Wordless Wednesday: SPRING!

To celebrate the first day of spring, I thought I'd share pics I took of some of the beautiful flowers in our neighborhood on a recent walk with Rita. And... we have a winner in the What the Dog Ate's birthday giveaway!

But first... Spring has sprung:

A California poppy

Monday Mischief: Cozy Blankie!

We've discovered that Rita LOVES this faux-fur blankie we have on our sofa. Normally, it just drapes over the back of the couch, looking cozy. But one night, it was chilly so I grabbed the blankie and unfurled it to throw over the hubs and myself. Who was immediately right there wanting up for a snuggle with us? Miss Rita.

"Oh, I loooove this blankie, Momma."

Mirth Watch Thursday: 7 Smiles, 1 Scream & A Giveaway

A week or so ago, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal on the benefits of smiling. According to the article, "Researchers are finding that wearing a smile brings certain benefits, like slowing down the heart and reducing stress." One of the researchers added, "You can influence mental health by what you do with your face, whether you smile more or frown less."

So, bring your face over to Pooch Smooches and engage in some smiling. No, it's not just dorking around and a waste of time. You're reducing your stress levels!

In order to induce today's smiles, I give you: seven smiling dogs, one screaming pepper, and a chance to win fun stuff.

Seven Smilers

An adorable pup from the shelter where I volunteer. (He got adopted!)

Wordless Wednesday: To The Beach!

Snapped a few shots of Rita on the way to the beach the other day. These are taken after we turned on to the little one-way road that leads to Fiesta Island, or Disneyland for Dogs as I call it. I just held my camera over and snapped, without looking, but they still came out kinda cute.

This one is taken w/ window up, no flash

Monday Mischief: Helping *AGAIN*

I've been needing to paint our hallway ever since we moved in to this house over 2 years ago. I finally got my act together and painted it last week while the hubs was away on business.

Of course, my little helper was right there doing what she could to make the job go more quickly, as evidenced by the paint on her tail:

Mirth Watch Thursday: Rita's Rant

Hi everypawdy. Rita here. I have a bone to pick with the authors, illustrators, screen writers, directors, claymation-ers and muppeteers of this here world!

I want to know - where are the bitches that a little girl-pup like myself can look up to?

I beseech you. Seriously... what gives??

Wordless Wednesday: Breakfast With a Side of Oxytocin

Unfortunately, my hubs has a very stressful job. He also has trouble managing his stress. Rita apparently knows this, since she suddenly decided she should sit between us while we eat breakfast on the sofa in front of the news. (Sorry about the picture quality - took it with my iPad, shooting in to the light. Should know by now to always have the camera handy.)

Administering the proper dosage of oxytocin

She's supposed to be over on "her" side of the sofa, on her towel. But since the hubs can use a dose of oxytocin before work, I don't mind a little dog hair. (Besides, our house is practically covered in it anyway.) You can read about dogs and oxytocin here, but here's a key nugget: "Oxytocin, which is sometimes dubbed 'the cuddle hormone,' helps reduce blood pressure and decreases levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress and anxiety." Keep that stuff coming, Rita!

You might suspect that she only chose to sit there to have access to our breakfast of peanut butter toast and yogurt - but you'd actually be wrong. She's totally gone off peanut butter, and if I offer her a bite or my plate when I'm done with it, she turns her head and acts like I've put the most disgusting thing ever in front of her. As for the yogurt, she might lick a bit off a spoon when you're done, but she does NOT want to lick the cup. (She's so odd.)

Do you try to extract some cuddle hormone from your dog?

Monday Mischief: Such a Great Helper

I posted before about how "helpful" Rita is with projects around the house. This past week was no different, when I was doing some spring cleaning on our patio chairs. I laid the chair cushions out in a row so I could give them a quick scrubbing, and guess who immediately popped over to "help":

"Thanks, Momma! This is comfy."

Mirth Watch Thursday: Your Doggy Doppelganger

Do you have a doggy doppelgänger? Or maybe your dog has one?

I started thinking about doppelgängers the other day when one of my fave blogs, I Still Want More Puppies, posted a link to the "2013 Oscar Nominees and their Animal Doppelgängers". You should really check that link out (I think my fave is Tommy Lee Jones = Grumpy Cat, but there are other funny ones as well.)

Anyway, it reminded me of two things:

1) I once noticed that my friend's angel dog, Max, had a puppy pic that looked exactly like Ron Swanson (a hysterically gruff character on Parks and Rec, played by Nick Offerman). Am I right? Since Ron really likes meat, and Max did too, they were even somewhat of a personality match.

2) There is a web site that lets you find your doggy doppelgänger, appropriately called: Doggelganger. It's from Pedigree and the New Zealand SPCA. The tag line is: "Human to canine pairing software. Your best friend search starts here."

It's fun to play with. You're supposed to be able to add your own image either with your web cam or by loading a picture, but I couldn't get the web came image thing to work. So, I loaded a photo. (They say to load one with a neutral image - but, other than Ron Swanson above, most people smile when you point a camera at them.) Anyway, first I loaded my b&w "author photo" and I got a 62% accuracy match with this adorable 7 mo. old female Mastiff/Greyhound mix.
 

I also tried a color photo - but I guess I look a lot older in this picture since I got a 67% accuracy match with this sweet 12-yr-old Fox Terrier mix: (at least she's a fox....)

I do have the same worry wrinkles as both of these girls, so I think they did a pretty good job. It's a fun thing to play with - so hopefully the NZ SPCA is getting a lot of local folks on the site who then find their new best look alike friend!

I also looked up doppelgänger for this post - I thought it just meant "a look alike", but the actual definition from Miriam Webster is "a ghostly counterpart of a living person". Ghostly... hmm. So Tommy Lee Jones = ghostly Grumpy Cat I guess. 

Anyway, go have some fun and find your doggelganger.

Wordless Wednesday: DONE

If you've been following along, you know we started a so-called "6 week" backyard remodeling project waaaaaay back in mid-October. Finally, for today's almost-wordless Wednesday, the word of the day is DONE.

"I love my new sunning spot!"

Monday Mischief: Caught Cheating!

I was caught cheating this weekend - cheating on Rita, that is.

"Would you like to explain why you smell like Weimaraner?"

Mirth Watch Thursday: March of the Penguin

You've possibly seen this video before - after all, it's been around a while (and viewed by millions on YouTube), but it's one of my all-time favorite animal videos so I figured I'd share for those who haven't seen it. (I have one other "all-time fave" that I'm saving for another time.)

I give you, Lala, the shopping penguin:

A penguin with a penguin backpack, shopping for fish. I ask you, is that not the cutest thing? Thanks to Morgan Freeman, I know penguins like to march waddle long distances, but who knew they also like to shop? But how does it work... do they put his purchases on his bill? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

I would love to have a penguin for a pet that I could send to the store to pick stuff up for me. "Lala, we're out of milk. And get yourself a can of sardines while you're there."

But, honestly, I'm such a worrywart, I'd probably never let him walk to the store by himself. I'd be afraid he'd get run over or penguin-napped. So instead I'd end up driving him there, and then I'd worry about him going in on his own, so I'd go in instead, and he'd just end up sitting in the car running the A/C full blast until I got back. It wouldn't be nearly as cute. I guess it's best that he ended up in a nice town in Japan and not at my house.  

Wordless Wednesday: Old-Fashioned Tweets

Rita's not much for Twitter. She prefers her tweets to be the old-fashioned variety. (She actually prefers to try to catch birds, but seeing them on TV is the next best thing...)

"How did that bird get in here?"

Monday Mischief: What a Tease

Hi all - Rita here. After Momma wrote about my special Valentine guy last week, well I have to admit I was a little worried when Valentine's came and went with no special package or card arriving.

I checked in with my special guy, Rocket, just to be sure we were still okay - after all, he did send me photos agreeing he'd be mine! But still... I thought maybe he was being fickle. Or maybe he was being a tease. Not to worry - it was just that his Daddy forgot to put the package in the mail. Phew!

Anyway, my package arrived on Friday:

"Look, it says right here it's for me!"

"Oooo, it smells so good in here!"

I got to unwrap stuff!

Oh man, there's ALL kinds of stuff in here!

He sent me a lock of his hair!

Isn't he the cutest?

Look at all the good stuff he sent! There's a bunny box filled with yummy treats, bunny straws, a treat wrapped up in a monkey bag, (monkeys and bunnies are kind of a thing with us...) a bunny-head Pez, a stuffy, a card, AND 2 boxes of chocolates for my Momma and Daddy. How thoughtful is that? As you can see in the picture, I look a little guilty - cuz all I sent him was a card. But Rocket says that's okay - the girls are supposed to get the gifts on Valentine's. I like the way he thinks.

All I sent was a card...

Can I have this one right now?

These chocolates here say they are for Daddy. Good luck, Daddy.

This is my favorite part - a very special, smoochy card, and a monkey-ear wearing doggy:

The doggy says "some bunny loves me." Hee!

Oh, wait, this is my other favorite part - a bully stick! (Pizzle! What every girl wants for Valentine's!)

It smells so good!

Hope you all had as good a Valentine's Day (or belated one) as I did. Happy Monday Mischief!

Mirth Watch Thursday: My Furry Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day everypawdy! I have to start by saying, I'm not a huge fan of V-Day. I mean, it's cute for the kids and the chocolate tie-in is good, but beyond that I can't get super excited about it. (I'm not much of a romantic in most of the traditional ways - and yes, I was single and bitter and I wore green on V-Day as a protest for many years.)

Now, having gotten that off my chest... Rita - as I mentioned the other day - has a long-distance boyfriend, Rocket, who she's exchanging V-day gifts/cards with. (I know that sounds silly, but you probably noticed, we're big on silly around here.) I wanted to take some special photos of Rita for her b.f., so here are some of the outtakes as well as the ones that went to Rocket:

We tried some "flower behind the ear" shots, but they didn't work...

Wordless Wednesday: Beam Me Up

Rita met her first cat.

This is my sister's cat, Topi. He's very sweet. I think this pic looks like he's going to put a tractor beam on me and beam me up. (Either that or use some sort of death ray to blast Rita to smithereens...)

Monday Mischief: Rita's Valentine

I saw on the news today that the National Retail Federation estimates that American's will spend $850 million on their pets this Valentine's Day. Just for fun, I looked up what the NRF estimated last year for pet spending and it was a mere $562M. Holy Woof, that's  BIG jump - more than a 50% increase (63% to be exact).

Since I spent zero on Rita last year for Valentine's Day, I guess I'll spend 63% more on her this year too. Yep, still zero.

But don't worry, Rita has her very own Valentine, Rocket, and he looks out for her on Valentine's Day. Last year he sent her this fine monkey hat:

And you can see how much she loved it!

Mirth Watch Thursday: Does Your Pup Want Roadside Assistance?

With it being that huge all-American sporting event this past Sunday that SO many people tuned in to watch, I figured I better do a post about it. That's right - I'm talking about Puppy Bowl. Did you watch?

I confess we watched the Super Bowl (which was finally a good game for once, blackouts not withstanding) and DVR'd the Puppy Bowl. Although I have to give it to the Super Bowl for being a little more exciting in the 4th quarter, I preferred the Puppy Bowl MVP:

Wordless Wednesday: Just Bee(s)

Today, instead of our usual photo(s) for Wordless Wednesday, I've got a video. A dogless video, though. Sorry...(come back tomorrow for doggy video goodness).

You can't actually see the main subject, but hopefully you can hear them:

That's the tree in our front yard. When the hubs went out to get the paper on Saturday morning, he came back in and said, "Come look at this tree." I said, "It's lovely. I can see it through the window." "No, I mean, come listen to this tree." It was actually a wee bit scary, since I've seen swarms of bees flying over the house before - as pictured below:

This is actually taken from inside - I'm not out there w/ them. Thank heaven!

I had JUST come in the house and closed the back sliding glass door, which had previously been standing wide open. I almost had a houseful of unwanted visitors. I like bees, but nobody likes unannounced visitors. (Do they?) Luckily on Saturday, they happily stayed in the tree all day and never tried to come in.

(As usual - I intended to be wordless, but that didn't happen... Maybe next time.)

Happy slightly-less-wordy Wednesday!

Monday Mischief: The Case of the Missing Bone

Rita's Nylabone had been missing for weeks.

This is said bone:

Rita's well-loved Nylabone

Mirth Watch Thursday: What Dog Are You?

Today's post is not so much "mirthful" as just plain fun. Dogster.com has posted a quiz where you can find out What Dog Breed Are You? Just click on the link and go through the 10 or so questions. (Note that they do ask for your email at the end, but swear they won't give it out. I have an email I use for this sorta thing...)

Some of the questions, at least in my twisted mind, don't have exactly the right answer option available, but just pick the closest one. I was surprised how accurate this test seemed to be!

For example, here's are a couple of the questions:

It's finally Friday after a long, hard week of work. Time for Yappy Hour with friends. Your order is:

Water. I’m hydrating. I’ve got a trail run tomorrow.

Gimme your top-shelf vodka. Rocks.

Lime and salt me. I'll have a tequila.

What beers do you have on tap?

A glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pretty and pink. A Cosmo.

Coke please. I'm keeping my wits about me tonight.

My answer would really be a margarita, which is close but at the same time very different from a shot of tequila (!), so I went with a cosmo. The "pretty and pink" part worried me. I figured they'd decide I was a white fluffy purse-dog with a big pink bow. (Not that there's anything wrong with that... That's just not me.)

Here's another:

You're invited to a Howloween party, costume required. You:

Rent a get-up that isn’t too silly or embarrassing.

Pull an all-nighter on the eve of the party and make your costume—a masterpiece if you do say so yourself.

Throw together a last-minute outfit, knowing people will dig it no matter what.

Show up as a glittery, feather boa-wearing version of yourself.

Pull out your trusty flight attendant or scout leader costume. Heck, everyone loved it last year.

I would never pull an all-nighter. I'm way too organized for that. (I thought my organizational skills would mean I would end up being a Border Collie.) I chose the 2nd option, because I would make my costume - and it would be a masterpiece, IIDSSM. I would make it weeks in advance though. And then, the night of the party, I'd realize I'd rather stay home in my PJs and come down with a "headache" and be unable to attend.

If you are fairly anti-social, like me, you might find several of the questions don't have exactly the answer option you're looking for - but just go with the closest.

Okay - so, here's me:

I never would have thought "German Shepherd" for me. I think of them as very self-assured and fairly bad-assed. (Things I am not...) And the "likely professions" they list couldn't be further from my sit-in-front-of-a-computer-all-day ways, BUT... here is the description they give of a German Shepherd-type (emphasis is theirs):

German Shepherd

The Perfectionist
Doggedly dedicated to getting the job done, you don't let silly little distractions get in the way of putting in a full day's work. And after you come home, chowing down on a little grub and taking a little catnap is all it takes to get you up and at 'em for round two, whatever that may entail. Your dogma emphasizes the importance of hard work, and you swim laps around your dog-paddling, time-wasting co-workers. Your cleverness leads to you often being entrusted with some pretty important tasks, which you are always more than happy to sink your canines into. You really dig being outdoors and love a bit of exercise, but you draw the line at the ridiculous stuff, choosing a game of beach volleyball over Pilates in the park any day.

Wow, yes. That's me for sure. I'm a total perfectionist and I do work hard and dig being outdoors. And have never done Pilates (although I'd chose a hike, not beach volleyball).

And this part: you swim laps around your dog-paddling, time-wasting co-workers really kills me. I don't want to slag off my former co-workers, but, just as an example, when I had a "real office job" my Indian name was: Works With Idiots. (The hub's was Swims With Squids. But that's another story...)

Since Rita is part German Shepherd, I guess that's why we get along so well!

Anyway - take the test! Let me know what you are!

Wordless Wednesday: The Never-ending Deck Story

Remember way back in October when I posted the beginning "rubble"-stage photo of our backyard reno? At that time, we thought the project would be done by Christmas. At this point, I'd be happy if it was done by Valentine's Day. Sigh.

Anyway, at least we have boards on the deck now, so Rita can sun herself when the workers aren't there (standing around, gabbing). As you can see in the photo, the edging isn't done yet, and we still have no steps. Some day....

Maybe by the summer I'll have "after" pictures to share! (All I can say is, thank heaven it's a fixed cost contract and not "time and materials"!)

Happy (mostly) Wordless Wednesday!

Monday Mischief: The Three-Legged Thief

If you've been following the blog for a while, you know we love the three-legged pups, having had an amazing one ourselves. So, of course, when I saw this video I knew it was perfect for Monday Mischief . (Rita really needs to get up to more mischief! We're having to post about dogs from other countries for Pete's sake because she's such an exemplary pup!)

Here he is, Oscar, the famous 3-legged dog from New Zealand caught on surveillance video stealing pet food from the store:

Mirth Watch Thursday: Disciplining Doggy

Thanks to Doggie Stylish for pointing out this pawesome graphic originally from The Onion on "how we are disciplining our pets":

Wordless Wednesday: Doggy Photo Ops

For today's post, I'm sharing some of my sis's photos from their fabulous holiday trip they took to New York, London, Paris, Bologna & Rome. (No, I'm not jealous. Really!)

Here is a quick trip through a few fabulous cities, as seen through a camera lens looking for cute dogs and dog-related things.

First stop - New York, Saint Patrick's cathedral to be exact. You're familiar with the phrase "a dog in the manger" right? Well, this manger scene has one!

Thinking I need to add a dog to my Nativity scene.

I love that he's got a good seat, right up front.

Monday Mischief: 'Bout Time!

It's been really cold here lately in San Diego. Which is a relative thing, of course.

After all, a cold day here looks a lot like this:

Look how bundled up we are!

While a cold day in other parts of the country looks a lot more like this:

Just another January day in Chicago...

Mirth-Watch Thursday: Silly Walks

While pondering silliness to post today, I thought about Monty Python's Flying Circus. To me, they will always be the epitome of silly. One of my favorite sketches is the "Ministry of Silly Walks." If you've never seen it, you can watch a shortened version of it here (it hits all the highlights). (And I just have to pause here and say, oh, how I love John Cleese. I had a pretty bad crush on him when I was about 10. Is that odd?)

Anyway, thinking about that reminded me of one time when the hubs and I were in his homeland of Montreal, Canada in the winter. (Okay, it was the only time we were there in winter. As a So Cal girl, once in winter was kinda enough for me. We usually go in the fall now!) As we drove down the street, a woman was walking her Chihuahua, who was obviously not digging his winter boots. He was doing a really good John Cleese Ministry of Silly Walks imitation. This was long before everyone started carrying the potential for photos/videos around in their pockets, so I don't have a video to share, but this one captures the spirit of it:

Wordless Wednesday: Basking in the Glow

It's been really cold lately in San Diego. Apparently not record-setting cold, but we have short memories here so it feels like it's much colder than past winters. So, since Momma didn't raise no dumb puppies, Rita can usually be found in the best seat in the house (if one of the ugliest).

We have an old leather club chair in our sun room, and that's her favorite spot on a cold day:

Warming up on a cold afternoon

Blog the Change for Animals: Shelters Aren't Sad!

It's January 15, so that means it's Blog the Change for Animals day, when pet-bloggers support helping animals on the 15th of January, April, July and October.

Monday Mischief: Take This Tiara & ...

Today, January 14th, is National Dress Up Your Pet Day. Or, as dogs and cats like to think of it, National Complete Humiliation Day. (Dogs everywhere today are thinking, "Why can't there just be a National Double Your Treat Intake Day!?")

I have known/seen some dogs that seem to get a kick out of dressing up, because of all the extra attention it brings to them. They're affection whores hounds, so they dig it. And I also know there are fine-coated pups out there in colder climates who need to don a coat now and again.

But, in my experience, most dogs who are subjected to playing dress-up, tend to end up making a face like this:

"This is humiliating. Especially since it's The Chargers. I hope this isn't going on Facebook."

Pet-Blogger-Challenge Virgin No More

Today I'm participating in the Third Annual Pet Blogger Challenge. I've never participated before, so I'll be answering the first timers' questions. This "challenge" is brought to us by Go Pet Friendly (check them out if you like to travel with your dogs or guinea pigs or whatever) and the point is for pet bloggers to "get to know each other a bit better, share tips for making our blogs better, and generally commiserate, inspire, and support each other." I'm in! So here goes...

 

Wordless Wednesday: Do You Mind?

... your pet's waistline?

Today I'm attempting something different. I'm not sure this feat is allowed under the Bloggers' Rule Book section 2.III.iv subpart D regarding blog hops, but I'm going to try to hop into two hops at one time. (Drum roll please...Hope i don't break something...)

Of course, today is the usual Wordless (um, slightly less wordy??) Wednesday, and since that's so popular (pupular?), I thought it'd be a great time to let all those hoppers know about the Show Off Your Dog's Waistline Campaign, brought to us by Dawg Business.

We've all heard the phrase "a waist is a terrible thing to mind" -- especially at this time post-holiday time of year. But, for your pup, if you don't mind their waist, who will? (Unfortunately, we also have to mind their waste... but that's another blog post.) The goal of the campaign is to bring awareness to pet obesity, which, just like with people, is a big-assed problem.

So, here's Rita's waistline:

"Why are you taking this silly picture, Momma?"

Monday Mischief: What's That They Say About Beggars?

We decided to make popcorn this weekend. Rita loves popcorn... but only the buttery pieces.

Not sure you can see it all that well, but there's a perfectly good piece of popcorn on the ground at her feet. (Sorry about the picture quality. I took these with my iPad, so had to hold out the popcorn with one hand, and then try to both hold the iPad and take the picture at the same time with my other hand.)

"Don't try to slip me a non-buttery one, Momma!"

Downton Labby: The New Season!

Is your household as excited about the start of  season 3 of Downton Abbey this Sunday as ours is? (Well, as I am? The hubs watches it with me, but I'm not sure he's as excited about it as I am.)

Do I need to ask who your favorite character is... It's gotta be the Lab, right? Don't you love this shot from the opening credits of that ample little Labby butt walking alongside Lord Grantham?

Most famous Lab rump in TV history.

So... I thought for this post I'd try to find some fun tidbits to share like, say, the fact that there's a Facebook page dedicated to Pharoah and Isis - the two Grantham family Labs. That's right, two Labs. Did you notice when they went from Pharoah (a male played by Roly) to Isis (a female played by Ellie)?

Apparently the male blonde Lab that lives at the castle used for the Downton set doesn't get along with other male dogs, so poor Roly had to go. The plan at first was to just switch in Ellie, but someone said that surely sharp-eyed fans would notice that Pharoah had gone from male to female! (Um, I probably wouldn't have, but I'm sure someone would.) So in the second season, they said that Pharoah had passed away and Isis was the new family dog.

In true celebrity gossip fashion, Hugh Bonneville (the actor that plays Lord G.) seems to be sending out mixed messages about his lovely blonde co-star. He was quoted in The Daily Mail in 2011 as saying that Ellie's a "very good-natured dog" but with a "very different temperament to Roly." He went on to say, "All he [Roly] wanted was a frankfurter and he sat there, staring lovingly as his owner. All Ellie wants is a frankfurter, too, but her tail constantly wags, knocking over beautiful antiques." So what you're really saying is that she's disruptive on set, right, but couching it in a compliment (a "very good-natured dog").

However, does the real truth come out in this report by The Sun in the UK (if you considered linking through here, don't until you read to the end!) in which Bonneville calls Ellie the show's "biggest diva" and a "total bitch." According to the report, "She rarely comes out of her trailer and demands snacks at all times.”

So, which is it Hugh?? Is she a bitch, demanding cookies, or a good-natured dog, demanding frankfurters?

I wanted to get to the bottom of this, but while reading the report in The Sun, which is from October, there was a major plot spoiler, since the season has already aired in the UK. I also saw another major spoiler just while searching for more tidbits on the dogs, so I gave up! I'm hoping both these spoilers can't possibly be true. (I'd heard a major character dies this season - but from what I saw two of them will die. Unless one of things I saw was incorrect, in which case... one of them will die, but now I'm not sure which one. Kinda hoping it's the one and not the other. Is that mean?)

Anyway, I can tell you that I didn't see anything saying that Isis will die! Phew!

So, how about you? Will you be watching Lord G and Isis with your faithful pup at your side? Are you excited to see if Lady Hairy will actually manage to wed Matthew Clawley without anymore star-crossing of their love? Can you not even wait to see if Mr. Bites will beat his murder conviction? We will definitely be watching with Rita!

Walking the Plank - Not To Be Confused with Planking

It's Mirth Watch Thursday, and today we learn about planking, as opposed to walking the plank.

If you've been around the blog the last couple of months, you know we've been going through a backyard reno project. We've had a fair amount of rain for San Diego lately, so we keep losing days of work here and there and the project seems like it's never going to end. At the same time, the deck we're having built continues to just be a framework that gets sturdier and sturdier. (I swear this deck is going to outlast any apocalypse! It will be the cockroaches, the stashes of uneaten Twinkies, and our deck.)

Anyway, I think it's been weeks now that we've been "walking the plank" to access our backyard from our sliding glass door, as Rita demonstrates in these photos:

(For an added thrill: she's naked in these photos!)

Wordless Wednesday: Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Here's hoping '13 will be lucky for all of us!