Category: Cocoa and Haru

Breakfast in the woods

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I haven’t gone camping since I was a kid. It was a school camping trip and I remember I didn’t like it because it was raining and I got sick there. However, I decided to go camping again. Why? I wanted to take a picture of stars. I needed to go to a place where has a very dark sky.

My husband and I took our two wiener dogs, Cocoa and Haru to Lake Wenatchee located northeast of Seattle about 2 hours drive. We relaxed by the lake, enjoyed paddle boarding, and headed to our camp site. Our tent was big enough for us with two dogs and very comfortable. Unfortunately it got cloudy at night and we were not able to see stars. However, it was really nice to spend a relaxing time in the tent with my husband and dogs listening the wind at night.

I think Haru doesn’t like a camping. When she was eating her meal, a bee flew around her. She immediately lost her interest to her meal and she escaped to the tent. After that she rushed to our car crying. I think she was saying “Let’s go home!”.

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Next morning my husband cooked the breakfast. He usually makes pancakes, omelettes, baked potatoes on the weekend at home. The breakfast he made was a typical one with pancakes, sausages, and sunny side up eggs. I added berries on the plates and prepared coffee. It was one of the most delicious breakfast I’ve ever had. I think that’s because we enjoyed our breakfast in clear air surrounded by the trees with a partial lake view with chipmunks saying hello.

This camping was a completely different experience from the one I had long time ago. We enjoyed being in the outdoor and appreciated the beauty of the nature.

前回キャンピングに行ったのは中学生の頃、学校からのキャンプトリップ。雨は降るし、テントや毛布もきれいじゃないし、おまけに体調も壊していい思い出は無かった。そんな私がキャンプに行こうと思ったのは綺麗な星空を見たかったから。そしてその星空をカメラに収めたかったから。

旦那と我が家の愛犬、二匹のミニダックスフンド、ココとハルを連れだってシアトルから車で2時間ほど東にあるウエナッチー湖にあるキャンプ場へ向かった。山に囲まれた湖でたくさんの人が思い思いに楽しんでいた。私たちもパドルボーディングをしたりビーチでのんびり過ごした。

キャンプサイトは私達には十分広すぎるぐらいだった。テントは大人二人と犬二匹と荷物でちょうどいい大きさ。寝袋以外にも枕や毛布、マットなど持って来たので快適だった。夜は残念ながら雲が出てきて星空は見えなかった。でもみんなで風の音を聞きながらテントで過ごした夜は不思議なほど楽しかった。

ハルは少し敏感な犬で周りの環境が変わるとちょっと難しい。外でご飯を食べてると虫が飛んできて、ハルは食べ終わってもいないのにテントへ逃げ込んんだ。その後、車までキュンキュン泣きながら走っていった。きっと「早く家に帰ろう。」って言ってたのかな。

翌朝、旦那が朝食を作ってくれた。普段から週末はパンケーキやオムレツなど作ってくれるのだが、今回も普通の朝ごはん、パンケーキとソーセージ、目玉焼きを作ってくれた。私は苺とブルーベリーをそのお皿に足し、コーヒーを淹れた。普通の朝ごはんだけどなんだか今まで食べた中で一番美味しく感じた。きっと外で澄み切った空気と木々の緑、少し見える湖、そして人懐こいシマリス達と一緒に食べたからだろうか。今年の夏もそろそろ終わりを迎え始めてるそんな森の中で食べた美味しい朝ごはん。今回のキャンプは前回よりもとても楽しいものとなりました。

2 Years with Haru

Published on by sachikishiro1 Comment

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It has been almost 2 years since Haru(Koharu) came into our lives and became the youngest member of our family. She is a miniature dachshund with shaded cream long hair.  Unlike Cocoa, our first dog, she has a very strong personality.  She is very carefree and doesn’t usually pay attention to what we say. I have probably spoiled her too much because she is my baby.

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Every morning and late afternoon, Haru sits on top of the couch which is placed against a big window, and she watches people and dogs walking on the street.  She often barks when she sees people and other dogs, as if she is reporting somebody suspicious.  Even in the early morning when it is dark outside, she sticks her face out to watch between two curtain panels.

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One time, Haru injured her paw on the escalator.  One of her toe nails got stuck and she got a bloody paw.  Her vet treated her paw with a truck patterned blue bandage.  I wished that she could have gotten a pink bandage.

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Flying Haru.                                                                                                               Cool down by swiming

It has been a joy to spend time with Haru walking, playing, and sleeping together.  We love her as much as we do Cocoa, and I love when Cocoa and Haru come to me excitedly every day after I come home.  We look forward to having more adventures with them in the years to come.

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We can see how much Haru has grown by the stuffed bear.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Cocoa!

Published on by sachikishiro8 Comments

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Cocoa turned eight today!  He was a very cute puppy, but a very naughty puppy as well.  Cocoa destroyed several electrical cords, several pairs of shoes,  and my daughter’s toys.  While he was playing with my husband’s sweatshirt, he even ended up stuck in the sleeve.

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Cocoa loves to snuggle in clothes just out of the dryer, sleep by the heater, and sit on my husband’s lap. But most of all he loves his squeaky toys!  He plays and plays with them until they are broken and no sound comes out at all.

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When baby Haru came, Cocoa was a very good big brother and tolerated her, even when she played with his toys and woke him up at night. He even protects her outside.

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Cocoa’s once beautiful black and tan colors are now speckled with gray and his soft fur has hardened a bit, but Cocoa is still a beautiful dog, inside and out.  We love you, Cocoa and Happy birthday!

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Crochet Mini Bags

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These crochet mini bags are the perfect size for daily handheld things, like snacks, lunches,  phones, or cosmetics.  I bought 3 different kinds of yarn; green, orange, and ivory of 100% Peruvian Highland Wool to make bags in each colour.  As I was making the crochet bag, I realized I did not have enough yarn, so I decided to combine the colours.

This is a star shaped crochet stitch, so a star shaped pattern can be seen in the bag.

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The insides of the bags are lined with similarly coloured fabric and Kokobiyori’s logo.

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Besides the crochet mini bags, I made a crochet doughnut shaped pillow for Haru, which she loves!       As I was making the mini bags, she was lying on the pillow keeping me company.

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Hand Warmers – Part 2

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This is my second post about hand warmers. After knitting my last pair, I decided to try out three new designs. One is grey, another is orange and yellow patterned, and another is an ivory color with eyelet stitches.

I like to knit hand warmers because I don’t need much yarn to make a pair and it only takes a few hours to make.  Once I decide the design, I can knit hand warmers in various colors.

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I especially like the off white colour because it gives the essence the snow.

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Cocoa’s Winter Hat

Published on by sachikishiro2 Comments

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When my daughter was in elementary school, I used to knit her all kinds of scarves and sweaters to wear. As she grew older, my focus shifted to my two other babies; wiener dogs named Cocoa and Haru. Like many other dog owners, I constantly spoil them and spend precious time and money buying them toys and little outfits.

One day I saw an adorable picture in my kitchen calendar.

cocoa's hat

 

The rainbow colored knit hat inspired me to make a similar one for my cream colored, long haired pup, Haru. So I picked up my knitting needles and alpaca yarn that I hadn’t used since my last scarf. Simply eyeballing the picture and about a million mistakes later, I had completed a pretty, pink, mini hat.

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Ecstatic with the outcome, I excitedly plopped the hat on Haru’s head, and tied the bow below her chin. Much to my disappointment, the hat made her head look like a mushroom, and she looked like a canine water polo player. A bit distressed, I turned to my other dog, Cocoa, who was lying dejectedly on his bed. Calling him out, I hopefully tied the hat to his head. It turned out that Cocoa looked much better in the hat than Haru did, and my hat making efforts were rewarded!

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