Chetspeak on Sunday
“Bernie!” She threw her arms around him, a big woman and not that much shorter than Bernie.
“Hi, Livia.” I could see Bernie’d had enough of hugging after a while, but Livia didn’t let go till she was good and ready.
She stepped back, still gripping Bernie’s upper arms, in fact, giving them a little squeeze. “You look just great,” she said.
“Uh, no, um, thanks,” Bernie said, which made Livia laugh, a nice big sound, not a boomer like Uncle Rio’s but impressive for a woman. “And you, too,” Bernie said.
“Oh, go on,” she said. “I’ve put on so much weight.”
“No, no, no,” Bernie said. “And it suits you.”
Livia laughed again. “Those are mutually exclusive, Bernie. Pick one, preferably the first.”
“Um,” Bernie said, and then he was laughing, too.
“Tulip?” she said. The young woman on the sofa tossed her magazine aside and rose right away. “A nice big bourbon on the rocks for Bernie here, and a small one for moi,” Livia said. Tulip went behind the bar, reached for a bottle.
“Sweetie?” Livia said. “We’re pouring from the top shelf tonight.”
– from TO FETCH A THIEF.
Tags: Chetspeak, To Fetch A Thief
This entry was posted on Sunday, December 14th, 2014 at 7:52 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
7:57 am on December 14th, 2014
Good morning, everyone! Love the Chetspeak, top shelf, tip top 🙂 Almost half way through December, hard to believe.
Have a silly sunday, all.
8:10 am on December 14th, 2014
Good morning, Spence, Admin, Chet, HOH, and everybody! We are having a tiptop morning: eggs and Chetspeak. Although, unlike Bernie, we can never get too much hugging.
Love your stocking, Chet. Betcha can’t guess which one belongs to us?
8:35 am on December 14th, 2014
Dear Miss Martha – your mousie is the best mousie I’ve ever chased and caught. I love it! Mom and Dad entertained last evening (nothing like Debbie L-M!) and I was entertainment chasing and catching your mousie. The guests laughed and laughed. Mom says thank you. The other mousies will go to my cousin kats and I just know they’ll love them too.
Good morning, Everybody. Cheerful pictures of stockings 🙂
8:35 am on December 14th, 2014
Hello All–
Rats! I was SURE I would be the first, but there it is…
Happy Egg day to all, and Happy Belated St. Lucy’s Day (yesterday).
I can’t wait until this term is done. I hope you’re all enjoying the season.
8:55 am on December 14th, 2014
Since mom can post fotos again, may I please, Please, PLEASE be the FOoD? Slobbery hugs and kisses,
Darah Thea
9:29 am on December 14th, 2014
Lots of laughter in our Chetspeak selection today. Great fun.
Darah Thea, who’s a beautiful FOD? You are!
Have a top shelf day, everyone.
9:35 am on December 14th, 2014
If we had known that yesterday was St. Lucy’s day, we’d have dug up a foto of Lucy Lou the labradoo!
9:42 am on December 14th, 2014
Great stockings Chet and Howlers.
Darah Thea, you are a beauty.
Good morning all.
10:01 am on December 14th, 2014
HRH B (slobber, slurp, drool) I thank you!
10:07 am on December 14th, 2014
Great FOD, Darah Theah!
10:15 am on December 14th, 2014
Shucks 🙂
10:21 am on December 14th, 2014
Dara!…Looks like shes been hitting the Shine! And so early in the morning….snort!
10:23 am on December 14th, 2014
Wrapping!…Today is the day gift wrapping will be all over the place. This is one of my favorite days to terrorize my friend….heh!heh!…I like stepping on and sitting on her shiny new paper the second she turns her back…chorkel!
11:13 am on December 14th, 2014
Good morning all, and Happy Days!
We here didn’t know about St. Lucy’s yesterday. We will celebrate today in this house, with our special namesake. And will have to look up St. Lucy, since we don’t know a thing about her.
Last of the cards are ready to go, gift wrapping comes next. The outside decorating is done except for the porch garland, which Josh is going to help put up shortly. Waiting for his arrival.
Wish we could have a top shelf Sunday, but there is no booze, upper or lower, in this house till New Year’s Eve.
11:21 am on December 14th, 2014
Heh, heh…terrorizing the Wrapper…that’s my job too!
Darah: You are a fine FOD, and your excellent foto enlarged purrfectly! (way to go, Chet)
BB: Have a top shelf kind of day? Why, yes, Yes we will.
(whispering) BML…no need for the hard stuff…a glass of vino will do.
11:31 am on December 14th, 2014
Masquers, No vino here either. Soon….
Poor Sty. Lucy. Another young virgin met a violent end, all in the name of religion.
12:06 pm on December 14th, 2014
A shame I didn’t see this from our friend Mr. Sam Clemens on Friday. Mr. Clemens is probably not a perp.
I jus say amen and amen. “Suggestion to persons entering heaven: Leave your dog outside. Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out, and the dog would go in.”
12:06 pm on December 14th, 2014
Mind you, I’m not in favor of dogs being left outside of anywhere.
12:53 pm on December 14th, 2014
thank you this article helped me alot with my assignment
1:10 pm on December 14th, 2014
Good morning to all.
I’m groggy today from staying up late at a card game.
HOH: Darah Thea! Looking very good as Friend of our Day.
Bright sunshine today. -9 degrees F, -17 F with the wind chill.
I am making eggs benedict for breakfast because you guys talked about it and made me drool like Darah. I had a crab meat benedict somewhere this summer that was soooooo gooooood!
1:25 pm on December 14th, 2014
Does -17 really exist?
1:28 pm on December 14th, 2014
HOH: The temp (with wind chill) is up to -13 now, so evidently -17 did not exist for very long.
1:54 pm on December 14th, 2014
Darah, you do look good as FOD. Looks like we may have to create our own Friends of Day/Chet for now.
Some gifts are wrapped. Grocery trip done. Josh blew me off so now waiting for Jess to help wrap the garland.
Going to be in the mid 50’s here today. Average high is 35, so we are 20 degrees above average. Rain today and tomorrow would no doubt be several inches of the white stuff. Would like some snow for Christmas, but doesn’t look promising.
2:07 pm on December 14th, 2014
This is the Christmas stocking Barb’s mom made for her about 60 years ago. Each of Barb’s children also had an identical stocking made for them. Now that Barb’s mom is gone, Barb has carried on the tradition and has made them for her grandkids, d-i-l and s-i-l.
2:13 pm on December 14th, 2014
Buddy&Leno: This reminds us of a quote from a Favorite Old Show, The Twilight Zone. It is entitled The Hunt and is available on YouTube.
“Travelers to unknown regions would be well-advised to take along the family dog. He could just save you from entering the wrong gate. At least, it happened that way once – in a mountainous area of the Twilight Zone.”
2:15 pm on December 14th, 2014
The Hunt-23:41-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkG2bWGZR2M
2:16 pm on December 14th, 2014
The Hunt (23:41) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkG2bWGZR2M
3:14 pm on December 14th, 2014
Wow, BSD, that was a real “blast from the past”.
3:29 pm on December 14th, 2014
I will have to watch that. I LOVED Twilight Zone!
Once again, I couldn’t make that photo bigger. Don’t know what the hell I am doing wrong.
3:46 pm on December 14th, 2014
Trying one more time to see if this one is bigger!
3:47 pm on December 14th, 2014
Doesn’t look too bad for a 60 year old stocking, does it?
3:50 pm on December 14th, 2014
That is a great stocking Barb.
3:50 pm on December 14th, 2014
Beautiful, Barb. And it enlarges perfectly.
4:01 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb has made 7 or 8 of those stocking. It probably doesn’t look like it, but because everything is hand sewn, each stocking took about 8-10 hours. Good thing she wasn’t charging for her labor!
4:09 pm on December 14th, 2014
Snap!…Crackel! Pop!…snort!…That’s how that shiny paper sounds when I step on it…heh!heh!…Someone gave up, went upstairs and mixed up a Howdy Special Meatloaf to calm her nerves….chorkel!
4:18 pm on December 14th, 2014
Rio, maybe she should mix up a little sumpun-sumpun from the top shelf while she is at it!
5:01 pm on December 14th, 2014
Here is a winter arrangement I did for the front walk. Those flowers in the middle are from my hydrangeas.
5:04 pm on December 14th, 2014
And finally, a front view of the house. Don’t know if you can see the lighted garland.
5:05 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb, your winter arrangement is beautiful 🙂
5:19 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb!…Did you learn how to take finger fotoz from Maskers?….snort!
5:28 pm on December 14th, 2014
Rio, I was hoping no one would notice that tiny little smudge!
5:43 pm on December 14th, 2014
Have to go back and read yesterday and today’s posts but here’s a couple of pictures of Mom’s tree and mantel.
5:44 pm on December 14th, 2014
Hey! I resemble that remark!
5:44 pm on December 14th, 2014
Another one.
5:45 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb: you can’t get anything past Rio.
So…one mama cat went in heat 3 days ago and the other could start any day. Both get spayed this coming Thursday. In the meantime the yowling is about to drive Sadie and me crazy.
5:48 pm on December 14th, 2014
Lets try one in focus.
5:48 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb, we love your stocking and your floral arrangement and your garland. You are all ready for Santa Paws.
Dawson: Brrrrr
5:50 pm on December 14th, 2014
Finally, here’s Howie. He’s chilling after helping Mom move some boxes to the shop.
5:51 pm on December 14th, 2014
Oh! More Christmas photos! BooBear, your tree and your mantel look like something out of a magazine. Good job! You are Mom’s idol, you know.
5:51 pm on December 14th, 2014
LOvely Christmas Scenes! We are Forever Thankful to BlueCat for showing us how to turn the Blog Photos Right-Side-Up.
C.Hobbit: Don’t We Know It! They may be Far Memories, but we can hear the Yowling now…M O U N D S…M O U N D S…M O U N D S.
5:52 pm on December 14th, 2014
Howie? Is home? We missed that he was home already. He certainly looks comfortable! How is he settling in? More importantly, how are BooBear and the rest of the feline gang handling it?
5:53 pm on December 14th, 2014
Mom does a very traditional tree. She thought about trying to add the twisted ribbon to the tree but has no clue how to do that. Now to go back and read what’s going on with the blog doings.
5:54 pm on December 14th, 2014
Howie: How are you getting along with BooBear and the rest of the kats?
5:55 pm on December 14th, 2014
Boobear, Beautiful. Don’t the kitties try to play with the decorations around the fireplace? The tree is amazing! Wish I had a mantel to decorate.
5:59 pm on December 14th, 2014
Howie came home yesterday afternoon. All but 2 of the 13 indoor cats pretty much freaked. Now all are doing a bit better. But not good enough to actually be happy with the situation. Howie is doing okay. Guess he is used to being moved from home to home. He had dental surgery on Wednesday and his mouth is still tender so he’s not eating alot. He had to have 6 teeth removed. Hopefully, he will feel much better soon. They tell me he is a picky eater, so hopefully I can find food he likes.
For a dog who looked so small at the adoption event with all the bigger bassets, he looks pretty big here. Can not imagine what a Newfie would look like in the house.
6:02 pm on December 14th, 2014
Is the garland all one piece, or do you put it together on the mantel. We are very impressed with it. It is breathtaking.
6:36 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb, the garland is two strands that are hooked together with twist ties and then fluffed. Mom’ s mantel is pretty wide so she adds all the extras after the garland is on the mantel. She just keeps putting stuff in there until it looks full enough to her. She thought the single stocking looked lonely this year so added the little hanging Santas. They used to hang on the same hook as hers and Dad’s stockings. Now they are solo so they can fill in some space.
The only things the cats have bothered this year is the snowman’s hat on the hearth. Don’t know is it shows up in the picture. We insist on sleeping on it so each morning it is a little smushed and has cat hair on it. All the ornaments near the bottom of the tree are not breakable but we tend to leave those alone until after Christmas. What we can’t resist is the tree skirt. Mom put it down for the picture but will take it back up before bed. It’s like Rio and the paper. It’s perfect to play on and under.
6:51 pm on December 14th, 2014
Remember the veggie that looked like a moon rock? Celeraic…the ‘rents ate it tonight, and liked it. As usual, Mom found the recipe, and Pop did the cooking. They roasted it with an apple, then mixed it with bacon and maple syrup. Heck, what wouldn’t taste good with that stuff?
By the way, Rio, don’t feel it is necessary to smooch us for being #1 on page 2. Heh!
6:56 pm on December 14th, 2014
Oh, one other thing about the Christmas tree…..Dad always secured it to the wall with fishing line and Mom tried to do that this year. It doesn’t seem real secure. Hopefully, we won’t get too rambunctious with it. It is a ten foot tree and would make quite a mess if it topples. Heh! Heh!
7:01 pm on December 14th, 2014
Barb, Mom’s mom needle pointed her stocking about 35 years ago. She was making stockings for her grandchildren and since Mom didn’t had any two legged kids, she got one made for her and dad.
Another picture of Howie chilling.
7:04 pm on December 14th, 2014
Wow – lots of beautiful Christmas photos, and one of the newest member of the Plunder family.
Welcome Howie – congratulations on winning the puppy lottery.
We just talked to a friend who is doing the winter series of shows in Boston that we cancelled out of doing. This weekend is the fourth of five shows. The first one was bad…each subsequent one has been worse. We are heartsick for all of our friends who are out there doing the shows. But we will say we are (selfishly) relieved that we cancelled out of them. Hotels in Boston cost the moon.
7:05 pm on December 14th, 2014
Josh’s tree toppled in the middle of the night last year, without the help of any furry friends. It was not a pretty sight!
When you enlarge Boobear’s mantle picture you can see that the Santa on the left is saying Ho-ho-ho, and the one on the right is saying Bah Humbug.
7:32 pm on December 14th, 2014
Howie looks pretty high strung. How does he react to the cats?
7:44 pm on December 14th, 2014
LOL! Barb, you’re being sarcastic, right? Howie looks to be the most laid back dog ever.
7:49 pm on December 14th, 2014
Ummm, right, Howlers. I can’t believe how relaxed he looks. Is he on any tranqs for his sore mouth, or is that his normal self?
7:55 pm on December 14th, 2014
Do you have any info on why Howie ended up in rescue? I bet it wasn’t because he was too hyper. Keep in mind tho that most dogs get more vocal after they start feeling at home. That takes about a month. Lucy barks much more than when she first came here, but not in a bad way. She just feels at home now.
7:57 pm on December 14th, 2014
Mom accidentally left her Thereby Hangs A Tail book on the end table today so I decided to do a little light “reading” when she ran an errand this afternoon!!!
8:12 pm on December 14th, 2014
Oh dear Tundra – what ever are you going to do with all the coal you will be getting in your stocking?
8:16 pm on December 14th, 2014
Every dog should be employed according to its strength. Like herding for example. In Tundra’s case it seems to be shredding so she is well fit for a good job with the CIA.
8:17 pm on December 14th, 2014
Oh Tundra. {sigh}
8:38 pm on December 14th, 2014
Howie!….You da Man!….Woooooo!…Sadie needs to take some lessons from you pal…heh!heh!
8:40 pm on December 14th, 2014
Tomorrow!…I start tracking the Christmas Boutique Cookies…..Wooooo!….I love Tracking – It is a lot like Spying…snort!
8:49 pm on December 14th, 2014
Pug-Kisses!…I’ve decided that Page 3 is worthy of the magical slurpy, sloppy, smelly, long-lasting and hard to scrub off Pug Kiss…chuffle!
8:53 pm on December 14th, 2014
WAIT!…I did not mean PAGE 3…snort!….I am shooting for Page 4….snorkel!…Page 3 is hit over and over, but Page 4 eludes us night after night…wheeze!
9:00 pm on December 14th, 2014
Don’t know lot about Howie’s past other than he is an owner surrender. That’s how they knew his age. He’s pretty laid back but is interested in the cats. Scared mom earlier today. They had come in from a walk and Mom didn’t lock the door. It blew open and Howie went on a walk about. Mom realized within a couple of minutes. She felt pretty stupid. First day and she already had lost the dog! But he had gone out the front door and went out back to explore the back yard. Chased a couple of Mom’s outside cats up a tree.
9:00 pm on December 14th, 2014
On that note, off to bed we go. G’night, All.
9:05 pm on December 14th, 2014
I’m in love with Howie!
9:12 pm on December 14th, 2014
Howie is a sweetie. Tomorrow I have to leave him for work. I’m trying to decide if I should put him in the master bath or leave him out. The bath is pretty large but I don’t want to upset him.
9:26 pm on December 14th, 2014
Doc reported meeting a dog today that is kept in the bedroom. He said it was a big guy just like him. They bumped noses and when Doc wagged his tail, the other guy did, too. Annabelle also mentioned this dog, only she said it was a strawberry blonde female.
9:42 pm on December 14th, 2014
Boobear, I’ll tell you a couple things the Basset rescue place told me when I got Lucy. First Bassets follow their nose, so they can get caught up in a scent and take off. Second, they told me to neve,r never have her off leash in any unfenced areas (See # 1). He won’t really consider your home his for about 30 days, so he is more of a flight risk right now.
Third, they suggested, even though Lucy is old and not destructive, to crate her when leaving the house. I did that at first, then just crated her if I was going to be gone several hours. I continued that for two or three months, but now she is not crated at all.
If I were you, I would not leave him out in an unrestricted area to begin with. Do you have a crate you can borrow, or perhaps the rescue place will loan you one.
One last thing – Both of my girls go nuts when they see an outside cat, and would catch it if they could. Maggie however, is very friendly with any inside cats she has encountered. I haven’t had Lucy around any inside cats, so not sure how she would react. Don’t forget, Bassets were bred as rabbit dogs, so any furry animal running from them is prey.
10:03 pm on December 14th, 2014
Crate!….Beau has a designer crate, but no one has ever put him innit…grunt!…Much to my chagrin.
10:07 pm on December 14th, 2014
I am impressed with all the Winter decoration pictures. Boo Bear’s Mom is the blue ribbon winner for her mantel decorations.
I got to help decorate the Christmas tree and make Christmas cookies in Bellingham which is more Christmas activity than I have done in many a year. It was fun but now I am back in Bah! Humbugland, listening to Chicago hockey games.
Howie looks great!
10:10 pm on December 14th, 2014
Thieves: A dog in the bedroom? That sounds like one that has special privileges. Hmmmmmmm. What’s up with that?
10:10 pm on December 14th, 2014
My rescue place actually required that I use a crate. When they came out to inspect my home, they told me they would bring one if I didn’t have one. I know, they were a little over the top. It was a small, private rescue, so they are more picky them some of the big shelters. They even had to know where the crate was going to be placed. I kid you not!
Bottom line, I would put him in the bathroom with a bed, some toys and his water bowl. He will be fine, and the cats will be safe.
10:25 pm on December 14th, 2014
Kats!…Phooey!…Let Howie run Free! He is Free At Last!…snort!
10:34 pm on December 14th, 2014
Check out the ears on Howie. I’m jealous.
10:56 pm on December 14th, 2014
We agree that Boobear’s mantel could be in a magazine. It gets first prize.
We are going to say good night. Sweet dreams all.
12:31 am on December 15th, 2014
I ahve been trying to update my printer drivers most of the day and have succeeded in uninstalling the printer and not reinstalling it. I am pretty grumpy.
It is late now so off to bed I go. Maybe the printer drivers will be all installed in the morning.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA
All the Christmas pics look great. And Barb I love your great big star on the outside of the house.
night all
12:35 am on December 15th, 2014
Just on a whim I tried to print something. It worked.
I have no idea WHY! But I am not going to complain.
12:38 am on December 15th, 2014
I am helping my mama with some logistics for the big race. I need to confirm the head count for the Plunderers who will be here for the pre-race activities:
HOH, party of 2
Staff and Mr. Fireslippers
CHobbit
Did I miss anyone? My mama sent a SDD to those listed above about the mushers banquet where the Giant will draw his bib number.
7:19 am on December 15th, 2014
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