Spring has Sprung (Almost)

I am really almost done with the back of my ribby cardi and it is just SO exciting but I can't show you a picture until I am all the way done. I'll lay the groundwork and then keep you hanging for just one more day (commence evil laughter).

I have been obsessed with reading blogs from Paris recently. Spring is actually beginning to spring around here (maybe? I hope so?) and all I can think of is Paris, Paris, Paris (and I most certainly do not mean Hilton!!). I spent 11 weeks in the city of light back in the fall of 2003 and though its really fall weather that makes me ache so hard for France, just seeing the beautiful flowers posted on Chocolate and Zucchini, one of my favorite food blogs, and the amazing chocolate at La Coquette really just turns on the little flame inside me that says "hang in there, spring is coming soon..." Clotilde (C&Z) even mentioned the Parc Du Montsouris a few days ago, which is right outside the dorm where I stayed and where I ran and walked nearly every day during my all too brief stay in France.

The very beginnings of what I can feel will one day become warm breezes are also helping to shake me out of my winter lethargy. I've been good, I've curled up in front of the tube with my knitting almost every night but now, I feel like there is so much more that I am capable of. Like hauling out the sewing machine and finally conquering its scaryness. And working on my quilt, and even sewing skirts! I found a really cute pattern online and I just need to see if I can find anything better at JoAnn Fabrics this week before I buy it. But all in all, I'm excited, I've got a lot of projects brewing and I think it is going to be a good spring.

Mitsuwa Japanese Marketplace

Dan and I took a trip to the scary suburban wasteland that surrounds Chicago in order to visit one of our favorite places, Ikea, and a new place (at least to me) the Mitsuwa Marketplace. Mitsuwa is a Japanese "Mall" of sorts that contains a grocery store, liquor store, travel agency, bookstore, video rental, bakery, cheap-cool-Japanese-stuff stand and food court. Prime opportunity for us to go wild.

The best things I got today were these cool Japanese craft books. The one on the left is embroidery and the one on the right is knitting.

I particularly like these little pouches

The book even has sewing instructions to make the little items such as these pouches, drawstring bags, aprons and placemats that the embroidery is featured on.

We also went wild at Ikea and came home with a good haul of things we had been discussing our need for: flower pots for the porch, a new spice rack, a hanging lamp for over the table and some new bowls to replace the ones that we broke.

I particular love this fabric I picked up and I am going to look for a skirt pattern for the white fabric with the big print. Preferably a nice swingey, full skirt with a ribbon around the waist.


Since we took a lot of pictures at Mitsuwa, I made a nice little slideshow for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Spring and Summer Knitting

I hadn't treated myself to any knitting paraphenalia or yarn in quite a while so I decided to go all out and splurge on the Rowan #37, spring and summer knitting magazine. There are a number of really lovely summer cardigans in it that I like as well as some lacy, romantic numbers that are just beautiful. I really want to knit the lace camisole featured on the cover so that just might be my first project.


What with one of my bosses on maternity leave at work, I have really been slammed and am dealing with a full workload as well as a full social schedule. As a result, this week has been exhausting. I feel as if I come home every night exhausted to my bones. As soon as I've eaten dinner and am settled on the couch I am practically incapable of getting up again. The worst is when I am so tired I can't even look at my hands (a requirement if I want to knit a little). I've been forcing myself to pick up the cardi back and as soon as I do I settle into a comfortable, albiet weary, routine. I've made some good progress, especially after an uninterupted hour and a half of knitting at the knitting social tonight. I am getting ready to start the arm decreases and if I get some good time to knit this weekend as I anticipate doing, I hope to have the back done and the next piece on my needles by Monday. Yes, I know I set very lofty goals for myself. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.

Seeing as I haven't been blogging as much this week I will leave you with another adorable puppy shot.

Stymie likes to curl up into a little puppy-ball to rest on the floor.

Ribby Cardi Back Redux

I am working on the back of my ribby cardi again. I think I am about 7 inches along for the second time and its going much better than the first. I think it will actually fit when I get done with it this time.

I feel bad I'm not talking as much about knitting these days but I assure you I am working frantically on this project and I knit about an hour or two each night. I have some other projects that I am planning so hopefully some more on those soon.


We made another pizza for dinner tonight with the second half of the pizza dough from yesterday. This one was even better than yesterday featuring tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and the leftover onions. Pizza is one of my all time absolute favorite foods and I am just floating in pizza heaven right now.

This picture is a little blurry (just back up from the computer a little) but I couldn't pass up this classic Nemo expression.

Pissaladiere

Disclaimer: Just in case you were losing confidence, I will have knitting updates tomorrow. For now there are more exciting things to attend to like Sunday dinner.

Remember all those disgusting things you wouldn't touch when you were a kid like anchovies, onions and olives? I know a lot of adults (myself included until very recently) still won't touch most of these things. Despite their bad stigma, Dan and I used a recipe out of Ina Garten's latest cookbook, Barefoot in Paris, for Pissaladiere, a Provencal style pizza with neither cheese nor red sauce that has all three of the above ingredients as toppings. Thanks Dan for getting me this cookbook as a Christmas gift! The recipe was...Tres Scandale!!


This was my first successful kitchenaid mixer dough. I've tried making dough with the recipe that came with the mixer when we first got it and it failed miserably. Ever since then I've been doing all my dough for pizza and bread by hand because I just felt it was easier, and besides, dough is very intuitive and responsive to the human touch. Sounds weird and new-agey but its true.

This recipe specifically called for using the mixer and I trust Ina, having watched many of her TV shows on the Food Network, so into the mixer it went. The mixer performed just like its supposed to and the dough came out perfectly elastic and smooth. We even have another portion in the frige for more fresh pizza tomorrow.


The pizza was fantastic. We cooked the onions for almost an hour ahead of time on very low heat so they were extremely sweet and tender but not brown. Overall the taste was salty and the flavors were strong but I prefer to think of it as a very adult pizza, sophisticated, classy and tres francais.

I might also mention that the Coppola Diamond Collection 2003 Chardonnay we tried with the pizza was delicious. I've found the Coppola wines to be consistently fantastic with the Bianco being my very favorite. The Diamond collection is on the upper price range at approximately 11 dollars a bottle but at its best the Bianco is only $6.99. If you see the Bianco anywhere for this price, my advice would be to grab a couple of bottles because while it may sound generic and you may think that wine with a celebrity's name on the label wouldn't be good at all, Francis Ford Coppola has been making wine for more than twenty years and trust me, he knows what he is doing.

The Bitter Tears

Remember last week when I said I might go see that band, The Bitter Tears? Well, I did! And it was pretty good, very entertaining and definitely interesting.

Around 8PM Friday night I talked to Snow, whose boyfriend, Foster, is the drummer, and she told me she would give me a half hour's warning before she left the house. I sat down on the couch to eat some dinner and catch my breath and next thing I knew, I was fast asleep with the light on directly overhead and the dogs sprawled all over me. So fast asleep that when she called again at 10:15, I stupidly told her I didn't want to go as I was too tired. Too tired on Friday night at 10:15? What had gotten into me?? (actually, we normally stay in Friday nights because we're so tired so I don't blame myself too much for this glaring mistake) But as I rolled over and the light got in my eyes and I opened them just a little wider, I realized what I had just said and jerked awake, scattering the poor dogs who slinked away from the couch with reproach in their eyes for their abrupt wake-up call. I grabbed my cell phone and called Snow back to let her know I changed my mind and was coming and she told me to meet her at Nick's by 11.

A quick change of wardrobe to my new pink tights that cost me 49 cents at Old Navy, a dash of fresh makeup and I was out the door.


The show was at The Hideout which I thought was absolutely amazing. It's tiny, dark, uber-cool and hidden away down a side street in a slightly industrial area near a gigantic Home Depot. The cabdriver had definitely never been there before.

I thought the band was very entertaining; they're a mix of rock, honky-tonk and cabaret that is nothing but pure indie rock fun. Complete with costumes, trombone, flugel horns, slid whistle and a great pianist, The Bitter Tears rocked out and rocked my world for the 45 or so minutes they were on the stage. WIth harmonies so casually sung that they almost seem like delightful afterthoughts, a difficult feat for young bands these days, if you get a chance, go see them now because Snow swears to me that down the road they'll be famous and I don't doubt it.

Things that hold other things on the wall

Remember my post just a few days ago about how I loved hooks and things that hang other things on the wall?

In lieu of knitting pictures, AGAIN, I am going to feature some other lovely household implements that help us out.



This is the knife rack that is over the sink. When I moved in, Dan had this dinky, sad little knife rack from Ikea. Problem was, it didn't work at all. Every time you went to wash some dishes or get some water, BAM! The knives would come flying off the wall straight at you. Now we have some mean looking knives so this was certainly no picnic. The tips of the knives would also get blunted from falling into the sink and that was irritating as well. Everything changed when we visited our favorite kitchen supply store to get our knives sharpened back in the fall. I fell in love with this big, industrial strength knife rack and whoops, I guess it just followed me home. Needless to say the knives stay firmly where they are supposed to, up on the wall and out of harm's way (to both us and them). In case anyone is wondering, the big knife and the paring knife with the black handle are Wustof Classic Gourmet and I have another chef's knife that has a handle (slightly nicer than the handle on the chef's knife shown) that matches the paring knife pictured here, I think it was just dirty when I took this shot. Can you tell we really love our knives?



This rack was my real stroke of genius. When I was preparing to move in, the closet in the spare bedroom was absolutely crammed full of stuff, including all the mops and brooms and ironing board etc. Since the closet was earmarked to become mine and I needed that space immediately, I suggested a rack like one I had seen in some magazine at some point (can't remember which one, probably Martha or Real Simple). All my stuff wasn't even in the apartment and Dan had already gone out to the home-improvement store, purchased this (yet again) industrial rack and mounted it on the wall behind the bathroom door. It has worked like a dream since day one and really keeps things accessible, organized and out of the way. It even manages to look interesting and provide some wall decor.

I really do talk about knitting, I swear...

So hello to all the people I am getting from joining the Knitting Bloggers webring! Please take a look around, bookmark me if you want and come back often because I blog frequently. I am extremely proud and happy to be a part of this webring and a big part of that is getting to be part of a larger knitting community on the web. Very exciting!

Just to prove that I really do blog about knitting I present you with The Sock:

I knit this back in the beginning of January. It's made of grey Takhi Donegal Tweed and its for my boyfriend, Daniel. I think the reason I haven't started the second sock is that I promised some people I would make a tutorial for knitting socks on two circular needles and the second sock in this pair was going to be my example sock. I think I just put so much pressure on myself that I am a little scared to start it because I'm afraid I won't be able to explain myself clearly or take good pictures. This is ludicrous as I teach knitting so I think I am going to cast on and take some photos this weekend. If it doesn't work, I have plenty more sock yarn to illustrate the technique. Daniel deserves his sock's mate and I think I need to own up to my promise of a tutorial because I know its in me, like so many other things I just need to sit down and do it.

Another big thing that just occurred tonight is that we moved the computer. Previously I blogged from the spare bedroom, the monitor on a dresser and the keyboard on my lap. Needless to say it was very uncomfortable.

Notice how the mouse is held on a CD jewel case (Cold Cold Hearts if you're interested) and my feet are in the sock drawer to anchor the chair in place hence the sad sad look on my face.


Tonight we moved the computer onto the kitchen table. Amazingly, all our crochety wireless and DSL equipment has decided to work like a dream and it is SO comfortable to actually be able to sit at a table and use the computer like a normal human being. I am SOOO happy. So happy I'm blogging about it! Oh happy day, three cheers for comfort while blogging!

Guilt-free by Association

Daniel and I are sincerely trying to do better in our working out/eating healthy regimen. The eating part isn't bad, we cook most of our own meals out of nice, fresh, healthy ingredients and typically shun most foods that come pre-packaged. We always buy lots of nice fruits and vegetables from the produce mart and we've recently been buying and eating tofu several times weekly between our regimen of silken tofu smoothies and extra-firm tofu stir-fries.

Its just the gym that's the hard part. Ever since the new year hit, our gym attendance has plummeted. We've been gym buddies since I moved in last August, I think it might have been the same day we began moving my things that we marched into the gym and signed up for a partner membership. We like to go together and motivate each other. Or enable ourselves to sit on the couch and whine about how we are tired as the case may be. I just don't understand how we could have gone from 4 gym visits a week back in August to now, March, when we need the exercise the most and we are barely making twice a week. I think its the weather. Its so hard to motivate when it is freezing cold out and gets dark so early. Its not as bad as December but still! We are trying to make it back up to three times a week as well as one yoga class (so four exercise days total) but its proving really hard.

To compensate ourselves for actually peeling our lazy butts off the couch and working out tonight, I made guilt-free brownies from MS Everyday Food Issue 19*. They are guilt free because of a reduction in the amount of eggs and butter and the addition of some surreptitious prune paste.

These were spot on, oozy and fudgy and rich, I swear you would never know the difference.

Despite our failed gym goals, Daniel did finally put up some hooks by the door for the dogs' leashes and harnesses. I had been asking for them for quite some time and we finally dragged out the toolbox over the weekend, discovered that we did in fact have molly bolts, whipped out the electric drill and put these up. I love utilitarian things that hold other things on the wall.


*Can you tell I love this magazine? I'll have to give you my whole Everyday Food spiel about uni-taste some time soon but we tend to make an average of one recipe from here a week.

One Sleeve down...

...and one to go!! I can't believe I have actually finished my first sweater component ever. I actually think I got it right too. Have a look-see:

Check out the little renegade doggy tail in the lower right hand corner. How cute!

I made the sleeves a bit longer than it said on the pattern. For the second size up they recommended a 17.5 length before you begin the decreases but that seemed awefully short to me, especially since I have long, amazon-woman style arms. I was shooting for 18.5 but they are 19" and if they are a little too long I really don't mind. Besides, isn't that how all the cool kids wear their sleeves, too long? I certainly want to be cool too...

A Hard Day's Night

This past week at work was brutal. Busy, hectic, confusing, and the fact that both the dogs were out of whack did not help things at all. I felt like I had gotten so little sleep that I was truly a zombie by the time Friday night rolled around.

Amazingly, after a nice refreshing walk with the dogs after work, we decided that we actually wanted to get out of the house for a change of pace. Food sounded good and a drink sounded even better. A couple of phone calls and a quick freshen-up later, we were headed out to Mas with my buddy from college, Snow.

(We were drinking caipirinhas and Dan must have been having trouble holding the camera steady, if you back up a little from the computer it looks much better.)
From the restaurant, she headed out to hear her boyfriend's band, The Bitter Tears play. I haven't seen them yet, so I can't vouch for their music, but we might see them next weekend. Dan and I stopped at the corner store on the way back and picked up some beer and disgusting-yet-delicious snack cakes for a Friday night on the couch with TiVO.

Trust me, this looks absolutely revolting and calorie laden but it hit the spot in ways I can't even begin to describe.

On Saturday we visited one of our favorite places in Old Town, The Spice House. This place is amazing, they sell every type of herb and spice imaginable in bulk for super cheap. Everything is extremely fresh and high quality and the staff are virtually walking spice encyclopedias. Back in December, during our holiday entertaining marathon, we were here practically every weekend and they are pretty much the only place on town to get citric acid in bulk (more on how we know that in another post).

We stocked up on a bunch of things we had run low on, basil, cayenne pepper, rosemary, sesame seeds and some italian seasoning. When we got home I proceeded to rearrange our spice collection in a fit of organizational madness.

You really can't begin to tell how many different spices, herbs and flavorings we really own from this picture but trust me, the number is up there.

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that we compared some new organic ketchup from Trader Joe's with the off-brand swill I think I purchased back in college.

The Country's Delight tasted like tomato flavored water compared with the lush, fruity, slightly spicey flavor of the organic ketchup. Run, don't walk, run to your local super market and buy some organic ketchup if you care at all about the fate of your hashbrowns.

What's This?

After a particularly rough day at work, it was nice to go to my knitting group and just chill out and laugh some. I am almost done with the first sleeve of my cardi and I'll post pictures as soon as its ready. Very exciting!

But after knitting it was even nicer to come home to two healthy puppies, a (perpetually) grumpy birdie and a nice warm boyfriend. Especially since he had made these:

What is it? This is a delicious little dessert made in a ramekin with eggs and sugar and ground up pistacios. I think its from MSEveryday food but don't quote me on that one since Dan's the one who's made these both times they have shown up on the table. And in the inside is hidden a delicious little surprise, strawberries!!

If knitting with friends and strawberries in yummy desserts don't make you happy than I don't know if I can help you.

Spay Day

Dan and I woke up very early (5:45AM - unheard of for us!) to take Stymie to PAWS to get her spayed. As was mentioned previously here, we suffered through one heat cycle and, being the responsible dog owners we are, we definitely didn't want to go through that again.

After dropping her off and chatting with the vet we left our little baby behind at the clinic. I was on tenterhooks all day, hoping that nothing bad would happen and fortunately, nothing did. When we went back to pick her up, our Stymie-puppy trotted out groggy and disoriented but on her own four paws, unassisted. That quickly ended as she pooped out after about 10 feet and I had to carry her to the car.

She was definitely not thrilled about the "Elizabethan style" collar she has to wear now.


Nemo is being such a good sister, letting Stymie lay all over her and being patient and calm.


I know I didn't mention it before but Nemo barfed a few times in the last few days so what with her tummy trouble and Stymie's recovery, we are all a little disoriented and both the dogs are eating boiled chicken and white rice per the vet's orders. Poor Stymie is so uncomfortable even without the collar (we took it off for a little while under our supervision) that she can't fall asleep and she keeps getting up to shift position. Up on the couch, back on the floor, lie on one side, roll over to the over, now on her back, now sitting up, always whining, always looking very pathetic.

I feel so bad. Poor Stymie! Don't worry darling, we love you so much and you'll heal up soon and be better than ever.

Thank You Scarf Swappers!!!!

Hello to scarf swappers who might be visiting my website!!! Thank you so much!!! Please put me on your list and come back to visit often, you are always welcome here.

I was SO excited to receive my scarf in the mail from the Pretendingsanity scarf swap.


Wearing an object someone knitted or crocheted for you, especially around your neck like a scarf, is like wearing their love right there on your skin. I know its a little weird but I feel like my scarf has all these different squares from different people therefore its like wearing the love of lots of people. I am so happy. I received the package while at work and immediately opened it and wore it around the office with pride.

I also want to introduce you to someone very special in my life:
Julius

Julius came out of my stepdad's basement and was the family vacuum for quite some time. I have developed a deep attachment to Julius (names as in Caesar because he's old) since I brought him with me to Chicago to help keep my very first apartment clean back in my second year of college.
Since I have a bird (and now two furry doggies) I depend heavily on Julius to help out around the house. Despite the fact that you have to hold the tube and the cleaner head together very tightly when you vacuum and the bare floor attachment seems to have gotten stopped up somehow, Julius is in prime working condition. He is a genuine electrolux tank model from sometime in the 70's as evidenced by the lovely pea-green and silver coloring he sports. Fortunately bags are easy to find since they just make them for "Electrolux Tank Model, Post-1950."

Oh Julius! What would I do without you?

The Ribby Cardi Rises Again

As I type this, Dan is scrubbing away at his ipod with a sponge and some brasso in the other room. Whether the brasso really cleans the ipod remains to be seen, judging by the myriad grunts and exclamations coming from the kitchen.

As soon as I posted my entry yesterday and walked away from the computer, I sat down and proceeded to get half of one of the arms on my ribby cardi done. It felt so satisfying to finally sit down and re-tackle this project that has been haunting me for the past two weeks. It just felt so intimidating to think that I had to frog so much of my hard work. How could I possibly come back to it with any dignity (and then proceed to blog about it as well!)? Well, I mustered what dignity I had left and bit the proverbial bullet. Frogging is a thing that all knitters deal with, no matter how "good" they are. Its kind of ridiculous that I should feel this way considering its not even the first thing I frogged!


As it is, I got this much done and I feel so much better about the project. I have a really hard time keeping my ribbing looking neat but I think this is going to be a good practice switching between knitting and purling. If I keep knitting at this rate, I'll get the sucker done in no time and I am feeling really fired up. Let's see how it goes as the week continues...

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I got out of bed early Saturday morning and bought two tickets to see The Shins right when they went on sale. I might have an LSAT class that night so we'll see if I actually go but I love them so much I just had to have the option. I'm sure they'll go like hotcakes on Craigslist if we decide against it. Excited...April 14 = Shins Concert!!!

Whirlwind Weekend

I am SO sorry I haven't written in a few days, its not that I haven't wanted to (trust me, I always want to write in my blog). Its just been really busy around here.

An old friend of mine from high school emailed last Wednesday to let me know he was going to be in town this weekend to see some band called Slobberbone. They are apparently one of his favorite bands and are playing a farewell tour only through the Midwest, not going anywhere near Boston where he currently lives. We weren't doing much so I told him he could stay with Dan and I.

His name is Dan too. This is the second time in two months that we have had a houseguest named Dan, not to mention the fact that a Dan already lives here!

I met up with Dan after work on Friday only to discover that my Dan had had an old friend call to say she was in town as well. We gathered her up and all went out to the Smoke Daddy for some ribs (and BBQ smothered veggie burgers for me). Then we all split up, dropped Dan's buddy back at her hotel and dropped my HS friend Dan off at the Abbey Pub for his show. My Dan and I joined up with our buddy Jason and his roommate and the four of us went off to see The Changes at the Double Door, a quick walk from the apartment.

I took some other cool photos at the show so be sure to check out my photostream.

We got to bed so late Friday night that all I wanted to do was chill out on Saturday. We checked out a new breakfast spot in Logan Square, the Hot Spot. My Dan and I LOVE a good breakfast on the weekends, whether its out or in and the Hot Spot hit the spot after a late night spent at smoky bars. After breakfast we just tooled around and visited some cool hangouts in our hood like Rotofugi, an awesome designer toy store, and Quimby's bookstore. Saturday night a buddy of mine from college was having a Blini party (Blini are Russian buckwheat flour crepes) and we gorged on blini and good vodka while listening to bad euro-pop.

As for knitting content...well, I restarted the ribby cardi (finally!!). But I began with a sleeve and I only have a few rows done since we've been entertaining. Friend-Dan left at 4AM this morning to catch his flight and I am determined to finally sit on my butt and get some knitting done. Besides, after the last few whirlwind days I think I NEED some time to just sit and chill though the house is a wreck and eventually we will have to get up and clean.


Hope your weekend has been good as mine was!

Why is it still winter?

It was really beginning to feel like spring there for a few weeks in the beginning of February. My Mom swears that spring in Chicago comes much earlier than spring in Rochester, which usually shows up sometime around the end of May, but I'm not so sure. In Rochester it may snow until my birthday but when its spring, its really spring - complete with flowers blooming, birds chirping and the whole bit. Here in Chicago, I've discovered it has the tendancy to warm up sometime in February and trick us all into shedding our heavy winter coats and experiment wearing skirts without the thick stocking we wore in the winter, if we even braved a skirt at all. But then - wait for it - BAM!! Winter will lay the smack down once again and we are plunged into below freezing weather, left to shiver it out for at least another month, or so they say on the radio.

Right now it is hovering in the 25 to 30 range and I am pissed. Pissed at the cold, pissed at the grey sky, pissed that I had a little taste of what's to come and it was stolen from me. I know I know, spring will come eventually, but it usually just goes from being freezing one day to being scalding the next. That's another problem with this place, spring doesn't come early, it really doesn't come at all. See - I am a coat person, I have a number of lovely "intermediate weather" coats that, in a perfect world, I would wear all spring and fall. Due to this crazy, cranky climate, the poor coats sit on their hangers in the closet, sad and limp, with no place to be worn because of lack of the proper intermediate weather.

I know I complain a lot, everyone around here complains a lot about the weather. It seems like no matter what its doing outside, someone has something bad to say about it. Despite the weather's inadequacies, I really do like it here. I think that complaining is our way of coping and that without that outlet, people's attitudes might be a whole lot worse. The way a girlfriend put it to me once, feeling the seasons change and experiencing the extremes of weather is one tangible way of knowing that we are alive. Its a reminder that the earth moves in cycles, just like our lives and even though things get cold and grey sometimes, the sun will always come out sooner or later. So in the dead of winter, or even the beginning of March like right now, I try to remember that I should be thankful that I am alive and remember that even if its cold and grey outside, I am grateful that we are all capable of finding sunlight and warmth in our lives year round, no matter what the weather.

So this is for all those out there who are getting the end-of-winter doldrums and are feeling a little blue, may you find the sunlight in your life and may it be accompanied by much warmth and happiness because I'm sure its out there for you and I know I am very thankful for mine.

Doggie Ladies

Having dogs has really been a wonderful thing for Dan and I. We are getting out more, waking up earlier and while we do have more dog fur everywhere, I like to think that its a constant reminder of all the love in our apartment. Its almost like the dogs are our children, we kiss them, hug them, love them and fuss with them every available chance. They sleep on the bed with us and snuggle on the couch when we watch TV or are knitting. Like new parents with children we have also taken more photos of them in two weeks than we have of the two of us in 18 months.

Two days after we got her, Stymie promptly went into heat. We had planned all along to get her fixed and we figured that since dogs are only in heat twice a year, that we'd be fine until her appointment in early March. No such luck. We gamely put dark sheets on the couch and the bed and when she was really messy, I dug out an old pair of sparkley underware, cut a hole for her tale and she wore panties for a day.


The doggie ladies are incredibly cute. In fact, they are some of the cutest doggies on the planet, at least in our eyes. We love both dogs equally but Nemo is definitely the "cute" one. Here she is looking like a little goddess in her pink collar.


The reason that Nemo is the cute one is that Stymie has a worse underbite than she does. You heard correctly, both dogs have horrible underbites and it juts their jaws out funny. I had horrors of doggie orthodontia when we got them but the vet said that they were just fine as is. Its a little hard to make out in this shot because the dogs, like kids, are always moving, but the lower teeth are at least half an inch in front of their upper teeth.


Lastly, having pets, as many people well know, is a prime opportunity to come up with pet names. Since the doggie ladies are so silly, I've given them many silly names including "Stime Bag" for Stymie, in tribune to Dime Bag Darryl, and Nemo "The Bambino" as Nemo is our little "Dogfather" wannabe. Silly rhymes are also popular like Nemo-Femo, Nemo-Steamo and Nemo-bo-bimo. Once in a while we even remember to "put your styme on your money and your money on your styme."


Stymie and Nemo love to give kisses to Mommy and unlike Daddy, I don't wipe my face and complain that they are gross. Oh, I know Dan loves them and just him allowing them to kiss his face is a big step that I'm happy about. And besides, what could be better than happy doggie kisses??