What do you do......

....when the fall color is just starting, and it is a beautiful day? Why, you load up your two best boys, get a sandwich and some fresh cider from the deli counter at the grocery, and you head into the Adirondacks for the day!

I really just needed to get out and about yesterday, and far from the house. The dogs are always game for a roadtrip, and i have been wanting to get up to Old Forge and hit the shops. We stopped along the Moose River for a little picnic and a dip in the river

Hmmm, is Henry trying to tell me something?

Well, i think Henry likes the bed.

And i thik Fred is trying to tell me that i need to order another one for him.

Last night Henry just curled up into the bed at bedtime, Fred looked at him once, whined a little and then went and LAID DOWN IN THE BED WITHOUT A COVER and did not make a peep! It was actually kind of sad, and i went over and put a blankie over him, and gave him a few pats, and a promise that i will order him a smaller Fred-sized bed. Poor little pup.

OH well...i guess it IS fitting that Henry steal this bed, we actually have been looking for a bed like this for Henry ever since he was a pup.

On the ottoman you can spot my current knitting project. During breaks from husbands Aran sweater, i work on my "Scarves to Throws" project from Jimmy Beans Wool, my FAVE yarn shop. Every month they give out a cool scarf pattern, and at the end of the year, you sew them all together for a throw. A much more interesting way to do a throw, as every month it is a different pattern, and before you sew it all together, you get a bunch of cool new scarves to wear. They are all knit with Lornas Laces Shepherd Worsted, which is quite possibly my most favorite yarn EVAH! So soft, and the colorways are amazing. Love it...would eat it if i could.

The new bed

Well, it was an exciting day in my household, the new dog bed arrived!! Fred is a huge fan. He slept in it, all burrowed in, until at least 1am. Let me tell you, this is progress. Then he moved up to the husbands pillow, and slept soundly under the pillow for the rest of the night.

It's JUST a roof!

yeah....it gets better! The remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through here on Sunday night, and took some portions of my roof with it, as it headed out towards the Atlantic. Oh well, that is what Homeowners Inusurance is for, right? I am letting them handle this one. I am using the company that they recommended to do the repairs, and being done with it!

The dogs are loving the constant parade of workers that have been coming and going. I think they are exhausted from all the entertaining they have had to do in the past week and a half.

Photos will follow this post, with pics of Fredericks NEW bed. Fred can be a bit of a PIA (no....., not FRED!!) at nighttime, what with the constant SCREAMING (yes, my dog DOES scream....really, if you have not witnessed it, you are in for a treat...it'll crack your eardrums) if his blankie falls off of him. Ignoring him does not work. How do you tune out ear peircing screams? All you can hope for is that his voice loses pitch, and he works himself up to the much preferred "silent scream"...this is where he gets SO emotional, he opens his mouth, and not a lot of volume comes out. It is like he is SO upset, he just cannot speak of it, hence, the silent scream. But, i digress. We have been looking for a bed/den for Fred. I saw a picture years ago in a Vizsla book of a V-pup in a little fleece bed, and it had a fleece cover over the top of it. A perfect den. We got this book when 9-year-old Henry was a pup, and having been looking for the bed ever since. Good ole Orvis has one! It is called the Burrow Bed, and I ordered it this weekend. It arrived today...and let me tell you...there was MUCH excitement in this household. I think Fred KNEW it was for him. When Henry came to smell the box, Fred growled at him. What a little sh*t. Whatever...i am just happy that he seems to be thrilled with the bed. He has popped in and out of it several times today. The real test will be this evening.
I will get the pics downloaded and posted asap! Right now, i gotta get my houndies outside to enjoy the sunshine. It is a beautiful day here today, and the pool needs to be used before it gets closed down for the season. Henry will be so sad. :o( I have not told him yet.

getting the hang of it all again.....

Yes Yvonne, we are baaaaaaad bloggers!! Oh, and to respond to your comment about the water in the basement, it was hot water...you're not kidding about the steam bath!! I was wearing my big Wellies, so did not notice the temp...but boy, i was sweaty! Yuck!
Plumber comes tomorrow, and then the real fun starts.

OK....here are some pics of my sun bunnies enjoying the sun. Actually, Henry is the sun-bunny, Fred is more of a shade bunny. Henry used to sun-bathe in the desert, on the cement slab of our patio, in the heat of the day. He loves him some sunshine. Move his bed into the sunbeam in the house, and he is the worlds' happiest pup.

The other pic is of Fred, after receiving fluids sub-cutaneously. Why, you ask? Well, this is Fred...he tried to poison himself, again. I was out in the garden, and Fred was eating tomatoes off the vine. I looked up just as he popped a "blueish-black" berry off a weedy plant growing amongst the tomatoes. I thought, "oh crap, that is likely toxic", dashed inside, and dosed him with hyrdrogen peroxide, and headed for the 'net. I went to google images, and found the perfect photo of a Eastern Black Nightshade. Toxic, of course. Called Animal Poison Control, told them the story and was instructed to get Fred to the vet ASAP for a dosing of activated charcoal, and supportive fluids. So, off we went. The fluids were put into his back, so he came out of the treatment room with quite the little camel back. It migrated down his chest during the course of the day.

Just another day in the life of Fred. Poor Henry was traumatized by the whole ordeal, he threw up, too. He hates to be left out.

It is JUST plumbing.....

That is what i need to keep telling myself. MAJOR plumbing emergency this weekend, a pipe in the basement essentially exploded, water EVERYWHERE....it scared the crap out of me. Two things i don't like....proplematic pipes, and freaky electrical wiring.
My plumber is great, he is the son of my realtor, whom i loves. He came out first thing this morning, and showed me the CORRECT way to turn off my well pump. The way i shut off the water yesterday could have been REALLY bad if the pump had turned on. Basically, i COULD have had the entire contents of my well IN my basement, and then i would have been frakked.
So, the real work starts Wednesday. An old cistern wall will be coming down, and old copper piping will be switched out with the new and improved good stuff.
Whatever....i get lost in the details...just fix it. I tried explaining it all the the husband earlier, and just got more confused and frustrated, and had to call the plumber back to talk me down from the ledge that I was in grave danger of plummeting off of. All i need to know is which switch to flip to make "water go bye-bye". Nothing but the basics here ma'am.

Anyways, my new mantra is "it is JUST plumbing"....because really...my cousin had it FAR worse than me this summer. She lives in Cedar Falls, IA. Her house was completely flooded, and there WERE no damn pipes to turn off. All they could do was sit there, and watch their house and everything in it be ruined. Luckily, she and her boyfriend had plenty of time to get themselves and their pets out safely. Puts it into perspective for me, really.

Pointer Park

These are pics of two very happy dogs. I take them hiking out on the trails at Pointer Park, and they LOVE it! There are hundreds of miles of trails, and when the weather is nice, Henry can swim in the lake. Fred loves to run through the fields and chase the barn swallows.

Come October, we will have to don orange vests, and i will have to wear an orange hat, as part of the park is desingated hunting grounds. There are parts of the park that are protected though.

Anyways, there are a million trails, and surprises throughout. If you look behind the dogs in the field shot, you see an old hunting cabin. This is one of my favorite places.