Hi. My name is Eco. I'm 17 weeks old. That's 4.25 months!
I weigh 33.2 pounds and visited the vet yesterday who
said I am growing very well.
I am getting two new teeth.

I like to put my whole head in my water bucket in case someone left me something on the bottom.
See the water dripping from my face?
(Ed: horrible photo, I know. I'm having a tough
time capturing good photos of this dog. Maybe it's
the photographer and not the subject!)

These are only some of my toys. Pretty gnarly, huh?
(there's an earless puppy, a rubber stick, a treat ball,
tug toys, and kong toys with yummy cheese
inside of them. I like cheese.

******************

My name is Eco.
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes i think you've seen me before
If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight
Just don't ask me what it was (3x)

Okay that's a sad song (substitute Eco for Luca, in case you're wondering) but that's what I thought of.

I like this. I thought I would share.

And this one too!

Wall graphics for you/Weekend Update

Since several of my readers have moved into new homes, I thought I'd share this site that has some very nice wall graphics - a nice way to freshen up your rooms: Loxii wall graphics.

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The weekend was interesting for us. On Saturday Jp sneezed three times and then had a nose bleed that wouldn't stop. After an hour, we went to the hospital to have it checked out. We were very lucky that despite the full moon and it being a Saturday night, it was reasonably quiet in Emergency. We also had a fun RN that kept us entertained. All was well, his nose finally stopped and nothing further was needed.

Sunday was our two year anniversary but we decided to postpone our plans and lay low just in case his nose decided to act up again. It was a lazy, hot summer's day anyway. I played in the kiddie pool with Eco and we watched old episodes of Mad Men. Aren't we just a scream?

The Medicine Bowl & Canada Day

I haven't had a cold or been sick for almost two years but the kid was sick when he came over last Thursday and the doctor said that he's seen a lot of sick kids during the last week of school, so I guess I got to be part of that elite group and picked myself up a cold.

Yup - nice hot sunny weather and I'm in bed with a cold. But it wasn't just a normal cold, I also had a fever for a bit and SEVERE back pain.

So how does one deal with it? With this - the MEDICINE BOWL!

Jp kindly went to the store for me and picked up practically one of everything to ensure my speedy recovery. And I tell you, I do not attempt to get through the day without the Daytime Cold Formula - it's a must!

I'm getting better now and I am so grateful because I was only in bed for 2 days. Yesterday I was so happy that I made it the whole day without needing a nap and I feel so much better today. It must be so hard for people that are sick for longer periods of time. Poor them! A speedy recovery to you all wherever you are!

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Hey! Did you have a nice Canada Day?

Because the kid and I were both still recovering we hung around and played in the kiddie pool with the dog and even had the neighbour's dog over for a play date. I cooked a beer can chicken on the grill which turned out really good (nice and juicy) - thanks to the one-on-one coaching session from my brother. He should really open a cooking hotline! We also had pita bread, tzatziki, greek salad and olives. What? I don't know how that happened, but our Canada Day dinner was GREEK! Oh us crazy canucks, eh?!

Continuing chapters in the Bow Wow Tao

In the Bow Wow Tao, we're taught that you must have fun. And you shouldn't care what you look like. If you you are truly having fun, others will soon have fun too. So do what you can so you look like this:

...and then there will be a time where you must have fun with what you have. A pool (it doesn't have to have water in it) and a stick can be a great time on a sunny afternoon.

... and after all that fun and play, remember to rest. Resting is good and good for you too.

... after you have had fun, played and rested, it will be time to ponder and reflect on your fun before you start your next adventure.

It was a dark and rainy week.... doesn't that sound like something Snoopy would write?

Things are chugging along, sometimes like a roller coaster - but not so bad.
- Work has been busy, it's more steady which is a bit easier to handle, even though they keep piling the work on. I just do the best I can, I'm at a state of 'acceptance'.

- Eco (our 14 week old chocolate lab) is growing! I take weekly measurements and she seems to be getting 1/2" bigger in circumference and 1" longer in length (from base of neck to base of tail) She is a good walker again (not pulling), and knows all sorts of tricks (roll over and 'hands up' are the favs). Her biting is getting less frequent and she's not chomping so hard. I still receive a tear or two from those razor sharp puppy teeth but that's from playing with her and it's more of an accident. Today, she has even settled down in my work room and took a nap like a big girl! She didn't go too crazy - she must be going through a growth spurt and needs her naps!

- I have done no crafting since we got the dog. This is in part because I don't have the same kind of 'spare' time as I used to and partly because I think I was on the verge of getting carpal tunnel (most likely from typing at work). Luckily I have no pressing deadlines.

- My garden is still a mess and Eco hasn't helped - one because she takes up much of my time, and two because she likes to run by plants and steal leaves - so many plants are looking quite sad! She also hasn't learned about flower beds and loves to run right thought a bed of poppies! She can also run through parts of the garden I had forgotten about - look at all that space under those trees! And I shouldn't have tried to compost my Japanese knotwood in my yard -because she's happily discovered the pile and loves to make me chase her (but we don't play that game!)

But I tell you all those little bumps - they were all forgotten on Saturday afternoon when I had a outing with Cynthia and Carol - they have no idea how much I needed that day out! Thank you ladies - you're wonderful! We had so much fun - and it was such a great escape to get out and laugh and forget about the mundaneness of it all. Are you still here? You are? How sweet of you to keep reading, you must have had a strong cup of coffee. And now you're up to date. Thank you for reading along!

This past weekend was Jp's birthday but nothing really happened. I wanted to take him out to dinner but he'd just come home from a road trip and an exhausting 4:00am to 10:30 pm field trip with the Kid's Grade 5 class and so all I could do was make him a carrot cake complete with cream cheese dressing. Which, by the way, tastes very different from commercial carrot cakes and it was a big hit with the boys. I think I will have to make this more often. What have I done?

Eco had a blast playing in the sprinkler and in the kiddie pool. She's so funny to watch and of course, no one's around for all the best moments; I never remember to have my camera with me. But the most fun we're having is hide-and-seek in the yard. She's getting very good - soon we'll be able to play in the dark like I used to do with Jazz. (She was good!) And it's a great way to keep your puppy from eating every rock, stick,pinecone, stick, rock and clump of dirt - plus she gets some running exercise.

Jp left again yesterday for another business trip and so I caulked the tub. I thought I was smart because he was away and I thought you only needed 24 hours to let it cure. I figured I could go 24 hours without a shower - but eek! it's 48 hours! Now I'll need to sponge bath the old-fashioned way, and go into hiding until Wednesday night.

Fun with Graphics

For all my graphics loving friends - check out Your Logo Makes Me Barf. I'm sure you'll have some fun.

And maybe one day "Comic Sans" and "Papyrus" will no longer exist as fonts.

And maybe you've got one to submit?