Happy Halloween!

I'll admit that I NEVER thought I would put a costume on one of my animals, but with a good bit of prodding from my teenage daughter we came home from Target with this bargain model! I must say she looks kind of cute and was rather unaffected by having it on! She occasionally shook her head making her hat go off center, but other than that, I think she may have liked playing dress-up! Quinn wore a bandanna, his version of a cowboy outfit! One little kid asked where his hat was, but we explained he didn't want to wear a hat!

Freyja Update!

The little stinker is getting bigger every day. She is keeping Quinn busy every moment that she is awake, and still thinks that 6:00 am is a good time to get up daily. We are trying to convince her otherwise, but she is rather resistant to this plan. Fortunately it is getting to be nice out, so I guess it'll be a good time to start taking the dogs for morning walks. It's not like they are lacking in anyway in the exercise department since Freyja believes that anytime is play time. Basically if you are awake, you should be playing. Quinn, who always seem a bit disappointed with Basil's lack of interest in playing, may now be wishing that he hadn't hoped so hard for a more willing playmate.

Freyja has settled in nicely, after a bit of a rough start. She didn't think she should have to sleep in a kennel, and spent a few week fighting the reality of that. She now does really well almost all of the time, with an occasional off day. She loves going for car rides, and thoroughly enjoys the adoration of all drive through workers. Quinn has never really enjoyed riding in the car, he'll go because he wants to be with you, but it's that whole car thing that he doesn't like!

Unlike Quinn who is afraid of everything, Freyja is fearless! There is almost nothing that ever gives her reason to be concerned. I think you could even vacuum her and she'd be fine with it. She's already shown she's not limited by barriers, and the cat is not getting the respect she is used to getting. Daisy has thrown all she has at the puppy and she keeps coming back for more. What's probably most disturbing to the cat is that the puppy has no qualms about touching her! That is the big kitty no-no as far as dogs are concerned. Freyja will flatten her to the floor, with the cat hissing, yowling, giving all she has, to no effect. The puppy just continues. Daisy has gotten in a few good blows. She bit the puppy on the nose on day, which did get her to back off for a bit, but only temporarily. I think this is one dog that the cat may have to accept, isn't going to play things her way. It's a bit of a circus around here some days, but it's our little circus and we like it... most of the time.

Moving On!!!

After what seems like 100 years, not four, Bob is finally done with his degree in nursing, has taken his licensing exam and is an RN at long last. As of this writing, a job is still something he is pursuing. Hopefully he will be able to find something locally. Amazingly for the first time in 30 years, most hospitals have gone into hiring freezes, even with Rn's. It's not that the overwhelming demand for Rn's has changed, it is only growing. The photos here are of the University of Portland School of Nursing Pinning Ceremony. Bob opted not to participate in the actual graduation commencement ceremony. This was a very nice program done just for the students from the nursing program, and they received their pin, which has been given out to graduates since the first class graduated in 1937.


This is a lovely picture of our very photogenic family! I think you could take 100 pictures and still not get a good one of all of us! We at least all look happy, although I am not sure about Emily, she could be bored.


In other news, I have left my job with the school district a little sooner than planned, but I am happier for it. I really enjoyed the years I worked with the elementary kids, and a great number of the staff members. I had planned to quit at the end of the school year, but certain situations, not worth talking about here, expedited my departure. For me this has turned out to be great timing since Bob is still not working so we have a lot of time to spend together. After four long years in school, we lost out on a lot of quality time and have a bit of catching up to do. We have already gotten a good start on planting a vegetable garden, eaten out ALONE several times, and have plans to take the dogs to the beach this week since the weather is supposed to be nice.


I am working diligently at learning to make lampwork beads. It is quite a process to learn. It is not something that, for me, is second nature, so I am having to just patiently and methodically work at learning each step of the process. I am very glad to have taken classes. I think I would be far more frustrated if I hadn't. I am certain that I will take more, since I am such a visual learner. I have some really great books, and they do help, but there is nothing like being able to do something with an experienced person watching and be able to tell you what you are doing wrong and how to correct it.

Quinn and I spend a couple hours every night out in the garage melting glass. So far I haven't sent any molten glass projectiles his way. As long as I think he'll be safe he can stay, but if things get dangerous, I don't want to burn the dog! I am really anxious to get a better torch since I learned on a great high end torch, so my simple Hot Head torch has been a bit of a step backwards. I am getting it down more now. I spent more time reading in Cindy Jenkins book, since she invented the darn thing, I figured she would have the best instruction in regards to it. I may do a bit of research on the Internet as well. I need to get some better visual pictures as to flame setting etc. Also the expense of these mapp gas canisters is crazy! I would use a larger propane tank, but I don't know where I can get it filled with the mapp gas. I think this week I will check with the welding supply place since these little canisters are costing way to much. I am just too slow at shaping beads right now, which is part of the problem, but I am not getting enough use out of a tank.

As always, I am trying to keep my Etsy shop fresh and intresting. I have a bunch of new summery listing for you to check out. I will try to do a post of those here soon. If you'd like to contact me you can leave a message here or through my Etsy shop. Thanks for stopping by!

She's Here!!!! Our New Puppy Update!!!

Bob with his sweet little new baby. She is as cute as can be! What is it about puppies that is so irresistible? She is getting used to her new surroundings and fellow critters. Quinn was,as expected, a little too enthusiastic for her. Daisy our tabby cat came in took one curious look at her and left the room, hasn't been seen since.

After all of her new introductions it was time for a nap, this was just the first of several. It's really hard work being a cute little baby!




Upon waking we set out to explore the great outdoors,aka, our poorly neglected back yard! She had fun frolicking in the grass, but was a bit slow on the part where you use this as an opportunity to go potty. She managed to do that inside three times in the course of a few hours but seemed to get better once we started catching her signals better.

Bob fed her some food in the early evening and I had a hard time getting a picture of her since it was a full on feeding frenzy! She eats like a little piggy!




She loves to play with all the toys Bob bought her. Really likes her little bone and tiny tennis ball. It's so cute to watch her pounce on the ball! After keeping them apart for the first few hours, we put Quinn and Freyja back together and they did much better. She was even trying to play with him a little. He wasn't too sure about it all. He was glad to be in the room with her, but I think uncertain as to what to do with her.

All that excitement wore her out again, and it was time for yet another nap! I'm certain I will have more updates on our puppy adventures in the days and weeks to come!

A Little Taste Of Spring...

I finally got outside today to take some photos for my Etsy shop. It was neither sunny nor raining for a short time, so I took advantage of the moment. I'd post some teasers of whats up and coming, but I haven't finished editing them yet.


My photo assistant Quinn, who is always there to help me. (he even re-adjusts things for the pictures some times.) After we got done taking pictures he got a bath!!! This only happens a couple of times a year, but I thought he should look his best with the new puppy coming tomorrow! I used that furminator thing on him first. I can't say that he is terribly fond of it, mostly tolerates the brushing, but it sure does work! The kitty on the other hand loves the furminator! She purrs the entire time you are brushing her with it. I gave her a good brushing, and clipped her claws to make her a little less of a threat to the new puppy. I think she knows that something is up, she's been sniffing around the new kennel we bought and keeping her eye on it. I think she did the math... one more kennel means....

I cleaned the carpets so we have a fresh start at puppy training. I know there will be accidents, but it really needed it, and since Basil had multiple seizures, losing control of his bodily functions as a result, I wanted to give the area a good cleaning so the puppy didn't think that was the indoor potty spot! I am sure I will have pictures and an update sometime this weekend on all the new puppy excitement! I will try and get some new things listed in my Etsy shop this weekend, and yes, the spring clearance sale is still plugging along! I don't think I will be leaving the listings up on sale much longer, I will probably be removing them altogether from my shop in the near future. So, if you were considering one of the clearance items, they won't be available much longer.

Our New Baby Arrives On Friday!

We have a new baby coming on Friday! She is an 8 week old Australian Shepard puppy. We are very excited to be getting her! Isn't she adorable!
We found a wonderful breeder in central Oregon that is just awesome! They are Tri-Smith Farms in Prineville, Oregon. We feel privileged to be getting one of their beautiful little babies!

As you can see from her pictures she is getting quite plump and fluffy!I love this stage! Bob went to the pet store today and bought her a collar,a tag, a new puppy dish, and his and her toys. Puppy sized and Quinn sized! They have a couple of sets of matching toys in their respective sizes, so we can hopefully cut down on Quinn's toy stealing. I am sure he will still try, but having a few new things of his own will help.

The new puppy will be Bob's dog, Quinn I am sure will be glad of that, as he is very possessive of me, and wouldn't dream of sharing me. I am sure I will have to take stock of my sanity and ask myself why I thought it was a good idea to get a new puppy when the last one is just about to turn three and is finally calming down. We had been planning on getting a puppy when Basil was no longer with us. When I came home from the vets office after saying goodbye to him, I told Bob, I need another puppy. I think Quinn will really benefit from having a playmate. Basil wasn't terribly interested in playing with him,Quinn was just too enthusiastic. A little puppy will surely give him a run for his money!

I will put up another post with pictures once she is here and give an update on how everyone is handling the new addition. I think our cat Daisy is going to be the most effected. She just got the last dog whipped into shape, now she has to start all over again!

Does Starbucks Have a Treatment Center Or Support Group?

I just got done paying the bills, I put it off as long as possible, only to have a pile of debit receipts a mile high to enter into the check register. I noticed a trend while I was performing this tedious task, there were quite a number of Starbucks receipts. I will admit that I did contribute a few, but the majority belonged to another member of this household. I am beginning to wonder if I should look into some type of out-patient treatment program or a possible support group. At the very least I think we should look into buying stock, since we would be supporting our own interests that way.

Bob did just win a bunch of gift certificates to Starbucks from a local radio station, they are only for the new line of tea lattes, which he will drink, and they expire on February 28th 2009, so we have to use them up quickly. I feel I will have a tea/caffeine charged weekend ahead of me. Thank goodness they now have a drive through close by. I put on a hat to hide the unwashed state of my locks, get into my cozy slippers, throw my Quinn, trusted golden retriever, go with guy, companion extraordinaire, in the car, and off we go. The gals in the drive through are usually so enamored by Quinn they don't even notice the mess that I am...

You can check in with my shop later this weekend to see what all that caffeine may have accomplished..

Snow Day!!!

I woke up this morning to snow! It wasn't totally unexpected ,the weather reports said it might snow, but they just usually tease us. I know that in many parts of the world this is a normal winter occurrence. Here, unless you live in the higher elevations, we only get it once or twice a year. Which means everyone freaks out when it snows! Schools shut down, people don't go to work etc. Now for me, since I work for the school district, if there is no school, then I don't have to go to work. I just stay home drink hot cocoa, look at the pretty snow and still get paid for the day. I really like snow days!

Quinn, my golden retriever really likes them as well, but for different reasons. I think he just really likes the snow! Tomorrow morning I think we'll go for a snow walk, since, yes, they have already said the schools will be closed on Monday!!!! yeah for me. According to the weather I may get an extended vacation out of this. It's supposed to stay below freezing and keep snowing for several days.. I better make sure I have enough cocoa.

The Tormentor!

We think of them as squirells, My dogs think of them as tormentors. They run along our back fence Aka, the freeway, sometimes with great zeal. Emily doesn't seem to help matters. Every time she sees one running down the freeway, she yells "Squirrel!". This never fails to get Quinn our 2 1/2 year old golden retriever to the window, looking for his tormentor. Most of the time they make it by unnoticed, but there is a lose board on the top of the fence which they always seem to hit like it's a spring board. It makes a bit of a sound and alerts the dogs that someone is there. Of course by the time they figure it out, the squirrel is long gone, off snickering somewhere down the road. This rather well fed specimen, actually stopped and posed for the pictures. Daisy, our cat was in the yard watching, but was going to have nothing to do with this creature.