Shadow Games

When I started Bitey Dog, it was really just a way for me to capture special memories of my boy.  This post is one of those.

Carn terrier puppy hiding under a chair.

I played just like when I was a puppy!

Geordie has always loved chasing flashlight beams.  He will run himself to the point of exhaustion barking at full volume while chasing the light all over the house.  In bad weather, it was a nice cheating way to exercise my boy.

For some reason, Toby does not see the light as something to be chased…but Geordie is.  Toby knows that if Geordie goes on a run-and-bark tare, he will be yelled at.  Toby can’t stand raised voices or angry family, so he does his best to keep Geordie in check.  As Geordie sprints by, Toby will reach over and chomp him on the butt.

When Toby’s tennis ball rolled under the furniture and I needed the flashlight to find it, Geordie insisted on a game.  In spite of being sick, I had him running, barking and jumping all over the place just like when he was a puppy.  Toby got in just as much exercise chasing Geordie and trying to bite him.

It was just a little game, but it was so nice to see that  my Geordie still has the energy to run and play.  It helps me to remember that he will always be that crazy ball of fluff both in this world and the next.

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To share some of Bitey and Toby’s other adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available from Amazon.  Start thinking early about Christmas gifts!

 

 

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Not Cool, Mom!

Sketch of Cairn terrier dog.

Seriously, you chose this picture?!?

When Geordie saw the picture of Toby I posted on the blog, he insisted that I put a picture of him up next.  For some reason he is unhappy about this one.

This is a draft of one of the pictures in his (and Toby’s.  Don’t tell him Toby is in the book too) next book.  Although I have been working on it for a year, it feels like I am never going to get done.

This book is filled with so many memories for me.  It has also been a great opportunity for me to learn more about working with digital media.  At the rate I am going, though, I will die of oldness long before I ever get done.

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To read some of Bitey and Toby’s already finished adventures, pick up a copy of Poopiter.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Poopiter is available at Amazon.  It would make a great Christmas gift for the dog lover in your life!

 

 

 

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Halloween Memories

001 - Copy (2) - CopyWe all know who did it.  The guy in the middle.

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Bwaah!  Too much partying last night!

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“Awwoo!  I hate spiders!”    (“And I’m none too fond of wolves.”)

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I don’t know why no one comes to visit.

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Come a little closer, dearies….

Back when it was just Geordie and me, we used to carve pumpkins together.

Geordie and the Pumpkin 1

He would climb inside the pumpkins as I would try to work and try to eat them from the inside out.    Since Toby has come along, things have been too chaotic to try any holiday decorating.  I feel bad that my little guy hasn’t had a chance to climb inside his own pumpkin.

If only he were Peter, Peter Pumpkin-Eater’s dog….

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We Need a New Name

I think we need a new name for this month.  It used to be that October was a chilly time,  unique in its crisp, colorful way.  With temps now a good 15-20 degrees above normal, it is more like August. The plants have come back to life.  The bees are active and cranky.  The humans still wear beach-style clothing.  No, I think we should call this month Augtober.  It seems more fitting.

Honey bee climbing on clover.

Cranky bees.

Violet blooming in Fall.

Flowers think it is Spring.

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If there is anything you would like to buy from my store, checkout will be easier now than in a month.  Unfortunately business has not been good this year, so I am having to downgrade to a more cumbersome, two step checkout method. The shop is Needful Things of Salem.  I have a little something for everyone!

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Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Poopiter!

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

Available at Amazon.

 

 

 

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Things We Take for Granted

Cairn terrier sitting with marigolds.

Toby visiting the new statue and enjoying the marigolds.

At mass this weekend, the topic of parish closings came up.  It seems that with all of the scandal in the Catholic church, attendance is dangerously low (as is financial support), and there is a very real chance that we could lose our church.  For some reason I had never considered this as a possibility.

Our church isn’t one of the oldest, but it has been around for 50 years.  A lot of work has been done with building maintenance, improvements to the grounds and even adding a statue of the patron saint.  Not only is it a big part of the community, but it is where dog people in the area meet to talk and exercise their pups.  My boys grew up there and are known by everyone.

Since I have MCS, being in buildings with a lot of people wearing perfume and having cigarette smoke on their clothes is more than I can bear, so I haven’t attended mass in a good while.  I still participate in as many other aspects of the community as I can, however.

I didn’t realize until today just how much I would miss it if our church weren’t here.  I know a lot of other people are going through the same thing.  October is the month when then count attendance in order to determine which churches are closed and which kept open.  I am hoping to struggle through as many services as I can to do my part to keep this one open.  I hope that most churches are able to weather this storm and continue to provide good things for their communities for years to come.

Good luck with yours!

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Need to distract yourself from being sad over things that are not in your control?  Consider reading Poopiter! It is a fun little distraction with plenty of stories about these naughty pups.

Bitey Dog and Toby in POOPITER

 

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No Good Deed

I have been trying to be responsible this Summer and keep up with my garden as tasks arise.  On Thursday I was doing my best to to be a good steward and pick beets to can.  I wanted to make sure none of the precious food went to waste.  And what was the reward for my efforts?

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Some stupid bug came along and bit/stung me on the eye!  Is this dampening my enthusiasm for further gardening?  You betcha.

Little Cairn Terrier smiles for the camera.

Ha! Mom, you look like Popeye!

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Come visit with the boys on their adventures in Poopiter!

(Watch them laugh at my misery.)

 

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My Kingdom for a Drawing Program!

Is there anyone out there who could recommend a free drawing program that you don’t need to be a genius to use?  I am working with (and enjoying) Photoshop Elements 6, but I find that I want to do things than it can’t.  I recently tried Krita, and I think I am going to love it….eventually.  At the moment I am still having trouble with basics like consistently using the undo tool more than once and adding text.  The brushes are pretty awesome, though.

I am looking to create an effect that would look like embossing on homemade paper where the texture of the paper is preserved through the text.  Does that sound doable?  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Smiling Cairn terrier boy.

 

Mom, you’ve got to be kidding me.  You’re not planning to spend even more time in front of that stupid box, are you?

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How Do You Live With A Dog On Steroids?

A tired woman brushes her itchy dog at night.

Last week Geordie had an appointment with the vet, and she gave him steroids to help with the full-body itchies he gets at this time of year.  I thought this would be a great thing – my boy would finally stop nagging me because he was miserable and didn’t know what to do about it.  Maybe we could both get some sleep!

And yet, no.  Instead we have substituted one misery for another.  The steroids have given Geordie an appetite beyond belief.  He spends all day squeaking at me to give him  biscuits.  He’ll take kibble or table food, but he wants biscuits.  Milk Bones, Liva’ Snaps, Marrow Bones…it doesn’t matter.  He’ll eat them all.  Literally.

An unexpected side effect from Geordie’s steroids is that Toby is gaining weight.  Why?  Is he getting into Geordie’s meds?  No, but every time I feed Geordie, I need to give Toby something to preserve equity in the house.  Even if I only give Toby one piece of kibble, Geordie eats so often that my little Toby has turned into a butterball.  Today I made him go for a long walk around the neighborhood until he flopped down on the pavement in surrender.  We’re going to need a lot of those before the weight comes off.

Fat dog thinks angry thoughts.

Whatchoo talking’ ’bout?  I’m not fat!

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