Unplanned Listening Parties

    I bought Tone Loc's Loc'After Dark on a whim. I thought it would be fun to hear "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Media" again, and that would be that. Nope. I listened to the whole album.

        I didn't have a choice.

    As soon as the first beats of "On Fire (Remix)" filled our basement, Ellie, our Great Pyrenees, sprinted down the stairs, tore around the corner, and sat right in front of where I was standing. She was wildly wagging her tail. I thought for sure she wanted to go out to the backyard to potty or play, but the tail stopped moving when I asked her.

    I rubber her behind her ears with both hands and asked, "What do you want then?" She stood up, walked over to my chair, and stole my seat in a single jump. 

     "You like this music?" 

    

    She thumped her tail once on the arm of he chair.

      I sighed and look the smaller chair next to her. She thumped the chair a few more times in thanks. Then she closed her eyes. For the next 50 minutes we enjoyed Tone Loc's gravelly raps.

    This has happened before. I knew I could move about the room as much as I wanted. I could even leave the basement. I just couldn't turn the music off. If I did, then she would slide off the chair, slowly walk out of the room looking at me from over her shoulder with her tail dragging on the carpet. Then she would go upstairs to pout. 

    It's quite a performance. 

    

    Also, I'm a pushover. 

    

    A couple of days later I gave John Mayall's USA Union LP a test spin. I brought this home from Goodwill because it was in decent shape and I thought it looked interesting. 

    No offense to the memory of the late "Godfather of English Blues," but I wasn't feeling his no-drum vibe. I was reaching for the tone arm when Ellie and our cat Bo quickly entered the room together.

    Ellie took my chair again, and Bo parked himself on the album's gatefold sleeve. I was stuck again. 

    

    I put my foot down after playing side two and moved onto a different record. Neither one minded. They were asleep. 

Happy National Dog Day!

The picture Charlotte chose for Girl Scouts:

Ellie and Earl:

The girls:

Sounds too familiar:

Might be a good day to give someone an extra treat... Char gave Ellie a "Puppuccino" from Starbucks. It was well received. 

 Don't forget to use your "puppy voice!"

Bonded

 This is how Char likes to watch YouTube videos with Ellie.

They've been hanging out like this for some time.

Random Pictures with Comments*

 Char made Earl a "hat" which he wore until it was time for his nap.

Which often means quiet time curled up with Ellie.

On a cold and windy Saturday, we warmed up with lunch at Mcgee's Irish Pub & Eatery in Ankeny. Daphne and I split the Traditional Fish & Chips and a Yorkshire Scotch Egg Nest.

On cold and sunny Sunday, I ordered a Roasted Pork sandwich with a side of Poutine at BeerStyles. 

Last Saturday we suprised Char by taking her to Tsing Tsao West in Urbandale. It looked different inside, but to Char's relief, their Egg Drop Soup recipe hasn't changed.

On Saturday night I suprised Char again by picking Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for our family movie. We've been watching a lot of Scooby Doo on Boomerang, and I hoped an antimated mystery that was a little more "grown-up" would go over with her. It did. Char gave this a big thumbs-up. 

    

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm had a limited theatrical release in 1993. The film didn't do well at the box office despite the positive, critical reviews. If Flix Brewhouse re-opens, I'd love to see this movie play there.

I know that his isn't much of a blog post, so why did I even write it? 

"Just Becasue." 

* Might as well be the name of this blog.

Earl and Ellie

Our cat Earl seemed a bit lost when our dog Maggie passed in the fall of 2019. It had taken him a few years to really warm up to Mags, but when it was over, he had lost a good companion.

Our other cat Bo hid upstairs when we brought Ellie home last spring. Earl, however, had no qualms about seeing a rambunctious puppy. He actually looked excited.  

 Earl took his time when Ellie fell asleep on the first night.

He stared at her for 20 minutes.

Then he finally went in for a sniff. Bo kept his distance, and he still does.

Earl, however, was already snoozing next to Ellie by the next day. Apparently, he wasn't wasting any time trying to make a new friend.

He sat by her when she slept.

\

And vice versa.

Earl calmed her down after bath-time.

But he doesn't share sunlight very well.

Earl is good at sharing Ellie's pet bed.

Sometimes.

Charlotte is still Ellie's best friend, but I think Earl is a close second.

Nice work, buddy.

The Evolution of Ellie

"Time might change me..." David Bowie 

From June 27: Ellie is about the only thing around here that changes. I took pictures of Maggie as she grew, and we're trying the same thing with El. We take a picture of Ellie in front of the couch each Monday. It's hard to believe that we have had her eight weeks already.

8 weeks:

9 weeks:

10 weeks:

11 weeks:

12 weeks:

13 weeks:

14 weeks:

15 weeks:

16 weeks:

17 weeks:

18 weeks:

19 weeks:

20 weeks:

22 weeks (Oops, we missed last week):

Week 23 (sad days for awhile):

Week 24 (looking suspicious You don't have that cone, do you?):

Week 25 (I like siting her better):

Week 26:

Week 27:

Week 28:

Week 29:

Week 30 (just had a bath):

Week 31:

Week 33:

Week 34:

Week 35:

I like the pictures of Char posing with her dog.

But I like the unscripted photos more.