Got Bandana?

Happy Monday... or rather, ugh Monday already?  Did you celebrate Bandana Day yesterday?  What is bandana day, you say?  Wag on over to Sue's blog and read all about it!  Instead of a chosen color this year, it was "pick your own."  The Lapdogs were very excited to drive Mama crazy on our photo shoot participate... and that left some great outtakes appropriate for Mischief Monday!

I love this shot of my boys, so it's not so much of a mischief outtake.  Tut sported his flames (which goes along with his namesake, as he was named after the Teutuls of American Chopper/Orange County Choppers) and Zeus sported his red, white and blue!

I tried for a 4-doggy shot, but this was the best we got.  Anyone seen the Princess?

There she is, fixated on something (probably a critter in the yard) behind her sister Lola, who sported Mommy's favorite "Bone Jovi" bandana.  

Teutul and his "I'm Sexy and I Know It" pose... the second shot was a hit on Instagram over the weekend.

My hooey hounds!  Sophie, aka Miss Princess, didn't make too many of the photos. She sported a custom made doggy bandana that is somewhat too small for her now... maybe she was embarrassed and just wanted to wear the bad-arse flames or the red, white and blue?

Thank you to Sue for organizing Bandana Day!  Woof, Woof! 

Oh Happy Day!

Happy Friday... and it really is a happy day around here!  I got the phone call from our wonderful vet this morning and my smile couldn't have been bigger... Zeus' liver levels have gone down!  They are still above the "high norm" range, but they've gone down!  And, they are still a tad higher than when we originally discovered the elevated levels at his check up in February, but they've gone down!  We will keep the big guy on both samE and milk thistle, and retest the levels again in September.  Do you think he was happy to go for a r-i-d-e to the v-e-t yesterday?

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!  Does anyone have plans to knit in public tomorrow?  I thought World Wide Knit in Public Day was just one day, but I see it's actually being celebrated for a full week, June 9 - 17.  There are a couple of events happening in my area tomorrow, however I'll be busy celebrating my anniversary and possibly having another dog park play date with a former foster pup!  I think I make up for it however, as I knit in public nearly every weekend at a race track somewhere in New England (this is one of two off weekends we have between now and October).   

I haven't gotten much actual knitting accomplished this week... a couple inches on a baby hat that I don't have photos of is about it.  I received this in the mail and got a little distracted thumbing through it...

Did anyone else snag a signed copy of Knit Red: Stitching For Women's Heart Health by pre-ordering it through Jimmy Beans Wool?  I'm going to borrow the description from Jimmy's website for those of you who haven't heard about the book yet...

"Jimmy Beans Wool is proud to present Knit Red, an instant classic and must have coffee table knitting treasure for every knitter. This book contains 30 fabulously red garments and accessories designed and donated by celebrity designers who openly share their personal experiences with Heart Disease and tips on how they stay heart healthy!"

I'm a long time supporter of the "Go Red" campaign and immediately knew this was a must-have book for my collection.  Not only does Knit Red feature some beautiful patterns, but there are quite a few recipes as well.  What I love even more, however, are the designers' personal stories and tips!  It doesn't hurt that I am quite partial to the color red and have quite a bit of red variations in my yarn stash.  Now... what to cast on first?

Stormy Sky captured earlier this week...

Enjoy the rest of your Friday... looks like we've got some more rain coming in (of course we do, the sun tricked me into taking my truck through the car wash earlier today!).  I'll leave you with some Friday Fill-Ins...

 

1. I knew it was love when... he said it first!

2. My heart can be broken but you always know how to mend it.

3. A dog is unconditional love.

4. My how you have sunk to a new low (additional confirmation that a former co-worker was never my friend).

5. Can you see a rainbow through all this rain?.

6. And the song remains the same.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting some knitting time in, tomorrow my plans include having a fantastic 17th anniversary and Sunday, I want to get some things done around the house - after all it's a very rare no-race weekend for us!

Unleashed at the Dog Park!

Happy Thorsday / Thankful Thursday / Little Friday!  Today I'm thankful for my furkids and their unconditional love.  We've got a couple health issues going in our pack and I've been reading about far too many friends crossing the rainbow bridge lately, so it's extra special to be able to squeeze them and hold them tight.  We've been dealing with Zeus' unexplained rising liver levels since February (click the "Zeus Liver" label below) and this afternoon we're going in for a two month blood work check up.  Send good vibes...  We are also waiting on the results of Lola's blood work from Tuesday night.  My old girl has slowed down quite a bit over the past year or so, but seemed more sluggish than usual lately.  Her body shape has also changed, which got me worrying... so off to see our favorite doctor lady we went.  We've determined that Lola has lost muscle mass in her rear end and gained some in her front from overcompensating... resulting in her new "shape."  The great doc also noticed she seemed to be favoring her right rear leg a bit and is guessing our old lady has developed some arthritis in her back/rear end/legs.  We ran blood work to rule out lyme or another tick-born disease and to make sure her liver/kidneys were functioning properly so that we may try an arthritis medication to see if she shows improvement on that.  It's always something with aging pups...

With everything going on, I'm still playing catch up with photos.  Today you get shots from Lola and Sophie's visit to the dog park to hang out with our former foster Harper at the end of April!  We weren't sure how Harper would react to us, since it had been a couple months since our last visit, but as soon as she saw us, she came running over... wiggling her entire body!  It means a lot that she not only remembers us, but loves us as much as we love her.  

It was hard to get good shots at the park, but I managed a few cute ones.  Isn't Harper beautiful?  She's growing up and looking more like a collie these days... it's as though she has the face of a collie with the coat of a shepherd.  Just to remind you of how tiny she was during her month with us...

 

Awww... she was such a cute puppy and now is a cute big girl!  Here are a couple shots of her and lazy Lola enjoying the nice April day.  As I mentioned above, she's slowed down a lot of the years.  Lola's idea of fun at the dog park is to do a lap or two when she first arrives, then find a lovely spot to lay down and dog watch!

We all had a blast, although Sophie and Harper weren't so sure of everything.  Harper really was Sophie's mini-me... they are very much alike in so many ways, although Sophie is still so leary of new things, while Harper is starting to grow out of it.  You may notice Sophie is on leash in the photos.  My very cautious girl immediately ran for the gate to get out of the park as soon as we let her off leash and was not too sure what to make of her first visit to the park.  We ended up putting the leash back on, which made her much more content to hang out and enjoy things.

My lazy baby girls... who apparently could use a pair of shades the next time we go to the park!

This is the only not so great picture I managed of all 3 girls...

We had a blast visiting with little Miss Harper and hope to get to see her again soon!  She is just a doll!   It always means a lot to get updates on our fosters... but getting in a little visit is even better!  I'm not sure who enjoys it more... the dogs or the humans!

Both of my girls were well worn out later that night... can you tell?

A Growing Container Garden

Happy Wordless Wednesday! 

"Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans." ~ Marcelene Cox



REVIEW & COUPON: Happy Tails Organic Treats

Happy Tails Organic Treats

Where to Find: Happy Tails

The Lapdogs recently had the opportunity to review Happy Tails Organic Treats and boy were their tails wagging! 

Happy Tails Organic Treats is an Atlanta, Georgia based start-up company specializing in premium, handmade pet treats made with human-grade, organic ingredients.  The company was created with a sole purpose - healthy pets are happy pets.  Made by humans, loved by pets, Happy Tails Organic Treats is truly "Darn Good Stuff."

Currently, the Happy Tails Organic Treats line consists of six flavors: Carrot Patch, No Glutes, PB&C (Peanut Butter, Banana & Carob), Pumpkin Pie and Surf-n-Surf.  If you're counting, that only adds up to five flavors... for dogs anyway! Although the Lapdogs still can't believe that some pooches out there have to put up with those C-A-T things living under their roof, they think it's cool you can get them their own treats: Cat Crack-ers!  They contain the same seaside ingredients as Surf-n-Turf, so we're sure your canine and feline friends can share either.  No matter which version you pick, we're happy to see these tuna and shrimp treats on the "menu" for our furry friends who are allergic to chicken and beef.

The Lapdogs received a bag of Carrot Patch for their review.  Bursting with carrot chunks and flax seeds, not only are they a tasty reward, but they're healthy too! 

"Carrots are an excellent source of antioxidants and phytonutrients, which are thought to help protect the heart and reduce the risk of cancer.  Flax seeds play a significant role in canine cardiovascular health, as well as skin and coat health."

In keeping with Happy Tails Organic Treats "Darn Good Stuff" motto, Carrot Patch treats have no preservatives, nothing artificial and no salt or sugar added.  They simply contain all organic, natural ingredients: organic rice flour, organic all-purpose white flour, organic whole rolled oats, organic carrots, organic flax seeds, organic eggs and organic vegetable broth. 

Made by hand in small batches, Happy Tails Organic Treats are satisfying to both the humans and dogs - I feel great feeding them to my furkids, and they love gobbling them up! 

The Lapdogs highly recommend you order some for your pack today (and remember, the kitties can get in on the yummies too)!  The great folks at Happy Tails Organic Treats have extended a special offer to Lapdog Creations readers!  Visit their website and at check out, use the discount code LAPDOGCREATIONS and receive 15% off your entire order!  Healthy, all natural treats for your furkids and a discount for your wallet - what could be better?

Mischief... Lapdog Style

I often wonder what mischief the Lapdogs get into when we're not home, especially on far away race days when they might be home alone a bit longer than they would prefer.... as was the case this past weekend.  One would figure they get in a hefty amount of nap time when we're not home, however they were quite clingy lazy yesterday.  How could dogs be soooooo lazy after a day home alone sleeping?  I might have to set up a hidden camera one of these days!

These photos aren't from their super lazy day yesterday, but they still make you wonder what they've been up to.  Enjoy the rest of your Monday -- we might need to start building an ark if this rain keeps up!

 

GIVEAWAY WINNER: Postal Puppy

Thank you to everyone who entered to win the Postal Puppy box of goodies!  The winner, chosen from Rafflecopter, was Olivia The Service Dog!

Congrats to Olivia... the Lapdogs hope you love your new box of goodies!