We're Ready!

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  As Zim told you yesterday, Mom and Dad scheduled a delivery of a big truck full of mulch today.  We know it's going to be a whole lot of work, but I think we're ready.

I started prepping last night. Here I am, helping Mom relax:

We need to store up some energy while keeping our minds sharp; we decided to tackle a Sudoku puzzle.

"Try putting a 7 in the upper right corner of the right-hand block in the middle row..."

I'm pretty sure she couldn't do those without me.

Zim did his part last night, too, and now he's getting set near the front door...

"... and ... stretch and ... hold ... "

...by doing yoga stretches.  Gotta be in fine form to supervise, you know!

The mulch is here, so it's a good thing we're ready.  Mom said something about another half cup of coffee ... but Zim and I are all set to GO!!!  Don't worry - we'll pace ourselves.

Have a great day, everyone!

Luv,

Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  Zim here, all set to kick back and slip into the Zen of Zim Zone.  Ready to join me?

Nothing's more serene this time of the year than relaxing on the upper deck after our morning walk!  While Mom and Dad sip coffee, Dave and I watch over the yard.

Well, OK.  Dave likes to keep one eye on Mom ... but I like to focus on the yard:

"Anybody down there?  Ha rooooo???"

For newcomers to our blog, Ao4 HQs is built into a steep hillside, and the deck we're on is 1-1/2 stories up from the back yard -- we can see everything from there!  That's where most of Mom's sunset and storm pix are taken!

You can see the day lilies down there ... want to see what else is shakin' in the back yard?

The roses are still blooming:

Mom put a bunch of new stuff in this year, as Dave told you last Serene Scenery Sunday.  Most of it still looks like sad relatives of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree (if you know what I mean), but she put some Blue Lyme (Blue Dune) Grasses in that are looking OK.  Here's one of them:

It's that  half-dead  half-alive looking thing in the foreground.  Past that are some Purple Emperor Sedum that Mom transplanted last year and beyond them you can see the Butterfly Weed.  It's in full bloom now! Let's go in for a close-up!

What a great kick of color!

Mom and Dad have both been working really hard in the gardens this season.  Don't worry, though!  Not only are Davy and I doing our parts to help (by keeping the comfy, cool house safe!) but Mom had a bunch of helpers the other morning!  Check this one guy out:

Isn't he the bee's knees?  Ha roo roo roo!

Anyway, Mom said there's a big truck coming tomorrow morning to deliver mulch, so we're all going to have our work cut out for us.  They're getting more than last year, so Dave and I are going to need to pace ourselves.  All that supervising can really tire a guy out!  We'll let you know how it all goes!

Until then - I hope you have a tranquil, relaxing Sunday!  Keep it serene, everyone!

Play bows,
Zim

My Job Interview/Proposal

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  As I mentioned yesterday, I came up with a great idea for a Summer job.  For the past few weeks, I've seen this really cool trolley parked over by the Giant's Castle.  I was curious about it so I did a little research and learned that you can rent it out by the hour.  Hmm...  I asked Mom to take me over to where it is so I could see if the trolley would fit into my Summer job plans.

Here I am, checking it out:

"Easy enough to climb aboard!"

Let me back up a bit and tell you my plan...

My idea is to rent out the trolley and give tours of the Kansas Ocean!!!  Seriously!!!  It's becoming quite the hot spot these days, so can't you just picture me going over the transoceanic bridge on the trolley, then cruising along the boardwalk?  The tourists would go crazy for something like that, don't you think?

We could have a postcard made ...

Your Kansas Ocean Tour Guide - Zim!

...made using that shot (like we did with another one!) and sell it in the gift shops lining the boardwalk!

I really think I'm on to something here!

"All aboard for the Kansas Ocean!"

Hmm.  No takers yet.

"Ha roo?"

OK.  I can wait.  The tourists will be lining up in no time.

I sure hope this pans out!  It could be a REALLY fun Summer!

Play bows,
Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me - Zim.  I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, so for Photo Finish Friday, here's a picture of me deep in thought:

Me.  Zim.  Thinking.

What am I thinking about?  Getting a Summer job.  I may have stumbled onto just the perfect gig for me - I don't want to say anything yet, but I'm going to go apply today and I'll let you know how it pans out!  Wish me luck!

Play bows,
Zim

Some Impressions

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave, reporting in from our upper deck today.  The mornings are nice and cool out here, so Zim and I like to come hang out after our walks while Mom and Dad have coffee.  It's a nice routine we have... but sometimes, it's nice to liven things up a bit.  It was my turn to entertain everyone, so I thought I'd do some imitations.  Ready?

Here's a very scary panda bear:

"Raaawwwwrrrr!"

Actually, that's my impression of a panda, not a real one. I didn't scare you too badly, did I?

How about Bart the Bat?

"Good eeeeevening!  Woo."

You might need to turn your computer upside down to get the full effect of that one.

How about some impressions of bipeds?!?  See if you can guess this one:

"Way-oh, ah-oh..."

How many of you guessed right, that I was doing the Bangles doing Walk Like an Egyptian?

...

Moving right along...

How about Bela Lugosi's Count Dracula?

Click here to compare!

Pretty good, huh?

"What?"

Well, Bart liked it.  Bela Lugosi was the best Count Dracula ever!  OK, see if you can figure this one out:

Any guesses?  Have another look:

Yes!  Yes, that's exactly it!  It's a Siberian Husky in DIRE need of tummy rubs!!!

That's all the impressions I have for you today.  I think I need a nap after all of that work.  A nap ... and a tummy rub.  Woo!

Luv,
Dave

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

Running An Errand

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  I worked incredibly hard all yesterday morning and half of the afternoon.  Mom and Dad were out digging up bushes, pruning shrubs, pulling weeds for hours on end - and what did Dave and I do?  That's right - supervised.  As many of you know, staying here in the nice, comfy, air-conditioned house while Mom and Dad sweat themselves silly out in the gardens is hard, hard work.

Anyway, when Mom was finally done and had cleaned up, she said she needed to go run an errand.  Dave was on Guard Duty in the bedroom, but I offered up my services to go with her.  She said she was just going to the Vet School, but I insisted - what if she got lost?  What if someone at the school needed to scratch my ears?  What if there were other pups, kit-cats, or other patients who could use a friend?  Yep, I had to go with her!

I had a blast checking everything out, then we went inside.  We were just picking up a couple on-going prescriptions for me and Dave - no muss, no fuss.

I stopped to strike a pose on the way out; check it out:

Me at the Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center

I looked around to see if there was anything exciting going on ...

"Mom ... that lady over there staring at me ... I think she needs to rub my ears ..."

... then I got to meet a nice lady with a kit-cat.  She rubbed my ears (the lady, not the kitty!) and commented on how nice and soft my fur is.  She said massaging my pointy little ears was just what she needed.  Funny, it was just what I needed, too.

Mom taught us to not hate going to the vet school by taking lots of "just for fun" trips like this.  We just go in, pick up the meds, then walk around the grounds and do some exploring.  It's great - and helps us relax when we go there for appointments.  Do your bipeds do that for you, too?

I'm sure glad I got to help my Mom run that errand!

Play bows,

Zim

Count On Me!

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave.  You know, there was a lot of work involved in that whole "kitchen re-do" thing - plus lots to do before and after the crew got here.  As you may remember from one of our posts before we took our blog-break, Zim and I knew Mom would have to do a lot of up and down the stairs to stash everything in the guest rooms.  I think the exact number of anticipated trips was 2.3 million.  Us boys had a meeting ...

...and decided that I'd take the first shift to help Mom.  We knew there was a big job ahead of us and being the Working Breed pups that we are, we knew to pace ourselves!

I got right to work, putting myself in the perfect position to help Mom while she was lugging everything up the stairs.

"I'm all set, Mom.  And ... trip number one ...."

I'm not sure why, but Mom thought her job would go faster and easier if I wasn't  laying  in my supervisory post at the bottom of the stairs.  I thought it was the best way to make sure I didn't  nod off and  miss a trip or anything, but she persuaded me to move.  I found a place almost as good and held my ground.

"Trip 1.8 million and 4..."

She had to go through the doorway I was guarding to get to the stairs, so it worked out really well.  She thanked me almost every time she stepped over me.  Woo.

Since we were well past the halfway point, I wondered why Zim hadn't relieved me yet and went to look for him.  Mom was curious about where he was, too - I think she must have been concerned about us guys working too hard.  I should have known Zim would be every bit as busy as I was.  Check it out:

"Zzzzz..."

Yep.  No one is going to steal the bed with Zim on duty!  What a pro!  Since he had things covered so well in there, I thought I should leave him on that assignment and get back to counting  sheep  Mom's trips up and down the stairs.  Woo.  What an exhausting process this remodel was!

Luv,
Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with my kid brother Zim.

"Woo!"
"Ha roo!"

Before we get started on Serene Scenery Sunday stuff, we just wanted to thank all of you for your kind words on the kitchen remodel.  We appreciate being able to share the excitement with all of you!  Now... let's get out of the kitchen and take a little walk!  How about we stroll through the gardens to see what's blooming?  That always makes us feel serene!

Mom and Dad have been doing a lot of digging out of old plants and bushes that aren't quite making it and putting in a bunch of new stuff.  None of that's really doing much yet, but since they've been working so hard, we thought we should bring it up.  We'll show you some of that later - let's move on to what's in its prime.  

Mom did put some annuals in - here is a collage of some different varieties of coleus that she put in crocks:

Oh.  And see those little wispy chartreuse guys on the right?  Those are some Liriope Pee Dee Gold Ingot that Mom put in.  They are supposed to be perennials, but not in our zone ... so we'll see.  She likes the bold color!  (Way to go, Mom!)  Nothing ventured... you know.

Our Clematis are blooming all over the mailbox!

Mom planted them last year and they're starting to get nice and full.  Here's a close up:

For the record, I ❤ purple.

Over under one of the Red Bud Trees, Mom nestled a potted Dwarf King Tut Papyrus in with the Mums:

She's never grown one of those, so she's all excited about it.

We have two kinds of spirea in full bloom right now - the Little Princess Spirea:

... and the Magic Carpet Spirea:

I've never seen anyone ride on those Magic Carpet ones - except maybe for some bugs - but Mom said the dead ones dig up relatively easily, so maybe that's the magic involved.

The Day Lilies are doing their magic:

And the Dragon's Blood Sedum we helped Mom plant last year is looking really cool:

The Butterfly Weed is just starting to bloom:

And the Red Prince Weigela is wrapping its first bloom binge up:

Because we sort of skipped Spring and went right into Summer and are now sort of having Spring again, the growing season is a little different.  It's pretty exciting, actually, as we aren't sure what's going to bloom when - so the garden is full of surprises!

I hope our walk around the gardens helped you feel all nice and serene.  It sure did the trick for me and Zim.  Know what else would make us feel serene?  A treat.

Yep.  Like the one you have behind your camera, Mom.  That one.  Please?

Keep it serene, everyone!

Luv,
Dave

PS:  And yes, of course we got the treat!!!  We ❤ our mom!

The Big "Reveal"!

Woo, everypup and everycat!   It's me, Dave.  You've been really patient with us while we've gone through the kitchen remodel photos and now it's time to show you the big reveal!   Are you ready?  Let's go!

Here's how the kitchen looked the morning the guys got started with the big stuff:

Zim and I had worked really hard supervising Mom while she got everything out of the cabinets, off the counters, and carted upstairs to the guest rooms.  It was exhausting for us, as you can imagine.

Everything needed to be out of the desk area, too.

Dad took the iMac and all of that computery stuff downstairs.

You can see in the photo above where the bar-height part of the counter used to be!

A lot of you yesterday asked how Zim and I coped with all the noises and stuff.  This very short video is the best answer for you:

Yeah.  Loud noises really don't bother us much at all.  (If that doesn't play, please click here.)  Oh - did you see that we were on leashes?  We had to either be behind a closed door or on lead because of this:

Open door to the outside.  According to Mom and Dad, a Siberian owner's worst nightmare.  We'll leave it right there!

That big hole in the pic above is where the sink used to be.  Here's the new one:

Given when it went in, Mom dubbed it the "Sinko de Mayo".  (Blame her for that one, not me.  Woo.)

That's the new faucet there - it has a pull-out sprayer built in - and the button on the left is for the garbage disposal.  The sink is made from something called silgranit ... and LOOK!  That's one of the new concrete countertops!!! Let's step back and take a look at the whole kitchen!

The backsplash is a mix of glass and marble.  It's white, blues, greys ... it ties everything together!

The light in the pic above makes it look greener than it is - but that's part of the beauty of it -- the way the light interacts with it all.  Our preexisting floor tiles are like that, too, so it all works great as a team.

Here's the stove area (please note the under-cabinet lighting; that was another of the big changes):

And here it is again, after Mom moved everything back in:

You'll be happy to know the first thing Mom prepared in the new kitchen was a batch of Zim's Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats and the first thing back on the counters was actually over here by the microwave:

That's right - my stash of cookies!  (Zim's have to be stored in the magic cold box.)

See how much bluer the tiles look in that light?  Let's step back...

Mom mostly uses that part of the counter to prepare my and Zimmie's meals, so that's a very important area to us!

Just a bit further to the left is the desk area:

That's where we blog from, so it's great to have that part back up and running!  Woo!

I hope you enjoyed seeing our kitchen re-do.  Mom will eventually have more pix and chit-chatty stuff about it all up on her blog; we'll let you know when she gets that up!  Thanks for letting us share with you!

Luv,
Dave