You Should See Me in My Birthday Suit

Caution! By order of the CDC (Committee for Dog[blog] Cleanliness), all readers must use this virtual can of lavender scented Comet to scrub their minds of any "gutter" scum before proceeding. 

Oh, hai, y'all! How'd you like that title, huh?

I wrote it...because today is MY 3rd BIRTHDAY!

Oh, and the mom-peep made me add that warning up there. Something about a crack-down on the spread of soiled minds brain dirt. Whatev.

So anyway, like I was saying, today's my birthday and like the title says, you really should get a'load of me in my birthday suit. And boy, do I have a surprise for you!

Close your eyes!

Now, open 'em!

Ta da!

That's my sweet mama Elowyn, my four sibs and ME - Dewi (on the far right) - at the dairy bar on February 14, 2010. We were all in our birthday suits, dude!

Too bad my face is stuffed in a milkshake, though. I kinda wanted you to see it...

Oh, wait! Here! Look at this one...

Can you tell which one is me?! Hint: HellOOooo, I'm right here in front! Duh!

Okay, back to the subject of birthday suits. Mom-peep said that a birthday suit doesn't have to be limited to the suit you had on when you actually got born. Which is lucky for me, because that teeny tiny old suit went up the vacuum a long time ago. 

So yeah, and the mom-peep decided it would be fun to dress me and JF up in party hats and make us sit in the back of her car so she could take our pictures for this blog post (which I am writing, by the way) just because she doesn't have the time to make us do our proper sits and stays. Pfft.)

Well, here is what I think of the whole car imprisonment photo shoot.

Wait, I think a treat fell down in this crack.

I'm pretty sure this is not a happy face.

Can I get out of the car now?

(P.S. No, we did NOT get to go for a ride. But the party later, when the peeps were home, where they sang to me and gave me and JF some doggie carrot cake with pink icing, rocked, dude!) 

And one last thing, before I go: 

CONGRATULATIONS, MERINDA!

You won the photo caption challenge!

I could hear mom-peep giggling (even over Jon Farleigh's snoring) when she opened up your comment. Said she could totally picture me saying that. As if. 

What's the big deal about how I'm sitting, anyway? I just don't get you peeps.

Okay, I think I'm done. Bye, y'all! Thanks for looking at my birthday suits!

Happy birthday to my brother, Kirby, and my three sisters, Anwen, Jacklyn and Penny!

*****

A note from the editor:

Congratulations, Merinda (of The Brews Brothers blog)! Your caption cracked me up! And as promised, I'll be posting it (with credit) all over social media (within the next 24 hours)!

But mostly, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who played along! I enjoyed reading every single one of your entries and I think you are all awesome great sports!

In honor of Dewi and his littermates' birthday, and thanks to you all, CorgiAid is getting $40 to help with their rescue efforts. 

Well played! :-)

5 Reasons Why (I think) 95% of the People Didn't Caption My Dog's Photo

Thanks to Laurie Eno at The Daily Corgi, whom I persuaded* (with no less than NINE** adorable photos of Jon Farleigh and Dewi driving sitting in the front seat of my car) to add the link to my "out-of-the-ordinary" caption challenge (to benefit CorgiAid) to her Facebook fan page (with somewhere near a trillion likes)... 

[pauses to inhale]

...Dewi's photo-captioning post from three days ago is now the 6th most viewed post I've ever published.

So therefore, it's only natural that I've been fretting mulling over the possible reasons why only five percent of those who paid Dewi's photo a visit actually submitted a caption!

I'm sorry; have we met?
...because you left without giving me something ridiculous to say!

And now - mostly to make myself feel better - I'd like to offer just five of the several possible reasons why (I can't help but think) so many of you left...without so much as a peep!:

1. Your "commenting" hand has inexplicably fallen off. (ouch)
   
2. You are a professional dog-photo-captioner and didn't want to "show up" the nice people whose captions could never be as awesome as yours.
   
3. You were going to leave a caption, but then you thought to yourself, "If that comment-grubbing hussy really wanted to make a donation to dog rescue, why didn't she just do it, without dragging her poor derpy dog and me into it?!"
   (To which I'd say, "That wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, you silly!")
   
4. You accidentally wound up on my blog after searching for "rainbow clip art."
   
5. Your dog ate your comment. 

Might one of these pertain to your experience? Think I'm on the right track, here?? ;-)

THERE IS GOOD NEWS, THOUGH!

Even with the above-mentioned commenting "issues," I've still received lots of captions and am over halfway to my donation goal of $50! Yay!

WANT TO JOIN THE FUN AND HELP ME REACH MY GOAL?

Great! You still have through this Friday, February 8, to leave a caption, OVER HERE, please!

THANKS, y'all!

* Actually, it wasn't like that at all. Laurie is much too professional and on the up-and-up to succumb to  "persuasion" with adorable photos of corgis in cars. 

** Not all nine of the photos have been published to The Daily Corgi or its social media appendages. Only two of them have (so far) - HERE and HERE.

Look! Bonus photos of Jon Farleigh and Dewi sharing a doggie "cupcake" for Jon's 3rd birthday!

Not Your Ordinary Photo Captioning Challenge (to Benefit Dog Rescue)!

So I have this photo of Dewi:

Yeah, I know...

[crinkles nose and gestures running feathered fingers through Dewi's butt-cheek fur (aka pants)]

SQUEEE!!!

Okay, so yeah, I have this photo and I don't think there's ever been another (of Dewi) that I've wanted to caption so badly. :-)

And that is why I've decided TO ASK YOU (my fine, creative, generous, kind, compliant...) READERS to caption it for me!

BUT! As the title of this post suggests, I'm looking for captions that aren't exactly "ordinary" (or obvious). Obvious being, for example, "Belly rub, please?" or "Hey, ya want summa this?"
Make sense? 

I don't care how "out there" these captions are; in fact, the more "out there" the merrier. This is going to be fun!

AND THE BEST PART? 

FOR EVERY CAPTION RECEIVED
(up to 75, through 11:59 p.m. ET on 2/8/13), 
I WILL MAKE A DONATION TO
a fantastic dog rescue organization,CORGI AID*!
($1.00 for each caption up to 25, and $0.50 for each caption from 26 through 75, up to $50.00 max.)

This is Lucky, an owner-surrendered diabetic, but otherwise wonderful, 8-year-old corgi boy, and CorgiAid's most recent  beneficiary. His rescue story is here.

Think you can lend a silly caption to help Lucky (and his corgi/corgi mix brothers and sisters in rescue) out?

Oh, but wait, there's more!

After all the captions are in, I'm (somehow) going to pick my favorite, announce the human commenter behind it, edit the photo with the caption, and then share it all over the virtual earth (with proper credit, of course)! Think of the bragging rights!
(Note: My virtual "earth" might not be as large as some others', but it's plenty big enough for Lucky.)

So, as a recap:

<> Submit your caption of Dewi's photo in the comments BELOW (not on Facebook or Twitter, please!)

<> Comments will close after Friday, February 8.

<> I will post the final captioned photo (along with an announcement of the submitter - by whatever ID your comment leads me to) on Tuesday, February 12 (which also happens to be Dewi's 3rd birthday). Yay!

<> Needy homeless corgis and corgi mixes - by way of CorgiAid - are going to get some financial assistance!

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

NOW GO FORTH AND CAPTION DEWI!


* CorgiAid's mission statement (from their Home page):

CorgiAid exists to provide a framework for support of rescue efforts for Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh corgis and corgi mixes, for the enhancement of animal welfare and the betterment of mankind.

Classic 'Crafty' Cardigan: Felting for Dumb@sses - Balls

To clarify:

Dummy - A beginner, novice; someone who struggles with directions laden with technical jargon

Dumb@ss - (see below image)

Figuratively, people. This furry @ss could be a genius.

Now, solve this riddle:

What does one call a person who (when it comes to felting) is both a dumb@ss AND a smart@ss?

OK, time's up. The answer is (see below image):

Behind those glasses, I'm winking hard. ;)

So. Now that we're clear on who this blog post is really about, let me give a shout out to the person who is responsible for my re-posting it for your enjoyment: the talented and lauded author of the hilarious novel What the Dog Ate, Jackie Bouchard!

"How is that?" you might ask.

Well, I'll tell you; just look at her comment on last week's Etsy giveaway post:

She (and her sis) make these ADORABLE wool felted dogs! (And one is a Cardi!)

And so, naturally, I wanted to re-publish this dusty old felting post of my own, because a) refer to both of the above images, and b) I'm too lazy to write something original.

Editor's Tip: When one is short on sheep's wool for felting, one can feel free to substitute DOG HAIR. Double-coated varieties (as in Corgi) work nicely.

And now, originally published on February 11, 2011:

Dog Hair Explosion Part II: Why the World Needs Crafty People

Okay, so this is what I eventually brushed out of Dewi the other day when his undercoat spontaneously disengaged from his skin and landed on my kitchen floor:

Probably enough to fill a regular-sized plastic Target bag

If I'd had the right tool(s), I'd probably have gotten a lot more. Well anyway, I'm certain that just about NONE of my wonderful readers are impressed with the size of Dewi's pile of hair, since I understand from Red Dog Mom - over at Life with The Horde - that entire trash bags can get filled up multiple times before the "blow" is all over (of course - at the time of this writing - she does have five Cardigans). But that's okay; I just wanted to use this post to show you all what I made with the pile of hair.  :)

A couple weeks ago, Boo's Mom over at Darby's and Pumpkin's Daily posted "Don't ask me why", which if you didn't see it, is just - in my simple opinion - one of the coolest "crafty" (felting) dog posts I have ever seen. Who knew that shedded Cardigan Corgi hair could be turned into something so adorably photogenic? (Boo's Mom: I would totally frame the second photo and put it on my wall!) And to think that I had all the resources to do it myself AND I could get all my kids to make some, too; and if it worked, I'd never have to buy another cat toy again! Suddenly, I couldn't wait to grab the slicker brush. "Jon FARLeighhh!  DEWIiiiiii!  Time for your brUSHingssss!" (Remember, this was a couple weeks ago, so Dewi hadn't started molting yet.)

A brushfull each of Jon's and Dewi's hair later...TA-DA! Felted balls!

Yes, I know the photo stinks; this was the best I could get
after about 100 shots with my crappy camera. :(

But, aren't they cuUUUute! Of course, the beige one on the left is Jon Farleigh's. :) My kids were fascinated, too (they take after me). Now, wouldn't it be fun (thought I) to make a great BIG ball (think baseball) for the cat to bat (pun intended) around?

Remember the pile of fur I brushed out of Dewi (hint: up at the top of this post)? Okay, here's what I "felted" with it:

Hint: It's the big NASTY thing on the right.

Note to self: Left-brained career choices are the best choices.

Addendum note to self (added 12/18/12): Any-brained career choice is better than NO career choice. [self-hug]

*****

Boo's Mom, Jackie Bouchard (and all you other crafty folk out there - see comments here for several good examples), I am your humble admirer!


P.S. Those two small balls are displayed prominently (on a shelf) in my kitchen. :-)

Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Writing a 'Mostly' Dog Blog

A lot can happen in a blog year. 280 posts worth of stuff, to be exact. 280 days of sharing thoughts and images on a virtual page. 280 chances to make an impression - share something helpful - hone writing skills - spread joy. In a nutshell, regardless of who or what I choose to write about, those are the most important reasons why I have a blog at all.

But for today, with this final, 279th post of the calendar year, I'd like to share the top 5 reasons why I specifically love writing a mostly dog blog (beginning with the most important). 

#1 - The community! Dog people (including people who don't have a dog, but enjoy reading about them) are some of the kindest, warmest, most supportive, talented and compassionate people I know. In other words, YOU are the reason I enjoy this blog so much. (Note: Please remember this when you get to #2.)

#3* - I love dogs and I've lived with them much of my life. I'm most comfortable writing about familiar things - and I am passionate about their (and cats', too) causes.

#4 - Jon Farleigh and Dewi were born to be written about and in pictures. They are hilarious. They provide endless fodder.

#5 - Dogs can't read and don't care whether they took a bad picture. 

#2**  - I GET TO TALK ABOUT POOP!

Yes, it's the truth. Best of all, though, YOU LIKE IT (when I talk about it - not the actual poop)!

Starting with the time I wrote about Jon Farleigh NOT pooping in the rain (at MyCorgi.com), you shared how my (and JF's) unfortunate predicament made you crack many horizontal smiles. (You had not yet, as you barely knew me, shared about cracking vertical smiles.) And that made me happy!

Not pooping in the rain. Not no way. Not no how.

Then there was the time that Jon Farleigh ate some hair and used the carpet to dislodge a dingleberry. Who knew such a sorry story would attract so much attention?!

Please look away from me and my humiliation.

[Don't stop me now, I'm on a roll of toilet paper...]

And then there was that one time when Dewi ate something disagreeable, and I wanted to tout the digestive health benefits of feeding mashed pumpkin to dogs. Except because of the serious nature of the subject, I decided to use the code brown word "Hershey" for each instance of the word "poop." Remember that one?

Eat some canned pumpkin and have a nice Hershey!

And other than some of you developing a sudden aversion to chocolate syrup, I think this article was one of my most helpful. Pumpkin really is one of those miracle foods - whether the Hershey is flowing or hung up in the chute. :)

~~~~~

Well, I don't know about you, but I feel a whole lot better now that I've gotten that out of  my system!

THANK YOU for the best first blog year I could have ever imagined!

And with that, since I've got the weekend off...

May 2011 go out with a boom-boom BANG!

and

May you have a swimming (like jolly kids who've just been dropped off at the pool) New Year!


(More regular blog programming will return on Monday.)

P.S. Anyone else think it's about time that the Browns get to the Super Bowl? Maybe they should play on real grass more often.


*#3 is out of order, so...

**#2 got stuck on the bottom.

Tiffany & Co. at the 'Dog Mall' - Revisited

Seems yesterday's post about Jon Farleigh having biscuits at Tiffany's struck a chord. Some readers expressed a similar obsession fondness for the jewelry icon, the film, the novella and/or stores that allow dogs*; while others just turned green with envy. Yep. (sad) :)

Soooooo, today, because writing yesterday's post and then reading and reflecting on all the comments has made it impossible for me to think about anything else (well, that and I've been obsessively humming Moon River out loud all day), I've decided to write a second post about Tiffany. Yay!

Is this a girly store?

Except this one - in honor of Jon Farleigh, who is a MALE dog (and probably couldn't care less about Tiffany, and can't even see in shades of blue) - is going to be less "girly." Here you go.

'Manly' Facts about Tiffany & Co. (from Wikipedia):

• Each year Tiffany & Co. creates a new Vince Lombardi Trophy, the award given to the NFL team that wins the Super Bowl that year.
• In 1877, an insignia that would become the famous New York Yankees "NY" logo was struck on a medal of honor by Tiffany & Co. and issued to the first NYC police officer shot in the line of duty. The Yankees adopted the logo in 1909.

(Note to any men who are reading this and who have a significant other who likes shiny "girly" things: If you get her something from Tiffany, it will be like she is wearing a little piece of the Lombardi trophy. Where do you think the term "trophy" wife/girlfriend came from? Here is the online catalog. You're welcome.)  

*The name of the "dog mall" is Stony Point Fashion Park and it's in Richmond, Virginia.

Incidentally, I hadn't really planned to do a post about my return trip to Tiffany with Dewi, but since Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis has been so encouraging, I think I will. And it's going to be so much fun! (hee hee)

I have lots of photos of both Jon Farleigh and Dewi at the "dog mall." Come back tomorrow to see them!                                                  

The finished product? What say you?

[cue Charlie Brown voice-over]  Uuuuuugggghhhhhh!

Okay, I feel a little better. :)

Do you like the new (Blogger Simple) template? I hope so, because I do. I have lots more freedom with column widths, a wider area for posts (which means you get larger photos - yay!), a cleaner layout and endless color scheme opportunities.

Speaking of blog colors: I'm not completely sold on what you see here (read: I'm obsessively worried that you all hate it), and I REALLY need to put it to rest (so I can rest). Soooooo, I was wondering:
Will you help me??

It's simple. If you have 30 seconds to spare for a friend (me), would you take this one-question survey? I promise it's anonymous. Did I mention it's only one question? Pleeeez? Thank you!!!!

(Brutal honesty, okay?)

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.
Note: If you don't see the embedded survey, click here.

Thank you, friends! I'll share the results (and what I intend to do about them) later this week.

*****

So on to funner things...

Let's see...HAPPY THANKSGIVING to my Canadian friends! I'm thankful for you! Enjoy your day!

And lastly, just a friendly reminder that the last day to submit your pet's photo for the

giveaway is Oct. 15 (this Saturday).

Many thanks to all those who have already submitted photos!!
Every single one of them has made my day and I can't wait to show them to the masses!

If you haven't sent me your photo yet, I want it! Send send send!

Thank you!

P.S. I'm a little behind on replying to comments on my recent posts, but I assure you I have read them all and I appreciate them lots. :) Responses are coming soon. 

(Because you want it, but are too shy to ask) Reflections on the Dingleberry Post

Okay, here's the thing: I wrote that post yesterday because Eldest Child (who begrudgingly assisted me with Jon Farleigh's dingleberry-ectomy) practically dared me to. I never thought it would amount to more than a few raised eyebrows or a giggle or two. Well, guess what? In just 24 hours, the "dingleberry" post has eclipsed 219 other posts to become my fourth most popular post of all time. And I fully expect it to take the #3 position by tomorrow.

So why am I telling you this? Here's why: You like poop posts.

You might not ever admit it, but I know. The numbers don't lie. And because I like you and want to give you what you crave (but will never admit), I am writing this second "reflective" dingleberry post. You're welcome.

 *****

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has felt concern about Jon Farleigh. Please know that although he did eat some hair, he was never in any sort of gastrointestinal distress. He simply had a "hitchhiker" back there and used the carpet to try and throw it "off the car." He WAS, however, thoroughly humiliated by the procedure that ensued. But, I am happy to report that other than the "crop circle" that I scissored off underneath his tail, he is feeling his bushy-tailed best!

See? (I snapped this photo shortly after the "incident.")

I'd like a cookie now, please.

And secondly, I'd just like to share with you (once more) how much I love "interactive" blog comments. I just flat out wouldn't be blogging if I never got any. And even if you aren't a regular commenter here (or you've never commented - and that is JUST FINE!!), I hope that you at least get to read some of the AWESOME stuff that some of my readers leave at the bottom of my posts. 

"What do comments have to do with the 'dingleberry' post," you ask? Here's what: These comments (from yesterday's post) for your reading pleasure. :) (You can read ALL the comments here.)

Thanks, Taryn (A Tail of Two Cardis); your stories make me smile!

Peggy, you never fail to bring me perspective!

*****

And to all of you, my secret poop-reading readers:
THANK YOU for making this blog SO MUCH FUN!!!

The Post Most Likely to Cause Spontaneous Bodily Function (aka: My Funniest Post)

Blog Superlative #4 - Most likely to cause spontaneous farts, urination or computer screen ruination.

(Also known as my funniest post.)

Folks, I don't presume to know this. I've never actually lost bodily function control reading or writing my own blog. At least not because it was funny. :) Furthermore, I wouldn't be so proud as to suggest that anyone has even come close to validating the claim in this post - except that a very few of you have told me so. In fact, one of my readers (who shall go unnamed - you know who you are) has even suggested that I show some kindness and provide readers with Depends. (By the way, this person knows all the right things to say.) :)

Well, anyway, all I'm saying is I can't pick my funniest post. So instead, here are a handful of posts (in chronological order) that you, my awesome readers, have either spewed, snorted or nearly peed upon (and later told me about).

•  How to Clean House So Guests Won't Suspect You Own Indoor Dogs
• Funky Town - The Dog Version
• The Importance of Enunciation When Training Your Dog
• Let me tell ya 'bout the butterflies and the bees...and the flowers...and the...huh?
• It's Wordless Wednesday - Lazy Tongues and Half Moons - Sure to Bring Vertical Smiles
• When Dewi Met Georgia (A Red Hot Cardigan Love Story)
•  Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way by Dewi - Fruity Soap

 Oh, and in case you missed Wednesday's post, I understand that one got a few leaks snorts laughs, too. :)

And speaking of leaks pee laughs, I'll close with this photo of Jon Farleigh (and some wisdom from March 3, 2011):

You can pee and you have a nose, but please don't pee on your friend's nose. :-(



....or stick your nose where it doesn't belong!
[Editor's comment: See the yellow stripe? Yeah, Dewi peed on his nose.]

*****

See you Monday with the last Superlative. (I bet you can't wait.)

Hope your weekend is warm and spews with fun! :)

Someone Else's Funny Photo Captions, an Update and a 'Bird' Song I Should've Posted Yesterday

Firstly, before anyone wonders why I've turned into an antisocial, self-centered no-commenter, I HAVEN'T! I'm just way behind reading your recent posts. I'll be back to leaving wisecrack comments on your blogs in no time! Yay!

Hey, would someone pass me a tissue? My nose is running off my face. Darn summer colds. :(

*****

So for today I thought I'd post a couple hilarious photos that I didn't take, nor did I caption. My daughter received them in an e-mail and I copied them. They were originally posted at icanhascheezburger.com. 

I'm pretty sure that if Jon Farleigh and Dewi were a foot taller and had legs, they'd try this, too.

For the record, none of my cats are ever innocent. Don't you think that if this cat could speak English, it would have the same voice as Bacon Dog?

*****

And now for the update I referred to in the title of this post.  Remember way back when I had a kitteh stowaway in my garage and then one day, it just disappeared? Well, guess who's made himself at home in my yard?

I took this photo yesterday through a window in my family room; Feral Grey Kitteh heard the dogs inside the house and planted his eyes firmly on the back door. He'd have bolted at the first sound of the knob turning. Oh, and this wasn't my first sighting of grey kitteh; no, he's been hanging around mooching food and shelter off of me and my neighbor for months. Such a shame he's wild.

*****

Now, about the song I should've posted yesterday (with my Bird TV post). (Don't you hate it when you think of something smart that would've gone great with something you already posted?) Well, I don't know how smart this is, but this morning as I pondered those three little baby birds outside my doorstep, I thought of a song. Then I thought, dang, I should've posted this yesterday! I love this song! What a great song! :)

So, here you go. The song I should've posted yesterday. Enjoy!

Three Little Birds (1980) - Bob Marley & The Wailers

Hope you have a worry-free weekend full of sweet melodies!

My Dream Comment

I recently started reading the blog Cake Wrecks, after weeks of ignoring it in other people's blog rolls. (I thought it was a baking blog.) Anyway (now that you know I don't read baking blogs), today's post on Cake Wrecks brilliantly illustrates some of the "better" comments received over the author's blogging career.

Now, I don't know about you, but I think blog comments (leaving them and reading them) are just about as fun as blogging itself (hint). And if you've ever been the recipient of one of my comments, please know that sometimes I just can't help what my brain leads my fingers to type out. So anyway, the point of this post is to share with you my favorite comment, as lifted (in fragment) straight off Cake Wrecks' post today:

"...I literally threw up a little bit in my mouth, spit coffee all over my keyboard, and peed my pants...."

The actual cake wreck related to this comment is immaterial. What I'm fumbling rambling trying (badly) to say is that since this is sort of a pet "humor" blog (for lack of a better descriptor), to receive any comment indicating my reader's laughter (and perhaps repulsion) brought on with such force as to cause spontaneous bodily function, is like music to my ears eyes. <burp> Sorry.

I tried to think of a picture to post that was both gross and hysterical at the same time, but I failed. So I took a couple lame ones just for fun.

The inside of a raw beef marrow bone. Ew.
(I wouldn't enlarge this if I were you.)
(I told you not to enlarge it.)

Jon Farleigh doing his best Bill Cosby impression:
"I brought you in this world and I'll take you out!"

Here's to throw-up, spit-out drinks and wet seats!

:^)