crazy dog...

Who would have ever thought it? Beth- the confirmed cat lover would have fun owning a dog??? Craig took some photos last night while we were playing with Ellie :) They make me giggle!

Gliese 581: Hell

I was just reading Alicia's post about the discovery of a new planet: Gliese 581. When I read that "Anyone sitting on the planet would get heavier quickly, and birthdays would add up fast, since it orbits its star once every 13 days," I decided that this must be the closest you could get to hell. It is at the least an anti-woman planet.

Meanwhile, discoveries in the Hissong household have been of the regular sort:

Ellie likes to socialize with people more than puppies and she likes to bark through her puppy classes. Yes, my dog isn't exactly the star pupil there.

Large spiders come out on our front porch when the sun goes down. And they don't look like Charlotte either!

Microwaves are not fixable. Even if you try, they still go out on you! ugh.

No matter how full my schedule is, Dad will always say, "Beth, why don't you get a job?" (For the record: I homeschool full-time, work part-time, take care of everything at home except mowing the grass and have no time for myself except the occasional blog post...you don't see any art work being accomplished, do you??) So if you're reading this Dad-- you're pushing me over the edge!!!

I will always love my family and my friends...no matter how crazy I get or they get!!!

Adler's decorating notions...

Jonathan Adler's Manifesto

We believe that your home should make you happy.

We believe that when it comes to decorating, the wife is always right. Unless the husband is gay.

We believe in carbohydrates and to hell with the puffy consequences.

We believe minimalism is a bummer.

We believe handcrafted tchotchkes are life-enhancing.

We believe tassels are the earrings of the home.

We believe in our muses: David Hicks, Alexander Girard, Bonnie Cashin. Hans Coper, Gio Ponti, Andy Warhol, Leroy Neiman, Yves Saint Laurent, and Madonna.

We believe in the innate chicness of red with brown.

We believe in being underdressed or overdressed always.

We believe in infantile, happy emblems like butterflies and hearts.

We believe celebrities should pay full price.

We believe in rustic modernism: Big Sur, A-Frame beach houses,raw beams, and geodesic dome homes.

We believe in Palm Beach style: Louis chairs, chinoiserie, Lilly Pulitzer, The Breakers circa '72.

We believe our designs are award winning even though they've never actually won any.

We believe in Aid to Artisans.

We believe dogs should be allowed in stores and restaurants.

We believe in mantiques - suits of armour, worn chesterfield sofas, heraldic tapestries.

We believe you should throw out your Blackberry and go pick some actual blackberries.

We believe colors can't clash.

We believe in blowing your nest egg on our pots.

We believe our lamps will make you look younger and thinner.

We believe in irreverent luxury.

© 2007 Jonathan Adler

summer in Lancaster, Pa

Summer is almost here, and the living is easy...
Here is a photo from the Hollinger House Bed and Breakfast here in Lancaster. Don't you want to pull up a rocker, a glass of lemonade and a good book or a circle of friends! Finally the cold weather has passed and we are enjoying badminton on the side lawn and working in the flower beds again. It is hard to focus on school work, with the sun streaming in the windows and the breezes blowing through the house. Days like this make living in Lancaster the best place in the world to be!

Ultimate Puppy

Our vet offers puppy socialization classes and we just started them this week...what a blessing! They use this kit by Ultimate Puppy: "the ultimate puppy toolkit" (just click the name to find the website and it's available to order.) So many dogs are euthanized for bad behavior because they were never trained and socialized as puppies. It's best to train them while they are young and not start later at 9 months- (the teenage/adolescent years). Older dogs can go through this training but the easiest success happens at the youngest ages. It is also praise/reward based and not the old-fashioned idea of punishing the bad behavior through pain. One friend of mine adopted an older puppy from another person they knew and the puppy had never exhibited bad behaviors before. But it hadn't been socialized with other dogs or learned to adapt to different environments, and therefore started to bite the children, guard it's food and attack other neighborhood dogs. It ended up being euthanized, unfortunately. This program would have made that unnecessary to go through (and no stitches for their son!). Please pass this info on to anyone you know who has or wants to get a puppy!!!

I'm not a winner....

I threw my name in the hat (with 604 other people!!!) and I wasn't picked to get some of Anna Maria's new Chocolate Lolipop fabric. Maybe because I haven't been creating lately. Though we pulled out the watercolors today for art. Or that's just my luck! I was hoping to make a bag like the one she made her daughters....so cute! Maybe the pattern will be in her new book she's working on... let's hope! Lastly I hope I made her smile with my donkey comments...her oldest daughter was just in an automobile accident and was hit by a drunk driver. Thankfully she and her friend were okay. There are never enough prayers to be said for our family's safety.

Happy Market Bags

Every time I look at this photo, I start coveting these bags!!! They're sold online at Basic French and look like traditional south of France market bags. Too bad my birthday is so far away (and the fact that I love bags and probably have enough of them..shhhh..who said that??!!) If I had more nerve I would just use all these colors in my home...LOVE them!!!!! Happy colors like orange soda pop... how can you not be happy when you see orange soda pop?!

A Girl and Her Dog...

I can picture this as a story line for one of those cute family movies! Maybe Ellie can be the next Lassie... "Quick, Caroline has fallen into the well, bark, bark!!"

Happy Easter!

Our trip to D.C. was beautiful! 80 degree weather and the peak of cherry blossoms! How do we get so lucky??!

And a new addition to the family: Elle Carine, an 8 week old collie pup...

Her baby picture!: