Election 2008 is Going to the Dogs, Part 2

This isn't a political blog and I usually don't blog about politics. It's not that I don't have political opinions oh, trust me, I do. Political discussions and debates are typical dinner table fodder here at The Condo because all of its residents are free to express their own personal political opinions. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we don’t.

“Hang on, wait a minute. All of the residents of The Condo are free to express their political opinions?! “ you ask incredulously, “Including Blitzkrieg?”

Yes, gentle reader, including my dog Blitzkrieg. Take a look closely at timestamp 1:50 in the election 2008 Jib Jab video I posted yesterday and you will see that Blitzkrieg is exercising his right to vote – just as every good Pekingese American should.

40 Flower, Plants, and Trees That Attract Japanese Beetles

The natural predictors that keep Japanese Beetles from ruining plants in their native Japan do not exist here in the United States. That’s what makes Japanese Beetles so difficult to control and kill. 

One of the best and most organic and natural ways to keep Japanese Beetles from eating and killing the plants in your yard is to simply remove the plants that attract Japanese beetles from your home and landscaping. If you have a Japanese beetle problem in your garden, you might want to thing twice about keeping or planting the following flowers, shrubs, vines, plants, and trees in your yard.

Eighteen Flowers, Shrubs, and Vines That Attract Japanese Beetles

How to Make a Wine Glass Chandelier

I’m on the hunt for a pendent fixture for my dining room. There are so many designs (and subsequent price tags) to choose from to get the Mid-century-Bauhaus -Contemporary-Found-And-Funkified-Retro- DaDa-Danish style (bonus points to you if you know that DaDa is a design movement and not just what babies call their fathers) that I’m going for in The Condo. I found a fun overhead pendant light in the Chandelini. I love that it’s a ball of martini glasses – a fun addition to any room in the house.

However as much as I love the Chandelini right now I’m not sure if this is a piece that I’d love forever. At $6000.00, I know that Husband would insist that I love it forever.

Fabulous Flamingo Front Porch

During the first summer in our Condo, I wanted to sit on our front porch and watch the world go by. (That is, until the temperature hit 90+ degrees, then I’d watch the world go by looking out of the window from the comfort of my air-conditioned Condo.) For that, I needed chairs. I didn’t know what I wanted other than:

1. Something pretty
2. Sturdy enough not blow off the porch during high winds
3. I wanted them now

At the time, I was working on painting and decorating our bedroom. I didn’t have time to search for The Perfect Set of Porch Chairs. As a cheap and easy stopgap, I repainted Husband’s ugly bachelor dining room chairs (once upon a time these heavy monsters may have lived in a doctor’s waiting room) green to coordinate with the green shutters on the house. I also did a little staple gun upholstery to upgrade the fabric on the seat and chair back. The revamped chairs looked better. I didn’t hate them with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns anymore.

Hippies, Festivals, and Dogs, Oh My!

The last weekend I went to Comfest, a huge three-day local music, art, and food blowout. A lot of people refer to Comfest as a big hippie festival because for three days Goodale Park looks a little like Height Ashbury in the 60’s with lots of people hanging out and listening to the bands, getting carpel tunnel from signing political petitions, and smelling patchouli in the air. At least I hope that was patchouli I smelled…

Oh and there’s tie-dye. Lots of people wear tie dye. And dogs. People like to bring dogs to Comfest. Sometimes the dogs wear tie dye too.
Not my dog. Blitzkrieg wisely opted to stay home and wear the air conditioner during warm Comfest weekend.

Turn a Picture Frame Into Raised Dog Feeder

I wanted a raised feeder for Blitzkrieg’s food and water bowls in my kitchen because my boy is a sloppy eater. As long as I filled it with food and water on a regular basis, I knew Blitzkrieg wouldn’t care what his new feeder looked like.

However, since I have to look at it, I wanted something that looked good. Most of the feeders I found were functional, but ugly.

That being the case, I decided to make one myself.

How to Make a Raised Dog Feeder

Materials
Measuring tape or yardstick
Shadow box picture frame large enough to hold your pet’s food and water bowls
A thin piece of wood that fits into the backside of the picture frame (optional)
Paint
Four napkin rings
Hot glue (because what is a craft without a little hot glue action?)

1. Measure your dog from the paw to the shoulder. If a dog uses a raised feeder that's either too high or too low it could hurt their back after long-term use. After measuring your dog from paw to the shoulder, divide the measurement by two. This is how high you should make your dog's raised feeder. For example, my Peke Blitzkrieg is 8 inches from his paws to the top of his shoulder. That means Blitzkrieg's feeder should be 4 inches tall.


2. Paint the wooden interior of the shadow box picture frame or, if your frame has a cardboard backing, paint the thin piece of wood that fits instead your picture frame.


3. Watch the paint dry. Crafting is so exciting!


4. Insert and secure the painted backing or piece of wood into the picture frame after the paint dries.


5. Hot glue a napkin ring each corner of the bottom of the picture frame for the legs. Fortunately, my napkin rings were 4 inches high, the perfect size for a Pekingese.


6. Turn the feeder right side up, fill your pet’s bowls with food and water, and put the bowls in the feeder.


7. Puppy chow time!