Randomisity

Rain = Boring Dayz

Boring dayz = Charlotte stares at me like this for hours. 

But then she finds something more productive to do. 

Pearl doesn't mind. Doggie beat-downs are her forte. 

One of my favorite Seattle dog photographers, Jamie Pflughoeft, does amazing black and white work, so I tried to use some of her tips to create something of my own... but let's just say I fell short a little bit! And why is that wonky white whisker so wonky and white? 

Tiny kitty paws are cute no matter what. Pearlie is so sweet. I love her. She is going to be 8 years old in January!  

Char is very helpful on boring days. She helps with everything I do. Like standing up to go from the dining room to the kitchen. And helping me take the trash out. Or following me to the bathroom. Or checking for dust on the shelves. She's a very busy girl. 

Earlier this morning, we went to Clear Creek for our Tuesday morning meet up. Wilbur helped us get there. Afterwards, we went out for bagels and coffee. The girls at the bagel place gave me about half a pound of ham to take home for the dogs! Everyone should go to Pip's Bagels and try their breakfast bagel- super yummy. 

I expect tomorrow I'll do a "Favorites from 2008" post, and after that I'm headed to Colorado for less than 72 hours of family madness. There will be parents and siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins and BFFs and their kids and all the four-leggers.... it's going to be a whirlwind of action-packed insanity. 

My New Sobrina!

Happy Birthday, Maya Kate!

Tipping the scales at 8 pounds, 2 ounces, Maya Kate was born at 7:27 Okie time this morning. Her mom and I go way back to our first birthdays, and even though I've only met little Maya via text message (!), I already love her to pieces! 

Welcome to the world, baby girl! 

Warm and Fuzzy

There's just something soooo wrong about seeing green grass under snow. At least, that's how I feel. 

Today at the park we met some superfun dogs called Jenny and Sam. I got a couple shots of everydog playing together, but none that really stood out to me. Maybe their dad will read this and let me catch up with them some other time, when I'm not preoccupied with my own dogs and also trying not to drop my baby- oh, I mean new lens- in the slush. 

Speaking of slush- seriously! All that snow we got this week is melting and I think it all drains into the field where we play. Little Dude Coco came walking with us today and he almost needed floaties to stay above the insane meltiness. 

Since I didn't get pictures I loved today, I thought I'd leave you with one from this summer that just makes me smile and feel all warm inside. 

Say My Name

Help! I am having sizing issues (and it's not because of the cheesecake I ate for breakfast. And lunch.) 

Which one of these do you like better? I can't find a happy medium. I like the 4 frames of the first one, but the overall size of the second one better. 

Let me know which one you like better, oh dear readers-o-plenty, and your wish will be my command. 

Ginger and Daisy Are STILL Making Me Smile

These are the last few from Ginger and Daisy's session! I hope their mom likes them!

"CHEESE!?!?!" 

What a sweet face!

And a sweet badonkadonk! 

Outtake Numero Uno

I lovelovelove this funny shot of Ginger sneaking a snack during her photo session a couple days ago. And look how patient her little sis Daisy is being! I have almost posted all of the pics of Daisy and Ginger... the last ones will be up tomorrow! 

Solstice

Today we celebrate the shortest day of the year.

Charlotte is celebrating the shortest legs of the year.

Also, she would like to know whose idea it was to play with the tennis ball in 8 inches of snow.

The snow has been coming down all day long, and I was a little afraid to take my new baby- I mean lens- out in the weather. When I did have it out of its dry, cozy backpack, I had superfast fingers so I could get it back to safety, and I'm afraid the composition and stuff on these is pretty wonky, but at least you can see our snow.

While I was climbing through thorns to get to these rose hips, Charlotte and Wilbur were rolling around in the snow like wild little piggy dogs. 

And that is all I have to say about that. 

Ginger and Daisy Make Me Smile (again)

I promised to post some more images from Ginger and Daisy's Snowy Day at the Pond today, and since our winter storm is now starting to blow in, I thought this was a good time to sit down at the computer with coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich and post away! 

Daisy wants some grilled cheese sammy, too.

My aunt Bek emailed me to tell me that Daisy reminds her of Britta, my late grandmother's little dog. Britta makes everyone smile, too! She lives in California now, with my other aunt, and gets to spend time with the family goat!

Besides these dogs' sweet-natured personalities (dog-alities?) and curiosity-fueled cuteness, their sweaters just killed me. I have tried to put my dogs in coats before.... and, well, you saw the results. They were not impressed. These guys, however, fully appreciated the fact that their mom was looking out for their warmth. My dogs are such ungrateful little turkeys. 

I love how different the two of these dogs are, and you just can't help but love them both. I have always said I'm a sporting-breed kind of dog person, but I could SO easily be talked into having a little dog, like Daisy or Cocoa (remember Cocoa? Of course you do. He totally rocks.)

This is Ginger standing guard when Daisy decided to go exploring in the woods. Ginger thought it was such a funny game... and you should have seen her pounce on her sister when Daisy decided the woods were too cold! 

Okay... I found my sister! I'm ready for my treat now! 

The end. More tomorrow! 

For the Love of a....

Did you know that when you delete pictures from your flickr account to make room for new ones they delete them from ANYWHERE YOU'VE EVER POSTED THEM? Why I oughtta....

So now it is Friday night, and my obsession with my photos and my blog is just strong enough that I will indeed stay inside tonight (I say that as if there isn't a skating rink instead of regular streets out there) to fix the issue. So if you were going to email me to tell me that nine gazillion photos are missing from my blog.... yes, well, I know. But do feel free to check in with me anyway, just to keep me company. Bring beer. 

Anyway, hopefully the images will be up by tomorrow. IF, that is, I can handle the tedious task of going through my blog's HTML to find out exactly which photos I freakin' erased. Poo. 

Ginger and Daisy

I met the happiest dog in the entire world today! Scrooge himself would not be able to keep a straight face around Miss Ginger, the gorgeous mystery mutt, and her adorably beautiful teeny tiny sister Daisy. How cute are they? And their sweaters! 

As you can see, darling little Daisy is teeny tiny, and Ginger is... not. They were both so great with their human brother. Both the dogs were more than willing to mug for cheese.

Their mom is super sweet too, and clearly the dogs adore her. At one point little Daisy went adventuring into the thick woods behind the pond, but she didn't stay gone long. Her toes were cold!

Ginger just thought the entire thing was fantastic- the lake!- the ducks!- the cheese!- the snowballs!- the ice!

"Wait... the ice?!?!?" 

"Ice? What ice? Ooooh- a snowball!"

"AND cheese?!?!? This is the best day ever!"

I decided that yesterday's post was entirely too long. I can't sit still that long, and I shouldn't expect other people to, either. So stay tuned for more shots of Ginger and Sweet Daisy tomorrow!

Fair Warning...

... there are nine gazillion photos in this post. You've been warned! 

We woke up to a couple inches of snow here on the peninsula today, which pretty much meant that the world stopped turning. The base was closed to all but "non-essential" personnel, people were chaining up in the grocery store parking lot, and schools were closed. Luckily for me and the dogs, it meant everyone stayed inside, so we had the entire woods to ourselves. 

ps- Charlotte is a flirt. 

This is how Wilbur flirts. He's not very subtle, is he? 

They were so excited about the snow.  Charlotte ran in circles with her snoot buried in it and did major puppy zoomies. Pretty good for a 4-year-old gal who gets stiff hips in the cold weather. 

Wilbur got very pouncy. He pounced on snowballs, snowflakes, and imaginary snowy things hiding in the bushes. 

All that pouncing made him need a snack. 

At one point, they took off after a runner who was out braving the elements... and Charlotte had her magic obedience hat on. I whistled to her and she came running back to me and waited for the ball. Good girl! 

Wilbur left his Good Dog hat at home, but his little bum is so cute that I forgave him.

It wasn't really that cold out today- certainly nothing like the minus 30-degree temps that we're used to! When we lived in Montana, she'd get icicles dangling from her lips and when we'd get back in the truck she'd shove her face towards the heater. This Washington weather is downright balmy according to Char, and she'd have stayed out there all day if I'd have let her. But my Carhartt overalls are a little... um... snug this year, and a one-hour wedgie is really all I can take. 

I'm sorry, but just so you know, Wilbur is the most handsome dog in the whole entire world. 

And Charlotte is part snowman. 

Are you getting tired of all these pictures yet? Sorry- I got a new lens and I just can't stop myself. 

This is what I call "Exasperation in a Nutshell." 

"Seriously- THROW THE BALL!" 

Wilbur just wants a freaking cookie already. 

And if you can say "no" to these eyes, you have a cold, dark heart. 

Icicle Girl wants a cookie, too. 

front end...

back end.

Ooof. That's all. Congrats! You made it through this post! I will now leave you with my favorite, even though I have no idea what's going on here. Now, everyone stay warm tonight, and be sure to snuggle with your critters. They love you. And also, they want a cookie.