Meet our new baby Hazel

The past six weeks have been very, very hard. Our beloved dog Chowder died unexpectedly... I broke my tail bone... Our car got broken into and our computer and a bunch of cash stolen, including my green card, driver's license, credit cards, social security cards... Our oldest son left to attend Skagit Valley College one and a half hours away...

Life's a bitch, and then you get a puppy.

We’ve had our fur ball for a couple of weeks, and she has already wiggled and sqeezed her tiny little self into all our hearts. It’s very easy to love her, what with that face:

Her name is Hazel, she is currently 10 weeks old, and she’s a Shi Tzu like our sweet Chowder was.

Our dog Raka is warming up to her, which is a miracle because Hazel has very, very sharp little teeth, and she likes to grab Raka’s ears with them.




What has exponentially increased since we’ve had Hazel:

- Pee stains on our carpet

- Laughter in our house

- Hysterical shrieking from people when they pass her and notice me carrying her in a front pack

- The time spent knitting warm little sweaters for her

- Likes and thumbs-ups on Facebook and Instagram

- My anxious looks into the sky and heart rate when I watch for predators when she goes potty outside

- Girls in Eva's class asking for playdates




We picked her up in Wenatchee, a three hour ride over a mountain pass. On the ride home she bonded with various family members on our laps.  The kids got to skip school for the event.  

School, schmool… Picking up a new family member is much better education than anything, don’t you agree?

Hazel has participated in all of our lives like a pro: excursions to the beach, apple cider pressing, hikes in the mountains… She’s a trooper, and has to be in order to fit into our family. 

I'll leave you with something puppy-unrelated. In the midst of all the hard stuff that happened, I managed to escape to our friends' yurt in Port Townsend, a lovely seaside town.  It was my intention to relax, rejuvenate, and nourish myself.  On the way there, I got a huge ticket because our truck tabs were expired...

Sigh... It can only get better from here, right?

Let me go hug my puppy.