I made up a song for my niece when we were encouraging her to stay hydrated. The song’s lyrics annoyingly repeat over and over again. “Drink, drink, drink. Drink, drink, drink. Pretend you’re a water bottle. Drink, drink, drink.”No logic. But that’s how most of the songs I write go. (I’m very much inspired by Presidents of the United States of America.)

So we’re trying this on Berlin and teaching her how to drink out of a water bottle. Her best friend, Ursula, knows how to do it and it seems to be a pretty handy trick for when you’re on the road with no bowls in sight. The first few times that Berlin tried it she wound up spluttering and coughing all over the place like a Russian skater drinking Absolut for the first time. But she has persisted and seems very interested in getting it down, so who are we to argue otherwise?

Once she gets the knack of this bottle trick, she’ll graduate to her own shot glass so she can shoot whiskey with her dad. Totally kidding. Not til she’s 21.

From Daily Daguerreotype

One thing that you cannot help but notice when you get a dog is just how much pet gear there is in the world. There are special dog beds, organic dog treats, special tennis balls for dogs, and pink boas for them to wrap around their necks for optimum strangulation. I, frankly, find this horrifying. Not just because of the risk of strangulation.

I swore that my dog would never wear doggie clothes, and I will stand by that until my dying day. I won’t even allow her to wear a kerchief around her neck… even on the Fourth of July. But recently we’ve started to notice the general wear and tear on her collar, a cheap Target buy. Matt never liked this collar, and neither did my sister so I guess it’s more than overdue to be replaced.

I really wanted to find her a stylish and handmade collar on Etsy, but I’ve run into trouble matching one to her kelly green harness. Apparently kelly green is not IN. I missed the memo on this one. (Sidenote: While Matt has high hopes of bringing back the moustache and Wolfenstein, I would like to bring back John Calvin. People don’t believe me when I say that I have a crush on him. Believe it. I’m going to bring back all five points and make them hip again. As well as kelly green.)

So here and here and here are a few that I really like. Keeping in mind that she will be wearing it with a green harness and a black leash, what’s your vote?

We celebrated summer birthdays while in the Poconos this weekend, and even though I don’t have a summer birthday I always wind up walking away with some sweet loot as all three of my sister in laws are celebrated then. This time, my mother in law gifted me with some wonderful handmade items from the artistic mecca of Oregon.

From Daily Daguerreotype

The notebook was made from a salvo book which was rebound and stuffed with new sketch paper. Between the blank pages reside pages from the reclaimed book for mid-thought reading. I love this concept and want to gift everyone in my life with one of these.

The little wallet is made from old magazines which were rolled up and sewn together. It’s larger than a business card holder, but I think I’ll use it for that as I threw up on my old one thereby ruining it. Yes, threw up on. Another story entirely.

I’ve been trying to sketch more frequently these days, and have been sending my drawings to the little boy in Burkina Faso that we sponsor. I’m going to keep the notebook with me at all times as a reminder to sketch and pray for him. I’d send him a business card, but I’m not supposed to reveal my location.

Plus he’d probably get grossed out by my vomit residue.

Edit: The journal is from bookjournals.com.  Brilliant!

Remember when Berlin and I were attacked in the park? Well, last week Matt decided to make peace with the guy, so he walked over with Berlin to befriend them. Yes, he is the saint in the marriage. Matt gets crowns in heaven for marrying me, then stuff like this gets him a seat closer to the stage where St. Peter and His All-Star Band will be jammin. With backstage passes.

So the Pitbull Daddy explains to Matt that when he rescued this pooch, the dog’s back legs were both broken and in casts. The shelter was planning on euthanizing the dog but PB Daddy wouldn’t allow it. He’s been in therapy and training ever since and has come a long way. Now said pitbull does a great job obeying and only gets territorial from time to time.

When Matt had finished recounting this tale to me I was in tears, and insisted that we bring hot dogs out to the park with us to give the pitbull positive reinforcement whenever he is good around Berlin.

“Babe, I don’t think that’s necessary. It’s his dad’s job to give treats, not ours.”

“But I want him to know that we don’t want to be enemies.  That Berlin and I love him and are happy that he was rescued from the slough of despond!”

“Let’s just give Berlin her treats, OK?”

“OK, but I might kiss him on the mouth. The dog. When I see him and he’s well behaved.”

“Gross. OK.”

When I arrived home last night Matt said my package had arrived. What package, you ask? The package containing my new zoom lens which I ordered on Friday night. Matt graciously gave me his money from selling his bass amp so that I could buy this new lens. And as soon as I had clicked it onto my camera body I realized I had made a critical error. I neglected to order a lens with auto focus.

So back goes the zoom lens.

Here’s a shot I took at our little lake in the Poconos this past weekend. Every time I look at this picture I am tempted to throw in the towel, move to the hinterlands, and become a lifeguard at a lake just like this one. Then I remember that I’m not CPR certified, and I’d probably pass out in the middle of the certification class. Just like when I passed out in eighth grade science class while we were learning about blood types.

Yeah, I’m not the girl you want to rescue you while you’re drowning.

From Daily Daguerreotype

There’s a funny irony about returning from a long weekend away in that it take about three days to recover from one day off of work. We came home to a filthy house and an empty fridge - always a warm welcome. So while Matt ran to the grocery store to fill the pantry, I started vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom.

At ten o’clock when it was finally time for me to sit down, I headed into the kitchen where Matt said he had a treat waiting for me. I grinned from ear to ear when I saw the half gallon of ice cream. Little did he know the significance of this dessert.

From Daily Daguerreotype

Moosehead Lake holds my very first memory of seeing one of the most magnificent mammals of all kind, the moose. When I was no more than five years old, my family took a camping trip up to Maine where my dad promised we would not leave before seeing at least one of these Kings of the North Woods. Nobody loves moose the way my dad does. Nobody. And towards the end of the trip when we had all lost hope of seeing one, out came a beautiful bull walking towards us from the middle of Moosehead Lake. There was the moose, and there was my father… in the outhouse missing the entire show.

At least that’s how I remember it.