Coca-cola is a gateway drug ...

... to puppies!!

This little darling, named Cola, belongs to Melvin and Sandy.  We kidded them about finally succumbing to the pressure to become parents.

Oh my gosh .. can you say "squeeable?"

Not really a huge fan of winter.  Just wait til they take her skiing.

Congrats you two .. she's adorable!

For you Albertans

This is growing on my front step .. and no, its not an evergreen.

Hope you're enjoying the snow.  Ha ha ha ha ha ...

Pink leaves

I had all the ingredients laid out for apple pie ... I really meant to make that darned pie, but somehow a rush of creativity  overtook me and I painted the still life instead.  The result of that can still be seen on my dining room wall.

The scene below of my Japanese maple is somewhat like that.  I prefer to play with the picture in my graphics program rather than rake leaves.  I may even paint it.

By the way .. where are all the neighbour's kids when you need stuff like this done?

Patterns of the month

This last little bit has seen a variety of new rugs and furniture show up to replace the aging furniture that our mind still insists is new, although we got it over fifteen years ago.  The effects of multiple sets of cats was clearly showing.

I priced out recovering the furniture and it turns out that to simply recover a comfortable chair costs less than ordering a new one from Japan .. with the fabric of my choice.  How is this possible?  My mind simply boggles.

Anyway, the cats are happy, Bruce is happy, I am happy .. and very importantly, I can invite people over and not be embarrassed by the state of the furniture, which .. while comfortable, you'd have to have a very generous spirit to upgrade from 'shabby' to 'much-loved.'

The rug under my coffee table.  The cats are in favour.

My chair.   Mine.  Not Bruce's ... mine.  Finally, I have a recliner
of my own.  Thank you Lazyboy.

The rug at the front door.  Again, the cats are in favour of this
one .. Murray in particular.

Bruce's recliner .. no more flowers for him.  It sits beside my
chair.  Did I mention how much I love having my own chair?

Two wing chairs are covered in this fabric.  I would not have
originally chosen this, but  once it was pointed out to me ...
it has a ton a ton of texture and patterns I like
and will stand the test of time.

The best intentions ...

... make the best meals.

When I painted my door yellow, I moved the plants out of the deep, perpetual gloom beside my door where one in particular struggled for years.  A glossy dark green with whitish spots, when we originally purchased it, it was the big brother to the yellower version that is threatening to burst of out the back garden bed it calls home.

Due to the lack of light, it was never a huge grower even though well fertilized and loved.  So when I painted, I moved the two pots closer to a light source .. and they went bananas.  The small pot that contains the white fuschias had one single struggling planting .. and is now a going concern.  I'm surprised its still alive, given that we've had 0° temperatures a couple of times now.  Nevertheless, it thrives and even now has a couple of flower buds.

The broadleaf whatever its called has not been so fortunate.  It stretched, it grew, it reached for the sun .. and then caught the attention of the local deer.

New Neighbor

Meet Squirt!

Chloe is her real name, but she answers to Squirt.  Excitable as all get out, you have to be careful about picking her up because she will ... well, squirt.  

I love this puppy.  She's a digger and has found multiple ways to get out of her fenced yard already.  I'll drive up and she'll come running over to my driveway and as soon as the car door is open, she'll hop in and wiggle around the floorboards under my feet.  My heart melts when she does that.

I'll fuss over her for a few minutes, toss sticks for her for a few more and eventually pick her up and lock her back in her yard before I head into the house.  As I close the garage door, I hear the muffled, plaintive whines because she still wants to play.  My heart melts a bit more when she does that.

Whenever I am in the area along with her owners, she's really in a quandary trying to decide who is more exciting and she runs in circles from one to the other.  When I snapped this picture, her tail was wagging so hard you'd have thought she'd shortly achieve liftoff.   So I think its safe to say we're both besotted with each other.

Today's Smile

Elina about to truly discover the wonder that is Halloween.  Elsa's got it down pat already, you can tell.