(click to enlarge)

The dog on the left is my dog, Brutus, and the one on the right is my friend’s dog, Boston (Boss is what we typically call him).

You may recall the previous post where I introduced Brutus to all of you, wherein I explained that I took over the ownership of a dog named Zeke and proceeded to change his name to Brutus. Well, the lady who gave him to me doesn’t know that I changed his name… and she started asking about him recently. She works with one of my best friends, so I got to hear the whole story. To summarize, she (the previous owner) said that if I was going to send out Christmas Cards with photos of the two dogs, she would LOVE to see them. Needless to say, I felt obligated to make a Christmas Card, even if I only gave one to my friend to share at work.

So, last Saturday, I went out hunting for: #1 Doggie Santa Hats and #2 Doggie Reindeer Antlers. I found neither. But I did find a couple of Christmas-y doggie outfits that were good enough. I felt SOOO silly buying them, especially when I was surrounded by 50-yr-old+ women who were looking for outfits for their “little Pookie”. But I pushed onward with my plan.

When I got home that evening, I set up a little studio-type area in my living room. I got the camera, tripod, lights, and flashes ready. I then wrangled the two dogs and got them dressed. And then I took their pictures.

In the picture above, you’ll notice that they’re wearing the same outfit. Well, Boss like it much more than Brutus did. I tell you this in case the expression on Brutus’ face didn’t scream this loud enough for you to hear.

This picture is the one that will actually be shared with the previous caretaker of Zeke. I think I like the Bah Humbug one better, though.

It started off with my trip to Dallas to see my Brother, Sister (-in-law), and Niece for a weekend full of fun and family. We went to the park, to Downtown McKinney, to Downtown Dallas, and to a few other various places around town.

Once I got home, I adopted Brutus.

I took Red for many, many excursions around town.

I went camping in June, July, and September, each time at a different Illinois State Park.

I celebrated the birthdays of a few friends.

I went to Chicago a couple of times and Indianapolis once.

I helped J & J repaint the inside of their home.

I started rehearsing with the Philharmonic Chorale again.

Somewhere in there I found time to relandscape an area at the front of my house, but seriously only mowed the lawn about 6 times over the 3 months of summer.

This was probably one of the most exciting summers I’ve had in a REALLY long time, and I loved it. It was fun to be able to see so many friends and relatives in various places. However, I’m also glad that the majority of my travels have come to an end for a few months. There are a few day- and weeekend-trips planned, but nothing too major.

Along with being in town a bit more, I think I might have a bit more time to blog. I am going to try to blog once a week for a while, and then hopefully I can get back to a higher frequency.

UPDATE: I did end up changing his name – he is now “Brutus”, and he actually responds to that name now. After two and a half weeks of having him, I can honestly say that I LOVE it. Maybe I’ll get another little dude sometime…

I know, I know. I need to finish the a post that covers my AMAZING weekend with family and friends in Dallas, but I just can’t help but put it off a bit longer.

Yesterday I became the owner of this little guy:

He’s a 2-year-old Boston Terrier and he’s supposedly named Zeke, although he really doesn’t respond to that name AT ALL. I may be renaming him in the next couple of days.

The story behind “Zeke” isn’t so happy – his original owner passed away from complications with cystic fibrosis last fall, and he’s been staying with a co-worker of the late owner since then. However, this most recent owner has assumed care of her 8-week-old grandson and doesn’t feel like she can take care of both. Thus, I GOT HIM!

My good friend, Jim, also as a 2-year-old Boston Terrier, named Boss, and they are over at my place a LOT. This means that the two little boys will be able to play with each other quite often.

In case you haven’t seen him yet, here’s Boss: