Suds To Love

Saturday Afternoon Puppy Playtime

2011-12-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pictures of the puppies playtime yesterday afternoon.

Roscoe and Ellie Mae

Roscoe

Ellie Mae

The Frenzy and The Intensity

I'm hoping to spend some time creating the soap and balm (lip and hand) today and will post the outcome.

Gosh It's Been Awhile...

2011-11-16T17:54:00.001-08:00

So, I know it's been awhile, but I was going through some pictures and thought I would put them up for viewing.

August Camping:

Ellie Mae and Chuck checking out the wildlife

Ellie Mae and Roscoe post run

Here's some more recent ones from a day trip up The Gorge.

Roscoe prepped for the drive

Mt. Hood (view #1)

Mt. Hood (view #2)

Ellie Mae - New Videos!

2011-09-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ellie Mae has become extremely talkative, to the point of annoyance for Roscoe, because she generally wants to play, but he doesn't want to.

To combat the talkative nature, I have gone back to the tricky treat ball feeding method, and it seems to be working!

Doggles!

2011-08-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have so many posts that I am behind on... but this will have to suffice for now.

We have been spending a lot of time camping this Spring and Summer and Roscoe's eyes have been suffering from the dry, dusty conditions. We have talked for years about getting doggles for Roscoe, as he loves the breeze in his face when we're in the truck.

Doesn't Roo look so cool?

Sorry the picture is so blurry, but trying to get Roscoe to hold still with one hand and take a picture with my phone in the other wasn't too easy.

We ordered Roscoe's Doggles at Baxter Boo. What a great company that had a ton of selection and very quick shipping(we ordered Sunday, received on Wednesday)! I'm still trying to decide if Ellie Mae would leave them alone well enough to order some for her.

Also, I ran up to Petsmart last week and picked up some new collars.

Roscoe

Ellie Mae

New Summer Front Yard Pics

2011-07-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

The plants in the front yard have finally taken off now that the sun has come out for a few days...

Chocolate Dahlia #1

Chocolate Dahlia #2

Front Yard Corner #1

Front Yard Corner #2

Along driveway

Close up of Lavender and other (? can't remember) plant

Porch Corner (and another Lavender plant)

Ear Infection + Ellie Mae = Not a Happy Puppy

2011-06-15T18:59:00.001-07:00

I have almost perfected my single-handed puppy ear cleaning and medicine inputting system...

If Ellie Mae sees you reaching for the ear cleaning medicine bottle or cotton balls, good luck trying to catch her. I am now relying on the use of her kennel, one hand on her collar / head / ear holding + treats. Two days down, 8 more days to go... good thing I only have to clean her ear every other day and her medicine in only once a day...

Roscoe on the other hand had his stitches out, with minimal issues at Dr. Sid's office. I have pictures, but I had not downloaded pictures from the camera, only my phone. So, you will have to wait until later for Roscoe's picture.

New Flowers for this Year

2011-06-05T18:31:00.001-07:00

We found a delightful Columbine to add to the front yard this year.

It is called Tequila Sunrise. I thought Columbines were only blue and then I found these and they had that bright pop of color that I wanted to add to the front yard.

I guess I have not gotten any of the other new plants photographed yet, since they have all been planted. So, I'll have to get to that now that the sun has finally come out in the Pacific Northwest.

New Mailbox & Roscoe

2011-06-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, our old mailbox has gotten to the point of if a strong wind would blow it probably would have toppled over.

Chuck was joking the other night when we went to pick out on a new mailbox that when he put it up our mail man was going to fall out of his truck the first time he delivered to it.

Side view:

Unfortunately, Chuck was picking Roscoe up from the vet when our mail was delivered today. So, we will have to talk with him tomorrow.

On that note, here's Roscoe after his cyst was removed from above his right eye.

Puppy Pictures!

2011-03-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I put up puppy pictures, so here you go.

Howie:

Roscoe:

Ellie Mae:

I Won a Soap Naming Contest!

2011-03-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to put this post together for more than a week and just had tons pile up around here.

I won a soap naming contest at Great Cakes Soapworks! Amy was trying to name a new soap and I left my suggestion of Sunset Swirls (you can find it here). All the names that Amy liked that were submitted were put up to a vote and than announced the results.

Here's my bar that arrived lickety-split after Amy emailed me for my address.

Isn't it beautiful? It smells wonderful. My quick photo does not do it the justice it deserves!

I can't wait to get it in the shower, however, there is quite a line up right now...

Where Have I Been?

2011-02-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

Really busy and all over the place. We had a nice calm relaxed holiday this year. Took a few drives up The Gorge again, to watch the season change again.

We also scouted around for a place to take the trailer camping and found a wonderful spot. So, we went camping last weekend, thank goodness for all the amenities our trailer offers, cause it was cool at night.

Here's some pictures of our camping trip.

I guess this is the only picture that I have of the trailer. This was on Friday, and it was gorgeous and 60 deg F. It was about the same on Saturday, but it was gorgeous weather for February.

The boys waiting for Chuck to come back from meeting with a buddy.

Ellie Mae found a nice safe place out of the way.

The beautiful sunrise on Sunday morning.

I made some M&P soap a few weeks ago, but still haven't taken the camera upstairs to get pictures.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

New Christmas Tree

2010-11-28T18:23:00.001-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Chuck decided it was time for a new tree, one that would be better for the space we had for it, so we went out and picked up a new one.

From the bottom of the stairs...

From across the living room...

After spending 2 + hours fluffing the branches (fake tree!) of the 9' tree, I told Chuck, this is why I had a 4' tree last year! I had not found the perfect star for the top of the tree, but it's not needed, as the top of the tree is about 1/4" from the ceiling, due to placement of the tree so we can get into the kitchen.

The Long Drive (Part 2)

2010-11-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

Otherwise known as the drive home!

The day started out so nicely...

We purposely waited until morning rush hour was complete to start the drive.

And made a slight detour for different views of touristy sights that we saw earlier on our trip, but first I saw this when we were stopped at a light.

I thought it was quite bright.

The first view, through the city lights and sights.

As we drove along the Golden Gate Bridge.

Looking towards the Cliff House that we saw on our first day of touristy stuff, you can't really tell, but it's there, I promise.

The other view of the Golden Gate Bridge that we were out looking for.

The long stretch of I-5, before the dark, rain and curves started.

I hope you've enjoyed the pictures, it was a fun little getaway trip.

Scenic Hwy. 101

2010-11-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

On our last day in the South of San Francisco Bay area, we (Chuck, me, and our friends Ryan and Cristi) took a drive South from Half Moon Bay along Hwy. 101.

This was the view out the front door at the hotel of the cute town.

We stopped at along the drive at various scenic view points, where ever we felt like it, as we headed South towards Monterey.

Our first stop along Hwy. 101.

Honestly, these waves put the waves at the Oregon Coast to shame!

Sure don't know what happened, but this was the only self-portrait, usually, I remember every where we go, it was really windy!

Ryan and Cristi (looking at Chuck's camera).

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

After Pigeon Point Lighthouse we headed down to Santa Cruz.

We drove through Santa Cruz, but the Boardwalk was closed, so we continued on South to Capitola.

Capitola was a cute little seaside town, were we had lunch right on the water.

With a wonderful view, the only problem was the sea gulls and other birds looking for hand outs and dive bombing.

We walked around some of the shops in Capitola and then decided to head on towards Monterey.

In Monterey there was lots of walking around, we went in several shops including Ghiradelli (!Chocolate!), where it smelled heavenly and we were offered samples of their holiday peppermint chocolates.

I have a few more pictures left from the drive home, before it got ugly and gray, that I'll post tomorrow.

San Francisco in November

2010-11-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say, that for our trip to California, the weather was perfect, with the exception of 1 day, when it rained and then part way into our drive back to Oregon.

On our drive "over the hill" from Half Moon Bay, to the Silicon Valley area, to get to Wayne and Olga's house, I happened to see a blimp in the air, as we got closer. I kept trying to get a picture before I lost it in the sky, finally Chuck says, just open the sunroof, after multiple poor attempts at taking a picture. The above picture was a quick, take it through the sunroof, before it heads North (we were heading South).

It's not great, but it was really cool to see, and apparently blimps are more common down in CA as one of the books at the hotel said that tourists could go up in them (something that Chuck would really like to do, but it didn't happen on this trip).

Once we got to Wayne and Olga's house (which was really cute, but I forgot to get a picture of it!), we decided to get some food, Southern BBQ, one of Wayne's favorite places and it was great, if you are heading to the Southern end of the San Francisco Bay and want the name of the place, let me know, I'll get it, it was great food.

Then we headed North to see San Francisco and the sights.

The first spot we stopped was The Cliff House, which I don't think I ever get a good front picture of the front of it, it is a restaurant, but more importantly is a park and has ruins that you can see right before the ocean in the above picture.

The ruins are part of the Bath Houses. We walked around the grounds, including the stairs down towards another view point of the ocean, it was truly beautiful.

Where I saw a blurb on this rock, when I zoomed in and took the picture, I found that I took a picture of 3 Brown Pelicans, the first that I've ever seen in the wild. The next picture is of the same rock from the non-zoomed point of view.

You can barely see it, but that same rock formation has a heart in the middle, see the next picture.

This is the same park that I saw my first view of the Golden Gate Bridge (on this trip).

The man behind the camera here.

The view of the stairs up from the viewpoint.

Moving on, we drove through the Golden Gate State Park (I didn't take any pictures), then headed up to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Alcatraz Island and the San Francisco Bay, lots of sail boats and boats out, since it was gorgeous out.

Golden Gate Bridge

The view of San Francisco, from the Golden Gate Bridge viewing point.

The Golden Gate Bridge from the North side viewing point.

This was a really cool park called Crissy Field. It is a beach with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, plus it's an off-leash dog park, where dogs can run on the beach or play fetch in the water. It was fun to watch all the dogs play (since we had to leave the puppies at home for this trip).

I think that this would be a great way to sight see, Mr. Toad's Tours, isn't the car cool.

More pictures as soon as I can get them up.

Loads of Pictures Forthcoming...

2010-11-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

We had a quick last minute driving trip last week, down to just south of San Francisco to visit some friends that were back in CA for a visit from Australia and some other friends from the area as well.

We decided to leave the house after I got home from work, in order to waste as little of time as possible for sight seeing and visiting on the few days that we were able to get away.

The sunset was gorgeous out the window as we drove South on I-5.

We decided to take a break at a rest stop around 1:15 am, so that we would not arrive at our friends place prior to 8:00 am, so back on the road by 4:15 am. This of course meant that we arrived in the San Francisco area during morning rush hour traffic. Luckily, we went around the city for the most part and were also able to take advantage of the HOV lane with their being two of us in the truck.

This is before the sun was completely up, I think I was looking towards San Francisco.

Blurry picture through the window of the city.

The first Palm trees that I saw on the trip.

We had breakfast at a great place in Union City with our friends Ryan and Cristi, then hung out with them for a bit, before heading over to our hotel in Half Moon Bay to check in. I really wish that I had taken more pictures of Half Moon Bay, it was a very small town on the coast, but I didn't, it will have to wait until we go back. Later in the day, we met Ryan and Cristi and our other friends Wayne and Olga at a little brew pub on the water. After we ate, we walked over to the water front and saw the coolest pirate ship.

Tomorrow, I'll post our visit to San Francisco with our friends, Wayne and Olga.

Newest House Project

2010-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's some progress on Chuck's newest house project, further work being down for the guest room. It's a Murphy Bed, and it's really pretty and very close to being done.

Progress pictures, only because I forgot to start taking them sooner in the process.

The bed installed in the guest room, you can almost see the ugly ceiling fan in this picture, I really do not want to post a picture of it, but it will hopefully be going away soon.

This is the current status, Chuck is working on the cupboard doors for the the top cupboard and the drawer faces for the the bottoms and all of the molding trims for the unit and baseboard and chair rail for the room.

Columbia River Gorge Pictures, Part 2

2010-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Here's just a few more pictures from our drive down the Columbia River Gorge the other day.

View from another look out of the Vista House.

View from the look out to Columbia River.

That was our drive, which was to take pictures of the turning leaves, which wasn't too colorful.

On the home front, we've been having a record breaking spider season so far, most pictures I took are a bit blurry, cause I don't want to get too close to them.

Close up

For prospective

Close up (this one was outside the other night).

For prospective

I think the others I took where on my phone.

Where Does My Time Go?

2010-10-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Lots of posts behind... again!

First - Howie is doing really well.

The other day, we took a drive Chuck, the pups and I, that ended up taking the whole day. We started at Howie's hydrotherapy appointment (two pups stayed in the truck sleeping, while one walked on a treadmill for two sets of 9 minutes.

Waiting for the water to fill in the treadmill tank (actually a really cool setup!)

Howie seems to enjoy the hydrotherapy, since it involves his favorite thing, water.

Here he is drinking and walking, before he started getting tired, seriously the dog can drink 6 gallons of water a day if he wants and waters every inch of the back yard!

Motivation by scratches and lots of treats, cause it's really hard work.

Then when Howie was done, we loaded him in the bed of the truck with the other two and off we went up towards Mt. Hood. We took a "scenic" ride (read this to mean 13 miles of gravelly pitted roads, which cause the car sick puppy to get sick, when she's been doing so well lately!) from the highway going to Mt. Hood to scenic Hood River. This is where we got some apples and took lots of pictures, Chuck, more so then me, some of which you can see here. Chuck hasn't finished with the majority of the pictures to get them uploaded. But, I took some also, probably not as good as his, but I had fun!

Mt. Hood

I saw a huge mushroom on the side of the road and I made Chuck stop so I could take a picture, and made him stick his size 13 shoe next to it for a size comparison.

The puppies got to play in an icy stream, here's Ellie Mae and Roscoe frolicking in the water (they are really hard to get pictures of when they are running).

Ellie Mae and Howie running in the water (again fuzzy).

Howie laying in the water, I think by this point he was getting pretty tuckered out.

The view down the rode we were driving on, this is the nice part of the road.

Another picture further down the same road.

View up the gorge from the Vista House (see next picture).

Vista House in the Historic Columbia River Gorge.

I have a few more pictures, that I'll post tomorrow.

The Good and The Bad

2010-09-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well the (Brambleberry) Fresh Snow batch turned out lovely so far. It's still a bit sticky (I changed my recipe ever so slightly) so it didn't cut too nicely, but it smells nice, looks nice (color-wise). I put plastic wrap over top of the bars and it created a kind of cool frosty, bubbly, white topping.

Logs:

Bars:

However, I think the Cedar and Saffron is destined for the trash, I just don't think I trust it and it looks horribly ugly.

Log:

Bars:

I didn't get zapped when I tested it, but there are pockets of oil (and air )that didn't saponify and what looks to be chunks of maybe palm or coconut oils. I'm just not big of rebatching, and I'm not certain if it would help it or not.

Puppy Update:

Howie sporting his new shoes (special puppy ones), something that our regular vet recommended to help with the sores on 3 of his 4 paws. However, he doesn't like them and as Chuck says "he walks like a cat with tape on his paws," I'm not going to ask how he knows this...

Howie keeps rotating the shoes so the top is on the bottom, so I went to the store and bought him some toddler boy 12-24 months socks, this helped over all with the fit, but like wearing socks in my boots, the socks on Howie fall down as he walks.

I think if I put them on him again, I will take Howie's therapists approach and tape them on with masking tape which doesn't doesn't pull fur off as much as other types of tape. I think he looks really handsome in his little red shoes!

And for good measure, my little Ellie Mae.

A Few Updates

2010-09-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Howie is doing well with his therapy, he gets to walk on a treadmill, in a tank of water, what part of that doesn't sound exciting for a labrador?

His first session was two weeks ago, and can you believe I forgot to take pictures? Chuck has taken him to his subsequent visits, so I have not gotten any further chances for pictures. Howie has been much better about slowing down, with his walking, which seems to help him "think" to walk.

I have new pictures of him, but have not yet uploaded them to the computer, as I have a few other items I want to take pictures of first (hopefully tomorrow).

In other news:

I MADE SOAP!!!

It's been forever and a day since I last soaped for a variety of reasons, namely supplies being buried by the home remodel and stuff having been relocated to my supplies area. Two batches of soap were mixed up on Saturday and it was like riding a bike. Except for the fact that I ended up soaping one batch too warm, which because of the fragrance oil I used (Brambleberry's Cedar and Saffron), contains spicy tones, which caused some acceleration. This caused my soap to get chunky like applesauce. I mixed as best as I could and believe that it is blended good, however, I have not yet zap tested (or cut for that matter). I've soaped this fragrance before and it was well behaved, but this batch was just too warm (see previous posts here and here).

Pictures of logs and cut bars hopefully tomorrow if I can get some time to cut them.

Howie's New Sleeping Digs

2010-09-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

I've posted before that the pups sleep in kennels (here), it's the safest for them as they are labs and love to get into and eat anything and everything.

Well, after Howie came home from this surgery, we knew that there was no way that we could safely get him in and out of his kennel (post hip surgery here and here), and since he's not moving far on his own, we made him up a bed in our room.

Howie now rolls all around his bed, so we have added a a few smaller, thinner dog beds around in case he rolls off his big bed. Notice in the picture above, his head is on the pillow that we were using to prop his back so he didn't roll about when we first brought him home.

Here are also a few pictures from the drive to his follow up appointment on Tuesday and while waiting for the vet to see Howie.

Good News for Howie...

2010-09-07T21:05:00.001-07:00

I know I was going to post pictures the other day, but I still haven't gotten what I want, pictures (or a video) of how Howie runs. To the point that we have to walk really fast to keep up with him.

Howie's surgeon was really pleased with his follow up / staple removal appointment today. Remember how bald he was for each of his hips? It seemed to take forever for his fur to grow back, well today, the Dr. had a more difficult time finding his 13 staples because his fur was growing so fast.

He is using his right rear leg more every day, and his attitude seems to have changed, more happy, probably from less pain then he's used to. There are some "sensors" that we are hoping will come back, which will allow him more feeling / movement in his right rear leg.

But as for now, his front legs and his rear left leg are doing the majority of the walking. He certainly surprised us last night when he went halfway across the room by himself, trying to get to me while I was dishing the pups dinner up, shocking Chuck and I as we stood dumbfounded looking at him.

I have photos of Howie in the exam room and truck today, but I'm resisting getting up and going to get the camera, cause I'm feeling lazy.

Update on Howie!

2010-09-03T06:47:00.001-07:00

Just a really quick update, as I have not had time to write a longer post. Howie is doing much better, he's still having problems with his right rear leg, but he's overall feeling much better.

We also had really good news last night, there will be no need for any radiation therapy! As the doctor had originally thought that what he saw on the films and removed was a tumor. The results of the biopsy came back last night and it's a big huge name, but it means that there much at one point there was an injury to his spine or an infection in his spine that caused this "thing" to form and press on his spinal cord (inside the Dura) causing issues. I'll try and get the official name of what it is when Howie has his staples removed next Tuesday.

I'll post more (and pics) later tonight. Thanks for all the well wishes and thoughts for Howie and his recovery.

New Howie Update!

2010-08-30T18:54:00.001-07:00

There's good and not so good news!

The Good News:

Howie was able to come home today!

The not so good news: He is not bearing weight on his rear right leg, and at this moment, it is unknown if it is permanent or temporary (either from the surgery itself or the swelling from the surgery). He is able to sit up and roll over to his other side, just not walk. He gets therapy from Chuck and I 3 to 4 times a day, and we are hoping with this therapy and time, he will be back to his old self!
Since, I have monopolized my blog with Howie lately, I thought I better put up some pictures of Roscoe and Ellie Mae.

Roscoe

Ellie Mae

Here's another picture of Ellie, I would love to have one of her "working", but I can't "work" (read walk here!) her and take a picture at the same time, so this will have to do.

Ellie currently hates her gentle leader still, but, when she is "working" with her backpack on, she doesn't seem to mind it. She is doing really well with her training and working to make her brain tired. We ordered her backpack from Wolf Packs, who happens to be located in Ashland, Oregon, what a wonderfully made backpack, and Ellie certainly loves it (definitely not what I was expecting from her)!

Last weekend I had hoped among hopes that I would be able to get some time in the kitchen soaping, but with all the running back and forth to see Howie, I never got a chance! I'd love to get a chance to make soap, I have tons of sample size scents, from a recent sample size order that I want to get soaped up... maybe soon:-)

Update - Howie

2010-08-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

We are back from seeing Howie... he has to stay at the hospital at least through the weekend.

The tumor was more extensive then what the neurosurgeon thought, and a bit was left because he couldn't untangle it from the nerve roots. Howie has good deep pain sensation in all of his limbs, he's still not been able to get up, but we should know more next week. The results from the biopsy should be back next week, until then, it's just wait and see. While we were there, I was able to get him to eat almost all of his food.

Howie seems to have won over all of the staff, one of the tech's even said that she saved some of her hamburger from lunch to give him later tonight. He's a real trooper!

Good Thoughts Needed for Howie

2010-08-26T11:12:00.001-07:00

We had some bad news earlier this week when we took Howie in to see a Neurologist, he has a tumor growing on his spinal cord, which is hindering his mobility in his rear legs.

Howie will be undergoing surgery this afternoon to get it removed, after surgery, we will have more of an idea of what it is and the recovery time.

Here's a picture from our visit with him at the hospital (he's been there since Monday morning) and was excited to see us and thought he was going home.

He's had a rough few months so we are hoping that this is all he needs to feel 100% again.

Ellie Mae vs. Tricky Treat Ball

2010-08-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official, our little one, Ellie Mae is a very gifted puppy. According to our Behavioral Trainer that we have consulted for our little one, she is ADHD with Anxiety and very intelligent.

You ask what this means... well it means that we need to stimulate her mind to "mentally" exhaust her. We now are feeding her using a "tricky treat" ball, which takes her about 30 minutes to eat her dinner and she is exhausted when she is done. She has to work the ball to get the food out of the little hole at the top of the ball for it to fall out. It was completely amusing to me to watch her first adventure last night and completely mortifying that I neglected to video this adventure.

So, when I got home tonight, Chuck had already put her food in her ball and put it down for her, so I started up the video on the cell phone (poor quality). She was much more goofy yesterday, running up the stairs on my right side and back down on my left side while I sat on the stairs, she was thinking that the gravity of going up and down would help get her kibble out of the ball!

(If the above video does not work, you can view it here, on Chuck's site)

Front Yard Details - Part 1

2010-08-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

The front yard has been on the "To Do" list for at least 6 years, if not longer, we've done bits and pieces over the years, but finally it came time to do what we had been thinking about.

This was our blank canvas, the driveway and the yard all slope downward towards the front of the garage, at the right side of this picture.

This is the street side of the front yard, with the driveway off to the right of the picture.
Close up of the walkway and porchChuck's favorite of the roses, Fragrant Cloud.

After installation of sprinklers, lights and landscaping, pre-planting:

View from the walkway, by the front porch

View towards the street, from the walk way, you can see my father-in-law inspecting the work.

View from the street, looking toward the house

You can see the front yard is now level, which will make it look much more like the rest of the houses on the street, plus all the water won't run down to the one spot in the yard that turned green.

We have made good progress with picking out plants and planting them, it is a bit of a tough spot to plant in, as the house is Southwest facing and much of the yard gets the sun as it is coming up and then all day long, until it goes down.

Tomorrow, I will be posting pictures of the front yard as it is now, since the pictures are not on the computer yet. Overall, we are completely happy with the transformation.

Summer Jumble Part 4

2010-08-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the Oregon coast trip with Chuck's parents. We went to Fort Stevens State Park and walked around the old Fort.

It was a beautiful day for walking around the fort, looking at old guns...

and old military vehicles

Here's the view from the ground of the post:

Here's the view from at the top of the post:

Next post will be of the front yard that we have renovated this summer.

Summer Jumble Part 3

2010-08-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last month Chuck's parents came out for their summer trip, we took them to Redmond for the day, hung out at the house and went to the Oregon coast for a few days with the trailer and the puppies.

Here's a few pictures from their visit. (Part 2 of coast pictures tomorrow)

The drive back from Redmond with mom and dad.

Another picture from the drive back from Redmond.

The puppies in the canopy on the drive to the coast, pretty comfy digs, right? They have 3 Costco beds and 3 blankets and their no-spill water, plus the canopies open front window opens to the trucks back window (see below picture).

Ellie Mae was loving the window into the back seat where Nanny and Mommy were sitting and giving scratches. I thought this photo of her was funny as everything flapping from the wind between the windows.

This is the bridge that we drove the truck over to go to the Rogue Ale House for dinner, there was not any parking available, but that turned out to be a blessing, as the boards moved when the truck drove over them. We had a lovely dinner!

This is a picture especially for Emma (my mother-in-law) as she (like me) does not like bridges. We drove over this bridge to do some sightseeing on the Washington coast.

Cape Disappointment in Washington, we tried to go to the light house that you can barely see in this picture (see below also), but the parking lot was completely full.

Cape Disappointment

More pictures of the coast trip tomorrow.

Summer Jumble Part 2

2010-08-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

The return trip from Redmond was rather uneventful, it was evening and so the time of day was very lovely. However, what was not so lovely was the truck windshield, which I had taken pictures through on the drive to Redmond.
I have several very blurry shots from holding the camera outside the passenger window, that also resulted in a few very great clear shots of the antenna!

Because Howie was having such a problem with the heat, he got to ride in the back seat of the truck on the way home, note the comfy bed that was made for his pleasure!

Sunset

Next portion of pictures upcoming are of MIL & FIL visit last month, which included a camping trip (in the trailer) on the Pacific Ocean coast, 4 adults and 3 dogs, you do the math.

Summer Jumble (Part 1)

2010-08-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Last month, we took a trip to Redmond (Oregon), it was an uneventful drive once we got Ellie Mae in the truck. It seems she has passed her car sick phase (YAY!) but has now moved on to just being afraid of the truck in general. Once you get her in the canopy, she's fine, but it's the getting her there that's the problem, especially when you have three dogs. So, we now let Roscoe jump in, help Howie get in and then grab Ellie, put her in and close the door quickly.

Roscoe loves to hog the canopy / truck window so no one else can see us up in the front. (You can see Ellie Mae in the back on the right and Howie laying down on the left)

Mt. Hood as we were driving past.

Here you can see how the climate changes as we head East towards Central Oregon.

More changing landscape...

As we drove thru Warm Springs, the temperature shot up to 101F.

Ellie Mae enjoying herself.

I was entertaining myself with my camera, while Chuck was busy driving! Certainly not the most flattering self-portrait, but I had Chuck laughing at my antics.

We did cut our trip short by a day, as the RV park where we were staying was all black-top and gravel and the temperature was in the low 90'sF and the puppies were not handling the heat well.

Back tomorrow (hopefully) with more pictures of the trip back from Redmond. Also, I have photos of when Chuck's parent's visited and the front yard renovations.

Tons to Post

2010-08-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

I have been really bad... I have a ton of photos to post, but just have not gotten it done yet. I have now at least gotten the photos onto the computer (that's half the challenge, right?).

Back tonight to post the photos!

Any Bug Experts?

2010-06-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

I will be googling this tonight when I get home, but after walking Howie this morning and heading to the back yard, I found this.

Here's another picture for perspective.You can't really see it too well, but just up and to the right of the gate latch.

Any ideas?

Edited to add:

Chuck informed me that he thinks this is a dragonfly. Honestly, it was my first thought, but I've never seen one not flying and thought it was too cool out to see one.

Goofy Pictures

2010-06-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Howie in his kennel

another one

Roscoe

Roscoe (not really goofy, just him)

Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae

Random Thoughts from the Last Month

2010-05-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

I know I thought I would be better, but truly after working all day, I don't really want to be stuck at the computer more. Plus I've been trying to put the house back in order, slowly as Chuck has been working on the remodeling.

As part of the remodel, we got our first bedroom set, which apparently the dimensions were not quite what we were expecting, there is only enough room for one of the two nightstands...

The chair rail and molding are done and look awesome, Chuck made it all out of high contrast hickory.

I used to think our room was big... but having the furniture in it, it seems much smaller. As a result of the new bed frame, we need to get rid of our box spring (seen to the left in the above photo) and our puppies have been displaced from our room.

They are not very happy with their new room, but it's nice to have a puppy free room and they will get used to it (hopefully!).

Also, for the upcoming summer traveling season, here's our new way to get away.

Large enough for us the puppies and guests.

Even big enough for kennels for all three puppies.

Random Pictures:

This waterfall is in the middle of a major shopping area close to the house, it was a gorgeous afternoon and I happened to have the camera (from taking pictures of the trailer). There are also usually ducks and geese in this pond.

This was my toes last week.

This is my toes this week.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

More Beauties from Australia

2010-04-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Remember my post last week about my beautiful Patti Flynn soaps (here), which by the way are utterly amazing in scent and leaving my skin feeling wonderful. Well, that wasn't my only Etsy purchase from Australia, I also ordered a gorgeous bracelet and earrings from Deb at Xiztance.

Bracelet

Earrings (only one, but you get the idea)

Deb also included a bookmark, that she chain mailled as well, she must be a mind reader, because I couldn't find a bookmark the other day and just grabbed a receipt!

Howie Update:

Howie seems to be doing well, except for he is developing an allergic reaction to the internal stitches in his right hip incision. There is nothing that we can do, until it resolves itself. I didn't get a picture of him tonight, but he is really enjoying laying on the bed right next to my desk. He pretty much spent the day there on Saturday, completely unwilling to move!

Mr. Howie Comes Home and other Items

2010-04-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Mr. Howie Comes Home:

He's home, but not too happy as you can imagine he's confused as to why he hurts again. Give him about 2 weeks and he'll be feeling great and ready to run. Howie is now sporting a mohawk, which I have not gotten a great picture of yet.

The surgeon actually has a valid reason for living the fur as a mohawk instead of shaving it all off. Apparently, the fur right on the spine takes an inordinately long time to regrow. Add to that the fact that the dander fills and blocks those pores when regrowing, causes huge problems, thus the leaving of the mohawk.

You can barely see the right side that was just done yesterday, as in this picture he's laying on his right side.

Other Items:

So, last week on the 14th, I placed an Etsy order with Patti Flynn. Talk about speedy delivery, I received my package of amazing and gorgeous soaps in the mail today!

This is a soaper that I've enjoyed reading her blog over the last 2+ years and have been waiting for the day that I could place an order for her amazing soaps. Patti even included an extra bar with my order. I cannot wait to get these beauties into the shower, thank you so much Patti!

Misc. Post

2010-04-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Howie was certainly excited to go for a ride this morning, with no sedation he was a handful for Chuck. I went along for the ride and to take some pictures.

Kind of hard to take a picture with one hand and make certain that he didn't come through from the backseat of the truck into the front.

I think he's got lots of new friends at the vet's office, it seems like everyone likes him. What's not to like, but I guess I might be a bit biased:-)

As a side note, Howie's surgery went well today, the surgeon was very pleased with the placement of the hip joint and the surgery overall. He has to spend the night in the hospital again and will be home tomorrow, midday.

Just so they are not left out, here's Ellie:

On "her" bed, I love how she's pouting for being bothered for a picture.

And Roscoe:In his favorite position.

And on the remodel home front, here is the prototype for the door molding that Chuck is making.

Top

Bottom

More pictures and an update of Howie tomorrow, after we pick him up.

Visitor at work last week!

2010-04-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

The lady in the office next to my work office has been feeding the squirrels outside our offices lately, so they are getting very bold.

I happened to have my camera in my purse a few weeks ago, when we took Howie into the vet's for his follow up, so I was able to get a few shots of it's bold moves.

There is another one, that is so bold that it launches itself at the office doors!

New Present!

2010-04-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Looky, looky what Chuck got for me today!

The battery is charging, so I couldn't get a great picture with the old camera. I'm so excited to get a new camera, hopefully this means lots more pictures, because it's small enough to put into my purse.

How about that Candy Apple Red color, isn't that great?

Updates and Pictures

2010-04-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of what's been going on lately.

Howie's starting to get tired of his kennel.

He's been given clearance to hang out with us as long as there is no jumping on furniture, he prefers to lay on the dog bed next to my desk or on the floor by Chuck's desk.
Ellie is not to keen about sharing her bed with Howie. When he's laying there, she just roams around the recliner, on the bed and by my desk chair acting like she's being completely put out.

On April 3rd, my mom and I went to tea at a little local tea shop, it was really tasty and it was a special themed tea of Dr. Zhvigo (Russian food). I forgot to take a picture of the previous plate of crudites though.

Here's the dessert plate and scone... very tasty indeed.

Lastly, remember the foot issue last summer? Well, it has been longer then that since the last time I had a pedicure, and I was finally able to make some time and head down the street to get one.

Sorry about the flash in the polish, but it was better then the non-flash picture I took. Isn't it a fun color? Good thing I took it fairly quickly after I got home, because Ellie stepped on my right big toe several hours after getting them down and it still smooshed!

Still have tons more pictures that I want to take and get posted, but still haven't found enough time.

Howie Update!

2010-03-30T20:00:00.001-07:00

Yet another post without pictures, due to issues of the subject matter.

Despite getting up and giving Howie a sedative at 6:30 am to prepare for leaving the house at 8:00 am for his 10 day post-op visit and stitch removal, Howie was bouncing off the walls. He was pulling at his leash, trying to run, everything he could possibly do to not listen to us. I am very happy that both Chuck and I took him. Chuck got to drive the car and I got to sit in back with Mr. Impatient.

Mr. Impatient realized really quickly that I had bones in the pocket of my hoodie and when given one, ate it on my sweatshirt and jeans, both of which I just got out of the laundry basket. Welcome to my world!

Howie got his stitches out after charming the vet tech, then got to walk out in the hallway to show the surgeon how he was walking. After a bit of moving the hip around, he told us how pleased he was with Howie's progress and promptly told us we could up his dosage of the sedative, seeing as how it wasn't working for him.

We will be taking Howie back on April 21st for his right hip replacement, unless he doesn't seem to be progressing on the healing front. The surgeon believes that Howie should be recovered enough to go camping this summer and be duck hunting this fall, so good news on all fronts.

Stitch Removal Appointment

2010-03-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day for Howie... we see the surgeon for stitch removal and also to find out how his surgery went and recovery is going. I should be posting a picture and update tomorrow to let family and friends know. Thanks for all the well wishes for the boy, he (and I) appreciate it:-).

Lots of Stuff All Rolled into a Jumbled Post!

2010-03-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile, but life has been a bit hectic. I'll start with the most important stuff.
Puppies:

Howie had a vet visit and was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia, which is basically arthritis. This is why he's been limping and favoring his back legs when he runs a lot. We met with and discussed the options with an orthopedic specialist and decided that the best option for Howie was hip replacement. Our surgeon has really high hopes for the surgery, and expects Howie to be able to hunt this fall with Chuck Hunting is one of the things that he lives for, besides food, as a labrador. Howie went in for his first surgery (left hip) on March 17th.

On the way to the hospital:

On the way home from the hospital, here's his owie (sorry, it's a
cell phone picture, kind of crummy).

It was really sweet (at least I thought so), the vet tech that put Howie's IV in, didn't do the standard rectangle shaved spot for his IV, they shaved in a heart shape (picture still in the cell phone)!

Howie's home for the 2 weeks post-surgery! He's not loving it any more.

It was sunny the last weekend, so we brought him outside to get a bit of the sunshine,
though not too much, didn't want to give him a sunburn on top of the undignified look
of being partly shaved.

Recovery has been going really good, in fact he wants to run and jump and play, none of which is on the list of things that he can do right now. When we brought him home from his overnight stay at the hospital on the 18th, our vet told us that he would probably be doing Howie's right hip sooner then the anticipated 6-8 weeks between surgeries, as Howie was raring to go out of the hospital to get home.

Needless to say, he has not had any pain killers for almost a week, and he is still perky and antsy, thus the need for sedatives to mellow him out a bit.
Roscoe and Ellie Mae are coping as well as can be expected, they try and stay out of his way when we have him out of his kennel, but they want to play with him still.

On another note, we've celebrated two birthdays in the house this week. Little Ellie Mae turned 2 on the 23rd and Howie turned 7 today!

Ellie Mae, the birthday girl!

Looking goofy as always....

And one of Roscoe for good measure!

House:

In other news, prior to finding out and scheduling Howie's surgery, we had begun some updating and remodeling of the house, which is circa-1980. We had someone come in and paint, someone else come in and carpet the main / entry level of the house (tri-level house) and someone else come in and tile the entry level.

Teaser picture (the colors do not quite come thru as to to what they
actually are, but you can get the general idea)... please excuse the fact
that Chuck has not made the Hickory molding and trim yet, he's
anticipating starting that next week, prior to starting his next project.

Please excuse the poor picture, it was really hard to take a picture of
this light, as it's on a sloped ceiling!

Chuck has also been keeping busy with the updating / remodeling. He's done a wonderful job of putting in a new, better light in the stairwell, putting in new doors and door hardware on all the bedrooms, hall closet and the bathroom (which the painter painted in a beautiful creamy shade), plus organizing everything for it all to happen, and of course at the same time taking care of the pup.

I'm really looking forward to everything being completed, because it's all starting to look like it's coming together! We are also using this time to decrapify items that we haven't touched and making the big decision of garbage, recycle or donate, what a liberating feeling.

Along with the remodeling project will be a Murphy Bed in the front bedroom. This is one item that will really help in the decluttering, because the bed won't have dog blankets piled on it when Chuck's parents aren't here, which is really the only time the front bedroom is used. It will also give us more storage in the cabinents on the sides of the bed. What is it about houses that were built in the 1980's and the lack of storage space?

Looks like I've rambled enough for today, hopefully, I'll be back soon, there are tons more of photos in the camera from the last 3 months!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Found the camera cord!

Our Christmas tree this year!

Here's the snow pictures from Tuesday.

Ellie had an absolute blast!

She was talking to me

This is the only semi-decent picture of all three puppies in the snow.

I'm back....

2009-12-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

So it's snowing... the forecasters didn't think it would even hit us, but now it's about 3". The puppies are enjoying it and I have pictures. But I can't seem to find the cord for the camera to download the pictures. I will continue to search...

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'll be back later, hopefully with pictures, but until I do, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

More Updates

2009-11-17T18:50:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago, we had a cyst removed off of Roscoe's tummy, he's a bit sensitive to showing his bald tummy, but here is a picture of it a few days after removal.

Here's a picture from today, he got his stitches out last Friday, but didn't feel like showing his tummy off tonight.
Getting better....

Here is one of Ellie Mae from tonight as well, she was a bit curious about the camera that I had out, cause normally she runs the opposite direction when I pull it out.

And, I had the opportunity to email my blogging friend Carrie~Gigi for another Unconditional Lovie (or here) for another friend of mine, meet Sam. I just love his little pink rick rack tongue!

You might remember my posting about Cissel here. So, when I heard that my friend's had a baby boy, I knew that I wanted to get another Unconditional Lovie from Carrie for the new baby and this little puppy is just absolutely perfect!

Carrie also included two more samples of her new Whispering Willow Laundry Soap, in Cambridge Rum and Home for the Holidays (love this scent!).

(Bad Blogger!)

Here you can see load #2 from today, as I was so excited to use the Home for the Holidays scent. Carrie has managed to find a way to get the scent to stick around through the dryer cycle, so it comes out smelling just like the soap.

I do have many other items that I want to blog about, but time has been elusive.

Soon!

Lots of Catching Up...

2009-10-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

So this is going to be one of those big rambling posts, because I've got all these things that I want to get up, but I don't want to post multiple posts so that some of the posts get buried:-) With that said, hopefully Blogger will be cooperating with my pictures today, cause there are several.

To start, everyone knows that we have dogs, large dogs... but what I don't think everyone knows, is that these large dogs think they are and act like humans! They know what is right and wrong, but go ahead and do things cause they want to.

It all started a few months ago when I ordered a package from Jackie at Magic Hands Workshop (or here), which included Amaretto Tiramisu body butter and sugar scrub, because the scent really intrigued me. I got the package (really fast shipping and great customer service!) and I love the scent of the Amaretto Tiramisu, it's just an awesome scent.

Well, apparently I'm not the only one that loves the scent as I found out shortly after getting the body butter, every time I use it, Ellie Mae starts licking my hands (or feet if I put the body butter on my feet).

Ok, I can deal with that... but Friday morning when I came downstairs to unsupervised puppies acting completely nonchalant, which usually means that something is going on.

Well my first instinct was right. As I investigated further, I found the reason they were "acting" good, under a pillow on the couch was the evidence, Roscoe, got up on my desk and got down the jar of Amaretto Tiramisu body butter and the boys, were trying to eat the jar and lotion, with poor Ellie who I knew loved the scent, just being an innocent bystander.

Needless to say, this is all that remains of my container, notice the missing chunk of lid, which you can see laying on the back of the plate.

Good thing that I have a jar that I can transfer the remaining lotion into!

In other news, I'm getting a jump start on my Christmas shopping, so that I don't run out of time. I've found some really great items on Etsy, which I'm not posting but, I did find this great shop, Bunco Betty's that has the most adorable Christmas tags and small gift cards.

I was shopping around for a baby shower card and stumbled upon a really great one (see the upper right card) and then found all these really cute gift cards and gift tags, aren't they cute?

Speaking of baby shower, I knew that one of the items that I wanted to give our friends was an Unconditional Lovie from my blogging friend, Carrie~Gigi at Under the Willow Gifts (or here).

So, meet Cissel:

Isn't Cissel the most adorable? Cissel also came with a bag / lovie blanket for the little one.

Thank you so much Carrie~Gigi, for Cissel and all the goodies that you sent!

And, a big thank you to Heather at Twin Birch Bath & Body. I decided I needed a pumpkin soap from Heather, since I loved the one she sent me last year! So I ordered Perfect Pumpkin and Cranberry Cheer soaps and some bath bombs in Ginger Lime and Champagne Chic. Heather put in some extra goodies for me, Perfect Pumpkin Lotion and Body Wash and a cute little butterfly scrubby.

Howie's Not Spoiled!

2009-09-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Playing around....

2009-09-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's been awhile since I posted pictures of the puppies, but this was too cute to pass up and I know that my niece Karen, will adore seeing the pictures.

Howie going on the offensive from the pesky little sister....

Sister annoying brother, you can see his lip starting to pull up...

The war is on...

And, just for good measure, the one that laid calmly while the war was raging.

In other photo goodness, I was out on the back porch a few days ago and just happened to look in the creek and see a Blue Heron. The picture is kind of crappy, cause it was kind of war away, but you get the gist of it...

Seems like my pictures are cooperating with Blogger today, hopefully that means the previous picture posting issues are fixed.

More Goodies...

2009-09-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Next up, Grumpy Girl.

Oh my goodness, what a fun line of products.
I will eventually get the pictures and blogger to cooperate, I have no ideas...

The fragrances at Grumpy Girl are a complete riot, lucky there is a fragrance key so that you know what the fragrances will smell like. I feel as though I have not made a dent in this batch. I tried the Loves Me Some Lemon Curd Salt bar, the Strawberry Moonshine soap, the Creme de la Creme Stick O'Butter and the Lime Sugar Daddy lip balm.

I do truly think that I really enjoy lip balms and definitely love trying all the ones that I have tried so far. This one is great, just like the majority of the others that I have tried. It is really amazing the different feelings that you can get with the different blends of oils.

I'm still not completely sold on salt bars. I think it's one of those things that you either love them or hate them, but I'm not in either category.

Who knows, maybe I just love all the really cool flavors!

Pictures

2009-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Not taken by me, but I wanted to post the link for the pictures that Chuck took of our old deck and our new deck, here. This was Chuck's project this summer (with the help of a few friends). There's still a bit of touch up and finishing that he's working on, but the deck is wonderful and we look forward to enjoying it.

On another note, the puppies love running back and forth on both decks, none of them have gone so fast that they have fallen down the stairs yet. That is one of my biggest concerns as they rush about chasing each other.

A Whole Month....

2009-09-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Honestly, it doesn't seem like that long ago. Sorry to all my bloggy friends out there.

So, back to our regularly scheduled reviews, now that the battery situation with the camera has been remedied (Chuck got new ones for his flash!).

Next up:

Blushie

still can't figure out the posting of the pictures sideways:-) go figure.

I ordered two bars of soap (always looking to try new things), Appletini and Key Lime, Key Lime Salt Foot Scrub, Margarita lip balm (I'm addicted to lip balm). Megan even threw in an extra lip balm in Watermelon! Wonderful products, quick shipping, beautiful scents and great products, with good communication and customer service.

I'm backlogged on posting my goodies and pictures, but will be back soon with more.

I Promise...

2009-07-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

there is more goodies to post about, just haven't finished getting the pictures uploaded and my brain to write posts.

Goodies... Part 3

2009-07-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Again with the Blogger picture issues... will it ever end?

Today's Etsy goodies are from Rhonda at In A Lather. We've (Chuck and I) have been using Rhonda's Solid Shampoos that Rock for several months. These are wonderful grab and go bars and much more pleasant on my hair then my own soap (my naturally curly hair doesn't like the moisturizing butters, it seems to make the curls more frizzy!) So this is my restocking order from last week and I even ordered two of her lip balms to test them out (wow, I think I love these, they have hemp and meadowfoam oils in them!) in Cherry Limeade and Thai Coconut (the Cherry Limeade is missing from the picture, cause I took it to work).

Stay tuned later this week for more Etsy goodies.

Goodies... Part 2

2009-07-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

First let me apologize for the picture... not sure why Blogger is turning the picture sidesways, but anywho, you get the idea.

Today's Etsy goodies are from Sharon at Morgan Street Handmade Soaps, unfortunately, I got my package (pictured above) last week, before the camera (remember here) was back in order and I used one of my Fizzy Bath Bombs. One of my first handmade cold process soap purchases was from Sharon before I attempted making my first batch last year.

I decided that since it was summer time, I should pay a bit of attention to the tootsies, hence the Foot Soak with Milk and Herbs, Peppermint Sugar Foot Scrub and the Minty Foot Salve. What a refreshing treat, my feet loved the tingly left by the scrub and salve, especially since the boot has arrived.

Stay tuned for more goodies later this week.

Goodies... Part 1

2009-07-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

I adore trying out other handmade bath and body products. One of my favorites is Product Body, where everything is handmade by my blogging friend Joanna (also here and here).

This is what was waiting for me in the mail yesterday...Bubble Rubble in Just Peachy and Sexy Laundry Day (love all the bubbles these produce!), Crush on You in Chocolate Orange, Sexy Laundry Day, and the new Coconut Lemongrass (tropical yumminess!) and Joanna was sweet enough to send samples of Creme Fresh in Beach House, Crush on You in Just Peachy and a Fizzy Bath Bomb in Mango Mash Up.

Stay tuned more for more goodies later this week.

Really Cool New Socks!

2009-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

So, I got these really cool new socks and Chuck was kind enough to take a picture of me modeling one of them (you'll notice Ellie Mae managed to get her nose in the picture as well!).

I'm not certain if anyone has heard or seen the temperatures that we have been getting here in Oregon, but good grief it's hot. I has been in the mid-80's to mid-90's for a few days and they are calling for triple digits by the end of this week. One of the joys of living in Oregon is the mild temperatures.

But, anyway, I digress...

I had to get the really cool bamboo socks to accommodate the boot that the doctor has deemed necessary to wear for at least two weeks, in the hopes that the stress fracture that he believes that I have in my foot heals.

And are you asking yourself, how exactly does one get a stress fracture?

I have three potential reasons:

Of course, added to the fact that during the warm months I love to go barefooted!

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Fourth of July Holiday!

Also, I just wanted to wish my mom a Happy Birthday (yesterday), but forgot to post yesterday.

Looks like I'm going to have to find some new batteries for the camera, as Chuck got a new camera and wants the rechargeable batteries for the flash. I had some other rechargeable batteries from an older camera that I put into the camera and unfortunately they do not work. Who new that there was different strengths of rechargeable batteries?

Before I Forget Again

2009-06-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

and go missing from blogging land again.

Totally unrelated to soaping and such!

Just real quick, I wanted to point out a new section on my blog. In the right hand column, I have a new section called "Other Sites of Interest." Listed so far is Chuck's new site for his photography, 3dogphotos (wonder why he called it that?), just in case anyone is interested.

Have a good day!

Busy Times...

2009-06-16T18:26:00.001-07:00

Not much time on the computer lately, but here are some recent puppy pictures. The puppies happened to have a big play session, on Sunday, when my parents were over to help Chuck and his dad out with replacing our old sliding glass door with a beautiful set of French doors (picture to follow, as soon as I get the camera back out).Ellie playing keep away from Roscoe

Ellie playing keep away from Howie

Roscoe

Ellie Mae

On the soaping front, nope, my MIL and I have gotten any time yet to make anything, but we are hoping to later this week as well. I know that Karen (my niece) is anxiously awaiting pictures of what we get to this week, so hopefully soon.

Edit: Is anyone else having blogger issues? It took an hour to get this posted, I'm not very computer savvy and I kept getting HTML code issues, whatever that means... have a nice evening!

Laundry Soap for Heidi

2009-05-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

I found my notes from last summer on the Laundry soap.

I made a 2# batch of 100% lard (I've seen that you could also use coconut, but since it makes my legs break out, I chose not too!), 0% superfat, cold-process batch. After I molded, gelled and cut, (I cured, I recommend not doing that) shred while still fresh (within a week). The lard made a nice hard soap.

Mix 4 cups of shredded soap with 2 cups washing soda (I found arm&hammer brand at the grocery store) and 2 cups of borax (also at the grocery store). I mixed it thoroughly in an old shea butter bucket that I had, and I store the bucket on the wash machine with the lid on.

I have a front load washer and did lots of research prior to making this to make certain I wouldn't kill it. I use 2 tablespoons per load and I also use 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar as the rinse agent. I've seen (but not made yet) that you can make a rinse agent with citric acid, but I can't find that recipe today, and I haven't tried it.

Both my MIL and I have used this soap last summer with no problems. I haven't made any since, but I do have some more lard that I could. I did read that sometimes it causes the whites to look not so dingy.

Hope this helps you Heidi!

Still Plugging Away

2009-05-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've been very delinquent at my posting lately, but I'm still here plugging away, just not being creative lately (Spring Fever, maybe). I've been making all kinds of notes and planning tons of batches, just one thing stands between me and soaping!

LYE

I am so irritated, I've been savoring my small stash, 1-1/2 cans worth, maybe 3 to 3-1/2 pounds worth, cause I don't want to use it all up, but I really want to soap! Mike and Emma (in-laws) will be in town in a few weeks and I'm hoping to find a local ACE Hardware or Tru-Value store somewhere around town that still carries it in the small containers worth. I just don't think that I want to have tons of lye laying around the house with 3 dogs.

So, in the mean time, I've been planning lots of batches, that I'm hoping will be made when Emma is here, as she enjoyed making soap with me last year.

On another crummy note, the batteries in the camera are dead, but I can't find the charger! The puppies have been having a blast in the beautiful weather the last week and a half. If I find it and get the batteries charged, I'll post a few pictures of puppies playing in the backyard.

Just Getting Around to Posting...

2009-05-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

It's taken more then awhile to get these pictures taken... but Chuck was kind enough to take this picture for me.

Soaps (L-R): The Scent Works London Lemon Curd, Brambleberry Blueberry Delight & Champagne, and The Scent Works White Peach

I soaped these back on April 5th!

The Scent Works London Lemon Curd: includes a lovely layer of ash, and I colored it with Lemon Drop POP mica.

Brambleberry Blueberry Delight & Brambleberry Champagne: also includes a lovely layer of ash, I colored with Blueberry POP mica, unfortunately, it looks more greenish-blue then blue.

The Scent Works White Peach: again with the ash, good thing the ash is purely a cosmetic thing! This one I colored with a bit of Tangerine POP mica and Lemon Drop POP mica.

Here's something for discussion.

The only thing that appears to be different with these three batches (all the same recipe) is that I increased the rate of shea butter to 20%, I had never used it higher then 15% before.

Has anyone else noticed this or is this not what the issue was, my other oils used were olive, palm kernal, palm and castor. These are all the oils that I use for almost all my batches, except that I changed up the rates of the olive and shea butter, increasing the shea 5% and decreasing the olive by 5%.

As always, I put plastic wrap over my soap molds (not right on top of the raw soap, but with open space on top), all three batches were in the same size molds, for approximately the same amount of time, all soaps gelled.

I look forward to any input. Thanks!

Mischief Abounds....

2009-05-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

So, everyone remembers my sweet little puppy girl, Ellie Mae, right? Well, apparently, she believes that she is not a puppy, but a cow, that should be grazing out in the backyard.

Caught, right in the act! Ellie seems to enjoy, pulling it straight out at the roots!

Well, Good Grief...

2009-05-03T13:35:00.001-07:00

I'm still alive and here for all those that have been concerned... it was just a very busy month. The last thing that I wanted to do was to turn on the computer in the evening! Hopefully, I will be back to normal postings now. I will at some point be having a giveaway, that I posted about in March, sometime in the next few weeks.

WOW!!!

2009-03-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

How did I miss this last week? My 1 Year Blogaversary was last week on March 20th. Thanks to all my blogging friends for sticking with me this last year.

Look for a giveaway sometime this coming week in celebration!

Happy Birthday Howie!

2009-03-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I glad that my youngsters are dogs, I don't think I could imagine having three kids all with birthdays within a 3 month period, of course this is even following Christmas!

Well, as I posted here, Howie received a very regal red collar and a new tag also. They are currently sleeping, but here is a picture of the birthday boy (who couldn't be bothered to even open his eyes!).

Around here, birthdays are just like every other day, except that for dinner we get to eat canned food with our regular kibble! Is that not the most exciting thing in the world??? Okay, well for my puppies, it's the most exciting thing of the day! The birthday puppy gets 1/2 can and the other two puppies get to split the remaining 1/2 can. Plus they get really nummy chews in the evening.

Happy Birthday Ellie Mae!

2009-03-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today is the day... little Ellie Mae turned 1 today!

In her honor (and Howie's upcoming birthday!) all three puppies got new collars and tags! Ellie got a very snazzy pink collar, Howie got a delightful regal red and Roscoe got a royal blue. Ellie was a bit energetic a few minutes ago, so this is the best picture I could get (you can barely see the new collar).

Belated Puppy Pictures

2009-03-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

This is from last week... you have to understand that Roscoe doesn't really like Ellie and Ellie definitely doesn't like to be close to Roscoe. To make it even harder, I can't even put their kennels next to each other... Howie has to be in the middle kennel or there is much growling.

Now, of course the next picture is clearly when Ellie figured out why I was taking the picture, that Roscoe was laying right next to her. Right after I snapped the picture, down she went.

That's about the best pictures that turned out... I'm hoping to write a post tomorrow about Flat Stanley's visit to my house, my nephew Reilly sent him out for a visit and I think he had fun, so I thought I'd post about his visit.

Plus, I'm still trying to sneak in some soaping this week also.

See I do read my comments...

2009-03-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is for you Joanna (but mostly for my sanity!). It was a cute background, but those darn clovers were ever so obnoxious. I'll be back tonight with the puppy pictures, I honestly do not know where all the time during the day goes, but it certainly is gone by the time I get to the computer in the evening.

Hopes Dashed

2009-03-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes of soaping today, only to run out of time and energy... I do have two batches planned at least, London Lemon Curd (The Scent Works) and a blend of Peach for my niece Karen.

Also, since it's been awhile, I will be posting puppy pictures as soon as I charge the camera batteries. It seems like just a few months ago that I got Ellie, but she's going to be 1 at the end of the month. And, my old man Howie, will be 6 just three days after Ellie's First Birthday.

Intensive Hand Cream

2009-03-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

I just finished whipping up, literally, what I'm calling an intensive hand cream. I don't know about everyone else, but man, do my hands get super dry during the winter.

This is a blend of shea butter and emu oils, for their excellent properties, with just a dab of vitamin e oil and I whipped it all into a lovely whipped cream consistency. I've used lavender and sweet orange essential oils, again for their properties to scent, even though I greatly dislike the scent of lavender, I'm hoping I can get past the scent!

I'm truly trying to get a batch of soap in sometime during the next week, as I'm having complete withdrawls from lack of soaping.

Reformulated Tub Truffles

2009-02-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

I've now tested my reformulated tub truffles and they are ok... I'm not certain what they need. They are nice, but might need to be a bit more solid at room temperature. I will continue to test some more and might try to another batch this weekend.

Good News for the...

2009-02-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

Reformulated Bubbly Bath Bombs.

They hardened up nicely, just needed a few days in the mold to dry and even unmolded much nicer then the original formula.

I've tested one and sent out another one for testing. I think it was nice, but I'm wondering if upping the shea butter to create a more luxurious feel, not to say that my skin didn't feel nice, but maybe a bit more would be nicer. Guess I know what I'll be trying to do this weekend, although next time, I'll use a bit less witch hazel so I don't get the expansion and puffiness on the first day or so.

I'm hoping to get a chance to try the reformulated tub truffles soon, so I can post about them, but I do have some on the way for testing with the Bubbly Bath Bombs.

Pictures

2009-02-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, first up, pictures from last nights reformulations.

The stars are a reformulation of of tub truffle that I tried in December, but found too oily and left a ring around the tub. So I reformulated to add in some Polysorb 80 to help with the ring around the tub. I also took out the cocoa butter (very expensive now) upped the shea butter and added in some Palm Kernal oil flakes to help keep them solid at room temperature. I do think that I need to up the citric acid and baking soda, just a bit as they seemed a little bit runny when I poured into my molds. These are scented with The Scent Works London Lemon Curd (talk about an amazing fragrance!) and colored with Lemon Drop POP mica and a bit of very fine glitter. I'll probably be testing these out in the next few days, and will definitely post results.

Yeah, not certain what Blogger is doing with my photo, but I guess you get the idea! These are the reformulated Bubbly Bath Bombs. I added some Polysorb 80 to help with the ring around the tub, but at the same time, I took my original recipe that I used and converted it from cups to ounces and I think I screwed up and added in too much of the cornstarch and too much witch hazel. You can't tell from the above photo, but check out the next one. These are scented with a blend of Brambleberry's Cybilla Coconut and Sun-Ripened Raspberry, colored with Raspberry POP mica.

These Bubbly Bath Bombs have "risen" despite the fact that I packed them tightly down last night and even re-packed them down an hour after I put them in the mold. Then when I tried to unmold this morning, only the top part of one of them came out, so I'm going to leave them in the molds for a few more days. I did repack them tightly again. I'll try and make another batch today and check my numbers as I go, to see where I got messed up and post the results of the tests later this week.

Also, if you missed the first annual Suds to Love Valentine's giveaway, Teres a, the winner, posted a lovely post about the prize she received last week, you can read about it here.

And, because it's been awhile, here's a picture of Ellie Mae from this morning. She keeps going back and laying on the clean dog blankets that I got out of the dryer and put on the floor while putting another batch in the dryer, but every time I try and get a picture of her laying on the pile, she moves! So, you have to settle for a picture of her on the couch instead.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say Happy Valentine's Day!

And of course to let you know that I've just finished making a revised recipe of tub truffles and bubbly bath bombs. I'll post pictures tomorrow, once I get them unmolded.

I Made Bubbles!

2009-02-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Remember the Bubbly Bath Bombs that I made last weekend? I was finally able to test one tonight, I have to admit, that I think they are not too bad. I still had some big doubts, especially as they are still so crumbly coming out of the molds. I scented them with Daystar's French Light-As-Air Croquembouche. I was actually worried with the bit of oils and butters that are in them, that the tub might be a bit slippery, but I didn't notice anything, which means more testing to come.

Forgot to Post the Giveaway Winner!

2009-02-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the comments and entries during this giveaway. I can't believe that I forgot to post the winner of the giveaway yesterday!

So, without further ado, here's the winner (drawn of course in my standard, fold up the name in the box and draw a piece of paper out, thus the winner). Congratulations to Teresa R. from Life, Homesteading, and Everything. Teresa, please email me your address and I will get your prize out in the mail in the next day or so. As soon as Teresa receives her goodies I'll post the prize up so everyone can see what she gets to try (read that as test).

Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll be having another giveaway soon, since I still have lots of things that I want to try.

Lack of Motivation

2009-02-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

So, I'm feeling quite unmotivated to head upstairs and work on my long list of items that I wanted to try and get accomplished this weekend. I'm hoping to find some motivation to head up and at least make one batch of lotion bars, I'd like to try a new formulation to see how it compares to the recipe that I've been previously using.

For those of you that make lotion bars, do you use cornstarch (or something else) or not? Do you use colorant or not?

The two batches that I've made so far, have both included cornstarch, but I'd like to try a batch without to see how it compares.

Right now, I can't see why I would want to color the lotion bars, but maybe someone else has a different perspective, let me know.

I'm also trying to work on a different recipe that doesn't use cocoa butter (or doesn't use as much) as the cost is extremely high right now.

Bubbly Bath Bombs!

2009-01-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

I've made my first batch... I think they are okay, but I think I need to let them dry in the molds a bit longer, so I haven't taken pictures yet. I tried to take one out of the mold and it looked like it wanted to crack a bit, so I pushed it firmly down and decided to leave it overnight. I think that I could have used just a bit more witch hazel to get a firmer packing of the bombs into the molds. Pictures to follow tomorrow.

Fun Things Planned

2009-01-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

I have tons of new recipes that I'm hoping to be able to test out this weekend.

Of course, more eye shadow colors, but also, more lotion bars. Some bath bombs, hopefully these will work, I've been putting them off, cause I'm scared of them failing. Maybe even some more M & P soaps, those are starting to be sort of fun now. I'm also thinking about some more lip balms. I'll post pictures as they are completed this weekend.

Don't forget about the upcoming giveaway, the drawing will be on Sunday, February 1st.

Weekend Update

2009-01-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

I know it's already almost the end of Tuesday, but I've been bad about posting! The only thing I managed to make this weekend was a batch of unscented lotion bars for my mom and I to test. Not exactly the most exciting item to take a picture of, so I'll spare you all the plain-ness.

Along with testing the unscented lotion bar, my mom's also testing out some of the eyeshadows that I posted about making here. Tori will also soon be receiving here eyeshadows for testing. I hope that both of them like the colors that I've created.

I'm hoping to try a few more eyeshadow colors in the next week also, those I'll post as I get them made.

Awards

2009-01-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

Carrie ~ Gigi over at Under the Willow, has passed on some Blogging love to me!

Thanks Carrie for sharing the love... several of my blogging buddies have already received these awards, but I'd like to pass on the love to: Amber at Amber's Ambry, Lysa at Girl Loaf, Natalie at Koinoia Community, Michele at Soapy Elephant and Stephanie at The Pyryt Nest. Pick one or both, and pass along when you get a chance.

Giveaway

2009-01-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

I'm having a Valentine's Day giveaway. Comment on any posts between now and February 1st for a chance to be entered. There will be something soapy and something non-soapy (is this a word?). I'll be posting later tonight with my soapy plans for the the weekend, although, I never know if it will be soapy or not now!

I know what I said...

2009-01-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

That I would post pictures and what I've been working on last weekend... but I got so into it and then by the time I was done, I was absolutely too tired to go and get the camera and then sit at the computer to post. Completely crappy excuse, but just the same here's what I've been working on since last week. Posted incompletely, since I don't want to ruin the Valentine's Day surprise for my niece and nephews. I will post pictures of the Valentine's Day surprises on February 14th, it's a few weeks away, but suffice it to say, it's cool! What started this off was the requests that I got from my niece, Karen and my cousin John and Steph's daughter Tori.

Last Spring, I made my niece and nephews some melt and pour soaps with some plastic fishy embeds that I found at Oriental Trading Company. Apparently, these soaps were a huge success, because Karen and her brothers wanted more. But this time, I changed them up, based on the melt and pour posts that Anne-Marie has posted about on her blog, since I initially created the last ones.

Anne-Marie - Thanks for all the great tips, tricks and tutorials, I think I actually don't mind working with melt and pour now!

I've been testing how the best way for me is to color melt and pour soap, swirl, layer and embed, and it was fun, most of it was planned, some wasn't and I've learned more. So, without further ado, here's a bunch of pictures of the melt and pour portions of things I've been working on the last week, I made a total of 98 soaps!

Scented with Cotton Candy and I used raspberry and blueberry pop micas to blend lavender, before I realized that, DUH, I have grape pop mica that I could've used to start with, but I did add a bit to make it more like what I wanted it to be!

Again, tried to be lavender, using raspberry and blueberry pop mica, this is before I remembered that I had the grape mica in the above soap, scented with blackberry.

I'm quite pleased with how these turned out, I layered clear M&P that I colored with green apple pop mica and the bottom layer is white M&P with cappuccino mica, scented with Peppermint Hot Cocoa. I will admit that I was trying to get a swirly effect by pouring the tan layer before the green layer was completely set up, however, it cooled quicker then I was expecting, but I'm still happy with it.

You can't really tell from the crappy picture, but I was able to achieve the swirly look that I was trying to achieve with the above soaps. I used the blueberry pop mica for both layers, top layer is clear M&P and bottom layer is white M&P, scented with Blueberry Delight.

The flower is white M&P colored with lemon drop pop mica, scented with a blend that I created cause I didn't like the mango scent that I used, so I added a bit of coconut and champagne, and it was the remnant of part of the Valentine's Day surprise. The others are scented with Ginger Pear, the green is clear M&P colored with green apple pop mica and the other is white M&P, colored with lemon drop pop mica. I was going for the swirly effect on these as well, I achieve it on one out of the four, not too bad.

Here's the inspiration for all the "work." Hopefully, Karen likes them. The top layer is clear M&P with the fish, then the bottom layer is white M&P, so the fish pops. I've scented it with Oatmeal, Milk and Honey.

Now for the other portion of the request, this from my cousin Tori, she asked me to make her a dark green eye shadow, which of course resulted in lots of colors that I ended up playing around with. Tori also made a special Foamy soap scent request of cinnamon pumpkin, which is ready, I just need to label and I didn't take a picture of it.

I know it's a really small picture, but these are the first six that I worked on.

And, these are the last five that I worked on... Tori's is the very far right of this picture. I hope she likes it!

I hope that I haven't bored too many people, but if you've made it all the way through this post, you'll be the first to know that I'm planning a giveaway, probably, closer to Friday, quite possibly from something that got worked on within the last week.

Still Here....

2009-01-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm working on some fun formulations to play with this weekend. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so, guess you'll have to wait to find out this weekend.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Happiness, Health and Prosperity to all! Have a wonderful New Year.

I'll be back to posting regularly after the holidays are over.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

From my house

to your house!

Rosescicle?

2008-12-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of one of the roses in my front yard...

Snow Fun!

2008-12-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

My work was closed today, so I got to stay home and hang out with the puppies for the day! So, I took the puppies out to play in the snow this afternoon. It was 32° F and in the bit that we were out, the snow stopped.

We get to go play in the snow... yay!

Ellie going down the hill...

Ellie coming up the hill...

My serious Howie with a snow covered nose.

Blurry picture of Roscoe rooting in the snow.

Playing together nicely.

While I was watching the puppies playing, I decided to turn the camera around and do a "winter" self-portrait, but you can't really see the snow, guess I need my arms to be longer.

I loved how this picture of Ellie turned out...

Still Snowing...

2008-12-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

This is highly unusual of the Portland Metro area to get this much snow. I think in my area, up until last night, there was between 7" and 8" of snow. Then overnight, there was freezing rain and now it's full on snowing again!

This is an outdoor fireplace that's in the backyard, you can barely see the bottom of the grate, but it's about 7" from the ground to the bottom of the grate.

After Ellie's initial exploration of the dog run with the added bonus of ice, which added to the trickiness of potty time, she came in and decided that she wanted to play and talk with me.

She is currently going through a terrible (rebellious) stage! Doesn't she look very intimidating?

It's a Snow Day!

2008-12-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still here, plugging away slowly, very slowly. I have the seasonal crap that's going around, so I've been lacking on the thinking power to post this week, hopefully, I'm on the road to recovery. But in the meantime, it snowed today, which is fine today, but hopefully, I'll be able to get to work tomorrow.

This was the first opportunity for Ellie Mae to experience the snow, so I took the puppies out and took a few pictures of them playing in the snow in the backyard.

First off, here's a pre-snow picture from this morning.

Roscoe running up the hill, note the snow on his face...
Ellie running up the hill, note the snow on her face as well, her and Roscoe were digging in the snow, not sure what they were trying to find...

And, Howie was uncooperative at having his picture taken outside, meaning he was running too fast and I was unprepared.

Busy Day

2008-12-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

Whew... just got finished whipping six jars of whipped sugar scrub, and filling 8 bottles of lotion. Still have a few more items to get mixed up, so that I can get them in the mail, before the holiday cut off for mailing. I really don't like to be last minute, so the sooner I can get it done, the sooner I don't have to worry if they make it on time.

I think that I still want to mix up another batch or two of lotion bars and maybe make some more foamy hand soaps. Maybe I'll remember to take a picture tomorrow of today's productivity. I still have soaps to wrap and label and need to label everything I made today and whatever else I manage to get done this week.

Abundance of Cuteness

2008-12-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

I was going to post about this last night, but of course managed to forget about it.

Prepare yourself for an abundance of cuteness! If you love seeing pictures of my puppies, you really need to check out my cousin Stephanie's blog here. Her yellow lab Sunny, had six adorable babies on Thursday. Congrats on the new puppies Sunny and family!