1.  Bridget, a shepherd mix
2.  Lucy, a fawn pug
3. Poe, the black pug

Only one of them sits in my lap and as a result is frequently in picture range.  Lucy and Bridget are older, more refined ladies who are happiest with an occasional scratch and then prefer to nap in peace and quiet.  Away from little black pugs and viewfinders.

Somehow, even if I am trying to be all casual about it acting like I’m just on the phone or looking something up – they always seem to know that I am taking their picture.  And then they throw me dirty looks and move away or out of the position of unbearable cuteness!

So the blog is black pug heavy as a result.

but OMG how damn cute is he????

Mr. Boar and I have been busy updating the den and office.  New carpet, paint, lighting, molding, railing, ceiling fan.  Since we are do-it-ourselvesers this has been a three week long undertaking.  The house has been in complete disarray – which is a situation I do not usually handle with grace.

Well, the carpet was installed this morning – thankfully Boar does not insist that we do that portion of the job!  Here is a quick video of the dogs reaction – and yes, I am on pee-on-the-new-carpet patrol!

Well, it turns out I need a camera tutorial. I got a bit overzealous with the delete key and poof, they’re gone!

As a consolation you get more pug videos. Let me first say however, that I did not realize I would not be able to rotate the picture and so much of the video is sideways and also I DO NOT sound like that. gah! If I could figure out how to mute that damn voice, I would.

okay, so now I don’t know if this video is going to work. yes, it is one of those days.

so here is the shortened version:

knitting:

• I am working on socks
• the yarn is lovely and the pattern is very nice
• I can’t stand knitting them but I won’t rip them out because
• the yarn is lovely and the pattern is very nice
• I also won’t cast on for another project because there are simply too many unfinished knits around here.
• a rock and a hard place.

family:

• spring is here and that means house projects!
• reflooring the deck – ripping up all the old boards and replacing with lovely composite wood decking material.
• draining the pool for upcoming sandblasting/repainting

I have been playing around with my camera and you will see that I have very little idea of how to use the video function, but you can definitely get the flavor of how projects go around here.  Look for Lu at the end of the second video!

A pictureless post? That only works if you have a great story to tell. I’ve got nothing exciting enough to string more than a couple sentences together.

A-ha! Maybe something in the garden will jump start my brain. There is lots going on out there — although there is lots that needs to be done out there too.

The only thing my camera will focus on is these little beauties!

garden gnome

an orthodontist’s dream!

This is what happens when a pug lover takes pictures. Next time I want some flower pictures I better leave the pugs inside.

And when it comes right down to it, you’ve seen one bleeding-heart, you’ve seen them all. Pugs on the other hand are full of nuance! ; )

Under the title Upcoming Excitement, I am setting off on two mini road trips. This evening, I am heading towards Lancaster County. My girlfriend volunteered to take her daughter and daughter’s friend to some all day concert that is going on in the area. She invited me along to go shopping/sightseeing while the girls are rocking out. This particular friend is well known for lots of laughs, truly side splitting fun and all around kooky-ness. We are hitting the road tonight (trying to avoid Staten Island traffic) and will be returning sometime on Friday. Saturday I am back on the road taking D#2 to another accepted students’ event, this time at Bard. This is the final one and then she has to make up her mind. I will be very happy to have this settled.

A zipper is on its way and Saranac will soon be complete. While I am waiting, I have cast on for a sock.

It is the Hedera sock pattern and I am using Fearless Fingers yarn. The very generous Rachel sent me this yarn a while ago and it has been waiting for the perfect project.

The biggest challenge? Trying to take a picture and convincing Mr. Poe that it is sock-picture-taking-time and not throw-the-spit-covered-ball time!

Go here to see all the different things my dogs won’t do.

Be sure to end with ‘kisses’!

Are you wondering why there has been no knitting content lately? I have been knitting – but it’s one of those projects where progress pictures seem silly and boring. I am knitting up Saranac for Mr. Boar. As a matter of fact, I am almost done – I have only to kitchner the underarms and sew in the zipper, a quick blocking and I promise some pictures.

D#1 was home for the weekend to attend a close family friend’s wedding on Saturday. She normally drives back and forth to school, but for a quick trip like this long hours behind the wheel aren’t worth it. Well, she got caught in that airtravel fiasco on Friday and for a moment or two there it was looking like she wouldn’t make it home at all! After a seven hour delay her flight did take off. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and we had a great time. Luckily her trip back went smoothly!

[thanks to Pam for the cute puppy!]

A number of weeks ago I was on the phone with Cara. Who knows what we were talking about (probably the beauty of my pugs), but suddenly I said, “Does Vicki have a dog? I think she does. I always forget about that dog.” and then we talked about Vicki some more. ; )

Well, yesterday the three of us were on the phone and I hear Vicki whispering in the background and asking the dog if it needed to go out. I confessed how I can never remember if she’s even got a dog (she said she cant’ either!) etc. and I told her I was going to start a blog ring and possibly a Ravelry group – Does Vicki Have a Dog?

In the interests of fairness, here is a peek at a member of my household that gets little to no blog coverage.