Charlie

Chatting with Charlie

/ Jodi / 48 Comments

charlie 3 months

Hi Friends –

Mom finally took a break from blabbering about Winsor and Newton Prussian Blue to allow me to get a word in edge wise!  Shheeesh!

How have you all been?
Well…. enough about you…

Can you believe I have been in my new home three months now?

I am really settling in and feeling comfortable.

Comfortable enough to reach up onto the kitchen counter when something yummy smelling is within reach….

Comfortable enough to snag Dad’s soft and fluffy slipper and take out in the yard to play with and pull all the stuffing out of…

Comfortable enough to find my voice and “Rooooofff” when Mom isn’t quick enough to get her shoes on when she mentions we are going for a walk, and I have already waited an antagonizing 15-20 seconds…

Comfortable enough to grumble at Dad when he tries to roll over when I am snuggled up by his feet prohibiting him from moving in the middle of the night because I am cold and Mom and Dad’s bed is so much warmer than mine….

Comfortable enough for Mom to let me off my leash when I see my neighbor, Jim, so I can run to him and jump up and kiss him right on the lips because I am so happy to see him….

Comfortable enough to “drop it” when Mom tells me to – even though I want to play tug with my favorite toy…

Comfortable enough to wait patiently in the yard while Mom and Dad leave in their car and truck, watching the leaves blow until they come home again….

It’s a good life…

A dog’s life…

My life.

Woofs and Wags,
Charlie

Boys will be Boys – Charlie on Toys

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

Charlie and Stuffed Tiger

Jodi (Mom):  “Awh!  Isn’t he sweet?  Here is my little Charlie boy kissing his baby Tiger toy.”

Charlie Stuffed Bear

Charlie:  “Can’t wait to do this to him!”

Cheers & Woofs,
Jodi and Charlie

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

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

Mellow Yellow & Puppy Love

/ Jodi / 37 Comments

yellow flower watercolor card

Here’s a little yellow flower watercolor I recently did with no particular flower in mind – just goofing around really.  Feeling kind of “mellow” when I did it (which I’ve come to think is a good way to feel when water color painting). I think I like how it turned out.

I am using it as a thank you card for a very sweet lady (Hubby’s boss’s wife), who sent home the loveliest gift basket yesterday to welcome our new little guy, Charlie, who you may recall briefly “meeting” in yesterday’s post.

As those of you that know me or have been following for a while know, we lost our dear sweet Mikey almost three months ago…  Not a day has gone by that I haven’t missed him or thought about him.  Mikey was such a special little guy, and our hearts and our house has had a big empty hole in it since he left us.

Hubby has been following posts from petfinder, and animal friends, and all the local shelters for the past month or so in pursuit of a new furry friend to rescue and fill the void in our home.

This past weekend, he showed me a picture of a little guy, who we have come to name Charlie (or Chuck for short), who we drove close to two hours to meet, and who we feel in love with almost instantly.

Charlie got his name from the fact that his nervous tummy had him “up-chucking” three times on the ride home from the animal shelter to Mars.   He is a bit of a nervous Norman – quite likely he was not treated well by his previous owner.

Word is he was dropped off at the shelter with his buddy – another dog – about three weeks ago.  His best bud was adopted a couple days before him, and Charlie (Kota as he was named by the shelter) was deeply depressed.   When we signed the papers and got ready to head home, one of the volunteers told us we rescued him just in time as he was getting so sad.

We have no idea what his history is or what “breed” he is.  The best guess from the “experts” at the shelter is that he is approximately a year old (they determine this by looking at his teeth), and that he is part beagle and part Australian Sheep Dog…  We are guessing he has some retriever or lab in him – probably that and about 52 other varieties!

Charlie is growing more and more content and settled, and he is stealing our hearts quickly.

His first night, he slept in between hubby and me in bed.  Second night, he found his place on the couch in our room and slept peacefully all night.

He loves to chew on some old bones we had in a bucket from Mikey and is an avid fetch and retriever of a knotted rope Mikey didn’t want anything to do with.

I have been spending my hours scratching ears, rubbing tummy, walking the perimeter of our yard (and quickly accumulating steps on my FitBit!), and enjoying lots of doggie kisses in between everything else.

Our first BIG success came when Charlie “rang the bell” that we have hanging on the front door to let us know he “needed” to go outside on his third day at home.  What a fast learner!  I’m such a proud Momma!  🙂

How fortunate I am to be able to work from home and allow our little guy to acclimate to his new surroundings with the comfort of knowing I am here for him and he is safe and at home.

Here is Charlie “posing” in his Camo Bandana that came in his awesome gift basket.  He is 45 pounds of exuberance, nervousness, intelligence, and love.

Charlie in Camo

I guess that’s why they call it “puppy love!”

Cheers & Hugs & Puppy Kisses from Mars,
Jodi