the goose loves the return of tuesday's ten

Just ignore the fact that today is Friday. Just like I'm ignoring the fact that I have yet to buy Billy his birthday presents. For his birthday tomorrow. And I'm ignoring the fact that I have more boxes unchecked, than checked, on my to-do list. Just join me in avoiding reality.

1. It's unfortunately hard to avoid reality when it made a bright-purple stain on your carpet. This one goes straight to dog-shaming.com, which is the perfect website for feeling better about your own misbehaving pets.

2. Billy brought home all of these. And we don't even really eat apples unless they are baked with cinnamon and sugar. So guess who's making birthday pies this weekend.

3. Jambalaya was on the menu last weekend, with grilled shrimp. And extra cajun seasoning.

4. I bought a half-flat of berries at the farmer's market last week, so it's berry-baking-time around here. These were raspberry cheesecake muffins. Yeah, I know. Cheesecake. In a muffin.

5. We took advantage of the long weekend (yay for labor day!) by packing a picnic and going to Champoeg Park about 45 min south of Portland. (That's pronounced "Shampoo-ey" for all you non-American Indian speakers.) Sandwiches, chips, and beer=best picnic ever.

And not a bad view, either.

6. Shady boys.

And tired beagle, aka angel beagle.

7. And no picnic is complete without a stop in historic Butteville (yeah, bring on the grade-school butt jokes) for some icecream. That's Birthday Cake on the right (for me) and marionberry pie on the left (for Billy).

Hot Stuff.

8. We finished up the weekend with some homemade bbq chicken pizza on the grill. That's Billy's first edition signature bbq sauce, homemade crust, and chicken/mozzarella/red onions/pineapple/green bell peppers.

Mmmm melty.

9. To keep other dogs (humans?) from discovering his little treasures, Bentley typically tries to hide his poops as they come out. See Exhibit A below. You bury that bum in that fern, Bents - nobody will ever find that poop. Especially since Dad's going to pick it up right after you're done anyway.

10. And lastly, as we move away from poop chat, since I probably won't be back here tomorrow, a very special happy birthday to my favorite husband Billy. Here's to the big 8-2. Or is it just 2-8? Time goes so quickly.

 Love you boo.

the goose loves the east side

hey! it's been a little while! what have you been up to?

yeah, i've been busy too. holding down the fort, while billy was gone.

and then playing on the east side. of the united states. see?

i've been hiking in the most fashionable shoes ever. (keen tan=sexy)

and taking plenty of naps.

we took some walks, and ate outside.

and folded laundry for two hours straight.

i made some mac n cheese - the fancy boxed kind, velveeta!
the kind i never splurged on in college.

and i let the dog sleep in the bed with me. or maybe he let me sleep in my bed with him. bed dog hog.

then i flew to boston.

and visited trinity church and stood under the tallest building there.

and crossed the finish line for the 116th Boston Marathon. without even running 26.2 miles.

and stood outside the arena where the bruins (NHL) and celtics (NBA) play.

and then i flew to new york to enjoy some tasty greek food.

 and to visit the NHL flagship fan store.

besides doing a little work, i noshed on surf n turf sliders and cocktails with prosecco.

and accidentally ordered an $8 bottle of water. at least it has my name on it.
(thank you, work, for picking up the tab)

and then i hopped on a boat to see lady liberty.

 from all angles.

and ellis island.

and the new york skyline from the hudson river.

(the one that's 2/3 glass and 1/3 black - and really tall - is the new world trade center)

and then i ate mac n cheese with mushrooms at the macbar in soho. 

and after burning all those cheese calories by walking through central park,
i treated myself to a beer on amsterdam avenue (upper west side).

and then everybody came back to portland, took a big sigh of relief (and exhaustion) and spent the next week laying low. and teaching the dog how to sit like a proper gentlemandog.

and i haven't forgotten about you all. i'll be back soon. i promise.

(full disclosure -  we would never waste our time teaching bentley something as ridiculous as crossing his legs.
he did that all by himself.)

the goose loves tuesday's ten - beagle style! (#15)

Welcome, friends, to a Tuesday post, posted on a Tuesday!

A special hello to all the beagle-lovers out there. And to those not fond of my big-eared, tail-waggin, wet-nosed little devil, go read another blog. Or just get off the computer and ask yourself why in the world you don't love dogs. That means you, dad. :)

Coming off of a busy couple work weeks, being out of town, and a business trip in Seattle, the past week was spent in recovery mode - cleaning, organizing, laundry, cooking, etc. i.e. really boring things to take photos of and write about on the blog.

So I figured 10 Bentley things would make much better reading. He definitely is much better looking than laundry.

1. Last weekend we had a freak hail storm. In about 2 minutes, the sky dropped down enough hail to practically cover the ground. Bentley just wanted to eat it.

2. Nothing more cozy than sleepy on Billy's butt. (Cozy for dogs, that is...)

3. We bought some veggies from a farm stand this weekend, and brought our bag in, with our other groceries, and set them all on the floor. Bentley was of course super curious about the groceries, as always, and poked his head into each bag. We put away the food and then realized Bentley was carefully guarding his blanket under the table. Actually he was carefully guarding the tomato he pilfered from our grocery bag. Since we dislike eating veggies that dogs have slobbered on and sunk their teeth into, we rewarded Bentley's mischief by giving him the whole thing. Outside.

Fun poops after eating a whole tomato.

4. Not sure who's sleepier, but I do know who drank more that night...

5. Sleepy Sunny Sundays.

I may be resting myself on the garage, but my sniffer still works.

6. Lesson #1 on awkwardly holding a dog: lift from below, to properly display the wiener.

7. To avoid the vaccuum, curl up on Mr. Moose and hold tight to Mr. Kitty.

8. Do normal dogs sit like this?

9. Pretty sure this dog is part cat.

10. This face means: "You really should share that piece of chicken with me, because I have the cutest eyes and the softest ears and the best smile. And did you know I love chicken??"

What? There's more?

Since I already showed you what Billy looks like hammered (see #4), it's only fair to watch Bentley get hammered. As if he doesn't already have 17 other dog chew toys:

His neck looks so long in this one...

Just a regular hammer lover.

And that's all for today, folks. Now I suggest you finish wrapping and sending my birthday present.