We spent some time today on the NCR Trail/Little Falls trout fishing and beagle swimming and knitting. I finished my reversed Endpaper Mitts just in time for… summer.
Hi Buddy- you are going to be my dinner tonight!
Oh Hai. I’m back.
We got off the ship this morning and just flew back from Houston. James has to go into to work in the morning (mandatory overtime) so I’ll be doing laundry, dealing with photos, planting the garden, loving the beagles, and hopefully a bit of sun worship to round out my vacation before I go back to work on Tuesday.
More photos to come in the next few days- but here are a few:
My baby sister on her wedding day…
with her new husband and his son…
our family…
Cozumel
and me and mamacita
Beagle on his futon.
Baltimore, Maryland
Pentax K100D
04 April 2008
Mr. Beaglesworth
Baltimore, Maryland
Pentax K100D
23 March 2008
James built a fire tonight because there is a bit of a chill and we are hanging out in the living room while he studies- he says he built it for me but I know he really made the fire for the beagles (plural) because he brought their bed down and put it directly in front of the fire.
Here they are sacked out like bookends- the wood burning stove is about a foot to the left of the photo, where the white tile is beside Daisy.
All good things.
Baltimore, Maryland
Pentax K100D
12 March 2008
cThat’s right, Bitches. I’m back.
The hell, you say!!!
I got an email tonight from a wonderful family who saw my ad online. They work with an animal rescue and had been taking care of Huck for a few days. Apparently, an older man not too far from us took Huck in around Thanksgiving and had been taking care of him since. He ran an ad in the same paper we did, took him to get new vaccinations and it seems really took good care of him. For some reason, he wasn’t able to take care of him anymore and gave him to the rescue. So they magically found me, emailed me- we called them back- and 12 minutes later we were on our way to fetch my best friend of all time.
Huck comes home.
As soon as we got to their house and in the fence- there was no doubt he recognized us. He was so happy- and so were we. He started howling and making a lot of noise- I really missed his howl. We said our thank yous and headed home- calling everyone to let them know. (Mom- it was almost 12- I was smart enough to not call you….”uh huh, you got your dog, nice. Now i’m going back to sleep”)
Bonny says Hello to an old friend.
And for the record, what do I see as I am posting this entry?
Let my iphone help you out.
Sacked out beagle, happy to be home. Already snoring.
Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who took care of My Best Friend for the last few months.
All is right with the Universe again. Carry on.
This weekend- Microchips for everyone (even James?) and maybe cut off one of his back legs.
Yesterday we went to the 2008 Great Taste show- basically a foodie convention where they gave out lots and lots of booze. I left my big camera in the car and only had my iphone- so the photos are a bit hazy.
Warren Brown Michael Midgley
Food Network’s, Sugar Rush
It opened at 11- but the food floors weren’t open until 12- so we went to the first workshop which was led by Warren Brown from Food Network’s Sugar Rush and who just opened up a bakery (cupcakes!) in Canton. He made an amazing European Butter Cream frosting and then passed out cupcakes to everyone. Perfect way to start the day. (That’s Jerry on the right)
James and I ran out at the end to quickly make it to the beer and cheese pairing session led by Hugh Sisson:
Presenter: Hugh Sisson, Clipper City Brewing Co.
Sure, cheese and wine go great together- but so does cheese and beer. Join Hugh Sisson, owner of Clipper City Brewery, as he tells you why some of his brews pair nicely with Cabot Creamery’s finest. Come find out why Loose Cannon’s herbal and fruity flavor is a perfect mate with Tomato Basil Cheddar, why the espresso taste of Peg Leg Stout complements the jalapeno peppers in Hot Habanero Cheddar …and more! Ticket cost includes one-hour interactive seminar, cheese sampling and beer flights.
Mom and I went to this one last year and loved it. It was equally good this year and of course mom told him after the session about how we did a beer/cheese tasting at her wedding this summer.
This time I learned more about why I like most lagers and not most ales, except for stouts, and why James prefers the ales to the lagers. Apparently, beer drinkers are either Malt people or Hops people- I like Malt flavors and James likes Hops.
The aftermath…
After that we sorta wandered around the four floors and wandered in and out the room sampling good and wine and all kinds of different booze… We hit a couple of the best tables twice/thrice.
At the Bushmill’s table we sampled the 12, 16 and 21 year old- same with the Johnny Walker- we had the Gold, Blue and Green. I also remember Hendricks Gin, Boomerang Vodka from Australia, Jameson, Absinthe, Pirate Rum, more vodka, more gin, more tequila, more wine than I can remember… Also- I had a special moment when we went to the Lebanese Taverna table and mom reported that my humus was better than theirs
Me and Jerry
The only session I really wanted to see and missed with the Pie Guy from Dangerously Delicious Pies. I love their Chess Pie- except when we found their table on the floor they were charging $5 for a slice so I didn’t have any. You pay $50 to get in- every table except about five were giving out everything for free- it didn’t make sense to sell slices at a convention. 
“Get Pie Style”
Presenter: Rodney Henry, Dangerously Delicious Pies
One hour of pie construction. An entertaining and amusing look at the process of putting together top notch, 100 percent handmade, Gourmet Savory Pies, Sweet Pies and Quiche, From Baltimore’s own Pie Baking Rock-n-Roller, and proprietor of Dangerously Delicious Pies, Rodney Henry. Don’t miss out!
I ran across the Dude from Iron Chef… and he looked about as confused as he did on the show- but I didn’t go to his session because by 5 we had already left to have pizza at BOP and beers at Slainte.
“Easy Appetizers- Five Steps or Less”
Presenter: Michael Midgley, Top Chef
Mom only stayed for a few rounds but we ended up there until about midnight.
Then this morning the only solution for the morning after was IHOP omlette and pancakes…. 
… followed by snuggles in bed with Daisy.
Harvey is home. Actually, Harvey isn’t Harvey anymore.
Meet Chance. His owners found us and called us today. Poor buddy is actually 14 years old! They came and picked him up tonight and these were the last photo I got of the old guy.
Daisy is an alien dog. I think she’s gonna miss Old Chance.
Check him out when he wins- he jumps and howls. The perfect beagle!
For comparison…. the Beagles who live on my couch & are not quite up to showing at the Westminster
Harvey
and Daisy
knitting update:
On our trip to Gettysburg this weekend I finished up Sock No2 of my red eyelet socks. Last time we visited Gettysburg I was working on this sock and I finally finished it. I still can’t find No1, though I have photographic proof that it exists.
Here I am almost finished. Hard to knit with a dog on your lap!
I finished this hat for my nephew- I posed before but I finally added the poofball to the top.
It fits a three year old a bit better than it fits James.
And I am currently working on a huge big black boring pair of socks for James- but it is exactly what he wants.
Meet Harvey Beaglestein. He’s the new (old) dog we are taking care of while we look for his owners.
The backstory: Wednesday night James got a phone call from a guy who had an older male beagle who had wandered into his yard a few days before not too far from our house. They called us and so James got off work and went over to see if it was Huck. He said the dog REALLY looked like Huck and when he perked up his ears when James arrived he said he *almost* thought it was- but when he got closer it was really obvious.
When we talked about it - I just felt like maybe we could use the good karma of taking in this dog and trying to find his owners. The guy who found him said he didn’t have a lot of free time to find the owner. He said he is really sweet and quiet and hasn’t been any problem. I figured if we could take him- I could spend the energy trying to find his owners and we can take care of him for a week. If we don’t find his owners by next Friday- we take him to the SPCA which is much nicer than the shelter downtown and if we want to keep him we would have the first chance of adopting him. If not- the MD SPCA is a really good shelter and would find him a new home.
He’s totally chubby-tubby-fatty-mc-fatterson by at least 20 lbs and from the back he looks a bit like a piggy.
He has the personality of a pup but he’s pretty old. James thinks he could be 10 or so- he’s really gray on his face and his eyes are cloudy and bloodshot. And given the opportunity- he quickly sacked out on the couch- even though we had to lift him up there. He has a hard time going up and down the stairs and needs a little help down the back stairs to the backyard. Poor old man.
His face really looks like Huck (except older)
And lest you think Daisy might be feeling neglected- this is how I woke up this morning…With her snout tucked up under my neck. Harvey was on the floor- he can’t make it up on the bed and seems to prefer hard surfaces. Not like my little comfort hound….
Additional Update.
We got another phone call- another woman saw him on the side of the road Sunday afternoon. She stopped and looked at him- he had a black harness like Huck. She said he didn’t look hit by a car, but who knows how he actually died.
We are sure it was him- now we are just calling the animal control to try to find out who picked him up so maybe we can bury him.
This officially sucks now. I feel a little bit of closure but mostly I feel like an asshole for not being a better dog parent.
I just got this additional email from the guy who called us this morning.
I just got off the phone with James. I wanted to make sure I was clear. The dog was right at the entrance to the State Park on the North Bound Side after you cross the bridge. He was right by the guardrail at the entrance to the park. I was by there at about Midnight last night. From looking at the picture and the collar I am sorry it really looked like him… I was telling James that my wife and I are such dog lovers, they are like our kids so I know how important this is to you. I am sorry I wish I could do more.
Regards,
—
My little heart is broken.
I called our friend who works for the Natural Resources Police- he is checking into whether maybe they would have picked him up since he was right at the entrance to the park.
I received this email this morning in response to our craigslist post about the missing Huck:
hey james,
I was the one that called you this a.m.
i hope it wasn’t your dog….if it wasn’t i am very sorry to make you make a trip out there…
if it was i’m sorry for the loss…
i am a dog lover to the core so I hated to make that call this a.m.
regards
—
I suspected the worst and called James right away. Someone had called him this morning and told him that last night he was driving down Bel Air Road and saw a dead beagle that matched our description. He had seen our ‘missing beagle’ ad in the paper and called James. Apparently later he went on Craiglist and saw our post and emailed me. James said he had gotten a call this morning and wasn’t going to tell me until he could go up and check it out. (He is a really good husband)
He said it was an older beagle with a black collar, overweight and a gray face and told us exactly where he was on the side of the road.
I called my mom- she immediately left her house and started driving to meet me where this guy said the dog was. Those of you who know my mom also might know that Huck was not exactly on her list of favorites- but she knows that he is my best friend ever and sacrificed her day off puttering around the house to help us out.
I stopped by our clinic and picked up some biohazard bags and gloves, just in case it was him. James and I decided if it was Huck, we would pick him up and get him cremated.
Except we got up there and there was nothing there. No dog. Nothing. His description of the location was very specific- and I know the area very well. It was a four lane road, with a grass median, and on the sides of the road was a chain link fence- no ditch, gully, no place for a dead dog to hide. This guy drove by last night in the dark and saw the body on the side of the road on the gravel- but today there was no dog. We called animal control- they said they got a report of a dead deer that they picked up but that they had no reports of dead dogs.
This sucks. Who else would pick up a dead dog? We are hoping that it might just be bad communication and when we call back again for the 21st time that they might actually have picked him up and we can go find out if it is our Huck. I was convinced it was him- and then to get there and nothing was just horrible.
Look how cute and young he was three years ago:
new hat
Tough Guy
The smiling beagle.
Home, Baltimore, MD
Pentax K100D
28 November 2007
The many smiles of Daisy, aka LOLDaisy, aka I Can Haz Daisy?
click for moar photos of beagle (singular)
I’m working late tonight while James is in class, listening to Imogen Heap, Leonard Cohen, Feist and Teh Bruce.
I’m also doing my every four hours check online for someone who maybe found my dog. I’m getting a bit pathetic sitting here looking at the Brew Beagles websites now just to look at photos of sweet beagles.
Go ahead- look here and here
And for kicks, look at this site for poor sad sack dogs.
Lost Dog
Just in case someone finds Huck at searches online for “beagle” “lost” “baltimore” and somehow gets my blog.
http://dogdetective.com/dog-details.cfm?dogid=979483
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Despair.
Baltimore County Humane Society, MD
Pentax K100D
24 November 2007
Out looking for my dog. Not very impressed with the results. Or that huge line on my forehead.
Huck is missing since Wednesday. I’ve been searching everywhere for him. At this point- I know someone has taken him in. Either they will take him to a shelter or they will keep him. I’m hoping we get my best friend back- and when we do- he is getting a GPS shoved up his ass so I can find him the next time he decides for NO REASON to climb over the woodpile and make a break for freedom.
Is this what it is like to have kids- always freaking worrying about the bad things that are going to happen to them? I’m not sure we should even have kids- it is bad form to lose them a couple times a year.
We took Daisy to the Farmer’s Market this morning.
James hung out with Daisy while I ran around getting vegetables and some breakfast crepes.
Then we saw this guy peeing on a tree. When I am in Kenya my favorite game to play is count how many people I can see peeing in one day. That is 1-Pee for the day. I wish he saw me take a photo though. That would have been cool (because we were in the car driving away).
And then I took the family home.
Seriously- this one needs a LOL Daisy caption.
Ambular
