Meet Cosmo!

This is Cosmo, my friend & co-worker Chrys' cocker spaniel. He's such a cutie. I've heard stories about this dog for months now and finally got to meet him on Thursday afternoon when he came by to show off his fresh-from-the-groomer 'do and Halloween handkerchief. He's adorable and knows how to high-five! I didn't get to visit with him for very long but I can tell that the has a lot of personality!

Weekly post for Grandma

Dear Grandma,

We have gone to day care every day this week because the handy-man has been let loose in our house. We were going to tell mommy that we wouldn't bother him but when we learned that we would be going to doggie daycare while he was here we decided not to say anything. Anyway, doggie daycare is super fun, we have met lots of other dogs and we get to run and play all day long. But when we get home we are soooooooo tired.

What we did last night

The whole family watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown because it's an annual tradition.



I started on a new scarf and attempted to master the Puff Stitch. The first few rows are a bit messy and uneven but then I started getting a little better at it.

Trick or Dog Treats!

Clemmie cozied up by the fire

Why I love my husband

He lit a fire for me even though he doesn't think its actually cold enough for one.

Clean bills of health

Yesterday the girls went to see Dr. Bob and the best vet tech in the world, Chris, at Best Vet here in Austin. It was time for their annual check-ups and shots.

Loaded in the Basset wagon and patiently waiting to get down at the vet's office

Being good girls in the waiting room

After our shots and blood draws... waiting for Dr. Bob to come in and tickle us

Back at home relaxing after we both received clean bills of health - no worms, no diseases, no infections

Bluebonnet: 43 pounds, very healthy, perfect weight, good heart, sweet disposition

Clementine: 35 pounds, super healthy, slim and trim, good heart, weird foot

Weekly post for Grandma

Is it me or am I getting longer?

Country Dogs

Yesterday Blue and Clemmie enjoyed a romp through the country in Yorktown, Texas. It was a beautiful day here and we took full advantage of it with a long drive in the Bassetwagon. The girls were complimented on their cuteness or their beauty or something when we stopped for gas, Kris picked up some fresh tortillas and I had my camera ready to go. Luckily we discovered the tie-downs in the back of the wagon so we were able to keep the girls from dangerously crawling into the front seat and most importantly annoying the driver! So they decided not to fight it and layed down in the back on their soft blanket and napped during the drive. When we got to where we were going they enjoyed a nice romp through some tall grass.

Weekly post for Grandma

Dear Mama,

For once the girls are letting me write the post to you because they are just worn out from running in the new yard and fighting over treats and chasing each other down the hallway and so on and so on... I decided to post some pictures that show their true personalities since they can't stop me.

Bad attitude:

Weirdo:

Love you,

Tobi

Sweater Weather

The temperature has dropped and I'm not sure for how long so it was time to put on the girls' sweaters!

Homage to Martha and Bailey

Blue and Clemmie are always so jealous of the wonderful walks and travels of their cyber-friends Martha and Bailey who live across the big pond. So the three of us decided to enjoy the wonderful, damp Fall day and take a nice walk in our neighborhood this past Saturday morning.

Off we go...

A few free leash-free moments when we hit the park...











Back on the sidewalk and on our way back home...






We had a wonderful walk and now we can go in our house and take loooong naps...

Weekly post for Grandma

Dear Grammy,

Can you guess what I'm doing?

Am I in mid-bark?

Am I yawing?

Or... am I smiling???

Email mommy with your answer.

Love,

Clementine

Grandma,

I'm sleeping.

♥,

Blue

I honestly can't tell which one this is

The brother dogs

These are my parents' dogs - BJ and Louie. In the family structure they are indeed my little brothers. I spent Labor Day weekend at my mom and dad's house and can't ever resist taking pictures of these little guys. BJ is 14 and Louie is about 1 and a half. Needless to say BJ is not a big fan of Louie's puppy antics and my parents do a good job of keeping Louie's annoyance towards BJ to a minimum. It's pretty easy to see where I get my love of dogs from. A dog has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. My family just seems to know how much joy a dog (or two) can bring to a family!

Louie likes to get up in the big oak tree. He is a skilled climber!

BJ is still a stud at 14 years of age. He is Mr. Personality.

The LBJ Ranch in Johnson City, Texas

Today Kris and I drove out to Johnson City, Texas to visit the LBJ Ranch which is a National Park. You can drive through the ranch and then get a guided tour of the Texas White House by a Park Ranger.

If you are a Texan and for some crazy reason you are thinking of moving out of the state I encourage you to take a trip to Johnson City, watch the 15 minute movie at the Visitor's Center and drive the ranch and take the tour - you will fall in love with Texas all over again. You will be reminded of it's unmatched beauty and your heart won't let you leave.

To start the day we participated in the 2nd Annual Seed Stomp where we dropped seeds then walked over them in a tilled-up area in front of the Visitor's Center. Everyone knows that Lady Bird loved wildflowers and this was done in her honor as a way to create excitement about wildflowers. The park ranger told us to come back in the Spring to see if the seeds we dropped turn into flowers! After that we watched the 15 minute video of LBJ giving a tour of his ranch to a news journalist back in the 70's. The way he and Lady Bird described their life out at the ranch makes you want to be immediately transported there.

Then we went on the tour of the ranch, where you drive your own car at your own pace but are guided by a cd, and finally a tour of the house. Here are some of the pics from our day:

Kris dropping wildflower seeds

east view from the top of the ranch

the front porch

the front lawn

Texas White House dining room

Secret Service housing on the ranch

LBJ's car collection

the bridge across the Pedernales River to the ranch

the front of the house

If you can't make the trip to Johnson City you can watch this video I found on You Tube which is about Fredericksburg, Texas but has a feature on the LBJ Ranch.

Oh, and I forgot to take my camera to our tailgate for the Texas Tech vs. Texas game but it was awesome. We had almost 50 people in attendance and we got visits from friends we hadn't seen in a while. Even if I had brought the camera I was way to busy talking to take pictures. Incidentally, Texas is having a great season - just yesterday they whooped the pants off of UTEP!