Rotschund? Dachweiller?

Ever since we got Lucy, I've been saying she looks like dachshund/rotweiller....J has always said absolutely not....so, after Erin met them this weekend (cause she's housesitting while we go to Georgia) she mentioned Lucy to her mom....who lo and behold has a friend with a dachshund/rotweiller mix....I think they look very similiar except for the white on Erin's mom's friend's dog....mondo dachshunds!!!


our Lucy


Erin's mom's friend's dog

Crazy, huh....somehow I don't see either of our crazy mixed breeds (Scout's a Jack Russell/Chihuahua) catching on like some of those trendy mixes ;)

4 things for Patti

since patti asked, I'll repost...sorry, the answers are no more fascinating than they were in January ;)...hope you're having fun out of town today patti!

4 things
Four jobs I've had:
1 - call center rep for a company that sold weight loss and erectile dysfunction pills (not one I'm so much proud of but it was definately memorable in lots of ways)
2 - big box retail store manager (and lots of other things within that industry as well - it finally broke me)
3 - donut seller (my 1st job)
4 - office manager for a pool company (my last job in Atlanta - nice guys, helped keep me sane those last few months)

Four places I've lived:
1 - with my maternal grandparents the first 6 months or so after I was born
2 - in a shotgun duplex in a funky part of Columbia - no AC - illegal sublet (oops)
3 - in an eighty year old house in Grant Park that got broken into a whole bunch and had devil- ish things painted in the basement
4 - in a house I hated in an Atlanta suburb made famous by the Atlanta Rhythm Section

Four movies I'd watch again:
1 - all LOTR (duh, big sci-fi geek)
2 - Willie Wonka (the original)
3 - Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton's best in my opinion)
4 - True Grit (just because it's one of J's favorites and it is John Wayne)

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1 - Boston Legal (William Shatner is a genius - I don't care what anybody else thinks)
2 - Lost (sort of on the fence as to loving it but I keep watching)
3 - Survivor (see above - premise is getting tired, needs something really dramatic I think)
4 - Cooking shows in general (especially the Food Challenges on Sunday nights, not Iron Chef though)

Four of my favorite foods:
1 - Egg and Cheese Sandwich (with ketchup on toasted bread/bagel/biscuit)
2 - Non-dairy smoothies (especially mixed berries or strawberry/banana)
3 - Peanut Butter (and all things containing pnut butter)
4 - Pizza (in spite of the malicious menu attack)

Four Places I'd rather be right now:
1 - Asheville, NC (always #1 - except it gets cold)
2 - Panama City, FL (actually anywhere in FL that was warm)
3 - getting tattooed
4 - getting tattooed in Asheville, NC

what is this doing in my house monday?

I know everyone's been waiting for the 2nd installment of my imaginary game...and yesterday while I was looking for something else (which I still haven't found denise) I did run across this and decided it would be perfect....now let me preface this by saying a few things...

1. I had some limited business dealings with her about....oh 15 years ago....
2. those business dealings did not include baskets in way, shape, or form
3. I am not a fan....at all

weird, huh? somebody else play....no rules...just share something weird in your house that makes you wonder why you keep it or have it in the first place....:)

some things that make

me realize I'm more of sci-fi nerd than I like to admit...



avatars make me think of Space Ghost interviewing people on his studio screen...



Captain Kirk is still the sexiest man to have ever appeared on TV



and I find myself wishing they had a news show...

Duck ATCs

I finally started my duck ATCs today...well actually last night with the first template...but today I actually started painting...I have to say I'm a little intimidated by this and kinda plugging along blindly....templates are something I've made for years when I'm cutting wood, but always for the outline not the actual image (does that make sense) so this is interesting...I'm not sure where this will go next but here's a peek at what I've got so far....can't wait to cut them up ;)

late friday cat blogging

boy...the day got away from me and I've been forced to be productive...busy day at work -caught up on some stuff, did some grocery shopping tonite, went to K-mart - bought new collars and leashes for Lucy and Scout, tried to find ducks, didn't find ducks, wound up making my own template, and finally realized I hadn't posted my friday cat thing...

and I have to say - it is Spencer at his best...he's a smart cat and very needy...he likes to be wherever we are regardless of where that is...he is also the most affectionate cat I've ever had...he and his brother both...

but I was taking my follow up shot to show that under our bed (usually) is pretty clean and the monkey cat wanted to be involved so what may be the best cat picture I ever take was a complete accident - perfect, huh?

stuff portrait friday

Stuff Portrait Fridays at Random & Odd's cool new place...click on the link for details and join in, it's easy!!!

Bedside Manners

inside of your nightstand drawer

I know the clutter is going to send some of you into a fit, but it's okay I need that stuff...maybe not the old lifesaver but definately the other stuff

good book

I have a pin-up girl thing...this is a great collection of one of my favorite artists, Gil Elvgren

favorite lamp

this one was easy...driftwood lamp my grandfather made....he would collect pieces when the lake was low in the winter...some turned into lamps, luckily I have this one and I love it....bad shade, but that's my fault....overall I have a real weakness for lamps and have to consciously remind myself that we only need so many...stained glass especially gets me in trouble

and as a follow up to last week....

both lesbian boots have been located and floor has been swiffered....all is well in my corner of the world.

Who played?

Work Birthday Party

our work friend John - super techie geek, IT Director - turns 40 this weekend and since he's a weasel and taking tomorrow off...we had to get him today...decorations had a tombstone theme, which troubles me a little since I'll be turning 40 next year...seems I'm the only one with a tombstone and carcas though

from my friend Erin...taken during the birthday festivities this morning....no we really weren't drinking...but that mer-lot sure is good according to Linda

more pictures from this morning here ...courtesy of Erin

another Song for the mix

actually no annoying song with this one...just the beginnings of something that I couldn't quite finish...not sure where to go with the background...it's hard not to draw bluegrass players...at least for me...hair like exists too y'all...no kidding :)

Illustration Friday is unbelievably busy these days...if you've never been there or haven't in a while - take a few minutes and just click on random links...you'll always be suprised...the talent and diversity of style and technique is amazing!

IF - Song

2 confessions...

#1 - as direct as this week's theme should have been...I struggled with it....making more out of it than I should, complicating the issue...typical Lee stuff...so, after a bunch of other drawings (some of which may surface later in the week) I went with the one of the more difficult songs to get out of your head once it's started...so sorry for that....

#2 - this is also the result of a Baptist flashback (somebody else was having one of those lately and I can't remember who) and a thousand years of Vacation Bible School, Church Camp, and singing in children's choruses....

baby pictures

finally loser daddy sent some pictures....he did get several trips to the gym in first though...loser

what is this doing in my house monday?

yeah, I'm making stuff up now...but, waiting on paint to dry is boring...so here's something we've moved around forever...it's one of those weird things that...well, you got to wonder why?

it's something we can't get rid of cause where would we ever find another, but it's also not something that just lends itself to any decor...

so ponder our green and pink limited edition arnart elephant bank with the ruby belly button and feel free to share your own "what is this doing my house" item if the mood strikes...

today

looks like this outside my front window....rainy and cold....glad I'm at home..



so after months of procrastinating and now that baby Jobe is here - I've finally started his set of blocks...what I ended up doing was buying a box of old blocks at the auction, which have now have been partially primed...I'm waiting on them to dry now so I can finish priming and hopefully actually start painting them later this afternoon...they've done the nursery in Pooh so I guess I'll use that group of colors and maybe work some of the characters into the sides and onto the bigger storage box....hmmmm, my guess this isn't gonna be finished in 2 weeks...

fancy shoes

need to finish up the border but the big canvas is pretty much done...wow, the pinkness of this really doesn't translate well in the picture...it is an altar of pinkness...how much pink is too much?...and why does this 5 yo want so much of it around her?

hold on tight

the rollercoaster ride continues :)

in all the Henry stuff yesterday, I neglected to mention the latest addition to our family...

J's niece (more like a child really to both of us) gave birth to her second baby Saturday morning about 12:30 a.m.

Jobe Alexander

no pics yet cause his daddy is a loser and hasn't taken any....a little over 7 lbs and a few weeks early, but everyone is fine and back at home by now...

so, a trip to Atlanta will most likely have to be squeezed in weekend after next...hate we didn't get to be the birth coaches in charge of snacks this go round, but at least that meant we didn't get stuck changing that first meconium diaper either ;)

Henry

We lost our sweet old dog Henry this afternoon....it's been coming all week and we hated to see him go, but it was finally time...

Henry came to us 15 years ago....a mangy, malnourished, apparently young dog, that showed up in a friend's yard just days before she moved to Florida....she took him to the vet and had him being fixed up when she asked us if we knew anybody that might take him...the vet's office was on our way home, we stopped, and it's obvious what happened from there...

Protective, loyal, smart...a real dog's dog....he clung to me the first few years....I'd carry him around which looked ridiculous since he wasn't really carry around size and his long legs made him gangley...he was always my baby...on a trip to the mountains a long time ago, I found a greatful dead collar for him that he seemed to be right proud of...I loved having a deadhead dog...

He was the last of our original pack...he was with us a long time and we were so lucky to have had him in our lives for as long as we did...it's been a sad week, lots of tears, anxiety, and goodbyes...

Now he's at rest, hopefully with the ones that went before...being the big brother they all loved...

sweet dreams Henry, guard the house

cat blogging friday

Spencer the monkey cat has a UTI...so we've been giving him antibiotics (pink liquid bubble-gum variety) all week, along with a supplement to increase the acidity of his urine...fun stuff...here he is swallowing the pill....actually he hates the pill and seldom swallows it without some coaxing...luckily this whole experience has not changed the fact he loves his mommies as much as ever ;)

see he's fine....
friday is a busy theme day, eh?

stuff portrait friday

brought to us by Random and Odd and since Blogger has finally let me log on...here we go

Under the bed....

Lone lesbian boot....some dust, some cat hair and that's about it...really...and yes, I have cleaned this floor recently

Stereo...

mini-system in the bedroom, little tiny thing with little 100 watt speakers...hell yeah...(not pictured are various cd players, big component system in the den and my newest most favorite toy - the mp3 player)

Pots and Pans...

a small sampling of our cookware...LOL, I had a spell where I was truly a cookware whore and had to have some very specific stuff...this isn't it...in fact, I think most of the Calphalon must be in the sink...and nobody want to see that

did you play? it's not just for the cool people (as illustrated by the fact I'm playing)...

Blogher

I should have posted this weeks ago, but hey I am easily distracted (pretty, shiny things - right, em?)

Blogher has their beta site up and it's a huge group of women bloggers...last year's blogher blogroll was pretty much my introduction to blogging (thanks denise and tw, who are actually attending and participating this year)....

Register your sites ladies...art and illustrated blogs need some more representation :) (we're under Hobbies)...actually register regardless of whether or not you do one of those things because it's a very cool group and there's tons of stuff going on there....go on do it, it's all good.

yeah I remember

my dad called to chat last Saturday (from the sunbird RV park in St. Pete) and during the conversation he mentioned that he picked up a couple of mini-anvils at the RV park yard sale that morning...

and the signifigance of anvils?

both of his grandfathers were blacksmiths, did I know?

hell yes, I knew because I freakin' listen....what don't you get about that?

so, I've been playing around with the idea of themed sketch books lately (since the one I started in September is almost full) and I think I may do one of family stuff...not cute little drawings of the nieces and nephews, but the shit nobody seems to remember that I've carried in the back of my head for all these years...it won't be the only thing I work on, but a place to put a specific kind of image...

I have a grand gesture for next Christmas that involves bound copied editions of the best dozen or so, to be given to my siblings with a message that says something to the effect of...here it is, show your kids, know where we came from, and stop asking me....love, your bitter big sister

so here is a nod to our blacksmithing roots

p.s. - I have no idea if either great grandfather looked like this ;)

$3 worth of fun

Last nite's auction purchases....I am easily amused

CO2 powered airbrush tattoo kit....we'll give this to C (5 yo tattoo obsessed niece) at the next family gathering..sure to be a hit
couldn't pass up Kung Fu and Plop for a buck....seamonkey and 98 lb weakling ads (among other classics) inside
dream interpretation pamphlets from the early 1900's....actually advertising vehicle for some snake oil type of remedy....more from this later

yay for rufus!

The 2006 Best In Show Trophy was awarded to "Ch Rocky Top's Sundance Kid," a.k.a. "Rufus," a Bull Terrier (Colored).

oh well, another year that a hound didn't win so a terrier is almost as good ;)

wasn't the Rottie unbelievable? and the Pug was very cute...and the Golden is just the perfect looking dog...and what about the crazy huge Scottish Deerhound?....those are tremendous animals - can't imagine sharing a space with something that big who most likely thinks it's a lap dog....

like the commercial says, "we're for dogs"

Westminster TONITE!!

I love Westminster...coming on now...just have to stay awake for the Hounds...Hounds should always win (mostly) :)

WESTMINSTER

Dog show people make me smile and because it's dog show season, if you haven't seen it...you really must...

BEST IN SHOW

oh, RE the Newfie champion is on :)

IF - Simple

according to the Great Santini, eagle scout extraordinaire....the square knot, while one of the most simple knots to tie, is one of the most versatile and valuable to know....

I believe he also said something to the effect of being able to survive in the wilderness with nothing other than a pocket knife and square knot, but that's just him....

Santini tried to teach me knots as a kid, but I've never been able to keep left and right straight so I was a hopeless failure....except for the square knot

I know it isn't Friday buuuuttttt...

some cute cat pictures of the feral outside pack...I need to cat blog this morning...

we call him Fletcher...I don't know why - J started it...big orange Tom and very friendly....he was doing some aggressive belly rolling below....

This is Scooter...or at least that's who she is to us...one of the 2 that are more skittish, so I had to get a picture....

sundays make me think

of newsstands and newspapers....neither what they used to be...

there is only 1 of the 3 or so old newsstands left on Main St. that I remember as a kid

William Price Fox and The Great Southern Poet (most likely both drunk, signing at Capitol Newstand) Capitol Newsstand 12/30/05

....very often after Sunday lunch at my grandparents, me and my dad, and whoever else would head to one of these newstands...usually so dad could look at car, boating, fishing, camping, electronics, or whatever he happened to be into at the moment magazines...

that left us kids to our own devices...my brothers would head to the comic books if they were there, but I always went to look at the papers first....my god there were other cities in other states and even other countries....all publishing their own newspapers with articles about stuff happening where they were - amazing..

I think this was also the beginnings of my realization that South Carolina is neither the center of the universe nor it's own sovereign state no matter what I heard in school...

once I got older and could hang get there on my own, I would go by myself and ponder the papers for hours...usually I'd buy a couple from places I thought I might like to live....take them home and read every page, look at each advertisement, wonder about the people in the stories in these foreign towns and just daydream about escaping...

now the internet and technology are making the newspaper and the newsstand obsolete...and that's okay, times are different, the need for information is different, and somebody has to sell the porn but I miss the smelly old places with the magic newspapers a bunch....

and I realize this doesn't even start to describe the magazines, LOL

on a lighter note

cause today has been cold, rainy, and a little blue...

I just ordered something for Valentine's Day for J that I am so pleased with...it's not a big something, but a fun something...:)

we've kinda gotten out of the habit of a lot of gift giving to each other on holidays or birthdays for the last few years...we have had so many and we pick things up for each other when we see them anyway that it's just not the big deal that it used to be...and that's fine, but I found something today that I know will be a hit and completely unexpected...and actually a perfect Valentine's kind of thing...

unfortunately, I have to work Tuesday nite which is not such a popular issue in our house right now, LOL...but it's a week nite and we'll do something over the weekend - which will be a great time to experiment with this gift (and no it isn't that kind of gift exactly)

I suppose I should come up with a card too, huh?

stuff portrait friday

courtesy of Random and Odd via Dallasks (who is babysitting and doing a damn fine job)

~ What you love most about your home

I read somewhere - maybe an article or book about Wicca, maybe Harry Potter - that you should live in a place made of natural materials, so that you're surrounded by the energy of the earth...our house is made from granite quarried just down the street...in fact SC is one of the US's largest producers of granite (pointless piece of trivia - no charge)....our floors are hardwood which is a must with all the animals

~ What you love least about your home

our kitchen sucks big time....it's a closet...small doesn't even begin to describe it, the floor is bad vinyl, that ugly thing with the nasty looking label is the hot water heater, the cabinets don't close right thus the dowel...the list of why I hate this kitchen is bigger than the kitchen itself

~ What you love most about yourself


from a physical standpoint I'd have to go with the hands....ultimately the vehicle for any meaningful expression that I may have....

this was fun, I've been meaning to play for a while :)