An Aries Knows (this site is more fun when people read and comment)
Now I’m absolutely positive that Timothy J. Lambert sometimes dances in his apartment and that his dogs see this. So there was NO REASON why Pixie, Rex, and Penny had to freeze and stare at me like I’d lost my mind because of a little chair dancing. Everybody’s a critic.
I’m feeling very Thanksgivingy. Tonight’s menu: baked hen, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, beans, and salad. Wish you were here!
The Barbie garland.
The Star Trek tree with and without a flash.
Now I have to figure out what to do about those coasters…
Those coasters Part 1
Those coasters Part 2
Those coasters Part 3
Those coasters Part 4
Those coasters Part 5
Friday night, Sugar came with The Brides (and later, Kathy) to eat dinner and help us decorate. While Tim was fulfilling his traditional holiday task of planting angels over windows, he noticed a cobweb hanging from the ceiling. He asked me to toss him one of the dogs’ nearby rope toys to brush it down. As soon as he swung the rope, Sugar jumped to her feet with her most ferocious bark; she’s apparently ever vigilant against air attacks from dog toys. So you can understand the indignity of later having one draped over her head by Lindsey.
It wasn’t a totally bad night for Sugar. One thing she loves is the laser pointer. None of the other dogs care about it at all, but when you say “red dot” to Sugar, she gets a happy, expectant expression. If you actually turn on the laser pointer, she’ll chase it to the point of manic exhaustion.
I figured she was due for some fun, so while she was asleep, I retrieved the laser pointer. Again, no other Compound dog has ever cared, and I asked Tim whether he thought foster dog Penny would. He said he doubted that she’d even notice it, and I agreed with him. But as soon as Penny spied the red dot, she completely snubbed Pixie, with whom she’d been playing, and went after it. This woke up Sugar, and I had to be careful how I pointed the laser to keep them from ramming their heads together in their single-minded pursuit. Meanwhile, Pixie kept looking at my hand as if she were saying, “Here! Don’t you see? Get it at the source!” When Sugar and Penny ignored her, she finally succumbed to peer pressure and began chasing the red dot, too (but her heart wasn’t in it).
Rhonda and Lindsey always said they’d never put clothes on Sugar, but for their super cool holiday card this year, they showed off T-shirts from some of the many concerts they’ve been to. I present Exhibit A:
Do you see Sugar lying there, the most TORMENTED DOG IN THE WORLD, because she’s been forced to wear a Journey concert T-shirt? Well, she comes by that suffering honestly. In Exhibit B: Rhonda on Friday night after Lindsey planted a bow on her chest:
Seconds later, she began curling into the Suffering Sugar™ position.
This is the tree UNdecorated.
I’ve had to watch it like a hawk today, because I think it could be foster dog Penny’s first Christmas tree, and she’s found it very alluring. Can’t wait to see what happens when it’s covered with ornaments!
Every year when we unpack ornaments, I have stories like, “THIS is the one Hamlet and Brutus chewed up” and “Here’s the one Pete pulled off the tree…” Even tangible reminders of when they’re not perfect give us things to smile about when our dogs are gone.
Not very thankful for the baths they just got:
But VERY thankful for the treats afterward:
More to come…
Current Photo Friday theme: Vivid
(View larger version of photo on black.)
Last week, we went to a Scout’s Honor fundraiser.
These candies–SO GOOD–were in the goodie bags handed out at the door.
Helping rescued dogs and cats and getting candy: WIN!
I had vowed to post more often in this thing, but my recent Computer Catastrophe took the will right out of me. So I’ve been spending more time doing other things–especially outside, since our weather is beautiful right now–and lots of reading. When I’m online, I’m trying to re-create what I can of the world I lost with my dead hard drive. I don’t realize how much I depend on my bookmarks to navigate my way through Interworld, so I’m trying to find those sites again. And I’m restoring my iTunes library–most of which is still on and can be transferred from my old PC, so I’ll just have to throw myself on Apple’s mercy for the very little I’ve purchased since February. Because, dammit, I NEED my Foo Fighters.
Meanwhile, Tom has purchased some crazy-fangled thing that will do our backups FOR US onto an external hard drive. We had an external hard drive for the PC just to avoid a situation like this, but we were a little too complacent about Mac’s reputation for NOT FAILING YOU ABYSMALLY AND LOSING A ZILLION PHOTOS. I’m one of those people who needs to learn the BACK IT UP lesson over and over, apparently, or get something that is smarter than I am (a/k/a the crazy-fangled thing).
Weeks ago, I asked what y’all wanted me to post on here, and I’ve tried to fulfill some of those requests over time. One was a pictorial account of Craft Night. Usually food is involved, but since this past Friday’s repast was without great visual appeal–sandwiches along with chips, crackers, dips, and veggie and fruit platters–I doubt it would be very exciting for you to see it.
However, it also included Pegs David Puterbaugh and actual craft kits he and Lindsey bought at Texas Art Supply, so it seemed like a good time for shooting something other than my computer.
I began the night doing sewing repairs on a beautiful little beaded pillow that a Certain Foster Dog whose initials are Penny thought was a toy. No real harm done. Meanwhile…
Lindsey began painting something based on an Amazon review Rhonda shared with us a couple of weeks ago. I’ll save that for Lindsey to post about when she finishes it.
David, Rhonda, and Tom began making sock puppets from their kit. And Tim was able to create an entire dog out of what our Dyson vacuumed up before David’s arrival. We need to have guests more often to keep this house cleaner.
Puppet One of the Friday Puppets.
The three Puppeteers and their works of staggering genius.
I’m not really sure what’s happening here, but don’t think Tim is unengaged. He’s watching the newly mended pillow, i.e., the Penny magnet, in the study (a/k/a the Lisa Suite).
We waited all night for the cops to bust in and break up Rhonda’s “My First Meth Lab.”
Then Lindsey introduced us to the Magical World of Shrinky Dinks. Now YOU might know about Shrinky Dinks, but they were a new experience for me. Here are some of our creations:
From upper left to right, part of a star I traced from the official Craft Night Tablecloth, the entire world as created by David, something that started life at my hands as a tomato and ended up as a bedbug, a duck made by Lindsey because, whatever, she’s all talented, an Alabama elephant I traced from my favorite drinking glass, Tom’s right-winged-dingbat as inspired by an e-mail from our friend Denece, and a fabulous wolf created by guess who, the resident artist, Lindsey.
~~The End~~
That’s Tildy. I met her today at Scout’s Honor Adoption Day. If I could have another dog–I can’t–I would adopt her in a second. In fact, I’ve never seen such an outstanding group of dogs ready to move into their new forever homes. Check out Scout’s Honor’s web site to see some of these precious dogs and cats who are available for adoption.
And if, like me, you’re not able to adopt, maybe you can become a foster. Scout’s Honor Rescue covers all fostering costs. I can’t believe the number of dogs Tim has fostered, and every one of them has left The Compound for a home just right for their personalities and physical needs. Knowing how great their forever homes will be fills a goodbye with joy instead of sadness.
Current Photo Friday theme: Dark
(View larger version of photo on black.)
One dark January night in 2009, Timothy and his foster dog Tyson sat by the fire outside…