How to Lay a Concrete Form Patio - Piluzo Archives #2

Hi, this is Gracie. Welcome to #2 in my How To series. This week we'll learn How to Lay a Concrete Form Patio.

First you need to convince your people that you NEED a new patio. Lay in the dirt and look like its KILLING you.

Sooner or later they'll get the idea and start talking about needing a nice new patio for everyone to lay on. Make sure you let them think its THEIR IDEA.

Their job is to install the patio.

Your job is to supervise the project.

After they round up all the stuff and prep the area, they'll make a huge mess and try to run you off. Ignore them and walk right in the middle of things if you feel you need to.

Make sure you check in on your people and keep them focused on the task at hand or it will never get done.

Supervise in shifts so the others can rest up.

Hello, People?? You're burning daylight...how many potty breaks do you guys need??

Make sure you don't get too hot in the sun. Wear sunscreen and make sure to flip over from time to time so you get an even tan.

It will get pretty hot in the afternoon, so make sure your people provide you with cold water and some ice cubes.

Remember, we learned 'How to Eat an Ice Cube' in our first How To episode.

Woops...

Once it gets hot you'll have to find a way to provide shade or your people will stop working on your new patio. 


This is critical to project success, so act like YOU'RE really hot and need extra shade and they'll figure it out eventually.

We had our people put up a tent for shade. 

Make sure you check the tent for safety and walk the perimeter like Pippin is. 

Sometimes people miss critical details like safety, so we have to stay on top of that for them. 

(If you look closely you can see me talking to Dad about the proper use of the tent) 

Check on your people to make sure they have proper tools and safety gear, like gloves. 

They should also drop everything at this point and pet you.















Check the work against the design details to make sure they are getting the pattern right.

Also inspect their work and point out any bricks that don't look like they're complete or up to your high standards.

Remember, you have to lay on this thing when they're done, so they need to do it right.

Its very important to remember to SIGN YOUR WORK! Make sure its where everyone will see it, too. Put your feet on a soft cement brick as its setting up and stand there for a few seconds. This way your pawprints show up, but nothing sticks to your feet.


Your people will want to think they did all the work, but without your supervision and direction the patio would never get put in, so make sure you receive proper credit for your efforts.

Well that's all for today. As you can see, putting in a patio is alot of hard work, but its well worth the effort!  Now that we have the patio work done we can invite some friends over.

Tune in next week for "How to Host a Playdate".

Thanks for watching!

Gracie, of the Piluzo Pack 

How to Eat an Ice Cube - Piluzo Archives #1

Hi, Gracie here.  Today we look at my very first article on How to Eat an Ice Cube. Ice cubes are a great snack on a hot day and now that its summer and we'd all like to cool off with an ice cube or two. 

The problem is that eating ice cubes is easy for humans but it can be pretty tricky if you are a tiny person, like me and the rest of our pack.  Here is a handy step by step on how to tackle the job. 

FIRST you need to get your mom or dad to put the cubes on the ground. I got my first one out of the water dish and that took FOREVER! 

Its much easier to pick the slippery little buggers up if they're on a patio.

Now find a good spot away from everyone and make sure you lay so you can see everybody all the time.

Ice Cube stealing can be a problem on a hot day, so you want to make sure no one swipes your cube.  They are hard enough to pick up without any distractions, you'll never hang on to it if someone tries to bump it out of your mouth.    

Shhhhh, the secret is to carry the ice cube in the front, like this.  That way no one can see that you have one.

You can carry it on the side, like a carrot, but its slick and will shoot out of your mouth when you least expect it and you'll loose it in the grass.

Woops...

Now that you have your grassy spot picked out, you have to figure out how to eat it. Its cold and slippery and shoots out of your mouth when you least expect it (see above). 

Also, people will steal it if you look away, so keep an eye on your ice until you figure out the eating part.

Make sure you taunt people with your ice cube, especially if you've figured out how to carry it before they do.

This is my sister Zoe.  Her eating technique is to head for the shade and lick hers.

It lasts longer that way, but I can't seem to get past 3 licks before I try to bite mine again.

My brother Luca is really big for an IG (Italian Greyhound), so he can just lean back and chew on his whole. 

Luca mows through the ice cubes pretty quickly this way.

My sister Pippin pins hers in the grass and gnaws on it. She probably gets more grass than ice with this technique, but I'm not gonna tell her that. 

Pippin is alot bigger than me and she'll lay on me if I taunt her too much.

I've tried all of these technique and this is the one that works the best for me. Throw your head back before it escapes and gnaw on it until it breaks.  

You'll have to round up all the pieces of ice once it breaks, but they are alot easier to eat than the whole thing at once.

Now, go ask your people for some ice and have fun!

A Brief Introduction

Hi, I'm Gracie.  Welcome to my new How To blog. Yes, an Italian Greyhound has her own blog.  

I used to write for my Mom when she had a collar business, but now I've started my own blog where you can read my helpful tips on "How To" do a ton of stuff that make your life alot easier.

More about me:  I am one of four Italian Greyhounds at our house, and we have a pretty good life.  We are spoiled by our parents, we have plenty of blankets to snuggle in and we have a beautiful garden to play in (and chase those evil squirrels).  

Every summer Mom and Dad do at least one new project to make our garden even better, and I make sure the work gets done safely and according to plan...the Italian Greyhound Plan, that is.

I am almost 8 years old now, so I've clearly done alot of project supervising and am very experienced at the whole 'How To" thing.  

The least I can do is share my knowledge and experience with you, so you can make sure your projects go as well as ours do.



I'll show you how to get your people to do things like make you a nice cement patio, teach you helpful tricks like eating ice cubes and show you the best way to host parties for your friends (I assume your friends are Italian Greyhounds).

If you are an Italian Greyhound like me, the  most important thing you can do is keep an eye on your people and give them pointers on how to do their work.

I'll also let you know how often you should take breaks, as watching your people work can be very tiring.






You'll see my sisters and brother in the blog posts as well (this is me with my sister Pippin).  We are a pack and do everything together, so you'll see us all pretty regularly.

The others have skills I don't have, so its very nice to have them help out on the blog. Pippin can open stuff that no one else can, and that is always a handy trick to have in your back pocket when you need it.  

We also take turns supervising Mom and Dad, because its exhausting keeping them on track.


So that's pretty much everything you need to know to get started.  I'll get my previous How To posts over on this site so you can read up, but before that I am going to lay in the sun and take a nap.

More soon!

Gracie