Does Your Dog Do This?

Morning Ritual

Since Lucan can't scratch his own back, it's not like I don't understand.  I do.

That's not to say, that it still doesn't give me a laugh every day.

There. Now doesn't that feel better?



Beautiful day here.

We went for our morning walk. Sun shining and warming up the day.

Clear blue skies.

Chartreuse leaves. Yellow leaves. A few orange and red thrown in for good measure.

The smell of fall in the air. The fading flowers. The apples. The pears. The dew on leaves that have fallen.

The sound of one leaf, maybe two, drifting to the earth to rest.

Dappled sunlight spread on the path before us, greeting the new day.



I hope yours started as nicely.

Ciao for now,

A Fish In Water

Olympic Gold Medalist-To-Be

Our friend Charlie (remember, he brought the big steel plate over for the 4th) called yesterday to see if the pool was open, which of course it was and is. Did I say it's hot? His granddaughter Makenna was supposed to go to a friend's to swim in her pool, but the play date got cancelled. Once she hopped in, I don't think it mattered too much anymore.

She insisted on showing us her 'Big Jump'.

Then her colorful nails.

Then her toothy grin (before she loses those pearly whites).

While Makenna was swimming about the pool, Lucan was rolling about the lawn. Cracks me up when dogs do that.

Plus I like the noises they make when they do it. It's quite a routine.

Then it was time for Makenna to dry off and chill with 'Bumpa' for awhile.  You've gotta love the look.

Later, That Same Day (cue dramatic old movie music)



I went to check on my Mom at the end of the day. She had cataract surgery in the morning. All went very well. Of course she did have a clear dome over her eye, giving her a kind of Cyborg effect, but other than that she looked great. Right Mom? (She's lurking. Hasn't quite figured out how to post comments yet.)

Got to see my great niece Sophia too......aka Punky Brewster. She's not always so sure of everyone and she lets you know it.

Giving me the Sophia scowl.  Hmmmm, who does this remind me of......as if I didn't know.......my niece Cait!

Uh oh, Daddy got her to crack a smile! Now put some music on and she will not be able to do anything but give you a little Sophia Shimmy. Unstoppable on the dance floor.

It's a Tropical Heatwave

We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave........another hot one today. Supposed to reach high 90s and humid! Remind me of this when I'm posting the 'latest snow' pictures this winter.  Just watered the veg and the flowers so they didn't croak.

Love the shot of this Admiral Nelson lily I got from my sister in law Kelly. Didn't have to make one adjustment in Photoshop.

Guess it's not hard to take a good photograph of lilies. Gorgeous color.

On the way to the other garden, I spied the raspberries. Unlike our neighbors, ours are a little slow and not so prolific this year. That's OK, as I mentioned, the neighbors haven't had this problem. Joanie brought us over a pint last night. Freezing for future use. Joanie's Freezing Berries Tip: place in one layer on plate or cookie sheet in freezer, let freeze, then put in freezer bag and back in freezer. That way they don't freeze in one big clump.

The Queen Anne's Lace is in bloom.

This flower is honkin'! I'm talking BIG.

Played 'catch the stick' with Lucan before it was too roasting. OK, 'catch the branch', which he then thought he was bringing inside. He really does give me a laugh  every day. I had to wrestle it out of his mouth.

Hope the sun is shining on you today. Have a great Thursday in your corner of the world.

A Sofa, Louis & Rachael

Etsy, for those of you who don't know, is an online marketplace for handmade/designed goods, vintage, and supplies for making handmade goods. Etsy is, quite frankly, chock full of inspiration.  I've designed note cards inspired by Pamela Angus' stained glass. I drew a sofa that my friend Susie had in her shop. I coveted that sofa. When Susie saw the drawing of the sofa she said "How on earth did you do that?" I said with a wink, "I drew it."  I know, very smarmy. Let's get more specific, though I do have  drawing pad and pencils, you will most often find me working on my computer. Illustrator is my program of choice. I drew her sofa in Illustrator, in part with my mouse and in part with my Bamboo computer pencil. 

I really liked the simple line drawing style that it embodies.  Susie liked it too. Which got me to thinking, maybe others would like it. I spring boarded from there. Perhaps a Louis XI chair?

Then I found some more inspiration on Decor8 in their feature on neon bright colors. I transformed the classic line drawing of the Louis XV chair with bright colors and and patterns (one of my paper designs to be exact).  This might be the piece my sister Di has been waiting for to go in her guest room with her 'happy' color comforter.

I had fun with inspiration and creation yesterday. I needed some 'just create' time big-time-a-rooney. It made my day.

Rachael Ray

Now, I like Rachael Ray, though her show and cutesy words can get a little much for me at times. I bought her magazine a couple years ago from the girl next door who was raising money for girl scouts. I wouldn't consider Rachael a 'chef' so to speak, but she doesn't consider herself one either.  That said, I could do without the sections that feature the products RR loves or can't live without. Doesn't mean that much to me. But I continue to get this magazine each year from the neighborhood girl scout because I like her recipes. She had a couple of grilled pizza recipes in this month and having not tried grilling pizza before, I thought it was about time.  I didn't stick to her recipe, just the general idea.

Got pizza dough from the store (shout out to my bil Niall who is shaking his head as he reads this.......he makes his own dough). Easy. Made two rounds. Grilled up some of the Lebanese squash we got at Farmers Market this weekend.  Grilled the pizza dough on a cookie sheet with some greased foil. Flipped it and grilled longer. Brought it all in to top it off. One we topped with sauce, the grilled squash, prosciutto and mozz. The second we topped with the rest of the grilled squash, baby bella shrooms, yes- more prosciutto (what can I say, we love the stuff and it still left me some for the cantaloupe this week), and mozz.  Brought back out to the grill, but cheese wasn't melting good so popped under the broiler. Mighty fine meal.

Now, it looks like there is more cheese on the pizza then there really was. What really shined was the squash and prosciutto. We will definitely do that again.

Another hot day here. Our friend Charlie just stopped by with his granddaughter Makennna. She needed some pool time. Pictures tomorrow.

Proof of the heat. One sprawled out, zonked dog. (yes, that's a fur ball behind him).

Forecast for tomorrow..........hotter. Good thing my parents have an air conditioner they're not using. Well, my father would be, but Mom isn't big on them. I'm not either to be honest, but the hot-dog above will be very happy and will breathe a bit easier the next few days.

Wow, Wednesday already! Hope it's great in your corner of the world.

FurBalls & Tumbleweed

When my friend Tina was recently here, I had to laugh when she said I might be 'addicted' to Sharking the house.  Sharking, as we fondly call it, is giving the house the vacuum once over with our Shark (love that thing- picks up quite a bit for a small, motorized sweeper and it's battery powered- no cords!). I told her that I was not addicted per se, but rather Sharking out of necessity. If I take a few minutes to Shark each day, it cuts down on the furball tumbleweeds that adorn my home thanks to the hounddog.  She wasn't really buying it. However, when you consider that Lucan (our pointerX mutt) is probably about 5 times as big as her jack russell Buster, it would would equate to that much more doghair tumbling around. Need I say more?

So after having to pull out the heavy hitter vacuum yesterday because I hadn't Sharked in two days, I thought I'd take the dog comb to Lukes.  Viola, proof for Tina.



Lucan with his pet cat Fluffy.
No, not really.
That's what came off him after a
3 minute combing. Can you take it?

I can honestly say, I don't have an addiction to Sharking. I just know it makes my housekeeping job easier.  That said, even with regular Sharking, there really is no keeping up. Perhaps that's why I like the sign my sister Gloria gave me a few Christmases ago so much.  It hangs by our front door as one last reminder.




What? You can't see the sign?



Still can't see the sign?



How about now?

So, since I worked the heavy hitter vacuum yesterday, I'm hoping to only have to shark the next few days. I'll be too busy to care about dog furball tumbleweeds anyways. You'll find me checking things off the 'Get Ready For the 4th of July Lobster Bake' list. 

Yesterday I checked a few things off the list, including the lobster/steamers order from Defiant Lobster. The only place we get our bugs and clams. Right on the Hampton marsh.  Been going there as long as I can remember.

Beyond the list, took a moment to enjoy the sunset last night. It wasn't 'brilliant', but rather subdued and quite pretty in it's own right with rays of lights streaming down.



This particular shot didn't show off the rays of of sun the best,
but I love the way the hues and lighting give it a 70s kind of vibe.

Have a wonderful Friday where you are!