yes, it's been a while.

so i know it's been a while since i've written anything. i call it, lack of inspiration...

until two days ago. i had a total FML (Ef My Life) moment.

i walked in the door, the smell was there. cold dog shit. i looked all around and instead found slimy dog vomit. start cleaning that up (after donning rubber gloves) and when almost complete i notice the second spot of old dog vomit. i wonder how we both managed to miss it and walked towards it, ready to clean. that's when i saw...the mother freaking load of dog vomit.

it was like a comedy at this point. i was waiting to turn yet another corner and find dog shit. thankfully i didn't. josie's acting fine, not out of sorts. i've started giving her smaller portions and so far, knock on wood, she's not had another incident since. 

yeah, it takes dog vomit to inspire me. what kind of a sick person am i?!?!

dog in jail

a few weeks ago we had ian and seth sutton from sutton landscape come and finish fencing off our backyard. lately josie's taken to wandering off when she's back there. we're good about keeping our eyes on her, but when gardening it would be easy for her to slip off to the front. not wanting her to get hurt chasing a neighbor cat (nor would i want jasper or butch to get hurt) we opted to finish off the fence behind the garage and put a large gate by the trellis. 

we didn't want a solid wood fence, as the backyard needs all the light it can get to make our garden grow. it turned out really fabulous. i couldn't be happier. 

josie can see out and lost of light can shine through. the artichoke is right there and how the sun hits it, a full wooden gate would have killed it. 

i love that josie can't wander off. also, both parts of the gate will open, the one that tends to be stationary can also lift off the hinges. the gate swings freely and easily. we didn't use self closing hinges and i'm 100% okay with that. sure, we have to remember to close the gate behind us, but i think we can do that.

why hello

meet Abe. he is my new friend. no, he does not live with me. i just met him this morning as he and his family were standing out front of the store. i rushed out to meet him and fell head over heels. his fam said they'd make sure to stop by again so we could see each other.

they kept saying how much he seemed to like me as he perched on my shoulder. he washed his face while sitting there. 

i am happy that they will bring him back around this summer. he had my heart the moment i saw him.

farewell adobo

when we moved into this house about two and a half years ago i met a little black dog named Adobo. she was spunky and funny and would ruuuuuuun to greet me when she saw me. that was until she realized i would tattle on her as soon as i realized she'd snuck out. and when she became cognizant of the fact she'd been caught she'd feign as though she was both deaf and lame.

she was the biggest eloper you ever did meet.

gate left open? SCORE!

10 foot fence? no problem.

this week she started moving much slower and her little 14 year old body decided it was no longer able to keep going. i got to see her a few more times, last night she even gave me a slight little wag of her tail.

i loved that dog.

with tears in my eyes and love in my heart i say, rest in peace Adobo...

four more sleeps and other orts

i am going to visit my sister and her family on friday. i can hardly wait to get my arms around my nephew. it will be the perfect ending to what promises to be an exhausting week.

i've been redesigning the office and it is now time to put the plan into action. that means, office is getting cleaned out, old furniture removed, new furniture purchased and constructed...all before wednesday's meeting which is at 1:00. i can do it!

knitting is going well, except for the fact when we walked in the door saturday night kev's first words as he opened the door were, "uh oh! you are not going to like this..." josie had pulled all the yarn out of the bag that held the blanket i am making for eli and family. josie basically pulls out the balls of yarn and tosses them in the air, which makes them all fall apart...so she gets the next one out until it's nothing but a mess. all in all there were four balls of yarn played with and only one had been broken (meaning the yarn was cut essentially). thankfully, she didn't put a hole in the blanket.

i have a different project to take with me on the plane since the blanket is to the size where it just wouldn't travel well (can't imagine knitting it on the plane really). and since i don't want to work on it in front of my sister and her family...it stays here so i can finish it and ship it before the holidays. she knows i'm making it, but she doesn't know what it looks like. man, it's turning out beautifully and i think she will adore it!!

pulse

i just got home from taking josie on about an hour long walk. we walked over to jill's house to see if she wanted to join us on a walk back to our house before running errands. we knew, when we arrived, the answer would be "later" because jill had paint in her hands and the window trim was all taped and ready.

we chatted with jill for a little bit, and jill shared this story:

background: we needed jill to feed the crew last night because we both worked closing shifts

"your dog is a smart dog! i walked in, she didn't bark. we all went downstairs and she sat down. i asked her 'oh, do the cats get fed first?' fed the cats. asked josie, 'bagged food or binned food?' and she sniffed the bag with her nose. then, she went upstairs and sat by the door waiting to go out. she peed and then i asked her, 'do you have to poo?' so she turned around and went poo. "

i'm impressed by josie so often, but this made my heart swell with pride.

after we chatted josie and i walked home. we popped (well, i did) into sweetness bakery to possibly get an iced latte. line was long! (yea!!) so i told kay i would see her later. she reminded me i had zucchini for her. i will take them by when i get jill.

now, i am cooled off, but need to get cleaned up. the air is already getting warm (hence the walk this morning). heat wave 2.0 is approaching.

quiet mornings

the house is getting going rather quietly this morning. a departure from yesterday. eli is with his mom in bed, getting fed. his dad is getting ready for yet another day at work. his uncle is sleeping still, while i am up making coffee and doing some light cleaning around here. today, i will remember to vacuum the house and wash the dog.

speaking of the dog...oscar has been my favorite dog for a long time, well favorite boy dog (sorry edgar). he is the reason i wanted a dog in the first place.

i remember the first time i met him my sister said, "he's a little wild and he will probably bark at you for quite a while, just ignore him." i walked in saying, "oscar oscar oscar" and he walked up, to me quietly, turned and barked at her. he and i have been friends ever since.

that was a long time ago. the old man is now eleven and a half(!) years old. i can hardly believe it when i watch him tear off through the backyard. but then, if we play too hard, the arthritus in the hips starts to act up and it's more evident. of course, the white mask doesn't make him look any more puppy like, but he still has faked people out.

he is a great dog with the baby. as soon as eli cries, oscar is up and by his side. he listens when we tell him no licking the baby. he moves out of the way when asked. he's just a great dog. i will miss him when we leave town tomorrow. i will miss all of them when we leave.

i miss them already...

i smell like a dog

i'm sitting on the couch, watching some silly and stupid tv program. josie is resting quietly on the floor by my feet. all of a sudden, she jumps up with her nose held high in the air. she starts walking around the house this way. i think to myself that somebody must have gotten sick and as soon as i stand to investigate, i realize that i smell it as well.

i swear, i have the olfactory system of a dog.

seconds

what you see is josie's bedding where i set it while chatting on the phone with my sister. i can't go downstairs while on my phone, it disconnects.

anyway, it took simon mere seconds...

i got home!

i got home last night and fed the trio. they were happy to see me, well happy that a human with thumbs and the ability to hold the measuring cup was home to put food into their bowls.

i made myself keep my jacket and shoes on and took josie for a half hour walk when she was done. two poops later and we were home, snuggled up and feeling grand. i must do that more often when it's lovely out.

today is starting off a grey day. who knows if the sun will burn through. right now, it looks doubtful.

i am not feeling inspired, or inspirational, today. i blame it on the grey.

thanks babies

I am a lucky woman. Not only did I meet and marry someone who I truly love with everything I have, but together we get to share our home and lives with three of the most special animals.

Take this very instant. I am sitting in my beautiful kitchen, listening to Coldplay, with Simon on my lap as we wait for Kevin to come home with dinner. He just pressed his head up into my face, getting a squished kiss from me, holding his it there for quite a bit of time before laying down with his front paws just barely on the edge of the table.

Josie was standing at alert, knowing that soon she'll hear the sound of the car pulling into the drive. Now she's lowered her head and just keeping us company.

Chloe had been up here with us too, but is now off on some adventure.

All three give me something uniquely their own, and even though I can't put what that something is in words, but I feel it. I know that most of the eyes around here know exactly what that feeling is.

I know I am lucky and say thanks babies. I love all of you!!

it's coming doooown

Every single time it snows, ever since I met Jill and she introduced me to the band... I have one particular song that runs through my brain. Trip Shakespeare, Snow Days.

It really is coming down today. Just like the weather folks predicted. I woke to snow falling, I sit here at my desk with snow falling outside. Dinner plans have been canceled (for the safety of those invited over) and other plans are in the works (the boys who live across the street need to eat).

I've been flitting through the house taking photos as Kev's been making breakfast (mmm, pancakes and bacon).

Our favorite by far is this one of Simon and Josie...



okay, breakfast is ready

snow day

I got up this morning with the intention of driving to our store at a mall in Hillsboro. It's on the other side of the city from where I live so it takes a little time. My co-worker was supposed to come and pick me up, but after I woke and saw the snow I was not surprised by her call asking me and my four wheel drive Subie to do the driving. Not a problem.

I called my boss as I got gas because it was really coming down on our side of the city. He said it was not bad out his way (he lives near the store at the mall). Off to my friends house to pick her up. We were driving right along, snow blowing around us, when our visibility dropped drastically. I handed her my phone and asked her to go ahead and call our boss.

He and I spoke, after I've pulled over in preparation for taking her home, and decided to not open today. I then called the mall office and left a voice mail saying as such.

The drive back to her house was not that bad. The snow had seemed to let up a bit in that area, but the roads did feel a little slicker. I popped in, met her husband (who was real nice and easy goin'...I see game nights in our future), smooched on her dog, scritched the two cats ears and called the people who were scheduled to go into work today to tell them to stay home and be safe. My favorite response, "what? I don't have to go to work? That rocks!" I told her happy snow day, but be prepared for work tomorrow.

Of course if it's not cleared up at all, we may end up making that call again.

The drive home from her house was a bit rocky at times, but when I got home I called my parents and thanked Dad for teaching me how to drive in this mess. Now I've got my jammies on (well, at least the lounge pants) and am waiting for our neighbor to text back whether they are coming for tiny pies or not.

I leave you with a site I just walked in on...

i could've laughed all night

This is why I love Simon so. He's totally chill. Kev was pulling the molting fur off of Josie's hind legs. He started fashioning little toupees for Simon. That cat just sat there for the longest time with each new do. I finally ran up to get the camera and man, am I glad I did.

This is his mo-hawk from the side. The one from the front, well, the black dog acting as a background kind of made his fancy toupee hard to see.

I laughed so hard that I cried big fat tears. Kev did too.

Thanks Simon...

rest in peace barbara

We just got a call from Kev's mom saying that their dear kitty Barbara Frietchie has left this world. She was a good old girl. Not a nasty bone in her tiny little body. Nothing more than a few scritches made her happy. The neighbor's dogs... She didn't deserve to go like that. She was the sweetest old gal I ever did know.

Rest in peace Babs, we will miss your sweet little face...

good morning

I was met by this beautiful creature this morning as I was taking my coffee cup into the kitchen. The image is taken with an extreme zoom as well as through a window screen. But yes, our backyard is a virtual Disney movie!

Directly to the right of the chair was a squirrel. It seems as though they were having a bit of a face off (they are near the bird feeder).

I had to actually stop and do a double take before I realized there was a small hawk sitting on the chair. Then I backed out as slowly as I could, hoping I could grab the camera before it flew away.

constant companion

Josie is a funny girl. She pretty much is my dog in the mornings, unless she's pulled an all nighter and decides to go back to bed (sometimes I tell her to go back to bed, too).

But normally, her position is under my desk while I have breakfast in the morning. I'm not complaining in the least. I love my constant companion. This morning, she even came downstairs with me while I put a load of laundry in. Just to stand near me...

Don't let the tag on her collar fool you. It may say Daddy's Girl, but she's really a Mama's Dog on many occasions. And honestly, nothing makes my heart sing more than when she's following me around, just to lay near me. No poking of me with her cold, wet nose. Just the need to be near.

I heart Josie...

my dog's a jerk

Okay, perhaps she's not intentionally being a jerk, but she is still a jerk. I went in the bedroom to check myself in our full length mirror. And who should I see all curled up on my side of the bed, using my pillow? Jerk.

I'd be really upset if she weren't so damn cute.

It's just, I wish that could be me in bed still. I'm just jealous. I know I'm turning that jealousy into name calling...

jerk.

have you ever?

I was going through photos tonight on my computer when I ran across this one. Yes, your eyes are correct, you do see a squirrel laying on it's stomach motionless. How do you know it's motionless? Well, because it is in focus, nothing is blurred, not even a hair on it's tail.

I remember this day. As soon as Josie alerted me to the squirrel, I grabbed the camera and took a photo. I text messaged our neighbor, Bret, to tell him I think Nutsy was in our tree acting weird.

I exited my house to see if I could get closer, and I sure could.

Bret came out to meet me and see Nutsy, but as soon as he came up the driveway, Nutsy got up and zipped off. I still think the photos is pretty damn funny. I've never seen a squirrel laying on it's belly. It wasn't even that hot of a summer day...

every morning

Without fail every morning my dear Chloe will come up to me as I sit in front of the computer eating my breakfast and drinking my coffee. She will stand on her back legs, front paws on my leg. She chirps. She chirps until I reach down and scratch her back. Only then is she happy. Of course, she does this repeatedly in the morning until I tell her she's had enough.

This is the face I get to see every single morning...

I rake my fingers up and down her spine and she just purrs. I look at her and think, "she can't be 11 years old." She acts more and more like a kitten each and every day.