A shave and a haircut

Before

After

Lexie has a hot new look for summer 2010 that I'm sure will start a cool trend in the doggie style world. We both visited the doggie cleaners today for our pre-summer/pre-vet-visit bath. While I lost a winter's worth of dirt and a few tangled mats of hair, Lexie lost all of that plus lots of hair. Because Lexie's coat is twice as thick as mine, Cheryl decided to have her shaved. The outcome: Imagine a golden retriever head and tail on a yellow Lab's body. "What do you think, Bax?" Lexie asked me nervously when Cheryl picked us up. After taking a moment to get over the shock, I said, "You look 20 pounds lighter and 10 dog years younger. Who knew you were that lean under all of that hair?" Well, lean may not be the word, but she needed some encouragement. I caught Cheryl snickering under her breath on the ride home and then when we got there I overheard her tell Duchess she was not allowed to laugh at Lexie. "She hasn't laughed at your opossum tail," Cheryl reminded Duchess, who's on medicine that makes her hair fall out. "So how do you feel, my pretty girl?" Cheryl asked Lexie once we got back in the backyard. "Like you do when it's 100 degrees outside and you take off a fur coat, I guess," Lexie said, and then rambled off to take care of some business. Of course one of the first things Cheryl did was get her camera and start taking pictures. She e-mailed one to Gram and Gramps Moose. Their response: "They sent the wrong dog home with you." Nope, she's still our Lexie. I keep sniffing her to make sure. Well, we're both off to take a nap. The day of pet pampering made us dog tired.

How to boil water

It was a dark and stormy night. (I love lifting that line from one of my favorite fellow canine authors - Snoopy). Last night was a dark and stormy night and on such nights Lexie and I get to camp indoors. I'll admit, I'm not afraid of much, but thunderstorms get to me. Spending the evening in the kitchen let us witness Alison get a cooking lesson. Cheryl figures if she can equip Alison with the know how to make at least 5 meals, once she's out on her own she will eat more than Hot Pockets and tomato soup. Alison already has learned to make a breakfast meal (which around here is sometimes eaten for supper) of pancakes, bacon and liver mush and an anythime meal of homemade cheese pizza. On the menu last night: spaghetti. Alison boiled the water, cooked the noodles, opened a jar of sauce and put it in the pot to heat up, buttered the bread and "stumped her toe on the garlic," whatever that means, baked the bread without burning it, heated up some meatballs and made sweet tea. We got to sample a noodle and some of the bread. I have to say it was pretty good. For the next cooking lesson, we suggest Alison learn to make opossum, squirrel or rabbit.

Don't forget today is Mother's Day

I've already wished all the moms in my life a happy day, including my Grams Kathy. And since this blog-writing gig doesn't pay anything, wishes are all I can afford. Cheryl says that's OK and that tail wags and wet kisses are good gifts, too.

Make a funny face

We are spending some time at Gram and Gramps this weekend. On the ride to their house we stopped at McyDs for a "snack." The lady at the drive-thru offered Cheryl $20 for Duchess. "Take it. Take it," Lexie said. But we decided to keep her, for Wes' sake. The granddogparents have a pretty nice set up for us, complete with fenced-in area and a big doghouse. When we first got here we had to chase a rabbit out of our sleeping quarters. We've taken some long walks, met the new neighbor (Josie) and helped plant a garden. We also had this funny face contest. (I think I'm the winner, but you be the judge.) Lexie didn't much want to participate so that's her normal face. Even the new girl Josie (the last photo is of her) showed us her funny face.

Go Bulldogs

These days, as fast as kids grow up, it’s never too early to choose a college. Alison went with Cheryl to a banquet Gardner-Webb University sponsored for alumni in the Morganton area. That Alison is wearing this hoodie must mean she’s chosen to become a GWU Bulldog, which makes Cheryl very happy. Of course Wes would rather her go to Lenior Rhyne, which is where he got his degree. I hate to tell them both that she’ll probably not choose either and end up at Harvard or Yale or Princeton. Cheryl should know by now that Alison is just addicted to hoodies and will wear one no matter what’s on it. My advice: Choose your college by its mascot. Any schools out there have golden retrievers?

Scene of the crime

Being outside dogs the majority of the time has its advantages. While the people are at work and school, Lexie and I hang out in the backyard, and Duchess is usually quarantined to the kitchen. The people have learned their lesson about leaving the big kitchen trashcan in little Duchess’ reach and usually put it up on the counter or on the other side of the gate in the living room. That’s all good and well until the little Houdini-of-a-Maltese breaks out of the gates, turns over a full trashcan at least 10 times her size and spreads its contents all over the living room. This photo is exhibit A. And yes, that’s a half of a can of pizza sauce spilled on the beige carpet. Lexie and I have alibis at the time of the crime. Duchess unfortunately is not so lucky. Being the only soul inside while the people are gone makes it easy to place blame on who did it. Besides, had it been Lexie, there would be no pizza sauce left to soak in the carpet.