Humor

Charlie’s Ribfest

/ Jodi / 63 Comments

charlie 102015

I was in big trouble the other day this past week, friends!
But I have to tell you —- It was SO WORTH it!
And besides… Mom isn’t really that tough.  She tries to be mad and mean and tell me when I am bad…
but when I give her the sad, sorry look – guess what?
She believes it! (Can YOU tell how sorry I am from the look in my face above here?)

So Mom had some ribs thawing on the counter early in the morning getting ready to be dry rubbed and roasted all day in the oven for dinner.

While they were on the counter, she was in her office on one of those conference calls she does for work.

Now – I never let her see me do this, but – –  if I really need to, I can reach up onto the kitchen counter — especially when something smells as good as RIBS! So – while she was distracted, I swooped up and snagged about a pound of the three pounds she had thawing and swiftly sped out the doggy door.

ribs

Here is what some of the ones looked like that I couldn’t grab in time.
O M G Friends!  They were TOO DIE FOR!  Even in their semi-frozen state.

Mom caught me when I was down to about two ribs and she tried chasing me around the yard for them, but I wasn’t giving in on this one, and we ran circles around the yard while I continued gripping and gnawing at my final ribs.

When I was done, I finally came to her, licking my lips, and looking at her like:
“Did you call me?”

Here I am!”  (teeheehee)

I had my own Charlie’s RibFest!

And yep – I got in trouble,
but yep – it was also worth it!
Just sayin’….

Do you ever have tough decisions to make like that? You know you shouldn’t… You know you are going to get in trouble… but you know it’ll be ok in the end.

And this is how I spent most of the afternoon.

charlie after ribs

It’s a dog’s life – (happy sigh)…

Anybody having ribs tonight at their house?  I’m available!

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends.  Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model.  Some of his best friends are Mike the UPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house.   If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: thecreativelifeinbetween.com.   If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.

Thursday Chuckle with Charlie: I’m a Morning Dog

/ Jodi / 67 Comments

Charlie morning dog

Hi Friends!
It’s your buddy Charlie checking in.
Mom needed a break, so she said I could write another post.
Lucky you guys – right?!

Let’s talk about Mornings.

I’m a Morning Dog.

It’s the greatest time of the day! Don’t you agree?

Here are the TOP 10 things I LOVE to do in the morning:

  1. Leap into bed with Mom and Dad as soon as I see just one of their eyes begin to flutter open.  When I notice that from my bed across the room, I bounce into their bed with them and jump back and forth between them and off and on the bed and lick their faces to tell them, “It’s Morning, It’s Morning!  It’s another wonderful day!  Let’s get up and play!”  My mom thinks it’s great to wake up laughing every morning…
  2. Eat breakfast.  Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day – closely followed by dinner (which is my only other meal of the day – unless I can snag some snacks).
  3. Go for a walk –  preferably before Mom has time to even think about a cup of coffee!
  4. Dig holes in the flower garden – especially after it rains for two days solid keeping me cooped up in the house – and only when my Mom is preoccupied with work to notice.  (Otherwise I get  – “NO! Charlie!”)  I hate that word No…
  5. Zoomies.  After digging holes for a while, it is a BLAST to come flying through my doggy door, before Mom can catch me and ZOOM around every room of the  house – circling the furniture until I can hardly breathe any more.  Do you ever get the “zoomies?”  Sometimes I just have to run like the wind, and then I feel so much better.  You should try it when you have lots of stress or pent up energy.  It’s a great feeling.    And besides – what’s a little mud on the carpet matter?   It just dries and turns to dirt,  and then Mom can easily clean it up with the vacuum….. Right?!  It gives her something to do…
  6. Pull all the stuffing out of my stuffed toys.  Isn’t that fun?!  Yesterday morning I polished off my Dog Equis  (It’s the doggy, stuffed version of a Dos Equis).  It was delish!
  7. Chew bones.  I could gnaw on bones all day long, but I especially love them in the morning!  I also like to throw them around and drop them on the hardwood floor.  When my Mom is on one of those things she calls a “conference call,” she sometimes gives me dirty looks or tells me to “shush!”  I pretend like I don’t know what she means, because then she will put some peanut butter in my bone, which she apparently thinks is a good quiet activity.  BONUS for me!!!
  8. Play tug.  Was there ever a greater game invented?  I bring a rope toy to my Mom, which I hang on to, but I pretend I want to give it to her.  When she reaches down to take it, I pull back.  If she lets go, I put it in front of her face again.  It’s so fun to tease her with this and show her how tough I can be hanging on when she tries to pull it.  Sometimes we growl at each other, but only in a fun-loving tug-of-war competition kind of way.    GRRRR!!!!
  9. Play fetch.  Sometimes Mom says I have to “drop it” when we are playing tug.  (Sigh!)  Okay lady – if it makes you happy… I will give it to you.  You can then throw it so I can run across the room to bring it back, and then…. hopefully…. you will let me play tug with it the next time….
  10. Ear scratches and tummy rubs.  My mom works on her computer A LOT!  I know she thoroughly enjoys when I give her the opportunity to take a break by resting my chin on her knee so she can scratch my ears and tell me what a good boy I am.  If she is too busy to notice this tactic (which I do strictly for her benefit as I recognize she is working much too hard!), I will resort to laying down at her feet and rolling over on my back to allow her to rub my belly.  I know it makes her feel much better…..

Afternoons are for napping.  Right?

Because then, you can get rested up enough to start the whole “morning” routine all over again when the rest of the family arrives home at the end of the day!

How do you like to spend your mornings?

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

Thursday Chuckle with Charlie

/ Jodi / 61 Comments

charlie autumn nap

Yippee!  Yippee!
It’s Me! It’s Me!
Your favorite guest blogger – Charlieeeee!

Mom said I could write again today, but she chose this embarrassing picture of me to share…
SLEEPING!
Of all things!!!
Of all the wonderful, adventurous, exciting things I do….
She posts THIS!!
I was just catching a few eensy weensy teeny tiny winks out in the yard in the beautiful Autumn weather and sunshine for a moment. Really!

My dad tells me she gets a kick out of doing that to him sometimes too.
He works and works and goes and goes – and then, the minute he “rests his eyes” in his recliner…
SNAP!
She catches the moment as if it is something funny!

Us guys do have our pride…. Right guys?! Cut us a break!

Usually I am quite busy.

There are butterflies and bees
and chipmunks and falling leaves to chase.
There are sticks to chew.
There are peppers and cucumbers and tomatoes in the garden to eat.
There are holes to dig.
And deer and turkey to watch.
There is fetch to be played.
And stuffed animals to rip the stuffing from.
When Mom cooks, there is food falling on the floor in the kitchen to clean up.
And when I’m really lucky – there are walks to take
and breakfast and dinner and the occasional treats to savor after doing a potty outside or showing that I can sit (DUH!).
There are visitors to get to know – cautiously at first – right friends?! You can never be too sure!
But when I do know you – look out! Puppy kisses and snuggles galore!
And sometimes I even get to go for car and truck rides
and even boat rides (though I am working desperately on trying not to get sick from the motion!).

So of all of this important stuff – Mom shares a picture of my [ahem] brief nap!

But sometimes…..
I just run out of steam….
(doesn’t it happen to you sometimes too?)

and all the sudden….
my eyes just can’t stay open anymore….

and before I even know it,
out comes that daggone camera – and SNAP!

Caught in the act!

Hope you are enjoying your little place in the world as much as I am mine this week!
Take some time to lay down in the soft grass and crunchy leaves and take it all in until you can’t stand it any more, and take a nap.

As my mom would say: cherish the moments!

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

PS  If you are a new “lifeinbetweener” and would like to read more “Chuckles with Charlie,” you can click:
Here or
Here or
Here
or just type “Charlie” in the Search bar.
Happy Chuckling!

Thursday Chuckle with Charlie

/ Jodi / 68 Comments

Charlie 090115

Hi Friends –

We gotta talk!

Can you believe my new Mom and Dad, who I was just getting comfy with and falling in love with after three weeks together, LEFT ME HOME while THEY went on vacation last week?!

I wasn’t sure what the heck happened to them, but thankfully my new brother was here to take care of me.  Problem is – he goes to work all day, and I was left home alone for 8 hours ALL BY MYSELF for the first time ever ever ever – here in Mars.

It was kinda scary, and I didn’t know what to do.

The first day I did find a cute little teensy weensy little wooden lamb, which is part of one of my Mom’s little Noah’s ark displays in the dining room, that was really tasty.  You guys like lamp chops – right?  It kinda tasted like that, except a little bit more splintery, so I spit most of it back out.

The second day, I was really missing my Dad, so I decided to just chew a tiny little bit on his shoe.  It smelled good and made me feel better like as if I was with him.

By the end of the week, my brother must have really missed being with me as much as I did with him, because he got to work from home.  YAY!

We had fun – well – I did anyway.  I kept bugging him to go outside and play.  The bonus of it was that he learned he could trust me outside in the yard ALL BY MYSELF while he worked.  I’m a really good boy and stay in the yard.  (You guys have seen those nasty red flags – right?!  As long as you don’t go near them – life is grand!)

Charlie 090115 2

My Mom kept calling my brother to see how I was.  She was worried about me, because, after all, I am her baby (HAHA Nick!).  I kept trying to tell him to tell her to get home, but I just couldn’t seem to communicate it to him.  I tried mostly at night…. in the middle of the night mostly…. (Isn’t that when you get the loneliest?)

Like at 1:30 am…

or 2:15 am…

or 3:45 am…

Finally, my brother would get out of bed at like maybe 5:30 am and stay up.

Those other times, he would take me out and think I had to go potty or something.  I didn’t. DUH!!  I just wanted to play!  Heck – I slept all day…  (and I did keep my Dad’s chair warm and smelling nice so it would really be perfect for him when he FINALLY got home!)

Charlie 090115 3

When Mom and Dad came home – after a LOOOOONG week (You guys know how long that is – right?  Seven – that is S-E-V-E-N  DAYS!),  I thought I was seeing things!  I looked at them…. I wanted to be excited, but I thought maybe I was just hallucinating – maybe delirious with grief.  But… when I got a little closer and sniffed and then jumped into the air onto them, I realized it REALLY was them!  They were HOME! Finally HOME!

I’m not straying too far from my Mom’s side this week.  Maybe if I watch her very carefully, she will not do that again!

Thanks for listening, friends, and sorry to whine a bit, but it was a heck of a week!

I’m doing really great now (with the exception of a little accident here and there – SHEESH – I am still kind of a baby and this is still kind of new!).  My Mom keeps telling me she loves me and what a good boy I am :). I know this, but it is nice to hear a couple thousand times a day – right?!

And she sings me my favorite song:

I love you – 
a bushel and a peck…
A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

She sings SO Beautifully!  Even though my Dad says I’m the only one that thinks so.

Thanks to so many of you for asking my Mom if I can be a regular here!  If you keep urging, she may let me continue!  <doggy wink!>

Woofs & Hugs,
Charlie

Thursday Chuckle with Charlie

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

charlie puppy photography

Hi Friends!

In case any of you are wondering….
I am settling in pretty nicely at my new home.

No more rope…
No more leash…

The doggy door is O P E N….
and I am FREE!
(well – at least within the confines of those dreadful red flags!)

Life is good…
with my new family at lifeinbetween!

Charming Chuckles,
Charlie

Guest Blogger Charlie: My New Home

/ Jodi / 66 Comments

It’s been so nice of many of you to ask how I have been doing at my new home, so Mom said I could write a guest post for our LifeInBetween friends.

charlie 1

It’s been 10 days since my new Mom and Dad drove me two VERY Loooooooong Hours in the truck to Mars from  my temporary home at the dog shelter in Ohio.  As my mom already shared, I threw up three times.  Seems I get a bit car sick, and I was EXTREMELY nervous too.

I was pretty shy at first.  There were so many new things to discover, and I wasn’t sure I trusted these people, but my Mom works from home most of the time, so she has been able to be with me A LOT, and I am really growing fond of her.

charlie 2

Dad has to leave most of the time during the day to go to his job, but when he comes home, boy is it fun to have both of them here!

There is A LOT to learn here.  My mom said it is for my best interest and safety to learn all of these rules, and it will make me a better dog, so I am trying very hard to make her happy.  Sometimes, however, I just can’t help myself…

charlie 5

I went to the doctor yesterday for my first check-up.  I really didn’t want to get in Mom’s car, but she turned the air conditioning on full blast in my face, laid a big blanket down on the seat (in case I threw up again – and to catch the unfortunate drool that I just couldn’t help).  Thankfully it was a short drive, and I didn’t throw up!  YAY!

Once there, however, I was a nervous wreck again!  I did NOT want to go in.  So many new smells, new people, things I just didn’t understand – nor did I want to!  But once again, Mom convinced me it was for my best interest, so in we went.

The doctor and his helpers were really nice.  They were patient with me.  They told my mom I was very handsome and very healthy, and that I am about a year old.  Dr. I liked my teeth and my coat and my ears.  He told her I need a lot of TLC because I am nervous.  I weigh 40.8 pounds.  Seems I lost a few pounds during this transition time, but I look pretty svelte if I do say so myself!

charlie 6

One of the ways my mom says she is trying to “help” me is with this stupid red “bizzer” collar I have to wear, and these horrifying orange flags around the edges of the yard.  We walk around and around and around the yard, but we don’t dare go near those flags.  Mom tells me we are in “Charlie’s yard.”  (yeah yeah – whatever!  I get it lady – you’ve said it a couple gazillion times).

charlie red flags

At first, though, I have to admit I really wanted to check out beyond “Charlie’s yard” a couple times.  Well – let me tell you, it is not something you want to do!  If there is one thing you take away from this post – I implore you – look out for orange flags everyone!

If I don’t have my “bizzer collar” on, it is exciting, because that means we are going for a walk BEYOND Charlie’s yard – YIPPEE!  Unfortunately, there are more rules to that, however, like we have to stop and stay off the street when these things called “cars” come zooming by, and I am not allowed to eat all the interesting things I find on the ground that mom says you really don’t want to hear about.  She says it is “YUCKY!”  I say it is “YUMMY!”  Sometimes she wins.  Sometimes I win.

My mom wants me to eventually be able to go out in the yard without a leash, but so far, I really can’t be trusted (as I have proven two times already).  So one of her “training techniques” is that she leaves a leash on me with a long rope attached, but she doesn’t hold onto it.  This way, if I do start to run or head out beyond the orange flags (NOT!), she can catch the long rope.  She knows I can run much faster than her (wink!), and I like to run!

charlie 3

Last night, we played in the yard and on the deck.  It was so nice out, and I played with some of my favorite toys.

I also like to relax on the chaise lounges when I get tired or to just chew on a bone or ball for a while.

charlie 4

I’m settling in nicely, and I hope to have lots of stories and adventures to share in future posts if Mom allows me.

After all, I’m one of the things she likes about “life in between.” 🙂

Cheers & Puppy Kisses,

Charlie

How I turned Peach Coffee Cake with Browned Butter Peach Glaze into the HEALTHIEST Fruit Dessert EVER!

/ Jodi / 47 Comments

peach coffee cake with brown butter glaze

First, I spent about an hour or so early in the morning blanching, dicing, mixing, melting, streuseling,  spreading, baking, glazing, and plating.

peach coffee cake with brown butter glaze 2

I then cut a slice,
took a photo of the whole cake,
plated a slice for a photo,
placed it on the edge of the deck railing with the cake where I was photographing for good lighting so I could share here,
considered how I should be careful balancing so much on the railing….

peach coffee cake disaster

Shrieked!
Cursed……
cleaned up the broken plate, ENTIRE cake AND plated slice out of the mulch 10 feet below the deck…

and cut up a ripe, juicy cantaloupe for dessert.

cantelope

I’ll have to try that one again another time…

or not….

The upside:

We saved hundreds of calories,
The cantaloupe was SUPER sweet,
and I allowed myself an extra glass of wine that evening.  🙂

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS  If you would like the recipe for the Peach Coffee Cake (which I cannot tell you how it tasted), here is a link to The SeaSideBaker where I found the recipe.  If you would like the recipe for my Cantaloupe dessert: cut up one fresh, ripe, juicy delicious cantaloupe into bite-sized pieces, and enjoy.  🙂

A Fun Guy

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

Mushroom Funji

On my walk to the mailbox one day last week, I stopped in my tracks when I saw this mushroom.  Such bright yellow and orange and quite large – probably about 3 inches in diameter.

I am NOT a mushroom fan, so don’t know a lot about them, but my guess is this one would not be a good one to eat!  Look at all the icky things growing on it!

Anyway – it reminded me of one of only two jokes I have ever been able to remember in my life.

Our youngest son’s girlfriend often tells a “corny” joke or two when she comes for dinner or a visit.

I’ve always been envious of people who can remember jokes and tell them well.

My father-in-law had a full arsenal of corny jokes, and he would adore Liz for it if he were still around.

So are you ready for the joke?

Here goes.

A mushroom walks into a bar.

The bartender immediately says, “Hey you – get outta here!  We don’t serve your kind in here.”

The mushroom replies, “WHY?  I’m a Fungi!”

laugh

Cheers & Happy Monday Hugs,

Jodi

Don’t Take that Route Little Squirrel

/ Jodi / 23 Comments
squirrel

the little grey squirrel that visited our deck

Hello little Squirrel…
are you a boy or are you a girl?

I love the way your fluffy tail
has such a happy curl.

We thought you were so cute
the first day you gave the bird feeders a whirl.

It was fun to watch you leap and jump
and prance and dance and twirl.

But you were a bit of a piggy…
eating more than your fair share.

So we had to give a shout
that gave you a little scare.

I sure hope that your feet – that are a little biggy
withstood that leap and kept you springy
from the tromps and claps and shouts
of that old meany Papa Bear McKinney.

Have fun climbing trees and running about,
but please watch out – – -don’t take the route
that causes us… to chew you out.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Special Guest Blogger Post: A Walk with Mikey

/ Jodi / 52 Comments
Mikey walk

Sometimes I stick my tongue out at my Mom when she takes my picture for the umpteenth time

Some of you may remember me from my debut blog post back in November.

Mom was looking for a break, so I offered to write today’s post and share a bit from our adventures yesterday.  (Well… she did the typing, but I did all the creative thinking!)

First off… I’m very proud to share that, with the break in weather and the opportunity to get back out and walk with Mom, I fit back into this spring jacket / raincoat (albeit barely fit) since loosing the 3 or 4 lbs I recently packed on.  Don’t I look svelte?!

Mikey walk raincoat

When the weather was below zero for weeks on end, the only exercise I was getting was my occasional escape into the woods when Mom or Dad weren’t paying attention where I was secretly feasting on the hind quarter of a deer I found (all by myself!).   Then Dad had to go and spoil everything by tracking my footprints in the snow the led him directly to my snacking spot.  I should have taking some twists and turns to throw him off, but my exuberance to get directly there won out.

Since it was still in the below freezing temperatures when Dad found MY deer, the best he could do was attempt burying it with sticks and random stuff that I had ABSOLUTELY NO TROUBLE getting past, so when caught again (due to the smell on my breath and the size of my waistline) when returning from “going potty,” I was grounded.

Seriously…. Grounded!?  How humiliating!  My doggie door was BLOCKED!  No free range for me.  I had to humble myself to ring the hanging bell on the front door when I absolutely HAD to go out.

So when Mom started offering walks again recently when the weather broke, I got my mojo back and thought I’d share a bit of our adventure with you all.

Monday was so warm and sunny, we didn’t think to take pictures since we were enjoying it so much.  Yesterday was a bit drizzly and dreary, but that didn’t hold us back – though we did only have the iPhone with us to capture these snippets we are sharing.

Mikey walk snow melting

Don’t you just hate when ‘someone’ shares this rear-angle view of you?! SHEESH!

First stop was this tree that has been troubling me for a while now.  I really wish my friend Jim would get back from Florida!  He would be appalled to see this tree down and laying in his yard.  And besides, I am sure he misses seeing me walk by his house daily and letting me run around his yard and give me ear scratches and belly rubs.  COME HOME JIM!

Mikey walk Jim tree down

There are several of these bright red fire hydrants that we pass on our walk.  We thought our friend Dan at RedStuffDan would like this shot.  He takes some amazing photos (most with red stuff) from a place called South West France.   Whatever…

Mikey walk fire hydrant

It is exciting to see all the things that have been buried under the snow for so long.  I was very carefully sniffing around these VERY prickly things that have fallen on the ground from a large tree.  They were not really very interesting to me, but I’ll bet our friend PJ from BeautifulWords would think of a funny or heartwarming story to write about them!

Mikey walk prickly tree things

When we saw this litter, we thought of our friend Jo at DailyRecord365 and the beautiful work of art she made from the things she collected on her recent walk.  Mom and I have decided we are going to try to remember to carry a trash bag one day a week and pick up this ugly litter people have thrown out on our beautiful stretch of walk.

Mikey walk trash

It was great to see and hear the water running in this little creek that runs under the road and into the woods that has been frozen for so long.  We envision John at JustMobilePhotos doing something crazy cool with his photo editing skills with this one and making it all dreamy and freaky looking, or Sylvia at SpanishWoods writing something poignant in just a few words that would make us smile and remember this moment all day.

Mikey walk water running

Every time we pass these beautiful blue spruce trees (that smell like Christmas by the way), we think of our friend Barbara at SilverintheBarn and all the beautiful arrangements she creates and how much she loves and misses blue spruce trees.  Come visit Barbara and we can send some back with you!  And maybe a certain little Westie-boy would like to join us for a walk.

Mikey blue spruce

I am very curious about walking up this path, but Mom says that bright orange sign means we are not allowed.  We try to follow the rules (except when fresh venison is involved!)  And we know our friend JR at Nuggets of Gold would want us to do the right thing.

Mikey walk no trespassing

It was a great walk, but I got quite muddy… And we all know what that means……

the dreaded “B” word!

Yep – you guessed it – BATH – I had to immediately get in the laundry room stationary tub (seriously!?! – there are other much nicer tubs in the house!)  Albert from AlbertsNewYork – are you with me here?!  Do your people make you bathe in the laundry tub?  HELP!

Mikey bath

And then my Mom thinks this is a cute way to dry me off….  MH at MotherHenDiaires – please hold your tongue – I know you have something to say about this pose – but I beg you to spare your wit at my expense (unless it involves one of your chickens as a treat!)

Mikey towel

This is how I like to dry off!  Like a real man!  Like AI from AlmostIowa who lives in a cabin in the woods and writes about macho, manly stuff and doesn’t feel the need to check freshness dates on things (like dead deer in the woods).

Mikey drying

But after all this excitement, I need to rest.  And my favorite place is to undo Mom and Dad’s bed and snuggle between my Dad’s two pillows and hide my nose (but never my eyes that are always on the lookout – unless they close –  for the UPS man or squirrels or deer or bunnies or birds or the pizza delivery man or….) and I dream about Laura at CreateArtEveryDay capturing my beautiful eyes in one of her famous sketches and challenging people to guess who it is (since I am kinda famous) or maybe Jenny from RamblingsfromaMum could write a beautiful poem about me….

Mikey after bath in bed

Well – I’m exhausted after all of this blogging stuff, so I think I will take a nap, but I hope you will write and comment so Mom will give me more opportunities to be a guest blogger here at lifeinbetween.  After all, I am part of what makes her life so darn wonderful!

Sincerely,

paw printMikey McKinney