what's cooking?

While we are still experiencing temps in the 90's here in paradise, the heat is "different".  Not as blazing and delightful in the evenings.

Mornings?  Guess what-when the girls ask to go out at 6:15 we've moved from blazing heat to dark, gusty and a real nip in the air.

In fact this morning our walk was more of a guided push!

My friends had to move up their time due to work issues and I had to go to a doctor's appointment, so the girls and I didn't actually go out until 9:30.  It was easily about 78 outside.  The bad part of our walk?  Well, the winds were going strong at about 35 MPH!

We were greeted by howling and blowing gusts that literally pushed us across the street.  While the directions kept changing the blowing was still strong enough that poor Lucky kept hitting into Sunshine and I was just trying to keep moving in an upright position.

I know you're all wondering why I didn't just bail and go back in the house.  I can tell you these wise words that I've heard during an "Angie's List" commercial:  A tired dog is a good dog.

The girls love getting out and they NEED it!  They smell every shrub and tree trunk to garner all the neighborhood doggy news.  They also do their business along the way, adding (presumably) to the gossip chain.

Once home they both share the water bowl, kiss Pepper and they either share the couch here in the office or the blanket on the floor.

Because the weather has changed, Steve and I used one of his days off this week to shop for winter coats.  Not for us, ours are busy gathering dust in the closet, but for the pups.

Now it's true, Lucky has a wardrobe going on after having her almost 4 years.  She has a thin hoody, a cute bright red sweater with white puffy trim and a fleece hoody.  She loves the red one the most.

Since Sunshine is new to our family she didn't have anything to keep her warm during those few weeks when the temps both dip and the wind is bitter.  So this brought on the shopping trip on her behalf.

We checked out the usual spots:  PetSmart, Petco, Wal-mart and then we walked into Ross Dress for Less.

It was there that we found quite the array of sweaters, sweatshirts and coats.

We picked out matching ones in the appropriate sizes and were heading to the cashier when I realized that something important was missing from these items:  leash holes!  How were we supposed to hook the girls up for walks without the leash holes?

Of course this meant going back to the racks of doggy outfits.  All the dang sweaters and sweatshirts had this oddity!  Then we found them-matching pink puffy jackets with gray fleece linings and snaps.

Personally, being the one who's going to be dressing them, I'm not really excited about the snaps, but these will keep the girls warm during our walks this winter.

When we got home we tried them on.  We did Lucky first, as she's experienced in what's "hot" in outerwear for Chihuahuas.  She was thrilled!  Big smile on her face and was prancing around Sunshine.  Then it was Sunshine's turn.  Poor baby cowered-she thought it was some sort of punishment.

Then she realized that they were both wearing these "things" and stood a bit straighter and walked around the house as well.  Once we knew they fit we removed the jackets as it was actually 82 in the house. 

No sense pushing our luck.  They will be walking during our brief foray into the cold winter weather in style.

For now the matching puffy pink coats will stay in the laundry room waiting for the day when the temps drop clear into the lower 60's and the wind chill factor will actually put a need for those cute puppy clothes.  Until then, oh my goodness, the girls will continue to walk the neighborhood in a state of total undress.