~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 14, 2014
★~ Today’s Quote: A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?” ― Albert Einstein
★~ Dress Up Your Pet Day:
Today is the perfect opportunity to break out the bejeweled collars, sassy sweaters, and fashion accessories and try them on your pet.
I’m barely an amateur photographer but over the years I think we’ve captured some fun dress-up pictures of my pups. Here are a few tips.
Don’t feel guilty. Good lord, you treat your pet like royalty 365 day a year, they can oblige you with a dress-up picture. Rascal loves to play dress-up. Really! She has an impeccable sense of style, and frankly, I think she gets tired of her dog suit and wants a change from time to time…what girl doesn’t? If your pup is a little shy, or stubborn you’ll have to teach them to dress up and enjoy the camera.
The best dress-up outfits are homemade. The clothes they sell for animals are often expensive and never fit correctly. Your pup will like dress-up better if the costume suits them. Rascal (my Jack Russell) loves to be pretty; she is not fond of wearing a pig’s nose or rabbit ears. So consider your pup’s personality before you put him or her in a tutu or a raincoat and booties (I’m looking directly at one of you–When I thing herding dog, I do not think raincoat and booties 🙂
Dress-up isn’t just clothes, consider props: I have placed pups in flower pots (flower pup—get it?) and in a large bathtub filled with bubbles. Look around you and see what cool props are available. Cowboy boots, a large stuffed animal, cooking pans, hats, headbands, jewelry, nightgowns, t-shirts, ties, raincoats, vests, bath towels, sweatshirts, shorts, boxers, thongs…you get the idea.
My pups don’t work for free—and I’m not talking about a dry Milk Bone. When I take pictures, especially pictures that include dress-up, I reward with the good stuff (bacon, cheese, turkey). If your pup is not food driven, use a favorite toy or ball. I have a special squeaky chicken and pink pig that I only share during picture time. Reward quietly and just enough to keep them interested during the photo op. After you call it a wrap, bring on the excitement and offer a bonus for a job well done.
Impromptu: The next time your pup is sleeping, toss a hat onto his head, make an unexpected noise—and be ready with the camera. After you take the picture, quickly offer him a reward. This is a great way to teach your pup… the click of the camera leads to all good things.
Do what works: If your pup doesn’t want to sit, a dress-up picture is not the time to make sitting an issue; if your pup immediately flattens his ears when you point the camera, consider a prop that covers his ears. One of my campers, I’m firmly convinced, was in the witness protection program; every time I would try to take his picture, he would go into attack mode. He never tried to bite me, but he would snarl and growl at the camera. I hung a ‘beware of dog” sign on him and put his picture on a “most wanted” poster.
Contrary to rumor I’ve never used a staple gun, duct tape or super glue during a picture op. Have I threatened? No. I keep everything light, bright and fun, unless the pup is a complete beast and then I become a dog whisperer—what do I whisper? It’s a camp secret.
★~ Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day:
Pastrami made it to the United States in the late 19th century, thanks to Romanian Jewish immigrants from Bessarabia and Romania. The name was probably changed to pastrami to sound more like Italian salami. It’s always nice when your meats rhyme, isn’t it? There is a dispute as to which New Yorker created the first pastrami sandwich, but we do know it was created between 1887-1888.
Celebrate Pastrami sandwich day, by heating up some Pastrami, introducing it to rye bread and condiments (sometimes people slap on some coleslaw and Russian dressing) and enjoying a perfect hot sammie lunch or dinner. MMMM Good!
★~ Today in History:
♥~ 1968 – Super Bowl II (at Miami): Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14. Packers had won every Super Bowl to date. MVP: Packers’ QB Bart Starr. Tickets: $12.00.
♥~ 1972 – Comedian Redd Foxx, whose last name was really Sanford, debuted on NBC-TV in Sanford & Son. Demond Wilson starred as Fred Sanford’s son. Quincy Jones composed the catchy theme song.
♥~ 1976 – The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner, debuted on ABC-TV.
♥~ 1990 – The Fox network’s animated show The Simpsons premiered. “D’oh!”
♥~1999 – A Danish man was fined $312 for taking his dead father on a 3-hour farewell motorcycle tour of Copenhagen. They had even stopped at Dad’s favorite bar and nobody seemed to notice.
♥~ Born Today:
♥~ 1861 – David Wesson American chemist: Few scientists have had more impact on the edible oils industry than David Wesson, whose vision and energy played a key role in founding the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS). Inventor of Wesson Oil.
♥~ 1919 – Andy Rooney Emmy Award-winning news writer, TV commentator: 60 Minutes.
♥~ 1941 – (Dorothy) Faye Dunaway Academy Award-winning actress: Network [1976]; Don Juan DeMarco,Casanova, Beverly Hills Madam, Christopher Columbus, Mommie Dearest,Voyage of the Damned, Three Days of the Condor, The Towering Inferno,Chinatown, The Deadly Trap, Little Big Man, The Arrangement, Bonnie & Clyde
♥~ 1948 – T-Bone Burnett Grammy Award-winning record producer [2002], O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and album Down from the Mountain [2000]; member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review tour [1975]
♥~ 1967 – Emily Watson actress: Breaking the Waves, Hilary and Jackie, Gosford Park, Cromwell & Fairfax
♥~ 1969 – Jason Bateman, Actor (“Arrested Development”)
★~Good to Know:
These tips were created for Wesson Oil (It is David Wesson Birthday ^), but any kind of cooking oil will work.
♥~ Oil wooden spoons, cutting boards, and butcher block. Put the corn oil on a paper towel, rub it into the wood, then wipe clean.
♥~ Soothe tired feet. Rub warmed corn oil into your feet, wrap in a damp hot towel, and sit for ten minutes.
♥~ Remove glue from furniture. Apply a dab of corn oil and rub.
♥~ Remove a splinter. Soak the wounded area in corn oil for a few minutes to soften the skin before trying to remove the splinter.
♥~ Remove burrs, tar, and sticky substances from a dog s hair. Saturate the area with Wesson Corn Oil. Wash with dog shampoo, rinse immediately, and brush clean.
♥~ Clean the sap from a Christmas tree from your hands. Rub your hands with corn oil and wipe clean with a paper towel.
♥~ Remove price tags from appliances or the price-tag sheet from an automobile. Apply
corn oil. Let sit and scrape away.
♥~ Prevent car doors from freezing In winter. Rub the gaskets with Wesson Corn Oil to seal out water without harming the gaskets.
♥~ Remove white spots or water marks from furniture. Dip a cloth in corn oil then into cigar or cigarette ashes. Rub with the grain, across the spot until it disappears.
♥~ Prevent snow from sticking to a shovel. Coat the shovel with corn oil.
♥~ Remove decais. Saturate the decal with corn oil.
♥~ Moisturize skin. Massage corn oil into your skin, wait fifteen minutes, remove the excess oil with Bounty Paper Towels, then take a hot-water bath.
♥~ Make bubble bath. Mix two cups of corn oil, three tablespoons of liquid shampoo, and one-quarter teaspoon of your favorite perfume. Mix the solution in a blender at high speed.
♥~ Prevent cat hairballs. Add a teaspoon of corn oil to one cat meal daily.
♥~ Add a shine to your dog’s coat. Add a teaspoon of corn oil to each food serving.
♥~ Condition hair. Massage lukewarm corn oil into dry hair, cover hair with a shower cap for thirty minutes, then shampoo and rinse thoroughly.
♥~ Remove oil paint from skin. Use corn oil instead of turpentine.
♥~ Season a cast-iron skillet. Rub a drop of corn oil on the inside of the pan to keep it seasoned. Place a sheet of Paper Towel over and under the skillet when storing.
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♥~ Remove rust spots from a cast-iron skillet. Apply corn oil, let stand, then wipe
thoroughly. Repeat if necessary
♥~ Make cleaning a barbecue grill easy. Before cooking, coat the grill with corn oil.
Clean when the grill is cool to the touch.
♥~ Remove paper stuck to a wood surface. Saturate the paper with corn oil let sit for a while, and gently peel the paper off.
♥~ Keep your sink shining. Wipe the sink with a few drops of corn oil on a soft cloth.
♥~ Treat ear mites in cats. Put a few drops of corn oil into your cat’s ear and massage. Then clean out all debris with a ball of cotton. Repeat daily for three days, and the mites should be gone. The oil soothes the cat’s sensitive skin, smothers the mites, and promotes healing.
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I thought this quiz was so cool: What does the way you speak say about where you’re from? Click the link and answer all the questions to see your personal dialect map. No sign up required. It was so accurate that it pegged the state I grew up in (Texas) and the two cities I lived in, El Paso and Houston .
How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk
Click to see pictures of our camper-family pups dressed-up through the years.
Odd Loves Company!
♥~
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Morno,
Still no pet. I’ll have to enjoy your furry pals again this year. I’m in the mood for a Hot Pastrami Sandwich—I might grab one for lunch there is a place close to the office.
I’ll take the test a little later. Have a good one.
Did you take the test? Inquiring minds. Hope you had your sammie.
I am a dialect mutt. I have no definitive pattern. 🙂 So many uses for corn oil…..who would have known???
Maybe because you have traveled so much? Corn oil is very handy and it fries up chicken real good too.
Fascinating quiz — shows I’m a Texan at heart (Austin and San Antonio!). No Yankee-talk for this girl!
Thanks for the info on corn oil. Who’d have thought there were that many uses for something most everybody has on hand?
No offense taken — I know I’m the one you were referring to, with the herding dog, raincoat, and booties! See? You remembered! Dallas still won’t “go” in his darling little coat — perhaps he thinks it’s not washable?! As for the booties, why, he refuses to even try to walk in them (and they’re oh-so-cute, too!) Sigh, nothing like a stubborn doggin!
Ya’ll beats Yous Guys hands down.
I did remember. Boots are hard for pups–I don’t think they trust them. However, I have a friend who has her dogs weary booties inside so there nailds don’t scratch the hardwood floors—they don’t seem to mind—I can’t even image. She even hand sews the booties…I have this evil desire to hide them when I visit. 👿
Only dress up my dogs have done are coats & occasional holiday bandana. I know, boring.
Need to remember some of those oil tips. Who knew?
The quiz reinforced my thoughts. I work here. I do not live here. I belong in eastern PA. Surprised there was not a MI influence. Fun quiz!
The quiz was pretty amazing. I had no idea the rest that most of America was clueless about “feeder roads.” I’m been using that expression my on driving life.
Not me, I did not know.
A coat is perfectly fine for dress-up and a matching hat makes it even better—I think you sent me a picture of Nik in our of her coats. Which reminds me we should change Niks picture—I will–if you get a confirmation e-mail–it’s me.
ok, surprise me with a different picture! thanks.