Merry Christmas!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I must show you this picture of our pug, Phoebe. Coming home from shopping one day last week, we thought we had locked our pug outside by accident. We looked in all of her special spots and she wasn't to be found. My husband just happened to look down at the tree and there was Phoebe! Hiding in amongst the bears, she just yawned and stretched and went right back to her long winter's snooze. ( We don't have presents under our tree because of the grand kids.)

It's Cold Outside!

We had fog last night. We woke up to this.



It was very pretty, but also very COLD!



Within a short time, we had sunshine. It was so beautiful with the frozen fog!



Then, the clouds came in and it started to sleet, then snow, and the WIND was really getting strong! Gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour! Sure made it cold! Maggie and Phoebe were even cuddled up on the sofa!



Stay warm! We're looking forward to some balmy 40's this week! Maybe we will finish decorating then!

Pet Parade at Katillac Shack

We are joining the pet parade at Katillac Shack, http://www.katillacshack.com/.

We made the Play Strong Scarves to help raise money for pets made homeless by foreclosures. You can learn more at the above website. If you will post your pets and link to Katillac Shack it will help even more! For every link that posts-- Design Gives Back will donate an extra $3.00 to the fund!!!!



Phoebe Faye

We purchased her from a broken home. She is now 9 years old. Don't let her size fool you, she can jump like a goat!



Maggie May

We adopted her from an animal shelter. She is almost 4 years old. She loves to play catch. She loves her housemate, Phoebe Faye.

Lots Of Projects Left To Finish!

Maggie needs her hair combed! It has been busy around here, but not much is getting done it seems. We're just starting the day though!



Phoebe is napping, as no one is paying her any attention. She is hanging out with her Mr. Fox. She begins napping about an hour after breakfast. Oh, the life of a dog!



I did get my bear stamps (from way back) framed. Found the frame at GW for .99! This is part of my red, white, and blue bear (computer, music, and guest) room. This room also functions as the baby changing station and my husbands' dressing room? How much more can a 10X11 room do?



This is another project not quite done. I have put the picture and plates on the wall, but still working on the platter part. I have a white one up there but wish it were a blue one. I'm still looking for the one I want to put there. I also want to paint the walls sometime in the near future.


I really want to put out some fall decor. I love it when the nights cool down and the trees change colors! I also love fall decorations; pumpkins, leaves, acorns,maize,corn stalks, etc. Fall leads to Thanksgiving and family time. I can hardly wait! What do you love about fall?

Zucchini Bread Made In My Tiny Kitchen

Today was a little cooler, so I baked some loaves of zucchini bread in my tiny kitchen. These freeze really well. (Forgive the shadows in the picture.) I love to smell things cooking in the kitchen! It really makes the house seem like "home". My mother baked almost every day! She still bakes quite often. ( She is almost 80.) I think I got my recipe addiction from her!



Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated
1 cup nuts (opt.)
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
3 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs until light. Add sugar and oil; beat again. Add vanilla. Mix all dry ingredients, then add to egg mixture. Add zucchini. Have 2 bread pans well greased and bake in 325 degree oven about 1 hour. Test at 50 minutes. Enjoy! ( You may have to adjust this recipe for your area. I live at over 4,000 feet above sea level.)

I don't usually have the dogs in the kitchen when I am cooking. This picture was taken the day before. Phoebe's "daddy" opened a package of cereal to quickly and some fell onto the floor. She ate all she could, as fast as she could! She thinks she may see ( or smell) some more under the fridge. We checked- none there. This little dog is a food manic!



Hope you all have a great week!

Some God Given Beauty and Phoebe Too!

Wanted to share with you some pictures I took earlier today. We had some more rain and thunderstorms pass by and this is what they left behind for us besides the wonderful rain.

Yes, it is a double rainbow! Look closely to the left and you will see the faint second rainbow. It was so very pretty in real life. It looked like it came right out of the Fairmont Inn's roof and went all the way across town to the main street area. The colors were so vivid!




It stayed around for quite a while. Just west of the rainbow, we had some wonderful clouds I wanted to share also.




These are mammatus clouds. I don't ever remember seeing them before we moved out west. I know what they are because the local weatherman had pictures of some on his weathercast a few weeks ago and explained how they are formed. They usually appear after thunderstorms have passed by.



I took several pictures of them.




You can see that the skies were clearing just behind them.



Phoebe has been on a "no scraps" diet for the past few months. She had gained a little too much weight and it was hurting her. She had a good report from the vet and has lost some of her weight! This is her favorite treat - an almost empty jar of peanut butter! She holds it between her paws and licks it perfectly clean exactly halfway down the jar. You will notice it is reduced fat peanut butter. No need to go overboard here!



Have a great day!

Play Strong Scarf

I joined Kelee at Katillacshack in decorating scarfs to help lost or abandoned dogs. The deadline is July 6th, if you are interested in participating you will need to hurry! For more information, go to:

http://www.katillacshack.com/

Here is Phoebe Faye wearing the scarf. I didn't do it all myself. My husband helped do the little embroidery flowers on each side of the word buttons, sweet. (My hand wouldn't let me finish, so he stepped in. Hurrah!) Phoebe loves to pose, especially if you have a treat in your hand!




Here is Maggie May wearing the scarf. She is a real rescue dog. We got her in 2006 from the local pound. Look below and see how she looked then. She is such a sweet dog!





We didn't find Maggie on Petfinder ( She was called Sunnie then.) We saw her in the pound when we were looking for a companion for Phoebe. She wasn't in the little dog section but in a cage between two very large dogs. She was also very wet! They had washed her cage out just before we came. We thought they had sprayed her but later found out she loves to chase water and get wet. We fell in love with her right away! Sunny was a cute name but she just looked more like a Maggie to me. A trip to the vet, a good cleaning, and she was our dog! I can't imagine not having her around.

Moving Things Around

Oh, no, we're moving things around in the computer/guest room again! Phoebe wants to be near but has learned that small round older dogs should stay out of the way when boxes come out and things get moved around.




Phoebe is just not sure it is safe to be out and about after all that moving around. Maybe she will get moved around too?

I just moved some books out of storage and I'm wanting to paint the room ( but may not?). I want to do more of a Patriotic theme ( with a splash of bears!). Change is good! I haven't changed this room in a while. It was the main guest room until my daughter got married, then it became the computer room/extra guest space. My husband uses it for his music room also. A lot to ask of a 10X11.5 room isn't it! Now, you see why Phoebe is in hiding!

Sometimes It's Just Good To Share!

Maggie and Phoebe having a siesta. They were both asleep but the camera woke Maggie. This is where they hang out if I'm on the computer. Their blanket is suppose to cover the bed, but they are using it more as a pillow here. They don't share the bed at night. I'm afraid Maggie has to sleep closer to me. Poor Phoebe can't jump up on our bed. That's a good thing though. She snores terribly!!!!! Maggie stays on the foot of the bed. (At least she does until after my husband gets up. Then, she takes his spot! )

Sometimes it is just good to share isn't it? Thanks for sharing your time with me!