Ready for Trick-or-Treat!

The time is finally here to unveil the halloween costume!  It wasn't what we originally planned for (the Darth Vadar costume didn't fit), but what we ended up with is priceless!  Presenting my little devil, Brutus!!

After all, he is always into something, up to no good. 

What more fitting costume could there be?

Where's my pitchfork?? I thought I left it up here....

And the horns are eerily realistic, no?

Brutus was so tolerant of the costume that I just kept snapping photos, but eventually he got a little bored:

Could you at least fix my ear??  It's sorta stuck under the hat...

Geez, mom - aren't we done yet???

Mason doesn't get into halloween, but I bribed him into a few pictures with some liver treats:

It's tough to look distinguished when you are sporting bat antennae!

My husband will revoke my blogging rights if I post any more photos of his Mason like that... SOOO, moving on...

Here's Brutus, modeling his after-party outfit.  He is especially excited about his new Halloween collar which arrived today from Liz at CollarMania (along with a few other seasonal ones for the next few months!)

The shirt was on sale at PetSmart.  Don't tell Brutus, but it's actually a cat shirt!!  Be that as it may, it fits better than any other shirt I've bought him!

Such a cheeseball!!  He's even got a pumpkin ID tag that Paul bought him.  This is one pup that is ready for Trick-or-Treating!

With that, we'll leave you with a parting shot - literally

Did I hear the doorbell???  Candy, here I come!!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Teeny Frenchie??

Or freakishly large chair??  

You decide....

(and this is positively NOT photoshopped!!!)

And now for something completely different..

After all excitement in our recent posts of our adventures and friends, I thought it was about time for a more mundane post.  Back to Brutus just being his regular, cute-as-a-button, old self in his own home!

There was a package waiting for us when we got home from our Earlventure.  It was something I had ordered quite some time ago, hoping it would be here to help celebrate Brutus' Gotcha Day.  It didn't arrive quite in time, but was worth the wait (at least I thought so!).  I just couldn't wait to open it, but curbed my enthusiasm enough to let Brutus help.

Oooohh - a pressie!  Is it for me?

Hmm.  Tastes like cardboard.  Hope what's inside is better!

Well, mom - are you just gonna stand there taking pictures, or you gonna help me?  No opposable thumbs on the Frenchie, you know!

That's more like it.  Now, what do we have here??

Getting warmer.  Wait, there's a card...

Guess it's for both of us!  So much for it being a box full of dog treats, though.

Oh - here we go - its, its, its.... ????

.... Me???  Umm, OK...  

What's it say on his label?

Interesting - a custom sock dog.  That's a good looking model on the tag, I must say!

Yes, yes - I see he even has my cute little tail and nose wrinkle.  And the blaze on his chest matches mine perfectly!  Whoever made him sure did give good attention to all the details, I must say!

Let me get this straight; you had someone make a little me out of socks?  I guess I'm flattered...  At least he has good taste in collars.  

Speaking of taste... Can I eat him??

OK, OK -  even if I'm not allowed to eat him, I guess he can stay.  He is a good looking little guy after all, and how many dogs get to have their very own a mini-me?

I think this is our best side - snap away Mom!!

So as you have probably guessed, this little indulgence was much more for me than for Brutus! Although I already have Flat Brutus (who I made from a custom-drawn cartoon by Lili Chin, click here for that post) - as much as I love it, he is not exactly cuddly!  I found the custom sock dog idea on a Frenchie website, and just had to have one.  

The sock Brutus was made by Stacey Hsu, and as you can see she did an amazing job!  Right down to his wrinkles, markings, collar, and even the sort of sock she picked (it's even a little glossy, just like Brutus' coat!).  Go check out some more of her work at www.sockdogs.com - you can chose from many fun designs there, or have her custom-make a minature version of your own little buddy like we did!  No dog is too extreme for Stacey from what we can tell.  If you stop over to her site, tell her we said hi!

p.s - Yes, Dennis, we too are Monty Python fans :)

Contest Entries: Update II (edited)

Happy Monday everyone!

Sorry that this post has taken so long for me to post!  Between the actual trip in Big Earl, then blogging about it, I thought I'd never get these entries posted!  I also have a new appreciation for all you fellow bloggers who put on contests!  Collecting, organizing and posting the entries is quite the task!  I had decided to extend the entry date to November 6th to encourage more entries - it has certainly worked!  Some of you had mentioned you wanted to enter after halloween, so this should give you a fair chance to get those ridiculous photos uploaded!!

So here is the most recent batch of entries, most of which came in the last 10 days.  If you didn't see them a few weeks ago, check back to our other post (Contest Entires: Update) for our 3 earliest entries.  Feel free to still send in an entry, but here is what you are up against!  

Note: I hope I got this fixed - try clicking on the dog's name (above each picture) to link to their main blog page.  For some reason the pictures won't cooperate & link properly.  Darn Blogger, at it again!

Lily, Piper & Carrleigh (Rocky Creek Scotties)

Lynn shared the following ritual that her Scotties (and probably lab Java too) indulge in:

And we go to the kitchen to get our morning slice of bacon. If Mom's not fixing bacon, she gives us a piece of cheese. We'll take any kind, but our favorite is sharp cheddar.

Frankie Furter (Frankly Speaking)

Frankie has been having a problem with some renegade rodents who have taken over his blog.  I'm not sure who is more ridiculous, Frankie, or his dad (who I believe helps with the blog) who must have helped engineer the whole idea - but we love it.  If you haven't checked out his blog, head over to Frankly Speaking for some great entertainment!!!

Sweetie & Woodrow (NY Bully Brats)

Woodrow cleaning Sweetie - Sweetie has his leg in her mouth - he doesnt care too busy cleaning a nightly occuarance - Woodrow cleans everyone

 

Sweetie almost clears the 4 ft gate at 5 months old

Woodrow - bronco bully - woodrow insists on doing this every time I make the bed in the spare room.

Deb from the NY Bully Brats sent in these pictures of her bull terriers being silly.  Many of you know the lengths that Deb has gone through to help Woodrow back to health. Some might think it's ridiculous to invest so much energy, time, and money into a dog, but we applaud her for doing whatever is possible in order to help her furry friend!!!

Oskar (The Daily Oskar)

Oskar goes camping like we do.  His pawrents have come up with a way for him to relax in comfort & with style!!  Mom writes:

When we go camping my people would try to get me to sit on the ground around the campfire. Now I ask you, why should I have to sit on the ground when everyone else has a chair? To rectify the situation they bought me a chair with no arms, cause the arms get tangled up in the line I have to be connected to when I am camping. Also you can see the blanket on the back of the chair. Sometimes the campfire is not enough to keep me warm, so I need the blanket in case I get too cold. And if you look closely I'm sitting on a towel on my chair. What can I say, a nylon chair is not conducive to my hiney-end being comfortable. They may choose to rough it, but I still need my comfort.

Dexter (aka Pee-Wee)
Here is Mango's take on the crazy things about his labradude brother, Dexter:

I have noticed something most curious about the Pee-Wee. He will not do his business without an audience. That's right, even if he is so full he might explode, he refuses to leave the observation deck unless Momma is out there watching him. Then he runs out and pees a mighty amount having stored it up for his special performance. Master says that momma should just open the back door and let him figure it out, but momma gets all worried about him backing up and so no matter what the weather she goes out with him and watches him pee. Gosh, could it have anything to do with the fact that he gets a COOKIE for pee'ing? I'll bet he drinks water all day long just to show off for Momma when she gets home from work. Here is a picture of him waiting for her full attention before he puts his dainty paws down the stairs and into the yard. DOOFUS!

Riley & Star

Riley and Star most be some of the most talented, and dare I say pampered, doggies in the DWB world.  They have more clothes than the rest of us put together, and showcase them in their ongoing "Dancing with the Star," a takeoff of the TV series with a similar name (although we are unsure whether or not it is in syndaction yet....).  And it doesn't end with clothes - they also have hats, wigs, and even their very own set!  As you can see in Star's photo, there's a lot of pre-show work that must be done to make her beautiful (here mom wanted a new hairdo for her birthday party)!  Wow!  We only say it because we love you - but that's ridiculous, guys!!!

Benny & Lily (Doggy Days)

Our fellow blogging Frenchies take bathtime seriously!  Not only do they have their own bath mat they sit on when getting out of the tub; they both also have some snazzy terry cloth lounging robes they wear post-bath.  Hey, nothing is too ridiculous for our dear Frenchies, right guys??

Freya
Freya's mom Cat dresses her up every year for Halloween (check out the other pictures on her blog), and apparently Freya usually loves it.  But this costume was too ridiculous for even this good-sportedness of this corgi!

Freya--let me say this--really hated this costume. She was beyond humiliated. The first thing she did when I put the main piece of the costume on was hide her face in the pillows on our bed. It was quite hilarious and I laughed very hard.

Jackal
Jackal himself doesn't appear to think it's ridiculous to wear human clothes, he's just glad to be warm! Here's how his mom explains this photo:

Last winter when it got really cold Jackal would shiver and unfortunately I had to leave him outside when I went to work (only for five hours). He has one of those great igloo dog houses stuffed full of cedar shavings, but I still felt bad that he would be cold when he got out to go pee or bark at someone, so I put one of my t-shirts on him and used a rubber band to cinch it around his waist. This t-shirt he's modeling is one of my oversized ones. The one he wore last winter actually fit him better. Here are some more ridiculous pictures. :)

Mango (The Ridiculously Huge)

As if living with his size alone weren't enough to enter the contest, Mango's labradork brother Pee-Wee writes in with the following:

I will tell you what is ridiculous about Mango... EVERYTHING! He is ridiculously huge, ridiculously a momma's dog and to top it all off ridiculously thick headed. For example, he is always complaining about how he does not get enough trips in the mastiff mobile, but then when it is time to go he is too dopey to even figure out how to get in and momma always winds up "showing" him how and hoisting his absurdly large bottom in for him which could cause her physical injury. Then he has to have everything arranged just right or he cannot simmer down because even though there is enough room for two or three of him, there is only ONE SPOT where he feels he can properly ride. Don't believe me? I am enclosing a photo of the simple beast trying to figure out how he will every lay down given that there are SCARY KIBBLES BAGS (EEEEE) in his spot! If you need further proof, just watch this movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E40EqrlRyH8

Marge (Margeblog)
Marge has gone through great lengths to make a better life for her lab-mix rescue, Sam.  People who are not dog-lovers might never be able to comprehend the effort and time it takes to help a dog like Marge, but Sam takes it all in stride!  Here's what she has to say about her entry picture:

I don't know how clear you can see everything in this picture, but it goes like this: I am sitting in a small desk chair, there is a 40-pound Labrador mix in my lap, and, on top of that 40-pound Labrador mix, there is a 10-pound cat. It's just a totem pole of ridiculousless - me for letting Marge sit with me in that particular chair (it's not comfortable!), Marge for allowing Layla to get comfy on her back, and, in some ways, Layla for not freaking out that her prime real estate was being settled on by a big stinky dog. The result of this is usually painful pins and needles in my legs, but, hey, she enjoyed climbing up to cuddle, so it is definitely worth it!

Santa

Deepest apologies to our newest friend Santa the miniature Schnauzer - we somehow lost her photo and she was nice enough to remind us where to look!  Santa herself speaks on her entry:

I have come to love sleeping in the human's bed.  It is much bigger, more spacious, softer & much more comfortable!  Since I have taken over Mummy's bed, she has to make do with mine on the floor!

Well, that rounds out this lot of entries.  I apologize in advance, as I have probably missed somedoggy (Even now that I've got Santa!). If you have sent me an entry or posted one on your blog and haven't seen it featured yet, please let me know!  In the mean time, send in those last-minute entries!  I've enjoyed reading all your thoughts, looking at the photos and chuckling to myself!  Thanks to everyone who has entered, and those of you who still plan to.  It's good to know that there are others as ridiculous as myself out there, at least in the DWB world!

Our Big Earlventure, Part III

I don't usually post on Saturdays, but I'm SO far behind I'll never catch up if I don't plow ahead!  In our third and final post of the Earlventure, we spend another day in MA, then head home thought CT, NJ, and PA. 

Sunday turned out to be a really crummy day in the weather department!  We started off in the rain, and toured the Cambridge area without ever leaving the warm & dry interior of Big Earl. We actually drove through Harvard and MIT campuses (an impressive feat in a 40-ft coach!), just took some pictures through the window!

Brutus getting a taste of the Ivy Leauge.

The stoic buildings of MIT

That's the Harvard crew having a meet out there!  Brrrrrr!!!

Although it hardly seemed possible, the weather took a turn for the worse as we approached the Foxborough area.  If anyone saw the footage from the Patriots game last Sunday, we drove past Gillete stadium during the game - it was snowing/sleeting at an alarming rate!!  

The prematurely frozen landscape outside Gillete stadium!

Thankfully as we drove south out of MA, we left that miserable weather behind us.  We concluded our trip the way we started it, camping in casino parking lots!  Another late arrival to our resting place at Mohigan Sun in Uncasville, CT.  We were once again pleasantly surprised the next morning to find what a scenic view we had!  Thankfully the weather was beautiful, so I took the opportunity to catch up on my picture-taking!

Big Earl camped out in the RV lot.  We were surprised how many other rigs were there!

Mohegan Sun casino towering in the background.

Part Frenchie, part mountain goat!  Wonder if Mohegan Sun needs a spokesdog?

After a half-day of exploring this really neat resort (it's beautiful inside), we made the short drive over to Foxwoods casino.  That is where we spent our final night before heading home the next morning.  Two nights in the casino for my in-laws, a nice dinner, and a good-nights sleep for us!

We had another nice day for the drive home, the warmest and sunniest of all the days on the road. Everyone was tired and ready to get back to Ohio, so it was a quiet trip home - other than Brutus' snoring!  He found a few new places to nap in:

Atop the laptop...

... in between the seat and footrest...

... and in yet another chair!

After the l-o-n-g treck across 1-80 through PA, we arrived back home safe & sound. Big Earl was happy to be able to finally rest in our driveway.  He logged almost 1800 miles on this trip! 

 The only problem we ran into (literally) on the way home were thousands of flying insects!  Look at the windshield!

Here's a close-up in case you can't see it well enough in the first picture!

So I'd say the coach is officially "broken in"!  Some of you have asked if Big Earl is done for the season.  He actually has one more outing: a trip back into PA for the Penn State-OSU game. Then it's hibernation time until next spring.  We have BIG plans for him next summer, namely a month-long trip West across the plains, then up to Alaska!  Big Earl better rest up!!

Hope you all enjoyed my recap of our adventure.  Next week I'll post more contest entries, as well as some fun fall photos and some other more mundane things (compared to all the adventure from last week!).  

Good luck to everyone's teams, be they college or professional. OSU is up against Minnesota, and we're almost afraid to watch after last weekend's debacle!  Oh, well - for whatever it's worth......  GO BUCKEYES!!!!!