The vet suggested Veronica start wearing t-shirts because her legs are so short (inbreeding, do not do it) that parts of her chest hit the ground, so we stopped by Petsmart and found a pink t-shirt that said “Miss Understood” on markdown ($2.50!). I tried it on Veronica in the store, and she not only was not traumatized by the experience, she clearly felt this was what her life had been missing up to now. However, she is a dog who’s built very close to the dirt, so that shirt was going to get grubby fast. I went on Amazon, found cheapo shirts and ordered several. When they came, I tried them on Mona and Milton, too, and discovered a new happiness: Dogs in Shirts.
Mona and Milton were not nearly as happy with the idea of dressing up as Veronica: Their shirts were too small, so I returned those and got different ones. Mona is now happily rocking a blue and white striped tee, and Veronica keeps her Miss Understood shirt because it’s perfect for her. Milton continues to reject all sportswear, preferring to go natural, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, or more precisely, temperature until his old eyes start looking at quilted hoodies as a Good Thing.
What was your happy this week?
It finally feels like fall. That’s really enough to make me happy these days. š
I spent time with my family of choice yesterday. We laughed, we danced, we joked. Makes me more aware of how important they are to me.
And how necessary it is for me to make time to see them because it is good for my health.
I went to see the puppies from the neighborhood yesterday. I want one so badly. Gotta crunch the numbers.
My happy is looking at your dogs in shirts. So cute! Max loves the cool weather and the chance to dress up. His favorite sweater is black and white and he wonāt go out in the rain without it.
So cute! Ms. Lake really is stunningly pretty.
I’m so jealous of your ability to leave yarn out where it can be seen. Being able to do that would make me happy. But it would also result in yarn tangles all around the house, like a brightly-colored spiderweb connecting all my furniture. The cats have been there, done that and are eager to do it again.
My older cats were never all that interested in yarn balls, even when they were kittens. The ones I got last year are another story. Mabel in particular will find the yarn wherever it is if it’s not completely secured. She’s even learned that my yarn bag contains yarn, and if it’s not securely zipped, she will somehow know, and pull out the contents. I’m pretty sure her siblings join in the fun once she’s got the yarn out into view.
But no matter how much I miss being able to see my yarn at all times, I’m even happier to have my cats. They’re colorful too in their own way, and they make me laugh and keep me warm when the weather suddenly drops to freezing and I’m refusing to turn on the furnace until Thanksgiving.
I feel your pain. I don’t have yarn, but lots of things that were perfectly safe to leave out around the old batch of cats (like bowls full of stones and shells I’ve collected) are fair game to the now-two-but-still-kittens new batch. I don’t call them “The Wild Bunch” for nothing. Two of them eat paper, and anything left out in the open is vulnerable to teeth marks, if not outright chewing (on the bright side, my desk is much neater now).
I can’t believe I’m even considering adopting a new kitten (one of the fosters) and starting this from scratch.
Glass jars may help, Deborah. I put shells and such in glass jars with glass lids so I can still see the pretty and keep little paws from getting into something they shouldn’t. I go for low jars with a bit of weight just to prevent accidental playful knock-overs. Makes life much easier:)
Yup. I have used glass vases (large and heavy) and other large heavy vases, so that you can only see the top few bits. Even things on shelves I thought too high to be vulnerable turn out to be within reach…
Deb – which of the fosters might end up staying with you?
The little girl, Diana. She’s looking sad in this picture, but mostly she was put out because she’s sick again and I was trying to get her to sit still long enough to take a picture to send to the woman who runs the shelter I’m fostering for. Two minutes later she was chasing her brother around the room like a maniac. Do not believe the sad cat–she lies.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3N6SoZgELz/
The expression on her face looks less sad, more waiting until you are done talking so she can go back to what she wants to do. I’ve seen that expression on my kids. I may be projecting my kid on your cat.
Oh, my god, that face.
They may call them puppy dog eyes, but cats know how to work them just as well.
Milton used to think the skeins were small animals and grab them and run, shaking them. He has a very colorful view of nature. He seems to have outgrown that, though.
I turned my furnace on a few weeks ago. On the other hand, my air conditioning only ran 1 day this year. It would have been 3 but the power went out for 2 of those days. š¤£
I can’t leave anything remotely snake-like lying around. Yarn, thread, ribbon – all have ended up in the gullet of the successful hunters. The thread was the worst – first because he grabbed it from my sewing machine and then ran with it around the house, creating a web of thread that matched the carpet. Secondly, he swallowed about 10 feet of it, but couldn’t pass it as one end was wrapped around his tongue. Poor Teddy had to have surgery to get that taken care of. Luckily for Wendy, the pink ribbon sprouting from where no ribbon should be eventually came through attached to a couple of chunks of poop. Very festive litter box that day!
Doggo got buzzed yesterday since he was so hot, and now he is wearing his big dark blue sweater, which he loves. He’s a weird shape, too long for standard sizes and too fat now for the mediums we were getting him. So he gets the oversized sweater of our last dog that just suits him fine. It also leaves room for a shirt underneath it when he’s *really* cold.
Best happy, beyond a dog that doesn’t pant just sitting in the living room, is wrangling him in one of his Halloween outfits, a sparkly shark, and not getting bit while taking pictures. He knows the difference between sweaters and costumes and firmly rejects the latter. š
I <3 my four legged baaaaaby!
I feel guilty about dressing them up just to be cute but the vet said I SHOULD put Veronica in a t-shirt.
Mona . . . uh, I don’t know, she just looks cute in stripes.
Milton is having none of it.
Tried some antler ears on my dog last Xmas. Good thing I got a picture because that’s not hapening again.
Very hungover after a night with a colleague and his wife, and I think we’re moving from colleagues to friends stage. School is going through some big changes, but I think we’re in a good place, our new head seems terrific, and I am beginning to feel optimistic. Apart from the throbbing head and the feeling that I licked out the bottom of a birdcage.
These pictures are definitely my happy.
Also happy was the Friday night party celebrating the 20th anniversary of the artists’ cooperative shop a friend and I started and still run. Well, the party was happy for everyone else and mostly a lot of work for me, but it was nice to see some old familiar faces (we invited a bunch of the alumni artists from days past) and I’m really proud to have created this amazing thing that brings joy to so many.
Yesterday was a busy day too, so today’s happy is a quiet day at home with the cats, cleaning up the garden at the end of the season, and working on the damned synopsis.
I went Halloween shopping (which is to say I went into the costume shops) and to a Hawaiian festival yesterday, and today I am going to a fiber arts festival later. I went to a secret karaoke party last night and two good theater shows this weekend, including the one that the crush and all my friends got into and I did not. So it’s a good busy weekend.
I should probably note before I go on here that I have a …distinctive laugh. Google “Amadeus Mozart laugh” and it’s about like that. I didn’t think they had assigned seating in the first theater show so I planned to hide in the back. Uh, nope, it had assigned seating and I was in the very front row. Everyone informed me afterwards that “we could hear you laughing from the green room” and “when we heard that, we were all, “That’s Jennifer!” and the crush said that I’m an “easy laugher” (well, that’s certainly true). The director asked if I could go to all the shows.
The next night I was at another show and it turned out there was a guy I know in it. I didn’t get to talk to that guy afterwards, but if I’d seen him I probably would have asked if he recognized the laugh in there. Oy, y’all.
When I was in high school, the choreographer we hired for the spring musical had a very distinctive laugh. Because he had seen the show so many times in rehearsal, he knew where all the funny lines were and would laugh before they were delivered. It was like an early warning system for humor. The fact that his laugh sounded so odd just added to the fun.
Those are some stylish dogs. I can’t see getting any of my 3 into shirts. I have to give Jasmine a bath tonight and it’s going to take both of us to get her into the tub. The last time she got a bath she threw her head back and hit me in the face so hard I thought she might have broken my glasses.
Happiness is Paul and his foreman coming to an understanding about the full-time night shift thing (and, to be honest, his calming down with the drama and panic of it all) so that he’s accepted that this is the new normal. It was a wake up call and we have a plan but we are no longer in freak-out mode. I may have said that earlier but it bears repeating as I can feel my stress level falling by the day. Once we get the cardiologist visit over next week, everything will be back to normal.
Today is supposed to be the warmest day for a while (could be the warmest day for months) at 10 C/50F so I’m going outside in a bit to put the last of the garden to bed and tidy up in the yard. And throw away all the tomatoes that froze in the greenhouse because it got several degrees colder than it was supposed to one night and I didn’t get the space heater in. All 16 tomatoes. This was not a good tomato year.
I have accepted that my chair in the living room upstairs is dead and needs replacing. Now I have to find one that isn’t too expensive and fits. I’m looking at getting a chair-and-a-half as I like to curl up. The search is on.
Also, again, the Elton John concert last weekend was fantastic. I’m still singing along in my head.
Adorable & practical. Double score!
Our pup has a wardrobe for going out over the winter, but we’re also considering a rain coat. The tough sell is booties, which would be a great benefit for walks, but so far she’s having none of them.
Iāve been in France for the last 10 days and have seen many dogs but none as cute as Jennyās trio. Weāve spent the last several days in a beach town on the Normandy coast, driving around to various sites and towns (my husband has been driving as he can drive standard). Today we visited a stunning walled and terraced garden attached to a chateau. My happy place.
Can you be happy because loved ones are being annoying? My eldest granddotter, the one who got engaged, posted a pic on FB of her New Nose Piercing. I shake my head and roll my eyes – then comment that she matches her aunt, the Dotter, who also has a matching hole in the side of her nose. Of course, the Dotter would also give the Bajorans a run for their ear art with piercings from top to lobe of her ears. But the granddotter wants to follow up her… decoration of the temple of her body by covering it in graffiti (tattoos).
I love them, I does. And that’s a happy.
My fourteen year old granddaughter went to a homecoming dance last night and sent pictures today. All dressed up she looks eighteen. Because I can’t keep my mouth shut, I asked my son if those were false eyelashes or caterpillars on her eyes. He laughed and said he was going to ask her. I’m going to deny everything.
Happily, False Eyelashes are rarely a permanent installation, but… caterpillars?!?
We have sunshine today! After a week of rain & gray & cold, it makes me happy.
Also, with the kitchen done, I have had time to read or craft. Iāve been reading. Itās been nice. I hope to get quilting again too.
I also found out my ranking at work and was happy with that.
Costco on Friday had one of their events which was selling dog sweaters and hoodies. And I thought that surely there were not enough people who bought them to justify a special event selling dog clothing. Apparently there are. Too, too charming.
My happiness is Veronica in a Miss Understood shirt. She’s always been my favorite of your current bunch (please don’t tell the others!) because of the perfect melding of name and features, and the way she carries herself. This only makes her even more Veronica, and that is a good thing.
Other happiness: tried the extended hiking trail near my current fave, and it kicked my butt, so I have some measurable improvement coming (i.e. when it doesn’t kick my butt quite so much). We saw “Latin History for Morons” with John Leguizamo last night, and it was a treat, and tonight we’re seeing good friends we haven’t seen in too long.
Happiness abounds.
This post helped a lot!
The photos are great and made me smile. Until very recently, I sneered at dogs in clothing BUT my latest puppy is going to have to have a sweater in the winter. The vet said dogs with that kind of coat are sensitive to temperature and laughed at my expression. I will have to draw a new line… at costumes. The horror.
We have whippets who have very thin fine fur and no body fat so we have to make sure they donāt get too hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They both have a (small) wardrobe of coats and rain slickers – of which they have no appreciation :).
Had a good, relaxing vacation, and am enjoying being home with my comfortable furniture, good water pressure and cats. Finally got my overpriced but fabulous deli sandwich today. The sun is shining. I got a couple of halloween decorations up.
Trying to think positive thoughts about what my work day may bring me on Monday. It COULD all be good news, after all.
You mentioned UofM traffic, so I was wondering if your overpriced deli sandwiches were from Zingermanās…
yep. so pricey but when you really need good corned beef……
Jenny, I had a thought, would a tube top work equally as well so that their arms weren’t constricted?
That would just work its way down and off. Milton had a shirt that was too big for him and he basically wriggled his way out of it.
I started working on Glimmer Girls again, in a very relaxed, let’s see what I’ve got here kind of way. That made me very happy.
Also, went to a concert at UVM where my boys were singing acapella. Big surprise when #2 twin (a bass voice) stepped up to the mic and started sing in flawless falsetto! The crowd erupted in cheers! My heart swelled.
I love watching my boys sing. They love it and it’s obvious. It makes me very happy to see them enjoying themselves.
My allotment design gelled, and Iām getting there with the garden one. Got out in the garden in the sun this morning. And Iām really enjoying my beautiful new duvet cover and pillowcases, bought on special offer while I was on holiday.
The sun is shining, the leaves are turning color, and the nights are getting colder. Perfect fall day.
My pup, a Yorkie mix, has been tolerant of my putting shirts on him. I get them from Baxter Boo which often has them on sale.
I leave Tuesday for a week in Paris with my hubby. It’s a return trip for us, as we went 2 years ago. The colors are finally starting to show here in Minnesota.
LOVE your ādogs in shirtsā!
I love the dog shirts. My former housemate Had a dog named Lola, and Lola had a far better wardrobe than I did. She even had it on Facebook page. Lola was short, cranky and very much loved.
I spent yesterday with good friends and we had a baking day lots of deliciousness and lots of laughter I canāt beat that.
I went away for a long weekend and walked up hills and through the bush. Very happy to see trees and waterfalls and mountains and birds. One of the birds was a Kea – our mountain parrot that’s very cheeky. He flew up to the outdoors tables at a restaurant and tried very hard to steal someone’s pizza. They won and the expression on his face was classic.
My happy this week was my kitchen equipment. I had to bake a rather complicated cake in a short amount of time this morning so I started prepping for it Sunday night. I couldn’t find the 2 kinds of ground nuts I usually use for this cake and you have to grate chocolate for it which is always a big mess because it melts against your hands while you are grating it. But thanks to my mini-chopper and Microplane grater, the prep was easier than it has ever been and I now have 3 layers on the cooling racks, smelling delicious. I will have to remember this the next time I berate myself for the lack of space in my kitchen storage.
Check secondhand/thrift stores for kids’ clothes! I found my girl some adorable onesies that she rocked! And they were like… $.50 each? Cheap enough I always had clean ones on hand after she’d romped in the mud/grass.
Late posting, because my happy was my first trip to the Shaw Festival in Ontario, and when I go away, I detach from technology.
So, Jenny, about Alice’s book: I was in a shoppe that sold kitchen stuff in Niagara on the Lake, buying Christmas gifts. I saw a tea towel printed with butterflies all over it, and thought, “I should get that for Alice; she’d like that.” Then I remembered that Alice is a character in a book, albeit very much alive. Kudos to writing that’s alive!
LOL. That’s great.