Away Too Long!

OMD I have missed my Blogville furends. So much has been happening lately that I have barely had time to take care of those things that are so impawtant to me - such as commenting on, or even reading my furends' blogs.

I feel as if I was swept away by a tidal wave.

In the furst place, Mimi has been distracted by things related to Grandma Rose. Do you remember Grandma Rose? Fur those who don't, she is Mimi's 93-year-old mother, who lives in Victoria. We live in Vancouver.

Last week. Grandma Rose moved to a residential care facility where she will be able to receive the care she needs. It is a nice place with kind staff and what Mimi and her sister call "a good vibe". So far Grandma Rose likes it, but it has only been six days.

This time, when Mimi went to see Grandma Rose, she took me with her. This was sensible,because I have a good influence on elderly peeps. After all, I am a medicine dog. Most dogs are.

My uncle Chris is one of Grandma Rose's grandsons. He came with us, making the trip even more special.

Here I am in the car, waiting in the ferry lineup:

Beside me is my Uncle Chris.

I have known Grandma Roseever since I was a little puppy and we love each other and I am always happy to see her.  I am sure that I make her happy.

Here we are together:

Grandma Rose with me, in Victoria 

Grandma Rose has a few problems. One is that she chokes on her food, so everything has to be ground up like baby food, and even then it is sometimes difficult for her to get it down. I know what ground up food is like. Have you looked at canned dog food lately?  I definitely have a special understanding of what she is going through, so I give her tons of kisses and love.

Besides being good medicine fur Grandma Rose, I have been encouraging Mimi who has been helping to take care of her good friend who is in his last stage of life. She makes meals fur him and sits with him because he can't be alone any more. Mimi says he is an amazing peep who made a huge positive difference in her life. She says that love is the most impawtant ingredient in the food she makes fur him. She is learning that cooking can be a sacred art.

Also, Mimi has been editing a book that someone is writing. She spends a lot of time reading it, making suggestions and talking to the author. Fur me this is troublesome because I can hardly get on the computer!

I need to mention that the dead lion fur entries to the Blogville Comedy Film Festival  "Laughter is the Best Medicine" is fast approaching. We only have three entries - and one is from my brother Hazuzu the Cat who I had to force into it.   If you can, please send a link to a funny video.

The Comedy Film Festival is sponsored by the Blogville Department of Arts and Entertainment.

Everything you need to know is here.

I am so happy to be back in Blogville today.  

Your Furend in Vancouver,

Louis Dog Armstrong 

March A and E Challenge!

Hello Everybuddy and Aroooo!!!

It is time fur the Blogville Arts and Entertainment challenge fur March, 2017. I am sending this a little bit late and fur this I am a sorry dog!

Here it is:

We have already completed two art challenges, so this one is more of an entertainment challenge. It involves the medium of film.  No, we won't be making videos. This one is super-duper easy-peasy.

This is Your Invitation

to Enter

The Blogville Comedy Film Festival

"Laughter is the Best Medicine"

There is an old saying: "Laughter is the best medicine."  The purpose of this film festival is to laugh while we entertain ourselves and each other.  The films will always be available, all in one place: on the Blogville Arts and Entertainment website. That way, whenever a B-ville resident feels stressed or depressed, he or she can visit the comedy film festival page and instantly feel better.

This is what we will do;

1. Go to YouTube and find a funny video to share.  Your video could be about anipals but it does not have to be.  The only rule about video selection is that the video must be funny.

2. Send to me at  louisbloggingdog(@)gmail(dot)com the following:

• The link to your chosen YouTube video;
• Your name as you want it written on the website;
• The name of your blog or website;
• The URL to your blog or website.

3. The dead lion fur getting this to me is March 19, 2017 at the stroke of midnight, whatever time zone you live in.

4. The videos will all be posted on March 25, 2017, on the Blogville Arts and Entertainment website.

5. All pawticipants will receive a special badge that they can place on their blog!

5. The Arts and Entertainment Department is also inviting you to post your funny video in a blog post on March 25th. Let's make all of Blogville laugh all day!

Here is an example of a video that would work fur this. 

If you have any questions about the Blogville Comedy Film Festival, just message me through this site.

Please pass this notice on to your networks. The more who are involved, the better!

Louis Dog Armstrong

Director of Arts and Entertinment

Blogville

Self Pawtrait Gallery and Welcome to Molly!

The Blogville Self Pawtrait Challenge has come to a close. You can see it here,  on the Arts and Entertainment website.

There were 39 pawticipants, mostly dogs but a few talented kitties as well.
Please take time to look at the self pawtraits, even if you didn't enter the challenge. They are really fabulous.

Also, please "follow" the Arts and Entertainment website. The more followers we have, the better.

Thank you to all who pawticipated in this challenge.

A special thanks goes to Jakey, our Director of Artistic Developmment, who helped so many by posting a Pizap tutorial on the site.  Anybuddy who wants to know how to use this free photo editing program can see Jakey's tutorial, which has its own page.

I would also like to take this oppawtunity to introduce you all to my new furend Molly, who is pawbably Blogville's newest resident.  Molly was recently diagnosed with SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome). In other words, sweet Molly is going blind.

Molly's pawrents are doing everything possible fur her.

Molly created a beautifur self pawtrait.  Doesn't she look precious? It is No. 38 in the Self Pawtrait Gallery.

Molly is a beautifur grrrl.

Molly also wrote the most recent entry fur the Endangered Species Challenge. She chose the plains bison.

Molly stood up fur the Plains Bison.

I hope you will visit Molly's blog, The Fast and the Furriest, to follow her journey and to help her feel welcome in Blogville.  As you can imagine, little Molly is facing a most difficult challenge.

From Vancouver,

Louis Dog Armstrong

Director of Arts and Entertainment

More of This and That

Well it is time fur another post of Louisdog's This and That! I think these might be my favorite posts to write. Here goes:

1. THIS:

I had a lot of fun in the snow last week. Now it has all melted and the peeps think it is gone until next year, hich is good fur the hummingbirds who were foraging in the snow. Pawsonally, I loved shaking my face in it and jumping around.

Yes I love snow!

2. That:

I went with my grrrl Cricket to Murphy and Stanley's Valentines Pawty. It was grrreat fun, even though Cricket is way faster than me. Actually, she is a whippet, hich means that she can really dance! I am a lucky dog to have her as my grrrlfriend. Here we are, arriving at the pawty:

Don't e make a pawfect couple?

Here we are in the group photo:

Can you find us here?

So grreat thanks to Murphy and Stanley fur hosting the pawty. You can see it fur yourself at Murphy and Stanley's blog!

3. THIS:

This morning Mimi decided to vacuum the living room. I HATE the vaccuum and I always bark at it and try to bite it. It's part of my job as chief of home security, but I don't expect a lot of peeps to understand.

In any event, to make matters worse, Mimi put my toy basket with all of my toys up on a chair. I am a small dog and it took me many jumps, but finally I got up on top of those toys and I had to guard them fur 30 minutes! NOT FUN!

Guarding my squeaky toys can be a hard job!

4. THAT:

Dr. Seuss Day is coming to Blogville on March 2nd. Get ready by preparing a poem, pictures or anything Dr. Seuss.  I am starting to think about hat I can do to paticipate. I love Dr. Seuss and so do all the peeps I know. He as wonderfur. Hazuzu, my kitty sibling, especially likes The Kitty in the Hat and The Kitty in the Hat Comes Back. My own favorite is Green Eggs and Ham. 

Dr Seuss Day is Coming!

I heard about it from Ann at Zoolatry. This is what Ann wrote:

Just for you a remember, 'cause no critter should say

they just hugely furgot 'bout Dr. Seuss Day!

So go find your poems, your stripeys, and your hats, 

all you gerbils, all bunnies, all dogsters, all cats!

Get yourselves ready, don't be hiding away!  

It's fun to be part of Dr. Seuss Day!

Write silly, 

willynilly.

Make pictures that bring us a really big giggle!

Flip yourself upside, downside, or waggle or wiggle.

So what's it all about?

This Dr. Seuss Day?

It's about having fun, any which way.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Attached: post size image, and sidebar badge! 
Feel free to use either, or both ...
on your blog, or any social media
(no credit to us need be included) ...
use to help promote this fun event for all critters in
the pet blogging community!

Do your own thing on Dr. Seuss Day ...
it's an annual event among pet bloggers
and you don't want to miss being part of it!

5. THIS:

As you know, I was named after the great jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. I am proud of this because he not only made grrreat, innovative music, but he loved dogs. So I thought I wouls share a couple of photos of my namesake with a couple of his dogs.

His dog looks so happy!

The original Louis Armstrong loved dogs

It all proves that it's a wonderfur world!

From Vancouver,

Louis Dog Armstrong

Impawtant Reminder!

Hello to my Blogville Furends:
This is a reminder about the Blogville Arts and Entertainment Self Pawtrait Challenge. The dead lion fur entries is just a few days away.

This self pawtrait of me didn't turn out so well!

Quite a few B-Ville residents have entered and the self pawtraits are grrreat.

Here are the rules fur this challenge:

Self Pawtrait Challenge Rules:

1.  The dead lion for submissions is February 15, 2017.  This is a firm dead lion!

2.  Entries will be published on February 25, 2017.

3.  Entries must be emailed to louisbloggingdog(at)gmail(dot)com.

 4. Self pawtraits can be created using any type of media, either digital or traditional.  If you use traditional materials, you can either phodograph or scan your work. 

5.  It is fine to start with a photo and use a photo editing program to create something interesting.

6. Please send your entry to me using jpeg format and include the URL to your blog.

Jakey, our director of Artistic Development has published a tutorial page on our A & E website to explain how to use the free photo editing program PIZAP. This tutorial is furry good so take a look at it. 

There is no requirement to do any photo editing. An interesting selfie would be pawfect. The idea is to create a gallery with as many Blogville residents as pawsible, so we can admire ourselves and each other!

Also, I want to be clear that you don't need to have any artistic skills or talent to pawticipate. This is not a contest of any kind. We just want to share our beautifur faces with the whole wide world because living in Blogville is fun!

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about this. The contact form on my sidebar is working furry well fur this.

By the way, to change topic - check out my new badge that I got todat from Angel Sammy of One Spoiled Cat.

It shows that I am a member of Angel Sammy's Bacon Appreciation Club! Until Angel Sammy came into my life my peeps hid bacon from me. I never had it and Mimi pretended to me that it didn't exist. Well now I am not so innocent and I am looking fur bacon and trying to get it whenever I smell that heavenly smell! 

Thanks so Angel Sammy fur introducing me to a whole new world, the world of bacon!

From Vancouver,

Louis Dog Armstrong

Arts and Entertainment Dept.

Hello to Everyone! This is louis Dog Armstrong, Director of Arts and Entertainment. Thank you so much fur coming here today.

 Arts and Entertainment is a new depawtment. Its purpose is to provide Blogville residents with art-related projects and challenges. For example, we plan to have an art challenge each month. This could be in any area of the arts.

Our furst challenge was in January. Dubbed "The Endangered Species Challenge", it drew attention to numerous endangered anipals while pawticipants were able to showcase their phodography and writing skills.

Incidentally, the Endangered Species Challenge will remain open indefinitely, so if you would like to enter, just contact me through the contact form on my sidebar on the sidebar of the Arts and Entertainment Department website.

Fur February our department is hosting the Self Pawtrait Challenge.  This one has a firm deal lion of February 15th and it involves creating some kind of artistic self pawtrait. All entries will be displayed on February 25th on the Arts and Entertainment website.

Speaking of the website, I want to thank Ann Andamus of Zoolatry, who graciously donated her design skills so we can have a beautifur site.  I think that everybuddy will agree that Ann did a wonderfur job.

Another impawtant development is that Jakey, who is the Director of Artistic Developmment, has agreed that our two depawtments should be combined. This means that Jakey and I will be working together. He has much more technical knowledge than I have so he will be posting tutorials to help Blogville residents with their art projects. Jakey is good at what he does. If it weren't fur him I wouldn't have a clue about how to use Pizap. He made it easy-peasy-lemon-squeasy.

That is pretty much all I have to say, except that I would love it if you would join me. I am about to open the Dog Perignon, which is good fur kitties, crabby girls and bunnies too.

It was Charlie Down Under who suggested that we have some decent drinks. Actually, he likes pale ale, which we now have in abundance. Thanks, Charlie, fur the good advice!

Remember, Jakey and I have an open door policy and we welcome you to visit our offices at any time. In addition to drinks we have pizza, barbequed chickens and many delicious treats.

Thanks again fur stopping by!

Louis Dog Armstrong
Director of Arts and Entertainment

My Birthday!

Hello to all of my furends!
I have to tell you that February 2 is not only GROUNDHOG DAY

BUTT

It is my very own BIRTHDAY!!!

The funny thing is that Mimi knew I was born in February but she had forgotten the exact day.  (How could she?)

Then Eric told her that it is TOMORROW!

She looked it up in my vaccination/vet records and Eric was right. My Birthday is tomorrow!!

AND

My February BARK BOX arrived in the mail today and I get to open it tomorrow, fur a birthday present!

SO

Back to the groundhog part of it. My birthday is on Groundhog Day, which is a special day fur predicting whether or not winter is finally over. The tradition is that every year on my birthday the groundhog comes out of his burrow. If it is sunny and he can see his own shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. But if it is cloudy and the groundhog can't see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

Here I am, celebrating my birthday with a friendly groundhog:

If you like, you can read all about Groundhog Day on Wikipedia.

From Vancouver,
Louis Dog Armstrong