What's in a Name?

Ever wonder why our dogs have the names they do? I like to know the method to the madness, so here goes the down low on the name game.

Here is my first baby, Oscar Paige Purvis Bryan.

He was born on December 10, 2001. (He shares his birthday with his favorite Uncle, my brother Brad) I'm sure you can guess where his name came from. Oscar Meyer! He was my first weenie dog, and I didn't even name him. My cousin, Gary Wayne actually gave him his name. I brought him home and couldn't decide on a name. GW always called him Oscar and I refused to let him be named something so obvious. But like most things, you say it enough, and it was his name. Now, where does Paige come from? Well, Paige is my middle name. And if you have (or know) a dachshund, you probably know that when they go outside, they are unaware of anything around them that they don't want to be aware of. Like me calling for Oscar to come inside. When I still lived at home with Oscar, and my dad would let him out, he would always yell for Oscar and call him Oscar Paige. I guess because he was so hard headed! So now whenever he is being bad, I call him Oscar Paige.

Now the other babies. Here is Oscar Junior:

He got his name from......none other than Oscar himself. Before we ever picked up the new puppies, I could tell that he just had that "Oscar" quality all from a photograph that the breeder sent to us. Then when he arrived, I knew that Brock was not his name, like we intended, but Junior or JR as he is called. All because he and Oscar are truly kindred spirits, as Ann-with-an-"e" of Green Gables would say.

They both like to eat and they both love to sleep. They even look alike and act just alike.

Now on to Brutus.

He is the outcast of the group. He doesn't really care to sleep ALL day. (he is still a dachshund and can nap with the best of them) He is the guard dog, the alpha male, the crazy one of the bunch. But how did he get his name? It is actually from a movie that I forced Joseph to watch. It is the greatest Disney movie ever produced.

Image from imdb.com, courtesy of Disney

The Ugly Dachshund is the movie. It came out in 1966. For those who haven't seen it, it is about a married couple who have one dachshund. It goes through her giving birth to her baby dachshunds and the Great Dane who is snuck in by the husband. The Great Dane's name is Brutus. That is where Brutus gets his name because Joseph fell in love with the name. (for some trivia, the Great Dane that played Brutus was also the star in Swiss Family Robinson as one of the Great Danes.)

So there is the down low on how our Dapper Dachshunds got their names!

As Rachel Would Say...Yum-O

Last night I was feeling kinda blah, so I decided to make Joseph a little treat. I try to make him something special at least once a week. Last week it was banana bread to take to work. This week I decided to make him something with ice cream, since I haven't bought any ice cream or popsicles in ages. Bring on the Turtle Cake!! I'm sure that this recipe has several names, but that's just what I call it! You will need: Ice cream sandwiches, cool whip (or make your own, I was too lazy yesterday!), caramel sauce, pecans, and hot fudge sauce. That's it. Easy, peasy. 

Begin by placing a layer of sandwiches on the bottom of your dish. Cover the sandwiches liberally with caramel sauce. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Then cover with whip cream. Layer another level of sandwiches. Cover with fudge sauce. (I couldn't find any other than the Magic Shell stuff, so I had to omit that step). Cover with whip cream. Decorate with remaining caramel and fudge sauce. Sprinkle with pecans. Wah-Lah, a very easy and tasty dessert!!

I have to issue a warning about this dessert, though. It is very, very yummy and very hard to stop eating!! And like anything that we eat around here, this is what we deal with:

The babies were hoping that Daddy would have an accident and drop some ice cream on the floor. The hopefullness is written all over their faces!!

Just Shoot Me!

Well, the camera has arrived, and of course I have no idea how to use the thing. I guess I will have to get to reading the 200+ page manual. Super fun. But I did get it out and play with it just a little bit today. My new lens just got here, so I will put that one on and play around with it. But here are a few pictures that I took today!

Oscar

Brutus

JR

Hydrangea Sprout

Blueberry Bush

Blueberry Bush reverse focus

Miss Pinkie

Granted, these aren't the best pictures, but I thought I did pretty good for operating a camera with so many buttons and things to learn about. So hopefully I can practice up and take some really great photos! Happy shooting, ya'll!

Thoughts from the Dapper Dachshund

Hey everyone. It's me, Oscar. My mom said that I could start posting a few thoughts that I have. As you can see, I got a new toy today. I was really, really excited when mom let me get it out of the shopping bag. I love to do that! What I don't like is when mom tries to take my new toy away. I can't believe that she fusses at me for doing what I am supposed to do. Seek and destroy that annoying squeaker thing. I make it my mission to find and remove that and any stuffing from the toy. And I must say that I am pretty good at it. I already ate the body off this dangerous frog in about two minutes with my razor sharp teeth. GRRR! That frog didn't want to mess with me. Now I am guarding it with my life by laying on top of it while I dictate my thoughts to mom to write down for me. She is sooo annoying. How dare she try to take my toy away!

Anyways, I guess that today has been a decent day. If only those stupid puppies would leave me alone. They wake me up at the crack of dawn. Don't they know that I sleep until at least 10:30 and get up when I am ready to? I don't need both of those mutts jumping on me and chewing on my ear first thing and sticking their whole muzzle in my mouth when I yawn.  I feel bad about having to growl at them, but I am what I am....a grumpy old man. They should respect their elders. But revenge is mine! They got locked up while mom went to check on Aunt Nicole at the hospital, so I got plenty of couch/sleep time ALL to myself. I walked by their gate just to taunt them. I even give them my best Hannibal Lector impression. "Don't get to close to the glass, Clarise" it's pretty hilarious! But at the end of the day, I guess I do like them just a little. Especially that little Oscar Junior. He is a lot like me. He likes to snuggle with me under the blanket, so I guess I can tolerate him.

Uh-oh...gotta run. I hear someone outside. Got to get back to my guarding duties!!

It was that UPS guy. Man do I hate him!! I gave him a few of my best barks and he ran away. Ok, now I am exhausted. Gotta go rest for a few hours!


Oscar

Picture Perfect

In a few days I will have a new "hobby" of sorts. I finally broke down and bought a new camera. I wanted to get one at Christmas, but Joseph and I decided to wait until we had a better reason to get one. (aka kids) But sometimes decisions can be changed! I guess I got the jolt to finally buy it after being surrounded by 15+ cameras this past Sunday. My friend, Ursula Page, (http://www.ursulapagephotography.com/) who took some photographs of us with our three dogs this past October contacted me and asked if me and Joseph would be willing to be the models for a get-together of local photographers. We were the bride and groom couple, so it was fun having a reason to put my dress back on and get dressed up. Joseph wasn't as thrilled, but he loves me and thankfully would do just about anything for me (and he did!). Hopefully I will have some pictures soon to show from the shoot.

Anyways, back to the camera. I am super excited about it. I have always hated taking pictures with my point and shoot digital camera, because let's face it, they just don't take the kind of photos that I like to see. So I purchased this:

Nikon D90 Camera

I have been eyeing this camera for months now. I also purchased this while I was at it:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF lens

There are some more lenses that I want, but those will have to wait, since they are a bit more expensive. But I figured that this lens would get me started and I can get some practice in before I go all out lens-crazy!!

So now that I will have a new toy, maybe it will motivate me to blog a little bit more often, since I will have some beautiful photos to share!! Happy shooting!

A Little Bit of Everything

I know, I said I was going to do better about blogging. I just never think about it now that I'm not stuck in front of a computer all day!! A few weeks ago, we got a little bit of snow right here in Thomasville. It wasn't a whole bunch, but it was enough to make this Florida girl happy!

It was too bad that it started really snowing just before dark, so the pictures didn't turn out too well. JR and Brutus got to go out and experience the snow. Oscar, in typical fashion, refused to go outside in the wet and cold and chose to watch from the window instead.

Let's see, Stacey and I also went with our dads to the car show this February. It was freezing (again) but we had a great time having some quality time with our dads, while the moms stayed back in Thomasville for a little retail therapy.

Here is Stacey standing by a Chevelle just like my father had when he was in high school.

Stacey and Uncle Brett (and big hair) taking in the sights.

A Diamond in the Ruff........No, Really.

This week has started out with a bang, and not a good one. The drama all started on Sunday night. I was happily sitting in our new chair (see pic) watching the Grammy's when I looked to the floor to see my two devils dachshunds on the rug chewing on something small. I didn't give it much thought, since I had just given them a bone. And it is a practice of Brutus' to steal anything of JR's. So I just thought they were fighting over the last piece. WRONG! After they finished with what they were doing, Brutus moved up to the couch, in closer viewing range to me. (as you can see in the layout of the living room photo) I noticed that he was trying to eat something. He was smacking really loudly, so I told him to stop, which he did. Then I saw it. In slow motion. Falling out of his mouth........my diamond earring. I have to admit, I totally freaked out. Then I had to look for the other one. I had taken them off and placed them on the end table. As far to the edge away from the couch as possible. But when I looked, it wasn't there either. Yeah, one of the pups had eaten it. But which one? Will the earring hurt them? What do I do? So I called the vet and he told me to give them peroxide and hopefully they will just throw it back up. (gross, I know) So some peroxide and alot of puke later, no earring. Wonderful. So, I had to take both pups to the vet for xrays to see who was the earring bandit (or if they had just lost the earring somewhere in the house). As it turned out, our little billy goat, JR was the culprit. There was my beautiful earring, sitting smack dab in the middle of his colon. Lovely, just lovely. So now, I am just waiting and watching like a hawk for my poor little diamond to make it out of my little ruff. This could only happen to me! And if anyone has watched Marley and Me, its not a fun job to find your jewelry. However, unlike Marley, my little JR WILL NOT get the honor of being buried with my earring!!! So now when I sing "How much is that doggie in the window" to the pups, I know now, a whole lot!!! I guess JR thinks that he is trying to smuggle precious jewels across the border!! Welcome to the craziness that is my life!