One of my biggest worries before we brought Niva home was that she wouldn’t get along with Malcolm. I’ve heard that Siberian huskies and cats aren’t a good mix because huskies have a high prey drive for small animals. It was definitely a gamble to bring Niva home to a cat without knowing how she or Malcolm would react, but we had a few things going for us:
- Niva is a very submissive dog
- Niva is a puppy
- Malcolm is a very friendly cat
- Malcolm has been raised with dogs
It’s totally true that Siberian huskies have a high prey drive. They are also pack-oriented dogs. I think Niva saw Malcolm as part of her pack when we brought her home, so she doesn’t hunt him.
If you’re considering bringing a husky (or any breed of dog, really) home to a cat or vice versa, I would take into account each animal’s age and temperament before making any decisions. It’s definitely possible for cats and huskies to live together, and it’s amazing to watch them play and live in peace and harmony when they do!
Okay, onto our back patio renovation progress. I wish I had more before pictures, but I snuck into my archives and found this one below from a post I wrote in 2014(!). Our back patio area had wooden railing and a canopy with wooden beams and a ceiling made out of…. I don’t know?!
We eventually took the old canopy down and would put up the one below when we had gatherings at our house.
Jimmy took down the old railing and posts and put up steel beams.
He then painted the beams, made and painted new railing, and added some landscaping.
Then, it was onto the canopy! It looked like this on Saturday before the boys got to work.
It looked like this last night while we ate dinner outside for the first time in a long time!
Next, we will be working on a little outdoor kitchen area. Can’t wait!
Living My Full Life 
Your patio and canopy look lovely! How nice to have different outdoor spaces where you relax, read and eat outside. I love American-style porch swings — they’re not really a thing in the UK.
Thank you so much, Grace! I had no idea American-style porch swings weren’t really a thing in the UK! What do you guys use to sit outside for leisure in the summer?!
For people who have gardens, they will usually have some kind of garden furniture and often a canvas gazebo for shade. I’m typing this sitting outside on the lawn on my sun-lounger — very comfy!
Gotta love that steel worker talent way to go Jimmy!
Love You Dad
🙂
Amen! He is so talented!
I think painting the beams black did wonders! Made it look so high end compared to a more “off the shelf look” that the original color ones. I’m a big fan of painting things to make them make your style.
I’m in process of painting a dresser! I started it last weekend then haven’t done much since it’s been so humid. Hopefully the humidity will drop so I can finish it this weekend.
Yay! Thank you, Maureen! I totally agree that the black paint really amplified the look 🙂
I want to see photos of the dresser when you finish! This humidity is pretty unreal lately, huh?!
It was finally low enough to paint without me being worried it would dry weird! Now I just have to decide what to do with the knobs – either keep as is or paint them something brighter
Oooh fancy! It came out really nice
Thank you, Shelly!! We are loving it, especially now that it’s mostly done 😉
Wow!! It’s looking great!
Also, I love that Malcolm and Niva get along so well!