9.12.2010

Life with a Golden

Attention cat people: Skim through the dog portion of this post and you will be rewarded with a funny cat picture.

For those of you who don't know the joys of living with a Golden Retriever, they are friendly, cuddly, and eager to please. The downside? The double coat. Our old lady sheds her undercoat twice a year; once in the spring and once in the fall.

So twice a year we go through a ritual (besides the extra vacuuming): two days of combing followed by a bath. Here's our first day of combing:


If you didn't know Miss Samantha Belle LaRue you would think she is relaxed and calm. Actually she's shutting out the world around her. Brush time is no fun!

And all that brushing yields:


A Jaxon-sized pile of hair! Day two will yield a lot loss fur and then the dreaded bath!

But don't think Samantha gets all the attention around here! Artemis tried to relax in the box bottom while Jaxon was playing Chutes and Ladders. He's a little too big to be inconspicuous.


Once Jaxon discovered him relaxation time was over!

Despite the torment of our pets, we've had a good weekend. Friday evening we welcomed our new graduate student class with a picnic at a colleague's farm. Every year we take a hayride around the farm. This year when we stopped at the crest of a hill, another colleague's daughter decided to go for a run and Jaxon went after her.



They made it pretty far.


And Jaxon was wiped out on the ride back.


Saturday we went to a football game. This was Jaxon's first college football game and he made it until halftime. We stayed long enough to see the marching band, and as a band geek, and an alumnae of this particular marching band, that was fine by me.



Charlie worked all day today, so Jaxon and I spent the day cleaning and crafting. It's amazing how a four-year-old thinks he is the wisest person in the house. As we were straightening up his room he asked "Mommy, I can't find my goggles. I responded, "This room is such a mess, I can't say where they are." Jaxon looked me straight in the eye and as clearly as possible he said, "GOG-GLES."

Oh, that's how you say that.

9 comments:

Jackie's Stitches said...

Jaxon is so funny! I'm glad he's there to keep you straight!

I cannot believe all that hair. I can't imagine what your vacuum would look like if you didn't strip her hair.

Michele said...

I had no idea a Golden could shed like that. She's like a sheep! They are such good dogs though. You would think the brushing felt good and I'm sure it feels good to get all that extra hair off. Love the cat in the box too. Obviously your pets are having a good time!

FerJeniB said...

OMW Beth - Best Post EVER! Do you believe that our hs marching band here only learns one show per season...and does not attend football games. What is up with that? - Hugs Jen

MJ said...

You need to take up knitting, or looming or something with all that hair growth! But then you'd need to learn how to dye fibers too. Maybe it is too much bother?!

~Michelle~ said...

ditto the above comments - I had no idea goldies shed like that! And good grief, what is it about cats & boxes?? Geez, it's mandatory for them to crawl inside an open box, lol :)

And hmmm...bank geek, eh? I can be pretty good about guessing what instruments people played... I'm going to guess woodwind - maybe sax? I'll have to write up a post soon about last weekend for me, but I will say that I remembered how much I like the ritual of tuning before you start a concert :-D

Thimbleanna said...

Jaxon is so funny -- I love all the funny things they say at that age. And your pets -- how fun. Well, maybe except for all the dog hair. I remember those days well with a German Shepherd -- we always had dog hair everywhere! Looks like you had a great weekend -- Happy Week!

Andy said...

Percussion eh? I would have pegged you as a clarinet player. Honestly the halftime show is the best part of any football game. Nice to know there are still a lot of us band geeks around.

Jaayimee said...

We have 2 goldens so I feel for you. We go through the same routine every year as well.

I'm loving your blog. Some one just shared the link and I have spent hours going through it.

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