Do you see what I see? (No Corgi content)

Do you see what I see?  Well actually what we see, because Glenn sees it, too!

We found it in our Friday-night-watching-the-Olympics bowl of popcorn. 

Almost always Pumpkin

1.  If one of the dog-girls is in a different room from me, it will almost always be Pumpkin.

2.  When the alarm clock isn't set, if one of the dog-girls wakes us up, it will almost always be Pumpkin.


3.  If I forget to close the doors on the dog-girls' kennels at night, the one that gets out and runs around will always -- not almost always --  be Pumpkin. 

(She slept in this little kennel only for a short time. But it is the only photo I have of her in a kennel.)

4. If one of the dog-girls is going to startle when I whoosh a plastic bag through the air to open it before lining the trash can, it will almost always be Pumpkin.

5.  If someone were to sit nicely and not jump on a guest, it will almost always be Pumpkin.  She rarely jumps, but almost always flops over onto her back for a belly rub.

6.  If -- ha!  Let me re-phrase that -- Whenever someone leaves nose prints and slobber on the patio door, it will  almost always be Pumpkin.

Pumpkin ALWAYS stands on the left.  I rest my case. 

7.  If one of the girls has a "running" dream, it will almost always be Pumpkin.  A gentle touch from me usually stops the dream.


8.  If jumping up onto something require nimbleness, not just strength and height, it will almost always be Pumpkin doing the jumping.

9.  If one of the girls is found with something that doesn't belong to her -- TV remote, sunglasses, anything Glenn has touched, or in this case, a stolen fig -- it will almost always be Pumpkin.

10.  If one of the dog-girls makes me chuckle,  it will almost always be Pumpkin.

Weekend

Half-day off on Friday, a walk on Saturday morning, dinner with friends, some knitting -- and of course, time with the dog-girls.   A nice way for the week to end.

We watched --mostly-- did you?

We watched (most of) the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night.  Did you?  I'm not sure what to think about it, but that's been the case for me with the last few Olympics opening ceremonies (and the last several Oscars.)  While I appreciate the tremendous effort that went into the production,  I found it a little difficult to follow the storyline even with the commentary.  But at least this year's production didn't leave me feeling vaguely uneasy as that incredible, lock-step precision performance at the Beijing Olympics did.   

It's probably no surprise that my favorite part last night was the Queen and her Corgis and Daniel Craig.   The Queen seems pretty nice, but those Corgis! -- even if they are the "wrong" kind -- and Daniel Craig!  Sigh!

I think I love Great Britian's flag almost as much as I love our American flag.  (OK.  So, I didn't get such a good shot of the Union Jack on the TV -- but that's it, I promise.)

Sadly, none of us managed to stay awake through the entire production and we missed Paul McCartney's performance.  I wonder if he was able to finish before they cut the sound??

 

The fireworks we saw were rather nice, and they lasted a little longer than ours on the 4th of July did!
All-in-all, I suppose it was a pretty good start to the Games of the XXX Olympiad!  Of course, we'll be cheering for the competitors from the United States, but we wish all the athletes a fun, safe competition!

[this moment}

{this moment} 

A Friday ritual.

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, ordinary, moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

One Word Wednesday

ROUND

Guardian angel

On Sunday, when I was finished working fiddling around at my desk at home, I almost rolled my chair backwards away from the desk, but something made me lean over to check the area around the chair. 

Thank goodness I checked!  Because there, with legs, a tail and a head right in the path of the chair, were my two girls.  I hadn't realized they had wormed their way around where I sat!

Of course, by the time I eased myself out of the chair, grabbed the camera, and focused (poorly), they were awake, heads up off the ground and about to jump to their feet.

Seems like some sort of guardian angel specializing in protection against mini-catastrophes was watching over them -- and me!  I have a feeling that if I had rolled over one or both of them, I would have been the one feeling the worst!

Tired of/Not Tired of

I'M TIRED OF:

Political rhetoric.  From both sides.

Hearing about the Kardashians. (I've never seen the show, but can imagine that if I had, I would be even MORE tired of watching them than I am of hearing about them!)  

Dog hair.  

Mealy, grocery store tomatoes.

People texting on the freeway.


I'M NOT TIRED OF:

Darby's eyes.

Pumpkin's paint job.

A dog's head in my lap.

Two dogs at my feet.

The freckles on Pumpkin's knees.


Darby's eyes.  (I know I repeated myself, but, I will never get tired of her eyes.)

Returning

A few weeks ago I started thinking about weaving baskets.  It's something I fell in love with many years ago when Erika was very little and my mom bought me a kit for a small, plaited basket for my birthday.  I was hooked!  Although I did such a poor job of weaving that first basket that it has lived its entire life hidden in a cupboard holding napkin rings, I'd never dream of throwing it out!  It was the first basket I ever wove and, now all these years later and with my mom gone nearly ten of those years, that basket is a treasured -- if misshapen -- part of my life.

For some time back then, I was very "into" basket weaving.  I helped found The Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild and was it's first Secretary.  My friends and family received baskets on many gift-giving occasions and I even sold some baskets for resale in a lovely little country-style store, The Country Loft .  

But, at some point about 10-12 years ago, I gave up basket weaving.  I'm not sure why I gave it up,  but I've always been sort of a serial monogamist when it comes to crafts -- I'll learn something new and then when the newness wears off, I lose interest and move on, jumping into the next thing with both feet. Maybe the messiness of the craft is what got to me.  The materials -- usually reed in my case -- need to be soaked in water until they will submit to becoming a basket.  And, a craft that involves water isn't the easiest thing to do while sitting in front of the TV at the end of a long work day!

For whatever reason I gave up basket weaving, there I was a few weeks ago thinking about picking it back up again!  I gave in and ordered some supplies from V.I. Reed & Cane, Inc.  and while I waited anxiously for them to arrive, I dug out my basket weaving books and paged through them, remembering.

The materials arrived, and sat on my worktable for several more days.

Then, this morning I cleared the work table, filled a large bowl with water, and feeling a little nervous, began creating my first basket in ten years.

  
It turns out that basket weaving is a lot like riding a bicycle -- you don't forget.  You might be a little wobbly at first (this is a VERY simple basket and it's far from prefect) but your body remembers what to do even if your memory is a little fuzzy at first.

The last time I wove baskets in this room, I'd never dreamed of Darby and Pumpkin.  But, now I have these dog-girls of mine to keep me company while I get re-acquainted with this old craft-love of mine.

Returning is good.

{this moment}

{this moment} 

A Friday ritual.

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, ordinary, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Play time

The girls play a lot -- but probably not enough for Pumpkin-the happy-go-lucky girl and too much for Darby, she of the Fun Police.*  Still, they manage to get in a good bit of playing and yesterday I managed to catch some of it on film.  (OK, not really on film, but you know what I mean!

 * According to her human mom, Darby's mom, Bryn, is also a card-carrying member of the Fun Police.

One Word Wednesday

READY!

Summer

I love zinnias.  In case you haven't noticed. I love the dog, too. 

Green beans grown by Jared, turned into Dilly Beans from her recipe, by ME!

 

Creature in the summer morning mist.

Hillsides turning golden brown.  Just right for fires.  Sigh.

Last summer San Juan Islands in a bowl. Sigh.

Green grass.