Fetch It!!

This Flip has been way too much fun!

Vinnie loves loves loves his Wubba and his Cuz, but does NOT like to get cold things in his mouth. He doesn't like it when his food is partially frozen or cold and as you can see from this video, he really doesn't like his Wubba or his Cuz to get cold. He really takes his time picking them up out of the snow. Sometimes he'll roll them over a bit in the snow to get the best spot to pick them up. Also... you can see that it is NOT easy to hold the camera steady and throw a toy at the same time! Sorry!!

Flip!

Yipeeeee!!! Santa brought me a Flip video camera for Christmas!! Of course, I had to try it out on the dogs (what else would I shoot, right?) So here is a really short video - I finally figured out how to load the music - THANKS Tammy!!! So here it is with "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" by the Muppets:

A New Perspective...

I have always taken photos of Vinnie by throwing a toy and shooting as he comes back to me. A fresh snowfall inspired a new perspective on the subject. I had Brian stand at one end of the yard and throw the ball towards me and I shot as Vinnie was going after the ball. It turned out pretty neat - the un-brown dog has some ice on his windshield!

It's NICE outside!!

It was so nice out this afternoon that Vinnie and I went out for a good game of fetch. You would NEVER catch Frank or Betty doing this! They were inside under a blanket dreaming of summer!!

Getting the boot...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was rooting around in the hard drive and came across some videos... fun fun fun. This was taken May 16th... four days after Vinnie arrived. I should have known that kid would be trouble. LOL. He still LOVES this pair of boots. I love them too - they are LL Bean's storm chaser clogs. I keep them by the back door to wear outside. I have to keep them out of his reach. He never hurts them - just likes to chew on the leather part.

This photo was taken two months later... stinkin' adorable.

For Martha...

The Un-Brown dog is NOT obeed-gent!

I was organizing totes in the basement and found Robin's scent articles, gloves and dumbbells. Hmmm... wonder what the un-brown dog would do with a dumbbell?

He would do this:

and this:

He really wasn't naughty... he did a whole lot of this:

(looks like a pretty good fit!)

I think he might like some obeed-gence!

Two weeks!!!!

Two weeks from tomorrow New Moon comes out!!!!

Fall Fun...

I decided to take advantage of the semi-nice day and the last of the leaves and headed out to the back yard to get some shots of the dogs... I am so used to my "brown dogs" that all match... Vinnie just does NOT match my pre planned color scheme! LOL

Betty:

Robin:

Frank:

and Vinnie (now known as "the un-brown dog")

Just because...

I groomed Vinnie Saturday and got some fun shots of him - I LOVE this one:

The Coleus Project

The Coleus Project... sounds like some top secret spy movie! I kinda got this idea from Martha. I am planning on putting some Coleus in the planter that runs along the front of the porch next spring. It's about fifteen feet long and that means a LOT of plants. Martha has a cool "Lava Rose" Coleus and is going to give me cuttings from it to grow over the winter in the house and then I'll be able to plant them outside in the spring.

This got me thinking... Culver's Garden Center is ten minutes from my house and I'll bet they are getting rid of their annuals pretty cheap... This required a little shopping trip Friday afternoon. I had a moment of panic when the area that is normally filled with Coleus was EMPTY of everything! Day late and a dollar short... story of my life. Oh well... I thought I would look around while I was there... and (cue angel trumpets and "Hallelujah" music here) there they sat on a table in the next building!! I have this great little built in planter in the new house (south facing windows!) and here are the little darlings:

This is Mississippi Summer:

Pineapple:
Moon Glow:

Aren't they cute? Culver's is usually pretty expensive - these guys would normally be about five bucks apiece, but in October? A dollar and seven cents each! Total bargain of the century!!! Now if I can just keep them alive over the winter, I'll take cuttings from these plants in early spring and plant those cuttings in front of the house and in the fall, I'll repeat the process for keeping them over winter. You know what they say about best laid plans? I'd better go water these guys...

Seven Months!

I can't believe he is seven months old already... time flies for sure. This is one of his favorite toys - the Kong Wubba. It's a great outdoor toy. You can fling it pretty far.

Here are the other shots of Vinnie and Robin playing - Robin seems to be getting into the playing a little more now.

They REALLY are playing - Vinnie just took a cheap shot at Robin and Rob was a little bit honked off.What's the saying... "Old age and treachery beats youth and enthusiasm!!"

Just a note...

I'm actually in my house!! I have internet!!! I'll get posting again soon!! But... here is a little taste of the boys playing a couple days ago:

Welcome Home!

I got home from the Peoria trial yesterday and Brian and I decided to head up to the house to take the rosin paper up from the floors and pick up the mail. Imagine my surprise when I found this at the back door!! It's a genuine Rilda Sue petunia in a Michele pot!! Thanks ladies!!! It is so cute!!!

The Outside...

I am not planning on doing a whole lot to the outside of the house this year. Next spring will be a different story for sure. However, there were a couple things that needed to be done. This was the yard as it looked during the inspection:

Here are a couple views of the yard after being fenced (a BIG priority for the dogs!!):
It's a nice sized yard and has a lot of shade.

The previous owners used to garden a bit, but didn't do anything this year. This is what we had to clear out: Not quite done, but the fence posts are out and the knee high weeds are down. We have a few piles of yard waste to take out and we will be bringing in some dirt next year to level it out a bit, but it's getting there. I will be able to do a bit of agility back here.

This is where the deck is going to be someday - it will go from the back door to this corner of the house and will be a great area to sit and enjoy the yard, barbecue, and let the dogs play. We have already moved the air conditioner around to the north side of the house (just to the left of the photo - it was sitting on that cement pad behind the bench) and the gas meter will need to be moved next year to make way for the deck.

Hmmm... I'll have to show you my plans for the front of the house next!

Some Before and After...

We've been doing a lot of work on the new house over the last several days and I thought a few before/after shots might be fun. We put in a new furnace and air conditioner - this is the old furnace:

and the new one:
The old air conditioner unit - the house was built in 1961 and the furnace and a/c were original:

And the new air conditioner - moved to the north side of the house to keep in shaded and to allow us to put in a deck next summer:

Most of what we have been doing the last few days is painting (and LOTS of it!!). This is one of the bedrooms before - note the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling:
And... the after (that's two coats of primer and a coat of paint to get rid of that dark blue paint!!- you can't see it in the photo, but the ceiling cleaned up very nicely and took paint well):

There's lots more to come... I'll have to take more photos once all the painter's tape is down and the rosin paper is off the floor and our furniture is in.