hairy day

it was a hairy day yesterday

 otto had a haircut

 

we trimmed him nice and short for summer

 

and borris had a haircut

 

they go to the same hairdresser - me

 

i think they look pretty good.

cute otto photos and random photos

i have had a few cute photos of otto on my computer, here are the best ones

otto with rawhide as cigar

otto wondering what is going on, and when are we going for a walk?

 

otto posing for the camera

oh and here are 2 other random photos i have wanted to share, but have not been worth a full post on their own.

2 new bathing suits i bought on a whim the other day.

 

swimsuit shopping on a whim is the best idea, no pressure and you feel good when you leave the shops with one or two!

 

also here is the quilt on the bed in my place. it looks really good, i am happy with it.

garlic, otto and roy

last week i could not wait any longer to harvest my garlic crop.

the leaves were starting to brown, and i think all the growing was done

 

i planted them in sections by variety, but i cant find the bit of paper where i wrote down the order. but i kept them in bunches of the same variety as i harvested them anyways.

there are nine types all together. some are really a good size and others a bit small. i did better this year than last, i made sure there were no weeds for competition and mulched the area around the garlic really well. i did forget to feed them regularly, so next year i will try that too. but i think it was a successful crop and should see us in garlic for a few months. they are now all hanging under the stairs near the front door of my house, so as soon as you walk in you are greeted with a string garlic scent.

otto's best friend roy was over the other weekend for a visit.

 

they had a great time playing and running around and biting each other. they were both worn out by the end of the visit.

 

borris had a good time with them too

 

training for treats is more difficult with 2 dogs!

autumn is here

autumn is here. and it seems that the cooler weather has brought out the puppy in otto. maybe the summer heat keeps him slow moving but lately he has been up to his old puppy antics - stealing shoes, getting stuff out from the bin, trying to sleep on the bed - on the pillow next to your head, barking, and lots of energy.

now that all sounds bad, but really its kind of cute.

he does enjoy shewing a bone in the courtyard, and it is nice out there now that autumn is here.

meanwhile in the studio deb and i are busy preparing for next week, when we install 2 major projects, the covered walkway and the bike shelter.

these images are of a large graphic that we got laser cut out of some vinyl to make a spray painting stencil. we are laying it out on perforated aluminium panels that will become the fence around the bike shelter.

the panels are 1.8 m x 1.2 m and there are 6 panels on the long side and then 2 on the end. this graphic will span 4 panels starting on the short end and turning the corner onto the long side.

it took a bit of prep but we got there. this is deb spraying on the primer.

the bike graphic has been cut into sections, and these sections will also be painted. this will help make the image more dynamic, and interesting, and fit in with the verticals that hold the fence panelling up.

here is deb spraying the matt black layer.

and here is the first coat done. i think they are going to look great. 

its a busy week of install next week, i will try and stay on top of blogging as it happens (that is easier than playing catch up) but we will see how we go. lets hope the rain stays away!

what's new?

 from the smoke exhibition that i was in last month i made an art purchase.

it is the large photograph of an old workshop.

i think it looks pretty good in the space. the space is large with high ceilings, but the photograph is large too 1.5 m x 1.5 m.

as a result of the artwork purchase i then decided i needed a piece of furniture that i could use to hide away some of the stuff in the room to keep it looking less full of stuff.

i found this unit second hand for a reasonable $200. i moved the artworks by my mom and hoola hoop to this wall next to my favorite shovel to make room for the new artwork.

 

   

 i think that it has worked out really well, now the juicer and blender are hidden away along with the dog food and dog treats.

and speaking of dogs, otto is now 2 years old.

still as cute as ever!

sofa cover

i bought this fabric a ta pop up shop of a local clothing/fabric maker. originally i thought i would make a dress or skirt with this fabric but as it turns out i had enough to make a sofa cover. not bad for a $20 purchase. i think there are a few defects in the print, but for this purpose that is fine.

 

i wanted to make a sofa cover because in the last year that we have had otto, there have been some spots on the lovely green fabric i had the sofa covered in. i thought if i make this if it gets ruined that is ok, and i can potentially wash it. because of the limit of my fabric and the style of my sofa, i decided to basically make a fitted sheet for each part of the sofa.

so i cut the fabric to fit, then sewed the corners and made sure that this was a good git over the cushion. when i was happy with the fit i then sewed elastic all around the edge of the fabric, using a zig zag stitch and stretching the elastic as i went. the rest was a fitted sheet. then i added a few elastic cross straps so that the covers stays in place along the long sides of the cover.

i think the result is pretty good. borris is not a fan of the fabric, but agrees it fits the style of the sofa well. (i don't think he really likes the style of the sofa either, but that is another matter all together)

here is a detail.

 

otto seems to like it, and hopefully the pattern will help hide those little paw prints that can end up on the sofa after a digging session in the garden.

 

 this is the sofa back in full use. its funny i was avoiding this project for a long time but i think it worked out really well and looks really good. and it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. lucky i have such a simple sofa.

back home

back home now, and i had some time in the garden over the weekend.

this is the freshly weeded winter garden, and carrot seeds freshly sown. 

otto and i had fun, he helped me dig up the weeds, and watched curiously me collect the tomatillo harvest.

my lime tree has heaps of blossoms on it, it could be a good year for limes. fingers crossed. 

the tomatillos need to be washed, 

and then the outer husks removed.

a nice big bowl of tomatillos, ready to be made into salsa.

and then otto and i went for a long walk near the river. he was so worn out by the end he as lagging behind.

it is nice to be home.

Otto might be a bit bored

i have been quite busy lately, more on that later, but this means that poor little otto has not had as much attention as he might like.

the other day when i was cooking dinner i looked over and saw this.

cute.

sorry about the extremely lightened photos but this is the only way for you to be able to see otto's cute little eyes.

he sure does look bored.

dog on bike

this is otto getting set up for a bike ride. borris organised a basket for otto to sit in that gets secured to the back of the bike.

he seems to really enjoy being on the bike.

 in fact he is quite relaxed.

 he just sits and looks around and watches the world go by.

its hard to see in the image above but he seemed quite interested in the fact that i was following them on my bike. this was his third ride. i will try and get some better images on our next trip.

this is an exciting development, because it means we can travel longer distances with otto and not have to rely on a car. oh the places we will go!