30/Jun/17 getting ready for Canada 150

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

It's going to be "picture" day today.  I hope your ready.  If you click on the picture, it will go "full screen" and you will be able to enjoy the pictures better.

What's out on the deck.  I better run out there and see

These flags are in the way for me to look off the deck

Why is Tonya hiding behind 2 glasses of wine?

Can you see me?  I'm in the middle here.

Yes, I am Canadian

Tonya is trying to get me to jump up on the railing.

So I jumped up on her instead

Hardly a breeze.  The flag on the flag pole isn't moving.

Every deck has a flag on it

Also, I bet a lot of you didn't know, the Big Guy isn't as big as he once was.  Yesterday he is finally at 350 pounds.  That is 50 pounds lost.  Can you imagine.  That's a HUGE bag of potatoes that he is no longer carrying around on his body.

If you could take a moment and drop him a line, I know he would love that.  He is really encouraged to keep loosing weight.  He plans to loose the next 50 pounds by Christmas.  At least that is his plan.  He doesn't fall off the wagon and eat chips like someone else we know.

BUT...

I know that my non-furry brother is coming to visit tonight.  Marcel and Kim are dropping by.  I but the Big Guy is going to be putting some of the weight back on again this weekend.

The Big Guy rounded up all the plastic jugs that I've been chewing on and he put them in the trash.  Geesh, what did he do that for?  I was still chewing on them.  I know that Tonya was worried that I would break off a piece and swallow it.

Bye bye for now

29/Jun/17 I am NOT a sheep

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

The Big Guy was sitting on my chair

I thought I would try to push him OUT of the way

He felt that I was going to fall, so he GRABBED my back leg and would NOT let go

The Big Guy thought it would be funny to wear me as a hat.

I was NOT impressed.  So I after I got him out of my seat.  I went over and nipped Tonya.

We went for a walk last night and I got to meet a couple new people.  There was this one old guy, he patted me for a bit.  He didn't like the construction that they are doing on Archibauld St.  They are putting in new water and sewage lines.  So they have to dig up the street.  He is anxious for it to be paved again.

Then I went inside the Pierce St Dairy and seen Tammy.  That's Tonya's cousin.  She wants the Big Guy to be her personal cook.  Not sure that she could afford him.

My girlfriend that lives next to the Pierce St Dairy didn't seem to be home.  I was looking for her.

Tomorrow is garbage day.  Normally lots of people put their garbage out the night before.  So there will be lots of interesting smells on tonight's walk.

Bye bye for now.

28/Jun/17 who's that over there

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

Yesterday the Big Guy was outside mowing the lawn.  He goes around the house and down the small hill that is next to the driveway.  He says that he would like to build up a small ramp so that he doesn't have to go around the house.  I am not sure what he means by this, but he is quite confident it will be able to do this.  Not made of wood, but dirt and grass.  He got big ideas if you ask me.

They all agreed, the property looks so much nicer when the grass is mowed.

While the Big Guy was mowing the lawn, Tonya was helping him by picking up my toys and bones that were in the yard.  He was going to do some whipper snippering, but Tonya told him to stop and come sit with her.  He has lots of time to get that done.

They still got a patch in the front yard that isn't growing so well.  The Big Guy should actually get more grass seed and see if he can't fix that.

Last night, for supper, Tonya and the Big Guy sat on the deck and they had a salad.  Boy has he ever changed how he eats.  Normally he would say that this is the food that you FEED to his food.  i.e. you feed salad to the cows, pigs or chickens.

The Big Guy was watching TV later on and he was watching this show called Top Gear.  Well Tonya thinks it's boring.  She went on Facebook to see what other people are up to.  He likes that show as they can be funny and they show all kinds of cars.  Some cars are a lot better than others.

So is anyone going to be celebrating Canada's 150th Birthday this weekend?

Bye bye for now.

27/Jun/17 the deck is like a BIG kennel

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

Did you see the stuff they were cooking yesterday on their new BBQ?  I wasn't allowed to have ANY of it either.  They had Bacon Chicken Pineapple BBQ'ed kebabs.  Some of the bacon was falling off the stick and if it wasn't for Tonya, I would have had none of it.

What do I get?  Water and Kibble.  sigh...  where's MY steak?  where's MY hamburger?

Do you watch the TV program Big Brother?  It's coming on again tomorrow night.  The Big Guy will be watching that again.  It isn't a terrible program and it keeps him amused as the antics they get up to.

I got to go for a walk yesterday.  I met a very small doggie.  She barked a lot at me.  The owner asked if I was friendly.  I am, but sometimes, I will lunge, and that makes people very scared.  Then again, I am still considered a puppy.

Tonya said that she is going to be playing Chase the Ace again.  There is a charity that plays it so that you don't have to be there when the draw is taking place.  It's up to $30,000.00.  So she is going to play the odds and hope that we win.

The Big Guy has uploaded a bunch of Super 8 reel to reel videos that he got from his Mum.  They don't have any sound.  He is still missing a couple, but they are old.  Not like now a day's when you just take out your cell phone and your filming in HD.

The Big Guy better think about mowing the lawn after work today.  The forecast doesn't look so pleasant before the weekend.  He wants to have the yard work done before his brother gets here.  That will allow him all the time with his brother.

Bye bye for now.

26/Jun/17 enjoying a rib bone

 

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

Yesterday the Big Guy spent the morning outside without me.  He had a ladder on the deck and he was putting up the roof over the gazebo that they have on the deck.  Then he also put up the roof over the awning that they have for the propane BBQ that they have on the deck.  THEN, if it wasn't bad enough, he put up the solar chandelier that they have.  But I was allowed back on the deck by then.  

While he was up on the ladder, I tried to help him by licking his feet and legs to show my encouragement!

Did you see what they had for supper last night?

Now, I am a meat eater.  I could have had a steak.

Tonya bought the Big Guy a new apron.  This helps to keep his shirts clean while he is doing the BBQ.

Isn't she thoughtful?

The Big Guy said that having a charcoal BBQ isn't the same as propane.  You have to prep the BBQ first.

Afterwards, there is the cool down.

But the Big Guy said that it was so worth it.

In the end, the Big Guy had this really nice rib bone and he gave it to me.  

There some meat on it too.  It was as good as what he said it was.  So YUMMY!  The smokey taste was on the meat.  Not over powering, but just right.

We didn't get to go for a walk.  The Big Guy's knee was super sore.  Going up and down the ladder, although not that high off the ground, isn't something that he does all the time.

They also had some veggie kebabs, but they didn't share any of them with me.  I guess I was happy enough to get the rib.

Looks like we are going to be getting rain most of this week.  The Big Guy will have to cut the grass before his baby brother and sister-in-law come for a visit.  Then they can relax all weekend long.

Bye bye for now!

25/Jun/17 getting hugged

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

Yesterday it was raining off and on.  But when it did rain, boy oh boy, did it rain...

The Big Guy tried his hand at making ice cream.  He said that it's OK.  Not terrible.  Certainly not store bought stuff.  But it's in line with his diet, so he said that he may or may not make it again.  He isn't sure.

The Big Guy was out BBQ'ing again.  Only yesterday was the first time he ever tried to make a kebab.  Up to now, he never really prepared veggies on the BBQ.  But yesterday was chicken.

I heard him say, today will be steaks.

I also heard the Big Guy is going to be putting up the roof on the awning.  Guess when I see it up, I will believe it.  So far, still no roof.  But he said that it's a bit of a nasty job.  Not that it's hard.  I think I heard him say, once this one is done, no more awnings.  Tonya may have something to say about that.

We went for a walk yesterday.  There was a doggie that was tied on and did he bark when he seen me.  He was pretty big too.  Not quite as big as me.  He was sorta tall and skinny.  I'm sorta tall, but not skinny.

There was also a man that I got to meet on our walk.  I think I scared him.  He wanted to pat me, but was unsure.  Of course I seen that he put his hand out, well, I lunged at the hand to be patted.  Well he jumped back.  The Big Guy had me tight, so I would never have reached him.  So the Big Guy got me to sit and the other man was able to pat me.

I seen the Bernese/Pyrenees mix doggie on our walk.  She was standing in the door, looking at me.

Bye bye for now

24/Jun/17 I think I will keep her

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

So the Big Guy cooked up some hot dogs on his new BBQ yesterday.  He did share a couple of pieces of hot dog with me.

Do you see the big hole under the stairs?  There WAS a piece of lattice work there.  I removed it.  Why?  I was bored, that's why.  The Big Guy said that he's going to remove ALL the lattice and is going to replace it with boards.  Guess we will see what that's all about.

Tonya wants the Big Guy to put up the roof for the awning on the deck today.  But it's supposed to rain.  Then again, the Big Guy has worked in the rain in the past.  But I will NOT be allowed on the deck while he is putting the roof up.  Guess I will be in my kennel when he's doing that.

Tonya got the Big Guy a new BBQ apron yesterday.  He didn't wear it.  He should have as he was wearing a white T-shirt and it wouldn't have taken much to get it stained.

I heard that my non-furry brother, Marcel and his wife Kim are going to be coming for a visit next week.  I remember him from last year.  He was fun to play with.

Tonya has to go to work today.  I bet she wishes that she could stay home with me.

Bye bye for now.

23/Jun/17 just laying in the shade

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

So the Big Guy is kinda happy.  He got his BBQ grill that he wanted.  He has two BBQ's for now.  One that he will use for rotisserie and the other for grilling.

Yesterday the Big Guy was at ground level putting together his BBQ.  Where was I?  I was up on the deck, looking at him through the rails.  I so wanted to help.  When he would get close to me, I would reach though the rails to try and touch him.

Then he would go in the house to get some sort of tool.  WELL I would loose my mind as I couldn't see him any longer.

It is garbage day today.  So when we went for our walk, I got to smell people's garbage.  There really isn't a law that says you MUST keep your garbage inside till the early morning and put it out then.  But if you wait, there will be less likely hood that animals will tear the garbage apart.

Tonya did a HUGE job helping the Big Guy.  She gathered up all the cardboard and folded it down so that it could be put in a blue bag and brought to the curb.  She also gathered up all the plastic wrap and such and put them in a different bag.  The Big Guy would have done that, but Tonya helped him.  She even put a few screws in the BBQ for him.  

I wanted to help too.  But I am all left paws and dew claws when it comes to that.  So I watched them, like any good foreman would.

Tonya did these stuffed peppers and cheese.  But she still has a lot of hamburger left over.  I wonder if she is going to make hamburgers for supper?  On the new grill...  oh the Big Guy will be so pleased.

Bye bye for now.

22/Jun/17 we had joy we had fun we had season's in the sun

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

I am not 100% sure what a tropical storm is.  But I hear, because of it, we are going to get some rain.  Not right away for us.  I learned, from watching the news that places like Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee could get 300 mm of rain.  That's like a foot of rain.  12 inches.  That is a whole LOT of rain.  My little swimming pool would over flow.

Talking of that little swimming pool.  I just LOVE it.  When we get home, I BEG to be let outside.  Then I can lick up some of the water and cool off my paws.  It feels so good on my paws.

I am not afraid to look under the water either.  I will put my entire face underwater when Tonya or the Big Guy will throw stuff into the pool.

Today, the Big Guy will be getting his charcoal BBQ.  Then he has to put it together.  So he will have to wait till tomorrow or the weekend to start cooking on his new grill.

So far, he hasn't said what he's going to be doing with the ashes.  I bet he's going to spread them on the lawn.  I wonder if it will help the lawn grow?  I bet he's going to look that up later on.

Did you know, you can get hamburgers that are cut out to look like a maple leaf?  Tonya and the Big Guy had some last night.

So the Big Guy has a plan.  His plan is to move his BIG propane BBQ off the back deck and keep that in the garage as well as his charcoal BBQ.  He said, moving forward, he will be using the big BBQ for the rotisserie.  He knows that some day, Tonya is going to want to get a smaller propane BBQ for the deck.  I wonder if he has a money tree some place that he hasn't told Tonya about.

Bye bye for now

21/Jun/17 Summer is finally here

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

This is what people see when walking past our house and I am in the front yard.

I can tell you this, the Big Guy is pretty happy.  The BBQ that he wants to purchase is on sale tomorrow at Canadian Tire.  Tonya said that he can get it tomorrow.  So far, there is 1 at the Canadian Tire in North Sydney.  He will drive to what ever Canadian Tire has one for him.  He will do that.  I am sure that he would drive to the mainland if his BBQ was there.  Spend like $60.00 in gas to save $50.00.

I have to wonder, what's the first thing that the Big Guy is going to grill on his new BBQ?  Hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, pork chops, ribs, steak...  oh and then there is veggies too.

Tonya emptied, cleaned my pool and then filled it back up again.  I go in my pool by myself now.  Last night, after our walk, I BEGGED to go out on the deck.  I went right to the pool and soaked my paws.

I'm going to be needing a good brushing soon.  My coat is falling out and I can see clumps of fur all over the house.

The Big Guy got me one of those screw in the ground dog lead holders.  This will mean that when he is out side doing the BBQ, he will be able to attach my lead and I will be able to join him in the back yard.  YIPPEE!

Bye bye for now.

20/Jun/17 me and my walking buddie

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

My walking partner, AKA, the Big Guy is in the background.  He has lost over 50 pounds since he started walking me.  I've lost about 3 pounds.  I've got to keep walking him so that he looses more weight.

Yesterday, it was super humid when he got home.  Tonya was resting on the deck.  She tried to use my pool to cool off.  I wasn't about to share.  I kept nipping at her toes in the pool.  She found it funny as that meant I had to put my entire head under water do to that.

I slept most of the night outside on the back deck.  It's too warm to sleep inside.  They got the kitchen fan going, but it isn't enough.  I really want to sleep outside.

There is a bee that has been flying around the deck.  The Big Guy keeps saying that he needs to put some caulking on the house to seal up that nest.  Otherwise, I am probably going to be stung.  Tonya keeps telling me not to bother with the bees, but I can't help myself.  It's like a cat with a lazer pointer.

The Big Guy just checked the temp.  It's +26 inside the house.  He doesn't mind the heat so much.  Then again, he isn't wearing a fur coat either.

Do you see the little mushroom house on the tree stump in the picture?  I'm looking towards the mushroom in the picture.  It has a solar light inside it.  Probably the next big wind storm and it will be blown off the stump.  It better land in the grass, otherwise it will get broken.

Bye bye for now.

19/Jun/17 my name is Flower

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

Two things are going to happen.  Either they shorten up on my lead, or I'm going to kill these Hostas.  But the leaves are so nice and cool on my fur.  I just love laying in them.

But every time that I do that, Tonya gets angry with me.

So it was really warm out yesterday.  Well, not as warm as it could be.  I've never lived in the prairies, but I hear that it can get super warm there.

It's supposed to be another warm day today.  I know that the Big Guy doesn't like the cold very much.  So he's happy with the warmer weather.

Yesterday morning it was raining.  But we ended up going for our walk.  The Big Guy wore his jacket.  He was hot and sweaty when he got home.  He should have been like Tonya and only wore a t-shirt.  Oh well, he will know better for today's walk.

I think that the Big Guy is going to stop posting stuff about his Go Fund Me page.  At first, he thought that it would be funny to post something about getting a new BBQ. Then when a couple people donated, he was wow, this could work.  But he hasn't got any other donations since then.

He said that he's going to save his allowance.

So, what's the weather like where you live?

Bye bye for now!

18/Jun/17 I'll just lay here, in the door way, in the way

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

I love to put myself in places that makes it hard to get around me.  Like this morning, I just laid in the middle of the doorway.  That left the Big Guy will a delema.  Wake me up and FORCE me to move, or go around the house to get to that other room.

As any of you doggies owners know, if you go around, we hear you walking away and it gets our attention, so we get up and follow you.

So the Big Guy tried to step past me, but I moved and he stepped on me.  HA HA  I can make him feel terrible.

Yesterday, the Big Guy put me on the deck while he went outside with the lawn mower and the whipper snipper.  I made sure to bark as loud as I could when he was whipper snippering around the deck.

But I was so happy for the Big Guy.  The last 3 years, when he would be trimming the front hedge, he would make sure to bring a chair with him.  He would trim the front/right/inside hedge and would have a sit and rest for 5 minutes.  Then he would use the hedge trimmer and do the outside/right/front hedge and have to sit for another 5 to 6 minutes.  His back would be so sore.  He would repeat this for the front left side of the hedge and having to sit for longer periods as his back would be killing him.  Forget whipper snipping the yard.  That was another day.

Yesterday, he was able to trim the front hedge, the side hedge, then whipper snip around the WHOLE yard.  Non-stop.

He has lost 46 pounds since February.  He is hoping to loose the next 4 pounds before Marcel and Kim visit at the end of the month.

Then again, he probably will.  Tonya had a bag of chips last night, while he had a fat bomb instead.  He doesn't feel guilty at all.

Bye bye for now.

17/Jun/17 how much is that doggie in the window

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

Yesterday I lept and I hurt the Big Guy's shoulder.  We were going to start our walk and we didn't even leave the back yard.  There is a rock retaining wall and I was walking along it, sniffing stuff and then I lept in the air and pulled my leash.  The Big Guy wasn't expecting that and I hurt his shoulder a bit.

So we only went for a short walk, 3 blocks.

I had a nice poop while we were out walking.  Tonya collected it and brought it home.

While we were out walking, we noticed a black lab with a white chest, sitting on the front lawn.  We never noticed him before.  As we got closer, we noticed that his lead was still attached to his collar, but that the leash was chewed apart.

We thought he may have been from up the street a bit, so Tonya ran on ahead and knocked on their door.  But their dog that looks like him, well, he was still home.  So NOT the same dog.

So if you lost a black lab with a white chest, we seen him around 37 Blowers St in North Sydney at about 7:00 pm last night.

Today, the Big Guy says that his shoulder is still a bit tender.

The people across the street, they tore down their garage.  It was really old.  I wonder if they are going to put up a new garage?

There was also this tree stump that has been there since, like forever.  They tried to remove it with the back hoe, but it was tough and it didn't want to come out of the ground.

Bye bye for now.

16/Jun/17 shhhh... sleeping

Good morning Cape Breton.

Maximus Handsomius here from my forever home.

The Big Guy is ALWAYS taking my picture.  Even when I am sleeping, he's taking pictures.  Is that weird or what?

So it's garbage day today.  So that means, on Thursday, when we go for a walk, people will put their garbage out the day before.  Mostly cause they have a job that prevents then from putting it out early Friday morning, like the Big Guy.  But that also means that I get to sniff new stuff.  I try to run from one garbage bag to the next, but that doesn't work so well with the Big Guy.  

NOT AT ALL

I go to run and I get snapped around.  Then I am facing the wrong way and I don't see the garbage bag any longer.  The Big Guy will scold me and then I will continue to walk.  ...and what do I see...  that garbage bag again.  So I TRY to run to it, only to get snapped around again.

I guess I have to learn, we're going to get to that garbage bag EVENTUALLY.

The Big Guy finally started loosing weight again.  Yesterday he was at 355, which means that his stall that he was on for 3 weeks, may actually be broken.  He was not going below 356.  Of course he's hoping that he will be at 354 or lower today.  It's those small victories that makes him happy.

Tonya said that she seen this new BBQ for the Big Guy, called the Weber Genesis.  Click HERE to see this BBQ.

Although it's a nice BBQ, it isn't the one that the Big Guy wants.  He wants a much less expensive charcoal BBQ that you can get at the Sydney Canadian Tire as they don't have them at the North Sydney Canadian Tire store.  To see the BBQ the Big Guy wants, click HERE to see it.

The Big Guy thinks that if Tonya wants a propane BBQ, they should get an in-expensive one.  I am pretty sure that the Big Guy is going to remove the BBQ from the deck and keep it in the garage from now on.  They are too expensive to leave outside in the weather.

Bye bye for now.