Weekend Update, Lake Retreat Edition
One week ago today Chris and I packed the car entirely too full, left Portland and headed northeast, toward a part of Washington world-renowned for its fields of arid nothing, Republicans, and streets paved with gold copious amounts of potholes (see also: Spokane).
Once we reached the lake where my parents own property, we were overjoyed by the sight of campfires:
And fantastic people holding marshmallows, grahams and chocolate (with almonds!) hovering closely around said campfires:
There was a plethora of pontooning, on a large and lazily lake lapping boat my parents prefer to most any habitable home nowadays, and not just because of their proximity to the fish at the bottom of the lake:
There was also a brief swimming stint, hosted and performed by three of the bravest (see also: craziest) of our crew:
That’s babycarrot sister on the right, in her awesomely vintage 1950’s swim cap, and her brother-in-law and his daughter to her left. The water was 62 degrees. (Just like bathwater! With a few buckets of ice!)
Then there was my parent’s neighbor’s puppy, Mikaela Mary Michael (I so wish I were kidding about those THREE names), a rare breed of an ancient line of Japanese dog called a Shiba Inu, who is remarkably lovely, as it were, and also, as we quickly discovered, exceedingly aggressive toward other dogs.
You’re probably thinking to yourself right now: “Aggressive? That dog? She looks downright ANGELIC to me.”
She is trixy, that Mikaela Mary Michael, and there were indeed moments where it appeared Iggy and MMM would be the best of canine friends:
Lest you be fooled by my inability to appropriately capture the prevailing moment, let me assure you that 99.85% of the time MMM was in the yard she was chasing Iggy fearlessly, attempting to bite his face, his neck, his cute beady eyes, even his, shall we say, JUNK, and thus Iggy was running for his life, hiding behind any pair of legs that happened to be in the vicinity, mowing the green lawn in all of his nervousness, looking at me in sheer desperation as if to wonder what he could have done to deserve myriad encounters with a dog who seemed determined to chew his face off.
That’s when we jumped out from behind a pair of imaginary bushes and yelled “Surprise! Happy BIRTHDAY!”
We then proceeded to explain how we had attempted to procure him a friend to cavort with all weekend, but had instead been given this demon dog who was determined to give him a puggy ulcer for his first birthday.
While I do love me some hyperbole, I’m really not exaggerating about the “demon” part; my sister even called her a “jerk,” which Chris then of course appropriately translated to “ass.”
It’s endlessly entertaining to me how these pictures in no way convey the sheer chaos of their canine yard co-habitation, and the undiluted fear in Iggy’s eyes whenever she was anywhere near him.
After all of the s’mores and excitement, after we had bid farewell to my parents, and to my little sister and her husband and his family, and to the lake in all of its chaotically blissful Labor Day glory, I snapped this picture of our newly one-year-old Iggy on Monday:
It’s by far my favorite picture of him ever, and I like to pretend he’s harnessing his chi, forgiving us for not saving him from the tornado that was Mikaela Mary Michael.
That is most definitely the best picture of Iggy ever! He is TOTALLY harnessing his Chi – his zen atmosphere is palpable.
Please pat him and tell him happy birthday from me and Daniel!
I’m totally fascinated by Shibu Inus, have even thought it could be our next dog, based on its small stature, so I’m rather dismayed to hear that they are aggressive. Or at least, this three-named one is.
But Iggster, he is so cute!
Great photos! I like the fishing net one. And of course, the one of Iggy. Although he looks like he is deciding whether or not to let you live after the whole MMM business.
That looks so idyllic and sweet. I want a camp fire and s’mores. YUM!
ah! shiba inu! that’s what artan is! :)
I love that demon dog was given what sounds like a saint’s name!
I adore Iggy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
p.s. Glad the trip was GREAT!! :)
3 names for a dog is excessive- did anyone tell you WHY the dog was named that? My friend named her dog Inu but he’s not that kind of dog. He just eats the insides of cars. (I wish I was joking.)
Even though I didn’t get to see you that weekend, I am very glad you had a great trip.
You used the word “plethora”. I LOVE that word. This is why we are friends.
Also – Happy Birthday Iggy!
That last photo is out of control cute!
love the pictures, looks like such a great time.
and the puppies are precious!
If I ever try to give a pet more than one name, please give me a stern talking to.
Aw, poor Iggy!
(And I totally would have swum in that lake.)
i love iggy and his zen like face basking in the sunlight.
sounds like y’all had a good time. minus the buckets of ice bathwater temps.
glad you had a good time!
OMG! Iggy is the cutest!! :)
That swimsuit kills me!!! LOVE!
I so want a cottage, it looks like you guys had a fabulous time!
Ohh! Happy Happy! (belated) to the Igg-ster. :) that last pic is darling.
And your sis’s cap? Fantastic! :D
Can we trade lives for a weekend??? Please?
great pics! and despite the doggie debacle, they are cute :)
OMG. That IS the best picture of Iggy ever!! Sounds like you had a lovely weekend…and is it weird that I’m imagining Ron Burgundy saying “plethora of pontooning”? Because I totally am.
I love that photo! He’s meditating. He’s thinking of doggy treats and saying “NOM”