The Original Dog-Powered Scooter

Check out the dog-powered scooter! Could be the answer to the energy crisis!!!!!

FOOOOOOOODDDD!

Oh, I'm so HAPPY!! We got Thai take-out last night and it was just fabulous. I am currently eating some left-overs. There are a serious lack of ethnic restaurants in these parts and I seriously miss them. I cry when I think about the lovely fish tacos in San Diego or our favorite Chinese and Afghani restaurants in Baltimore, the Ethiopian place in DC, etc. Fortunately there are two Thai restaurants relatively close to us and they aren't bad...so not all is lost. I had cashew tofu stir fry with spicy sauce. YUM. I wonder if people could tell me about the wonderful food they've been able to eat in those REAL cities out there......

At least I've been inspired to cook more. I found a great cookbook...called Simply in Season. It is great. I like that it organizes recipes by season. Lots of good veggie and meat options.

The Old Man and the Sea

I just love this picture. It is of my dear friend Eliza's dog Sebastian (Bas). They sent me this picture to make me jealous of the fact that they still live near the ocean. Bas is getting up there in age and walks slowly and with a bit of a limp. I just wonder what he's pondering there on the beach?  

Three's a charm! or Sympathy for Chris??

This post is not for those with a weak stomach. Yesterday was certainly an interesting day. I woke with quite a headache and just not feeling good. Had to go to work. Sort of gagged before my shower...thought that was all it was going to be...but NO....I had to later RUN back into the bathroom (while Chris was showering) to REALLY barf. Yuck. A tylenol and a glass of milk later had me feeling no better. So ONE MORE TIME before work. Last night Maggs thought she should get into the act and barfed three times in the living room during the Daily Show. Chris had to clean it up. After I went to bed I heard the lovely hacking noises from dear grey cat Mao. She didn't want to be left out...so she coughed up a few hairballs or something in the living room. Chris got to clean that up, too. Poor Chris!!!

Botany Quiz

HINT: It is the only fall flowering tree/shrub that I know. It is lovely!!! Seen 11/6/05 at Pokagon State Park, Indiana: 

Can Maggie pass????

Just read in the paper about a new doggie day care in the area. Remember...this is NOT California and so doggie daycares are not on every corner. This is a new concept for this area. I had talked with someone a few months ago who told me her friend was opening this place. It sounds fun. My favorite thing about it is that the dogs will be "placed into playgroups. There will be one human supervisor per eight dogs, and this leader will play games with the pups, foster activites with toys, and offer snacks and naps to those that become tuckered out" They also have boarding...where "the pooches will be tucked into soft fleece covered beds, inside individual cabins". All this and at Indiana prices. I wonder, however, if our canine will be able to pass the evaluation. They much attend at least a 1/2 day evaluation!!! Yikes!

My Christmas spirit just fizzled

So....I was getting into the Christmas spirit early this year. I think it was because we are having our work Christmas party early (Dec 2nd or something) and we do Secret Santa gifts once a week for the three weeks prior to the party. So....I was actually looking forward to it all until yesterday. Yesterday we picked names for Secret Santa and I couldn't have picked a more difficult person. MY BOSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If any of you have heard me talk about my boss you would understand. A "do-everthing, good at everything" kind of person. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! What am I supposed to get him?????

The Morning Walk Routine

On the morning walk with Maggs. Walking over the bridge at The Res.  

This is Maggs in an outright sprint. She runs up and down the driveway after her morning walk because she's so darn excited to get back inside to her breakfast which is waiting just inside the door 

"I'm patiently waiting to get inside to MY BREAKFAST...com'on!!!!!!!!!" 

Old postcard

Postcard from my brother one summer when I was away at camp. Found it in a box of junk mom brought me from home 

Watching crane migration

LOTS of cranes at Jasper-Pulaski....the big gathering ground during fall migration. Took the parents there on Friday night. Too bad I couldn't record the noise of the birds! It was cool 

More cranes flying.... 

Cranes flying at sunset... 

A weekend get-away to visit the elusive red-billed Hovis

Going to a hike at Turkey Run State Park...it was lovely 

A peek into the fridge of an assistant professor.....at a big university. Kind of sad, isn't it.  

Ask the Expert

So the other day I was petting Maggs and began to wonder why she isn't ticklish. I, of course, decided to ask an expert....my friend Lizard. She sent back this comment from a memo-board-thingy on dog grooming:

"Hi there,
I'm not a groomer but I am a dog owner and I have a serious question that I'm hoping someone here may be able to answer. You see, my eight year old son (also an avid dog lover) spends much of his free time petting and playing with our three dogs. He has observed that none of our dogs are ticklish, a fact which I myself have since put to the test and found to be true. He asked me, Why aren't dogs ticklish to which I have no answer. I'm hopeful that someone may be able to shed some light on this subject. Are all dogs not ticklish and if so, why is that. Thank you. Dianna.

Posted on Wednesday, August 3, 2005 - 4:08 am:
"They are ticklish..... :o) Your son just hasn't figured out where yet.
Right in front of the ear canal opening - the "guard hairs" that stand up right in front of the hole. Have you son GENTLY and SLIGHTLY flick the hair there. Just sort of tickle the HAIR there. The ear with start flicking because of it.
Also, some dogs are ticklish with their feet. When the dog is laying down, resting - you son can "tickle" the HAIR between the pads. The hair that sticks out above the pads.I would say more "bothered" than ticklish - - but you do get a reaction :o)
Being a surgical veterinary technician for 17 years - - the ear hair flick is a good test to see how anaesthetized they are (are deep they are) and helps them to recover from anaesthetic as well :o) It's like being ticklish, an unconscious response - something you have no control over....

Weekend update

Saw this in a newspaper article: "If you're a new parent, there will come a time when either you or your spouse will say these words: Let's take the baby to a restaurant" Now, to a normal, sane person; this statement is absurd. It's like saying: "Let's take a moose to the opera"."

Well....the husband took the Moose to the South Bend Symphony last night, not the opera. I think I was pretty well behaved. However, I've taken to burping a lot more lately (it's better than barfing, right!!!). Unlike my niece and brother, however, I am not skilled in "burping on command". I thought about apologizing in advance to the ochestra last night...but I did fine and was able to remain quiet through the whole thing. The most hilarious thing about the whole concert was the beginning. The conducter came on stage, we clapped, and then EVERYONE stood up....I mean EVERYONE. Chris and I looked at each other with confused looks. THEN THE ORCHESTRA BROKE OUT IN "The Star Spangled Banner" AND THE WHOLE AUDIENCE SANG ALONG. Can't say I've ever done that before at a symphony concert!!! Sure made it feel a bit like a baseball game. (speaking of baseball...I'm thinking Lizard and my dad are pretty happy about the Cardinals these days)

A walk in the woods....

Another picture of the man and his dog....Maggie had to be at the front of the line. Always!  

OK---now this picture says it all....Maggie is totally obsessed with Chris!!! Here they are on our walk in the woods. We had to go to Michigan to get to a nice woods. It was a beech-maple woods and I saw lots of nice plants! Like hepatica, wild ginger, partridge berry, ferns, etc.