Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Poopsack Hats

So, I'm a guy. Guys like pockets. I'm happiest when I have cargo shorts on and a couple of shirt pockets to fall back to. That means I always have pants sitting around the dressing area with plastic bags shoved in the hind pockets to serve as the above-captioned Poopsack.

Betty's not a guy (duh). She wears stuff with no pockets at all (!!), and is loathe to cart a purse with her just to take the dog for walkies. Thus, (as we'd say in patent space) "a need arises in the art for a convenient way to cart a poopsack."

Betty's solution is functionally (if not aesthetically) elegant... put the poopsack in the hatband (seen here):



The more Jed Clampett-like hat is on the left (for everyday wear) whilst the more festive number on the right is better for more formal (!?) occasions. The Jed hat is shown equipped with a Cypress Inn poopsack while the "formal" hat has a 5 paw bakery bag (very good for the purpose after their tasty contents are removed... sort of an interesting life symmetry there) tucked therein.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Just a sexy cowboy kinda day


During the past year, I've been sewing shirts for Tomokee and for human friends. The fabric is a sexy cowboy print by Alexander Henry Fabrics. I bought the fabric at Eddie's Quilting Bee in Mountain View. For about a year, the fabric has been shown in their window display and providing lots of amusement for passers-by. Eddie's will be moving to a new location in Sunnyvale soon, and our friend Lisa wanted some photos to commemorate its Mountain View location and its eye-catching window display. So, here's Mike and Lisa and Tomokee wearing their shirts for the photo-shoot. It was quite the photo-op, as a couple of store employees as well as a passer-by or two also took photos.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Tomokee TV


This is not the greatest photo, but Tomokee is sitting between the garage and the side fence staring through a gap in the fence into the neighbor's yard. Sometimes he can do this for a very long time. Once in a while Liz, the neighbor, will appear, or perhaps Dustin, the neighbor dog will appear, or maybe the tortoises will appear. We're not sure what his favorite show is, but when Dustin appears, this becomes interactive TV because they will engage in a joint barking session.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Another month, another daschund day


We took our Saturday walk to downtown Los Altos last weekend, as we usually do on most weekends. Since it was the first Saturday of the month, it was daschund day. A group of them actually agreed to a group shot. (Well, their owners agreed to group shot). I did not try to include Tomokee in the photo because he would probably have created pandemonium. I do like the jogging bra on the one dog, or whatever that garment is.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Carmel-by-the-Sea, part Deux



So, another day in the Carmel life, starting at the Cypress Inn (the Doris Day-owned very dog-friendly hotel) with the free breakfast (Tomokee has already had breakfast in the room, but as you can see from the rapt attention, he could use more food). Randy (see the earlier post) isn't working the desk in the morning, but T-dog has found yet another BFF (Best Friend Feeder, erm, Forever) from whom to cadge biscuits.









Before we go to the beach, we took a walk and found these parked Harleys. The blue machine has behind it its trailer and, if you look closely, you'll see the small dog carrier on the rear of the seat assembly... I took a closeup of this -- never seen it before.








The second of the two bikes has the most amazing helmet hanging on it... showing here. The Mohawk is great, but the logo really got me (you might need to click on the picture for detailed viewing).

















We walked down to the beach... just look at the doggie panorama. So many happy critters! T-dog found a gorgeous Vizsla with whom he romped until good and tired. Tomokee really isn't good about recall when he's excited; fortunately, the vizsla was following its owner so we could snag the hyperactive maroon before he followed his new 4-legged buddy home.


Betty put him back on leash and he was much calmer.












Of course, no day is complete in Carmel without a visit to Lloyd's shoes, also a dog-friendly place. Here Betty is trying on (and subsequently bought) some leopard-skin shoes.








Later, we ate the Forge in the Forest for dinner. By holding the camera down near Tomokee's massive head, I caught two fresh droolcicles and one kind-of crusty one (that's what you get on your muzzle if you've got a droolcicle going and suddenly do the "helicopter head" maneuver). The restaurant provides a doggie menu; we selected the "quarter hounder" for T-dog. This must be delivered to the table so you can parcel the thing out over time as you eat, otherwise you get the 3 seconds of sheer joy as the 4-legged vacuum cleaner absorbs the whole thing and wonders why we're still eating.

All in all, a good trip for all creatures involved.