Movin' on Up...and Up....and Up!

We should have named Cate "Houdini," because she's quite the escape artist; in fact, that's probably how she came to be a stray in the first place. We've had to keep her on a long chain every time she's in the back yard, because otherwise she climbs up the Giant Ugly Slope (GUS), goes under the fence at the very top, and wanders into neighboring yards. This, in turn, causes us--usually me, because it always seems to happen when Bear is at work--to have to hike up the sucker, crawl under the fence, chase her down, and tote her mischievous butt back down. And then, a week or two later, I'm stupid enough to let her off the chain for a second again, and off she goes! That tiny dog-shaped speck at the top right would be the Queen of the Hill herself:


In case you couldn't guess, this process ranks somewhere between having the Mentos theme song stuck in my head, and having a cavity drilled, on the Scale of Things I'd Rather Not Do. So, after the fifth or sixth time of going through this, I decided--stop reading now, Bear's Mom--to haul some black poultry netting up there and seal off the entire perimeter of the fence, all the way up to the top. This took approximately 375 hours, because it was a highly annoying process that required MacGyver-style rigging after I ran out of wire ties, and when it was finished, I felt like this:


But, alas, the pup is now safely contained in our back yard and can frolick freely (though not as freely as she would like, I suppose). Let the neighbors rejoice!

Also on the topic of movin' on up...

• I am now a week away from completing my 9th of 10 master's degree classes. Yippee!
• My awesome jobshare partner has officially agreed to continue our contract next school year, which puts an end to my inner angst over whether I'll be forced to go back full-time or work with some evil shrew, and which would be worse. This means another year of kindergarten, which isn't ideal, but it's growing on me!
• The nursery debacle has been settled once and for all: we're waiting to paint until after Cubby Two is born. We like the Cherry Blossoms and the Mod Turtles best, which have no colors in common at all, and for once in our uber-responsible lives, we're choosing cuteness over preparation. Pixley/Tokay will be in our room for the first several months, anyway, so it doesn't matter THAT much. (Check back with me on this when we have a baby, a toddler, a puppy, and an unpainted nursery.)
• We're finally about to paint over the generic shade of Blah in our hallways and entryway, which will complete Operation: Make the Areas Company Will See Look Pretty and Let Everything Else Slide for Now. Coming soon: Belgian Sweet (medium to dark brown), which will be a lovely complement to the candy playroom. Hey, I need SOMETHING to do if we're not painting the nursery...I'm itching to paint!