I'm a dog chasing cars...

I can't believe its Sunday already - the weekends fly by much too fast - but I am ready for a lazy creative day at home with the dogs, some yarn, needles and a just maybe, even a plan (other than trying to stay cool despite these wretched temps and out of the thunder storms)! If I can get my creative mojo flowing, I just might even get out the beading supplies, which would lead to a brand new item in my etsy store!

I feel like one of the cool kids since we caught an afternoon showing of The Dark Knight in IMAX yesterday (yes, we ordered our tickets well in advance... all showings were sold out for the entire weekend), followed by a delicious dinner at an Italian place. I enjoyed the movie and especially Heath's performance as the Joker and all his memorable quotes... "I'm a dog chasing cars. I don't have plans. I just do things. I'm not a schemer." Christian Bale's Batman voice left a little to be desired (yes, I just might still be a Val Kilmer Batman fan...). All in all, it was a great film and very cool to see in IMAX. There were quite a few city wide shots from above... simply stunning!

I did some doggy shopping last week and was delighted to find a nice summery toy for my Dogs on Thursday summer swap pal. It was a nice idea, no?

Was being the key word there... as you see, while I was bringing in bags from the car, getting the mail, etc., this happened....

Ok, so I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture of Lola tearing around the house with the new toy (tags still attached) in her mouth, but once I realized what she had... well, we had a little fun with it. She's a sneaky devil who tries her hardest to stick her head in to every bag that comes in the house, no matter what's in it, but I had thought I'd put these bags up high enough out of reach... then I thought again....

What toy Mommy??? You mean it wasn't for me?

Sophie seemed to think if it wasn't meant for Lola, it must've been meant for her...

All while my boys just carried on, laughing at the girls who got caught red handed camo pawed... guess its back to the doggy store this week for another toy for our pal...

Speaking of the DOT summer swap, I just had to share the cutest email I received from my spoiler...

Fetch the tissue,
The ribbon and glue.
We're filling a box
That's heading for you.

We're putting in fun stuff
And good stuff to eat.
It's for you and your doggies
To help beat the heat.

So watch for the mailman
As you sit by the pool.
The Dogday Swap
Will help you stay cool.

Isn't she a creative one? I just can't wait to find out who she is!!!

Well, back to my lazy creative Sunday...

4-legged Gene Simmons?

Last night was knitting night and you know what the means.... well, it means that today is Dogs on Thursday and, of course, one more step to TGIF! I cast on my Virginia Shawl for the A Knitter's Garden KAL, knit a few rows... then ripped it out and cast on again (hint for those KAL... watch those first few stitches at the beginning of each row to make sure you're getting your YO in there before the P2T!). Think I might work on it tonight while watching Greatest American Dog. Our house is routing for Tillman, since I have him in the pool over on Ravelry, but there are quite a few cuties on the show.

Now on to the usual Thursday cuteness...

Sophie's [you know the drill... click their linked names for more cute pics] answer to the heat wave? When she's not napping, she seems to be laughing...

It seems we've been watching too many reruns of Gene Simmons Family Jewels lately, as Tut seems to have picked up on Gene's infamous trait...

Zeus and Lola have been on Chucky look out (please excuse the kids' window sill disgrace artwork...)...

Enjoy the rest of your day... and remember, its almost the weekend!

BARks and Woofy Cakes

It's Thursday again and time to wish Dogs on Thursday a Happy Woof-birthday! For those of you who only visit for my DOT posts, please be sure to scroll back to yesterday's review & giveaway - you'll appreciate it!

Now on to pictures... and lots of them!

Lola [as always, click links for more woofy pics!] celebrated her 6th birthday on July 4th .. with cake and toys, of course!

What 6 years old looks like...


Mmmmm... cake!

The birthday girl and her toys! I found these cool felted dog toys (a VW bug and a doggy head) at Woof It Down, as well as a tuggy fleece toy.

Everyone had fun checking out the new toys...

Kids will be kids... don't mind the mess of toys (and, um yeah, maybe I need to vacuum)...

Sophie: "I heard there was cake out here.... did someone say cake??"

Besides birthday excitement, we also got our July-August 2008 issue of The BARk in the mail... featuring my two hams, Teutul & Lola on the "smiling" pages! Its been a full year since I sent this picture in to them (along with some others), but they made the cut! The mag was quite popular, as you can see...

Lola got first dibs on checking herself out...

Teutul pushed his way to the front of the line next, singing "I'm too sexy for The BARk...too sexy for The BARk... whatcha tink bout dat?"

Zeus and Sophie each enjoyed a peak at their brother & sister...

Anyone notice Sophie is smiling? It just might be the single benefit of this wretched heat wave... panting dogs = smiling dogs = something Sophie doesn't do all that often, especially with her overbite!

I just adore this one and emailed it off to The BARk for future consideration... who knows, maybe she'll make the July-August 2009 issue!

Happy Hearts & Rescue Rewards

Everyone always says they "can't" foster animals... and well, we've proven that to be true in "failing" twice - first with Teutul and then when Sophie decided she didn't want to leave our home... but I have to say, if you are able to do so, go for it! It is extremely rewarding to be able to help a homeless animal find a loving, forever home and to match a family with their special furbaby. The rewards keep on coming every time I open an email to find a new photo or update, and last week I had a big smile plastered on my face twice...

Here's the loveable Dustee, loving life as always! Isn't he such a ham?

I also heard from Dottie's family. The tiny little girl has really emerged from her shell and is best buds with her brother Jack!

Are they not the cutest little pair?

Yes, its painful and tough to let them go... but its unbelievable to see them so happy in their forever homes! I have a few friends out there who know exactly what I'm talking about... you are all amazing! I did want to give a shout out to Criquette who's got her hands full nursing some beautious little kitties! They are in need of some good vibes sent their way, so hop on over and check them out...

Happy Birthday Lola

My baby girl Lola is 6 years old today! If you've been reading my blog long enough, you may remember when she turned 4 or last year when she hit 5.

The queen was spotlighted over on Dogs on Thursday yesterday and she will get her special birthday cake from Woof It Down (to share with her siblings, of course) and birthday toys later tonight.

It's been another fun filled year....

There was her KongTire invention... {click all links for more Lola prettiness}

Fun romping in the white stuff...

Cuddling time with sister...

Spoiling by some of Mommy's swap partners...

Jumping for joy when spring finally arrived...

Even if it did mean time for a bath...

And just plain 'ole fun hanging with her brothers and sister...

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Baby Girl in the Spotlight!

Look who's in the spotlight over on today's Dogs on Thursday post! Yes, its queenie herself, Lola. Paula had asked me about spottlighting one of our dogs this week and I suggested Lola since she will be celebrating her 6th birthday tomorrow (you'll all have to come back tomorrow for the birthday picture post!). Thanks Paula!

In the meantime this is a quick DOT post. The kids all got some new rope roys from Target last week (you can't beat Target's $1.00 - $2.50 bins at the front of the store for dog toys - especially stuffed things, ropes and balls that never last long in our house)...

Zeus, always the gentle giant...

Lola with her very chic pink & green rope....

Tut was being very patriotic...

Sophie also got the chic pink & green...

Eventually the girls wound up with all four ropes. Sophie didn't see any problem with that...

Enjoy the rest of your doggy day and don't forget to check back in tomorrow for the Birthday Girl's post!

Fussy, Provocative Dogs with Attitude

This week must be going by fast... its now Doggy Thursday again! As the time is flying by, don't forget you have until July 4th for my blogiversary "contest" (with an automatic "prize")!

I caught baby girl {links = more damn cute pics} doing her best "Count Lola" impersonation, which Teutul thought was pretty amusing...

Maybe he was laughing at the fact that she really is not very lady-like...

Big brother Zeus {I think he's giving me the look in that pic!} one-upped her on the provocative pose...

Teutul {even as a baby, he played the King Tut role well} trying hard to give the look... and just look at how cute, tiny & clumsy looking he was as a baby (I just got some "new" old pics from the man who had rescued him in TN)

Sophie was either pretty tired when I was snapping pics, or else she's mastered the "I'm not looking..." pose?

Sign ups are now open for the Dog Days of Summer secret swap over at Dogs on Thursday. If you haven't joined our growing pack yet, what are you waiting for?

Got BARk?

During a very busy week, I am happy to report that another Doggy Thursday is upon us! And you know what that means... its ALMOST Friday and that means almost the weekend... yeah! Speaking of the weekend... attention all of you local folks... stop by A Knitter's Garden tomorrow and/or Saturday for Joanne's Summer Blowout Sale... 25% off most everything in the shop, plus she'll have some ice cold lemonade and cookies... mmmm!!!

For those of you who only visit for DOT posts, please scroll back a couple for my Blogiversary contest/giveaway.

We have some family doggy news this week! The kids have a new cousin... a little fuzz ball... err, I mean Bouvier, named Zorro [as always, click linked names for more cuteness]!

Zorro is the new little brother to Miss Sammi, who's been an only child since loosing her big brother Jasper shortly after Christmas. No more time to be lazy dog for her... she's got a new runt to chase around (well, at least for another month or two... until said runt becomes new giant).

Here's Sammi overseeing baby brother...

And my absolute favorite shot of Baby Z...

Awww... I miss tiny puppy-ness... but alas, our house is a bit full these days! And on that note...

Tut [hogging the rope from GeorgeAnne] & Lola [yeah, I posted that pic yesterday but I still love it] were all smiles when Mommy told them about the nice lady emailing us to announce that they are going to be in the July issue of The BARk Magazine!

Its already gone to the Queen's head. She started doing her best Vogue poses for the camera, only to be interrupted with a kiss from her brother...

Zeus couldn't be bothered to share

in his sibling's good news... "what-eva!"

The Princess was too busy bug hunting...

Spoiled by a Sneaky Multi-Tasker!

So if you haven't hopped on over and joined our little online party at the Multitasking 9-5 group on Ravelry, what are you waiting for? We are in the midst of sending & receiving packages in our first swap and I was spoiled by the ever-so-sneaky GeorgeAnne. Sneaky girl told me she was sending out some Cirque du Soleil swag (long story short, she has one of the coolest jobs), which really turned out to be my swap box! Lookie at all the amazing things she sent...

One of the swap requirements was a handmade item from the spoiler. It did not need to be large.. did not need to be knit or crocheted... just something simple, made by her own 2 hands. Well, I got extra spoiling with this beautious, vibrant purple crocheted shawl (which I had earlier eyed in her Ravelry projects!)!

Isn't it gorgeous? It will do wonders for me come this fall when my office gets a tad chilly from those who seem to think that AC is required to be on high even in October!

Another requirement of the swap was a skein of yarn... and I got 3! She sent her very own Zona Blue Design (be sure to check out her Etsy store - and OMG, I MUST. HAVE. VERMONT FOLIAGE. COLORWAY... oh sneaky girl, are you listening???) hand dyed 100% Merino worsted in the awesome Island Jewels colorway and 2 skeins of Berroco Comfort worsted in an awesome green colorway (this stuff is sooooooo squishy and soft... what to make, what to make???)...

The rest of the swap requirements were for treats, things to help us get through our multitasking days at work, etc. I got the Harlot's "Things I Learned from Knitting...whether I wanted to or not" book, a super cute doggy bookmark, a funky spiral M&Ms notepad, some cool geometrical design magnets, Mary Engelbreit post it notes, a music theme set of wine glass charms (hmmm... am I supposed to use these at work??), Il Circo promotional DVD (so, she wasn't totally fibbing about Cirque swag), a packet of Soak wash, a jar of Port Wine Jelly from Bernardo Winery near her home, and the coolest tin of mints ever!

COOL? The tin has "Knitting Girl" on the front and the mints inside are sugar-free green apple. I need to find these at one of my LYS...

GeorgeAnne also sent a rope toy for my kids, which as you can see they pretty much claimed right away from the pile as I was photoing...

Zeus: "Hey, there's a toy here and no one's hogging it..."

Lola: "Yes Mommy, may I puhhhleeeeeezzzzzzzze have it???"

Thanks Sneaky Girl... uh, I mean Georgie! You are one super multitasking spoiler!!!!!!!

Dog Days of Summer

We are just coming off of one miserable, icky, sticky, nasty heat wave here... dog days of summer would be an understatement for the past 4 days, especially since I've been out working in it. Instead of beeing cooped up in my nice air conditioned office, I've been on site working on a new condo model... moving stuff from one building to another, shopping, putting it all together and well, sweating up a stinky storm... ugh.

I'm also still playing catch up with everything... here is another FO, which I actually completed a couple weeks ago for donation at the Granite State Knit In... the teddy bear sweater!

Since it is Dogs on Thursday, I wanted to share this weird little story (with a happy ending!) that I got in my email box this week.... Dog Survives Toto Impression During Tornado! Chase is one lucky - and quite handsome - doggy!

I also wanted to share with everyone that my little girl Sophie is in the spotlight over at the Planet Dog blog! Check her out here! Planet Dog has an awesome Kiss Me I'm Adopted program where anyone who's adopted a cat or dog can get a great little kit!

I'll leave you with some quick pictures of the kids ...

Sophie watching out the window... {click names for more pics}

Teutul joined in (please ignore the "artwork" created on the window sill by our children and the section of wall that Daddy still needs to patch thanks to the couch that used to sit there.... )

Then Lola... you see, the window "box seat" is a prime spot in our house.. we have 4 very nosey watch dogs children....

Since we hadn't yet put away luggage from vacation, there wasn't much room for Zeus to cram in to. Besides, he'd much rather spend his time watching things from outside anyway... or maybe hanging out with Mommy?

Enjoy the rest of your day and remember.. it is almost Friday!!!!!!!

The End...

Bug Hunting & Bird Watching

Please bear with me while I'm still playing catch up! The saying "I need a vacation from my vacation" couldn't be further from the truth... I've still yet to download the pictures off the camera, but promise them soon... race car drivers, race cars, race shops... and oh yea, my yarn shop find (and haul) and my pics with the absolutely adorable, mellow man, Killer!

Last weekend we spent a off-and-on again rainy afternoon watching the Cats vs Dogs...

... as in, the Manchester Fisher Cats vs the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox affiliate)... after the game we hoped on over the an awesome steakhouse, which was by far the more enjoyable part of the day.

I ended up staying home on Sunday and after a lazy start, I stayed busy working up a bunch of stitch markers for A Knitter's Garden (more to come soon for my Etsy shop, but in the meantime there are still several sets available over there). Joanne is vending at The Granite State Knit In this Saturday and had asked for some specific smaller sets to have on hand. She also suggested a display board for single markers and thanks to my wonderful honey, we now have an awesome looking display board which I delivered to her last night (and thanks to his overactive imagination engineering mind, not only one that stands up but one that folds for portability). Of course, I forgot to photo it but will do so this weekend.

I'm really looking forward to the Knit In on Saturday! Joanne and I will be cruising up at the sinful hour butt-crack of dawn with blogless Cheryl (I'm so NOT a morning person...). I'm looking forward to my classes, for which I still need to knit a 6 x 4 swatch... but at least I only have one swatch to knit for homework, unlike last year (and no, I did not pick my classes based on the homework assigned, I just happened to luck out with only one of them requiring actual homework). I also have to finish my 2nd pair of the magic slippers for the donations. Last night the girls convinced me to use my 1st pair (the tiny, tiny infant size) as my contest entry.

So now on to the Dogs on Thursday content... the kids also got a little more active after their lazy Sunday morning. We went out on the back porch to hang and watch the critters....

Teutul {as always, click linked names for more pics} was pretty persistant in checking out what was above before he pooped out...



I think he was watching the birds zip around his head... and after a more careful examination of the tree behind the hot tub in that picture, I found this nesting mama...

Sophie is my little lady bug hunter extraordinaire! I swear... hunting dog mega mix... she definitely is (officially we have her as a "hound mix," but I'm starting to think she's got some bassett in her due to her odd body shape... perhaps bassett, beagle and something else?). She will chase anything & everything... moths, birds, flies, ants, frogs, bugs of any kind... she'd be torturing the squirrels & woodchucks if they weren't out of reach. One of her new favorite activities is rumaging thru Mommy's old, dried up plant pots on the porch to stir up the bugs to catch, especially that old Lavender plant (I guess this isn't how you dry lavender, huh?)...

She is an avid bird watcher (that little black spot in the grass - in between the rungs above her head - is a bird)...

Her big brother Zeus is also an avid bird watcher, although his favorite activity is to "lay low" out front until they all gather by the tree and then to run full speed, giving poor little birdies heart attacks barreling in to them and making birds scater everywhere.

Lola was too busy keeping an eye peeled for Chucky & Woody to care about some silly old birdies...

I did try another 4 doggy photo, but with not as much success as the last round...

Catching up... slowly!

I'm still playing catch up after vacation... very slowly, given that we haven't had much for down time since returning home. Today has been off to a lazy start...

Not the speediest of readers, I decided that I would finally start reading Friday Night Knitting Club this morning and am already having a hard time putting it down. I got my copy a long, long time ago and had it signed here, however usually find I'd rather knit than read, so... anyway, this was my breakfast of champions while reading this morning...

It was a pretty lazy morning all around the house today...

Sleepy eyed Teutul...

Lounging, lazy girls, Lola & Sophie...

The king of the sunspots, Zeus...

I have some knitting content, although I was a little bit lazy (sense a theme here?) with my vacation knitting. This is how far I got on the first of my "Trekking to Charlotte" sock..

Earlier this week, I cast on the camera sock for my new pink Kodak. It is a very quick knit, but did I mention I've been lazy? It'll be finished this week - after all, I need to have it done before the Knit In this weekend so the camera is protected in my bag!

Before we left for Charlotte, you might've picked up on the quick peak at the beautiful apple trees in full blossom in my backyard... I meant to post these photos before I left, but realize I didn't get around to it... see how pretty they were?

Before vacation.....

and after...

Ah well... enjoy it while you can, right? I also came home to a thousand and one friggin lilacs blooming ... which results in extremely dry eyes and sneezing. While we only have one small bush on the side of the house, right now it smells like a whole forest! I used to enjoy lilacs, but my allergies have gotten worse as I age...

I still need to download all the vacation pictures, including my wonderful visit (and purchases) to the lovely and homey Cottage Yarn in Mint Hill, as well as lots & lots of photos from the races. A good friend surprised us with pit passes, so we've got some excellent pictures (speaking of racing... Chan, you'll be pleased to know that I'm wearing an Elliott shirt today, although its a #38, but still a great shirt!). And of course, the pics with Killer! I broke the news to Zeus, Lola, Tut & Sophie... they were sad they didn't get to play with Killer, but didn't seem to mind so much when they noticed Mommy brought home their favorite treats from the Canine Cafe!

For those of you who I didn't get to email this week, I wanted to once again thank everyone for all of the well wishes for my Mom during her fight with colon cancer and let you know that she had a clear cat scan! Yeah!!! She will need to go in for a follow up in six months just to make sure everything is still clean. However, the happiness didn't last long, as my Dad went to the doctor with swollen glands in his neck and has now been diagnosed with cancer. We are in the very early stages of diagnosis and will know more later this week, however so far Mom is reporting that it is a form of head & neck cancer, in the very early stages and treatable. Please continue your good thoughts for my Dad...

I'll be back later... I'm off to get some stitch markers made now. I need to get some made for A Knitter's Garden, as Joanne will be vending at the Knit In on Saturday and requested some extras. I also need to update my Etsy store very soon!

We're Back!

We're back from our vacation where our swaggy hotel cost more than Mom & Dad's!

Mom says she's swamped with work but plans to start downloading vacation photos and posting on the blog soon... we even heard that she cheated on us and hung out with Dale Earnhardt Jr's dog Killer while she was away! Hmm... what's up with that??!! We want to hang out with Killer too... (Mom didn't take this picture... but its the only one we could find online of Killer)