Happy Halloween

Edison Jack as Merlin

Bram Ebenezer as Robin Hood

The boys are all ready for the doorbell to start ringing tomorrow night as they love to greet the trick or treaters who come calling for candy. Edison decided to go as Merlin for Halloween because he likes the idea of having all that power, especially over Bram. He has a chihuahua-sized magic wand (that isn't visible in the photo) and a little drawstring pouch on his back that contains a vast amount of royal blue and black "magic dust" which will enable him to cast all the spells his tiny heart desires. Bram wanted to go as Robin Hood because he has loads of energy and loves everyone and everything. His little drawstring pouch contains 15 "gold" coins that jingle when he walks and that will give him enough money to buy, in the various villages he passes through, all the essentials he'll need for his journey.

Both boys want to wish everyone a very happy and safe (and a teensy bit spooky too) Halloween!

Bram's First Birthday: Part Two

They may have been completely insane with the excitement of the presents and cake (they also like to "sing" when the cake comes out and all their humans sing too, by the way), but they were perfect little gentlemen when it came to wearing their birthday hats. Considering that they both tried on numerous occasions to eat the feathers out of them as I was making and fitting them to their tiny heads this past week, I have to say I was very pleased that they were considerate of one another's heads during cake. And that, of course, is the only reason why they weren't ripping the hats off of each other and eating them: there was a glowing cake sitting just inches from their faces and they weren't going to do anything to risk missing out on cake. They may be insane, but they aren't stupid.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAMMY-DOODLE!!!

Bram's First Birthday: Part One

Today is Brammy-doodle's first birthday and we had a little party for him. Of the 62 photos that were taken during the opening of (and playing with) his presents, not one of them is usable, which has to be a first. Every last one was a blurry mess. I really shouldn't be surprised, given the fact that Bram is a very hyper little man and when he gets excited he's even more manic and then that gets the normally calm and quiet Edison worked up into a lather as well. With both dogs going mental and racing about, there wasn't a chance in hell of getting any shots that weren't a mass of barely discernible chihuahua-shaped swirls.

We still had the cake cutting photo op though, and mercifully we got a few shots from that, though that didn't last very long, for as soon as they got their (tiny, trust me) sugar fix, they were off and running once again.

At one point I turned to David and said, "Just think what Christmas morning will be like this year." To which he replied, "Hmmm. I think I'm going to ask for little chihuahua-sized sedatives in my stocking." Touche.

Farewell, George

George

July 17, 2002 - October 17, 2009

Fresh on the heels of losing little Suky Mae last August, we've now had to say goodbye to our beloved George. She was one of our first four chicks ever, and as we thought she was a boy Griffin named her George. Much to our surprise she turned out to be a little girl (so much for our chick sexing skills back then!) and feeling bad that such a sweet girl was saddled with a rather ugly name, we tacked the uber-feminine first name of Emmaline onto it, but by then George had stuck and George she remained. She loved to sun on the lawn with Griffin in the summer, often laying on his chest with her tummy and legs in the air catching the summer warmth (see "Georgie Girl" August 18, 2006), she adored cheetos and french vanilla ice cream and she was everybody's friend. No one escaped her charm and she never failed to rush right over to any human she saw as she assumed they all had something they were simply dying to feed her, and if it was something very un-chicken-like and not particularly healthy, all the better to her!

While we're sad that she's gone from our lives, it's heartening to know she lived a very long life for a chicken who had to endure some pretty harsh winters here in New England and which take their toll on the smaller creatures, like bantam poultry. She was loved beyond words and she was lucky enough to go peacefully in her sleep as she was alive and kicking at bedtime, but was found the following morning curled in her nest, exactly as she slept.

She was buried in our beautiful field garden that she loved to forage in, beneath the bright red bee balm, and facing towards the west. She will always be with us, both in our hearts and in our minds. Rest in peace Georgie Girl and one day we'll meet again in the great beyond. Save a place for the rest of us yet to come, will you?

Vintage Chihuahua

In mid-century living color.

This little chi is from a circa late 1950s postcard. His little white blaze is adorable, as is his very chic rhinestone studded collar, but it bothers me that it looks just a little bit too tight. Maybe that's why he looks so serious and there's just a slight look of concern in his big, dark eyes!

Pet Snapshot 3

I was in the bathroom yesterday blow drying my hair when I looked down to see Bram, as usual, into something he shouldn't be. In this case it was the toilet brush and plunger on the floor beside the toilet and he was licking them with gusto. I immediately said "leave it!" in the firmest dog owner voice I could muster and glared at him with what I felt was the sternest of countenances. I then picked him up to remove him from those nasty things. As I was giving him a very serious face to face scolding, he quickly leaned in to my face and gave me a very big wet kiss on both my lips and my tongue inside my open- and talking- mouth. So much for him thinking I was all business! It may have been ages since we used that plunger and I didn't even want to think about the brush that we use weekly, but my mind went into instant toilet-germs-in-my-mouth-panic overdrive, so I quickly set Bram down and dove for the sink, some hot water and some mouth disinfectant. Dog kisses are one thing, but toilet flavored dog kisses are quite another. Thank you, Bram!

Two Sweet Boys

There's nothing cuter than a chihuahua and more than one is double the fun. I adore my boys and would love to add a third little one to our family except my lap simply wouldn't be big enough to hold them all (it's barely big enough to hold these two) and since I'd rather not start eating myself larger simply to accommodate more little dogs, nor would it be fair to make one dog the odd man out when it comes to lap cuddling, with two I shall stay. For now.

Today's Feel Good Story

An eight year old Rhodesian Ridgeback named Katjinga and living on a 20-acre farm in Hoerstel, Germany has saved the life of a little unwanted piglet. The couple who own the farm have a breeding pair of Vietnamese pigs who wander free on the farm, and the mother pig had given birth to five little piglets but apparently rejected the tiniest one. The farmer found the little thing alone and freezing cold in the woods on his property one evening and fearing a fox would eat the baby before morning, brought it back to the main house. Katjinga had had a litter of puppies ten months earlier and he hoped she was still feeling maternal enough to care for the abandoned baby. That she did, right away, and within a couple of days she also began lactating again and now she not only cuddles the baby, but feeds it as well. The little piglet has been named Paulinchen, and both mother and adopted baby are doing just fine.

Photos courtesy of Animal Press/Barcroft Media.

Scuba Suit

And to think Edison Jack is afraid of having a bath in just a couple inches of water! Honestly, where do I sign up for a chihuahua who likes to scuba dive? I am utterly in love with the skinny little chihuahua legs that end in those tiny little flippers.

Dressed Alike

I know in the past I've said that before I got a little dog I would never have thought about putting a dog in clothes, but then I got a little dog and suddenly I was dressing him up all the time. For a very long time though, I told everyone I knew that if I ever got a second little dog, there was no way that I would put them into identical outfits. And everyone I know who owns more than one little dog told me, with a knowing smile, that it was going to happen. Maybe not right away, but it absolutely was inevitable, just wait and see. And up until just a few short weeks ago, I was still holding firmly to the idea that little dogs dressed alike would not only be unfair to the dogs, but really, really sad as well.

And then it happened. I don't know how it did, but it did. A couple of weeks ago the boys went antique shopping one chilly Sunday morning wearing- you guessed it! Identical red and white stripey sweaters! And then yesterday I went shopping for birthday gifts as Bram's first birthday is just a few short weeks away, and lo and behold, I came home with matching bubble vests with fur lined hoods for the cold weather to come. I'm still amazed at myself, but also not-so-secretly thrilled at how cute the two of them look when they're dressed alike. And I'm already thinking ahead to Christmas outfits.

Looking at the bright side of my friends all being right and me being so horribly wrong about this, I guess it's a good thing there were no wagers placed. After all, if I had lost as much as I would have been willing to bet that I'd never do anything as silly as this, I'd have no money left to buy all these darling matching outfits.