Jeff's Barn Raising

This weekend is our friend Jeff's barn raising.

Dad left early this morning because he's the man in charge. Mom took us for walkies and left an hour later taking cookies with her. She did share one with us before she left! yeaaaaaaa

That's our dad in the red bandana.  They're preparing to raise the first bent.  A bent consists of 3 posts and a tie beam and hurricane braces.  

This is the director's chair that Jeff and his wife Marsha presented to our dad.  Dad never sits down at a raising but if he needs to, he has his very own personal chair!  He also has a voice that booms so we're not sure about the megaphone!

OOPS, the video should be before this photo because this picture shows that the first bent is already up.

This is bent #1 going up!

And this is bent #2 going up. 

See what we mean about our dads booming voice!

 This is bent #3 being shuffled into place.
There isn't enough room on the foundation to work with 4 bents all at once, so two are placed on the foundation and raised and the other two are off in the grass all built and ready to go and when they're needed, the timber framers carry them up on deck one at a time. 
There is also not enough room to lift these guys into their permanent home in one shot, so they are raised and then carefully shuffled into place

 Mom took a peak in Jeff and Marsha's family room at the clock that everyone was talking about.    Wow! What a cool clock!

 And check out this cake that timber framer, Katie made.   What a talented girl!  They aren't actually going to cut into that work of art, are they? 

 Mom did bring us a pressie.  A hat!   We were sorta hoping for edibles, mom!

 Tonight is the first barn pawty and this is the bottle that will be presented to Jeff and Marsha!

Barn raisings are a lot of fun!  We wish we could have gone to this one.  We hear that pizza is on the menu for tonight!

So until next time................

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

The Imposter

Yesterday the Rocky Creek Scotties posted about a fake Frontline that's out there - a fake Frontline that has killed pups!  If you haven't seen the article, here is the link. 

This is the picture that they posted: 
The imposter is on the left and the good stuff is on the right. 

 Mom has her Frontline box right in front of her computer screen to remind her to reorder so it didn't take her long ro realize that we have the imposter and we can say that we have had 2 doses of the imposter and it's stressful for us to wonder if our previous boxes were imposters too.
We are alive and we feel so horrible for the dogs and their families that didn't make it because of this nasty imposter.

We did not buy our box from Foster and Smith or 1-800-PetMeds and we didn't buy it from our vet but rest assured, we will be buying it from our vet from now on so we can view the box before we purchase it and the extra cost will be well worth it!  We will also be sending an email to the site where we did purchase this Frontline and hopefully they will respond. 

 We want to thank the Rocky Creek Scotties for getting the word out there.  Mom had 2 more green vials sitting on the counter just waiting to apply to our backs any day now.  Thank doG she waited and and thank doG Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh, Ruairi and Ivy posted!

Please read the article and please check your Frontline boxes if you happen to use Frontline.
You can never be too safe!


Do you like our new header picture?  It's a gift from JD, Max and their mom Clare.

They Sand-Script for the Crossed Paws Organization!     They sent us 5 beautiful photos for only $1.  The donations go directly to helping doggies and kitties in need.    All of the photos were fabulous and we can tell you that we had a really hard time choosing just one!
  We won't be going to Nantucket again this year and this makes us very sad but these gorgeous pictures make us very happy and it's for a great cause! 

So until next time.............

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

I LOVE Apples

Hi everyone. It's me, MitchyBoy!

Mom got a Southern Living magazine in the mail yesterday. There are 3 or 4 pages of nothing but apple desserts!   I LOVE apples!  They are my most favorite thing to eat in the whole wide world!

Do you know what it says at the bottom of this page I'm lookin' at?
"Your  daily fruit allowance~  You know what they say:  A slice of Apple-Cream Cheest Bundt Cake a day keeps the doctor away!"

OMG, I NEED some of this cake!

 This Skillet Apple Pie looks to-die-for to me, Mitch! 

 Carmel-Apple Cheesecake~
Mocha-Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting~
Fresh Applesauce~

I'm starving!

 Do you think if we ask mom very politely, she would make us an apple dessert, Maggie?

Which one should we ask her to make?
They all look super yummy!

Which one would you choose?

So until next time...............

Yer friends,
Mitch and Maggie

Almost Wordless Wheelie Wednesday

My stylish new hat and monogrammed bandana.  I'm stylin'!

See you all next Wednesday!

Friends forever,
Francesca

Rainy Monday

We had steady rain all day yesterday and today it's raining again but Mitch and I are helping dad and mom in the workshop and we're happy about that!  The roof and siding project takes them away from us too much and it gets lonely. 

These are the plans for the project, Mitch.  Can you make heads or tails out of dad's drawings?

 I get to be in charge because I let mom put the hardhat on my head and you didn't, Mitch!

 Break time already?

 It's blueberry yogurt today. 
I got to lick the spoon and Mitch gets to lick the container clean. 

 The project is complete! That was sure fast!
It's a ramp and seeing as I'm the boss, you need to make sure it can hold your largemargebutt, Mitch!
Dad tried to lure me on it with a treat but I didn't buy any of it - nope - no, sir!

The ramp is a wheelchair ramp and it's for our friend, Charlie, so he can wheel on and off his porch without as much assistance!
He's going to love it, dad!

So this is how we spent our rainy Monday.  How did you spend your Monday?

So until next time...............

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Pretty Please

The tomatoes are finally ripening!
They sure do look yummy!

Can I please have one?

Which one should I help myself to?

 Might as well be polite and not go for the biggest one! 
Gram always says to take the closest one to you!

 What do you mean I was just supposed to be posing with them and not eating one?

 I feel pretty certain that this was an offer!

Thanks, mom!

Yer most favorite boy,
Mitch

Happy 10th Birthday, Sugar

Today is our friend, Sugar's 10th birthday!

We are wearing our bestest smiles for you, Sugar!

And we are ready to pawty!

We hope you have the best birthday ever!

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

Another Project Update

Mom and dad are hard at work every single day on the project.   We're not calling it the roof project any more because it's turned into so much more than just the roof!

This portion of the roof is done - new shingles, lead flashing and new freshly painted siding. 

The wood over the top of the shingles is dad's staging.  He's leaving it there to make it easier to access the larger portion of the roof that still needs to be shingled. 

The wall with Tyvek on it never had sheathing.  It was just clapboards over studs so dad ripped off all of the old clapboards and sheathed it with pine siding and he and mom are working on getting up new clapboards.  Dad was told that James Hardie siding is one of the best new products on the market and it lasts and lasts so dad got a good deal and that's what he's decided to use.

As you can see, we still have quite a ways to go.

Eventually, this siding will be painted white. 

When mom needs a break from construction, she glances down for some pretty color in the garden. 

The butterfly bushes have Swallowtail butterflies on them all the time! They are so beautiful!

Am I as beautiful as the butterflies, mom?

She says even more so!

Awwwwww  thank you, mom!

So until next time.............

Love ya lots,

Maggie

A Visit from Holly and This Year's Quilt

Mom has been a part of the Airedale Quilting Bee for quite a few years now.    On Thursday, mom got to meet  one of  her favorite bee members - Miss Holly.    She lives in Canada so she came a long way to visit us!

I'm letting her know that she can't just go petting me without asking.  Holly totally understood and respected my wishes.

She got to walk me from the barn to the house and I was very grateful.  You can touch me now, Miss Holly!

 Holly has an Airegirl named Ginger who sounds like she and I could almost be twinsies. We're both very talkative and very bossy and very much princesses!  Ginger is more friendly towards hoomans and other dogs and I'm more aloof than she is. 

This is Ginger on her 10th birthday.  Is she celebrating in exactly the right right style or what?!
Way to go, Ginger!

Holly was walking me back to the house because the hoomans were going to Gouveia's for dindin.    

Holly and her husband, Steve and mom and dad decided to pick up pizza and take it with them.   They actually polished off 2 pizzas! This one happens to be shrimp and pesto. The other one was a red pie with mozzerella.  The wine was a delicious cabernet. 
And were we invited to go along with them and partake in the food and drink and fun?    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
But they did bring home ONE piece and we did get to enjoy that!

This is the quilt that the Airedale Quilting Bee is raffling off this year.    It's actually a quilt that was made in 2003 and it was won by one of the quilting bee ladies named Carol Elsworth.  She has very generously given it back to the bee.

This is the first quilt that our mom was involved with and she actually made 2 blocks for this project.  The biographies for this quilt are the original ones from 2003, which means that I am quite a bit younger!   This is me and Mr. Carrot, my favorite toy back then!

You'll have to click on the other block that mom made and you can see her looking a few years younger too!

If you can, please purchase tickets support Airedale rescue and maybe you could win this years' gorgeous quilt!

So until next time.............

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

Almost Wordless National Watermelon Day

You all remembered, right?

 Mom had this great idea to serve us watermelon on plates only we were too fast for her slow camera!

 I think we need another slice mom!

Our forever watermelon painting by our dear and very talented friend, Miss Barbara~

 And our mousepad that mom uses every single day!

We hope all of you will be getting watermelon for National Watermelon Day!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch