On the McKenzie River with Zeke

First, apologies to all for taking an extended unannounced break from Pocket Full of Stones. Life happened.

You may have noticed that I've been quite busy launching and building That's So Northwest - Northwest Community CU's blog and Social Media extravaganza. If you haven't popped in over there, it's worth the click. Lots of fun, variety and a heck of a great group of people speaking their peace if I do say so myself. 

Now for what I really want to talk about. One of my all time favorite topics - the sweetest, smartest of dogs, Zeke. He is NOT spoiled.
This past weekend, we took a short jaunt to the McKenzie River with Zeke, and our new video enabled iPhones (say YES! to on phone video editing). Now I get to regale you all with pics AND video. Woot! 


Zeke loves the water. Without doubt, that is an under statement. In the dead of winter, he will beg us to break through the inches thick ice in his kiddie pool so that he can submerge himself in it's frigid bliss. In the snow and pouring rain he will lay in the river with just the holes of his nose and his eye's visible for so long that many people ask us if he is ok and stare at us as if we are somehow abusing him. We aren't - I promise.

 
For hours on end, Zeke will happily swim after his tennis ball in most any body of water ever eager to meet nearly any challenge to retrieve his ball and do it all over again. I've witnessed that dog create his personal version of Groundhog's Day over and over again in utter ball-retrieving-glee. Zeke learned to swim in the McKenzie River. In fact the video below is shot at the very spot on the river where he journeyed his first rapid and I thought I would have a heart attack. He was totally fine. It took me a little long, but I too made it through. He is a good judge of water. If he is uncomfortable with the water, he flat won't get in, even if we do. What's that say about us? If the current is too swift, Zeke wisely whimpers from shore as he donates yet another tennis ball to the river.  

Now on with the show. Here is Zeke, fishing for river rock on the McKenzie River.

And a little footage of the tennis ball action, just because I talked about it so darn much.
We are working on our video technique. That's all I have to say about that.

All photo's and video in this post are courtesy of my darling N. and his iPhone. He has been waiting for me to post this since this past Sunday. Check. Finally!

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Down Home Cookin' - Papa's Soul Kitchen - Eugene, Oregon

This is not diet food. This is serious down home food. Not that I've ever lived in or near the South. But I have traveled there and every once in a great while get to cravin' some hush puppies, black eyed peas and fried okra. mmm hmm.

Meet Papa's Soul Kitchen. The other night, N. and I were looking for some reasonably priced eats and were weary of our regular dining establishments. We were stuck in a rut. We were looking for change. Enter handy iPhone app UrbanSpoon! A couple of shakes and we were on our way.

There is no point in postponing the truth. We had a blast. Live Bluesy-Jazz. Outdoor Seating. Lemonade served in a mason jar. Cool, laid back atmosphere. You know that feeling you get when you walk into a place and it feels just right? Yep, that was it. And the food... was just what the doctor ordered for to soothe my soul.

We started with hush puppies and fried okra. Then moved to fried chicken with mac-n-cheese. N. had corn and I had black eyed peas and they did not disappoint! The fried chicken was some of the best I've had. And it looks like they are doing some construction to move the band and fun outside. We can't wait!

Papa's Soul Kitchen & BBQ is located at 400 Blair Blvd. Eugene, Oregon. In my humble opinion, it's worth a visit if you haven't already made the trip.

All photo's courtesy of me and my aforementioned iPhone. So, please do pardon the quality. It's meant to give you just enough taste of the experience to want to try it out for yourself. Or not. I suppose it's worth mentioning that Papa's Soul Kitchen & BBQ wouldn't know me if they saw me. I have received no kick backs - ha!, no free food or drink, no special favors of any kind for writing this post. This is just me sharing with you.

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How to have a bang up doggie Birthday Party. Or, Zeke turns 4!

On June 14, 2009, Zeke turned 4! Hard to believe how our sweet little pup has grown up. I've always said fourth birthday's are a good time to do something you've never done before. Like say, go on a bike ride which from Zeke's perspective was more like going on a run while attached to a bloody leash as his parents were riding their bikes. It was a big moment and he was a little nervous at first. As I've mentioned before, we've training Zeke to function in the world with hand and voice commands without a leash. It must have seemed like I was trying to torture him. But then we got the hang of it and in typical Zeke fashion, all was well in the world. We headed to the river OF COURSE! When we got off the main road we took Zeke off of the leash where he discovered the joy of racing his parents on their bikes. On the way to the river, Zeke won. On the way home from the river, parents won.

Any decent fourth Birthday party includes water and ball time. It's a must.

It's all about the ball. Zeke doesn't even bother to shake off. He is so confident that he is going back into the river to chase the ball, shaking would simply be a waste of resources.

After he ran home with the bikes, it was water time again. He did his bird bath imitation wherein he ducks his nose under the water and tosses it up over his head. I didn't catch it on film. Sorry. Then he had some canned pumpkin, cause it rocks. That's how you can tell we are related - I adore anything pumpkin and so does Zeke.

To top the day off, Zeke cuddled with laid on his favorite kitty cat, Cecil. Which made Cecil purr. Loudly.

I do believe he had a great day! I swear we did not "stage" these photos.

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