Stuffie Olympics, Summer 2020

Hey, what's up, dogs?  Droop's Troop here (thanks for that name Sandy!), about to compete in the 2020 Summer Stuffie Olympics, sponsored by our friend Ajdin.  

Team Droopy's event today is the 1 Meter Stuffie Mail Speedreading Relay, and our team is comprised of myself, Spunky, and Patch.  All of us are strong readers with extensive training.  Right, Patch?  How long have you been reading?

"Uh...ever since I learned how," replied Patch.

You see?  I told you.  A lifetime of experience.  How are you feeling, Spunky?  Any nerves at the thought of leading us off?

"A little bit, but overall I'm feeling good," said Spunky.  "I just want to get this over with."  

Man, I know what you mean.  As for myself, I'm nervous.  Years of training for a competition that lasts just minutes!  So much pressure to perform!

"You'll do fine, lads," Coach McStuffie assured us.  "Just do what you did in practice.  Deep breaths.  Watch those handoffs.  And don't forget to have fun."

Thanks, Coach.  I needed that pep talk.  All right, is everyone prepped?  Okay, Spunky...ready...set...GO!

Wow.  Look at him go.  Perfect form!  Here comes the handoff...

"I'm done!" Spunky said.

I'm done too!  Come on Patch, bring it on home,  buddy.  You can do it!

"Aaaaaaand....done," Patch announced, placing the last piece of mail in the pile.

What a dismount!  And he stuck the landing!

"Well done, me lads!" Coach McStuffie beamed.  

"That was great!" Spunky exclaimed.  "I don't think it could have gone any better."

Me neither!  Whew, I've worked up a sweat though.  Time to hit the showers while we await the other competitors' performances...

Happy July 4th!

Hey, what's up, dogs?  My pack and I are here to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July!  If you live in the U.S., it's a very important day.  Wave those flags! 

It's already been a crazy year.  We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy while they celebrate!  See you next time...

Guilt-induced stationery search

Hey, what's up, dogs?  This is my first post using the new Blogger format, so please bear with me if things don't look right.  I'm trying to teach my secretary to use the new tools, but you know how humans are...not so easy to train!  

Anyway, I'm feeling guilty right now.  Why is that, you ask?  Because my friend Sandy Bear has sent 2 more mail installments since my last blog post, and I've been behind on my correspondence...

He's used lots of stickers, as usual.  I see Goofy and Pluto, so canines are well represented.  Canada has some nice postage stamps, too.

All right, I've gotta get my tail in gear and respond to these messages!  

First step:  Look for cute stationery.  Sometimes my secretary and I will make our own greeting cards, but this time, I actually have some special store-bought cards that I think would be perfect...if I can just find them...

These are nice, but they're not the cards I was looking for.

Neither are these...

Nope, wrong sentiment.  Nope, wrong holiday.  Nope, wrong sentiment again...Where the heck are those cards?...

Aha!  Found them!

I think you'll agree that these are the perfect cards for me.  

Well, I better start catching up on my correspondence.  Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!  Till next time...

Screen test

Hey, what's up, dogs?  One of the side effects of stay-at-home orders is that you start to notice little...er...imperfections around the house that need fixing. 

Case in point:  these holes in our window screen.  My human tells me that there was a dog among the previous residents of this house, and I'd guess he/she put his/her paw through the screen, resulting in this damage.  Some canines are so excitable...

So today, we're going to patch the screen.  My human ventured out to the hardware store (carefully, wearing a face mask) and brought home a couple of packages of self-adhesive window screen patch.  We've never done this before, so we'll start with the smaller hole first, for practice. 

First, we need to square up the edges of the hole so the patch looks neater.  Out with the scissors.  Snip snip…

Then we cut a rectangular patch that's somewhat larger than the hole, hold it in place, and hit it with a hair dryer for about 30 seconds.  This melts the adhesive on the patch and sticks it to the existing screen.  

Voila!  Hole patched. 

The patch is definitely noticeable, but we're not too worried about its appearance.  At long as it keeps the bugs out, we'll be happy.  

Right...on to the big hole.  Same steps.

 Wow, this hole is big.  I can still put my paw through to the other side.  Looks like it'll take another patch.

Some lessons we learned...

1)  The small hole was much easier to patch than the large one. 

2)  For the large hole, it would have helped to have somebody on the other side of the window, pushing back against the screen while we used the hair dryer.  It would have minimized "screen floppiness." 

Fast forward fifteen minutes, and we're done.  This is what it looks like from the outside.

There you have it...our first window screen repair, courtesy of ScreenMend (TM).  Hope it lasts!  See you next time...

Sandy's postcard novel

Hey, what's up, dogs?  We got a whole STACK of postcards from Sandy in the mail recently...He explained that he's decluttering and trying to use up his stash.  Good idea!  He's given us quite a selection here...

He writes, "How are things going down in TX?  We have read that you guys are starting to reopen things."  --Yes, this is true.  We are slowly and cautiously starting to open up again, although most people are still social distancing and wearing masks in public.  

Sandy also mentions that "My humans have gone to a...gasp...plant-based diet!" and he wants to know if I have an opinion on that.  Well, I personally would not be able to follow a meatless meal plan, but everyone's gotta do what's best for them.  

Speaking of which...I hope the rumored shortages of meat remain just that--rumors!  Otherwise I will be one panicky pooch...

Anyway, thanks for the postcards Sandy!  Always good to get mail from my blog friends, especially when we're shut inside...

How does my garden grow?...

Hey, what's up, dogs?  I'm here to update you on our attempt to keep our orchids alive.  On that note...sadly, we had to say goodbye to them.  They were not doing well (yellowing leaves and zombified roots) and were starting to attract bugs. 

A little depressing, but apparently orchids are quite finicky.  No matter...my human and I learned a lot about their care, which will help us if we should get another orchid in the future.


This experience did inspire my kennelmates and me to try our green paws at growing some easier plants, though.  Here's Spunky and Patch showing off their Green Onion Science Project.  My human saved the roots of some green onions just a few days ago.  These things grow super fast in nothing but water!

Grandpa Angus has a gardening project as well...he started some mint seeds in a pot several weeks ago, and they're growing, albeit slowly. 

What else you got there, Grandpa?

"Well, laddie, since I've got me mint growing, I thought I'd also try growing some lemon balm.  Makes a good tea, I've heard.  And I'm going to start some chives, for cooking."

And here's my personal project, Mr. Avocado Pit.  As you can see in the close-up, he's sprouted a good-sized root and is beginning to produce a stem up top!  It took a long time, but it's been very exciting to see progress.

This gardening stuff is kind of fun.  I can see why my blog friends like it!  I only wish it had less to do with fruits and vegetables, and more to do with bacon.  Anyway...till next time...

Cards from Sandy

Hey, what's up, dogs?  I found not one, but TWO pieces of mail from Sandy in my mailbox the other day.  One of them was a card wishing me a happy birthday on April 1st, and the other is a card wishing me a Happy Easter.  Observe below:  

Thanks for the beautiful cards, Sandy!  Hope you are staying healthy and safe up north.