I hate Halloween but I love dressing Melvin up in ridiculous outfits.  Believe it or not the only part he didn’t like about this get up was the spike cuff on his front leg.

Sorry for the quality, I was laughing too hard to be a productive photographer!

Apparently someone named Sandy came over.  I never saw her but you don’t have to meet her to dislike her.  Boooooo Sandy!  Here are a list of my grievances with you lady…

1. Sandy must have stood on the roof with a fire hose cause every time I had to ‘go’ I got soaked.  I tried to turn back and go inside but She kept telling me to go potty.  I gave Her my best ‘but I can go potty in the house look’ but She was not buying it.  I also learned a new set of words that I still don’t know the meaning of which include “Hurry up” and “don’t let a tree fall on you”.
2. The raincoat She put on me was useless, it was as if I was in a pool, water came at me from all sides.
3. Sandy was very, very, very, very loud and I think the tress were pretty upset about it also cause they were doing some dance that must have been their way of saying ‘go away Sandy, you’re too noisy’.
4. I was scared.  I mean I don’t usually get scared but every noise Sandy made sounded hurtful to me and worry set into my bones and soul.  I paced and climbed up into Her lap whenever possible.
5. I had such a tough time sleeping through Sandy’s torturous visit that I spent most of the night standing on top of Her as she laid in bed. She tried to get me to lay down but my legs were locked.  If Sandy had shown her face to me, I would have poop’d on it.

We got some water in the basement and a roof leak but all in all She says that this is the worst storm the house will probably ever face so we did pretty great!  Hopefully all our friends in the storms path (including but not limited to Nola, Mazzie, Moe, Heidi, Nemo, Melanie, Annie & Paul) are OK.

Our prayers go out to all those impacted by the storm.

Don’t make eye contact with Sandy, she seems mean.

One of my favorite things about this house is the mudroom.  Not just because it houses all the stuff I just HAD to buy for Melvin but because no matter what we face out on a walk (mud, rain, snow), I can bring him into the mudroom and make him houseworthy.

In preparation for Sandy, the beverage refrigerator is stocked with plenty of adult beverages.  The spare bedroom is made up (no trees on that side of the house).  A bathtub is full of water (just in case, although Melvin thinks it’s a giant drinking bowl) and frozen food is being cooked as I type.  There are plenty of shows downloaded to the iPad and after I push ‘Publish’, I can check blog post off my list.

Most importantly, Melvin’s raincoat is hung up in the mudroom and the mudroom is ready for Sandy.  One door out to the yard, one door out to the garage — that means we can go out for bathroom breaks one way or the other.

Hey, hey, Melvin man here!  I heard that She posted a story about how I mess up my our Her bed everyday.  Uh, if by mess up you mean make it better, then yes indeedy I do that! I don’t get the whole ‘making the bed’ concept.  I think the bed is best when not made.

Listen, I work hard.  My day is long and it’s my job to lay on every surface in the house.  When I get to the bed and it’s made, I have to drag all the stuff around to make it layable upon.  It’s called overtime and yet I have not seen a salary increase in four years.  I should probably strike.

Last week she went to see her brother’s new house and she packed up some soft stuff to take over to him and her sister-in-law in the case they couldn’t find their sheets right away and needed to make (why people why?!) their bed.  I got sorta worried when the big box of fluffy stuff got carried out, but after some investigation I realized it was extra stuff so we were I was good. When she came back with the fluffy stuff and put it at the bottom of the step, I said ‘thank you, don’t mind if I do’ and I hopped on in.

What?  Is this not for me?

Melvin takes a lot of liberties in the house.  Mostly during the day, with the big bed, while I’m away.

Fall has always been my favorite season.  Most of the reasons are related to fashion, in fact prior to rescuing Melvin, every single reason to adore Fall was purely superficial (and trust me, I’m fine with admitting that!).  But now, Fall is not only my favorite season but also the most important season in this household.

Melvin’s intense allergy season is March/April to Oct/Nov.  By intense I mean that despite the shots, the pills, the baths, the prescription food and the vet visits, his allergy issues remain at a noticeable level.  Long gone are the days where he itches until he bleeds but there are still plenty of days that he will try to gnaw on his paws until they are raw (of course I don’t let it get to that point).

Our saving grace, the day I dance and sing and twirl and act like the craziest damn gypsy on the block, is the day of the first frost.  From that day until spring hits, my boy is what some might call, normal.  I mean we still can’t drop any food on the floor but we can take him outside without the promise of a baby wipe bath afterwards!  Now if only fake fall would hurry up and usher in the lower temps.  This week it’s supposed to be friggn 80 degrees.  Oh Mother Nature, if we ever meet…

This picture has nothing to do with anything except adorableness. And yes, he tried to exit going forward:

When I first got Melvin I crated him. Actually, he was crated in a room with the door to the room shut when I was gone. This was due solely to Max having run of the house, Max being old(er) and my feeling that Max did not need or want Melvin all up in his bizzy while I was gone. Of course the end goal was that Melvin would have full roam of his the house. Two months later, Max crossed over the rainbow and I put Melvin’s crate away. After our fair share of separation anxiety training, he was living large with access to everything but the panty.

Does Melvin have the occasional accident in the house? Yes. I don’t care. Does he abuse my bed making efforts every single day. Yep. I let it go. Does he take things out of the bathroom trash, investigate them and leave them laying on the floor. Grody boy does indeed do this. I find it somewhat endearing. The custom pillows on the couch are his literal stomping ground. I can always replace those pillows. The odd thing about all of this is that I am a total neat freak. Like I might be certifiable. I have made my bed every day since I was a Freshman in high school.

Love does conquer all.

Yesterday I came out of the shower surprised to not see Melvin in my room. Until of course, I did see him. And yes, prior to this, the bed was made.

We got not one but two Tiennot Knits Sweaters this week!  One is purple and white (those colors have no meaning to me other than I knew they’d look spectacular on Melvin) and the other is his Christmas sweater (you’ll have to wait until the holidays to see those photos!).

Let me explain all the ways that Tiennot Knits is da bomb– the sweaters are custom-made (so boys won’t go a peeing on them), are awesome to look at (I mean Melvin is like ten twenty times cuter when he’s wearing one), they hold up in the washer (I guarantee this) AND most importantly, they donate a portion of every sale to animal rescue efforts.

Although Melvin would have you think otherwise (he is pretty content being an only child), the visit with Little Man went pretty well!  Yes, they are boys, so at times they barked at each other.  The funny part is, they sort of complete the other.  Melvin is a Chihuahua trapped in a very large body.  Little Man (again, not his real name) is a Mastiff, shrink wrapped to 25 lbs. Both of them were put on this earth to bring the laughter, and the funk.

I am going to apply to adopt Little Man!  Don’t get too excited, the adoption process for this rescue is pretty stringent.  Also, a lot of people could apply for him.  A lot.

I’ll keep you posted.  Until then, here are a few funny shots of the boys purposely ignoring the other.

Hey guys, Melvin here.  She left me this week.  Black rolly bag came out and off she went. My other love, Vasha came and we had a pajama party and watched some show about crazy Housewives, I kinda dig that show.  It’s got a lot of drama, KIND OF LIKE MY LIFE RIGHT NOW.

Let’s outline this week:

1. She left.
2. She came back.
3. I tipped over the black rolly bag cause I’m boss.
4. She just left again and returned with this guy (and his foster mom)…

This uninvited guest dude and I are not sure what to make of one another.  She says he is staying with us for the weekend. She said his family had him and another yellow lab (like me) but they decided not to keep this little guy, even though they’d had him for four years.  Uh, news flash:  they probably didn’t want him because A LOT OF NOISE COMES OUT OF HIM. I think he’s part pig.  It has not been smooth sailing, there has been lunging and snarling.  But there have been some ok moments too cause I’m a pretty chill guy and I’m REAL good at ignoring midget dogs.

He’s in a tie down right now so I’m pretty sure that means him and his mom will be leaving soon.  I mean his leash is already on so that’s a good sign. Right? How many days is a weekend?

I went to San Diego for work this week. It was 100 degrees. I’m sure the stories of San Diego having delightful weather are true (especially based on the fact that some places don’t even have AC) but I found it to be hot, hot, hot.

So this post is a bit random to just catch up on posts I would have done if I had not been plotting my next shower…

San Diego did have perks: The Pacific Ocean, The Hotel Del Coronado and some really great Mexican food…

Next, I have never been much of a law-breaker but I 100% thought about car-jacking this car! Look at those faces!

And as always, coming home is the best part!