Spring in spite of the snow!

In spite of all the snow we have had this Spring, I have been working on Spring and Summer soaps!

One of my favorite scents is Nantucket Briar. I think it was one of my first scents I soaped with, and it soon became one of my favorite! I think I am going to call it Summer Fling. It turned out looking like a patriotic soap even though I planned for the blue to be more like a teal. It still smells amazing!

This bar (above) is scented with China Rain, which is a nice clean scents with a touch of floral.

I did a deep water discount and the soap batter became really, really, thick! I just plopped it all into the mold and crossed my fingers!

April 1st is also my puppy's birthday. Scout is now 11 years old! I can't believe it!

Here she is a few years ago. :)

My Cairn Terriers

Today my two babies had their teeth cleaned at the vet. It sounds easy, but the vet has to give them general anesthesia so she can scrape their teeth. My husband dropped them off at the vet early this morning and although they have been gone all day, I can still "feel" them. I know it sounds weird, but I can feel them all over the house. Scout likes to sit by my feet while I am on the computer. Even though she often is met with my leg as I get up, she continues to sit in the same spot. This afternoon, I started to get up and I swear I could feel her body against my leg.

Scout (below) is almost 10 years old, and Finch (above) is almost 8! It's hard to believe that they are "elderly" dogs now! Finch still acts like she is a puppy. Dogs are on this earth for such a short time. The little grey hairs I see remind me to treasure them each and every day.

The Life of a Cairn Terrier

 

It's been raining cats and dogs here in St. Louis. We took a break from being cooped up inside to enjoy throwing the frisbee and looking at the flowers.

As you can see, Finch loves her frisbee! She loves to bite the middle and then shake her whole head. Because of this, we have gone through many frisbees! Usually  they develop a hole in the middle...imagine that!

I bought this heavy rubber frisbee hoping to solve the problem, but as you can see, she has figured out how to fold it in half, bite the middle and shake her little heart out!

It's Spring time in St. Louis

 My Zinnia's have come up and they look strong and sturdy...whew! I planted mostly red one, which I am going to use for cutting flowers. These were Winter Sowed, of course! They were the first to sprout out of all my seeds.
Last year I planted lots of Zinnia seeds in my veggie bed. They turned out to be dwarf Zinnia's so I had a very pretty veggie garden, but no cutting flowers (the stems were too short).

 Here are my gardening buddies. Scout and Finch were next to the house. I think they were tired of planting. They like to eat my veggies, but are not too interested in the planting process.

One of my favorite plants, Forget Me Nots. They have the prettiest blue which I can't seem to capture in my camera.

Cairn Terrier in the Snow

We've had a lot of snow lately. We usually have one or two snowfalls, but it seems like we've had more than usual this year.
This video is Finch in the snow. Finch is a Cairn Terrier (Toto on the Wizard of Oz) and she is obsessed with any toy that she can carry around in her mouth...lol!
I couldn't get her to go outside to "potty", so I grabbed the frisbee and threw it into the yard.....and then I couldn't get her to come back in! If you look closely, you can see how ratty the frisbee is. For some reason she has to grab the inside of the frisbee and shake it to death. She does this with all frisbees and you can imagine my shock when I bought Finch a rubber frisbee and she managed to fold it in half! That's for a later video. :)

It's Summer in St. Louis - HOT!

I took a stroll through the yard the other day. Every day I take my two puppies, Scout and Finch, for a walk around the yard. They are only interested in finding worms to eat and catching squirrels, but I don't mind as long as they stroll with me.
I didn't winter sow as many plants this year, but I had plenty. One of my favorites are the Sunflowers! These were planted along side the house and I had to crop the picture in order to screen out the garden hose and the meter reader....lol!
I start most of my plants by seed. These were planted a few years ago and I divided the plant and transplanted them into some beds we started in our front yard.
This beautiful flower is called a Brown Nose Rudebekia (I'm pretty sure..). They reseed everywhere, but I planted this bunch under our Black Oak tree. They hide the Iris that have already bloomed.
Last, but not least, is my Blanket Flower. I started this flower about 5 years ago and it has happily reseeded all over the yard. They bloom all summer!

Late Spring in St. Louis!

Warm weather is already here, so I thought I would show you some pics from around my house. Above is my Cairn Terrier, Finch. Notice the ball in the bowl? When she needs a drink, she drops her ball in the water and then drinks around it! Finch always has a ball either in her mouth, or next to her.
I didn't have a choice the other day. I HAD to plant these Sunflowers! I had to cut them out of the milk jug. LOL! These were winter sowed, so they are all ready to go!
I planted lots of Tulips when we moved into our house 9 years ago. They bloomed for about 2 years and from then on the only thing that came up were the leaves...until this year. This beauty decided to adorn our front yard. Tulips are my favorite flower.
And this is my favorite tree: Weeping Cherry Tree. The blooms only last a few days, but when it's blooming, it gorgeous!

Through The Eyes Of Dogs

This is how my two Cairn Terriers spend their day. No Soap Opera's for my two!

Fall Colors In St. Louis

Ah, Fall in St. Louis! It's a beautiful, warm day and the sun is out in full force. I snapped a few pictures around the yard. Above are my two sweeties, Scout and Finch.
A Burning Bush in the very back of the yard. I love how the sun has "touched" just one part of the bush.
This is a tree between my neighbors house. This is what I see when I look outside my back window.
Lastly, this is a Rose that has survived several frosts already! The Rose Bush is full of blooms!

I'm going to miss Summer!

I love Fall. In fact, it's my favorite season....but I'm going to miss Summer!

Some Of My Favorite Things On Etsy!

Some of my favorite finds on Etsy!
Knitting bookmark is from chatnoir77. My sister knits and I think she would really love this bookmark!

Cairn Terrier is from dogartstudio. I have two Cairn Terriers and I think this would look so cute propped up on a bookshelf!

Shoe stamp is from luvmypets. My DH is in the shoe business, and this would make a great stocking stuffer!

Sister Ester is from nunofakind. I just think this is so funny! I might buy this for myself!

Basket set is from sosorosey. I have one of rosey's bowls and they are sooooo sweet!

Wine charms (shoes) are from JenNixon. As stated above, my DH is in the shoe business. Now, he wouldn't love them, but I do!

Let me tell you about my dog, Finch! Finch is a Cairn Terrier. Many people don't know about this breed, but when I mention that "Toto" On the Wizard Of Oz movie, was a Cairn Terrier...they nod their head "ahhhh, yes! Finch is 4 years old but someone forgot to tell her! She acts like she is still a puppy. See the blur of her tail? EVERY TIME you look at Finch, her tail starts wagging. She is happy all the time....I wish I could bottle her energy and happiness....I'd be rich!!
Finch lives and breathes to play. Her favorite is her frisbee. The one pictured here is how the frisbee starts out. It's a little dirty, but it's intact. Finch loves to grab the middle of the frisbee and shake it. Eventually the fabric gives away and just the rim is left. Finch doesn't care....she just shakes that rim!

In this movie you can see what happens, over time, to her frisbee. It's also interesting to see how she carefully carries her frisbee. This video was taken last winter, after a big snow.

My Cairn Terrier Was Stuck Last Night!

Finch is my little 4 year old Cairn Terrier. What is a Cairn Terrier? It's the breed of dog that was in the movie The Wizard Of Oz. They are spunky little things, and full of life!
Finch loves to crawl under this chair, in our basement, and peek her head out from the bottom. She will stay ther, observing the room, for long periods of time.
Finch peeked her head out last night and I thought she was doing her usual "hanging out"...until I heard her whine. For some reason, Finch thought she was stuck under the chair! I rolled her tennis ball (her pacifier) in front of her, but she wouldn't budge...so I knew she thought she was really stuck! Such a silly puppy!

The Happy Squeak Of My Dog!

My funny Cairn Terrier LOVES balls! She is never without one! I have to buy the tennis balls made for dogs, because she cracks the real ones when she bites them. These balls squeak sooo loud! My son hides them from her because of the sound. LOL! See for yourself!

That big black object is my poor ankle inside a "walking" boot, although I'm not able to walk without crutches yet. :(

Happy Birthday, Scout!

Happy 6th Birthday dear Scout! Oh, how did you get to be such a big girl!

What A Life!

My two Cairn Terries! I love them to pieces, and they bring joy to me each and every day!
Scout is on the left. We found Scout through the newspaper. Not the best place to find a dog, but we had been looking for Cairn Terriers for several years and kept coming up empty. Scout was 10 weeks old when we adopted her and at the time, she was all black. You see, Cairns change colors, and within a years span, can change from an all black dog, to a wheaten (blond).
Finch, on the right, came from a breeder. I found Finch through a website. I had mentioned that we were searching for another Cairn, and a member emailed to let me know that she had a friend that breeds Cairns. After a lot of communication, we adopted Finch! She was only 2 weeks old, so we had to wait until she was 8 weeks old before she could come home.

Finch is 4 years old today! As you can see, she loves balls! Finch is usually carrying something in her mouth....either a ball, or a Frisbee. She know all of them as "balls".

Scout, above left, is almost 6 years old. Her birthday is April 1st! She our quiet one. She loves to observe lift from a corner of the world. As Finch is running around chasing balls, Scout is in a corner, watching carefully, while listening to nature.

Me And My Binky!!

Finch lives and breathes for her "Binkies", aka Frisbee's! She has one in about every color. Finch walks around the house with her binky in her mouth. The rim of the binky has an edge, and that edge fits on the inside of the mouth. Now, if you have watched closely, you should have noticed that the INSIDE of the binky is missing! Finch loves to grap the middle of the binky and shake, which tends to cause the fabric to tear away. It doesn't seem to slow her down one bit! When she's running through the yard, the frisbee ends up around her neck...she's such a silly dog!