nyc diary

Another double header day, thanks to the fact that I had taken enough pictures that my camera's file numbering system rolled back over to zero and the last series of Baxter pictures I took before downloading appeared at both at the beginning and ending of the folder. Yeah, probably TMI, but at least this means the little kielbasa does make an actual appearance in today's post, and what's not to love about that?

So here it is, my trip, in a nutshell. And believe me, I get it if you don't read on. Too many words, not enough pictures of the little kielbasa. But hey, it's fun for me and Baxter's post comes after this anyway so fly if you need to, or read on.

Day 1: Drive to Robin's, continue driving with her and her daughter, scoring fine buffet sushi dinner and spending the night at a motel in Jersey.

Day 2: Drive into Brooklyn, passing by the empty parking lot where the flea market would have been if it was open this time of year (doh!). Forge ahead into the Manhattan flea markets where there is as always, cool stuff to be had, including a vintage coat pattern that later had us scouring the garment district for wool and lining to turn the pattern into reality.



Day 2(cont'd): After check-in, mosey into Chinatown via the Union Square subway, making sure to drool as we pass the inspiring windows at ABC Carpet and Home. Take a moment to acknowledge Baxter withdrawal by loving the French Bulldog whose owner parked him outside the cafe where we consumed a fine lunch and cupcake.



Day 2 (cont'd): Haggle in the evening rain with the numerous Chinatown vendors who were all selling basically the same thing - fake cashmere scarves, ear muffs, t-shirts, belts & buckles, sweatshirts. Find a cool knitted headwrap, which certainly deserves to be made in finer materials than acrylic. Love the fact that there's a Baxter Street. Dinner at some noodle shop in Chinatown.

Day 3: Wake up ready for breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. A sort of chain but consistently simple and good. Dry packed capers. Now that's what I'm talking about. Not the yucky wet stuff I've had in the past. Who knew capers like that could really transform plain ol egg salad. A jar of that, plus some jars of chocolate spread in dark and white, and the Le Pain cookbook, please.

A double doxie sighting on the way back to the room where I leave my purchases and quickly ditch my jacket liner for the day. I never really needed my hat on this trip after all, though all the serged stuff came in handy. Then a walk up to the wholesale accessories and garment district to focus for hours on crafty business purchases, stopping by a few favorite thrift stores along the way. Score much needed rhinestone pins and other embellishment, some pearls, trim, dyeables, shirting, and green woolen coating. The search is on for suitable and - I never thought I would be saying this - cool poly print to use as lining to prototype the vintage pattern jacket.



Day 3 (cont'd): Drop off fabrics at the garage. Grab a fine maple and bacon biscuity cookie and others at a bake shop on the walk to East Village. Abort plans to eat dinner at Momofuku, as the place was packed. Eat instead at a fine Japanese place whose name I forget across the street. Mmmmmm. Unaju, I will always love you and this time you were even in a box set with tempura and shumai keeping you company nearby. Lament that more Japanese restaurants need to offer unaju. Grab a late night showing of Leap Year. Debate to myself whether or not it is fair to consider Amy Adams a low budget version of Nicole Kidman, but give the movie an ok thumbs up for easy watching.

Day 4: A morning stretch to ease my aching muscles. Drop into Dylan's candy bar for Robin's daughter's benefit, before engaging in the touristy act of sharing a frozen hot chocolate (Oprah, businesses across America will cry when you are no longer able to plug their stuff). Savor the artery clogging BLT with brie I ordered. Reflect on how savvy marketing makes all the difference in the world. A frozen hot chocolate frappucccino thingy for nine bucks? The same candy you can get at the drugstore, marked up tons? And people lined up to get in? Pure genius.

Spend more hours in search of beads, metal findings, and fabrics. Carolina Herrera wool. I'm not sure I believe that it's wool she actually used in anything, but the wool is nice and will make for a fine coat whenever I get around to making one. Robin is making the green vintage pattern one, for me, reportedly soon, but we all get busy so we'll see.

Eat beef chow fun for dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant near the garment district, lug big blue bags of fabric around Daffy's, til finally we head for home and catch a subway back to our room for the night. Gossip. Pack. Mix boohoos with the excitement of seeing family again.

Day 5: Goodbye city life, hello green acres of Pennsylvania and the Amish. One last buying excursion for more trim and a bit of fabric before heading back to Robin's house.



Day 6: So good to be home, but who's gonna help me unpack? Oh yeah, the little happy hound.

border doxie

dear diary,
today was my last full day here at jasper's house and i think we're finally gettin our groove on. i mean there was this one time on our walk when i was trailin behind and he gave me the the stink eye fer goin too slow, but his dad snapped him out of it before he could do anythin more than lock eyes with me. that was unsettling enough, really. but i just froze in my tracks and let out a worried uh-oh whine, instead of aro-arooin it. my mom said that was really good progress. and once he snapped out of it, things were fine. so fine, in fact, that i finally couldn't stand watchin mom play with him when we came back to the house and i joined in on the fun. i'm not sure i'm gonna quit my day job as a wiener dog, but it wasn't too bad bein a border doxie fetchin stuff. i don't see how he can stand doin it all day, though. me, i'd rather chase squirrels.

well i better get some rest so i can help mom n dad tomorrow with our trip home. do u think they'll let me drive?? i sure hope so. goodbye jasper!

toodles!
b

grandma's house

dear diary,
guess what - jasper doesn't like rawhide! i know because i snuck around in his toy box and took some out. he had like, four bones in there and can u believe none of them were even chewed on? his mom says he doesn't know what to do with the stuff and so she let me have it. let me tell you, now that i know this, i'm totally okay with lookin like bangers n mash if it means i get all his rawhide. i sure hope we come back again soon.

anyways, i had a fine time at my other grandma's house. it was nice to get away and be an only dog again, even if i did have to dress up in my new duds to go over there. this is me, hangin out in my snoozer while everyone was havin dinner.

tomorrow maybe they'll let me have more of jasper's rawhide. i can't wait 2 find out.

toodles!
b.

my cousin jasper

dear diary,
this is my cousin jasper. he is a rescued border collie and i have been staying at his house. i wish i could tell you more about him but i've been kinda keepin my distance. yeah we go on walks together and most of the time everything is fine but sometimes when we are home inside, well sometimes i can't help but feel like he's givin me the stink eye and i get a little worried. i even embarrassed myself and ran away aro-arooing a few times when he got too close to me. boy what a mistake that was. that only made him MORE interested in me, can u believe it?









thing is, mom says border collies are natural born herders. mom says when he looks at me all he sees is something that should be herded. like i'm a sheep or somethin.




but, c'mon. he's biggern me and that mighty stink eye of his? well, i really think he's sees me more as this.




yeah that's right. dinner. a tasty sausagey dinner. i would eat that, too, really, if it didn't have my head on it. so, that's why for now i prefer runnin off, thanks, spectacle or not.

i think things will be fine, though. today mom and jasper's mom have been keeping an eye on both of us. and let me tell you, their stink eyes beat out both our stink eyes any day. it's a good thing we love our moms so much.

well that's is all for now. tomorrow i'm goin to my other grandma's house and i can't wait! she seems to really like me so maybe i can get some extra lovin.

toodles,
b.

o the places i have gone

dear diary,
mom says i've travelled quite a distance thees past two days but i sure couldn't tell ya since i spent most of my time under blankies. it was really kinda boring for me. so boring pretty much all i did was sleep or yawn. oh, and kack on water that time i drank from my cup in the car. sometimes it just goes down the wrong way, doesn't it? that's me kacking in the middle picture of the bottom row. i look kinda fierce there, huh?

but anyways, at least i am with mom and dad cuz i can't even imagine what i would be doing if they didn't take me with them. even if there my cousin dog jasper is trying to herd me. i'll have to tell ya about that tomorrow.

toodles!

hugs,
b

cribs & crunchies

hey everybody! baxter here, your roving rover reporter reporting to you today from a very special place. my home!

now some of you might know that i usually work for my meals and so mom and i practice all sorts of tricks i know. but that's only phase one. i get to eat my yummy phase two right here, and i don't have to share it with anybody like i did in my original home. my food bowl is here on the left and my water bowl is on the right. i wish they were both filled with food, though.

anyways, u may notice that even though i don't have to share my food, i still have some company when i eat. being surrounded by art helps food taste even better, don't you think?

well that's my tour for today. sometime i'll show you what's in my treat n toy drawer. maybe you can help me take some things out, know what I mean?

tiny adventurer

Even though Baxter loves the company of his buddies, he seems equally content to follow his nose wherever it may take him. While we played hooky from the wiener festival, his wiggling wandering nose took us here, to a wonderful little garden graced by the presence of its mosaic mistress. Another fine lap discovered and conquered by Baxter the Explorer.

love is a battlefield

I sometimes wonder what Baxter thinks of all my picture taking. Most of the time, he's pretty easy and goes along with the plan, letting me snap away and even throwing an occasional Tyra glance my way to sweeten the results. Most of the time, I found out, unless he is at a civil war battlefield.

Acres and acres of open land and the scent of freshly mown hay captivated Baxter's senses while we roamed the battlefield park after our time at the doxie festival. Where soldiers once fought, now a little wiener dog happily trundled with nose glued to the ground in search of bunnies.

With so much to smell and so little time to do it in, Baxter threw me a Tyra only once, by the gigantic statue of Stonewall Jackson. Enough, he hoped, to get mom off his back so he could get on with the hunt.

mid-atlantic doxie fest: epilogue

New experiences are always an interesting test for our little kielbasa. Baxter had never been in a wiener dog race before, and we were tempted to see how he would do at this festival's race. Surrounded by fellow doxies, we knew he would be at his bravest, but the enclosed starting box for the wiener dog races could prove to be a sticking point. Would Baxter mind being crammed into a wooden box by a stranger, or would the experience ruin his otherwise happy day? We figured it was best not to find out, and instead, watched the races by the sidelines.

Luckily, a break in the racing schedule gave us the perfect opportunity to let Baxter have his fun. Go, Speed Racer, go!

Later in the day Baxter's nose also ferreted out some irresistible smells that lured him away from snarfable floor food and the company of his fellow wieners. The seductive smell of rabbits called him to this deserted part of the fairgrounds where he patiently waited for somebody, anybody, to unlock the gates so he could get a better whiff of stale bunny. All in all, truly a perfect day for our little wolf.

mid-atlantic doxie fest: fashion and food

Hey, it's me Baxter, your roving rover reporter reporting again from the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival. Now, between you and me, dressing up isn't always what it's cracked up to be, especially when the pictures leaked to the internet are taken out of context, but here at the festival everybody knows that dressing up is purely for fun. We're back inside to watch the costume parade, and let me tell you there were a lot of dressed up doxies!






I really liked all of the costumes but I gotta give a high paw-five to the human who dressed up as The Cat in the Hat and pulled along his double dapple doxies in a wagon who were dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and I think a green turtle - my mom thinks maybe that was Yertle. There were pumpkins and lobsters and hot dogs and sharks and even a skunk! Thank goodness he didn't smell like one.



Doxies in costume weren't the only dogs in disguise at the festival. Some doxies here bore a striking resemblance to other things without even trying. They were everywhere. One fella's mom was carrying him like he was a big stuffed toy that she just won at the carnival. At the races, I sat next to a "short haired" black and tan who was really a long hair, only his mom had him groomed short. I also played with a long haired red who reminded me of a golden retriever. All throughout the festival I ran into piebald doxies who looked more like spaniels because of their markings, and a wirehaired doxie that mom said looked more like Buck the Shaggy Briard Sheepdog from Married with Children. And every once in a while we would see doxies who didn't need a costume at all to be reminded of why we are called sausage doggies.








mmm sausage. That brings me to the topic of food at the festival, or fair food to be exact, like funnel cakes and hot dogs n french fries n lemonade. Mom says if all the fair food was similar to the steak n cheese sandwich that they did not share with me, then "fair" pretty much describes the food. No hot melted provolone and fresh baked italian bread for this sandwich, just cold liquid cheese and soggy peppers covering lukewarm steak on a stale bun. So my tip for this trip, pack your own food cuz there is plenty of open space and seating for a picnic. Or break away from the barking and explore the surrounding town for good eats. There are definitely better options only minutes away.







Speaking of tips, mom says humans should wear comfortable shoes because there are a lot of lines worth standing in. The time goes by fast with all the doxie watching and butt sniffing. I don't even remember how long it took before it was my turn to get blessed, but you can see the waiting was totally worth it.






Now, the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival is more than just a day of fun for doxies like me. For some doxies, this is their chance to be adopted. My mom and dad and I spent some time with this little girl, Jasmine, a four year old long haired e-red doxie, while her foster mom took a much needed break from representing her rescue group. Everyone liked Jasmine because she was an absolute sweetie, the kind of dog that doesn't mind being held for hours on end. I also met doxies in wheel carts, old doxies and young ones in every color and shape and size. Like me two years ago, they are all in need of a good home. I hope they find their forever families soon.



So whether you're interested in going for a run, dressing up, adoping a doxie, or even just hanging out to doxie watch, the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival is one happening place to be. I hope you'll have a swell time at your next doxie festival. It may not be the same as this one, but I guarantee you it will be fun!

This is your tuckered roving rover reporter Baxter signing out. Woof!

mid-atlantic doxie fest: the fast and the curious

Hey everybody it's me Baxter, your roving rover reporter here with part two of my report on the Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival. Today it's all about wiener dog racing. The races here are open to everybody and no registration is required, so you can imagine how many wieners get to race! I have never raced before so my mom thought it would be a good idea to check out the action as bystanders for the first block of races. Let's all walk to the barn to see what's going on, shall we?










Okay, here's how it works. Eager doxies and and their humans line up on one side of the course and run in groups of five. Racers are put into a wooden cubby by volunteers while their owners walk to the finish line to cheer on their doxie. Open the gates, and out come the hounds, right? Only sorta, as it would turn out.

Some of my buddies were fast to figure out that they needed to run to the finish line, but most of my brethren were just curious once the gate was released, and so they either meandered about or wandered around the racing box to see if their owner there. It was really cute, but I gotta say after the first few races, I was ready to take off my roving rover reporter hat and find the source of whatever tasty aroma was wafting up from below the bleachers.









Finally, the first block of races was over, and almost everybody went inside to catch the next event. Stragglers like me stuck around to race at a much quieter pace. And that is when my roving rover reporter senses tingled. This is my new friend, whose real name I don't remember but whom I will always remember as Holly Hobbie. She is really old and sweet and has a really cool snaggle tooth. Somebody left her at the pound til she was rescued by her new family.









Holly was already most of the way down the empty course when my mom noticed her. Sure there were fast doggies out there today, and doggies much younger than her that couldn't make their way down the course. But there was Holly, making do with what she had, crossing the finish line all by herself. Without a doubt, my girl Holly Hobbie won the wiener race that day.

This is Baxter your roving rover reporter signing out til tomorrow when I talk fair food and fashion.

mid-atlantic doxie fest: commence au festival

Hi, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter. I'm standing here in what appears to be dimly lit building in a place I've never smelled before, surrounded by - guess what - wiener dogs! My mom just told me we are at the eighth annual Mid-Atlantic Dachshund Phestival. How cool is that? Last year this festival attracted over 1200 attendees. Let's see what's going on while the people and hounds start pouring in.






At first glance this festival reminds me of the flea market cuz there are all sorts of cool vendors here selling stuff for your doxie and stuff with doxies on it. These are two of my favorite finds. The black patent doxie is actually a purse that mom admired for its construction, but she said didn't get it because she already has me as her doxie accessory. The aqua blue disc with the retro round doxie on it is a key ring coin purse, though I think it should hold snacks instead of coins.












Now, if you've never been to a doxie festival, let me tell you, there are plenty of things to do here. Today I want to share with you my experience sniffing butts. It was WON-DER-FUL! Everywhere I turned, there was a butt that needed sniffing. No craning my neck, no straining to catch a whiff from way high above with those big scary kinds of dogs. None. All these butts were just at the right height for proper greeting and they greeted me right back. I spent a LOT of time doing that and met up with all sorts of new friends. These were just the fellas whose pictures were halfway clear. I sniffed a lot of butts, oh yeah.




I could have sniffed all day! But, tomorrow let me tell you about the wiener dog races cuz they were fun, too. For today, this is Baxter, your roving rover reporter signing out.

waiting to inhale

With his snoozer inaccessible thanks to goodies purchased at this morning's flea market, Baxter enjoyed his rare opportunity today on our ride home to sniff at the world from the comfort of my lap.

So many smells, such a short ride. Can't we circle around the block just one more time?

little dog, big house

Our plan from the very beginning with Baxter would be to keep him in his crate whenever we left the house and couldn't take him with us. This made sense to us because we weren't sure what kind of kind of mischief and naughtiness would tempt our new little wiener dog. Was he a chewer? A pee-er pooper? A trash can turner? A baby gate climber? Thankfully, it would turn out that he is none of these things, but even now we still prefer to keep him safe in his crate when we have to leave the house without him because you just never know what can happen. It seems particularly appropriate when we are staying with guests, friends who aren't so accustomed to keeping forbidden treasures out of reach of opportunistic, curious dachshunds.

And so we traveled this weekend with Baxter to the home of a longtime friend, taking Baxter's essential travel items like his trusty Snoozer dog bed, kong toy, and collapsible kennel with us to ensure a happy and safe visit. Tonight seemed like it was going to be a night like any other when we went out for dinner, with dad putting Baxter in his crate along with a peanut buttered kong toy to secure him for the time we would be away.

We came back from dinner anticipating Baxter's usual exuberant race around the house once he was let loose from his crate. But something seemed strange as we came closer to the front door and could see through the window into the barely lit foyer. The shadowy dark brown floor seemed to be moving. Closer still, we could see a little shadow, not very high, inhabiting one of the panes of glass in the lower half of the door. A small dark mass that seemingly sprouted ears and a tail, wiggling and shaking with glee when we finally got to the door. Yes, it was Baxter, who had by pure luck found the side door to his crate unlocked and wandered out for a free roaming experience around the house. His first big boy taste of freedom. And now, considering we have yet to find any signs of mischief, maybe not his last. Now that's a good boy.

and this little piggy went....

"whee! whee! whee!" all the way home...



I like how focused Baxter looks to the task at hand in this picture. And yes, the rusty car came home with us after all... Now if only Baxter's legs were long enough to pedal himself, he could chase those backyard bunnies in style...

this little piggy found something cool

It's me, Baxter again, with part three of my roving rover reporter report. Today it's all about stuff! My mom and I never know what we are going to find at the flea market, but she says we can always count on finding interesting people and interesting things. I can't really say too much about the things cuz a lot of the stuff are way up high on tables where I can't get to it. Stuff like old glassware and costume jewelry and rusty tools and books. But there are people that have so much stuff that they have to put some on the ground where even I can check out and give my mom feedback. As you can see I wasn't too jazzed about what I was seeing at my level that day, but most of the stuff is for humans anyway. This is me being a good boy and just waiting with my dad while my mom shopped. (My mom says dad was being a good boy, too.)



There's always somebody selling fruits and vegetables. They even had giant boxes of ripe bananas for a dollar. If it were cooler out my mom woulda bought it and made tons of banana bread, but cause it's summer she didn't wanna heat up the kitchen with all that baking. This is me with the watermelon mom bought for two bucks.




So that wraps up my roving rover report. We're just gonna walk back now to where we parked. I really appreciate you taking the time to follow me on this journey through the flea market. Like I was sayin most of the stuff here is for humans so I didn't really buy anything but I still had a good...



whoa, CHECK this out! I didn't even know they made cars my size. Suh-WEET ride.



Oh PLEEEEEZE can I drive it?? PULEEEEEEEEEEZE?



to be continued....

this little piggy played with puppies

Baxter again with your roving rover reporter news here at the flea market, where today's story is all about the dogs. You see, despite being called the flea market, there aren't really fleas here so it's totally fun to bring dogs here so long as they're on a leash and the weather is nice. I've barked at and met all sorts of dogs here. There was a vendor here that used to bring her dog with her, and he gave me the willies every time I saw him. Mom thinks he was an Australian Cattle Herder. All I know is, that dog could spot me from a mile away and then he'd sorta crouch down and just give me the evil eye the whole time I walked by. Me no likey dat, let me tell you. I'm glad he wasn't there the day I visited.

Almost every time I go to the market I run into another dachshund, and we spend a whole thirty seconds smelling each other before we get back to ignoring each other in search of something we can snarf off the ground. This time I saw a nice little red mini that had a big white patch on his neck but his human walked him away before I could say hi.

Now normally I'm kinda suspicious of dogs that are bigger than me, but once I smelled this guy here I knew he was safe for playin with because he was a puppy. We scampered around a couple of times and then I got jealous that he found a feather on the ground and wouldn't share it. Then by the time he lost interest and wanted to play again, it was time for him to leave. Bummer, cuz I was just starting to enjoy myself! His human said he was part Great White Pyrenees so mom said the next time I saw him I probably wouldn't recognize him because he would be really big.



Mom says tomorrow I have to write about the actual stuff we saw at the flea market so I guess I'll see you then.

Toodles!
B.

this little piggy shook hands

Hey, it's me, Baxter, your roving rover reporter here, reporting today about my trip to the flea market. I love all the smells here. Today I want to tell you about the people I sniffed.










Just an important reminder before we start, boys and girls. There are plenty of things to see and do here but as a little dog it's important to stick close to your mom and dad and watch where you're going so nobody steps on your paws cause this place can get kinda busy. I'm a pro at barking, so don't worry about me.






All sorts of people seem to want to come up to me and pet me when I'm at the market. Sometimes they tell my mom they had a dog just like me when they were little, and sometimes they just want to ask what it's been like owning a wiener dog because they were thinking of getting one, too. Me, I like the ones that ask before they try n pet me cause some of the littler kids move so quick they scare me. This kid was cool. He never got around to petting me, but I wish he did because he smelled like hot dogs and I betcha he tasted like it, too.




This next little dude came up to me later on and at first he was afraid to pet me. I don't blame him cause I wasn't that excited about it either. But then my mom put a snack in his hand and everything got better so I shook his hand AND his mom's hand. I liked him. He kinda smelled like milk n Cheerios.




I think I would have liked smellin this next little fella but he never did end up coming up close enough for me to know. I was kinda disappointed cause by then I figured out the whole shake hands for a snack thing and was goin up to practically everybody to say hi. I like his pull toy. It was almost as long as me.





Well that's my report for today cause mom says I need to take a nap before we walk to the park this evening. The park! Yippee! Come back tomorrow I'll tell you more about my market visit.

Toodles!!
B.

home again, home again!

well everyone is FINALLY back home now and i am so relieved! i wish mom would take me and dad with her on her fabric shopping trips to amish country and new york city sometime because i like it best when our family is together no matter where we are. maybe one day...

anyway, this week is gonna be fun because mom brought back her friend's daughter, madeline, to stay with us. today i got to watch mom dye madeline's hair pink. i love it!

more later!

toodles,
b.

roaming

dear diary,
sorry i haven't written in so long! mom and dad took me with them on vacation to visit friends and we are having a blast. there are tons of new things to smell here - i think i even smell deer! i probably won't be able to write more til i have internet access again next week cause my blackberry's in the shop and duk duk wouldn't let me borrow his iphone. what up wit dat? well, gotta go play with jorja and belle!

toodles,
b.