Firsts for Ursa

On the new University flex time plan, I had Friday as a paid day off. Yippy! I had planned to get all sorts of things done, but of course, that didn't happen. What I did manage to do was get Ursa over to the vet for her next batch of vaccinations. In the one week exactly between visits, she went from 13.3 to 14.9kg. I swear, you can practically watch her getting bigger. She got her temperature taken again, which she isn't thrilled by, another injection which didn't seem to bother her and one tube of goop squirted up her nose. Thank god she's so easy going - she doesn't like any of this at the time, but she doesn't hold a grudge!

I'd hoped to spend the rest of the afternoon packing for our camping trip, but instead I made an emergency run to Walmart for a portable upholstery cleaner and used it to clean puppy vomit out of the car. The good news is two-fold: 1) that Bissell Little Green cleaner works wonders and I don't know how I've lived without one and 2) she hasn't been sick since then, so hopefully her car anxiety is fading...

In the end, Stuart and I kind of ran through the house, tossing anything that looked camping related into the trailer. We missed a few things, but nothing vital, so I think we did pretty well. We hit Peter's on the way out of town for dinner and were on the highway by 6ish. The highway was surprisingly empty and we had a very pleasant drive out to Dinosaur Provincial Park.

The weather was great all through Friday night and Saturday; warm, light breeze, sunny with enough clouds scudding over to provide some relief. Stuart had nabbed us a great spot - lots of trees and right next to the potties. There were only two things that diminished the perfection: the mosquitos apparently all hatched on Friday and the cottonwood poplars were releasing their seeds. It was like being in a continuous warm snowstorm. All in all, it made for an itchy, sneezy sort of weekend. We had a great time though - took Ursa for several little walks, let her wade in the stream and be petted by lots of people and generally laid around camp reading or snoozing.

Naturally, our idyll was interrupted by rain on Sunday morning, but I stayed in bed (sleeping bag!) while Stuart went out for his long run. He was back early with a back spasm and it was still raining, so we took the hint and packed up for the drive home. The highways were empty again and we made good time. The new trailer turns out to be a dream to drive with, even I didn't have any troubles. (We spent so much time answering questions about both Ursa and the trailer that we both felt we should be getting paid for all the promotional work!)

Ursa was pretty filthy from the campground and we were home in good time, so yesterday she got her first Canadian bath. Thank god she's still small enough, we popped her in the tub and went to town. I don't think she enjoyed it, but she did hold admirably still and let us get it done. Neither the shampoo nor the trim were professional quality (her muzzle is a bit lopsided) but she doesn't care and we'll all get better with practice. Her traction on the hardwood is definitely improved when we trim all the carpet between her toes!

I'm still a bit sniffly today and Stuart is in some pain, but all in all it was a pretty good weekend.