Fatty Lumpkin

Yes, it's another dog.

Last month, Johnny and I added another canine family member. Oops, sorry we're just getting around to telling you. The director of the non-profit for which I work resigned last month and moved back to Michigan to care for her ailing mother. She gave me a number of things before leaving, including an aloe vera plant, some candles, a pair of spurs, a riding crop, a pair of riding breeches, an elliptical machine, and the dog pictured above. 

His name, officially, is Lucky. He sort of answers to it, and it's the name listed on all of his vet records. He's a former stray, so I suppose it's fitting. But we have another name for him around here: Fatty Lumpkin. If that sounds familiar, it's because it's from Lord of the Rings (the book, not the movie). From the Lord of the Rings Wiki:

"Fatty Lumpkin was one of Tom Bombadil's ponies. When Frodo and his Hobbit companions, Sam, Merry and Pippin were taken by the Barrow-wights, Tom rescues them on Fatty Lumpkin."

It's an appropriate name for the dog- the poor thing weighed 38 pounds at his last vet check-up!! He's only about two feet tall, so I think this makes him something like "morbidly obese". He wheezes when he walks, sleeps, rests, and chews. Johnny is afraid walks will kill him, so we've just been letting him take it easy and wander around the backyard at his own pace. (He has a vet appointment this week, which will hopefully shed light on what sort of exercise routine he can handle.)

Buttons is delighted to have a canine friend. After her efforts to play with the cats were continually rebutted, she seemed a little down. But once Lucky showed up, her spirits were renewed! Here was something she could jump on and bite and roll around with! Fatty Lumpkin, to his credit, lets her go crazy and never snaps or fights with her, even when she seems to be trying to tear one of his tiny ears off. He's generally a pretty good-natured fellow; he and Buttons only have spats when there aren't enough rawhide chews to go around. 

Lucky's long hair is kind of annoying- it sheds constantly and accumulates in gross piles around the house. He also smells really, really doggy and sometimes pees on the carpet. And his continuous wheezing is a real detriment to sleeping. But he's a dopey, sweet, cuddly animal, and we're (mostly) happy to have him.

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Adorable Buttons Pics

Johnny loves Buttons way more than I do. I think the dog is kind of smelly, I hate it when she licks my feet, and refuse to let her sit on the sofa with me. Don't get me wrong- I like Buttons! She is fun to play with and it makes me smile to see her hop around, wag her enormous tail, and generally act silly. Johnny loves Buttons, though. He doesn't mind her pervasive odors. He let her lick his feet (and face and nose and hands and hair). He regularly snoozes with her on the couch. So, really, he should be writing this post that's dedicated to nothing but adorable Buttons pics. (He took all of them anyway.) But since Johnny is probably busy playing with Buttons or giving her belly rubs or letting her chase the cats, I'll fill in.

Buttons' second or third favorite pastime- wiggling her nose around in leaves.

I TOLD you he lets her sleep on the couch!

I guess she sleeps on the floor SOMETIMES.

We buy the dog endless amounts of toys, but she just wants pinecones.

Will sleeping on power strips give Buttons cancer?? Let's hope not.

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Garden Update

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here!  Johnny and I planted seeds in the vegetable garden about three weeks ago. The weather promptly dropped below freezing, and despite our best efforts to keep the seeds alive by covering the ground with tarps, everything died. Well, not everything.

The snow peas made it through the inclement weather just fine, and are currently enjoying some sunshine. Yay! As for the rest of the garden, we're going to try to replant soon. We purchased a variety of seeds at Johnny's favorite store (Ace Hardware), so there are still plenty of left to try again. 

Other things we've been up to: the Rogers County Home & Garden Expo. Last Saturday we ponied up the $7 each and spent a couple of hours wandering around the (surprisingly) big Home & Garden Expo. We found a local remodeling company to help us with our bathroom adventures, purchased one last box of Thin Mints from some Girl Scouts, and bought a lemon tree.

In case you weren't aware, I have a lemon problem. I put them in my water, in lemon-lime sodas, San Pellegrino, in various foods, and have been known to eat them (rind and all). So delicious. The tree is from Pryor Creek Nursery, just up the road from us, and the gentleman that owns the nursery was very nice and gave us 10% off and a 10% off coupon for next time we visit the nursery. The tree (currently known as Mr. Tree) is living on our deck. We're trying to find a fancy pot to plant him in (maybe we will just make one at Purple Glaze). 

I also planted some herbs last week- basil, chives, and parsley- in a small container. This is my second or third attempt at growing herbs and I hope it works! Basil is ridiculously expensive in the grocery store. One of my herbs appears to be growing...we'll see what happens with the other two. 

We went on a mini shopping spree at Lowe's last weekend, too, which resulted in the acquisition of yet another living room rug (this makes 3), a steel shelving unit (trust me, it fits with the design aesthetic we're going for), and several window planters, flower seeds, and potting mix. Those bad boys are going up soon- Johnny is very excited to grow flowers. We'll keep you updated.

Finally, here is a cute Buttons picture for day. 

Just look at those ears!! Buttons has gotten quite a bit bigger over the last few weeks, but I think her ears have grown the most! They no longer flop down adorably, but stand straight up like Corgi ears. Johnny has a collection of adorable Buttons pictures; maybe he'll post them soon. 

Until next time, friends!

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What you need to live

The snow is gone and Spring is almost here! Birds are singing, flowers are blooming; opossums are coming out of their winter hide-y holes to die in the front yard, snow worn gates and fences are demanding attention in the back.

OH! And I guess the baby animals are coming out to play as well! In our case, the half corgi half dachshund puppies(y)!!!

This is Buttons (pushed hard for "Horatio Sanz" but Stephanie would not have it), she is about 4 months old, and currently does little more than sleep and have supa stankee pewpz. Aptitudes for "Fetch", "Chase (giving and receiving)" and "Belly Rubs (receiving only)" are starting to show, but for now the only thing expected of this new household recruit is to remain ABSOWOOTWEE ADOOORUHBULL <3 <3 <3

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