Bath Day for the Hounds

Saturday I decided I couldn't take the stink or "stench" if you will, of these two hounds anymore. Gloria didn't smell too bad, but Fred, well that dog rolls and routs around in anything and he was just plain stinky! So I enlisted the help of my better half Stevie to help. We decided to do it outside in the grandkids turtle sandbox. It is amazing how dogs sense things 'cause when we brought out the old turtle and started to fill it with water, Fred and Gloria did what they do best.



Ran away.

We snagged Freddie first. We knew he was going to go all drama queen on us so he had to wear the gentle leader. After "gently leading" him into the water (okay it didn't go that smooth) his first thought was "OH MY God! OH MY GOD! They're trying to drown me! I knew I was pushing it when I chewed apart that last towel, shirt, shoe, plant, mail, magazine. (take your pick)" Then he thought, "Okay, think Freddie boy, if I just drink all this water, I'll survive!"
Ya, I never said he was the sharpest tool in the shed!

So, Freddie had his bath.


....and yes he bawled through the whole thing.

I figured he'd go all rangy afterwards, being the wild man that he is, but instead he just sulked away all depressed and embarrassed.

I think he just plain felt stupid in front of Gloria.

Next it was Glorias turn.


She just got in the tub (okay turtle) got cleaned and got out. Easy peasy! No drama, no whining, nothin'! Then to my utter surprise, she's the one who went rangy!





Fred was right in there, "Thank god you made it Gloria!" "The turtle didn't eat you either!" "I-I-I woulda helped ya but uh, I had some important stuff to do."

He was really thinking, "Crap! She made it." "I was hoping it would be only me again." "Damn turtle. Next time I see him I'm gonna kick some ass!"

The drama was over for everyone and Fred and Gloria ran about the yard to dry out.

Then, all wore out, they took their positions on the patio furniture.


Gloria on her lounger....(still a little fired up)


...and Freddie in his chair....(just plain exhausted)

and peace was restored in houndsville once more (well until Fred wakes up, anyways!)

The Baker

Besides being a terrific daughter, mother and wife; my daughter seems to be the baker in the family. These blueberry muffins she made from a Martha Stewart recipe and they not only looked great but tasted great, too. What really amazed me though, was the cake she made for her son's fourth birthday. He loves "Lightning McQueen", so she made him a "Lightning McQueen" cake.


And that was her first attempt at a decorated cake!
It still amazes me.
But she's an amazing person!

Dog Stories

I know it probably seems like I'm always writing about Freddie and poor Gloria hardly gets a bi-line. There's just not much to say about Gloria. She's just such a good girl that there's not much to write about unless of course I compare her to Fred. I'm not saying she's boring, just very well mannered and not as animated as Fred. For instance if I take a picture of her sleeping today it would look just like a picture I took yesterday or last week or a month ago. She is very consistent. Fred, he never sleeps the same way twice. He's very animated, dramatic and has LOTS of attitude. This makes him very photogenic. About the only thing they do the same is........

drink water

and...


make their Momma feel like dirt when she leaves the house without them.

Other than that they have nothing in common aside from being bassets. Gloria doesn't go in the garden and eat plants,she doesn't dig, she doesn't jump on people, she doesn't chew things she's not supposed to, she lets me cut her nails and clean her ears and she actually comes when called. Okay, fine, she lets out some pretty good rippers when she's sleeping, but other than that she is the perfect dog. We love her.
Fred, he's always in the garden eating plants. He digs, jumps on people, chews anything and everything, runs away when I try to cut his nails, runs away when I try to clean his ears and runs away when you call him. He's a bugger! We love him.

Oh, Gloria tries. Just the other night she ran out the door and jumped up on the new patio love seat (where of course mister dramatic usually lays).

Look at her. She's such a rebel!

And Freddie, well all I can say is.......



No more Vampire Diaries for you!

Lemon Shooters

These shooters have been a big hit this summer. I found them on the internet when looking for something new to make for my sister-in-laws' 50th birthday party. When I came across these I just had to try making them and boy were they easy to make and so impressive!
Here's how you make them.

You'll need:

4 lemons
1 box of lemon jello
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup tequila
coarse sea salt

Cut lemons in half length wise and hollow out making sure to get all the pulp leaving the inside shell clean. Use a muffin tin as a holder for your lemon halves. In small bowl dissolve lemon jello in boiling water. Once dissolved add cold water and tequila. Pour mix into lemon halves and refrigerate overnight. Once firm slice each halve into four wedges. I put some vegetable spray on a paper towel to wipe my knife off between cuts. I found doing this and making one swift cut worked the best. Sprinkle them with coarse sea salt just before serving.



You can also use limes and oranges and what ever liquor you want. I did some lime ones but found them a lot harder to get the inside clean as they are more stringy inside. These are great for a party. I can't wait to make them for football season!


Cheers!

The Many "Sleeping" Faces of Fred

I was just going through a bunch of my pictures and noticed one thing about Fred. He is getting older and starting to behave better. Sure he may not be the perfect dog in some peoples eyes and retreive a ball (actually he will, but instead of bringing it back he'll just run away with it) or come when called (he runs away), or wait patiently for company to pet him (his motto is jump in and get 'em when they're fresh)(Snooze ya lose Gloria!). He is slowly coming around, but the one thing that I'm sure will never change is the dramatic way he sleeps.

Observe.





Gloria and Fred
Notice how Gloria sleeps, notice how Freddie sleeps

Now the faces of just Fred.



He likes his blankie and pillow.

Little man pose.

Drama Queen. Ooops! "King"


There's that third eyelid.


The "Freaky Fred" face.

The "Oh my gosh I'm tired".


Fred being Fred.

Okay, that's just disturbing!

As is this.



Just plain cute!

Don't worry Freddie, the Lions are going places this year!


Blocking out all the "nay" sayers!


I'm looking a little put out with Mr. Dramatica here, wouldn't you say?



Yet another disturbing pose.


My baby.


He's perfect to me!!

The Sounds of Summer

When I think of the sounds of summer I think of Cicadas. Now when I was a kid for some reason I always thought that sound was tree frogs. Why? I don't know. Maybe one day years ago it went like this...."Daddy, what's that sound?" "It's a tree frog kid, now go and play!" Anyway, that's what I thought, tree frog.

Sitting outside on a hot summer day listening to their high pitched singing is so relaxing until...........you actually see the cast of one attached to your house and get an up close look at it. Eeewwww!!! This has freaked me out and ruined my relaxing time outside. I was brave and took pictures, though. So I thought, why not share the pictures, some info on them and freak everyone else out too!

Ontario has several species of Cicada with a life span of about 4 years or more. They can range in size from 2-5 cm. In the southern United States their Cicadas or "Locusts" can live for up to 17 years!!



The male Cicada is the one that makes the high pitched sound on hot humid summer days. He does this by vibrating, very rapidly, powerful muscles attached to the side of membranes. The female lays about 20 eggs in bark or twigs and when they hatch the nymphs (babies) enter the soil and form a cell near a tree root. Here they suck the sap where it takes about four years for them to develop.

I think that is creepy enough but wait.....it gets creepier!

Then they crawl out of the ground and up (usually a tree, but this year we had one attached to the side of the dogs bed and the side of the house) and attach themselves, then their skin splits open down the middle of the back and the adult works its way out!!



For your viewing pleasure. You can see here the split down the back of the "cast" of the Cicada.

Aaaahhhh!! The sounds of summer!!

Country Dogs and City Dogs

We've had Gloria now for 4 months. It seems like she has been a part of this family a lot longer than that and we forget what a short time we've had her until a subtle difference between her and Fred will pop up.
Take for instance this one on how they sleep outside in the swelltering heat.
Gloria being the country girl, finds a nice cool place in amongst the Tiger Lilies and lays in the dirt to keep cool.



"Momma, would you please quit taking pictures of me while I am trying to keep cool and nap."
She's so polite!

So....angelic if you will.

Aaaand then there's Freddie! Being the spoiled rotten city boy, this is how he sleeps outside trying to keep cool.
"Oh my god it's hot! I can't take it!" "Aaarg!! I'm gonna die!" "Momma do something!"



"And can you get that f#*ckin' camera out my face and get me some more ice!"