Happy Birthday

Happy big 5-0 Ben! Many, many more!

Valentines Day Snow

While we ( in the Seattle area) are basking in 55 degree temps today, back in Chardon, Ohio they are having a tough time just getting out the back door!
Where did I put that snow plow?
















And this snow storm is just a baby compared to Chardon's previous Winter storms!















Ahh, looks like they found one of the cars.....
All I can say is the ground hog was dead wrong this year~

Happy Ground Hog Day

As our furry friend squints into the bright light, his rambunctious shadow is ready to party under the hot sun!

now on ebay
Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring


PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) - A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction.

Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter.

Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 15 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.

Barbaro Noble Horse

Like most of the country I followed Barbaro's story of his amazing struggle for survival after his terrible leg injury at the start of the Preakness Stakes. Barbaro was euthanized on January 29, 2007, I wanted to do a small painting in remembrance of this magnificent Horse with a heart of gold.

on ebay

Valentine Secret Admirer

Yes I know its Pink fluffy and cute! Hey, it's a Valentine!
new on ebay!~

More Valentine Fun

New for Wednesday, a 4 x 6 original watercolor. The scan blew out the lighter tones in the artwork, the brushwork is more soft and subtle in person. Bid on ebay.

Recent Watercolors

One minute its New Years Eve, and then you turn around and Valentine's Day is coming up!

Just listed on Ebay some 4 x 6 original watercolors.





















More to come.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out Mom!

My Mom was lucky enough to live within driving distance of the famous "A Christmas Story" house and went to visit the home were they filmed the movie. Looks like she gave the tour a thumbs up, be careful around that "Major Award" Mom....Remember its "Frah-jill-aye"!!!















The house is open year round and theres a museum right across the street with props and memorabilia from the Film.

How cool is that!?

Merry Christmas to All!

Mt. St. Helens clears her throat

Mt. St. Helens wakes up in time for the holidays, spewing clouds of ash and steam today.
Will update as needed.

UPDATE: Small steam eruption, nothing to see here folks, move along.

SEATTLE -- Cold weather combined with the ongoing release of vapor generated an impressive plume of steam Tuesday at Mount St. Helens. The mountain vented steam shortly before 1 p.m. The volcano has been undergoing a low-key eruption since September 2004.Vapor has been rising from the volcano since before it rumbled back to life. Cold still air Monday and Tuesday made it visible from farther away.

Track Santa with NORAD

Christmas countdown Begins. On Christmas Eve track Santa as he flies from the North pole to a chimney near you! Visit the "Track Santa" web site.

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa. The tradition began after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. store advertisement for children to call Santa on a special "hotline" included an inadvertently misprinted telephone number. Instead of Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first "Santa" call on Christmas Eve 1955. Realizing what had happened, Colonel Shoup had his staff check radar data to see if there was any indication of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Indeed there were signs of Santa and children who called were given an update on Santa's position. Thus, the tradition was born.

Christmas ACEOs

Now listed on Ebay ! Search Cleverpup for more artwork.

And now the cleanup

Cleverpup Studios made it through the storm ok, we were a lot luckier then most people here in the storm area. We lost power Thursday night to early Friday morning, some people may not get power back for days. Friday morning the yard was full of fir tree branches and boughs, branches everywhere on the roof, yard and drive. Some people ended up with trees crashing though their roofs so I was glad we were spared this time. This was a record storm and the most powerful winds I have ever been through.

For more storm aftermath read this news report.

Record Wind Storm Claims 6 Lives in Pacific Northwest

Saturday , December 16, 2006

SEATTLE — Residents of the Pacific Northwest struggled to stay warm Saturday after the worst windstorm in more than a decade knocked out power to more than 1.5 million homes and businesses and killed at least six people.

About 950,000 customers in Washington and Oregon remained without power Friday night. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency, and with temperatures expected to drop over the weekend, officials warned people not to use outdoor grills, propane heaters or other carbon monoxide-producing equipment indoors.

Firefighters in Kent found 33 people from four families suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning Friday night, fire Capt. Kyle Ohashi said. They had taken their barbecues inside to cook or heat their apartments as temperatures dipped into the 30s.

They were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and all were expected to survive, Ohashi said.

In Oregon, a family of six was sickened by carbon monoxide from a generator set up in a garage in Gresham after the storm knocked out power, police said. Three children were hospitalized in critical condition late Friday, while one child and both parents were listed in good condition.

Winds gusted to a record 69 mph early Friday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old mark of 65 mph set in 1993. Winds were clocked at 113 mph near Mount Rainier.

Power was knocked out at one of the airport's concourses, canceling dozens of flights. Flights were also canceled at Portland International Airport in Oregon, and Amtrak canceled service between Seattle and Portland after downed trees and mudslides blocked the tracks.

Two people were killed in Washington in traffic accidents involving windblown trees, while one died after getting trapped in her basement by rising floodwaters. A fourth person was killed while he slept when the top of a tree snapped off and crashed into his home.

On the Oregon coast, an elderly couple died in a house fire caused by candles they were using during a power outage.

Puget Sound Energy, Washington's largest private utility, had 625,000 customers without power on Friday night. Some won't have their lights back on for days, spokeswoman Martha Monfried said.

Seattle City Light reported 107,000 outages Friday evening, while Snohomish County Public Utility District said 20,000 of its customers were still in the dark.

In Oregon, Portland General Electric said it had about 130,000 customers without power Friday evening, while Pacific Power said it was down to 64,000. Some of those customers are in Washington state.

The storm was the most intense to hit the region since the Inauguration Day storm of Jan. 20, 1993, which killed five people and caused about $130 million in damage, said Clifford F. Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor.

Batten down the Hatches!

How do you spell Seattle? M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E!

Local weather:

SEATTLE -- Damaging winds from a storm roaring in from the ocean are likely this afternoon, the KIRO 7 Pinpoint Severe Weather Center warned.A high wind warning is in effect from 2 p.m. until 10 a.m. Friday in Western Washington for predicted winds of 40 mph with gusts to 65 mph.Forecasters expect 50- to 60-mile per hour winds on the coast with gusts to 80 or 90, strong enough to bring down trees.Ted Beuhner of the National Weather Service told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News the storm will be stronger than the one last February, when 250,000 homes lost power just before the Super Bowl.Some meteorologists are predicting it could be the most severe windstorm since the Inauguration Day Storm of 1993. Forecasters said winds will peak overnight and ease later Friday. The National Weather Service said the winds will likely bring down trees and electrical lines causing power outages. Winds also could cause some damage to buildings.Officials said residents to find their flashlights and prepare for power outages. People should secure garbage cans or other things in their yards that could blow away. Boat owners should make sure their vessels are secure -- and batten down the hatches.

Indeed! First Mother Nature tried to drown us in November (15 plus inches of rain), then she used the old snow freeze technique, and now shes going to try and blow us away!

I suspect the Seahawk game tonight at Qwest field will be very interesting! And I bet some Seahawk fans as they sit in the driving rain and wind will be secretly wishing to have the Kingdome back!

Good Grief Charlie Brown!

Still looking for the perfect Christmas tree? Why not go retro with a replica of the sorry little tree from the 1960s Charlie Brown Christmas? You too can have a pathetic scrawny little tree just like Charlie Brown!

Product Description

Good Grief. Learn the true meaning of Christmas with Charlie Brown's classic pathetic Christmas tree. Leave it bare or dress it up all fancy. The tree is an exact replica of the tree from the famous cartoon, made of wire branches and plastic needles with a criss cross wooden base. The bendable branches allow you to make it look just how you want, super pathetic or just kind of pathetic. The tree comes with one red Christmas ball ornament. Plus the bendable branches make it possible to fold the tree entirely flat for easy storage during the non-yuletide times of the year.
* Wire / plastic / wood base
* Base: 91/2"l, 27/8"w; Tree: 21"h; glass ball: 3"w
* Take care with rough wood base, as it tends to splinter
* Imported

PEANUTS copyright UFS, Inc.

UrbanOutfitters.com - $24.00

"Begging Around the Christmas Tree"

Yoshi "the Original CleverPup" loves to beg in front of our Christmas tree.




















Yoshi can hold this position for a long time. Hopefully Santa will be bringing lots of cookies and doggie toys for Yoshi's stocking this year!

The 2006 Outdoor Lighting Extravaganza

Behold the wonder of twinkling merriment as Cleverpup Studio puts on a very festive display for the Holidays!

Yes, 'tis the season for lights and displays of good will towards men. Just DON'T OFFEND ANYONE WITH ONE OF THOSE DAMN CHRISTMAS TREES!

And you wonder why "The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America" ranks Seattle among the 50 most awful places to live in the country.


Hey, I know ....I know.

November Rain Record for Seattle

Well, with a little help from Mother nature, November went out with a bang. We set the record for the all time wettest month ever, with a whopping 15.63 inches of rain by Thursday morning. The old record was 15.33 set in December 1933.
I think this place is a little too damp for me, some where nice and dry is appealing right now, say maybe like the Arizona Dessert!

Here we go Again!

Oh what fun, it is to ride, in a two wheel drive Frozen Sleigh!

More snow or icy rain?, heck lets go for the rainfall record too while we are at it!

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH

THURSDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM

WATCH FOR MOST OF WESTERN WASHINGTON...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM

WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. THE WATCH INCLUDES THE

URBAN CORRIDOR FROM CHEHALIS NORTH THROUGH THE SEATTLE METRO

AREA...EVERETT...AND BELLINGHAM.

First the Rain, then the Snow, and now the Ice

Yesterday the greater Seattle area got walloped by a snow squall that moved through during the evening commute. Here at Cleverpup Studios we picked up an additional 2 inches of snow as it came down fast and heavy for an hour. Ian went outside for 10 minutes with his friends and came back in covered with snow. We stayed warm and cozy inside as the snow turned our neighborhood into a real winter wonderland.

The rest of Seattle didnt fare as well...The storm turned the main freeways into a icy skating rink and the people who were downtown at the Seahawks/ Greenbay Packers game (Seattle won!) found an icy gridlock on the way home.

Heres some of the more frigid stories gleamed from the local news:

SEATTLE - After a day of snow and a miserable Monday evening commute, Tuesday is already much worse. In fact for some, the Tuesday morning commute was an extension of a futile attempt to finish the Monday evening commute, and the State Patrol is advising everyone in the region to just stay off the roads.

More than 350,000 students in the central Puget Sound area alone got snow holidays Tuesday, including roughly 76,000 in Seattle and Tacoma, following traffic nightmares for tens of thousands of commuters Monday evening. In schools that were open, classes were delayed for tens of thousands of students.

Snow and slush that fell yesterday has frozen on many roads throughout the Puget Sound area as temperatures plummeted into the teens and 20s overnight, and dozens of spinouts and crashes overnight kept troopers and transportation crews very busy.

Transportation officials said many of the people on the roads early Tuesday were those who had been trying to get home since Monday night. Many of those stranded were those trying to get home from the Seattle Seahawks game that ended around 9:30. With traffic at nearly a standstill in many areas some commuters reported being on the road for nearly eight hours. DOT cameras showing freeways at 2 a.m. looked jammed just like what they typically would show at 5 p.m.

Parking lots near major interstates were full of people who couldn't make it home Monday night and decided to get off the roads and sleep in their cars.

Dozens of tractor-trailer rigs were off Interstate 5 Tuesday morning on a hill beside the Southcenter shopping mall south of Seattle.

Police and towtruck operators couldn't keep up with cars sliding off Interstate 405 Monday evening in the suburbs east of Lake Washington.

"It's unbelievable. It's like I'm driving in Alaska out here," said Trooper Jeff Merrill of the Washington State Patrol, from directing drivers near I-405 and State Route 527 in Bothell.

Temperatures dropped as low as 25 in Seattle, 20 in Everett, and into the low teens in Whatcom and Skagit County. And temperatures Tuesday night were expected to be another 2-6 degrees colder as more arctic air pours into the region.

Meanwhile, the snow and ice in the Puget Sound area have left thousands of utility customers without electricity.


Stay home...I think thats a very good idea!