It's Official!

Justin and Ande are engaged! (More photos coming soon...)

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole... Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Memories Of Tazzy and Ollie Forever...

Look at what came in the mail today! Bob and Blackie's mom (Ratmammy) had special coffee mugs made up with a picture of me and Tazzy on them. Here's the "Ollie" side of the mug...

If you rotate the mug around you can see Tazzy's picture...

This is my mom's favorite picture of me and Tazzy together... Tazzy hated having his picture taken and most of the time he would run away when my mom pointed the camera at him. Now my mom can look at her favorite picture of me and Taz while she has her coffee in the morning. Thanks Ratmammy! My mom loves her mugs!

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Ollie says, "My human mom took this quiz and it turns out that she was a polar bear in a past life. My mom says that I walk like a polar bear but I look more like a panda bear because I'm black and white. Sometimes my dad calls me Shamu and laughs... I wish someone would tell me what a Shamu is!"

You Were a Polar Bear

A bit of a loner, you enjoy introspection and solitude. You are a fighter, and you will seek revenge on those who harm you.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Camera Critters #11

We live in a neighborhood where nearly all of our neighbors are dog people. When we brought our puppy Trooper home last month the three "girls" from across the street couldn't wait to meet the new kid on the block. From left to right we have Chelsea the sweetest Golden Retriever/Lab mix you could ever hope to meet... in the center we have Brandy a Golden Retriever who amazingly didn't have a tennis ball in her mouth when I snapped this picture and the pretty Yellow Lab on the right is Sandy. Sandy is a rambunctious girl and she loves playing with Trooper.

Chelsea likes to stop by our house nearly everyday to say hi to Trooper and mooch dog biscuits from me. This is her "hello, may I please have a dog biscuit?" face. (How can I resist those pleading eyes?)

If I don't open the front door right away Chelsea will plop down on our deck and stare at me through the sliding glass door. I think she tries to use doggy ESP to capture my attention... "give me a cookie... give me a cookie... pleeeze give me a cookie!"

Here's our "little" Trooper... It's amazing how much he's grown in one month!

Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to join in on the fun you can check out the Camera Critters website here.

A Video Starring Blackie!

Here's a video of Prow Prow's buddy Blackie cleaning his nether regions. For some reason my mom always laughs when she watches this video. (Be sure to turn up the sound so you can hear the narration.)

Wilbur wants a hot dog funnel too...

Walkies!

Trooper went for a walk down by the lake today on the Alpine Pedal Path. The Alpine Pedal Path goes along the north shore of the lake and it's paved so Alyson was able to go along in her big stroller. Here's Alyson enjoying the walk.

Trooper says, "hurry up slowpokes!"

The brown dog wanted to say hi to Trooper...

Here's a view of the lake from the pedal path.

Walking back to the parking lot - Trooper had a great time!

Talking Dog! Oscar The Boxer

Top Ten Signs That You Are A "Crazy Cat Lady"

Top Ten Signs That You Are A "Crazy Cat Lady"

1. Your colleagues no longer ask how your weekend was. Instead they ask how your cats are doing.

2. People at work have stopped offering you their lint brushes. They realize it's hopeless anyway.

3. When you get your latest roll of film developed, there's not a single human being in the pictures.

4. There are kitty litter boxes in every room of your apartment.

5. Your personal motto is: "You can never have enough cats."

6. You buy more than 60 pounds of cat litter a month.

7. You'd rather watch hours of boring infomercials than disturb the cat sleeping on the remote.

8. You choose your friends based on how well your cats like them.

9. You are lost for conversation with non-cat people.

10. You introduce your cats by name to the pizza delivery guy.

Super Duper Trooper Treats!

Ollie says, "Since it's been pretty hot here the past couple of days, my human mom decided to make frozen yogurt treats for me, Taz and Trooper. Here's the recipe she used and pictures of the treat making process... the ingredients are simple: honey, peanut butter, plain yogurt and a banana."

My mom decided to whirl everything up in the blender. Here's what it looked like after it was all mixed up. (Don't tell anybody but see that wooden handle sticking out of the blender container? That's a spatula handle - my mom got the rubber part of the spatula stuck underneath the blender blades and she couldn't get it out! Geez, she can be such a doofus sometimes... hee!)

Since we didn't have any ice cube trays, my mom used these little round containers instead.

Here's the yogurt mixture after my mom poured it into the containers.

What's nice is that the containers come with lids... the lids make it easier to stack the treats in the freezer.

The moment of truth... how do they taste? Trooper gives them two paws up!

Frozen Doggie Yogurt Treats

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of honey

3 Tablespoons of peanut butter*

1 Ripe banana

16 ounces of plain yogurt

Directions:

Mix the peanut butter, honey and fruit together until well blended. (Mash with a fork or use a blender.)

Add the yogurt and mix well.

Freeze in ice cube trays or similar containers.

*My mom used reduced fat peanut butter because she knows that I have to watch my girlish figure.

Camera-Critters #10

We live in a small mountain resort community and a popular attraction up here is a carriage ride in the village. A good friend of ours owns and operates Victoria Park Carriages here in Big Bear Lake, CA and he introduced us to one of his new horses last week. "Stryker" is a Clydesdale and he's currently in training to pull the carriage. In this photo he's eyeballing the Juniper bush in my front yard... I think he wants to eat it for lunch. (The Juniper is visible in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.)



Here's a photo that shows Stryker's full size. I'm no horse expert but trust me - he's enormous and yes, I did have enough "horse sense" to stay away from his massive feet!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads!

If you would like to join in on the fun you can check out the Camera Critters website here!

Top Ten Signs You Spoil Your Dog...

Top Ten Signs You Spoil Your Dog:

1. You think begging for table scraps is beneath him, so you let your dog eat at the table with you.

2. You take him to the supermarket and let him pick out his own dog food.

3. Your husband comes home from work, looks at the stew on the stove and asks: "Is this people food or dog food?"

4. You bought matching His & Hers place mats for your dog and yourself.

5. At dinner parties you always have to double-check the butter for visible lick marks before putting it on the table.

6. Your dog gets to vote on where to spend the next family vacation.

7. You don't care if you or your spouse are comfortable at night, as long as Fido has enough room on the bed.

8. You complain about the rising costs of groceries but you don't think twice about spending a fortune on doggie treats.

9. Your dog always gets the best spot on the couch and sometimes he even gets to hold the remote.

10. He has his own blog.

Pet Diaries: Dog vs. Cat...

The Dog's Diary:

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got my belly rubbed! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!



The Cat's Diary:

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again threw up on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped it's headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Jerks!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies". I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around her feet as she was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously a nitwit.

The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now...

Monkey see, Monkey do...

Wilbur and Dolly's mom and dad gave Trooper a cute stuffed monkey toy the other day. When you squeeze the monkey's belly it makes a loud shrieking sound which totally freaks Trooper out. Here's Mr. Monkey, isn't he cute?

Trooper tries to shut the monkey up by biting it but of course that only makes it shriek more. Here's Trooper trying to ignore Mr. Monkey... but Mr. Monkey beckons to him. Mr. Monkey (with a white tag on his butt) is at the top of the photo.

Trooper says, "Don't worry Mr. Monkey... I'm not going to attack you... yet."

Ahhhhh! Trooper lied! Here he is biting Mr. Monkey on the butt...

Of course Mr. Monkey is shrieking the entire time which puts Trooper into a monkey biting frenzy... (gee, do you think Trooper has enough toys?)

At the end of the day Trooper goes to sleep with Mr. Monkey... Zzzz Zzzz...

Only to wake up and attack his second favorite thing... my Mom's shoelaces!

Here's Trooper sleeping with his weasel. (Trooper's fur really is as soft as it looks!)

Good night everybody!

Camera Critters Sunday #9

We live in the mountains of So. California and here are just a few of the critters that visit our yard on a daily basis. First we have a Gray Squirrel - isn't it nice how he posed for this photo?

Next we have a Goldfinch...

And finally Mr. House Finch. (I think he's checking me out as much as I'm checking him out!)

Thanks for stopping by! You can visit Camera Critters here!

Trooper gets a goodie bag!

Our good friends John and Jerry gave Trooper a big fancy bag filled with gifts last Thursday! Here's Trooper checking out the bag...

Of course I had to stick my big nose in the bag too!

This was just like Christmas morning! Here's my dad opening all of the individually wrapped gifts for Trooper while Trooper watches...

Trooper was more interested in the ribbon... (see the ribbon hanging on his ear?)

Look at all of the neat stuff Trooper got! A special water bottle to use while hiking, a doggy toothbrush and a cute food bowl. The toothbrush package says you can use it on kitties too. My mom started laughing when she envisioned brushing Prow Prow's teeth - she said she'd have to wear a suit of armor to attempt that feat!



Here's a close-up picture of the bowl; it is so cool... (there's also little paw prints that go around the outside of the bowl which you can see in the picture above.)



Trooper says, "Thanks for the gifts John and Jerry! I can't wait to use them!"