Wordless Wednesday.....Lunchtime Walk

Who Let The Dogs Out....

and allowed them to totally destroy our back yard? Well, I guess Irv and I let them out, but we sure as heck didn't tell them to trash the yard.

When we just had Sparky and Wrigley, they would run around the yard and play with each other. It was cute and they got some exercise.

When we got Maggie...everything changed. First of all, just like with people....three is a crowd, and poor little Sparky was the odd girl out. Maggie and Wrigley became the best of friends and played together all of the time....and let me tell you...those two dogs know how to play.

We have a big tree is the back yard and they run and run and run.....around and around and around the tree and the yard. They play tag and hide and seek and every other game imaginable and the result is........our grass is about gone!

Irv tried to seed it and lay straw down. Oh, they loved that! The straw became part of the game. Not only did they have it all over the entire yard, but they ate it too. When Irv watered it, they liked it even more. Dogs + Mud = Happy!

Today Irv went and bought more dirt, more seed and........fencing. We WILL have grass again one way or another!

Utah Camping

Matt and his girlfriend, Rebecca and their dogs, Moki and Luna went camping in Utah for almost a week. They had a fantastic time. They made it their goal to never look at a clock the entire time they were gone. It was even getting dark when they were coming back from one of their hikes because they were having a great time and had no idea how long they had been gone. I thought I would share some of his pictures with you.

Not sure what Rebecca was attempting to be here, but it's a cute picture and what a great little spot!

Matt said that these formations went on forever....you could just keep walking and walking. Isn't it awesome?


Little Moki taking a peak outside. They really did have to be careful with her because of her size. She would have made a tasty snack for a big bird or a wild animal.

Matti and his faithful friend and travel companion, Luna.

So pretty....makes me want to take a trip out there.

These three longhorns came charging at them. Matt said it was pretty scary. They came really close to them and then just took off. They were sweatin' a bit after that encounter!

I'm a dog, I'm a workin' dog, I'm a hard workin' dog....wasn't that from Sesame Street or one of those shows? Every time I see Luna with her backpack on I think of that song!

Moki travels in a variety of carriers, but this is the new one they bought especially for this trip. Sometimes she would sleep inside and sometimes she would peek her head out. Here she is just "hangin" out" HAHA and posing for a picture.

Could you imagine doing this? Uh, I think I would have to skip this move!

I love this one!

Make it a really great day and be sure to do something really nice for yourself!

LOVE

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I hope that you are able to share the day with someone that you absolutely adore! I will be heading out for breakfast with my guy this morning.

I am really excited because no longer will I be wracking my brain trying to figure out what earth shattering, deep and awe inspiring topic to write about. Nope, no more. See on Friday I wrote about dishwashers....and I just have to laugh! Twenty people commented on that post....the most I've ever had. So, from here on out, I am only writing about appliances. We will cover them all...washers, dryers, microwaves, refrigerators, stoves....you name it...we are going to talk about it. I'm just kidding of course, but I did think that was pretty darn funny!

Just thought I would share some LOVE with you today.

Here is a new tote bag I just finished. I hope to get it listed in my etsy shop, FourDogDay some time today. It will be a great one for the beach or a trip to the library or to the store. I LOVE this fabric. I had made a vendor apron out of it and had some left, so I thought I would use it up!

This is our little Sparky. Sparks will be 13 years old next month. I can't believe we have had her that long. Sparky LOVES to be warm and she LOVES the sun. As you can see, we flip the cushions on the chairs up to keep hairy dogs off of them, but when she saw that sun shining on that chair, she just jumped right up and made herself comfy. She didn't need the cushion. I let her bask in the warmth....she's a little old lady and she sometimes gets to do what she wants.

Here is Maggie looking out the front window. She is waiting patiently for the LOVE of her life to come back from running his errands yesterday. I just LOVE the way she hangs her paws over the back of the couch!

Have a really wonderful day today. Do something nice for yourself and for those you LOVE. Happy Valentine's Day Irv! I LOVE you!

Oh Happy Day!

Well as crazy as the weekend was, Monday made up for it. What a great and productive day filled will all kinds of good stuff!

I started out doing my yoga and it felt good. It's getting easier each time I do it. Then I took the dogs for a mile walk. We all enjoyed that even though it was cold and damp. We had some of that freezing frost stuff this week and some of the bushes and trees are still a bit white. They look so pretty.

Back home for breakfast and some clean up and a phone call to Comcast. When we disconnect our cable TV on Saturday to get Dish Network, we will be left with just Comcast Internet. That means our special little rate goes up to the ridiculous regular rate. I didn't want my special little rate to go up so I pleaded my case to three different people and my rate will stay the same for six months and then it will go up. I figured by then maybe something else will be available out here where I live, if not, I pay the higher rate. Oh well.

Then it was etsy time. I put on my Adam Lambert CD and got to work. I listed this pillow in FourDogDay.....

and this new Itsy Bitsy Tote Bag too. Kind of a fun one.

I am still using up fabric that I have on hand for these, and that is so awesome....especially after working on my taxes this weekend and seeing how much I spent on material this year! OUCH! I have two other Itsy Bitsies done and they are my absolute favorites so far. I'll show them to you as soon as I get them photographed.

I even managed to iron all of my clothes for the week today so I don't have to worry about that every night. I hate it when I don't iron and have to do it on a nightly basis. Such a pain! Do you iron?

What do you keep busy with in the middle of January? It's back to work for me today, but I love the four day work weeks!

Make it an awesome day and be sure to do something nice for yourself today!

Clean Up Time

Well, it is the New Year and that means it's clean up time. We took down the tree and decorations and cleaned up that mess. Then we moved some dressers and shelves around to give me more room in my workshop to store things and then we cleaned up that mess. Then I decided to tackle my file drawers....that was a very BIG mess to clean up. See, I never removed the stuff from 2008, then had no room for 2009 and just stacked that wherever I could find room. Then I dug into my very old, very slow running computer and cleaned that out too! From there I went into the kitchen and cleaned out some cans and boxes that were way past their "safe to eat" date and tossed those. Next I uploaded a bunch of stuff in my camera to clean that out too!

I didn't photograph any of the clean up, but I can show you some pictures that were in my camera.

Here is a silly little primrose that has somehow managed to survive since last spring in my office at work. This is what he looked like after my six days off.

I gave him a big drink of water and here is what he looked like the next day. He just doesn't quit! He is such an inspiration. :)

We were sitting in the drive through at Starbucks on Thursday morning and I took this rather blurry picture of the icicles on the building next door. There are icicles everywhere right now because of our fluctuating temperatures. If I can, I will try to take some other ones to show you. Some of them are pretty amazing...including the ones hanging off my own roof!

This is Michael and Bernadette's Australian Shepherd, Teagan. Isn't she beautiful?

Whenever we see her, she gets so excited that she smiles just the biggest toothy grin you would ever want to see. I have tried so many times to get a picture of her smiling, but while she is smiling she is also jumping and wiggling and wagging her entire back half and the pictures never turn out. This is what I got while trying on Thursday.

I just love this! I can't wait to show this one to Michael and Bernadette! She looks like she's meditating! Hmmmmmmm.....

Here is my newest tote bag. I will be listing it today. I just loved this fabric. The lining looks blue in the picture, but it's really purple. I would love to keep this one, but I already kept one and I have a rule about that. NO KEEPING THE MERCHANDISE!!

Today I will be making a couple more totes for FourDogDay. If my clock parts come, I will be finishing three little desk clocks I made.

I will also be taking inventory of everything in our cabinets and freezer and making our menu for the week based on what we already have. We start our new budget plan on Friday when we get paid, and I want to see if we can stay under $150 a week at the grocery store. I am only allowing $150 a week for food and household items AND our weekend carryout. If we want carryout....we have to spend very wisely. I know we can do it.

Well, that is about it for today. Make it an awesome day today!

He's Home

Matt arrived at 9:00 last night. He drove 8 hours on Monday afternoon and evening to get himself over the mountains and a little past Denver. That left 14 hours for yesterday. He managed to beat the bad weather and his trip was uneventful....just the way mommy likes it.

There were some nice big hugs, we introduced Luna and Maggie, Matt had a bowl of vegetarian chili and then off he went to see his brother. He stayed overnight at Michael and Bernadette's house and was heading out this morning to do some shopping.

Irv and I both took today off. My plan is to put on some Christmas music and do some baking. The weather is suppose to be nasty, so I'm happy to stay inside. Irv has some shopping to do. Rebecca's (Matt's girlfriend) flight comes in at 3:00 p. m. tomorrow. We are hoping the weather will be okay by then. That will also mean one more dog introduction.

Smile, be grateful for all that you have, hug someone you love, enjoy your day and I will chat with you soon.

Holiday Preparations

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I started cleaning the house and when it was time to take a little break, I made some hot chocolate and an English Muffin, put on some Christmas music and watched the snow fall. Then it was back to work.

In the afternoon, Irv and Bernadette met at the local park to introduce their Aussie Teagan to our little Maggie on "neutral " ground. It went well. Four dogs familiar with each other....now just two more to throw into the mix next week!

Bern wanted place mats for her dining room table. She found a tablecloth and napkins in the fabric she wanted, but no place mats. She didn't want a tablecloth, but the smart little girl bought it along with the napkins and decided to make her own. She brought the fabric over and we figured out what size she wanted and how many she could get out of the tablecloth. She left and headed over to the fabric store to get the fabric for the backs and the thread. She'll get it all washed and dried tonight and as soon as we can, we'll get together, get them cut and sewn. The fabric was awesome and they will look fantastic when she gets them done.

After that I sat and put the finishing touches on the menu for Friday's dinner. We will have eight people.....two are vegetarians and one is gluten free...so coming up with something yummy for everyone is fun and challenging.

I ended up with pork roast, roasted new potatoes, cheese and potato pirogi from a great deli, a broccoli cheese casserole if I can find gluten free cream of mushroom soup....if not, broccoli with toasted garlic and hazelnuts, roasted Brussels sprouts with pecans and a wonderful green salad. I am hungry just thinking about it.

We'll have lots of snacks, and I'm going to get some packages of gourmet hot chocolate in a variety of flavors and a great big jar of marshmallow fluff!!

Today we will be buying baby food and other baby things to add to the bags for our local food pantry. Haven't bought that kind of stuff in about 26 years!

Matti and Luna will be leaving Telluride early Tuesday morning. He will stop somewhere for the night and then finish the journey on Wednesday. I can't wait for him to get here. His girlfriend, Rebecca, is flying in on Christmas Eve. We are hoping for good weather so her flight gets in on time. We'll pop some pizzas in the oven and chat the evening away......

Is anything better than this time of year? I don't think so.

Oops.....

Saturday was a long day of shopping with just "some" success. I would have liked more, but I am a patient woman, so what I didn't find today.....I will find another day.

What I did find was my other pair of $14.99 drapes, my 12 forty-nine cent candle holders, 6 forty-nine cent dish towels, a darling white lantern for $5.99, 100 votive candles for $3.99, 3 black matted picture frames for a few my favorite pictures of Matt's for $5.00 each and some very awesome fabric for a secret project I am going to start....if it turns out...I will be making these for my etsy shop FourDogDay. I will show you when it's done. I am SOOOO excited. Saw it in a magazine and had to have one!!!

I will share photos of all of my goodies with you soon, but I decided to share some other photos with you first. We have been leaving sweet little Maggie, our newly adopted border collie mix out of her crate when we run out for a couple of hours to see how she does. So far, things had been going well. Today, I think we exceeded the amount of time that she will nap and quietly entertain herself with her toys and bones. Read on.....

The dogs all greeted us at the door when we walked in and the first thing Irv said was, "She has fuzz all over herself." As he let the dogs out, I walked into the kitchen and saw this....that would be feathers on the kitchen floor. I don't pluck geese in my kitchen, so feathers on the kitchen floor can never, ever be a good thing.

Backtrack......we had these two big throw pillows that Tresa gave us when she changed her decor. Here is one of them....nice pillows, probably not cheap.....


Right after we got Maggie, she managed to chew two of the corners of one of the pillows, but only the cover and not the feather filled insert.....do you get where this is going??????

Yep, you guessed it! She completed what she had started!

Can you believe that many fluffy little feathers came out of only 1/2 of that pillow?

So, we scooped up as much as we could as they billowed around the room, vacuumed up the rest, had to shake out all of the dogs blankets and afghans and vacuum the couch. Even when she came in from playing outside for 45 minutes, she still looked like a dog that was turning into a goose with little white feathers sticking out all over her black fur! I would have liked to have seen her face when she got the end open and the feathers started pouring out.

I'm sure Wrigley was sitting in the hallway, away from the action saying, "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! You are in some BIG trouble my friend!

Maggie and the Stairs

Monday after work Irv decided to go down in the dungeon (which is what we call our nasty old basement) and start straightening up. This would be the beginning phase of the huge dejunking project. Wrigley followed him down, but Maggie stood at the top of the stairs watching. She wanted to go down, but just couldn't do it. We had no idea she didn't know how to walk down a flight of stairs! We have 3 stairs off the deck to the back yard and she never had a problem with those, but this was different.

She would put her front feet on the top step and get really low....and then nope, back up she went. Then she would do it again, and again and again. I quickly realized this was going to be one of those funny moments and I grabbed my camera and headed down the stairs. Wrigley even went back up to see what the heck the problem was.

Coming down.....

Nope.....going back up.....

Coming down.....

I stood down below calling her and trying to coax her down with a treat. She would go down a few stairs and the turn around and go back up...each time staying as low to the stair as she could get. It must have looked less scary that way. Then Sparky had to come and take a look!

Again......

And again.....

I should have counted how many times she tried. Each photo you see is another attempt, and there were many that were so fast, I couldn't even get a shot in. She would go down three or four and then change her mind and turn around and run back up. Then she would do it again...one, two, three, four....low to the ground....nope, turn around and back up the stairs she would go.

Finally she started down...still staying low and got within three stairs of the bottom....I thought she had it, but nope.....back up she went.

One more try.....

Success!!!!

She looked so darn funny with her front legs spread out to keep herself close to the steps, I had to laugh. Now they are chasing each other up and down the stairs!

Make it a good day for yourself!