind that's above ground and zaps you when you touch the wire, or the kind that's buried in the ground and zaps the dog only when wearing the collar? We've had both. If it's the kind with the collar, it's really supposed to work as a training method. If your dog isn't smart enough to be trained, though, he might get out if the power goes out. Ours used to turn off when it rained, for some reason. Our smarter dog stayed in the boundaries, but our dumb dog would just wander outside because she habitually wandered over the boundary anyway. Also, if it is the collar type, make sure you check under the collar frequently. We tried a bark collar (also on the dumb dog - poor thing) and we thought it wasn't working because she was still barking. When we went to change the batteries, we found that she had severe burns. She had just been barking through the zap. It was really terrible.
If you're using the above ground fence, he may still be able to "take it." Daffy (I swear I didn't know what that meant when I named her - I was four) was large for a golden retriever, but not nearly as large as your dog. The electric fence recommended for dogs just wasn't strong enough to keep her from walking through it, dragging it with her. We upgraded to a cattle model, and that did work. It didn't however stop the boys in my class from touching it on dares.
Thanks for your post, Chabuchie. You've confirmed what our research told us.
What we're setting up later today is a true cattle fence, rated for 15 miles. At 150 lbs, with fur around his neck so thick you can't get to his skin, there was no way one of those 'invisible fence' systems with a collar was going to work. I initially called the supplier to order the scaled-down made-for-companion-animals electric fencing and it was the supplier who told me exactly what you did: it wouldn't stop our guy.
Yesterday, I did a search on the internet for more info and happened upon a story by a woman with a Border Collie. This is her story here. Thankfully, I don't think our boy is as bright as that one. He will learn to avoid the fence, so long as he gets a good zap the first few times.
LOL
Martine, that is the funniest story!! You know, our boxer, Max, is very smart at times, and then it's the little things that make you say, What an idiot, MAX! A section of our yard is sunk-in and the fence post is separated from the fencing, sunk down about 2-1/2 ft. Now, he could easily get under that fence but he won't because he's afraid it will touch him. We have a child safety gate that we just set somewhere that we don't want him to go and he won't come near it because it might fall over on him. But, just try to get him to move while vacuuming!! I have to push him out of the way. We thought we were real smart teaching him to ring the little cow bell to go outside to go potty, but he rings it for everything ...a squirrel, a neighbor, you name it).
We are the premier IKEA Kitchen Installer in Massachusetts. Our company offers complete in-house design service followed by an impeccable installation.
Custom. IKEA. Doors. The idea for Semihandmade came from a desire to offer the same craftsmanship we produce in our Los Angeles-based Handmade studio to a wider audience, at a lower price.
Our House ‘takes the pain’ out of the design and installation process by providing hassle-free service every step of the way. Serving CT and the greater NYC area.
). I am making an effort at a 'comeback' so to speak, and thought I would offer an explanation.
the vet was moving his leg this way and that and he never even turned his head, even though the vet said it must be hurting like the dickens. 
