Vacation With Saner Sister & The Beast

 So, a couple of weekends ago, Saner Sister and I took "The Beast" (aka Zackery, or Z, or Toad... depending) over to Pismo/Avila Beach area. We stayed at the Sea Crest Motel in Pismo and they are a VERY pet friendly place! By the way, if you decide to stay there, call them direct! Do not use a booking agency. 1) They don't always have all the info you need; the booking agency I got (not realizing it wasn't the hotel itself...duh on me!) first tried to pull a bait-n-switch and get me into another hotel by telling me Sea Crest wasn't pet friendly (and had never been). When I called them on it, they gave me a song & dance about all the pet available rooms being completely booked. (hint: never lie to me when you want my business, I will hang up on you!) I decided to do more research (which included getting the Sea Crest's direct line... it's (805) 773-4608 or (888) 686-7103 to reach them) and found that ALL their rooms are pet friendly! 2) The booking agency doesn't always have the best price. When I called the hotel direct, I ended up saving $20.00 on the per-night price. Nice!

Suffice it to say, we all had a blast! It was only for a couple of days but it was worth it! Here are some pics of the Beast and his first road trip/vacation:

1st day: various tired out nap positions of The Beast: clockwist from top left,
on Saner Sister, still on her bed, in the car on the way TO Pismo, end of day two
he was hiding from the light I hadn't turned off yet, lying on his back and sacked out.

Clockwise from top left: 1st experience with kelp, he loved it; not
sure what all that big, cold wet is but it smells... and is cold; bouncing
around the sand chasing gulls; 1st time the water came up and hit him,
he caught air trying to get away from the cold, chasy thing!; watching
surfers off a pier in Avila... he wasn't sure what to think; meeting new
friends (goldens & a mixed breed); sitting on the pier at Avila; not too
sure of getting close to the foamy, cold, chasy stuff.

Clockwise, top left: checked in and first glimpse of the ocean for
The Beast; selfie w/The Beast & Saner Sister; (again on the pier
at Avila... sorry); still napping on Saner Sister; again with the
new friends (he really liked them); having a ball chasing gulls and
new friends; the look he gave me when I said we were going home.

Just a comparison of this giant puppy (who will be a year old
4/11) from when we brought him home at 2.5 months and when
he was asleep on Saner Sister at 11 months. Quite the change (sigh).

So, that was our vacation. Z had a ball and so did we. Now, back to the old grindstone.

Of Earrings & Puppy Dogs

Yes, I managed to get back into my Craft Studio for a wee while this weekend. Not long, mind. Three & 1/2 month old puppies don't like being ignored. And when it's time to play (they think) then they'll do whatever it takes to get your attention. Including teething on the roll of 16g steel wire you have on the floor beneath your work table.

So, I managed to get a few pairs of earrings made before Zack-attack decided he'd been ignored enough.  Here they are:


I used red glass "bamboo" and round
black crystals for the body and olive
bicone crystals for the dangles. Took
the shot with my Galaxy S3 phone.



Saw these daisy-like crystal units in
Michael's and they reminded me so
much of my Mimi (maternal g-ma) that
I bought two sets of them and made these
earrings for Saner Sister, Mom, & myself.
Mimi loved the color red and loved this
style of jewelry. I can remember playing
with her costume jewelry whenever we'd
go up to her place to visit.



Got on a red kick, what can I say? But, these beads
also remind me of Mimi. Again, the glass beads are
in a style she would have loved.



These are made from two sets of silver spacers,
some cross-stitch threads, and some double
headed copper pins I made. The larger spacers
just called to mind Japanese lanterns so I
made these earrings. I'm thinking of making more
and tweaking them juuuuust a bit.

  And, because I can't leave without an update on mein liebchen: at his last vet visit (last Monday) he was three and 1/2 months old and weighed in at 39 & a bit pounds. I'm sure he's over 40 lbs by now! It can be hard to remember, as big as he is, that he's still only a baby. When he wants to play, he wants to play! Not to mention... did any of you dog lovers out there know that dogs can back talk? Well, Weimer's can. Believe it!

Our Little Toad after a hard day of making everyone play
with him.  (for you non-German speakers, "mein Liebchen"
does not mean "little toad", that's just one of Zackery's
nicknames. "Mein Liebchen" is "my darling"... which
he is. You can't not love a puppy who loves you first!



What a face, huh? Seriously, how could you
not love this face!