happy birthday, DAD!

Today is my dad's birthday. 

Here he is winning the Rhode Island Jr. Chamber of Commerce Golf Sportsmanship Award in 1959. 



He's in a seersucker suit, and that's my dearly departed grandpa Wallace cut off on the left behind him. 

Of course he won this award, he is the most right-minded, selfless, even-keeled person you could ever meet! The other kids never had a chance. 

Happy birthday Big Papi!

happy birthday, sugarhoney!

today is the day our little sugarsnickers turns 1. it's also the day nachodoggy would have turned 12.

we were kind of hoping for a mini-nacho, and she has kind of delivered.

she does a couple things that nacho did, that the other dogs do not do.

she runs right down to the river and swims in circles in the exact same spot nacho used to do it. 

(see nacho swim in circles)

the other dogs wait on the bank until we throw something. nacho and sugar really seem to enjoy swimming, and get in for the joy of swimming.

if she is too hot on a hike, she lies down.

(nacho did the same thing)

of course, she is her own dog. she is so round, it's like she's made out of beach balls. i don't know if it's a female dog thing, but to me she is the shape of the olympic rings.

she is in love with pouncey. she follows him everywhere. she is constantly thinking of new and creative ways to vie for his attention. 

she gets herself uphill from him and lets loose.

she is not afraid to jump on the couch for a snuggle.

she is calm and gentle, she wags her tail when she meets new dogs and people, and she will come, sit, and lie down when she feels like it.

mainly she is just a little skunk who fits in riiiiight there.

happy birthday, sugarchunks! today you will celebrate with a meatball! 

deja vu daily puppy!

this is a momentous day for 2 reasons: 1) i survived; and 2) the daily puppy re-ran pouncey as their puppy of the day!

sitting in 9th grade biology class, we were talking about diabetes and the teacher mentioned sufferers may have a shortened lifespan. at this moment i was struck with the feeling i, myself, diabetes-free, would die at 38. i have not obsessed over this, but i have remembered it vaguely from time to time for the past 23 years. i am glad to say my premonition was horseshit! i made it! 

now go over to the daily puppy and give pouncey 11 biscuits...again.

eli is eleven!

happy 11th birthday to eli! aka scoobs, brownie brown brown, and fats brownino.

a more dignified animal you'd be hard-pressed to find.



he will be having sauceless meatballs to celebrate. 



happy birthday you lovable knucklehead!

happy 3rd birthday, pouncey!

yesterday pouncey turned the ripe old age of 3!



21 in dog years. he is slowly but surely turning into a right decent pet - he has calmed down ever so slightly, and is a very patient brother for sugarhoney.

eli had a blast at the party.



the party consisted mainly of pouncey eating salmon. 





happy birthday, pounce-swah, joyeux anniversaire! (upon learning he is the color of a french baguette a few months ago, he instantly developed a french accent and insists on being called pounsoir.)

WTF Wednesday: 40th birthday

We have secretly replaced this episode of WTF Wednesday with a 40th birthday wish to Kevin: may your next 40 be equally healthy, lucky, and fun! 

Here is a picture of a puppy shaped like a beach ball. 

I'll be back next week with your regularly scheduled WTF Wednesday. Until then...stay puzzled!

widespread puppy

if you ever want to be popular, walk a puppy through the lobby of a westin hotel at 1 AM on new years eve.

we went to charlotte for widepsread panic on wednesday and sugarhoney came with us. she was the star of the city.

while walking her past the nascar hall of fame, a cop drove by, leaned her full torso out the window, gave a thumbs up, and yelled "that is the best dog ever!"

kevin carried her on the elevator to avoid her scaring people in their fancy clothes.  a cop in the lobby saw this and said, "uh oh, is that dog too drunk to walk?"

dozens of people passing by stopped, turned around, and squealed "PUPPY!!!" to each other, asking to pet her. she just wagged her tail, cool as a cucumber.

one kind young man flyyyiiiiiing high on new years spirit on the full elevator grabbed her ears (lovingly), got nose to nose with her and yelled "YOU ARE JUST THE CUTEST LITTLE FUCKER!!!!!!"

the show was excellent, the band sounded great, the setlist was thoughtful, uplifting, and everybody was having a good time...



it was an awesome way to ring in the new year. 

best wishes for a healthy and happy 2015 to all! 

daily sugarhoney: happy 6 month birthday!

sugarhoney turns 6 months old today.

she weighs 42 lbs. these pictures were taken this morning.

she gets frisky on occasion.

and she forms the keystone in our rainbow of labradors.

happy birthday snugglechunks!

daily sugarhoney: sugarturkey

frosty early walking.

and a sugarshadow.

 

eli made it to the top of the world

the snuggliest.

it was a lovely thanksgiving, complete with delicious turkey.

happy halloween from 1983

ah the good old days! the floor was linoleum and plaid.

the ashtrays were on every table.

the toaster was full of muffins.

i was strawberry shortcake.

my breath was condensing inside this mask.

my brother was "a warlock."

complete with broom.



happy halloween everybody!

happy birthday, BOBBY BARRAMUNDI!

today is my dad's birthday!

here he was looking like clark griswold circa 1983.

he is a great lover of chocolate malted milk balls, golf, and seafood.

if you ever see barramundi on a menu or in your grocer's freezer, try it! you'll like it!

happy birthday, MOM

happy birthday to my wonderful, funny, beautiful MOM!



she looks pretty nice, but since graduation she has taken no prisoners at the bridge table or on the golf course.

july 4th in the 50th state

aloha!



it may not be the most popular time of year to visit maui, but the weather was tropical, everything was in bloom, and the trees served as flower girls.




our first stop was hana. the road to hana was slow, twisted, and dripping with scenic splendor.



the lava flowed down to the sea where it was beat back by the wind.



we got up early and hiked through bamboo forests to gigantic waterfalls at haleakala national park. 

we were the first ones there!



next stop - lahaina. hey - i have seen this view on t-shirts before!



kevin played (really really well...like 400 yard drives...draining 30 footers...) golf at the plantation course at kapalua. 



we saw unnecessary fountains under basement stairwells. 



we spent the last few days with fambly from denver in the bustling hippie town of paia. 

  

catching waves, watching turtles, looking for sharks, eating like kings, playing with the keiki.



it was a great trip, worth the looooooooong haul to and fro. hang loose!

happy birthday, nachodoggy!

whew! donde estan los dias? (very roughly - where did the days go?)

today nachodoggy turns a ripe 11. he is still hopped up on steroids and feeling GREAT! his allergies are gone and he can enjoy jumping around the yard with his fluffycups flying.

today he will have (part of) a rotisserie chicken in celebration.  not too much or he frows up.

happy birthday sweet little sugardoggy! 

happy mother's day

from pouncey in a flower field!

happy first day of spring and march madness!

it's like christmas around here!

the ides of pouncey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POUNCEY! The big 2!

his muzzle is already turning gray but he hasn't slowed down a bit.  no longer a puppy, now he is officially full grown pouncey doggy. 

he has already been pouncing around the woods and river chasing balls today, and will have a hamburger for dinner.

keep on pouncin, don't stop no!

frozen valentine

happy valentine's day from snow-covered asheville! 

may your hearts, cockles, and fingers stay warm today. 

nachodoggy is ready for besos.

Macy's and Hallmark made it what it is today - well it's a corporate holiday!
http://www.alomusic.com/player.html - "Valentine's Day" (about 20 songs down) ALO - Animal Liberation Orchestra

 boogie boarding down the driveway. looks like more fun than it is!  should've greased the board.

formation of a polar bunny vortex:

love and hearts and chocolate to all!

hola 2014

2013 was a good year for me. and for skippy haha vintage! i really enjoy selling on etsy, it is user friendly and the seller fees are reasonable. everything continues to move in the right direction as time goes by - more views, favorites, and sales. 

a few major highlights of the last year: 

i opened a skippy haha vintage t-shirt shop on defunkd.com vintage t-shirt collective. dozens of sellers post hundreds of authentic vintage t-shirts all in one convenient location.  jimmy j does a fantastic job of keeping the site fresh and functional. there's a funny, informative blog and an interactive forum - lovers of true vintage t-shirts can get lost for hours on this site.

in 2013 i taught myself to sew. more accurately, i reacquainted myself with the sewing i learned in mrs mcdonald's 7th grade home ec class. though that was sewing with a machine, and now i've been sewing like betsy ross.  seams. buttons. burnholes. a 2 foot dog nail rip in a duvet cover. it has opened up a whole new world of vintage for me! instead of passing on things, or reducing prices for missing buttons, i repair them and sell for full price. win-win!

last but not least, i mentored a sweet, funny, kind woman in etsy selling. she went from being a young mother/goodwill junkie/semi-hoarder to a professional 20+ etsy seller in a couple short months.  after hundreds of emails and text messages back and forth about shipping and keywords and photos and customer service, check her out: robin egg surprise - i am totally proud of helping allison get her wings!


i hope everybody is off to a great start in 2014 - can't wait to see what treasures the next 12 months bring!

merry christmas from dog

holidays are as festive as you are.  festive is as festive does.

even if it's raining and gray and muddy, you can always put on the carpenter's christmas album, boil some cinnamon on the stove, focus on the twinkling lights, and be merrier than buddy the elf.

happy holidays to you and yours! warm puppysnuggles to all!