Prizes/Happy New Year

I know I hinted at a contest I am going to host (more on that later) but my roommates took me this Monday to buy the prizes for the contest.  Who knew there was a company that specialized in Cocoa gifts???????????  My new years resolution is to drink more hot chocolate, Happy New Years Everyone!!!!

Now this is more like it

I was fortunate enough to celebrate yesterday with a hike, finally.  It's been a long time since I have gone out hiking.  Luckily they put up some signs to help us get our bearings.  We are hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail today but we are not going the 1,200 miles from Mexico to Canada, more like 4 miles.

 Today’s hike starts off in the woods, thankfully because toady it is a little wet outside.  Being under the trees really helped me stay dry.

 

 We got to the junction and again some great signs.  This one has a nice spot for me to sit on. Sequoia attempted to get in my picture but he was not able to look at the camera at the right time.  He has so much to learn.
 

 

Ahh finally made it to Dry Creek Falls.  There was a neat looking gorge at the top of the waterfall but my roommates didn’t show any interest in hiking up to the top of it.  I guess the falls aren’t really dry in December, maybe July or August but clearly not December.

 We made it back just in time to avoid the rain.

Thank's Everyone!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the great gifts.  Sandy, thanks for the fox ornament, that fox is a welcome addition to our Christmas tree.

I also got a great gift from Jerry and Ben.  Look at this Hot Chocolate, I can't wait for a cold winter night to try it (in fact, I might try it tonight).  On Monday, I am going to a hot chocolate warehouse in Vancouver* (Washington....not British Columbia).

Doesn't this turtle look a little like Ooogie?

Speaking of Ooogie, I got a neat package from Ajdin, Uncle Tibbs (um, I mean Santa Bear), and Ooogie.

 Sequoia really wanted to help me and it only seems fair since the card is to me and Sequoia.  Sequoia really likes cardboard, I know this picture looks like he is trying to eat me but he's eating the cardboard.  My roommates think the cardboard eating goes back to his life at the dump in Mexico (you know getting food from old cardboard boxes and my roommates think he probably teethed on cardboard as well).  Until they get their PhD's in Animal Psychiatry I think I won't put too much value into their opinions.

 I got this neat mug from Ajdin and his friends.  It has pictures of me on my adventures, thanks so much!!!!!!!

Thanks to all of my blog friends.  I enjoy the gifts, holiday wishes, and all the neat cards.  Just a heads up....I am negotiating with my roommates to host a contest in January, when I have more details I will share them and I hope everyone can participate. 

Merry Christmas

I was sitting around the house today looking at my hiking books trying to figure out where I would go next.  This hike called Badger peak looks interesting.

All of a sudden I heard commotion in the kitchen.  I saw my friends hanging out talking about dinner.  This group is a tough one to cook for, Reindeer is a vegetarian, drunk fox eats anything, and the bears....well let me just say that are kind of picky eaters.  

Do you see the cupcake Beanie sent me a few months ago (it's in the far right).

I decided to join the conversation and add my two cents.  I was in the mood for something homemade.

Since I was the last one to join the conversation I got nominated to make dinner.  Hmmm, what should I make?  I suggested Hummus and they all threw up their paws in a cheer.  Ok, it's a little non-traditional but Hummus for Christmas dinner it is.

Step 1: Toast the sesame seeds.  I needed Tahini but my roommates told me it was expensive and showed me how to make my own Tahini with sesame seeds  (left over from a sushi dinner I made a while back) and olive oil.  I had to be careful when I used the stove, it can get beary hot. 

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Now that the seeds are toasted I gave them a whirl in the food processor to grind them into a paste. 

Step 2: Gather all the ingredients for the hummus.  Let's see; garbanzo beans, olive oil, garlic, paprika, tahini and a food processor.  

Step 3: Now that everything has been ground up I have to wait for at least an hour (or longer) for all the flavors to meld together. 

Step 4: Cut up the veggies.  This pepper is HUGE.

Do you like peppers?  I grow bell peppers in my garden but not as big as these.  Actually, this pepper came from British Columbia.

 I thikn I better ask Drunk Fox or Big Bear for some help with the knife.

Step 5:  Lay out some crackers and vegetables.  My secret ingredient is paprika (I like paprika not only for the taste but also because it's fox color as well).  I put a little plate of Hummus and veggies together for me and my kitchen helper Reindeer (he likes to spend time with me in the kitchen since he is one of Sequoia's chew toys and if he's not hanging out with me then he is getting chewed up by Sequoia).  

Amazingly when the hummus was done all of my friends came back into the kitchen but they were too busy eating that they didn't pose for a picture :)

What is your favorite Christmas food?

Enjoy your Christmas Day, Little Fox, his roommates, and the other stuffies at our place.  

An interesting day

It was an interesting morning for me.  I heard this racket and I figured I would ask Little Bear to investigate with me.  

We saw all this wrapping paper on the floor. 

Then we heard footsteps (or paws if you will) running away on the floor and I found this bone on the floor.  The clues seem to be pointing in Sequoia's direction.

 Little Bear deduced that Sequoia got into one of his Christmas gifts early.  Little Bear and I think it’s interesting that he was able to find his gift out of all the gifts under the tree, but Sequoia is a beary smart dog so I am not surprised.

Now that the mystery is solved I figured I better move onto the rest of my day. A while back my roommates got a notice that the post office was holding a letter and I had to pick it up.  The interesting thing was that this post office wasn’t the regular office I go to but the Carrier Unit in the warehouse district (not downtown).

Before the clerk would give my roommate the package she asked for ID.  Fortunately, my roommate had his ID and the clerk gave him the package.  It was a package from Jerry and Ben, lucky for me it was addressed to my roommate.  I don’t have an ID so it was beary smart of Jerry and Ben sent it to my roommate.

Next my roommate took me on a surprise trip to the casino.  I walked in the door and saw a statue of a coyote, I think I am going to have good luck. 

 I wish I had a picture of my winnings, of course that would mean I would have had to win (I lost $8.00, I wonder how many hot chocolates that could have bought?).

Little Fox, Building Supervisor.

Hello Blog Pals,

The Oregon weather forecasters sure called it wrong this weekend.  We were supposed to have 4 inches of rain, it hasn't happened yet (and it's Sunday at 3:20pm).  Being that it was supposed to rain we didn't do any adventuring this weekend.  As a result I finally convinced my roommates to finish a bookcase project they started many days ago (106 to be exact).  To be fair to me, I didn't start supervising this project till today (of course had I started supervising it on the first day it would not have taken 106 days to complete).

The bookcase frames are all built (do you see Sequoia's toys lying around????).  This is the biggest bookcase of them all.  I hope it holds all of my pictures and notes on my adventures.  There are smaller bookcases as well.  Hmm, this bookcase is a little wobbly.....what to do?

To make sure all of the bookcases don't wobble too much I decided suggest putting backboard on the book cases.  This is actually wood paneling and it works pretty well for this purpose.  Who knew they still sold wood paneling at the home depot?

Now, I have about 6 feet of oak wood paneling left, I wonder what I should do with it?  Suggestions?

Rain, Rain, Rain

The weather forecaster hinted that it might be a wet weekend this Saturday and Sunday.  So, my roommates decided to NOT go hiking this weekend; so I have no adventures to post about.

Hmmm, wait let me think, yes I could post last weeks adventure instead.  As you see the weather is beary pretty in the Columbia River Gorge last weekend.

The waterfall looks beary powerful, but not as powerful as Niagra Falls when Jerry and Ben visited it a few years ago.

Posing in front of Horsetail Falls

 The plan was to originally go to Triple Falls but the trail was washed out but we could still explore.  The trail goes behind the waterfall, it was pretty misty and wet.  Our cell phone camera wasn’t able to get the lighting to show the waterfall and me in good light so we ended up with just the waterfall.

Throughout the hike there were little trickles of water off the side of the trail.  Sequoia seemed more excited to explore these than I did but I did get my picture taken with this small trickle of water so I am a lucky fox indeed.

What’s that you ask, why are there no pictures of Sequoia and I?  Well, someone is still learning to pose with his stuffy brother.  I think Sequoia needs to learn from Daisy.

Relaxing Day

I've been beary busy lately training Sequoia and making sure he gets his proper regiment of treats.  Treats are beary important in dog training, Sequoia seems to like Chicken flavored treats (a dog after my own heart).

Anyway, I finally had a chance to look at all of my mail.  I got this cool post card from Ajdin of these amazing mountains in Colorado.  There is one called Little Bear Peak, I think all of us stuffies should climb it some day.  Beanie also send a neat handmade Christmas card, it's truly a work of art!

Sandy sent a cool Winter scene on his Christmas card.  I appreciate seeing the Winter scenery since we don't get much snow where I live.  Jerry and Ben also sent a neat card with a cardinal on it.  Jerry and Ben, have the Canadian visitors made it to your neighborhood?  They have settled in the fields of the high school near our home, I hear their honking sounds all the time.

After reading my mail and posting the cards in a prominent spot on my wall I decided to celebrate with a little wine tasting.  This glass is beary big but they must have realized that little foxes don't need too much wine because they were a little stingy with the pour.  I think I need a straw.

Besides the wine they also had a crackling fire place.  I sat on this nice coffee table and warmed my bones.  It was beary relaxing.  I need to get some sleep because I heard my roommates talking about a hike in the near future.


 


Post Script:
I could not wait, I know you are supposed to wait till Christmas to open gifts but I could not wait anymore.  I received this cool package from Sandy and I decided to break into it.  It's this awesome fox ornament, and it's just my size.  Here I am posing with it and then Drunk Fox decided to amble over for a rare picture too.  Thanks Sandy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subliminal Message????????????????

I was catching up on my computer work today and I heard the doorbell ring.  I ran to the door to find that the letter carrier dropped off a parcel for me.


Could it be?  Yes!  My Holiday cards came in the mail.  I better do the return address first.

Sorry that this photo is upside down (it's hard to find competent help).  I am left pawed, are any of my stuffy friends left pawed as well?

My Sekrebearies are really working hard for their raise this year, when they saw me working on the holiday cards they brought me this nice mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream.  Not a bad treat, it would be better with a peppermint stick like Jerry and Ben suggest but this is a good step in the right direction.  I wonder if they got the hot chocolate mix from Starbucks, now that would be a wonderful treat!

Hmm, wait a minute, this isn't Starbucks mix.  This is diet Hot Chocolate, DIET?  Seriously, DIET hot chocolate?   Are they telling me I need to be on a DIET?  They tell me it was an honest mistake and me being such a nice fox I am inclined to forgive them, just this once........

Off to the beach....

It’s Saturday and I am finally getting an adventure.  I didn't get to go shopping on Friday and mysteriously all the turkey is gone as well.  For a fox, my Thanksgiving has been meager and bleak but today the weather is supposed to be beary sunny today on the coast so my roommates packed a lunch and we set off to find the sun.  

Huh, this seems odd, snow?  Ok, so we have to go over a pass to get to the beach but it’s only 1,500 feet or so, not beary tall.  There sure seems to be lots of snow for late November.  Actually, it was beary peaceful and a light snow…..not like the blizzard conditions my friends Jerry and Ben  experience.  If you look hard you can see the sun off in the distance.

My coat is all shiny.  Yes, I did get a wash in the washing machine after my roommates dropped me in the mud last weekend.

The weather at the beach was amazing.  Sunny outside, not too windy and not too cold.

Sunny but no swimming today, way too cold. 

Sequoia came along, as you can see I got a quick picture of him kind-of facing the camera.  Not perfect but better.

My training with Sequoia is paying off.

I was kind of hoping for a colder experience that way I could convince my roommates for a hot chocolate at an independent coffee shop, this beach town is one of the few deprived areas that doesn’t have a starbucks.  My roommates said “no” and treated me to spinach dip instead.  Really, spinach dip?  Little do they know I have secret stashes of hot chocolate, left over whipped cream from Thanksgiving and peppermint sticks at home so I can have a nice treat when I get back. 

A wet hike

It has been a long, long, long time since I have gone for a hike.  Everyone tells me dogs love to hike….well then why haven’t WE gone on a hike?  Today was different, my roommates got the small backpack out of storage for a short hike.  That’s OK with me.

We are off to the Pittock Mansion today.  Of course you can drive up there but why not hike there in the rain, that’s what we did.  Sequoia came along, it was a good introduction to hiking for him.  

 The rain was pretty intense during the hike.  In fact we saw lighting and heard thunder just a second afterward.  I drove through Jerry and Ben’s home state during the Summer years ago and experienced some intense thunder, lightning, and hail storms (in July!!!!).  The lightning and thunder were pretty close together but we only heard one strike.  My sekrebearies kept hiking. 
 

My Sekrebeary dropped me in the mud.  Look at my fur.  I made a mental note to deduct their salary this week (and next week out of spite). 

Once we made it up to the mansion we did not go in.  My roommates said it was because there was a special members only party and that Sequoia being all wet would probably not be allowed.  The mansion was decorated for the holidays.  I got a few pictures taken outside.

This would be a great place for the stuffy convention.  Jerry, you would love the gardens in the Summer.

Usually, the mansion grounds has a nice view of the city.  Yes, you can see the city…..if you look beary hard you might see it.  Why are there no pictures of Sequoia?  Well, sitting still is not his “thing” right now.  My roommates say give it time….we’ll see.

We got back home safely and everyone was cold.  Time to fire up the tea kettle and make some warm drinks.  I will take a hot chocolate with whipped cream please.

Picture time.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Sadly my roommates have to work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so that means my adventuring will decrease (and trust me it’s decreased too much already).  Anyway being that the holidays are coming up I thought I would wrangle my family members and try and get a picture for my holiday cards.

As you can see Big Bear, Little Bear, Reindeer, Drunk Fox and I are all sitting ready for our picture yet our newest family member is having a hard time focusing. 

Reindeer is looking in one direction and Sequoia is looking the other way.  This might be harder than I thought.

Sequoia, look at the camera....not us

Now, if only he would look at the camera.

This is best one so far....this project is going to be harder than I thought.