Misc.

Hello Faithful Readers,

I am here to update you on the Life of Brian. We took him to the farmer's market yesterday, and he was extremely popular. He got so many pats, and even found another pug. We had met the other pug and her owner previously at a pug gathering, so Brian was extremely excited to reunite with her. Pugs are a bit snobby like that, they appreciate their own kind. They immediately circled each other, in order to tangle their leashes so they could not be separated.

A few people came up to us and said want to get a pug, and asked to pat him. It's interesting to be on the other side of that equation, because that's what I used to do every time I saw a pug. We sung the praises of pugs, and hopefully got closer to our goal of a pug in every household.

Lately I have been busy working on Brian's custom made wardrobe. Finding shirts to fit pugs is difficult, because their chests are large, but they are petite overall. The prototype is nearly perfect, and he looks very cute in his long-sleeved t-shirt. It is stinking hot here lately, so it's too hot to wear it, but he can wear his muscle tank top instead. It has taken ages to work on the prototype, but I am very happy with how it has turned out.

That's all for now!

Sunday=Pugday

Today we hosted a pug meetup! We are members of a pug club that meets about once a month. Usually we meet at the dog park, but this month's meeting was at our place. It was a dream come true to have 16 pugs (plus a french bulldog and a dogue de bordeaux) at our house! Lots of lovely pug parents came too, and brought delicious food. Brian had a great time showing his friends around his yard. We are all tired out now, and are spending the rest of Sunday being lazy. Laziness, I salute you.

Cheese of the Goat Persuasion

I recently came across an unusual kind of cheese. And who better to share this new experience with than you, my loyal reader. Have you ever heard of cheese, covered in ash?! It tastes like regular goat cheese, but with ash. You may ask yourself, what does ash taste like? It doesn't have a strong flavor, but it is sort of gritty.

Tooth Fairy and Other Brian News

Brian lost a tooth today! He has lost some already, but this is the first one that we have found. It looks like a molar. What do you think Brian will get under his pillow from the tooth fairy?

Another Queensland Driver

I got my Queensland drivers license today! Easiest thing I've ever done in my life. 20 minutes and $50 was all it took. The photo is good, except for the fact that my neck was channeling some 350 pound linebacker. But my hair looks good. I'm just glad there is not a booger, like on the infamous Boogerport.

I think Brian has destroyed my ability to sleep in

For those of you that know me, this is groundbreaking. Usually, on the weekends, I have to set an alarm if I need to be anywhere before mid-afternoon. Now, I'm lucky to sleep until 7:30. Seriously, I feel like I don't even know myself anymore. Yesterday, I woke up and the clock said 8:30. I was relieved and surprised that B let me sleep that long. BUT, that was just the alarm time, and the *actual* time was 6:30. AM! I take a bit of comfort in the fact that I stayed awake for about a half hour, then took a one hour nap, but still. I am almost too ashamed of myself to tell the whole internets* about it.

*All three of my readers.

Woof Woof

Please enjoy this short video of Brian doing two of his tricks.

Like a Bat out of...

There are strange noises coming from my back yard. They are coming from the only mammal capable of sustained flight, bats, specifically Flying Floxes.

You might not want to watch this if you get motion sickness. But the bats are so close! They fly over the house every night, but lately they have been roosting in a tree in the yard, and make lots of screeching noises.

I Made a Bag!

From pants! Tonight I finished my first sewing project with my brand new sewing machine.

Before: old Nike excercise pants.

During: the sewing process.

After: an awesome reusable grocery bag, which can be folded up and fastened with a button, or stuffed into the pocket. The pocket which used to be the pants pocket. Yea!

Mt. Barney, Part Deux

As promised, here is photodocumentation* of out Mt. Barney trip.

*I'm sure this is a real word.

Mt. Barney was beautiful and exhausting. The trail was not clearly defined in many places, and crossed a few creeks, making it quite adventurous. We didn't see any platypuses, but did make friends with a big spider, a giant ant and a huge beetle. Warning: photos of said insects below.


In the parking lot, about to set off on our 1 1/2 hour hike with our packs.

Crossing a creek just before the campsite.

Our awesome tent & campsite.

This is the biggest ant I've ever seen. I realize that there isn't a scale, but this thing was at least an inch and a quarter long.

Can you find the spider in this photo?

No? Here he is close up.

Cooking breakfast. Bacon in oatmeal/porridge. YUUUUUUUMbo. For dinner the night before we had spicy peas with baked ricotta and mashed potatoes. Also, in a vein attempt to add more protein to our meal, I brought some canned crab. If by chance you were wondering if canned crab is delicious, I can tell you the truth here and now: it is not delicious. At all.

Nature

Clothesline


ETA: The crochet was a disaster! Somewhere along the trail, I dropped the ball of yarn and the hook. Also lost a pair of sunglasses. (But that gave me the chance to find my awesome new sunglasses for only $5!) But I still feel bad about littering.