new dog beds

puppy got a new 'old man' dog bed. its extra thick orthopedic foam. his last dog bed is nearly as old as he is (11 years), so i figured he deserved a new one.


nice and thick. he seems to like it.


he also got a new thinner foam bed for his crate as the one in there was even older. and my mom found a stack of old granny squares leftover from the first afghan i ever made and stitched them together. so puppy has a little afghan throw in his crate, since he loves laying on afghans so much.


molly didnt get a new dog bed because she doesnt hang out in her crate like puppy does. so the dog bed in her crate is still fluffy. puppy likes to take naps in his crate, with the door open. molly mostly only goes into her crate for food. and the rare occasions i need to shut the dogs away, like when theres a repairman in the house.

fluffy feet

puppy is fluffy. puppy has fluffy feet. i've always loved puppys fluffy feet. i've been told i should trim all that excess hair, but i think it must be there for a reason. and the one time i had puppy professionally groomed, they trimmed his foot fur and i was disappointed. it just looked wrong. puppy is meant to be fluffy everywhere, feet included.

puppy was napping...


but i disturbed him with the camera.


i swear if he could have rolled his eyes, he would have. he flopped right back down and went back to sleep.


crazy fluffy feet


black dog, black nails, white fluffy feet


rear feet fluff


fluff without the flash


as a young silly puppy, he didnt have fluffy feet yet


and from topside, the fluff isnt white. only on the underside. he's got a toe-hawk. a toe mohawk.

dreamy lace afghan

i finished another baby afghan!


close up


the pattern is called dreamy lace.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872225141996/
you have to sign up for a username/login at lion brand yarns website to see the free pattern, but they dont spam you.
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90425AD.html

this afghan only took me 15 hours to complete. it measured about 32"x32" (which is what bundles of love asks for in their donated afghans).

puppy, molly, mud and stuffies

the muddy area alongside the greenhouse that i need to dig up and install drainage. the dogs keep compacting and skidding all the grass away as the run up to the gate and skid to a top or spin around to run back away.


mud mud mud


muddy paw prints


i picked up all the stuffies and tennis balls and threw them at the patio. puppy was inspecting all the goodies.


puppy rolling on a stuffy


wiggle wiggle wiggle


puppy playing keepaway with his tennis balls. nana nana na na


molly stole puppys stuffy


molly and the stolen stuffy


happy molly


molly licking nose



and interesting comparison of margins in a book from the 1960's and a book from 2014. seems like they were trying to waste space back then. nowadays they're trying to use up every bit of it.

sweetpea vs strawberries

nom nom nom


strawberries are her favorite

stir fry

getting ready for stir fry, chop chop chop. some of the onion part of green onions, lots of the green parts of green onions, julienned daikon radish,


making the sauce, soy, hoisin, garlic, onion, ginger (i used store-bought/pre-minced garlic, and i found this wonderful tube of ginger paste)


the meat, cooked in a pan and resting. makes slicing easier, to rest it first.


brown rice (cooked first, separately), bean sprouts, snow peas, water chestnuts, meat, daikon, green onions, and sauce


leftovers!

Efflorescence

Efflorescence is a crystaline deposit on surfaces of masonry, stucco or concrete. it happens when water moves through. the salts are dissolved in the water, and deposited on the outside of the bricks.

one wall in my basement has had problems with efflorescence. i dont get water in the basement, thankfully. but that particular corner of the basement, the outside of the house right there never gets sun. so when that area does get rain, it takes a lot longer to dry out than anywhere else all around my entire basement/house foundation. its also where the hose hook up in the backyard is. the moisture lingers in the ground there without the sun to help dry it out, and moves slowly thru the concrete cinder blocks that make up my house foundation. i'd never know there was moisture in the concrete at all if it didnt leave behind the efflorescence. but it does. and its kinda ugly.

this is the wall


the pinkish orangish stuff is the efflorescence