Happy Halloween

It’s trick-or-treat time for the dog. This year Harley is going as a terrifying shark. Stay out of the treat isle.


Da-dum.

Da-dum.

Dum-dum-dum-dum

Daddduda!

Here is Harley’s costumes from years past:


 2010












2009



2008

Shar-Better

Apparently the dog is feeling better…

Chicken Dog

A typical morning. Made coffee, then went for a morning walk around the neighborhood with the dog. It wasn’t until, back in the kitchen, I finished toasting English muffins I really woke up. Right about the time I placed the toaster into the refrigerator and the butter into the cabinet.

My last mid-term paper/test is today. The studying and memorizing hasn’t been that bad. What had really worried for the last month was my dog. Harley went to hop off the bed around a month ago; missing his landing did a belly roll and hurt his back. This started an un-ending cycle of pain pills, doggie downers, and expensive trips to the vet for a dog that couldn’t really walk. My Shar-pei had turned in to an un-moving bag of wrinkles.

Harley is no chicken.

About the time when the vet started talking about me giving him the financing for new graphite golf clubs, a Lesbian came to the rescue. She swore by doggie acupuncture and chiropractic. Half believing, yet willing to try anything to help my wrinkled dog, I made an appointment.

Harley stood there, looking like a pin cushion. Tiny needles covered his back and sides. He was completely un-aware as we shoved delicious treats at his face for a distraction. After the needles came doggie chiropractic. After the vet discovered two vertebras out of joint, she worked to correct the infrastructure. A couple of yelps and he was back to normal. This was a major load off my mind, because Harley the wonder dog has a Halloween costume to show off next week.

I’ve gotten back my dog, and today will mark the end of my mid-term exams. Just maybe my brain will return to its upright and locked position. But, if I keep putting the toaster into the fridge I could always go get acupuncture on my brain. It works wonders.

Freezin' Steven

It was that time of year again. It seems that it comes faster every year.

The time, once a year, when I winterize the house. Not the whole weather strip, drain garden hoses, and other manly pursuits of home maintenance. More like pulling the light comforter off the bed and bringing out the heavy down comforter from its Space Bag induced summer casket.


See?  Doesn’t this guy look freezing?
He needs a down comforter.

Pulling out the heavy blankets means that I can finally crank open the bedroom window and slide under my over-sized down comfiness. I also did my annual trip to buy new pillows and new sheets to add to the comfort level.

Part of this tradition is wrapping the bedroom’s air vent in foil; this is to block the furnace from blasting heat into the bedroom. Making the bedroom as I sleep also suitable for preserving meat. I wonder if there’s a correlation?

This morning was the first, really chilled morning. The dog had reenacted his time in a German POW camp and tunneled his way down into the sub-layer of warmth. The Dupioni wafted as it half heartily covered the frost covered window.

 It was freezing.

During my thought process of how amazing sleeping in a cold room is, I always forget how frickin’ horrible it is to get out of bed and traverse the ten feet to the bathroom.

LABOR DAY

The weather has changed.

The heat of late August has passed, giving me a cool morning as I take the dog for our early morning walk.  I think that Harley also senses the change as we walk along the canal that runs behind our house.

I try not to think that this is the beginning of fall because knowing Colorado, the dog and I will be met again with eighty degree temperatures soon enough. This morning autumn greets us.

Harley races ahead.

Our Labor Day will be filled with lounging in bed drinking coffee then a BBQ at a friend’s house. The morning it’s just the two of us wandering in the chill looking for bunnies to chase.  

   

STEVIEB VOTES

It’s Election Day here in the ol’ US of A. This means that the useless clogging election crap may stop choking my tiny mailbox. Maybe. This is just one day of the tree killing land fill….

Every day it has been the same thing, a pile of propaganda. The jokes on them as I voted by mail weeks ago. After the all the mail and creepy-ass TV commercials that make me glad I have a DVR I won’t be surprised if next election we’re all required to go away to “Election Programming” camp.

If I have to go, I’m taking my dog with me. Dressed like this……

He’s a Chinese-split.  Harley's Halloween photos were going into his baby book until Patrick got a hold of them….

SHAR-BEE

There's nothing like getting drunk then dressing up your shar-pei...



You really can tell he had fun.

Fuzz and the Fuzzy Shar-Pei sleep in today.

Uploaded by http://www.cellspin.net/

Happy Halloween

I came home yesterday to find this on the fridge:



























Harley the Shar-pei turned 6 and Grandma sent him a card.
He's middle aged and still gets birthday cards.

5 DAYS AND COUNTING

It’s been 5 days since I said goodbye to Chester.

Chester was my Chesapeake bay retriever. He was also my best friend and companion for 12 years. He was with me when I left Jeff and made the move to Dallas. He greeted me when I came home. He made every strange apartment I’ve had into a home. After a long time struggling with arthritis and hip dysphasia I finally came to the realization that his quality of life was slowly sinking. On Friday the 14th I gave him up. I picked up my best friend and loaded him in to the back of Frank’s Xterra. I scratched his head while I told him how much he meant to me. I whispered in his ear that I loved him and that I’ll see him soon. I let him know that he should be a good boy until then. I quickly shut the door.

True friends prove themselves almost effortlessly, by their actions they express how much of a family you’ve become. This came through clearly when Frank and Fuzzy drove away. The three of them had an appointment at the vet. I was told they sat talking to Chester while the vet inserted a IV needle into his back hip. As Fuzzy scratching Chester’s ears he told him what a great boy he was as he drifted off to a peaceful sleep. I have to believe this, and that he stared and Frank and Fuzzy happy that he had his people around. I pray that he did not wonder where I was.