Here we are again. It’s Thursday and the week is drawing to a close. Maybe that’s why I chose Thursdays to write these since it means that Friday is near 😉

1. giant crazy newf
   Our Newf is a somewhat small crazy Newf…if you can call any dog which weighs 100 pounds small. 🙂 She loves to run all over the place and act like a maniac. She will climb over fallen trees and over log bridges with no cares at all. She has some of the best facial expressions ever and you have to love those head tilts. She makes us laugh all the time…and if you read this blog you are certain to here plenty of her crazy stories. 😉
2. newf packing
   Is your Newf going somewhere?? I don’t really know what this means but we travel quite a bit with Ayla and have her travel bag packed almost all the time.Ayla’s travel bag is an organizer tote from LL Bean which cost $44. We loved the concept of it because it has these great side pockets and plenty of space to pack her food, bones, treats, towels and much more inside.

   Here is what we have inside her bag at all times:

   • Container of treats – you never know when you’ll need a bribe
   • Dog food – I measure each meal portion and pack the dry stuff in ziploc bags. Then I take along a few cans of wet food to mix in with it, just like at home. I always pack at least one meal extra in case we should run into trouble somewhere and not get home on schedule.
   • Dog bones & pig ears (or similar) – I take a variety of bones and dried animal parts. The bones I use as a distraction if we go out to a restaurant…and the ears, ox tails, etc. she gets when we have dinner at home.
   • 1-2 towels – just in case it should rain or she finds a puddle to take a dip in
   • Doggie shampoo – in case she should find something disgusting to roll in
   • Reflective vest – to wear at night should we go out for a walk along a busy street – this is especially a factor when we go camping
   • Nylon muzzle – Ayla had to wear one of these on the ferry to and from Venice last year…and we still keep it around in case we should need it somewhere else
   • Tick pullers – for the world’s greatest tick puller visit Otom.com. We have one set of these in her travel bag and one in her drawer of stuff at home. They are SO much better than the little forceps-type pullers you usually find!
   • Poop bags
   • Antibacterial gel – to clean our hands after filling the poop bags
   • Bug repellent – for ourselves
   • Extra leash and collar – depending on where we are traveling and if she will need a “nice” collar and leash for the occasion
   • Toys – we take at least 2 or 3 stuffies in here usually as well as a few tennis balls. The balls we use during walks since she will only retrieve them so many times before getting tired…and she will eventually just not go out for them anymore. Other times they just get lost in the grass so not even we can find them. So cheap tennis balls are the way to go there.
3. cats that slobbers
   We don’t exactly have cats that slobber…but we do have one that drools when she’s purring and the other one does the baby kitten sucky dance and will leave a massive wet spot on your shirt when she is finished.Our Norwegian Forest Cat mix, Princess, forms little bubbles of drool when is really enjoying a petting session. She kneads the bed or your leg with her paws and eventually the bubble will splash down on you. If you’re really lucky, you will get multiple drops…but that doesn’t happen all that often.

   
   And this is Marilyn, our Seal Lynx Point mix. She loves to suck on cotton t-shirts and if you’ve been working all day in the garden and smell really musky, she is your best friend. She also has been know to drool a bit from time to time, with spit bubbles just dropping from her lips…but I wouldn’t say either of these cats really slobber.

   

4. ayla the turkish meaning
   Ayla is a Turkish name meaning “circle of cristalic light around the sun or moon.” Since Ayla is reserved for the feminine, it is usually synonymous with “moonlight” or “moon glow.”It also sounds like the English word aura which has its etymological roots in Greek and Hebrew languages. In ancient Hebrew, the word aur, meaning “illumination”, but also “radiance,” “happiness” and “joy,” was used in the Old Testament to describe the faces of the prophets Moses and Elijah after they had spoken with God.

   The Greek word aer meaning “mist” or “air” and also aura meaning “breeze” or “breath” came to be connected to the concept of the Eastern Wind, Heaven and the Rising Sun. This rather tenuous connection created a whole new set of related words, including aurum meaning “gold” (hence the elemental symbol Au), the English word aureole from the diminutive of “a golden crown,” meaning “radiant energy” or “halo,” and the Germanic goddess Eastre whose feast was celebrated at the Spring equinox and therefore gives us “Easter”. This goddess is comparable to the Roman goddess of dawn Aurora and the equivalent Greek goddess Eos. (Thanks wikipedia)

5. grandpas newf farm
   I think who you are looking for is Grand Paws Newf Farm, which really is a very creative name. 😉 They breed Newfies and have quite a variety of colors. Not only do they have a few browns and brown and white puppies available right now but there are also a few whites. Good thing I looked away from that page quickly – they are just too cute!!