Sometimes You Just Want a Lap Dog

Last week I watched the puppies from next door. They are cute, sweet puppies and small enough you can let them sit in your lap or carry them around. After spending time with them, I sometimes wish I could shrink down my two babies so I could cuddle with them while watching TV or something similar.

I mentioned it to Phillip how I wish I could shrink my pups down. He said that we didn't need to shrink them and proceeded to pick up Skittles and put her on his lap. Robyn followed suit and Jasmine was a lap dog too. Poor Skittles was confused because she knew she was not supposed to be on the sofa. Looking at them on the sofa was a little different from what I imagined a lap dog to be, but hey it worked.

Dog Park

We are happy we have a dog park in the community. It opened last spring and it is a nice space for the puppies to run and act goofy. There isn't much shade, so we avoid it when it is hot. Today was a nice day to go to the park. There were just enough dogs to make it interesting, but not too many that things could get out of hand. Jasmine and Skittles had a great time. Everyone told Jasmine how beautiful she was (like her ego needs stroking) and Skittles received lots of pets and rubs. Life was perfect. As soon as the Saints game started, the park emptied fast. I found that very amusing.

A Tick !!!

Never let it be said that Phillip and I have great eyesight. Tonight, I was rubbing Skittles tummy. I saw this black thing. It looked like a tick. From all angles, it was a tick. I got Phillip. Same diagnosis. We got Robyn. She worked at a pet shop so she was the family expert. While I googled "tick removal" Phillip and Robyn discussed their options. Skittles was thrilled to have so many people giving her attention and giving her love. We got the glass of alcohol to kill the tick ready and the trust tweezers were in hand. Phillip tries to grab it but cannot get a good grip. Robyn starts to think it was not a tick after all. She takes hold of the tweezers and pulls off...a glob of dirt. I am thinking it must have some pine tar mixed in with the mud because it did not break down even spending the night in the glass of alcohol. So there you have it. Phillip and I are blind and Skittles got her attention. Her plan worked.

So Very Sad

Poor Skittles is ruled by her tummy. She is a true member of this family. She sits and waits patiently while anyone eats. Maybe someone will take pity on her and throw her a crumb. Occasionally, the aroma and the sight of the food is just a little too much and she starts to drool. It is not very lady-like, but she can't help herself. It is just all too good.

Snow Happens When You Least Expect It

We do not get much snow here in southeast Louisiana, but our household has occasional snow "events", as the weather people refer to them. The snow is not like the traditional snow and usually involves an empty stuffed animal skin or two. The ones who cause the snow have usually left the scene before the snow is discovered. Fortunately, this snow does not melt and leave a mess.

Bunnies for Kitties

Easter is coming and I thought the adoptable kitties at Robyn's work could use some Easter treats. I saw a cute pattern for knitted bunnies on Ravelry and decided to give that a try and felt them. I wish I had taken a picture after the felting because they turned out perfect. Pretty was not happy with me. I didn't make any for either her or Whiskers. Whiskers seems to be pretty ok with it, but Pretty was not. When I was putting the stuffing and catnip in the bunnies, I left briefly. Yes, I know now that was not a smart thing, but I confess I did not think it through. When I returned, catnip was everywhere. Stuffing and bunnies were scattered all over. One of the bunnies was missing. I did a search around the immediate area and the missing bunny was no where to be seen. I decided to finish the bunnies before looking for the last one. Pretty jumped up and tried to steal another one. When I refused to let her, she let me know her opinion by giving me four perfect tooth marks in my arm. They correspond perfectly to her fangs, upper and lower. I won out though. The missing bunny was found by Skittles. She walking around the house showing it to everyone.

One of Life's Greatest Pleasures

I have been anticipating this morning for a couple of days. Today I finished a jar of peanut butter. Peanut butter is a source of joy around here in puppyville. I cut the jar in half and give one to each of the babies. Heaven. Jasmine delicately and slowly licks her half clean. I can't get a picture of her because she stops every time I come close. Maybe she thinks I will want some. She is a good
"sharer". Skittles on the other hand eats hers as fast as she can because you might want some and she is not much on sharing food. Anything else? Sure thing, but never food. When I came to take a picture, she would not look up no matter how much I tried to get her attention.

My Assistant Blog Author

Often when I am on the computer, Skittles will come in and lie near me. You never know what position she will be in. I sometimes talk to her as I write the blog, getting her input on various ideas or working. I am grateful for her help. Without her I would not be able to accomplish many things.

A Hat Again?

I am slowly working through my stash of yarn. Unfortunately (not!), I will never find the end because I keep buying more. As stated earlier, I can't help buying it, especially when it is on sale. This hat is a combo of two yarns. One is a "speciality" yarn that has bits of eyelash and multi-colors running through it. It was on sale for 71 cents. I "had" to buy the second regular type of yarn, that was not on sale, to knit with the other. I have made a couple of other hats with the multi-colors running through them and I love the way they look.

If you look closely, you can see the tip of Skitttles' tail peaking out on the left side. She was my assistant photographer this morning.

Taking Back My Hoard

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the parish library site and put a ton of knitting books on hold. Some I had been reading about on Ravelry and others just looked good. Once they came in, I had something like 20 or so knitting books out. I was in book heaven. Finally, it was time to reduce my stash down to those I really wanted to peruse deeper. I jumped in the car with my trusty car pals and off we went. Jasmine truly does not like the CRV. The seats are much narrower than the van, so she did more whining than usual. Skittles is happy to be in any car. Once I dropped the books in the return, I jumped out to take their picture. I got some real strange looks. I thought that was just as amusing as they thought we were.

P. S. It was hard to return the books. I loved them all.

We Are Safe

I love when you come home and find evidence that your dog or cat has been working in your absence. Today, we took a trip over to the mall. As usual, we could not resist a visit to the book store. We came home and Nana put her purchase in her room. Later, we went out again. When we returned, my sister called us into Nana's room. There we found the evidence of an epic battle between Hanna and the notorious plastic bag. The bag was no doubt up to no good and had to be dealt with. I am glad that we didn't have to witness the struggle that must have ensued (but that would have been fun). Thank you Hanna for keeping all safe while we were gone.

Get Me Away From Her

It has been several days and Hanna is still not interested in meeting us. I know we are loud, smell funny, and increase the number of people in the house over her norm. Today, Nana and I took a drive to see Papa's grave. Hanna loves to ride in the car as much as Skittles does. It is a battle to see who can get out of the garage door and to the car first. Hanna jumped in the back of the car. As I passed by, I stopped to talk to her. She immediately decided she was moving as far as possible and sat in the passenger's seat. I guess I was expected to ride in the back. When I moved to the passenger's side, she moved to the driver's side. Poor Hanna. Here is was messing up her fun. Nana got Hanna to move to the back and we took off. Hanna did let me pet her, but she would have been happiest if I had been back at home...my home.

The Intruder

We get some pretty bold squirrels in the yard. They mooch off of the various bird feeders and chase the birds away who were there first. Skittles and Jasmine love to race out the back door to go on "Squirrel Patrol". They never catch the squirrels. They just stand under the trees and bark at them. Jasmine usually gives up pretty quickly, but Skittles will continue to search for the squirrel in the tree for a while. I doubt they would know what to do with a squirrel if they caught one...maybe bring it in the house like the turtle.

This guy was quite content munching away while I walked out back to take his picture. I had to walk around a bit to get a decent camera shot because the sun was behind him. He did not budge a bit while I was out there. He just looked me in the eye and kept eating.

To Camp

When we go out of town, the puppies go to "camp". They love camp because they get to see lots of other dogs and do the dog thing. Skittles especially loves camp because she gets extra portions of food. She gobbles her food up and heads over to Jasmine's. Jasmine is so passive that she gets nosed out of her bowl. The house is so quiet tonight with them gone. I miss not having their silliness and puppy kisses around.

Today's Post is Brought to You by the Number 3

When I looked behind me tonight, I saw the dogs lying next to each other like this. The first thing that came to mind was those cool dog photos "Sesame Street" used to have of the Weimaraners. They would put the dogs in all of these great positions to show the alphabet and numbers from 0-9. I loved those silly dogs. Jas and Skit often come and lie on the floor behind me while I am on the computer. I enjoy having them near me. They are my goofy girls.

What I Saw Out My Window

Today my "car pal" and I took a ride to pick Robyn up from a friend's house. Skittles LOVES to ride in the car. When we were getting ready to leave, it was storming... hail and everything. Skit wanted to go with us so badly. She ran in the garage and would not come back in the house. Finally, I had to pull out the big guns and offer her a treat. That caused such confusion. What did she want more? Food or car? Such a decision. Food eventually won out and she was left dry at home. She was happy to get her ride later. As I was driving down the street, I could see her in my rear view window. She was so happy.

Draft Dodger

Originally, we had carpet through most of the house. Over the last several years, we have put in hardwood as the carpet started to "ugly out" instead of wearing out. The bottom of the master bedroom door was cut to allow for the carpet allowance. Since the carpet is gone, the air conditioning from the bedroom flows under the door. Jasmine is ready any time of day or night to jump in and block that air from entering the den. What would we do without her? She chooses to lie upside down so as to block the opening in the most efficient manner. We are so fortunate to have such a considerate and giving canine daughter. Thank you Jasmine.

Meeting Inspection

Today I received my Pay It Forward goodie bag from Lin of Duck and Wheel with String. Lin sent some wonderful treats for me and even a little something for the cats. The strawberry jam body yogurt smelled so wonderful. Jasmine and Skittles followed the jar as I moved it from the bag to the table. They were extremely interested in everything in the bag. They assessed each item as it was removed. It is a good thing our personal inspectors were here when the package was opened. Lin, you will be happy to know your items passed the rigorous scrutiny of our highly paid examiners.

Fluffy Dog

Jasmine is our resident diva. With a house full of females, someone is bound to be. Jas is happy to fill the role. She loves to sleep on fluffy things. Flat does not work for her. We often call her Fluffy, because she is a collie and she loves fluffy. It is funny to watch her shifting around the blankets in her crate to create just the right loft. Sometimes she comes in the computer room with me and tries to fluff up the carpet. We have many discussions about how the carpet does not fluff like she wants. The piece de resistance of her creations is that her head is usually lying on the highest point, like it is her pillow. When she is lying "on the flat", she will find something to lay her head on for her pillow. Tonight my shoes were the pillow. It does not look comfortable to me, but it works for her.

Morning Routine

I have a certain routine I follow in mornings while I get the girls off to school. After seeing Robyn get on the bus, I come inside and make Cara's lunch. She always has a PB & J sandwich. When I get the bread out, these 2 little birdies (in dog form) come to get a piece of bread. As you have already guessed, Skittles eats hers immediately. I throw hers up in the air and she catches it. She has acquired a great skill in being able to eat the entire piece without any dropping on the floor. The Princess Diva, Jasmine, daintily comes and takes hold of the bread by grasping the tiniest bit of the corner. She trots into the den, circles 3-4 times, lies down and looks at it. It takes her about 5 minutes to eat her bread. This morning we had the added excitement of an empty peanut butter jar. I cut the jar in half and set them on the floor of the kitchen. Skittles takes hers to her "room". Jasmine looks at hers on the floor and then up at me so as to say "It is beneath me to carry that into the other room." I carry her bit into the den and she begins working on the jar. She chases it around the room as it moves and rolls. There aren't too many things better at our house than an empty peanut butter jar.