11.25.2009

A little Holiday Humor.....


Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

11.22.2009

Update: Rumor, Bath time & Prettiness

A little update on our recent foster Rumor. She stayed with us for the week. She passed Kittie Boot camp while she was with us. She was a very easy foster. She is a follower, a leaner, a kisser, quick learner, good listener, friendly, loving, sweet girl. It was a pleasure to keep her for the week. She was officially adopted yesterday. She has a wonderful family and is doing well! Above and below are a few pics from her stay with us. Check out VAGA's blog to see the other lucky hounds who found their forever home this weekend. Spare Key, who is Maggie's litter mate Happiness' pup, came up on this haul and is currently in foster. Mitch got to meet her and said she was super sweet. :)
Playing with toys is one of Rumor's favorite things to do. She emptied all the toy baskets in the house. She bounced around the living room and bedroom playing with toys. My kids just looked at her like she had three heads!
She also enjoyed romping in the yard.

Also this weekend, it was time to give the pups a bath. They were not too happy about it, but they were starting to stink, so it was time. I bathed Pippi first. The best part for her was drying off. She loves wet towels. She loves to rub her entire body on them. Silly girl.
Bath time made Maggie tired. She shows me her big yawn.
I needed Mitch's assistance to bath Boo Boo. He is a bit over my weight lifting capability. He was a good boy for his bath, but glad when it was over. I just love the way the black dogs look after a bath. So shiny.
The bath really brought out Cueball's ticking. He looks so naked without his ID collar.

I spent some time outside today weeding the flower beds. It was long over due. In the 9 years we have lived in our home we have done quite a bit of landscaping. While I was weeding, I could not help but admire these two Leland Cypress trees we planted about eight years ago. It took them a long time to get this big, but they are beautiful and provide privacy from the road. Now we are wishing we had planted about eight more. ;-)
The two Bradford Pear trees were memorial gifts and were planted in our front yard in early 2002, the following spring after the loss of both of Mitch's parents. One in memory of his mom Betty and the other in memory of his dad Carl. They have done so well over the years and are so beautiful when they bloom.
Mitch recently planted this bush in one of our flower beds. I have no idea what it is, but the blooms right now are stunning.
The frogs were a wedding gift. I am a big fan of frogs and have collected many over the years, but these are by far my favorite. In the spring they will be hidden by the blooming Iris' in this flower bed.
The last elephant ear for the season. I am amazed it is still around.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving! Have a great week everyone. :)

11.14.2009

I believe I can fly and I heard a Rumor

It has been months since we last fostered. Puddin Pop was our last foster. In case you are thinking it, NO we are not going to foster fail! Not this time anyway. We are not ready to move up to 5 hounds. We are fostering Gossip Hound KNA Rumor for a week though. You may have read about her on Alex's blog. I love the spa bath picture of her, just adorable!

Rumor went to meet a family in the Richmond area today and we are hopefull that she may have found her forever home. She is staying with us for the week so we can see how she does with the kitties. :) She is a super sweet, friendly girl. Nothing much phases her. Surprisingly Maggie is fine with her being here and Pippi seems okay with it too. Miss Pippi is a little picky about her friends and Maggie is just Miss alpha bi**h.

We spent most of the afternoon inside testing her with the cat and watching some college football. GO Ole Miss, GO VT and GO Gators!!! Rumor has spent most of her day sacked out on a doggie bed doing what hounds do best. I hope to get some more pictures of her this week. She has very cute ears. They remind me of Puddin Pop's ears. We are happy to have her here with us for the week!

I debated about whether or not I should mention this on the blog, as I did not want it to come across as a brag, but after long thought, I have decided that I would share and hope that no one takes it as a brag, as it is not intended as one, but rather is intended as happy news. So here goes. A few months ago, I took the plunge and bought a new camera. About a year and a half ago, I had a great opportunity to buy Trina's Canon Power Shot, as she was moving up to a DSLR. The camera was in perfect condition and for me it was a wonderful opportunity to learn the basic modes and functions and how to use them. Before the Canon Power Shot, I had owned Fuji and Olympus cameras. They were okay, but after using the Canon for a year and half, I am hooked on this brand and will probably always own a Canon. I researched and researched, read review after review and decided on the Canon T1i. I am very happy with my purchase. I am still learning all of the functions and modes this camera has to offer, but taking pictures is just simply becoming more and more enjoyable. :) I still have the Power Shot and have no intention of getting rid of it, as it is still a good camera. I am not usually the type of person into the latest gadgets, electronics etc., but I love photography and the hounds are such great subjects!
I think I may have created an inner monster. I am already searching, and reviewing telephoto and zoom lenses. :) I hope to get better and better with practice.

Below are some shots of the kids playing in the backyard. I hope you enjoy them. After I took them, downloaded them and viewed them, this old song "I believe I can fly" suddenly came into my head. I don't know why it popped into my head, I have not heard it in years, but it seems fitting for the hounds nonetheless.
Love the curled tail!

Just amazing!! I really think Pippi would enjoy agility. I just need to get off my lazy butt and make it happen!

Her ears are so cute in this picture.
Quite the balancing act she has going on there.
Stealth mode.

And, last but not least. Mitch had to take a quick picture of this. She can sit! She just most times does not want to. Excuse the green alien eyes.
Looking forward to getting better and better with practice! Love having a hobby, it is rewarding to see the results. :) Hope everyone has a greyt weekend!

11.07.2009

Fall is here!

This time of year is by far my favorite. Crisp cool air, sunny skies and beautiful colors on the trees. We have been lucky this year. We had a fairly mild summer. Other than the three weeks of on and off rain, we have had a pretty nice start to the fall season too. I have been enjoying the leaves changing colors over the past couple of weeks. We didn't make it to the mountains this year to see the leaves change. The views there are so picturesque, but the views in central VA have been quite pretty this year too. Below is a tree at the beginning of our driveway. I took this pic on my way to work the other day. I just love the orange leaves. ;) Very pretty. This is the view from my office, from one of the highest elevations in county.Today was beautiful and sunny with highs in the sixties. It did not look like it was going to start out that way though. When I got up with the pups at 5:45 a.m. , it was a balmy 28 degrees and there was frost on the tabletop on the deck. I am just not ready for the cold weather yet. It turned out to be a fabulous day for enjoying the outdoors. The pups have been so couped up with all the rain we have had lately. They needed to get out and stretch their legs.

Booyah and I play catch with the football.


Cueball is not much on playing catch, but he does love to romp.
Pippi just likes to be goofy.

Maggie plays with her favorite toy.
Booyah playing with the yellow duck and Mags with her favorite squeaky. BTW, if you are wondering why we always have plastic chairs and plastic flower pots in various spots in our backyard it is because we have massive holes from moles in our yard, so we use the chairs and pots so the hole gets covered (until we can refill the hole with dirt) and the pups don't hurt their legs by stepping into the deep holes while running. Those moles are pesky little varmints and we can't seem to get rid of them!
I love this shot of Maggie. She is such a pretty girl.
Booyah gives the screamin monkey something to scream about.
This one is a little blurry, but I love how graceful Booyah looks when he runs.
Booyah and the yellow duck. The Zanie toys are becoming my favorite. They make really neat noises and the pups really enjoy them.

We had a great day just hanging out with the pups watching them play. We have been very busy with various things going on lately. Sometimes you just need weekends like this to relax and enjoy time with your family.

Hope everyone has a great week.