Marinated Furniture: Behind the Scenes

While Jenna was enjoying the marinated furniture, here's what Dixie and Mommy were doing:

Dixie loves to sit back on her tail and get into the "beg" position.  I call it this for lack of a better word.  Dixie doesn't actually beg for anything except attention.  She sat down in this position the night of her first Halloween and hasn't stopped since.  My parents would never teach any of us this maneuver.  They would say it's unbecoming to a dawg, but for some reason they let Dixie do it.  Mommy likes to get down on Dixie's level and then the two of them love on each other.   It's really disgusting.  Unless you're Dixie receiving all that lovin'.

If you look closely, you can see Jenna's tail in the background.  We all know what she's doing while Mommy's distracted!  Yum, yum!

Wags and Kisses,
Hunter



PS:  Happy Birthday Uncle Jeff, Great Aunt Patty, and Great Aunt Sarah!  Happy Anniversary Aunt Carol and Uncle Wes!     (Today is a busy day in our family's history.)

Marinated Furniture

Do you follow any decorating blogs?  Mommy and Mimi follow several.  Before saying more, I want to assure you that our blog is not going to become one of those blogs.  There are lots of good ones out there, but how many blogs do you read where actual dawgs write?  Gifted canines like us are few and far between.  There is a show on Disney called Dog With a Blog, but it's not nearly as entertaining as this blog (in my humble opinion).

Recently Mommy decided to work on doctoring a couple pieces of furniture.  Mimi had pinned a wood repair solution on Pinterest that Mommy decided to try.  You are supposed to mix 1/4 cup canola or olive oil with 3/4 cup white vinegar and then rub on the furniture.  Hmmm . . . well . . .   here's what Mommy learned:

 

• Oil and vinegar don't mix (duh - Science 101) so you have to keep stirring the mixture.
• Immediately after mixing, you have to dip your cloth DEEP to make sure you have the entire concoction on the cloth or you'll just have the oil. 
• You need to follow up this mix with another cloth to wipe off the excess.
• It doesn't fix everything, but it does make your furniture nice and shiny.
• And last, but not least, crazy girl dawgs like to lick the results!

Yes, you read that right.  Dixie and Jenna thought Mommy was polishing the furniture just for them.  Jenna especially (shocker).  When Mommy worked on the first piece, a magazine rack, the girls were outside.  It never occurred to her that the girls would want to partake of the furniture.  Seriously, Mommy?  Have you never met my sisters?  When Mommy went upstairs to tackle a chest in the hallway, the girls were inside and naturally followed her up.  As soon as Mommy made the first swipe, Jenna's tongue began making its own swipe.

 

Mommy was quick to remove Jenna and her tongue from the chest, but Dixie moved right in to take up where Jenna left off!  I say Mommy removed Jenna, but you'll see there are several pictures of Jenna enjoying herself.  Dixie held back after being fussed at.  She doesn't let her temptations get her in trouble (usually).

If you haven't realized by now, Mommy might have better behaved canine children if she would just put the camera down!  She can't resist.  She agrees with my assessment, but says life is fun behind the canine camera!  I, on the other hand, am very well-behaved.  I don't believe blogs existed when I was a puppy, and I remember when Mommy received her first digital camera (an error in judgment I'm sure Grandaddy regrets to this day).  Technology might be the downfall of today's children's manners (not to mention grammar and the written word).  Oops.  Sorry.  Mommy snuck that comment in when she was proofreading my work.  I left it in because it is soooooo true!  But I digress . . .


Now that we've marinated the furniture, maybe we'll move on to other flavorful combos in the house.  Sautéed windows anyone?

Hunter

One More . . .

I know I said I wouldn't post any more about Mommy's birthday, but I just had to send out an S.O.S.  WHY does Mommy put us into these situations???  And WHY does Daddy allow her to???  HELP!!!!   Look at what she's been doing:

Jenna sat perfectly still for her photo session and was rewarded handsomely by Daddy. 

He loves his bird dawg!

 

I look a bit embarrassed by all of this attention.  Actually, I'm only pretending. 

They don't call me a DIVA for nothing around here!

What I really can't believe is that Hunter lucked up and didn't have to go through this process.  If those black glasses were going to show up on anyone, it would be him.  At least he's old enough to wear them.  He probably wishes he could wind back the clock to FORTY!!  Oh well.

Until my next costume (and you KNOW there will be one).
Dixie

Up, Up, and Away!!!

As part of Mommy's birthday deception, um, I mean surprise, Daddy gave Mommy an early gift.  I think he was acting like he couldn't keep a secret (because he usually can't) in order to keep the real secret of the spa day.  About two weeks before her big day, he presented her with a certificate for a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!!!!!!  She has always wanted to take one!  This was definitely on her bucket list and since she's getting to be old, she might as well start working on that list now! 

The ride was scheduled for the night before her birthday.  Naturally, this just happened to be the hottest week of the year and rain was expected.  The instructions said to call about two hours in advance to see if the ride would be on or off.  When Mommy first called, the message said to call back thirty minutes later.  Daddy was sure it was going to be called off.  He and Mommy had both been checking the radar all afternoon using two different websites.  Mommy was slightly more hopeful.  When she called back the second time, the message said the ride was ON!!!  Yippee!!!  The only bad part about the evening was that we dawgs weren't allowed to go!  I just don't get why my parents get to do so many cool things without us.  However, I guess this time I do understand.  Jenna would be trying to jump out (think sky diving dawg) and Hunter would be freaked out!

I think both my parents were a little bit nervous about the ride.  It seemed to take the crew forever to ready the balloon, but they were doing safety checks and it was a windy evening which apparently makes for a slightly more difficult launch.  By the time Mommy and Daddy crawled into the balloon (literally), they were ready!  Daddy is afraid of heights, so this had the potential to be really bad for him.  The informational paper work said that since the balloon was not anchored to the ground and it moved with the wind, the horrible sensation acrophobics normally feel is alleviated.  It turned out, the paper was right!

The balloon ride was wonderful!  Mommy is ready to go again right now!!!  They flew over beautiful farm land that made a green quilt-like pattern from the different types of crops growing.  Every time they flew over a farm with dawgs, they heard lots of barking.  Dawgs were going crazy running in circles after the balloon.  I'm sure if given the chance, we would act much more mature . . . yeh, right! 

 

Mommy took almost two hundred pictures to record the trip from beginning to end.  Daddy says she couldn't possibly have enjoyed the actual trip because she was clicking the camera continuously, but she said that is sooooo not true.  (She finally narrowed down her total pictures to just over 100 thankfully!)  The balloon landed in a farmer's field.  The farmer's whole family came out to greet the balloon and was very excited to be a part of this adventure.

 

I'm happy my parents had a good time on their balloon ride, but I truly believe they should consider taking at least one of us (ME) on their next fun trip. 

Waiting for an adventure,
Dixie


PS:  I promise this is the last mention of Mommy's birthday!  Her celebration is stretching into two weeks.  Enough already!   I get it.  She is now OLD!! 

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is the day . . . Mommy is officially OVER the HILL!!!!  She has turned the

Big Four-Oh, Say it Ain't So!!!! 
 

Cocktail napkins Mommy found over a year ago in preparation for her big day!

Mommy seems to be handling her new age fine, but she has noticed a few things about herself lately:

• A tee tiny spider crawled up on the backs of her knees and left its web there in the last month (or so it seems).   A broom is not helping!
• She has a few more gray hairs and is now envious of blond people; Aunt Holly is the same age and has no gray hairs to show for it!  [hmpf]
• A laugh line has appeared on the left side of her mouth.  I don't think this would bother her as much if she had one on the right side too.  It's all about symmetry (and her OCD). 
• The wrinkles on her forehead are growing a tiny bit deeper and the one between her eyes is about to slice a hole in her head.  Surely a shot of Botox would help that??

She blames that last bit of "character" on her middle school students.  It's hard not to get a wrinkle on your forehead when you raise an eyebrow at the weird things they do sometimes.  She has an amazing ability to raise one or the other in fabulous non-verbal communication (the words of her college speech professor).  Her students frequently try to imitate her eyebrows, but we don't think it can be done . . . we've tried!

Daddy is working today, but that isn't a bad thing for Mommy.  Daddy was off all last week, and of course he threw her a fabulous surprise spa party last weekend.  Mommy is sitting around embracing her new age in the purple tee shirt and tiara from last weekend's party.  Truth be told, Mommy has tried on her tiara a few times this past week with different hairstyles!  If only Daddy were the prince of  some place besides the Land of Charm!  [sigh]  I guess Mommy will just have to pretend today!

The Queen (of Drama, of the House, of Dawgs) and her subjects

With old age comes bad eyesight! 

 (These are left over from Daddy's big day last year.)

Happy 40th Birthday, Mommy! 

 

Wags and Kisses, 

Hunter, Dixie & Jenna

Sneaky, Sneaky, Boy

Hunter is not in Mommy's good graces lately.  He is her oldest child (some say her favorite, but I don't see how that is possible considering his competition).  Mommy would do anything for him (and has).  As he's aged, he has begun having difficulty going up and down the stairs.  We aren't sure if he's truly in pain, or if he is just afraid he will be in pain should something go wrong.  He needs LOTS of encouragement most days to even begin the climb.  It's the same thing when he tries coming down.  Mommy tries to get him to go slowly, but he prefers the "running head start" method.  We try to limit the number of times he tackles the steps to just once down in the morning and then once up for bedtime.  However, being Mommy's child, he has his own ideas and insists on dong things his way.  Hunter probably goes up and down the stairs an average of about four times a day . . . or so Mommy thought!!!!

Hunter had sworn us to secrecy and since he's the biggest around here, we had no choice but to agree.  Last week Mommy came home from running errands for just a few minutes before running out to a hair appointment.  When she arrived home the first time, she heard Hunter upstairs whining for her to come help him down.  She thought nothing of it since it's pretty routine.  She couldn't remember if she had taken Hunter back upstairs before she left that morning.  She does that sometimes because if she doesn't, Hunter whines for Daddy to come help him up and that is NOT going to happen when Daddy is trying to sleep.  Mommy helped Hunter down the stairs and we all went out for a potty break.  A few minutes later, Mommy was off again after giving us each a treat and leaving us all on the main floor of the house.

Three hours later, Mommy returned and heard Hunter upstairs whining for her to come help him down.  She cocked her head to the side and thought about it . . . . he came down, went outside, was right there in the kitchen when I left the second time, and now he's upstairs . . . hmmmmm.  Her precious Hunter was fooling her.  He apparently CAN go up and down the steps without assistance!!!

Mommy was very surprised at her discovery.  She is now wondering how long Hunter's stealth has been going on.  Personally, I would call it deceit, but I value my life.  I would also tell Mommy the truth, but again I value my life.  [sigh]  I guess it's probably not done on purpose.  Hunter doesn't have a mean bone in his body.  He only snaps at me and Jenna when we are goofing around and step on him.  I can't blame him.  I guess he just does what he has to do.  If our parents are here, he asks for help.  If they aren't here, he just sucks up his fears and goes for it.  Who can blame the old guy for that?  Not me . . . at least if I know what's good for me!

Keeper of the Secrets,
Dixie

Birthday Surprises!!!

Hello everyone!  I was planning to write last week about how we celebrated Daddy's birthday, but a few surprises came along and I've been too busy to write!  Grandma, Poppa, and Great Aunt Frances arrived last Thursday afternoon for a long weekend.  Daddy said they decided to visit on HIS  birthday weekend, so that he could surprise Mommy with her birthday gift NEXT weekend (when she will turn forty).  HE LIED!!!

On Friday morning (Daddy's birthday), Mommy got up and made him breakfast and then he headed off to work for a day of continuous meetings.  Mommy and her family went shopping and antiquing Friday morning and then headed to one of their favorite places for lunch, Pizza by Elizabeths (yes, it's plural).  As they were eating, Mommy had a BIG SURPRISE!  Daddy hadn't gone to work; instead he had gone to the airport to pick up Mommy's college roommate, Dodie, and Mommy's buddy from high school, Holly!!!!  They came into the restaurant carrying matching tee shirts for everyone and a tiara for Mommy!  Mommy was THRILLED to see her friends!!!  It had been two weeks since she'd seen Holly, but two years since she'd seen Dodie!

 

Since it was actually Daddy's birthday, he requested a low country boil for his birthday dinner later that evening.  He really wanted crawfish in his boil, but he had to settle for crabs instead.  We followed Uncle Jeff's step-by-step directions and had a wonderful dinner.  At least we were told it was wonderful.  No one would share with us dawgs.  Can't you just imagine Jenna tearing into a crab?!?!?!

Everyone enjoyed the meal, and it continued even when the power went out due to a storm. 

Mommy's birthday surprise continued into Saturday morning.  All the ladies of the house (except for Dixie and Jenna) went to a nearby spa for a day of pampering.  They had sooooo much fun.  Dixie and Jenna were a little bit put out that they couldn't go.  I'm sure the girls would have had fun, but they would have been into the bubble baths, body wraps, scrubs, and more and the day would have turned into a disaster. 

 

Saturday night's dessert was birthday cake and s'mores around the fire pit.  Grandma brought with her an old fashioned seven (tiny) layer caramel cake just like Great Granny used to make.  The only difference was the buttercream icing with polka dots to make it more festive for the birthday boy and girl (and I use those terms liberally at this point in my parents' lives).  Mommy chose candles that doubled as sparklers, but they didn't have as much pizazz as she had hoped for!  She also just used the number of candles in the package instead of trying to find the MANY that would be required to celebrate two birthdays.

After cake, we went out to the fire pit for s'mores.  I personally LOVE making s'mores!!!  I don't actually get to enjoy the finished product, but my parents are happy to toss a few marshmallows my way every now and then.  This was Jenna's first time with s'mores.   She loved the marshmallows too.  She did get too close to the fire from time to time, but I never noticed any smoke coming from her tail.  

 

It was a fabulous weekend full of family, friends, and fun.  Daddy has officially moved into first place for Husband of the Year.  He has been planning this weekend since January!  It's an amazing feat for him to keep a secret for that long.  Seriously!  Good for Daddy!  I really thought he was going to blow it a few times.  He told me all about it because he knew I would never reveal a secret.  I'm not sure if the same can be said for my sisters . . .

Happy Birthday to Daddy, Mommy, and my cousin Sam (yesterday)!!

Keeper of the Secrets,
Hunter

Conversation Between the Wires

A conversation overheard and dutifully reported by Hunter (perhaps gleefully too) . . .

Jenna:  Why do you think we have to stay in our crates when Mommy and Daddy are out?

Hunter:  Seriously?  Have you seen the mess you make with toilet paper?

Dixie:  Yep.  That is definitely the reason.

Hunter:  Don't act like you're innocent, Dixie.  Remember a certain collection of wine corks you chewed up all over the house?  You were stuck in your crate long before Jenna came along.  I think you stay in your crates because they know that is the only time I can take advantage of the sofa.

Jenna:  They're trying to blame the condition of the sofa on us girls, but we know you were wallowing on it a full eight years before we were even alive!

Hunter:  [sigh]  Those were the good 'ole days!  If you two will excuse me, I'm going to enjoy the sofa.

Dixie:  You know, Jenna, I really don't understand why you arrived on the scene last and you have the room with the view.  From your crate, you can look out and watch the birds as they come and go.  I look out and see nothing but carpet.  And Hunter snoring on the sofa!

Jenna:  It's because I'm loved.

Dixie:  And you've got the best access to the air vent.  I'd like a little breeze every now and then.  Besides those stinky ones that come from you!

Jenna:  It's simple.  I'm loved.  Or at least I think I'm loved . . . I've noticed you have two blankets and I only have one.

Dixie:  It's called more love.  I even have a stuffed animal that matches one of my blankets.

Jenna:   Well, my blanket matches my collar.  That makes me the most stylish girl here (not counting Mommy, of course).

Dixie:  My crate is taller than yours.

Jenna:  By an INCH!  I hardly think that matters.

Dixie:  Well, I don't have to have a special latch to prevent my escape.

Jenna:  Escape? Why would I want to leave?

Dixie:  Well, I can see Mommy and Daddy when I'm crated.  What can you see?  The sofa arm?

Jenna:  Nope.  Birds!  Ha!

Dixie:  Hmpf!  No matter what, I think we can both say these are our Girl Caves.  I like to hide out in mine all the time and you're starting to sleep in yours more often just because you want to.  We're both loved.  Hunter has been here the longest, and he doesn't have a Man Cave.

Hunter:  Yes, I do.

Jenna:  I thought you were asleep.

Hunter:  I can't sleep with all of your yapping going on.

Dixie:  So, where's your Man Cave?

Hunter:  It's called the HOUSE.

Don't Burst My Bubbles!

Since summer is here, Mommy thought she would break out the bubbles.  She loves to play with bubbles and unfortunately for her all she has to play with is us!  Mommy might need to invite the neighborhood kids over to play since we don't get as excited about bubbles as she'd like.  This was Jenna's first experience with bubbles (at least to our knowledge) and she wasn't all that impressed.  Jenna ran around a few times, but when she realized that "eating" the bubbles wasn't all that satisfying, she quickly became bored. 

The Jaws of Life

\

I only chased the bubbles once.  I couldn't totally disappoint Mommy.  But of course, there aren't any good pictures of me . . .  we only have pictures of the oldest, the privileged, the chosen one!  Hunter was the one who was most excited by the bubbles.

You would have thought he was a puppy by the way he was running all over the yard trying to catch the bubbles.  I think seeing Hunter with so much energy did Mommy's heart good.  He LOVED playing with the bubbles!

Which way did they go?

 

 

Oh well, I guess we can't play with tennis balls ALL the time . . . but it sure would be nice! 

Dixie

Fifth of July

How did you spend the holiday yesterday?  Daddy had to go to work and be the grill master for the other employees.  He doesn't get the day off.  [sigh]  Mommy worked around the house doing some deep cleaning because we have our second round of company coming next week.

Mommy is not a big fan of the Fourth simply because she usually has to spend most of the day by herself.  She would love to have our family come for a visit (Grandma and Poppa used to), but now we have two cousins whose birthdays are right before the holiday, so it kind of prevents the grandparents from visiting us.  Bummer!  Another reason why Mommy doesn't enjoy the day is because Daddy spends all day at the grill at work, so he never wants to grill when he comes home.

This year was different.  Mommy said it turned out to be one of the best Fourths we've had in a while.  Daddy was able to come home much earlier than he usually does.  After watching a movie together, we all went out to play.  Daddy decided to give us some practice with the deadfowl trainer.  It's basically a plastic dead duck whose head wobbles around (like a real dead duck).  I may let Dixie win when it comes to tennis balls, but she is not going to beat me at duck retrieving.  Nothing is getting between me and the ducks!  Except Hunter.  He wanted to participate so badly, but he just couldn't keep up with us pups.  Every once in a while Daddy would throw it short so Hunter could retrieve it.  Hunter had so much fun.  The poor guy was suffering for it afterwards when he was hobbling around.  His arthritis can be a real pain sometimes. 

Another reason it was a great evening is because Daddy had refrained from eating a hotdawg at work.  That meant he was willing to have one for dinner.  Yippee!!  You must understand, Mommy is a SERIOUS hotdawg fan!!!  She loves her dawgs smothered in sooooo many toppings, she usually has to break out a fork to eat it.

 

After dinner, they sat on the deck enjoying music until it grew dark and they could enjoy the neighborhood fireworks.  We had quite a few REAL fireworks leftover from past years (you know, the kind that actually leave the ground; the kind that aren't sold around here).  But Daddy is so afraid of ruining his hunting dawgs with the loud noises, that he decided to take the fireworks to the neighbors.  The kids next door were so thankful and excited.  There was also another house across the street that had MAJOR fireworks.  We just sat back and enjoyed the show!

 

Well, everyone enjoyed the show except Hunter.  Poor guy.  He's not a big fan of the Fourth either.  He barked with EVERY snap, crackle, and bang he heard.  He really doesn't like loud noises.  Dixie and I were pros.  We weren't bothered by the fireworks at all.  It was loads of fun.  We had a great evening. 

 

 

I hope you had great Fourth of July too,
Jenna