Mo the Pug Goes to the Beach

Hello, everyone! Guess what! Yes, we are having another winter weather ''event''. It's gloomy and icy. No surprises, it's February, after all.

Mo tries hard to be a good puppy [11 months old on the 20th!] but no matter what the weather he wants to get out and run. And run and run.

his dog show pose

This is what greeted us today when we went to check out the beach.

Glaciers! Drifts from last week's snowfall.

And a lot of flooding and ice. This is frozen salt water! Oh yeah, it's cold this year.

A few weeks ago, before the weather got so dismal, a friend came by to help me take Mo to the beach. Mo goes wacko when he hits the sand and he is small but very strong. I can't control him or run fast enough to exercises him properly. And after he escaped from his harness one day we wanted to be sure that if he did run off he'd know where ''home'' is.

Off we went to the beach. Mo and my friend ran ahead...yay! They were so happy, having so much fun! Mo had never seen the ocean close up before.

And THEN!--- wouldn't you know, the cops came!
So fast!
And it was the Bay Constable, how scary!
We don't usually see the BC on the beach, more often I wave to the county police, or the Public Safety police. Occasionally the DEC police, whose Jeep always draws a mean snicker, as we read that as The Decorating Police. What they give out tickets for tacky umbrellas and mismatched beach towels? [Dept. of Ecology and Conservation, I think in real life. They're the Plover Police.]

Meanwhile the Bay Constable came right away and stopped to chat. Uh oh. The officer was nice but he made us leave the beach. Dogs are forbidden on the beach but there's sort of an unspoken custom that in midwinter, when there's no people or rare birds , it's okay or at least tolerated.

(If you think it's mean that dogs are forbidden, just picture a going out on a beautiful day with your picnic and beach stuff and family and sitting in a mess of dog poop! Not to mention I've had a few close encounters with unleashed very large possibly scary dogs when I've been walking on the beach. I love dogs but I'm wary of  strange dogs. One was even a Great Dane! Best the dogs stay home, in a general way.)

Back home Mo keeps me company while I sew.

He is so smart! Look at this, he has brought his little old baby bed, that came with him from California, I keep it in the kitchen so he doesn't have sit on icy tiles. And he has carried into my work area, and set it in the only patch of winter sun. He sets it on a weewee pad for extra warmth.

As the sun moves, every so often, he tugs his little bed further east, back into the warmth.

This week my grocery had Dollar Days sales, and I got Mo a pack of kitty fish poles games, 2 for a dollar. [plastic pole with elastic cord, ball and feathers]
Pugs are oddly catlike---they like to sit on your shoulder, pull the elastic out of your ponytail, stare at you blankly when you call their name, stuff like that--- and Mo thought the kitty toys were awesome.

So...he destroyed them. But it gave him a lot of fun for a buck.

Hope you all are warm and cozy! How I envy those of you who have had a few warm days.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach

Cascadia Mystery Doll Quiltalong

Hi! My name is Lizzy and I have NO will power. LOL!
My friend Lori at Humble Quilts began a new quiltalong last week! As if Flags isn't keeping me busy enough? But oooooh---the new quiltalong is mystery! And it's a 1" postage stamp doll quilt, how adorable is that.

But no! At first I was good. I decided I'd save the doll quilt til January, something fun to look forward to after Christmas. With my problem hand, I can only cut and sew so much and my etsy shop needs fun stocking stuffers and hostess gifts. [maybe an angel too?].

But then, well, you know---I was sorting through my Civil War repro fabrics for inspiration for the Flags sawtooth star block, and all that beautiful calico just kept calling to me. "Use me. Use me! Just a tiny bit? Please?" Because some of the vintage and antique fabrics, I just don't want to chop up.

I figured I could give the mystery quilt two days, a couple hours each.

One day to cut a zillion 1 1/2" squares and another to piece the little four patch blocks.

Fine. (Yeah, okay, took me three days. I'm slow...and I had a helper.)

Isn't it pretty!?

Whatever will it turn out to be? It's called the Cascadia Mystery quilt. What is Cascadia anyway, sounds like bottled water to me. Or maybe it's a place?

Maybe the little quilt will be something like this? A 1" postage stamp doll quilt top or larger quilt section.

I decided not to use this piece because it is so charming as is, and quite old, perhaps preCivil War. The little squares aren't pieced with running or back stitch, they are whipstitched together from the front, with the tiniest finest stitches you can imagine. Need a magnifier to really see them. Maybe if you click and enlarge you can see the tiny stitches on the edges of the brown squares?

Besides my collection of recent repro fabrics and my antique and vintage yardage, I reused some c. 1875-1890? blocks, using the unsoiled, un-tattered remnants. I think they blend in okay.

It's interesting to see hoarded fabrics finally used. I've been collecting fabric for a brown and blue quilt for many years, and these are the fabrics that now appeal to me the most. (Despite my large collection of double pinks and chrome orange/ chrome yellow.)

Now when you have a project you need a helper, right?

 If you look at any Pug breed description it will say pugs have been only lap dogs for thousands of years. Their sole function is to cuddle and be cuddled.
And one of their main personality traits is that they hate to be ignored.
These are just a few of Mo's contributions over the past couple days.
He ate my Thanksgiving gourds:

He demolished Mel's package and tore up the cashmere! yarn and embroidery thread, and hand written notes inside.

He ruined my alpaca hat from Hunter's pattern This is the third time! This time he added blue duct tape to the messy mix. Oh, yes, he really hates knitting, lol.

And he chewed four rolls of Charmin, and a giant roll of paper towels, and my new grey cashmere sweater. Then he threw up.
Just in two days! I for one was exhausted, but not Mo!

And for Kelley [and everyone]--- Look! I went out late last night to pick the last nasturtiums in case that cold front came to the beach---

and look what I found. My sweet peas are blooming. Just a few but, to me, Wow!

See---it's never too late to try!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....



silhouettes of little brown birds,
like a William Morris print

warm November evenings

The Playdate (Mo the Pug)

 

 Hi! We had such fun! Yesterday, Monday, Mo and I were invited for a playdate!

introduction

Sizing each other up. Mo is off leash because he is smaller and obeys commands nicely. Reilly is more the excitable type, at least at first encounter.

It was a perfectly sunny, breezy, though hot July day. My friend L called and asked us to come over to play with her chocolate Lab puppy Reilly. It was just like old times, when our sons played together at preschool age.

L currently has three beautiful dogs: elder statesman-lady Maizie, a yellow Lab; Brutus the cutest little ball of white fluff, a Maltie. And now Reilly. Reilly is about 5 months old, Mo is now 3 months old.

They played nicely! Reilly was very gentle and patient. She even shared her ''antler'' bones!

Maizie bestowed a stately sniff and retired to her bed; Brutus wouldn't even consider puppy play. But Mo and Reilly and L and I had a wonderful afternoon. And Mo was tuckered out!

 

 

Pugs do not do well in hot weather so I had to monitor Mo closely and give him ice and cool water rub-downs.

 

It's so good to get a puppy out to play with other dogs. Puppies like Mo, left to their own resources, get into a LOT of trouble. The following pictures were taken the day Mo learned to stand on my little turquoise milking stool.
"I'm here. Now what?

getty images

''Ma, I 'm stuck!"

''Help me?"

 

Yesterday evening: A happy but tired little guy.

 

 

 

 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 And yes, Mo snores, all pugs snore,lol.

Mo also received his official AKC paperwork yesterday, and his official AKC name: Satchmo "Mo" Dillingham. Though I'll always think he is named for famed NY Yankees relief pitcher, now retired, Mariano "Mo" Rivera. Maybe the next puppy can be Yogi? Or Mickey? Or......Babe?

Hope your week is wonderful!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....