Snow Days

Depends on who you ask, of course, but it looked like about 10 inches to me.


The boys were very happy with their winter wonderland.



Pullo found that Boom poop is even better when it is frozen -- here he is digging for it!



He has such a sweet face, despite the poopsicle breath.


The brothers, ever vigilant.



Tell all your single friends, we're living in a winter wonderland (until the ice arrives).


XO, JamieSmitten

River Fun

Note Boom's complete lack of concern that Pullo may be stuck in the big hole he dug.



Evening on the rocks




Pullo torments Aunt Bonnie

Extreme Love Close-Up!

Tell all your single friends, your ass will feel 100% better if you sit on a towel. Just ask Jason.

XO, JamieSmitten

Boom and Pullo -- Action Shot!

Been There, Got the T-Shirt

Oh my, the things I've seen:

• Poison Oak that lasts a month
• Dirt clods in my pocket after the motorcycle dirt drag races at Slades Park
• Stars -- when I wrenched my back during boot camp
• Stars again -- when the physical therapist dug his thumb into my wrenched back
• Remnants of a Philly cheese steak on my own plate
• Mountains of puppy poo -- sometimes even on the puppy pee pad
• Teeny, tiny LOUD frogs in stagnant pools in the rocks in the James River
• LOTS of dog tug of war

Tell all your single friends, dirt is for racing, asphalt just for getting there.

XO, JamieSmitten

This is Weird, Right?

I wax my legs. When times are good, I go to Jutta and pay for the long-lasting pleasure of no shaving. When times are lean, I wax at home.

I used to do it old school: heat the container, use the cloth strips, make a mess of drips all over the back porch. [Natural light is key. Neighbor John is a saint and ignores me when I wax al fresco.] Then I found the pre-waxed strips. They aren't quite as efficient, but they are much cleaner and faster.

So I've been using the pre-waxed strips for a few years. Not frequently, maybe 3 times a year. And just recently, Boom has started to take issue.

Boom used to lie on his cot and enjoy the sunshine while I ruthlessly denuded my legs follicle by follicle. Didn't even waste a glance. Now, as I begin to pull the strips apart, he begins to whine and look for an evacuation route. He will run upstairs and sit in the bedroom until I call him. He won't come all the way downstairs until I show him that there are no strips in my hand and assure him repeatedly that I'm all done.

It does make a tearing noise -- like pulling out a length of packing tape. Interestingly, Boom now leaves the room when I use tape too. He did not participate in Christmas present wrapping; he didn't even stay in the room.

So tonight, I gave him his supper and went upstairs to the bedroom to wax my legs. [Emergency late night wax as Boot Camp is inside tomorrow which means shorts which means deforestation must occur, natural light be damned]. He whined a few times to indicate that he didn't appreciate being left downstairs, but he didn't get agitated.

Problem solved, right? Nope. An hour later, I pulled up my pajama leg to scratch my leg and Boom leaned over to sniff my leg. He reared back, got off the couch, and proceeded to pace and whine.

So is it the sound or the smell? And WHY does he care? Boys. Completely weird.

Tell all your single friends, waxing is better, but not for everyone.


XO, JamieSmitten

Another New Year of Medical Maladies Begins!

Poor Boom, he has a wonderful 8th birthday with many presents (thanks, DFF!) and musical e-cards and then New Year's Eve comes. Boom's least favorite day of the year is Independence Day, but New Year's Eve comes a close second. Fireworks, suburbanites, disrupted sleep -- a veritable party pack of things we don't like.



So you would think that the poor boy had suffered enough. Nope. While out walking yesterday afternoon, Boom was unsuccessful in avoiding the many, many, MANY broken beer bottles on the sidewalks and cut his paw. Tough guy didn't let on and continued his determined pace for another 20 minutes, even pretending his knee wasn't sore either.



So when I returned to the kitchen after he drank his post-walk gallon of water, I was shocked to see the bloody prints all over the kitchen floor. It was kind of like there had been an armed skirmish between very little people and all that was left was the smears of blood where the bodies had fallen. (And just think, I don't even play video games. My imagination came up with that all by itself.)



So I followed Boom back to the living room with a wet paper towel and discovered that there was a small chunk missing out of one pad on his rear paw. To make matters worse, this is the paw attached to the leg which does not have cruciate ligament issues, so it bears more weight than the other. Although the pad had stopped bleeding, the wound reopened each time he walked on it that day.



Medical MacGyver to the rescue! It is quite something what I can do with a sock, a hair elastic, and a baggie. Really. See for yourself:





He got the sock off last night, but has worn it all day today without complaint and the paw seems to have not bled since this morning. Such a good boy.



This makes a complete trifecta of Boom issues: strained knee/ligament, cut pad, and the ever popular 'section of skin rubbed raw by constant obsessive licking.' Oy. It has been nice, though, to spend just about every minute of the past 4 days with him. Work on Monday is going to be harsh.



Tell all your single friends, show this post to the CSI team if they ever search my house for evidence.





XO, JamieSmitten

Happy Holidays!

Boom and I send our best wishes for happiness, health, peace, and super-sized treats for all your days.





Happy Holidays!


Tell all your single friends, MC and HNY!


XO, JamieSmitten

YES WE CAN!!!!!

Boom and Zeus

More pictures of our weekend with Zeusy Papoosey.

Boom was not aware that his outside lounge was built for two.

Note the wet patch in front of Boom's ear -- Zeus pulled this particular patch of fur when he wanted attention

Demonic puppy? Nah -- he just plays one on Blogger......