Goodbye 2009!

Back from cold and snowy Pa. and home with our wonderful 4-legged's again. Always fun going but sweeter coming back. See ya'll soon in the New Year!

All the best,
The Mama

Happy, Merry, and Joy!

That is- HAPPY HOLIDAYS and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of our Blogger and non-Blogger Friends! Be safe, be warm and spread joy and love to all!

With happy woofs and hugs,
Karen, Kris, Bentley, Bridgette
Jax, Roux, and Walter

Sing, sing, sing- Ye Merry "Dales"

Here's a link to some fun songs from one of the Airedale list's I lurk on. Bentley gives a two paws up for the lyrics and Roux, well, she is still trying to figure out what is going on with all the baked cookie smells wafting through the house and why the Mama has those things that smell so good put way up high! As you can see in this picture, the 4-legged's are mesmerized by my awesome singing voice. Ha Ha Ha or is it Ho Ho Ho? What can I say? Enjoy!

http://dsl027-161-026.atl1.dsl.speakeasy.net/AireSong.html

A favorite poem of mine...

Somehow, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
Returns to you glad.

John Greenleaf Whittier

Little Red Riding Hood or not....

Roux is definitely the "or not" part....that would be peanut butter on her nose.

Walter was practicing for his very own publicity shoot.

And Bentley was seriously considering bolting. He just didn't think he could move with that weird red thing on his head!

I'm trying to get Holiday pics for the Christmas card lists this year. I have patience but time is running out! I'll try again tonight- wish me luck!

Keeps you on your toes...

It's been awhile and I just wanted to bring all of our friends up to date on the 4-legged's. Today is the next to last day of the Fall semester for me and I can't emphasize how thankful I am for that this morning. One more final exam, then I'm free for a month- give or take. I know the 4-legged's will enjoy me being home with them. Due to weather and other factors, their Klaws have declined over the past two weeks in frequency. Because of this, we all are having to really watch our caloric intake. Bowls are being put down and picked up after meals even if their not empty and the other Mama and I are watching what we eat! I depend on those daily Klaws to burn a few calories and it helps with stress, sleep and makes my 4-legged family a lot easier to deal with when they are having full-surge energy spasms as is usual around here. The rain looks as if it has let up for the day- a day of sunshine for Houston would be nice. We, the other Mama and I, have learned that a tired dog is a good dog when it comes to the Roux girl. When she came to us, the vet approximated her age to be somewhere around a year. We believe that he was wrong in his guestimate. Roux is now a wee bit taller than Bentley and continues to be full of non-stop energy. After Roux came back to join our family, Bentley decided that she was his personal play toy. He learned that she would play with him non-stop and that he can play bitey-face with her all he wants without hurting her. This is a good thing since the other 4-legged's in the family are too small and/or too old to play with a 75-80 lb. Airedale. Bentley is experiencing his 2nd childhood which is really awesome since he turns 7 next month. Of course, Bentley's loud mouthed vocalizations and goofy habits of flipping the food bowls have become Roux's habits too. We have been working on the Sit, Stay, Down and Wait commands for a month or two now when it is time for the afternoon Klaw in the park and are seeing great results. Patience- it is a virtue and it pays off. Still- Roux is in chewing mode- it comes in waves and cycles about every three to four days instead of everyday. We use the black super-dooper extra strong Kongs frozen with peanut butter for Roux's destructive chewing habits. We found a similar product at Academy (sports & hunting store) that is bright orange, over-sized and half of what you pay for the Kong brand. She's made indentations but hasn't succeeded in tearing any of them apart- yet; she very well may succeed. It's better than her eating any more of our house-hold items. The list is long so I won't go into details but you can use your imagination. Roux is really smart and I think when she is a bit older and I have the time, she will go into agility or some other like-minded activity. And we are finally making some progress with her Attention Deficit "puppydumb." All I know is that her exuberance and crazy antics keep all of us on our toes- especially the Bentman so I'm not complaining. Roux is the best thing that could have happened to my Bentman! Of course, that goes both ways- Roux is learning the good stuff that an older dog can teach a young one!

Till next time- have a wonderful week
and enjoy the ones you love!
Bentley's Mama

Update on Snowy Day in Houston!

We went outside to play in the front yard. Roux pulled a fast one as usual and took off with Bentley's fashionable red scarf....

Obviously, the cold makes the 4-legged's feistier than usual....

But I was able to get them to stop long enough for a quick snapshot after the game of chase of "give me back the red scarf!"

Houston- We have a problem!

More to come! Just waiting for the snow to stick so the 4-legged's can go play in it. I know snow is not such a big deal in other area's but in Houston it only happens every blue moon. Must have been a blue moon last night, huh??!!!

A Dollar a Minute....

Look what the Mama brought home! PetSmart Donation Toys! WooHoo!

Darn- she's got that flashy thing out again....maybe I'll just stand here and not move.

Or maybe not.

The game is on. How long do you think before Roux the Chew destroys it?

Bentley helped. He acts like such a goody-two-shoe. Hmpfff!

Bored now. What else can I get her blamed for?

Side note: Yes, I did buy two stuffies but I picked one of them up and hid it after I saw the tug of war start. It's always fun watching the two of them act like the maniacs they can be. Anyway, have a great end of the week. We're supposed to get slushy, icy wet cold stuff tomorrow. Blah.

Dogs, Pies and Fried Turkey

George and sister Kathy (Kris's Dad's wife) Family resemblance is that they are silly pranksters up to no good! Beware! Major goofballs!
Thanksgiving dinner table: ready, set, go!
Roux's 1st Thanksgiving with us. That blue thing is a so-called durable Kong toy! Not!
More silliness from the gang...
Kris was in charge of the fried turkey. Gobble, Gobble!
Lemon buttermilk pie and pecan pie safely cooling in the office away from the 4-legged's!
Barb (Kris's Mum) and Alan (Kris's Dad) looking at the dog show on the t.v.
Barb relaxing before dinner.
Sam and Kris checking out the black Friday sales ads in the paper. We don't need more stuff! Except maybe more dog toys!

So we had a great day with the family- 2-legged and 4-legged and we sure hope you did too! Hugs, Aire-kisses and many blessings to all of you today and everyday. Till we post again....smile, laugh, and know how wonderful you are!

Karen and Bentley Beargrass

Thanksgiving morning!

Resting after the morning Klaw so we can eat some goodies. Sam and I burned a few calories so we can eat an extra piece of whatever we want. As did the Bentman and friends!
Making the homemade noodles- Grandmother Barb and Granddaughter Sam!
Sam is having way too much fun rolling out the dough!
Kris (daughter of Barb and Sam's Auntie) making her pecan pie for me (little do they know)!
More exhausted pups after the morning klaw. Have to burn a few zzz's so they energize up for Thanksgiving dinner!

Chunky monkey?

Have you ever heard of such? She (the Momma) called me a chunky monkey and she said I needed to lose a lb. or two, maybe three! Hmmppff! The Momma realized this when she was looking at my pictures after she downloaded them. Basically, all it is- is haire; lots of winter coat coming on and she's been a wee bit lax on getting my haire cut. That's my opinion! Just because it's not my favorite thing in the world and she's been too busy with school, working on building a shed for the backyard, doing whatever humans do- it's not my fault. AND, I get lot's of exercise playing with my newest toy, Roux. She is mine and I love her even if she is a non-stop moving energized maniac. I have to play biteyface with her at 6 in the morning. The Momma just doesn't understand- I need lots of food to keep my energy level up! I can't help it if I'm kinda stocky and my legs aren't as long as my sister's. It's pure muscle and I use it well, I say! Uh-oh, here she comes with that clipper bag. Bet she's gonna make me take a bath too. Says she wants to get a good look at what's underneath my haire! Gotta run!

Till next time,
Bentley Beargrass!

a little bit about nothing...

Good Morning and Happy Monday



to all of you out there in the world of Blogger-Land. It has been a really long weekend and I hate to admit it but I'm glad it is finally a new week. Visiting our household for a little over a week now is Salla from Finland- she came to the United States 5 years ago to stay with my partner Kris as an exchange student for a year. She liked it so much, she has come back to visit and when she graduates University over there in the land of cold, she may come here to teach one day. We've had lots of fun with her even though she is a shopping fool! Apparently, there are many favorite American delicacies like Ho-Ho's and such that she took a liking to and cannot get them over there in her native Finland without paying an arm and a leg! Her box (going to be a giant U-Haul one) will cost a small fortune to check at the aireport, I'm sure. And I won't even say anything about her 45 lb. backpack she'll have to check and the boxes of Bisquick, cake mixes and 12-pack of Kraft Mac-n-Cheese in her suitcase! That's not counting the various clothing items that the young folks are into these days- a little bit gothic-styled but she'll the first to have these trendy fashions before anyone else does over there in Finland. We took her to Austin on Friday knowing full well she'd love it because Austin is the best city in Texas. The University of Texas, the music scene, laid-back people and beautiful scenery are hard to beat. If the cost of living wasn't so expensive there and we could make a decent living, I think we'd live there too. Salla dressed up as pirate since they don't celebrate Halloween in Finland and we took her to the Halloween celebration on 6th St. We actually stayed for two hours before us oldie's started getting too claustrophobic from the thousands of ghoulies that started to fill downtown Austin. Alas, my poor little boy Bentley didn't get to go this trip because his Mama had too much to do last week and left him here in Houston with Miss Phyllis the doggie-sitter and his brothers and sisters. He'll get to go next trip in early December when the Mama gets out of school. One of the reasons he didn't get to go is because we helped man the TART booth at the LSACT Versatility Day on Sunday in Hutto, Texas and I didn't get him groomed nor did I have time to start acclimating him to being crated. Next year he gets to go and maybe the wild child Roux if she quits acting like a heathen! I really believe she is teaching him bad habits and he is gleefully enjoying himself. What next? Check out the pic of the Airedale in devil costume in my pics- He is supposed to be Hell in a Handbasket, good one, huh?! We can sympathize! Anyway, we were able to go see my newest nephew- Ethan Micah- 3 weeks old and his big sister Aerin- almost two, and my sister and her partner. We stayed at our dear friends Kimmie and Lorri's aka Partner's house. Partner was a really good sport and helped us at the TART booth all day Sunday while Kimmie and Salla went shopping. Two birds of a feather- if we'd thought about it sooner we could have let them shop for a week together but then Salla would have had 2 or 3 U-Haul boxes to back to Finland. Never mind that thought! On the other paw- Kris and I bought some really fun stuff at the TART booth to add to the office walls here at home. I had to have a Dogopoly game featuring an Airedale on the box lid and Kris being the doll that she is, encouraged me to put it in my pile of purchases. WOoHOo! The event was lots of fun even though we had a much smaller turnout than years past but we'll be there again in the years to come. It's time for me to go get Salla up and get a few things done before she leaves tomorrow like make sure the 4-legged's aren't making mischief, study, go to class, study, and get Salla to the U-Haul store and the dreaded Wally-World! I'm pretty sure that Bentley and Co. will have some new adventures to post before long that will have me tearing my haire out!
So...
Ya'll have a great week!

Crafty pooches!

This month has been a wee bit hectic. Between trying to keep the "Chew Roux" from deliberating on what item to steal next as one of her toys, Bentley deciding that Roux is his own personal toy to play with at 5:30 am till 7:30am in the middle of the living room, my overload of school hours that's kicking my butt (I knew better), and numerous other things that everyone out there has experience with- I've been attempting to be crafty. Hmmpf. Harder than I thought even though I am creative, the execution of some of my ideas are definitely trial and error! Naturally, the 4-legged's think they need to help me in everything I set out to do. The due date for these creations is this weekend for the LSATC Versatility Day in Hutto, Texas. The Texas Airedale Rescue Team will be selling all kinds of Airedale-related items to raise money for Rescue. We'll even have goodies for the 2-legged's to eat at our bake sale and sack lunch's too. I'll be making my Swedish Nut's- pralined pecans, which of course the 4-legged's in this house think they need to help sample! Wish me luck- 'cause I'm hoping to be faster and smarter than "Kanga Roux", the counter-surfer extrardinaire while in the kitchen bagging up the nuts! Ya'll have a good week; I'm sure mine will continue to be exciting staying one step ahead of the crafty and wily 4-legged's that rule this house!

Boux came to see us!

Guess who came over to meet the gang? My other brother Boux from where I lived for awhile and was it ever fun! We played in the backyard together and he even fit himself through the doggie door and he's way bigger than Bentley or me. Whew- really tall and over a hundred pounds. He can just look at the stuff on the counter in the kitchen and grab whatever he likes if he's surfing! Wish I were that tall...they say I'm still growing maybe there's a chance!

The newest girl in town,
Roux aka "like a KangaRoux"
-cuz I can jump really high!

conversations about Chew Roux....

Momma 1: "What if she never grows out of this chewing stage?"
Momma 2: "Never had one that didn't."
Momma 1: "She's been really bad today. She got shoes out from the bottom of a tote for the Goodwill people. I didn't even remember those shoes were in there. How did she know?"
Momma 2: "Too smart, and she has a good nose for leather. I don't know."
Momma 1: "I knew a dog once that never grew out of it. He ate the whole house his entire life. I couldn't stand that dog. Not really but..."
Momma 2: "It's getting better, only every other day now that she does something. She just is very nosy and likes to chew. And she's young- two is usually the magic age. Maybe sooner; it just seems like forever when they're in this stage."
Momma 1: And that tote had clothes piled up on top of the shoes in it."
Momma 2: I know. I'll take it to the Goodwill place tomorrow. Sweet dreams- she'll get better- they always do."

Life of Roux by Bentley Beargrass

Here is the list of everything she eats. She drives the 2-legged's craaazy.
In the beginning she started with my toys, shredding them one by one till there was nothing left but big, fuzzy white pieces floating everywhere. Then she started getting a hankering for shoes. The shoes originally started out on an old lawyer's bookcase- 4 levels, top to bottom. Then the Momma moved them up to the 2nd level from the bottom to the top. She went after those too. Then all the way to the top shelf and the rest into the back bedroom closet with the door shut. That solved that- for a few days. Then the other Momma forgot and took hers off for just a minute one day and "Shoe Roux" took off with one of a brand new pair that had replaced one of 7 pairs. The 2nd Momma realized it quickly but it was in the backyard already chewed. Hmmppff. Then.......Roux became known as "Chew Roux" because she destroyed a dustpan that the 1st Momma had left outside in backyard terriertory. And she destroyed 2 red Kongs- have you ever heard of such? Now she gets the super-duper Giant Black Kong's and the 1st Momma says she's gonna write the Kong company and see if they'll come up with an even stronger Kong if Roux eats those. Next up, she decided she likes to eat paper products- you can't believe how many boxes of Kleenex she's swiped. Everything,and I do mean everything started getting moved up to the high places in the house. Roux decided that she didn't like the 2nd Momma's cigarettes and took those to the backyard to destroy- didn't smoke or eat them, thank Dog. She swipes all and any water bottles sitting around. This is probably because she loves anything water. There are new rugs everywhere because she drinks like a slob. She practically gets in the water bowls when drinking and her beard brings massive amounts of water with her every step. That's actually kinda funny to watch. I taught her to go drink out of the potty bowl so she can flood the bathroom floor. At least I'm not the only one called "potty mouth" around here anymore. The other day was the best- we've been getting mucho amounts of rain for weeks so we needed baths according to the 2nd Momma, she even informed Roux she was fragrant and not in a good way. What do you expect when Roux celebrates in the pouring down rain by running around in it like an absolute fool and comes in soaking wet! When the 1st Momma went to run water for her own bath that morning, there was Roux as usual drinking all the water coming out of the tub faucet. When the 1st turned around in the bathroom for a minute, Roux jumped in, ankle deep, waiting patiently for her bath. She smells better is all I can say. She got her bath. Oh yeah, she has become a counter-surfer extraordinaire. The Momma's had set a trap for her with the cookie sheets last week but she is sneaky and never went back for a few days. Then she struck- pork ribs with the special sauce on the grill. Somebody left the spatula on the counter and she snatched it and in typical "Chew Roux" fashion destroyed it. Well, the cookie sheets, scary penny water bottle and paper towel with a bit of sauce to lure her were positioned precariously on the counter. HeHe! She fell for it and got in so much trouble. Terrierfied, Roux flew out the doggie door and didn't get near the kitchen for at least a day. She is constant trouble, I say. Anyway, it appears according to the Momma's that she is probably younger than they originally thought when they rescued her a few months ago. Roux is growing- so far about two inches in height. And she eats and eats and eats. She has learned from me to go push the empty bowls around when she's hungry. Ha! She even has a really big smart bump on her head. The first Momma says this isn't good because it means her brain is big and she will always try to outsmart the 2-legged's. Lately all the words we hear around here are "No; Down; Go lay down; Sit- Wait- Easy- Soft kisses- Good Girl- Oh Roux, you can be a good girl; Get in your crate; God, give me more patience than I already have, please!; and the very best is AAAAAGGGGHHHH, what now!" It's better than a circus around here, or maybe a zoo or a preschool. I don't know, it's always something. Anyways- till next time- have a great week and don't forget to pick up your shoes 'cause "Chew Roux" is back in town!

Yours truly,
Bentley Beargrass
(I'm perfect or at least I let them think I am)

Kitchen woes...

Yes, you guessed it. Roux has learned to counter-surf to the dismay of the two Momma's. After I got out of school yesterday, I went by Joe's Barbecue joint in Alvin to take advantage of their Monday special- chopped beef sandwiches for one dollar. Thinking they would be tiny offerings at this price, I bought four. Well.. the guy in front of me ordered three for himself so this led to my conclusion of special price, tiny little itsy bitsy sandwich. I was wrong. Realizing this when I arrived home and opening up the Styrofoam box I was pleased to see that there would extra for lunch today. Hmmppff- wrong again. I'd taken my sandwich back to the study room to eat when I heard a Roux noise. Now, this is just not any noise. It is a noise you all are probably familiar with. That special sound you hear when one of the four-legged's, in this case Roux, is getting into something she has no business getting into. You see, there haven't been any signs of dreaded counter-surfing habits before last night so I wasn't on guard for her new escapade. Roux, Roux, Roux- you act like a little heathen. Anyway, I immediately hauled a## to the kitchen to find a completely uneaten sandwich laying on the rug missing it's Styrofoam box. I poked my head out the window and there is Miss Roux happily shredding her newfound toy- the Box out on the grass. As I picked up the sandwich I started to laugh thinking what a dumb-butt. Here is a delicious chopped beef sandwich she could have been savoring from her thievery but No- she went for the Box instead! I cleaned up the mess and set a trap. Big cookie sheet with paper bag and empty box that must have smelled so inviting to her big black nose. On top of that, I put the scary penny water bottle for even more noise effects so when it falls, she will run for her life. That was last night. Still waiting. If I need to tempt her with more savory smelling items- I will. It is just a matter of time!

Need the flash, lady!

The Momma forgot to turn on the flash as usual. Can you see me? This is my own special version of bed head. Apparently, my Mum thinks I need a grooming because she said I look like a ragamuffin. Then she said she may not be able to get the job done properly all by herself and called her groomer friend. I'm going to hide now.

Across the muddy river to New Orleans

We had a lovely time exploring New Orleans this weekend. It is a feel good city with it's exotic history, swampy locale and fascinating people. We thought the rain followed us from Houston to Louisiana but it had been raining there for weeks. We didn't care, it just added to the adventure. Arriving at ten pm we checked into the St. Pierre- various restored cottages and buildings with private courtyards and lush greenery wildly growing everywhere- refreshing after the drought conditions we've been experiencing in Texas. The next day we went to Cafe Du Mond and enjoyed the chicory coffee and beignets the open air cafe is famous for. No sightings of Airedales anywhere but I saw lots of bulldogs, mixes and pittbulls which Louisiana is notorious for. A canine fix is a canine fix! Then it began to rain. No rainy day blues for us though. We walked, ran and splashed everywhere with all of the other tourists and locals for three days. A visit to the Aquarium of the America's gave me a chance to feed the stingrays. A tour of the Beauregard Key's mansion was quite informative as was was an afternoon spent at the World War II Museum. The WWII Museum gave me some more insight on a paper I need to write next week for school! We also were able to go see the burlesque queens at the House of Blues after their contest at Harrah's Saturday night. Definitely interesting but sadly they don't leave much to the imagination anymore like the Burlesque Queens of the Olden Days used to. Of course, we ate our way through New Orleans. The advice from the locals on where to go sample the best Cajun fare was right on. I felt like Bubba Gump and now can proudly recite almost all titles and recipes for anything shrimp and crawfish now that I've had my fill. We also went to Central Grocery and shared a muffuletta- a most excellent sandwich with their delicious olive salad. I want to recommend a carriage ride through the French Quarter next time you get to New Orleans. I've visited N.O. many times since I was 16 but never wanted to spend the time or money. Worth every penny! We were able to go visit Marie Laveau's tomb and walk around the cemetery a bit. Supposedly, if you leave three of anything at her tomb or tap on the wall, she'll grant you a wish. I just knocked and wished her to rest in peace. I figure her spirit is tired of everyone bothering her! The St. Louis Cemetery #1 and all of it's cousins in N.O. are filled with great atmosphere for hoodoo-voodoo lover's and vampire freaks. I say who-voodoo! All the walking about did us in and we were able to go back to our cottage and sit in the huge, square rectangular jacuzzi tub every day in the afternoon and evening to massage our feet and other achy parts! I want and need a tub at home like that one I've decided. HaHa. Anyway, New Orleans is back in business after that nasty little storm named Katrina tried to wipe it off of the face of the planet. So, if you ever get a chance, go visit and linger awhile. There is much more to her than Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras- personally I can't handle those massive moving walls of people during the major festivities and choose to go in the off-seasons. Claustrophobia is my middle name! Bentley and our 4-legged gang say hello to all! They stayed home with their favorite sitter Miss Phyllis who spoiled them by feeding them a half jar of cookies and who know what else while we were gone??!! And she lets them sleep with her- all of of them. Aaagghhh. We love her and obviously so do they! Enough rambling for now, it was a great mini-vacation. Gotta go study- school stops for no one, especially old students like me. C'est la vie! Ya'll have a great week.