snowday

      this is how lola rocks a snow day

painting

after many years of not painting, m challenged me to do so, and of course jasper was the first subject.  

my favorite photo from the first months we had him, nestled in a sidewalk full of yellow leaves. 

bliss is...

funny faces

going to michigan.

we're going to michigan.
we're going to michigan.
we're going to michigan.
we're going to michigan.
we're going to michigan.
we're going to michigan.
are we there yet?
are we there yet?
are we there yet?

bliss is...

having a best friend

last weekend

 

that's my darling nephew.  can you believe how cute he is?

jasper and lola thought so, too.

if only i knew

if dogs are thinking what i think they're thinking.

 

(i'm lost without you... come back!)

their faces are so expressive; i just know they have to be thinking something.

 but is it coherent?

 do they hear things in their brains like we humans do?

 little lola just sits at the window and stares all day.

and i wonder
just what is going through that sweet little head of hers?

it's monday!

 mondays...

lola's favorite place

is the one tiny block of sun that enters from the west-facing windows.  

story of a stick

this could be good....

yep, it's gooooood

you're lucky i love you, jasper!

mmmmmmm...

l-o-v-e

today must be my lucky day.

i have three valentines.

happy valentine's day

have you seen this amazing dog?

Portrait

here we are in front of our new home

 

since school started again, we've taken a bit of a break from working on stuff inside.

our kitchen is in shambles a bit; i am working on painting the cabinets.

 everything from the kitchen back was painted a pukey apricot color:

 you can see the gaping hole in the wall where we removed a bulky cabinet:

(this still needs to be re-drywalled)

i love a vibrant color in the kitchen, so i painted the walls "china blue."

here is our kitchen from four angles:

 

 the eventual plan is to install an L-shaped counter-top, refinish the wood floors underneath the linoleum, and attempt to center the room a bit better against the small window on the east wall.

this will likely be a summer project.

house stuff

well, holidays.  they are gone.  i can hardly remember them.  we spent our time off of school moving, cleaning, painting, and building.  our house is very very messy now, but it is necessary to make it sparkle.  and it will sparkle soon!  here is a peek at the transformation our living room has undergone thus far.

when we bought the house:

 alternate view

we tore down the decorative ceiling beams and faux wood station-wagon-fabulous paneling and the room looked like this

 we considered keeping the nautical themed wallpaper because it's funny.

new drywall went up

we tore the carpet and parquet flooring, scraped off the glue and sanded the original oak floors

new light fixtures made a huge difference

and the floors got stained a lovely jacobean brown

the walls are painted the color of straw

and the room is ready for crown molding

m and his friends have done so much work 

and through it all, little lola huddled in the side room, hiding from the noise but keeping a close eye on all the activity

poor little honey!

Hilarity!!

the dogs are super stressed out because of our impending move.  

i relayed this to a co-worker, and she responded by introducing me to a blog i know i will read and read and read and read and read and then read some more.  

i haven't laughed SO hard since my sister read entries from her childhood diary.  

you must experience it yourself if you have not done so:

hyperbole and a half

it's my new favorite place on the web. 
her latest blog reminds me of my two little dogs-

 one is the "simple dog," one is the "helper dog."

take a look at this picture and see if you can figure out who is who!

oh well, i love my simple dog. and the smart one, too.

Fun times

My friend Jen has a backyard where Jasper and Lola can run wild and find stinky things to eat and roll around in the dirt.  Lola likes to hide out in the "jungle" plants and wait for Jasper to notice her.

We are staying with Jen until we find a more permanent home- which may not be long because we put an offer on a house this week!

It's a little blurry, but you can probably tell that it has a lot of potential charm.  It's in the best condition of any home we've seen at our price point, and it's in a neighborhood that we love!  Since it is a short sale, there is no guarantee that the bank will accept our offer (they do not counter offer on short sales) so there is a chance that we will not get the house, but if we do, I have big plans for it.  Here's to hoping for the very best!

Solitary Confinement

It's where dogs go when they won't stop barking at people passing by.

They really do not like it...

 But it's not too solitary when you have a friend with you. 

I think Lola blames Jasper for their predicament...