Friday, September 23, 2016

FMM - Heeerrrre's Paco!

Poor neglected Paco.  Well, from his starring role as blog dog, that is.  Trust me, he's not neglected at home.  In fact, Jeff let him sleep on our bed while I was gone, which has made him automatically head toward our bedroom when I tell him it's time for bed, instead of down the hallway toward his crate.  A couple of times Jeff has gone to bed earlier than me and let Paco go with him - I have to say, a sleeping dog is almost as cute as a sleeping baby, so of course I have to take a picture when I go in:
Naturally he was sleeping on the pillow - I don't know how he survives the night in his crate with only a pad, and not a pillow as well.

Some mornings, he goes back to bed:
I take Dad's side dis morning...
Mom's side is gud plus she cobers me up.

Of course, this is what he looked like a couple of days ago:
CONE. OF. SHAME.  Because he licked and chewed on his paw so much he started limping.  Nothing more pathetic than a limping dog.

Anyway, he's good, and I'm sorry he hasn't been featured on the blog lately.  I'll try to remember why you all come here, LOL!

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Is it weird to get excited over a new hose?  What can I say, I'm weird.  I'm the one who usually waters the pot plants on the back patio, and I've struggled with the hose out there.  It's heavy and I'm always heaving it around, plus I hate to gather it back up after I'm finished watering, so I usually just shove it over to the side of the patio.  Here's a shot before I went out to blow off the leaves and water:
I have to blow the leaves off the patio several times a week - our dumb oaks lose their leaves year-round!  Giant hose in its usual spot, sadly.
I had to put in the after shot - this lasted for less than a day before the leaves started falling again.

Anyway, I saw a neat coiled hose at a garden center while I was in California - where has this been all of my life?!  Now, I don't shop for hoses on the reg in Texas, so maybe they had them here and I just never knew, but this one came with a sprayer attachment and was on clearance, and I had room in my suitcase, so I bought it:

I love this hose SO MUCH.  It's the perfect size for our patio, plus, it cleans up after itself - take a look:
More leaves, the bane of my existence.  But check out the hose!  I just hang the sprayer on the old hose holder and boom.  Neatness achieved.

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One last thing regarding plants (for today, anyway) - we finally went to town weeding the front bed; it had gotten really overgrown, thanks to it just being too dang hot to want to get out and do any kind of yard work.  But it had to be done, so we weeded (even I got my hands in there, icky bugs and all) and pulled some plants, divided and replanted the daylilies, and moved the lantana that we'd bought last March from the pot in the backyard to the ground - it should have gotten a lot bigger, but we think the pot was constricting its growth, so hopefully it'll do better there.  Then we put down new mulch - black mulch.  I had to talk Jeff into that color, but he liked it when we were finished.  I think it sets off the plants really nicely:
Oh, and I also freshened up the little flag holder with some black spray paint.
I can't remember what this plant is called, but it has really spread, even with being choked out by weeds.  If it survives the winter, we'll get more for some ground cover.
We also pulled out the mostly dead plants in this area and put in two more yucca - hey, the one yucca thrived there, so might as well go with what works.  Brown mulch here because that was our compromise at the garden center.

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No races this weekend, just our normal running on tap.  Diane will be out of town so I'll be on my own, which will be good practice for Houston in January.  I need to charge my iPod and let the music carry me away - well, for five miles, anyway.

Have a great weekend!

23 comments:

  1. Hai Paco! So good to see you on the blog again.

    Isn't it funny: Bella sleeps on the bed with me when R. is away (which happens to be tonight). She knows immediately when I don't close her crate (she always sleeps in the bedroom) and jumps right on bed. And she knows that when R. is back home, the fun is over :) She also sleeps on the bed in the morning just like Paco. They could be brother and sister :)

    The garden bed looks lovely.

    Good luck on your run tomorrow.

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  2. Funny to me how fast Paco acclimated to the bed over his crate lol! Just like a kid, if they can get away with it, they'll surely try.

    I think that black mulch look great especially against your house color. I had a Sedum that I had put in a pot and it never looked good. My ground area is limited to I asked my neighbor if she wanted it. She took it and planted it in her front yard and it's fantastic. Plus, I still get to enjoy it!

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    1. Haha, yeah - he's no fool.

      I'm really enjoying the black mulch and you're right - with our white house it sure stands out!

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  3. Hi Paco! I love a dog in my bed. In the winter here they are little heating blankets!

    Love your dark mulch! It is striking against your house! Oh and I have that same hose at my grooming salon!!

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Our dachshund was our bed heater - now she slept with us every night. :)

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  4. Aww poor Paco in his cone! I take a ton of pictures of Baylee sleeping..lol. She's just so darn cute! I hope to get out and get my yard ready for fall. It's been 88 degrees here so I haven't exactly felt like putting mums out or decorating. I need to get a fall flag too!

    Have a good run this weekend!

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    1. Dogs and babies - they both are so cute when they're sleeping!

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  5. Poor Paco! Yeah, poor Paco, sleeping in the big bed :)

    I LOVE that black mulch. I've seen it in the garden centers and wondered about it. Now I know what it looks like! Your beds look super good. I put off weeding as long as possible. too much bending over... I like those hoses! My mom has one. I don't think they would work for me--garden's too spread out--but I'm gonna check them out this week. What I HATE about one of my hoses (which is supposed to be a non-kinking hose) is that it kinks every single time I am watering, and no matter what I do, I can't straighten it out enough so it won't do that, and then I have to walk back to where the kink is and straighten it out so I can continue watering.

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    1. I don't mind Paco sleeping in the bed with us, but he gets growly when he's asleep and if I move my foot he lets me know that's not allowed...which is when he gets woken up and moved to his crate.

      I really like the black mulch - it was the same price as the regular color, so that made talking Jeff into it easier. I think he's a convert now.

      The hose I replaced is a heavy duty one that does not kink - we've had it for years and I know it wasn't cheap. But it sure is heavy to haul around that little patio.

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  6. So glad to see Paco again.. Hope you have a great run tomorrow.

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  7. Yay Paco!!! I only read blogs in general looking for cute pet pictures :) He looks so adorable all tucked in!

    Heidi has her own memory foam dog bed in our bedroom. She tried to hop up on our bed when we first got her, but hasn't ever since. And we just got a new, much taller bed that she'd probably need stairs to get on to. What's funny is that I put her old bed in my office and she refuses to sleep on that during the day. She'll sleep right next to it, or maybe rest her snout on it, but won't sleep on it.

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    Replies
    1. Only the best for Heidi with the memory foam - love it!

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  8. Friend has a dog currently wearing cone and looks as mournful as Paco, hanging his head almost to ground when not staring beseechingly at her. Let him out to go to the bathroom and when we looked out the window he looked all normal and happy with his head in the air. Until we let him in and it dropped to the floor again. PLAYING US!

    You'll have to let us know how the hose holds up, I've been tempted to get one several times.

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    1. That is hilarious!!! What a smart dog.

      I'll try and remember to do an update on this hose - I'm hoping it'll last a good while.

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  9. Paco - he has the good life, that's for sure!

    It's funny seeing everyone plant groundcover and I spend half my time yanking it out LOL.

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    1. Why don't you like groundcover? It's great for preventing weeds and it makes the ground look nice and green.

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  10. My wife hates the ground cover too. She does like the black tarp style weed blocker however. I feel like the weeds push their way through. I had one of those hoses and the plastic ended up cracking. I do recommend the DAP Xhose Pro (this here: http://tinyurl.com/z734u2b ). The brass fittings really can be beaten up and last. Ive had mine over 2 years. I do not recommend the cheaper one withe the plastic, as i had that first and it lasted 6 months.

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    1. We have that tarp week blocker and it works for a while, but the weeds eventually make their way through it. I appreciate the recommendation for that DAP hose but it's got terrible reviews on Amazon - not sure I'd bother with it.

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  11. Aw, poor paco! Hannah and Jacob's dogs sometimes sleep with me and they are complete bed hogs. I'll wake up in the middle of the night on the very edge of my bed and they are taking 3/4 of the bed!

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