Poodled

He's cute.  He's photogenic.  He never stops barking.  Yep this is Ted, the drama king of the pack.  Except yesterday he got sick, stopped eating, and just wanted to lay down.  We will get test results in a day or two.  He seemed to be responding to the antibiotic shot last night.  Around 10 p.m. he started eating a wee bit and then I sent him and the two other dogs out to do their business...

And a minute or two later, I smelled it.  SKUNK!!  Teddy is barking,,,,, I run out get him and Greta in the house.........and then realized that someone was AWOL:

Seamus has taken to scaling the back wall to get close to bunnies, cats, squirrels or possibly skunks.  He just loves other animals.  And he was not in the yard anywhere...I called and called him, went to the back gate of the yard to go find him (he usually doesn't go far) and ran into......

Oh yeh the skunk.

Ran back to the wall and there is Seamus, unsure of how to get back in the yard.  The dork wouldn't jump down so I had to pick up his 56 lb body to get him home (and he wriggled and struggled too, the little devil).

Of course the back door is open and I walk in to find how fragrant our house is and then check the barker.....

who smells like hell.

So I have to pick up that 71 lb boy and get him in the shower.  I think my adrenaline must have been running sky high because I'm not normally this strong.  I hate washing a dog that is sick but I literally had no choice.  The funny thing is, it really wasn't a skunk smell, made me wonder if he rolled in something dead  That smell came out of him really well...

Greta and Seamus escaped being skunked but my house smells like, oh yeh, skunk...I had to throw out the shoes I was wearing because they definately had the scent on them.  The attic/sewingroom/quilt storage area is sealed off for now and the windows are all open.

Once in a while the dogs get the best of their humans and then the human gets poodled.  I've been poodled but good and if my husband doesn't put lights out in the far back yard when he gets home......I am a gonna poodle HIM.  I've been bugging him for lights there because I could forsee this happening......grrrrrrr

off to buy more febreeze.........hope your day is better than my night was!

Thank heaven for little girl dogs...

"Paddie" by Sam George, 2011

I love this new illustration of Paddie by Sam.  The sketch captures her sweetness and he even made sure her collar is the right color red.  Thank you Sam!

I always miss my baby girl Paddie, who passed last September.  It's funny how a girl can change things up so much but both DH and I are loving our new girl, Greta.  Sh really is a sweet little (er, rather big) baby girl.  Here is what greets me after I shower.  She sits patiently outside the door until I am done...

 with her favorite bone (DH refers to this as her 'ceegar').

I love my boys but the girls take such a special place in my heart...

We're back

We're back from Princeton where my Mom's surgery was done.  To make a long story short, the surgeon found a problem created by the original surgery and corrected it.  We are hoping that this will work but it is too soon to tell yet.  If it doesn't, she has one more surgery to go.  She's sore and recovering slowly.  I'm busy running between her house to care for her and checking the three dogs at home:

Yeh that brown bed was Greta's (she's looking at the camera) and we ended up taking that one back for a smaller version since my living room looked like Poodlepalooza.  Greta is adapting nicely and we have decided we don't want to give her back to my mother.......EVER.  She is a sweetie and the three of them are having a great time...except when the ball falls in the watering can:

 

"Are ya going to stand there or help me?"

I'll post some Christmas through the years photos later today.  Have a wonderful day, ya'all!

3 Poodles and a Nana

Lately I had been wondering if I should change the name of the blog.  But we are going to be returning to 3 poodles here.  This is Greta:

She is my mother's remaining poodle and Teddy's sister.  My mother got both dogs at the same time thinking they were cute.  Then she learned how hard it is to train two puppies at a time and sent him to our house.  Our dogs play together frequently and Greta and Seamus are the best of friends.  Teddy sometimes plays with them but usually, he spends his time barking when he is outside...

Greta and Seamus in foreground.  Teddy barking behind...

  I've been bringing Greta here to get acclimated as she is going to be moving in shortly.  My mother's surgery is on Thursday and I anticipate that Greta will be staying here for some time...

 I'll be sporatic with posting for a while as we get things situated here and with my mother.  I have so much to catch up on and will get to everything as  I can.  I'm sorry if I've been late with things.....it's just a busy time.

Thunky and Pitcher

This is Teddy, he can't play with a regular ball.

He prefers the black ball that the George kids lost in our yard one day......about three years ago.  Teddy loved the ball so much, they said he should keep it.  It is the only ball he really likes.  It doesn't really get airborne very easily anymore, travels only about 4 to 5 feet when I hurl it.  Also,  it lands with a thunk....which is why we call it Thunky Ball.

It's the only ball Ted will fetch.  So George Kids..he may bark like crazy at you but I think he must love you deep down inside because you provided him with his beloved Thunky Ball. 

Seamus on the other hand is quite different.  He is the only dog we know of that throws the ball back to people.  He even aims at different people.  Sometimes when he is playing with the George Kids, he throws the ball to Katie, then to Sam, then to Natalie, then back to Katie, etc.  I think he makes conscious decisions.  Look out...

....here comes the ball.  Sometimes Seamus throws the ball three feet away from me.  He does this on purpose.  I think he likes to see me fetch too.   Or perhaps he is annoyed because of some of my wild throws.....Anyway, he is the Cy Young of dogs.

Good fences make Good puppies...

Greetings from our garden!!!

Seamus is NOT pleased.

Dogs each have their own personalities; but it surprises me how much like they are like kids!  When our dear Paddie was alive, she was the easiest garden dog.  Tell her not to go some place and she will avoid it forever.  She enjoyed just laying around near me as I gardened.  The boy pups have been much more difficult.  They are like...well...... boys!

Teddy (white poodle) has made it his personal mission to mark every plant in the garden.  Seamus (black) is more oblivious than anything, he sees NOTHING when he is in hot pursuit of his beloved red rubber ball.  For two or more years, I've wanted sod replaced in the back yard.  The boys just tore up what little grass we had.  My husband refused to put sod down---so I took an alternative route to avoid more mud tracked in the house............ (while he was away on business). :)

Years and years ago when young Paddie was my gardening partner and we actually had...GRASS!

I call it "Operation Gravel."  For the last three weeks, I've put expanded the beds and put down (me personally, ALONE)  ONE TON of gravel.  I couldn't have normally done this but I used a garden cart and it made all the difference in the world.  Then I mulched everything (again with my trusty cart) and planted a few annuals.  The piece d' resistance was fencing around the little plants to protect them from the boys.

I wasn't sure I would like it but anything was preferable to cleaning up mud all the time.  And I do like it, feels more tranquil back there now.

Teddy inspects a dry creek bed that now replaces the path he and Seamus cut in the middle of one of the flower beds.

Seamus is not sure what to make of this all.  These fences are annoying him.  He keeps smelling around them!

The other pics were of the upper bed (we have two levels in our back yard). The lower bed is mulched and fenced off but now I have to work on the patio.......After my hands and legs recover!

Wimpy weather

Hubby and I were expecting a good amount of snow last night.  Heck, the meteorologists were expecting 8-10 inches!  Instead we got a measly inch and a half but it looked pretty last night:

"Dude, our ball has turned into a snow ball, I must repeatedly bite it!"

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas to everyone!  I never did send out cards because my mom's poor health has kept me too busy but here are the cards we had ordered.  This one features a painting Nana had done and which I always have hanging in our living room.  She passed away in July and I miss her terribly.  Still, I love that the beauty she always appreciated lives on in her work:

 And of course for our doggy friends, we featured our favorite photo of Seamus and Ted frolicking in the snow.  I've posted this photo before on the website but I still love it!

For every window that closes, another opens and this year, we learned many things from the challenges we had to face. 

I may have not had much time to myself but I have learned to enjoy a simpler and more basic Christmas.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I REALLY love Christmas and go all out to decorate the house, bake, and make or buy presents.  This year I have been happy to hang two garlands and put up the tree.  The little time I had left, I'd rather spend with my husband or sew.  I didn't go over the top with presents either, keeping to the minimal because I would prefer to spend time with my family than stress out about what I did or did not buy.

I'm not sure how my kids are going to react to this simpler Christmas when they come home but I hope that we simply have a good time.  So here it December 18 and Christmas is done (including cleaning the house which I did yesterday).  Last night I sat down and watched "Miracle on 34th Street" and felt at peace.  I wish the same for all of you............

May your holiday be merry and bright.

Hugs,

Mickie and the Poodles

In Honor of Paddie

 Copyright, MJMclaughlin, 2010

Victory Dogs

Thanks everyone for all your kind words, emails and comments.  It's been a tough time but we are back in caretaker mode with Paddie in doggie hospice here.  She is stable and on medications that are keeping her comfortable.  She seems always near me and I am giving her a lot of petting and kisses.  I am hoping that she will pass quietly at home but we are prepared to do whatever we have to so that she doesn't have to feel pain.

I'm posting this picture of some Victory Dogs that I found while reorganizing some of my linens.  I've also been reading Sue Reich's book, World War II Quilts, which I highly recommend.  I received the book while working on Nana Betty's birthday-turned-memory quilt and found it so inspiring. 

If you are interested in this era, you may want to check out Dawn's post last week which I found fascinating:  http://cottagestateofmind.blogspot.com/2010/07/from-attic-wwii-letters.html

Stay cool and have a great day...
Hugs to all!

Hibernating

It's still hot here in Northeast Pennsylvania.  We are praying for rain today, tomorrow, and Sunday as it is exceedingly dry and the plants are just burning up at this point.  I'm not on the computer much because we were told at the beginning of the week to conserve electricity (boo hoo for me--no clothes washing either :D ).  I have been sewing a great deal trying to complete all the blocks for Nana's Memory quilt.  Nana will be 90 in August and I want it to be done in time for her birthday.

On the puppy front, Teddy and Paddie are pretty content staying indoors.  Once in a while, Teddy goes out and barks at everything and then comes in and rests from all the exertion.  Seamus is more challenging.  This morning we played regular catch for a few moments before I became concerned for his temperature.  Mostly we play "dogcer" a canine version of soccer that we play on the side of the house.  Seamus throws the ball to me, I kick and he tries to keep the ball from getting past him.  It entertains both of us (we need so little) and the side walkway is usually more shady (although we don't dare do this midday).

I'll catch up on everyone's blog as soon as this passes and hope everyone is doing well! 

STAY COOL!

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours: Have a safe and blessed holiday!

Making Merry!

My mother was insistent that we dress the dogs up and photograph them. She sincerely thought it would be possible to dress and photograph 5 poodles (is this an early sign of dementia?).

I call this picture: Some treats are just not worth it. Notice how this is only the young dogs? The old dogs are just too wise to be taken in by biscuits

below: two insulted old gals

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT???
Please help me...Please help me...Please help me...

Seamus the elf. He really looks pathetic, doesn't he?

You didn't think it was possible to be even more humiliated? Think again. My Mother has a WHOLE box marked "dog costumes". She may only have two dogs but true to her regular shopoholic habits, she has tons of costumes for the pets.

Greta is suffering from costume paralysis. She layed down and refused to get up. My mother could not stop laughing.

Is this anyway to treat an old broad?

Greta tells mom to stop laughing!

"What the heck is going on here?"

Teddy was actually content. He was getting biscuits and could wear his hat cocked like Dean Martin :)

Merry Christmas!

Dog Ball

I was sick all of us last week which meant I had two very bored puppies at home. Fortunately Katie and Natalie were kind enough to play Dog Ball with the boys.

Seamus becomes so happy he squeals and whines with joy.

Teddy however, prefers to preen and poise. He likes to remind the girls: "I have a ball and you don't!"

Not Seamus--he will retrieve and drop the ball for anyone with those wonderful opposable thumbs that allow them to throw that ball.

Thanks girls for exercising the boys!