30 years, the Pearl Anniversary

1978

2008



Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Could you guys be any cuter? Thank you for everything! I love you!

pup and circumstance

brophy done us proud.

for his last day of class, brophy was again banished from the small dog pen (stupid--but adorable--diesel). but he was vindicated when his pal lito thought diesel was boring and whined to get in the big dog pen with brophy.

lito and brophy are great pals. brophy has a slight size and strength advantage, but lito's more pointed snout makes him champion of the neon frisbee that's in his mouth.
the only picture of diesel i got. not because he moved too much, but because all the other doggies kept running in my shot! he was really sweet and mellow. jake and i are now considering a greater swiss mountain dog when we're ready for a big dog.

for his graduation demonstration, brophy had to sit, lie down, stay, leave-it and do a recall. everyone "wowed" his leave-it, and though his stay was between a sit and a down (he dislikes cold floors), and though his recall wasn't obeyed until the trainer pointed him to me (brophy's a very in-the-moment puppy, and the trainer had treats!) he has clearly mastered his basic commands.

brophy was also teacher's pet when he demonstrated shake/high-five for the class, then hung out and sniffed while the rest of the class tried to learn how. aww, my heart was all swelled up and we (jake and i) were both grinning big!

i'm mean II

hidi. for heidi. that's an oldie, actually. my parents used to entertain us with the tales of the poorly named girl. i think she was a childhood neighbor.

p.s. see this old post if this makes no sense to you.

to kasey: in response to comment about fettucine with prosciutto and peas

well, i was attempting to make this recipe, and didn't have anything but 1% milk. so i threw in that and three single-serving packets of cream cheese (that i had because when the nixons came to visit, i bought bagels at the coffee shop). they were about a tbsp each. it was really good, and i think that the shallots were really important to the flavor. i also substituted prosciutto for bacon, which i recommend crisping briefly in a skillet, otherwise, it's too chewy.

one of our favorite meals

bbq chicken and bacon pizza, with garlic & herb crust from trader joe's. usually made with trader joe's bbq sauce, which i adore and usually eat a couple spoonfuls plain while i'm making it. i think it reminds me of mcdonalds sauce, but definitely better. anyhoo, this time made with dr. pepper bbq sauce, a christmas gift from me to jake. it doesn't really taste like dr. pepper. this is jake's favorite pizza, and despite its lack of veggies, it may be mine, too.

so, to compensate for no veggies, we had a wedge salad which is defintely in the top two or three salads for both of us.

1/4 head of iceberg (nutritionally underrated. actually a great source of folic acid.) blue cheese dressing, crumbled bacon. a bit of left over tomato salad consisting of heirloom red, orange and green tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil and basil. sans red onions that usually top this salad in restaurants--we don't like them!

brophy is seven months old

this doesn't seem like a significant birthday, but the contract with the breeder who sold us brophy stipulated that they receive pictures when he is 3 and 7 months old. this was on feb 24 (mom's birthday :)), but i took these pictures a week later. oh well.

broph is going to graduate from puppy school next saturday. i HAVE to remember to take the camera. he goes an hour before class for "pooch play" and there have been some great little dogs that are the perfect size and age for brophy to play with. and he does not take this activity lightly. pooch play is his JOB. he plays his little heart out for the full hour. it's so fun to watch.

his latest accomplishments are:

shake/high five/waving (his paw-control makes the action pretty much the same on his part!)

stay:

he's doing so well at down-stays. thank goodness, because without them, it would be impossible to put my shoes on in the morning!

leave it:

this is also one of brophy's signature commands. we can put a treat on his paw and he won't eat it until we say, "ok!"

we need to work on greeting people on and off leash and consistent recalls. he loooooves meeting new people and will jump, and he is very distractable and if he's somewhat far away, he doesn't respond to his call to come. i'm glad his shortcomings are because he's a happy, friendly dog. though he met his first puppy since he's been more grown up at pooch play yesterday. he played too aggressively and had to be removed to the big-dog pen, which isn't as much fun for him, because the big dogs are annoyed by him and his attempts to play. i think the dog-center owner was too quick to remove him because the puppy was new and she didn't want to upset its owners, though. brophy was growling, but the regulars there often play pretty rough and it isn't that big of a deal. i hope brophy gets a good play session next week, since it's the last one, and without being enrolled in the class, it costs $10, meaning we probably won't go anymore.

"sit, brophy, sit. good dog." "ruff!"