Morning Coffee

My favorite part of the day is having my morning coffee.  There's nothing better than the smell of coffee brewing while I get the hounds their breakfast and morning treats, take them outside to do their business and then settle in with a nice hot cup of coffee. It's quiet and the day hasn't started to escalate yet.  In the summer it's even better because you can take your coffee outside and enjoy the gardens and birds at the same time.

This is my morning coffee sanctuary.

Yes, that is Fred in the backgrounmd who has already found a piece of crud from the garden to chew on.
Here..... let me get closer.

nom, nom, nom......
Whatever, I'm in my peaceful place.

Above is my view from where I sit.  I don't know what it is about the pink floozy but Freddie won't touch her.  She still lays there guarding that darn antler while Fred eats garden crud! I'd take the antler, but if Freddie's that scared of her, I don't know what she'd do to me.  I say just let sleeping floozies lay!

This is my little set up while I have my coffee.  Laptop, phone, and my half crocheted dishcloth that I only started yesterday with encouragement from Dip-Dip and the Bridge. Check out her post today and see all the dishcloths/potholders that were crocheted by the Blogsville Ladies Crochet Society.  I will be finishing mine today and I can't thank her enough for the tutorial on her blog. I don't have that one on one help since my Mom passed away. I would always just call her when I got stuck.  This helped me so much!

Back to my morning coffee.  Below of course is Good Gloria which by the way my husband has started calling her Eva LongGloria.  (sigh)

That's her outdoor bed from when we first got her last year and it's still her favorite spot to lay when she's not in the lounge chair or loveseat with me.

And this is Fred after I put him back in the house so I could enjoy my morning coffee this morning!

I won't be out here too long this morning though as we are having another heat wave that started yesterday and it's already 22 C and I can feel the humidity starting to build once again.  But hey, I'm not complaining.  It's Friday and the start to our long weekend as Monday is Canada Day.  So hubby has a three day weekend! Yay!

I know the U.S. holiday is July the 4th so you may like this recipe from Theresa's Mixed Nuts . They are Patriotic Pops!  I am going to make red and white ones for our Canada Day barbecue.

Have a great weekend everyone!  I will be spending part of mine trying to catch up on everyone's blogging news!

Important Update -

I finished my dish cloth!  Yay!!

Follow the Dog Home

I just finished reading Follow the dog Home by Bob, Samantha and Kevin Walsh.  Three generations of dog lovers and their stories that go with having dogs as part of their families.  At first I thought I was going to have a tough time getting through it.  Not because I didn't like the book, but getting through the losses they share through years of having dogs.  It is inevitable that there will be loss when you have any pet, but really who wants to talk about it!  Talk about it they did and it turns out I didn't mind shedding some tears for every one of their special family dogs after reading about the great life they lead with one the Walsh families.  You have to have loved to feel loss right?  And love they did.

The thing is, all their recollections, Bob, Kevin and Samantha's struck a cord with me.  Right from the grandfather's to the granddaughter's and if you're a dog lover it will with you too.  Listening to Bob's stories from years ago and how different and simpler things were ( like just letting your dog outside to wander the neighborhood and let them back in when they come home)  was like taking a step back in time.  I remember just letting our dog out and when he'd bark, just let him back in.

It shows how families come together through the love and loss of a dog.  They tell it all right from puppies and problems that can come with choosing and raising a pup right to the senior years. This is just an all round inspiring book that is so well written as it is told from the heart of not one Walsh family member but three.  So if you love dogs as much as I do I think you should join the Walsh's;  Bob (grandfather) Samantha (Bob's granddaughter) and Kevin (Bob's son) on their journey through their family dog tree.  You won't be disappointed watching them Follow the Dog Home!

I was not compensated for this post.  I was given a book to read.  The opions formed are my own.

Wordless Wednesday - It's Fabulous Fred!

Fred caught wrestling on tv a couple of times. (sigh!)

 "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa............."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"

"Momma, help!!"

Monday Mischief - Winner, Fred and a Pink Floozy

Whew!  I'm glad that week's over!  I'm not 100% yet, but I'm getting there.  I haven't been that sick in years and I don't want to be again.  Enough of my whining though.  I want to thank everyone for all the well wishes, it meant a lot.  Thank you so much!

Now on to the book draw that I was supposed to hold last Thursday before all this flu crud happened.

All the names were were put on paper, folded and put into a hat.  It was all very scientific believe me. Actually quite advanced for a couple of hounds.

Freddie did the honors.

Then just about ate the winning name.

Although, even as I pried his mouth open, I could see the word "under" and knew then who the winner was.

None other than our pals from Australia Stella and Rory From Down Under.  Congratulations guys! As soon as we receive your mailing address we will get your copy of The Dog Who Talked To God in the mail.

As for the weekend mischief, Freddie spent part of it whining in the lounge chair because his pink flamingo wouldn't let him have his deer antler.

"Waaaaaaaahhhh! Momma,  pink flamingo won't let me have my antler!"

"Oh, just get down and get it Fred."

"No way!  I'm not going near that floozie!"

Now a few people asked what Fred was doing while Gloria was staying faithfully by my side while I was sick.  Well........

Just look at that face and use your imagination!

Quick Note

Just a quick note to let everyone know I am trying to get over the flu (ugh!) and I will try to be back by Monday.  Then I will announce the winner of the Dog That Talked To God book giveaway.  In the meantime I will try to do a bit of catching up on my commenting, but as you know it's tough being on the computer when your sick.  And don't worry, the hounds are sticking to me like glue.  Especially Gloria, she hasn't left my side.

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting For His Laundry

Don't Go......

I have an appointment in Stratford today and these are my directions.

Somebody doesn't want me to go.

I won't mention any names.

Monday Mischief - It's Still All About The Big Brown Comfy Chair

Fred and Gloria still fight over the big brown chair.  Fred has no problem letting Gloria sleep in it.......as long as he doesn't want it.

But as soon as he does, he just starts to stare her down and whine. Oh, it gets quite irritating.

Poor Gloria tries to ignore him.

 But the whining just keeps getting louder until even she can't take it.

Aaaaannnnd........snap!

Freddie wins again!

We also received two more awards.  The Very Inspiring Blogger Award from our buddy Jet.

                                                        

And another Sunshine Award from the cute doodle brothers Murphy and Stanley.

                                                        

Thank you both so much!  since we are accumulating so many awards and would like to do them all justice, I am going to create an awards page just so we can show them off display them all.  :)

Summer Blooms

June has to be one of my favorite months of the year.  It holds the promise of summer and all that comes with it. Warm mornings on the patio with a cup of coffee and warm nights on the patio with a glass of wine or cold beer.  It represents relaxation.  It's when all the summer flowers start to come to life and show their true colors.

My Hibiscus

My clematis'

Below, my chives

My favorite plant this one I got two years ago that I have been faithfully feeding and watering waiting for it to bloom.  

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I don't about blooming , but it certainly did grow!

Thankfully this one won't be multiplying!

Oh yeah. My new little fence is working awesome. Freddie found a hole by my one big hosta. The problem is he can't get back out once he's in!

The Dog That Talked To God - Book Review & Giveaway

I have gotten behind in my book reading like everything else it seems but I did finish one on the weekend. "The Dog That Talked To God" by Jim Kraus. This is a totally different type of book than I am used to reading as I am a Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Stephen King kinda girl.  But it's nice to try a new author every now and again.  I did enjoy the premise of this book.

  

The story was very well written and I found Jim Kraus to have a unique "easy" writing style. The story is about a woman, Mary Fassler who loses everything when she loses her family.  Leaving her hurt and angry, she abandons her faith and methodically goes through the motions of each day in a fog.  One day she finally decides to get herself a puppy.  A cute Schnauzer named Rufus.  Unbeknownst to Mary,  Rufus talks to God.

I know what some of you are thinking, depressing and religious.  Honestly, it's not too overpowering in either of these departments.

You follow Mary from her journey of feeling the world and her faith has let her down to moving away and coming into her own again with the help of her furbaby, Rufus. Rufus will make you laugh and you can relate to lots of things from the dogs point of view as well as Mary's.  Mary is Rufus' one true love.  If you think this book is all about God, it's not, but it does delve  into the asking God the "why me" question, which I think we have all asked at one time or another in our lives, religious or not.

The Dog That Talked to God was an entertaining good read with an uplifting ending. I really did enjoy reading it. I was given one extra copy of this book to give away.  It doesn't matter if you're religious or not, own a dog or don't.  This book is a nice read.  It would be a great read for anyone this summer who likes sitting on your porch or on the beach with a good book.  

So if you'd like to win a copy to read, just let me know when you comment and also how to contact you if you win.  I will leave this open until noon on June the 20th when I'll have Freddie Spaghetti draw the lucky winner to announce on Thursday June the 21st.  What a great way to kick off summer!  And guess what, it's open to everyone, which means I will send it anywhere!! Yay!

"I want to meet Rufus!!"

"Freddie, you can't.  He's a character in a book.  But you can draw the lucky name next week so someone else can meet him through the story!"

"Uh, really? Well, okay then."

So, comment away!

I was not compensated in any way for this review.  I was given two free copies of The Dog That Talked To God, one to read and one to give a way for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Wordless Wednesday - Is It Ready Yet?

On Top Of It - Sunshine Award

Can you believe it!  I just got another Sunshine Award from Sue over at Talking Dogs and I am already posting about it!

                                                         

Yep, that's a big feat for me.  I said I wasn't going to procrastinate anymore on awards and here I am. Yay!

Now that I have tooted my own horn, I would like to toot the horn for Sue at Talking Dogs and thank her for this lovely award.  We are honored.  We love visiting Talking Dogs, whether it's to see what Rudy and Jeffie are up to or to see what Saturday dog song Sue has posted for us to listen too, it's always a great part of our day!  Sue also makes amazing jewelry and has designed dog bracelets for Rachael Ray and Canada's own Ryan Gosling from London, Ontario. (35 minutes from our house)  So be sure to check out all  her beautiful handmade jewelry.  You can get to it through Talking Dogs or right here at For Love Of A Dog Jewelry and Gifts.

The rules for the award are:

- Answer the questions that come with it
- Pass it on to 10 people and let them know they have received it

Since I did just answer the questions last Tuesday when I did my "over due" awards post I will not bore you again and just provide the link to that post here where you can see the questions and my answers.

Now the tough part, picking just 10 blogs that bring sunshine into my life.  Every blog I visit brings me sunshine but these are my picks

Yee Wittle Things
Alfie's Blog
Eva The Sheltie
My Girlz Got Paws
Dip-Dip and The Bridge
Peggy's Pet Place
The Thuglets World
Au Fil du Jardin
Cat Chat With Caren and Cody (yes a cat!)
Last but not least is our wonderful friend Nola

A big thanks once again to Sue over at Talking Dogs!

"Are ya done yet?"

Yes, Freddie, I'm done.

Monday Mischief - A Basset Fence

This is where everyone from our crescent has been parking for the last 5 days. It's the park in front of our house.

Hopefully by the end of this week we will be able to get back in our driveways. One thing about it, we get lots of exercise carrying things back and forth from our cars to our houses!

We spent the weekend trying to stay on top of the weeds and just getting lots of yard work in general done. Freddie spent most of the weekend just trying to eat crud from the gardens.  So I had a little plan.

I took some bamboo stakes, a roll of twine and kitchen shears.  Guess what I made.......

.......a fence to keep basset hounds out of your garden of course!  Okay, maybe just Freddie.  Low (literally) maintenance and affordable! Yippee!!

"This sucks!"

"Come on! Come and play with me Gloria. (insert whining here) 

                                                         
                                                        "I'll even give you the advantage!"

"FREDDIE!! I said NO!"

"Fine.  I'm just going to go and eat a stick!"

"Look at me Momma!  I'm eating a stick and I didn't even have to go in your stupid garden to get it!" nom nom nom nom.....

"Ooooooo!  Look at me! I might poke my eye out!  Somebody had better stop me!"

"I mean it......oh rats, darn stick. Oooooo look...uh...ummm.....(yawn!)"

"Yeah, maybe I'll just have a little power nap. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......"

So I don't know who was up to more mischief, me putting up that lovely basset fence, Freddie and his stick or the construction workers and the mess they left us for the weekend!