Fowl Wishes Wednesday

Home Makeover ~ Big Brown Edition

After one hundred and fourteen LONG days of our kitchen bein' out of order, I am happy - NO make that ECSTATIC to announce that our kitchen is once again open and functional.

(Crowd goes wild as the new addition is revealed)

Come on in, I'll show ya 'round.

Because the kitchen grew, so also did my room. My PUs call it the mud room which may not look muddy now, but given time, I will see to it that it lives up to it's name. I will spend many a day here meditatin' on life, critters and foodables.

(Much better than before, don't you think?)

My room now has runnin' water so fresh drinks will always be available. I also think that if I shut the door and the water runs long enough, I could turn this whole mud room into my own indoor swimmin' pool.

The kitchen now has plenty of storage shelves to hold the tools necessary for creatin' nomalicious foodables.

This next pic is of what I believe to be one of the greatest inventions ever.

Mom calls it a "Whirl-a-gig" but the technical term is "Lazy Susan"

Whatever you wanna call it, the turnin' shelves are perfect for storin' cats, crackers, or cats named Cracker. Thanks to Nigel Bugger's kitteh for helpin' to demonstrate my theory.

"Round and round he goes, where he stops.......nobody knows!!!"

Once the cabinetry was put into place, the countertops had to be installed. I won't go into detail but my PUs had troubles figgerin' out what they liked best. In fact, they had settled on two different styles and designs before finally pickin' this last one. They said it was hard when they only had a small sample like this to choose from:

I think it was meant to be 'cuz oncet it was installed, Mom and I couldn't hardly believe our eyes when we realized that the countertop very closely resembles Zoe's furs - my gal pal over at Dogs Rock!!

  As cool as that is, I still had to put the new countertop to the surfability test.

Yep, the new countertop is totally surf-able. I just hope it doesn't decide to take off at break-neck speed like Zoe does. If so, I could be in for one wild ride!

Next thing to be taken care of was appliances. Figgerin' I could save my PUs some cash, I promptly volunteered for the position of dishwasher....

....but when Mom told me that yellow cord had to be inserted into an outlet, I quickly withdrew my offer. That's way too kinky for this Big Brown dawg!

Ok, that about sums it up but I'll leave you with a couple of before and after pics:

(South Wall before)

(South Wall after)

(North Wall before)

(North Wall after)

The PUs still have some cosmetic things to do like paint that door - but who cares as long as our home is once again filled with the odors of yummy foodables bein' cooked, along with tasty tidbits frequently fallin' to the floor in the process!!!

UPDATE!!!

The tile backsplash was installed yesterday and as you're readin' this, Mr. Tile Man is probably smearin' the grout all over it to finish the job.

This is a pre-grout/sneak peek photo:

Thanks for stoppin' by and takin' a tour of our new kitchen.

You can let your tips in the jar at the back door.

I accept VISA, cash and/or biscuits.

I hope you have a yummy weekend!!!

Chester ;0=)

Labor Intensive

You may have noticed my increased absence in DogBlogville over the last few weeks, or mebbee 'cuz it's summer you got better things to do than read about the life and times of this Chocolate dawg. Either way, I'm not one to point paws but it's all my PU's fault I've been absent because of all the work that's been goin' on in what useta be my favorite room of the house ~ the kitchen. I know what you're thinkin' "that project started way back in April" and you'd be correct if'n you're considerin' when Frankentree met his fate. Things settled down a bit and then on July 2nd, my Uncle John came over and along with Dad, removed everythin' but the kitchen sink. Then I guess you could also say the sink gained it's independence from our kitchen on July 4th. 

My floppy ears sat straight up last weekend when I heard the PUs sayin' we were gettin' down to crunch time ~ but just as quickly went back down again when I realized there were no foodables involved in this supposed "crunch time". They were talkin' about gettin' everythin' painted so that Mr. Floor Man could begin his part of the job. They quickly broke out their brushes and rollers and paint cans and rags and ladders and set to their intended task.


I, of course, supervised.

Why is it that any time you're workin' around wet paint,

it's nearly impossible to not get some on ya?

I gotta admit, the whole work thing really bores me. 

*Contrary to a rumor that Mom started, I did not - I REPEAT DID NOT
try to eat any paint. See the absence of paint on my tongue?" I rest my case.

When bored, I tend to find things to entertain myself with. Like, for instance, the paint rag that Mom dangles from her back pocket. I really did her a favor, 'cuz I think she needed to get outta that fume-filled room.....

.....and I, my ownself needed a smoke break.

Bein's how today many of you are celebratin' Labor Day by havin' the day off, I'll belabor this point no longer and finish by sayin' that we are finally startin' to see a light at the end of the tunnel....

.... and hope to soon be showin' some before and after pics!

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day!

Chester ;0=)

CAUTION: Wet Paint Wednesday

Workin' Like A Dawg

It's Monday mornin'  - time to bite punch the time clock once again. I know you all think that because I'm a dawg, I just lay around and sleep all day and do nuthin' to earn my keep.

Well, let me show you the day I had last week:

Here I am, ready to tear into it.

I was really gettin' into my work here,

when out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement.

Work had to be set aside for just a moment as I watched these turkey mamas and their young'ns walkin' past the job site.

They made me hungry and I realized it was time for some lunch.

Not quite done yet, better put it back in for another minute or so.

 It was a little dry, but I choked it down anyway.

An afternoon siesta made the rest of the day go fast.

And then it was time to call it a day.....

.....and head for home.

As you can see, it's not easy, bein' a workin' dawg.

I hope now I've put you in the mood to tear into your work week

~ and all that it entails.

Chester ;0=)

Wreckin' Crew Wednesday

Dish Washer Wednesday

Propaganda

In this day and age it seems that anyone and everyone is allowed to produce fraudulent readin' material. The worst part is that much of it is bein' embraced by the general public.

Unfortunately I'm findin' out the hard way that none of us are

immune to the type of subculture that produced this next piece of hogwash.

The article I am speakin' of is a feature in the 

December issue of FIDO magazine. 

This doctrine of misinformation would have gone unnoticed by Dad had it not been thrust under his nose. I'm afraid he has succumbed to it's powerful, yet misguided message, 

for it was not long after readin' it that he said the words I 

thought I would never hear comin' out of his mouth: 

"Sorry Ches, that's all you're getting - I'm cutting back".

I don't know who Arden Moore and Vladislav Roytapel are

but obviously they've got a bone to pick with the dawg community.

Rather than bore you and waste your valuable time, I have chosen

to emphasize the more poignant parts of this full page article.

This would be a caricature of the female half of the battle.

(I think this captures the essence of Mom fairly well, don't you?)

This would be a caricature of the male half of the battle.

(This looks nuthin' at all like my dear, sweet dad.)

The followin' excerpt includes some of the most

agonizin' and pathetic advice you will ever read.

(click on article to biggify so as not to miss a single lie)

Now, with my literary license and my trustworthy red pen,

I have taken great pleasure in rectifyin' this madness so that

it reflects what I'm sure you dawgs were already thinkin'

as you read the above.

(again, biggifyin' this will help)

Well, it may not be perfect but at least it's much better than that other rubbish. I will insist that FIDO magazine print a retraction

in hopes of savin' future distress of my canine brothers and sisters.

It's too late for me, the damage here has been done as evidenced by the followin' picture. These buckets are for my Pappy's barn

kittehs and they are overflowin' with the abundance of table scraps

that used to be mine. They are eatin' mighty well for a bunch

of mangy felines who should be earnin' their keep

by managin' the mouse population in the barn.

But no, now they are loungin' in the hayloft with full bellies,

and lickin' their greasy paws with turkey breath.

I've even pulled out some of my best beggin' maneuvers

but they have generated very little in the way of personal payoff.

(Sigh), I am still quite disturbed not only because of the 

cutback of table scraps; but even more so it grieves my

Big Brown heart to know that there exists such a cruel

clique that would take aim against us dawgs who

feast offa table scraps like kings and queens 

take pride in our faithful association with our 2 leggers.

At least it's Friday which is always a great payoff after a long week.

I hope your weekend overflows with an abundance of good stuff.

Chester ;0=)

(meanwhile, down on the farm)

Top Chef

The older I get, the more I realize the days of my youth were spent in frivolous pursuits. I wandered and explored at every turn of the PUs' backs. My whims led me from room to room, seein' interestin' new sights and sniffin' rare smells that I had never encountered in the stable where I first lived. Some might argue that it is good to leave no stone unturned, that traversin' one's domain at a young age actually helps to find what will satisfy one's spirit as the years go by. This may be true so I won't belittle the point, but sumtimes I now wonder if I had concentrated more on the kitchen area maybe my culinary skills would have been that of a top chef.


Not to say that my interests in the other parts of our home have subsided. No, not in the least. It's just that when Mom's in the kitchen I am right by her side, watchin' her every move and ready at a moment's notice to assist. I am entranced as I watch her move from the 'fridge to the counter to the stove and back to the 'fridge time and time again. Foodables movin' to and fro as rivers of drool drop steadily from my jaw and my nose tingles in the wake of their scent.

Nevertheless, I am a quick study and have absorbed much. Choppin', gratin', stirrin', pourin' are tasks of which I have perceived as bein' the greatest of the food preparation skills. To the untrained eye, they may seem menial and common. To me they are the most interestin' simply because the more the foodables move, the more likely they are to be dropped and or spilled. This is where my competent clean-up assistance is a highly regarded talent. Had I been more interested as a pup, would my culinary career be further along? We may never know. But, my zeal and attention to the task at hand (or in this case, paw) was noticed by my mentor who has given me the title, "The Quicker Picker Upper".

Not one to waste an opportunity, I am excited to announce the development of

my own personal line of kitchen products. Here is the first of what I

hope is to be many :

*Comin' soon to a grocery store near you.

Now the weekend is just around the corner,
and I don't know of any quicker picker upper than that!


Bone Appetit!
Chester ;0=)