Happy New Year

To everyone out there in the blogosphere and beyond!
UPDATE: Almost forgot to post the "Live Cam from Times Square" link!
Stay warm and happy out there!

Christmas's Sizzling Aftermath

Yes, I admit it.

We turned my 14 year old son into a pod person this Christmas. No, not one of those scary pods from the old sci-fi movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", but a brand new "ipod". Ian loved the ipod and imminently went to the "iTunes" site where he can download songs for .99 cents each. The ipod we bought was the 20 gig model, which means you can put 5,000 songs on it. I don't think have 5000 songs in the whole house. I was pretty impressed with the thing, heck maybe I will get one for my own. To complement the ipod, we also bought the ipod boom box to go along with it, you can put your ipod in and listen to it without the headphones , perfect for lugging outside on a sunny afternoon.

Everything was just going swimmingly, no glitches on Christmas day and I was pretty pleased as I drifted off to sleep with visions of sugar plums in my head. Suddenly I heard "MOM!" I jumped out of bed expecting the tree was on fire or something equally terrible. "Mom , my i boom is making sizzling noises!" What? what the heck, I walked into Ian's room and saw the ipod boom box sitting on the bed innocently. Picking it up, I then noticed a liquid dripping from the bottom and heard the ominous bubbling noise. Ok, this is bad, I held it at arms length and took it downstairs and held it over the sink as it sizzled and popped.

What the heck is going on here, I opened the battery cover and saw the problem. The 6 D batteries were sizzling and bubbling and leaking acid everywhere. And these were brand new batteries just bought that day! I dumped the batteries in a box and cleaned the acid off the plastic cover. Thank goodness Ian was awake when it happened as I don't think it would be too pleasant sleeping in a puddle of battery acid.

Don't buy store brand batteries, these were Albertsons batteries and on sale. I am sticking with Energizer from now on. One thing I have to give to Albertsons, when I took the batteries back, not only did they refund my money, they gave me 6 replacement Energizer D batteries for free.

And so the sizzle saga ended well.

Icicles in Chardon

Another snow photo from Ohio, this is the front porch looking out the door. Nice icicles, you could poke your eye out with one of those! Believe it or not, here in Seattle we have a small chance of some flurries on Saturday. Of course if I really wanted snow, all I have to do is drive into the mountains.
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

Watching and waiting..

This is a picture of Mount St. Helens that was taken on December 23 on one of our rare sunny winter days. The growth of the new lava dome continues, for updates on the latest volcanic activity, check out the Mount St. Helens Update website .
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

New Print Auctions Listed

Today I took advantage of Ebay discounting their insertion fee and put up a few new auctions of my poodle and Chihuahua prints. Oh, and I think theres a Shih Tzu in there too. I know I need to add a larger variety of dog breeds to my art portfolio and if anyone has any suggestions just let me know.

Tina

A REALLY White Christmas

Ok, today I talked to my mom in Chardon, Ohio and casually asked her how much snow they got over the last week. Where she calmly answered, (drum roll please) 31 inches. Talk about too much of a good thing, almost three feet of snow is pretty mind bending to a soggy Seattle green Christmas type like me. Lucky my parents are retired and as the song goes,

"Since we have no where to go,
Let it Snow, Let it Snow , Let it snow!"

Begging for a gift

Christmas is over, but I just had to post one last photo of Yoshi begging to open his gifts on Christmas morning. Note the serious concentration on his face, this dog is ready to go, just give the word and he's on those presents in a flash! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with family and friends yesterday. Now that the Holidays are just about over, it will be back to painting for me. I have some really good ideas now and just have to find the time to start. That's always the hardest part ...starting.

Tina
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

So close and yet so far.......

If only the door would open............
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

A Nutty Christmas

The Squirrel had a great Christmas too, as the peanut feeder was a big hit with him,and my husband. It doesn't take much to make a squirrely happy,this guy is still taking peanuts as I am typing and it's just about dark out....I believe he thinks he's hit the Squirrel Lotto here with all the nuts!
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

Santa's Favorite Pup

Santa was kind to this Clever Pup! Yoshi scored with a stuffed trout toy! Every dog needs a stuffed fish that squeaks. Yoshi must have been a very good dog this year as he also got a chew bone and a bag of cookies! In this picture, Yoshi is in the classic "I double-dog dare you to try and take my trout!!"
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

For everyone today.....

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

NORAD celebrates 50th season Tracking Santa!

It's Christmas Eve and NORAD is tracking Santa as he makes his way across the world delivering gifts and Christmas fun! You can look at the site to find where old St. Nick's current position is and then watch the Santa cam for the latest picture of Santa and his sleigh.

NORAD TRACKS SANTA

Looks like Christmas is on its way!

Holiday Follies

Today I went ahead and finished the rest of the gift buying before the last minute shoppers swarmed the stores on Christmas Eve. A trip to Best Buy netted "Return of the King" extra- extra- extended version with additional footage of Frodo getting a pedicure and various other scenes they edited out of the film. Also snagged another X-box controller, that was a direct request from my 14 year old son. Best Buy was pretty busy, but no long winding lines back into the home electronic department so I ended up getting in and out pretty quick. Then on to the Wild Bird Center Store where I found the (sshhhhh) Squirrel feeder! Heck those things are not cheap, I think throwing stale bread and nuts on the deck may have been a better way to go. I will post a picture after Christmas when it is put up on the fence rail. The feed makes the squirrels work for their free handout..they have to open a lid and reach into the box to get a tidbit.

Back home I got the rest of the gifts wrapped and then finished frosting the sugar cookies I had made last night. Soooo, other then picking up the Christmas dinner (I ordered a Prime Rib gourmet dinner this year so I didn't have to spend Christmas cooking!) on the 24th, I think I am just about finished with everything. Keep your fingers crossed

Tina

Snow Envy

Oh but my mom gets ALL the snow in Ohio, she doesn't even leave a single snowflake for us snow poor artists in Seattle. Look at the piles of snow she has hoarded, almost as tall as her car! Sheesh...and she used to yell at ME for not sharing!
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

Amazing Festive Holiday Lights! Protect your eyes! (ahh for a little Christmas snow...)
copyright 2004 Cleverpup

Merry Christmas to All!

And a Woofingly Happy New Year
Christmas is just a few days away and I only have two more gifts to purchase. The hubby has been feeding the two fat grey squirrels that wait at the patio door, so I am thinking a squirrel feeder would be fun to have. Of course Yoshi the original Clever Pup disagrees and thinks a fat squirrel would be the best gift.

Tina

Chihuahuas under the Christmas Tree

Back to normal here, and just finished a new water color penicl drawing. This one is a Chihuahua under the mistletoe waiting for that Christmas kiss, well a pat on the head would be just as nice.
Bidding starts at $1.00 so hey what are you waiting for!!

Mistletoe Chihuahua

ow

Haven't been posting or painting lately. I had a double whammy with a sinus infection and then found out I need a root canal. Oh what fun. Funny thing I didn't feel a thing in the dentist's chair, but boy when the numbness wore off....geez!
nice way to start December.

The good news is the calendars and ornaments are selling well.

ho ho ho