Weekend Fun with Bridger

Friday night, we headed over to Malbis Mall where we had dinner at Rousseau's. Bridger had smiley face fries and little shrimp, enough to get his ice cream with sprinkles. Big smile for Grandma!
At two years three months, Bridger is a champion puzzle maker. He put together these two new puzzles all by himself. You should see him break all speed records assembling his thirty-five piece Cars puzzle. He decides where to put the pieces based on the picture, not whether it is a corner or an edge piece. He had fun with his sticker book too, always careful to put the sticker down just so. He also loves his books and his Thomas the train.
Bridger is Grandpa's buddy. He was imitating every move Grandpa made. Well, hopefully not every move.
Saturday, we went to find Bridger an Easter outfit. He will be one handsome young fellow in his shorts, shirt, and turtle vest. For some reason, he wanted to carry the bag and was distraught when he had to put it in the back of his daddy's Jeep while we ate lunch. Saturday was a busy day. After shopping and lunch, Meghan and Grandma went to Babies-R-Us to register and get a car seat for Taplin. Justin and Grandpa met us, and we all went to Toys-R-Us. Meghan and Bridger did the big slide together, and Bridger got a ride with Barney. Next stop was the Oyster House for dinner, and then home to watch Dumbo. We were all tired, but Bridger was quite the little trooper.
Sunday morning, Grandpa and Bridger played with his Thomas the Train set, and then they got out his new cash register so Bridger could start learning his small business skills. Meghan pried him away from his fun long enough to give Grandma and Grandpa a quick hug good-bye. It will just be two more months until Bridger is a big brother.

It's not spring quite yet

February is still winter, and we could surely have a big freeze, but this daffodil is the first sign of spring at our house.
Allen is putting the finishing touches on the stand for my new television for my sewing room. He had to make some sort of shelf so that we could put the digital tuner under the television and make it all fit on the washstand. We've had that washstand since I was expecting Meghan. It was unfinished, and Allen stained that along with the washstand we have in the downstairs hall. We bought them over spring break that year and just put them in the hall of our house so that he could work on them. That night, our basement flooded with about a foot of water due to heavy rains and sewer lines that someone had incorrectly tapped into. I remember the sound of a giant bathtub draining when the water receded the following morning.
We had shrimp, boiled peanuts, and my favorite cornbread for dinner last night. I use a South Pittsburgh Lodge cast iron pan and a buttermilk and real corn kernel recipe for the cornbread. It was great to have Nathan and Shannon for dinner. By the way, I posted the peanut recipe under the comments on the "What a nut!" blog.
Louie gets all excited when his Shannon comes to visit, but this time he was pretty calm. He didn't pester us too much during dinner, and by time we finished eating when she picked him up, he just nodded out. So much excitement for a puppy. He will really be happy when true spring arrives and we take him outside even more often.

Adventure on Green Mountain

Yesterday was a warm, overcast February day, absolutely perfect for a hike at the Nature Trail up on Green Mountain. We are pretty good at spoiling Louie, so this week Allen and I took him for his first mountain expedition. We strolled slowly and laughed while Louie meandered from side to side on the path, pug-snorting and snuffling the whole way. He stuck his nose in tree holes and checked his "pee-mail" at every tree stump along the way. His most exciting moment was when he caught Allen off guard, pulled the leash out of his hand, and zoomed over to a family sitting on a bench to say hello to their dog. Lucky for Louie this old dog was an amazing seventeen-year-old who was happy to say hey but had no interest in defending his turf. We saw a few ducks in the lake and even got close to them, but Louie was not impressed. He thinks he is big stuff! The lake was still in the late afternoon light, and I love seeing the trees and the covered bridge reflected in the watery mirror. The well-pampered Louie came home and napped on and off the rest of the day.

Refreshed from being outside, I put myself to work finishing the top of Taplin's quilt. I think I will try to quilt this one so that it is finished before Taplin's birth date. I am pretty happy with it, and I hope I can do a good job on the quilting too. The exciting part is my sewing room. I am pampered and spoiled almost as much as Louie is! We picked up a new mission-style little side lamp for the bookshelf, and Allen splurged on a new flat screen TV. Secretly, he wanted to put it in our bedroom, but that will be the next one we get.

What's not to love?

Happy Valentines Day from our house to yours! It's cold, cold outside, and we even have a sprinkling of snow on the roof left from yesterday. Louie, the new love of our life, enjoys having Shannon over to cuddle with him. He's so incredibly silly, you have to love him. Who knows what he was looking for under the cabinet in the laundry room, but he had us in stitches because he manged to get stuck there.

I love you, my dear family -- Meghan, Justin, Bridger, and Taplin too; Shannon and Nathan, our newlyweds; and most of all Allen. Oh, Louie too.

What a nut!

We went to eat at Cajun Cafe Friday night with Shannon and Nathan, and we had their Cajun boiled peanuts while we waited to be served our shrimp plates. When we got home, we put Allen to work boiling our own peanuts. They simmered for hours, and I have a wonderful, spicy snack for the week. When we moved here from St. Louis, we had never tasted boiled peanuts and couldn't imagine why anyone would eat them. Now I'm addicted. One of my many little addictions.

Louie's addicted to just having fun, and if no one will play with him, he'll find something to amuse himself. I got him a new stuffed ball yesterday; after all, it is basketball season. Louie seems to think it is really a soccer ball, and he and I had a rousing soccer practice in the house. Anything to wear off a bit of that pug mischief. Another of Louie's addictions is picking up treasure when he takes a walk. This fall, he picked up every acorn he could find. We would make him drop them by the door, and he accumulated quite a pile. These days, it's sticks. He picks up little sticks, big ones, even whole branches. What a nut he is!

Louie's Best Day Ever!

Allen and I took Louie to the Huntsville Botanical Garden's Bone-anza Carnival this morning. We headed down the dog walk path, Louie sniffing every inch of the way. He sniffed the ground, the flowers, the little children we met, and...and... DOGS! He sniffed little puppies and and playful small dogs, but he wasn't at all intimidated by the big guys either. When we got to the leash-off area, we were hesitant to let him run since there was no fence, but he was very happy to mingle. Then we spotted a small group of other pugs, his soul-mates. They were all smaller than Louie, not necessarily thinner, but built smaller and shorter. Allen let Louie off his leash for just a bit, and he was in dog heaven. He didn't even mind getting slimed by some slobbery, big dogs. We took a long stroll back to the pavilion where there were venders, and Louie even got a prize to take home, a small red frisbee. He was ready to hop in the car, and just like a kid, slept on the way home. It was, no doubt, his best day ever!

All Tuckered Out

Louie's not the only one who is tuckered out tonight. Last night he slept soundly, but the storms and tornado sirens woke me up about at 3 A.M. Louie snored on, cozy in his crate, while I kept up with the weather on television. I was happy to hear from Shannon about 4 when she called from the Miller's where she and Nathan had taken cover in the storm shelter. Safe but sleepy, I dozed for a half hour before the alarm went off at 5:30. I would imagine that most of north Alabama lost sleep last night. Louie's excuse for his fatigue? Just taking a bath. Such a hard life he leads.

Super Pug on Super Tuesday

I voted after school. I don't really like having to ask for the ballot of my party. I would just like to vote anonymously. However, I think it is my civic duty to vote. Period. I'll be watching the returns with Louie.

Louis has his own Pug platform. He believes in the following:
Walks outside as often and as long as he wants.
Naps on laps.
Naps on feet.
Naps on bed pillows.
Fetch with squeaky toys on demand.
Fetch with knotted socks on demand.
Fetch with tennis balls on demand.
Fetch games for as long as I want to play. And as often.
Unlimited access to toilet paper.
Unlimited access to the bathroom rugs too.
Unlimited chew time with rug corners.
Unlimited access to dirty laundry.
Unlimited access to shoes.
Morning in bed between Jean and Allen every morning.
No crate time during daylight hours.
Unlimited digging-on-the bed privileges.
All pills administered with peanut butter.
No diets for Pugs.
No empty water bowls ever.
Treats for everything.
Treats for everything.
Treats for everything.

Tub and turtle

Wet little pug! Louie had a horrible, no good, very bad day for a puppy. Friday, he started chewing on his paw, and we noticed a couple of sore spots under his armpits. (Do dogs even have armpits? Front leg-pits?) In any case, we took him to the vet Saturday who tentatively diagnosed ringworm. Yikes!! If that is what it is, he probably got it outside from loose cats, the vet said. No more nosing the cats down at the corner, Louie. He has special shampoo, topical medicine, and antibiotics. This was his first ever bath. Funny thing, he doesn't smell like a dog today. He isn't chewing today, and the spots seem better. Not gone, but better. I can't figure out how I'll put the medicine on without Allen. Shannon says she'll come help with a bath one night this week. Good thing we love you, little Lou.
After the vet visit, Allen and I headed to Franklin, Tennessee to the Stitcher's Garden on Main Street so I could get fabric for a quilt for Baby Everette. After all, he is due to make his appearance around April 20. I had better get going! These are the batiks. I love the turtle fabric. It looks a little more blue to me than purple in person. Stitcher's Garden is an unusual quilters' shop, packed to the ceiling with bolts and bolts of fabric. I could spend hours poring over the huge variety because, although the selection is awesome, organization and elbow room are nonexistent. It's probably a good thing it is an eighty mile trip. Taplin's turtle quilt will get under way this afternoon. What fun for Grandma!

Pincusions and Pillow

This was a quick, fun little project. I made Shannon a brown and red pincushion, and when I saw it out on her table last week, I decided I needed to have one too. It's not perfectly symmetrical, but it doesn't need to be, I guess. Playing with my fabric and hanging out in my sewing room are pretty good therapy after a day at school no matter what I am making. I think a black and yellow quilt would be a good idea. So many quilts, so little time.
Louie is ready for a Friday at work with Allen. What? Allen needs to go to the store to get you a new pillow for his lap so you can get wedged in between his belly and the table and nap more comfortably? I bet you get sleepy just thinking about another conference call. Louie just might be getting a bit spoiled spending hours at a time on Allen's lap.

Today we have to take Louie to the vet. We changed his food so that he can trim down to his ideal weight. Whether it is the food change or something else, he has a couple of hot spots - one under each front leg and a sore front paw that is causing him to limp. Poor, poor Louie.