TaeKwonDo testing and dog fu

Danny and Sam tested in TaeKwonDo this weekend. Both guys did great! And they ended up getting paired up with each other for sparring, which was a first.



It has been unseasonably hot and Argos enjoyed the early winter heat at Maxwell Park.

Booze hound

Today Danny observed the dog messing with something in the backyard. Upon further inspection, Argos was burying a sealed bottle of Smithwick's. Indeed, there were several unopened bottles of beer throughout the yard. Argos is peeved at us because we locked the recycling bin so that he couldn't gnaw up our recyclables. Apparently, the dog had carefully carried several bottles of beer in his mouth from the mud room, down the stairs and into the back yard.

Sugar Creek Arts Festival

This weekend was the 25th annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival. I love living right next to uptown Normal and campus!!! Today we brought the kids and Argos to the festival, and a great time was had by everyone. It was a great arts festival!! No twee license plate birdhouses and scented candles. There was an astonishing diversity of arts and crafts, with festival food and live entertainment.

Universe of Russian stacking dolls

Rust bugs

Rust dogs

Joseph makes jewelry and a visor.


Wise-ass balloon man! (Is there any other kind?)



Joseph explains why he chose pineapple ice.

Argos was pet by so many people that he was palpably greasy by the time he got home. It was rather hot and humid, so we tried to keep Argos in the shade as much as possible, and he spent a lot of time lying in different booths.


Here's the Pantagraph story

Argos on vaca

Several people have asked me what the dog has been up to this vacation, so I thought that I would include a synopsis. Argos is a very good traveler. In fact, even after a 14-hour trip, I would forget that he is in the van entirely if not for the fact that when we stop he wakes and makes some subtle excited noises. (Also, the gianormous crate that fills almost the entire back of the Odyssey might clue me in to his presence.)

He came with us to Baltimore for Thanksgiving, but stayed in Illinois when we visited Baltimore and New York for Christmas. The main issue is that although Argos is welcome in my grandparents' place in Baltimore, Danny's folks have a passel of tiny elderly dogs that are likely to give themselves an aneurysm trying to defend their turf against Argos.

Last Christmas, we boarded Argos in Illinois and it cost a crazy amount of money--way more than we ever paid in CA. Also, he came home at least 10 lbs overweight, which is impressive given that he started out at least 5 lbs underweight. Given that the other two kennels in Bloomington-Normal are embroiled in legal issues because the owner of one kennel was arrested for poisoning dogs in her competitor's kennel, we were looking for another option. This summer we brought Argos with us. Argos had a great time shmoozing around the house in Baltimore. He was pretty unobtrusive, and eventually decided that the extended family was part of his pack, because he started refusing to come downstairs to sleep with me, Danny and the kids at night.

Highlights from Argos' trip to Charm city include an odd incident in which he kind of ran away at the local park. He is usually exceptionally reliable off leash, so I let him off to play with another dog. However, he must have heard Sam and/or Joseph's voice and he took off for the playground to be with the kids, alarming some innocent bystanders and he raced past them on the track.
My Grandparents' place in Baltimore has a large wooded lot behind it. Argos earns his keep at by scaring away squirrels that attack the birdfeeders. Argos also got to see full-sized deer up close. We startled a trio of young bucks in our neighbors' yard one morning. Argos was so concerned that he made that emergency "buff"-ing noise that Malamutes sometimes make.

In New York, Danny's parents helped us find a boarding kennel for him. It seems like a nice place, so hopefully he is having a decent time there. I am positive that Argos would not enjoy staying at Danny's parents' place with the small angry dogs barking at him all day--Argos is of course a lover not a fighter.
Argos briefly visited the house on his way to the kennel. Here's Argos hiding from the yapping tinies in Staten Island. "Hey Grammy, can I have the squeeky ball?"

Normal bodily functions

One persistent problem with road trips is that neither Joseph nor Argos like to go to the bathroom in a strange place. In the past, this has cast a pall over our vacations and caused us to spend an inordinate amount of time cajoling them to obey their supposedly natural bodily functions. Argos has been know to hold it all in for up to three days, meanwhile eating and drinking normally.
However, so far on this trip we have been lucky: both Joseph and Argos have been exceedingly regular. Hooray!

Tantrums and fireflies

This morning we went to the Farmer's Market to buy cheese, bread and organic popcorn. We didn't stay long, though. Joseph was committed to a day-long tantrum entitled: "I hate this day!!" Given that I have no power to bend the laws of space and time, we just had to ride it out. I suspect that Joseph is just having a hard time waiting for his birthday.
Update: the final tantrum occurred just before midnight. Joseph woke up because of urgent digestive needs that he was unwilling to address during the day. Note to self: when building dream house, don't forget the high capacity toilet.

Joseph's tantrum at the Farmer's Market.


We have been bringing Argos to the Bloomington Farmer's Market to help him get over his city-related phobias (gratings, buses, motorcycles, etc). Argos had a GREAT time at the Farmer's Market today: the cheese guy was getting rid of his excess samples of cheese curds, so Argos got to eat a half-bag of the squeeky little treats. He also got lots of loving.


Today we saw fireflies! There are no fireflies in Riverside. Although we go to Baltimore and New York in the summer, we rarely go early enough in the season to see fireflies. I had kind of forgotten about fireflies, so when I saw them for the first time in Normal, I was charmed. The kids had a great time chasing them around the yard.

What the hail?

This evening when I took Argos out for our usual run, and the sky erupted in a tremendous storm. There was thunder, lightning and dime-sized pellets of hail. The dog was really freaked out, and we were both soaked to the skin by the time we got home.



When we got home, Argos hid himself in the bedroom and refused to come out. ("Help me! The sky is full of garbage trucks!")

Happy 2nd and orange belt

Today was Argos' 2nd birthday! He had the traditional birthday meal of pig in a blanket, cucumber, carrots and dog food.

When we brought Argos home from the rescue a year-and-a-half ago, 2-year old Joseph told me: "When Argos grows up, he will be a talking dog, and he will say 'Yes!'" Argos has indeed grown up, and although he doesn't talk he is a very positive dog and I'm sure that he would say "Yes!"

Here's Argos as a puppy. Before we civilized him, he was a climber. This is a picture of the time we came into the living room and found him just standing there on the dining room table.


In unrelated news, Sam tested for his orange belt in TaeKwonDo a million years ago, and it finally came!

Stop drop and roll

Argos had a great day at the dog park. First, he was tag-teamed by a pair of hyperactive teenager chocolate labs.


Then his buddies Smokey and Princess showed up. Smokey weighs about 40 lbs, but he must have a lot of personal charisma, because Argos simpers before him.


Later, Carl showed up and dominated Smokey. The resolution of this three-way festival of dominant mounting is that everyone agreed to dominate Argos.


Video of Argos getting his clock cleaned