FH Steinbart

F-i-n-a-l-l-y I get to go out. Mama was working a lot this week and thus my life was less than super exciting. Today there is a brewing demo over at FH Steinbart... did somebody say beer?

I like this place. They have no problem with me coming in, and today it's a special event.

If you'll remember not too long ago, I had to give mama the Paw of Doom for not having her camera with her the last time we came here - now I shall rescind the Paw.

Checking out all the supplies, the newest stuff they have, and then laying down when mama told me to. Not one but two people came over to us and commented that I was the best behaved Airedale they'd ever seen. Yes I could hear them and decided not to bust mama on that (normally I would have either knocked something over, bit mama's thigh, or peed on something at that point) because, well, it felt good to hear that. Being around all of that beer-making stuff makes people HAPPY.

Dad was searching for some hops and some yeast, I was checking out some other things. Lookie here, right at nose level they have some local honey - who knew?

Because it was a special day and they were having some beer-making demos, they also were kind enough to bust out the barbecue. Dad went over to rustle up some fine snausage for us... the guy manning the grill is actually the Burgermeister of the local Brew Crew, we like him a lot.

Ok now lets get serious. That snausage is covered in beans and looks AWESOME.

Whaddaya think dad? Awesome or not?

Mmm... look at that look on dad's face. AWESOME-ness.

Ok dad, thanks for letting me know that OUR snausage is good. I'm ready to partake. Sure, have a little swig of your own homebrew. Then break off my piece, ok?

Um, dad... I'M WAITING...

Dad?

Oh gosh, he's taking waaaaaaay too long eating. What's with that dad? It's a snausage, meant to be inhaled...

Dad?

Mmmm.... my piece falls from the sky. Yummo.

Are you going to finish that?

ARE YOU SURE?

Excellent, I'll help ya with that. No need to waste even those beans!

I'm so eco-conscious, eh? Just doing my part...

Love,

Bogart

My Mairesterpiece

I was bored.

So I felt the need to dig a nice, big hole. About a foot deep. And under the remaining herbs in my herb garden.

Am I proud? You betcha. It's cold outside, and I AM HOT

Aw dad, don't fill it in!!! I worked HARD on that...

Are you sure you want to keep it filled in? ARE YOU SURE?

I really do think it looked better the way I had it. Look how messy it is when you worked on it dad.

My MAIRESTERPIECE - ah well, I can always make another one...

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Those Krazy Kerry's

I can't tell ya how tickled I am these days to be watching the Kerry Blues do their thang... mama and I are really absolutely enamored of them. And THOSE BEARDS - they make me all tingly whenever I see them, especially after roaring to the top in Stanley & Stella's Beard Competition.

So I feel very honored (and did I mention tingly?) to receive this award from them.

The award states: "This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!" In other words, blogs that receive this award "are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So as always, I'm probably late to the party on this one. In the interest of spreading the love, I'm gonna try to find other dogs who haven't already received this, many apologies if you already have...

Asta (up over)

Nottie Scottie

Lorenza

Ludo

Sally & Rufus

Deetz

The G-Dales

Scruffy, Stan & Lacie

It was TOUGH to just pick 8 other dogs to send this to - I tried hard to find those of you who hadn't already received one - which is sometimes the toughest part. Mama and I read so many of your blogs all the time, so we did a lot of visiting to see, but alas, sometimes mama screws up.

So I'm just sending BIG AIRE KISSES to ALL of my dog friends to cover my butt (tuck tail first!)

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Chez Bogart

Beard Contest... Last Minute!!!

Talk about getting in just under the wire...

For a few months now, my buddy Stanley has been at the helm of a beard-growing contest - we all had a check-in, and now it's time for all of that growth to pay off.

While I am a HUGE fan of Stanley (and of course the Stellanator), I really do not enjoy the measuring process.

I didn't make it particularly simple for mama to do.

GIMME THAT - missing opposable thumbs be damned!!!

I fully realize that the photos aren't super clear - but I'm also not claiming to have grown a helluva lot of beard. My furnishings just never have been that full and fluffy - or copious.

It might be a tiny bit longer, but I'm only gonna claim 3 LOUSY INCHES - that might even be less than when I started!!!

Centimeters... Inches... it's all Greek to me...

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Dog Eat Dog

Doesn't dad look COLD? Really, sometimes I just don't understand the humans. I'm quite toasty and ready to explore, yet dad just wants to sit, drink a beer, and have a little snack. We picked up mama from work and on the way home got a little sidetracked...

This is Zach's Shack on Hawthorne, and they have damned tasty hot dogs. Seeing as how the humans would like to be warm (hot will also do), and I'm a dog, well it seemed like a natural place to stop.

First I tried to get a little bit of that sweet crunchy snausage from dad's plate, but no go. Luckily mama is a much easier target...

Looks yummo, right? Alas, mama is a vegetarian and her dog is also meatless. Looks good, smells good, yet the taste just isn't quite right to me...

Come on dad, throw a dog a dog!

Yes, all it takes is a cute face like this one and a bite of hot-dog-goodness is to be mine. How to Score Yummy Bites of Food From Your Humans 101 :)

My work here is done.

Love,

Bogart

Chez Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Fun With Goats

What is one to do when you have a pocket full of carrots and kohlrabi that just isn't going to make it into tomorrow's stew or salad? Why, you feed it to your local nubian goats, of course!

After giving them my special "goat call", they slowly came outside.

Today two were brave, two less so.

With some trepidation, the two brave goats approached us when they noticed not only my familiar voice but also the carrot in dad's hand.

Mmm. Goodness.

We are all endlessly fascinated by these goats (the horses were also outside, but in a different part of the yard)...

Fascinated, and of course, semi-scared out of my mind. Especially when we get this close...

With no grains from the Black and Tan brewery to drop off today, I do think that our goat-y pals enjoyed the pocketfull of carrots.

And I get one sniff closer to understanding them.

Love,

Bogart

Chez Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Paw of Doom

Today I got to go to the beer-making mecca here in Portland with mama and dad - F.H. Steinbart - and in yet another great reason to live in Portland, I could actually go inside. I was on my very best behavior, and sat with mama chatting with their friend Michael who works there while dad went around choosing some new supplies for the Black and Tan Brewery.

Unfortunately, mama did not bring along her camera to capture any of the golden moments. And for that, I'm afraid, she will have to suffer the PAW OF DOOM...

Yes, the mighty PAW OF DOOM is something that must be brought out sparingly as it is very effective. Notice how this frisbee is NOT GOING ANYWHERE when it comes into close contact with said paw (of doom).

Even as it tries to escape it must know... RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

You will take the PAW OF DOOM and like it!!!

So mama, because of your forgetfulness in not capturing my very first time at the beer-making store, I will give to you the PAW OF DOOM (just let me get these frisbees lined up so that I may perfectly show you THE PAW)

Ok, I think you've suffered enough. Time to move on to the feared CHOMPERS OF DOOM...

You wanna give it a whirl?

Love,

Bogart

Chez Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Happy New Yaire!

So how did YOU spend the first few hours of 2009? Sleeping off the night before? Continuing the party from the night before? Not I - a morning walkie is IMPERATIVE, I don't care if there is a torrential rain...

There are sticks to be collected - I've been trying to convince mama and dad that these are for the fireplace, but just between you and I they're not... they are for my personal use in the backyard. Don't tell 'em ok?

While the rain isn't great, I've gotta say that I still like it compared to the massive snow. The city of Portland just shut down during our snowstorm, and that was not fun.

So did you or your humans do anything crazy last night? Here at the Handsome Devil household, we really do know how to par-tay. You know, getting nuts, drinking too much, breaking things, etc. Just not this year...

Yup, I climbed into bed with dad to watch some TV.

Note the extended paw for more extreme relaxation.

Every once in awhile I'd look up to see if the ball was dropping, but mostly it was just something on the History or Discovery Channel. Woo-hoo - PARTY ANIMALS..

Hope you all have a very happy and healthy 2009!

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Chez Bogart