Just to show you that Lala and I have traded hair colors.
Yesterday was nice. It was a day off for both of us, and we had nothing we HAD to do. We wanted to meet up with our dogwalkers, Woofwalks, who hold a monthly group walk at Pt. Isabel with their clients. We went, and Clara ran her ass off, trying to avoid an intact male Retriever who had the hots for her. Good exercise, I say.
Then we shopped at Costco, the making or the breaking of a relationship, and we marvelled at the consumer culture we live in. People roll cheese and LazyBoy chairs out in their carts. That’s wild and scary to me, but they have really, really good cheap toilet paper, so what are you going to do?
We bought some cushions while we were there, too. The couch throw cushions are so dog-smelly that I had recently taken to hiding them when company came over, so we got rid of them yesterday and bought two red ones, and two furry ones. I forgot that Clara’s favorite toys are her plush furry animals (oh my god, especially the duck. She loves her stuffed duck). So I put the new pillows on our couch, the big couch. Clara sits on the little sofa, and eats her frozen kongs there. I keep it covered with a sheet over its slipcover, so it stay clean, but she certainly doesn’t get to have pillows on her couch.
This is what we found ten minutes after I had put out the pillows. She had moved them to her couch, and more than that, she had ARRANGED them. These are not callously thrown, they are not being lain upon and chewed up, they are just thoughtfully and artfully placed.
Last night, we barbequed to the sounds of our neighbor’s party. They had a boomin’ stereo playing mariachi and it sounded like they’d set up an amp and a mike, so we heard impromptu karaoke that got progressively wilder, louder, and drunker as the night went on. The funniest part was at 10:59 pm — we were lying in bed, just about to finally get annoyed that it STILL sounded as if it were in the room with us — when the music was shut off. It was like Mom said, "It’s eleven, no more. You’re done." The men then went into the driveway and sang along with the car stereo, but it was totally ear-plug manageable by then, and it was pretty damn cute.
Also cute, and I have to tell you this — we caught the fish on fire last night. We have these cedar bbq planks (from Costco) that have been sitting in the rain, so they are already wet. The instructions say to soak one in water for at least 20 minutes, so we do. Then we cook the lovely salmon steak on top of it in the grill. We go inside for a minute, and come back out to flames coming out from under the grill lid. I run inside to get something to put the fire, and Lala lifts the lid, and uses the spatula to hold up the flaming plank, topped by our flaming fish. She’s yelling something, and I finally hear that she’s yelling, "Get a plate! Get a PLATE!"
I think, wow, she must have one interesting way to put out flames — she’s going to SMOTHER the fire with the plate! I never would have thought of that. So I bring her the plate, and she puts the flaming board back down on the grill and rescues our fish onto the plate. Then she just looks at me. She’s done her part. So I run back in, grab the baking soda, and douse the fire.
I totally love that she saved the fish. I saw flames, I thought of extinguishing the same (might be a byproduct of my job). She saw flames, she thought, oh shit, dinner! And the fish was wonderful, by the way. Just a little charred on the outside edges, perfectly done inside. Yep.
That is all, I think. For now.
What a great picture, you both look great. Love the hair!
“Fish fear me”. Oh irony, how I love thee. Kudos to the fish saviour and savourer.
You two kids sure get up to some crazy hijinks.
That is so funny about the pillows! You just never know what those dogs are going to do.
mmm salmon!
She’s a smart one, that Clara, and so adorable! Our dog has a duck, he grabs it by the head and swings it around.
You and your wife are just too damned cute.
And Clara has rather amazing decorating skills for someone without opposable thumbs.
That’s how we cook the fish in the NW…..
flaming fish! i love the image, though perhaps that is not the effect you were going for…
the new haircolours look great. i’ve been too lazy to redye mine… but you are, as always, an inspiration.
ah costco. i once lived with a guy with a cheese phobia (not kidding!) and my other housemate and I chased him screaming around sam’s club with a 5-lb log of mozzarella. ok maybe it wasn’t very nice, but it sure was funny. 😉
Clara is *such* a border collie. And I keep having to talk myself out of renewing my Costco membership–I hear the plastic wrap is really good too.
man I love your dog! That’s right up there with when she stole the bagels, AND the cream cheese!! I get my photos done at costco, they do better than any pro lab I’ve ever worked with. Really.
You two are so cute, with your flaming fish. Was it tasty?
You two are adorable!
You guys make such a good team!
Clara is a very talented girl. When we first acquired our border collie, Alex, he got into my spinning fiber, and arranged a nice little nest for me at the bottom of the stairs. He knows better now, but he still gazes longingly at the wool as I spin.
Love the fish story!
You have a dog artist in the house. My late, lamented Ivan had a subtle artistic streak.
you two are gorgeous!
I love the hair colors!
As a border collie owner myself, I can’t say that I’m surprised by Clara’s decorating streak. I think my Jake would rewire the house if we let him.
Two hot mommas! Lala looks gar-geous as a blonde and you look beautiful with dark hair.
Clara and her pillows? Adorable.
Cedar planks on the bbq? Always catch on fire. At least they do for us, too. We usually resort to tossing a bit of our open beer on it to calm the flames enough to save the fish. Glad we’re not alone, though!
You rockstars.
You must have some trick with the lights, or something…gorgeous- always. Except, I have seen you lit* in a variety of settings, and you always look good.
I guess it’s in the genes, which makes it futile for those of us less fortunate…sigh. But truly, gorgeous!!
Oooohhhh. Cheap toilet paper in mass quantities. Drool.
*Lighting lit, not the other kind. Though, that, too, I suppose. 😉
Mmm, nice and crispy fish. sounds pretty good! I am in love even more with Clara, how rad is that cushion arranging?! Oh dogs, they really are charmers!
adorable couple photo.
i say, that pt. isabel must be the spot, i see it on all the blogs…
yes, our main buys at costco: extra sharp cheddar cheese, wine (before we lived in an area with Trader Joe’s), celebration cakes, CDs, phone cards, toilet paper and tampons. oh and i *so* love the *gigantic* rolls of pretty ribbon.
HAHAHAHAHAHA I’m glad your dinner survived and the fire was out quickly. That’s a cute picture.
We once bought a bed (mattress, box spring, and all) from Costco. Let me tell you how fun THAT was to wheel through the ginormous to the rent-a-truck. I always like the big containers of pens. “Look at all those pens!” I think. “I’ll never be penless EVER AGAIN!”
Great hair colors on both of you. I’m so glad Lala saved the fish. Thanks for the great laugh–I love stories like that!
I went to Costco for the second time in my life last month because they had a very cheap price on malaria-prevention medicine. The only thing I’ve ever bought there (they let non members use the pharmacy). I found the store very crazy and the checkout lines looked horrible. I’d rather pay extra and shop in the relatively pleasant environs of Target… I was tempted by the fifty gallon drums of maple syrup though.
Maybe you guys should find out if they sell hairdye at the Costco? 😉
Oh thank you for this. I needed a good laugh today!
I once dated a guy who bought a bulk pack of Jack Daniel’s at Costco.
Best shopping trip EVER.
yep, you guys are the cutest 🙂
love the new hair!
so much excitement! i thought you might like to make this for your littlest one: http://www.sethprandini.com/sweater.htm
“That’s all for now…” and what an all! I love your stories and all the fun and aliveness. And the hair? AdorAble (in a french accent).
Love the new colors! and Rachel you’ve looked fanastic in every hair color you’ve picked out since I’ve been reading your blog.
Ha Ha Ha! Same thing happened to me when I tried to plank salmon. And I soaked that plank for 24 hours!
Ps- you two look fabooloos!
ok. now I have a crush on Lala too. because saving dinner, that was awesome. You’re both way too cool, you know that. 😉
You are both sooo sweet 🙂 x