Fish or dog?

Our Puggle lap-dog who was only supposed to weigh 15 pounds has grown into a 30 pound (o.k., so I know that still seems small to some people...ahem, Dad,... but he's still growing) athlete who looks more like a Beagle colored Lab. This makes for much more entertainment than we were expecting. Not only is he an amazingly fast runner and high jumper, he is also incredibly cute.

Brody has also proved to be quite the swimmer. We were worried when we took him to the beach . He only went into the water after both Heather and his favorite toy were soaking wet...

...then quickly retreated again.

A few trips to the river later, he can't get enough of the water.

He also loves his "people" (Heather, David, me) so we stand at different points in the water and he swims back and forth to us.

Click Beetles

*This post is rather unusual. I don't generally find insects very blogable, but I was doing a bit of "research" for a friend. She requested a post on the most interesting bug I've seen while visiting my parents.

Dear Anonymous,

In preparation for your upcoming move to the north east of the continent, I wanted to provide you with some information on one of the insect specimens that you may find in your new garden.

Below is a picture of a click beetle.

According to www.wikipedia.com click beetles are very jumpy. Just before becoming some creature's supper they can leap out of the way and save themselves. They are also very talented at returning to their feet when they are flipped over on their backs. They beetles found crawling (or jumping) around outside are possibly 3 or 4 years old.

Click beetles are night owls and cat burglars (without the burglar...or the cat...but they do sneak silently in windows). I recommend that you keep screens on your windows, else you may wake up to unwelcome guests.

Sincerely,

The Cowgirl's Typewriter

P.S. I haven't actually seen one. I just googled native bugs of Ontario, Canada. :)

*information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_beetle

*picture: http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/55371.gif

I have not found my camera cord, but Heather and I stopped at Tuesday Mornings on Saturday and I found one for a good price (and it's green).

Our school had a dance/dessert event a week before Saturday. We had a lot of fun shopping for the event. Here is the result.

And here he is, the giant puppy you haven't seen in so long (he's now about 10 lbs, give or take. Twice as big as when we brought him home). We got some really good pictures of him one day when the sun came out.

So, there's a bit of a funny story that goes along with the lack of posts. It's been more than a month! That's way too long. I'm sorry. Part of it has to do with the fact that I'm busy. The other part is that I don't have any pictures. The reason will soon become clear.

"Puppy" has an official name now. His name is "Brody" and he knows it quite well. Brody is twice as big as he was a month ago and SO smart. He fetches (and brings the toy back to us), goes to the door and barks when he has to go potty, knows the word "treat" very, well. He's so polite when he meets other animals and people. He usually understands come. Heather's doing a really good job investing a lot of time into him and keeping me updated so that we're both on the same page. Brody likes me, but he loves Heather. Whenever she leaves he cries at the door (it's really cute).

He also has a hiding place for his toys. We're not sure where it is, but every once in awhile he'll just appear with a toy we haven't seen for days. So, my theory is that he took my camera cord that transfers all my pictures onto my computer, and hid it with his toys. (Of course, it's very likely that it's somewhere in my clutter, but I really have been looking for it for days and I can'tfind it!) So, my excuse is not that the dog ate my homework (which he literally would) but that he hid my camera cord because he doesn't like the publicity (except that he loves attention).

On a different note. I want to redo my bedroom from "college dorm" to "college graduate/adult/20 something grown-up woman" room. I was thinking of using my typewriter as the centerpiece, but I'm not sure. I haven't had a dark color themed room since we moved from Grass Valley. Heather's had a couple good suggestions to lighten up the deep red and black with white lace. Any other ideas? Or know where I could get good bedroom decor for cheap?

Talk to you soon! Hopefully sooner than a month.

Dear Readers,

I'd like to introduce you to Puppy. Born November 27, 2010 Puppy is a Puggle (Pug/Beagle). After a long car ride, especially for such a small creature, a trip to the gym for some strength training (just kidding; we went to visit Heather's boyfriend, David), a trip to Walmart for all puppy necessities, and much love from two very happy college girls, he settled into his warm, fuzzy bed and went right to sleep (just a tiny bit of whining).

After a little discussion and lots of research on Heather's part, we decided to get a puppy (I told her we couldn't get a bunny). We visited a couple today and Heather made lots of inquiries, but none really felt right. We were just deciding it was time to do homework when Heather came across an add for a puggle. She emailed and within twenty minutes her phone rang. We were driving to Portland a few minutes later. A deal was made, the puppy handed over, and we were in love.

He's so tiny!

Puppy wanted to play so badly when we finally got home, but he was so tired that he was staggering about the floor like a drunken puppy! So, we put him to bed.

Stay tuned for more Puppy posts! I'm sure there will be many more!

With love,

Lisa

Christmastime would just not be as enjoyable without the companionship of three very special women. Life would not be as enjoyable without them; college would definitely not be as enjoyable (or survivable) without them. You've already met them in previous posts, the most recent being about our Christmas tree hunt.

I'm feeling rather sentimental tonight, perhaps because of the hour, perhaps because the stress of finals has worn us all out, or perhaps because it is the time of year when we all leave our lives for a few weeks and return to the place that had once been home. Whatever the reason, the fact remains: I love these women and will miss them, beginning tomorrow when Meredith leaves.

"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice." - Samuel Johnson

We began our evening with dinner at our apartment.

"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship." Thomas Aquinas

"My true friend is the one who brings out the best in me." - Henry Ford

"Friendship without self interest is one of the rare and beautiful things in life." - James Francis Byrnes

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him (her) I may think aloud." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." - C.S. Lewis

"Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant." - Socrates

After dinner we opened presents and then went to Konditerei for desert, hit Coffee-In-Motion on the way home and then watched a movie.

In the midst of papers and projects, studying and tests, classes and jobs, there's nothing better than an evening of uninterrupted time spent with true friends.

"It is one of the blessing of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Christmastime is here! Heather and I lost no time getting our tree set up. We spent yesterday making our apartment ready for the holiday season.

Our decorated tree

Nativity scene from Rothenburg, Germany

It all began with a trip to a Christmas tree farm. Friends of mine have farm in/around Sublimity. They are selling their trees for $12. They were open yesterday, and will be open today from 1-4 and then next weekend as well (if any of you Oregon readers are still looking for a tree).

Megan and Meredith came along too. Meredith has never cut down her own tree before, so it was quite the entertaining adventure for all of us.

Heather and I found a tree almost immediately.

Once we had our tree Christena gave us some hot apple cider and we chatted for awhile. It was such a fun trip and will be an annual tradition, I'm sure.

The night didn't end there. Heather made mexican lasagna and we watched two Christmas movies over dinner and decorating.