Cleaning

I got my teeth cleaned this week.

So did Pumpkin.

Things I saw outside on a Spring evening

 

 

 

To be

Gourds to-be

Birds to-be

Centerpiece to-be

Lemonade to-be

Grapes to-be

Clean teeth to-be

Shade to-be

Roses to-be

Brown to-be (once the rain stops!)

In trouble to-be

Headache remedy to-be

Second canine visit in one month!

Glenn and I don't have a lot of friends who have dogs that they bring with them when they visit.  (We don't even have a lot of friends who have dogs that they leave at home! We just don't have a lot of friends who have dogs.)

Wendy and Mike, of course, bring Darby's mom Bryn and their other corgi, Dinah, when they come over.  But, as they live in Maine and only visit here once a year, they don't "come over" very often.  Unfortunately.

So, to have TWO canine visits in one month is a big deal for us!

Art and Stephanie and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Noel, came over for dinner yesterday.   You might remember Art,  he is the maker of my wonderful kitchen table (and a few other things I couldn't resist purchasing and that have already nearly depleted my "discretionary fund" for the whole year!) and Stephanie is the maker of wonderful stitcheries and this Corgi-themed apple pie that was as delicious as it looks: 

 

Note the two corgwyn with tails and the one without! That's the kind of creative, artistic person Stephanie is.

We had a lovely late-afternoon and evening with the three of them.  And, Darby was actually downstairs to enjoy it! It's hard to believe, but I have photographic proof:

Proof, too, of my attempt to encourage an up-right ear.

 

Initially, there was a good bit (OK, a LOT) of barking on the part of our two girls.  But, Noel totally ignored their craziness and sailed around the house and yard with a royal, imperial attitude very fitting for a "Queen's dog." Stephanie suggested that the very fact that Noel showed no interest in Darby -- made no eye contact --  allowed Darby to relax.  And relax she did!  As evidenced by this photo of Darby sacked out on Stephanie's feet!

It's not surprising that Pumpkin was the most comfortable, nosing in when Stephanie gave Noel some lovin'.

And, it isn't surprising to me that Darby was still too intimidated by Noel to squeeze past her and follow Glenn, Art and Pumpkin into the backyard. 

 

But, even though she just wasn't totally comfortable, in the end it seemed like Darby enjoyed herself -- at least she was downstairs and not lurking on the landing upstairs! 

Speaking of ends -- doesn't Noel have a great one? 

 P.S.  I have NO photos of Art and Stephanie.  Trust me, they aren't hard to look at.  I just have camnesia too often! 

Cat and dogs

 

 

 

 

No cat or dogs were hurt in this photo session. (Because of the blurry, low-light exposure it looks like it might have been a fight, but it really was just a slow-motion, gentle, ganging-up of the canines on the feline.)

Tags

A few people have asked where I got the girls' name tags.

They are from Fetching Tags which you can find here.  

The service was great and the name tags seem to be holding up very well. 

Darby's Birthday Cupcake

Wendy and Mike brought the cutest cupcake as part of their presents for Darby's 2nd birthday.

Evidently the cupcake wasn't only cute, it was also quite tasty (if difficult for the Birthday girl to pick up off the floor!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wouldn't have guessed

Before Pumpkin came to live with us and I started taking photos of her, I thought her black mask would make it difficult to get good photos of her.  But, that hasn't proven to be true.  

 

Isn't she just the cutest thing?

Where they sit when they think we aren't looking

The dogs were outside playing for awhile on Monday morning.  At one point they got real quiet.   Anyone who has had kids, puppies or kittens knows that quiet isn't always a good thing.  So, I peeked out the window to see what they were up to and there was Pumpkin lounging on the patio coffee table and Darby snoozing in one of the chairs with her head propped up on the arm!

By the time I grabbed my camera and snapped the photo, they had already spotted me and Darby was climbing out of the chair, darn it!  They sure looked cute! 

Bye-Bye Mainers

Darby's mom, Bryn, and her human and canine family members have been visiting San Diego for the last several weeks.  They head home to Maine on Wednesday.  We had a few visits with them while they were here and had great fun getting to know them a little better each time.  We spent the day together yesterday and another mistake* turned out very well. 

We were supposed to go to lunch and a movie.  We managed lunch, but we'll have to see "The Lincoln Lawyer" some other time because I read the movie times for Sunday not Monday and when we got to the theater, it was closed until 5:30!  But, that was OK.  Yesterday was a gorgeous day -- the tail end of a storm was pushing through and there were big billowy clouds in the bluest-of-blue skies so we headed for the beach on Coronado Island.  

Of course, I had not brought my camera, and, only twice even thought to pull out my iPhone!  So, here are the only two (lousy) photos we have to commemorate the day:

Sweet little pup-faces to greet us when we drove up to Mike's and Wendy's loft/condo:

Looking back at San Diego from Coronado:

Well, we may not have many photos from our visits with Darby's mom and her family, but we have lots of good memories and the promise of more to come -- Wendy and Mike have invited us to visit them in Maine again this year.  We weren't able to go last year because Glenn's hip was bothering him so badly, but that new hip of his is working just fine and we're taking Wendy and Mike up on the invitation. 

See you in September, Mainers!  Travel home safely!



* I would never have met Wendy and Mike if my dentist's office manager hadn't made a mistake.  

Pigs ears

Can you spot the pig's ears?

Ha!  Fooled you!  You were looking for one of those nasty dried pig ears that dogs love so much, weren't you? Well, the only pig's ears in the photos are the Varkoor -- or calla lilies.  "Varkoor" is an Afrikaans word meaning "pig's ear." You can read about them here.   If you haven't tried growing them yourself, give it a try.  They are amazingly easy -- at least that's the case in South Africa and here in south California!