Cat and Pug

Buddha has been exposed to Fred's cats little by little over the past 6 months, and every time there is a little more progress on both accounts. This time I brought my camera to try to capture a few moments of their attempt to figure each other out.






While Buddha did really good, the real Kodak moment came later, when Buddha was getting sleepy and was closing his eyes on Fred's chair. Nicky took the opportunity to creep up and observe Buddha from a close distance.






In all of these photos, Buddha never had an idea that Nicky was even there.



That's one clever cat and one sleepy pug.

Buddha Versus Tucker - Round One

James and Erin's new puppy, Tucker Bean came over to have a play date with the recently recovered Buddha Bear. I had my camera at the ready, anticipating a tidal wave of cute to hit the apartment. And it indeed did.








Tucker is a Shicon (sheesh-on) puppy (all you need to know about them can be found HERE). Here is a closer look at the little stinker.










They hit it off immediately, and Buddha (who plays with puppies better than adult dogs) had the best time. We all watched as the two of them tore around the apartment like crazy.
















Here are all of the pictures from the evening:

Bay of Pugs Stand Off...
















Concerned Uncle catches Nephew smoking a cigarette...
















And finally, what I like to call, "They came from planet X..."

My Deer Dad...

My Daddy, Roger Smith underwent surgery today. He had a hernia removed...yowch!
He has been suffering this annoying and limiting pain for a long time now, and I am glad his operation was a success. I just heard from Mom (Cyndy) a few moments ago, and all went well.
And no, I didn't spell the title of this post wrong, I wanted to also share with you these pictures that my parents took while spending a day at Ohiopyle State Park. They took this day trip as a sort of fun thing to do before Dad went under the knife and would be out of commission for awhile.




They soon encountered some very bold and playful deer. NO - they didn't touch them for fear of deer ticks, but these deer were very friendly. In the last picture, which I cropped down, you can see two of them on their hind legs play wrestling with each other!



Stay Tuned...more to come!

Christian the Lion

I am fascinated with this video of Christian the Lion. And yes, it is true.
Here is the link to the subject on SNOPES, WIKIPEDIA, George Adamson's Website, Christian the Lion's Webpage, and BORN FREE FOUNDATION's Website.
Being the animal lover that I am, you know how hysterically weepy I got when I saw this. They played it on the Today show the other morning, but left the end out, which I think is one of the most amazing parts.
And the cynical sub host David Gregory made fun of it. I wanted to slap him.
Anyways, enjoy if you have not seen it.
This was sent to me by both Lynn Filusch and my sister in law, Natalie.
Enjoy!

WELCOME, TANNER!

This just in from my brother, James:
"Most of you know that our home isn't a home without the pitter patter of little feet...and paws. Well, after over a year of failing health, our dear dog of 12 years, Katie, passed away. The house seemed quieter, and our other dog, Wendy, missed her dear friend very much.
So with happiness, and lots and lots of tail-wagging, we would like to introduce our furry baby, "Tanner"! It's been seven years since we have had a puppy, and he has brought lots of joy to our home already! Thanks for the opportunity to let you know of our good news!"


Welcome to the Smith dog clan, Tanner!

i'm still here...

Sorry I have not posted that much, but I have been really busy with Spiderwoman rehearsals, and my ass is thoroughly being kicked. Still here though, thankfully enjoying a day off to rest and regroup. This is my first total day off in three weeks. I forgot how nice it could be. Not that I have been sitting around all day, however. I took Buddha ( who has a new blog post that you can read HERE) to the park for a nice little romp, then brought him home and gave him a bath. I am currently in the "catch up" mode of trying to do laundry, dishes,etc. I am taking a breather from that as I write this.
I plan on making my March Candles tonight, and am in prep for that. I know what design I want them to be, but I am honing details in my head of how I want it to smell, proportion of color, and so on. So I will start that in a little bit.




I am very happy that Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress for La Vie En Rose, which was one of my favorite movies of the past year, and one of my favorite performances on film to this date. If you have not yet seen the film, you should rent it as soon as you get a chance.

What else? Oh yeah, I just watched 30 Days of Night, the vampire horror film that came out last fall, and I was blown away. It now sits in my top 10 favorite horror films of all time. The art direction of the film is stunning, and many of the shots look like they could be framed works of art. That's not to say that it still isn't gory. It is very gory, but not in excess. The film is a very mature horror film that actually has fantastic character development in the script, and wonderful actors as well. If you can stand some fake gore, I would strongly recommend this film. I can't stop thinking or talking about it.




Ok, that's me for right now. I will try to post a little more this coming week, but it will mainly be in the evenings.
Till then,
SGS

MUST WATCH TV TODAY: PUPPY BOWL

If you have never seen THE PUPPY BOWL on Animal Planet, you have really missed out. It is on in a little less than an hour, at 3PM. It goes from 3pm to 6pm, and is just about the cutest thing that you could imagine!
Here is a taste of Puppy Bowl 3, from last year. Enjoy!