Who me? But I’m totally innocent.
This evening I went to the computer and noticed that the mouse wasn’t working. I traced the cord back to the port to make sure it was secure and found that it wasn’t plugged in at all. This was the second time in a week that this has happened. Looks like Toby has found a new hobby….unplugging Mommy’s peripherals.
…but this time he failed thanks to my bad knee. I couldn’t move fast enough, and Toby wasn’t able to catch the toad.
Two summers ago we weren’t so lucky, and Toby did manage to lick a toad. At first I thought he had eaten a dandelion gone to seed and was shaking the white fluff off his tongue. Nope. We had several hours of rinsing his mouth while watching to see if he needed to be rushed to the emergency vet.
So, do puppies learn from their mistakes? Not my boy!
*********************************************************************
That is the scientific name for this stuff, isn’t it?
This is the latest addition to the list of things I need to keep Toby from eating. So far he has been pretty good about it, but he does keep trying to eat the mulch. I worry that this might happen again:
Why do you keep picking on me? I’ve been good lately.
*************************************************************
To catch up on what my stinky boys have been up to when they are not visiting the museum, pick up a copy of Poopiter. Poopiter tells the illustrated tales of the meeting of Bitey Dog and Toby and their adventures during their first year together.
Poopiter is available from Amazon.
This is what I found after a suspiciously quiet moment.
It wasn’t me, Mom. You can clearly see it was Blue Puppy.
Toby loves Blue Puppy, but I am finding that he is the scapegoat for a lot of things that go wrong around here. Things where Toby is somehow nearby….
*******************************************************************
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Poopiter.
Poopiter is available at Amazon. (Some people donate their copies to their local children’s libraries or the children’s ward at the hospital. Kids love reading about naughty puppies.)
You’ll want to be caught up on the boys’ adventures before they start their next one which is coming up soon. I have been working on this next book for a very long time, and it looks like I am in the final stretch. Yeah, I’m happy!
I had to do a double take the other day. Geordie was sleeping near the window, and Geordie was sleeping in his bed. Wait, what?
While this is Geordie’s bed, the usurping Toby likes to make it his own whenever he gets the chance. Sometimes Geordie will cry until the little one leaves. Sometimes he gives up and sleeps outside the door. One time he tried to paw the puppy out.
I don’t know if Toby feels safer sleeping in his big brother’s bed or if he just likes to put his stank on the blankets so that Geordie can never escape him. Either way, it is adorable.
****************************************************************************
I don’t know how, but I ended up on a mailing list for a college that sends out newsletters every so often. Sometimes the essays they feature are interesting, so I don’t mind reading them.
A few days ago a newsletter came that dealt with marijuana and lesser known scientific research on links between usage and mental illness. As I was reading, Toby decided to “help”. Each time I turned a page, he very kindly shredded it for me. He was so enthusiastic that I had to read very quickly to keep up with him.
Perhaps hungry puppies could motivate students to do their homework faster?
(I am showing my age with that comment!)
***************************************************************************
Speaking of hungry puppies, don’t forget to pick up a copy of Poopiter.
Poopiter is an illustrated journey that follows Bitey and Toby during their tumultuous first year together. A fun read and a great gift!
We all know who did it. The guy in the middle.
Bwaah! Too much partying last night!
“Awwoo! I hate spiders!” (“And I’m none too fond of wolves.”)
I don’t know why no one comes to visit.
Come a little closer, dearies….
Back when it was just Geordie and me, we used to carve pumpkins together.
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….
You might feel yourself on life’s ladder’s low rung
If you wake up each day with a paw that’s been stung.
As a painter it is my nature is to create pictures that are meticulous and exact. While studying the works of artists such as Van Gogh and Chagall though, I found myself swept away by the freedom expressiveness of their artwork, and I loved it. I want some of those feelings for myself!
I decided to explore the area around me and see what I could find to inspire me. Then I want to see what I can create – more creating a mood than a replica of the place, however. This was my first attempt at quickly capturing a scene from the neighborhood.
This particular location holds a special memory for me. When Geordie was a tiny pup, only a few months old, we were sitting at this same place. Suddenly Geordie jumped up and began growling and pulling as if he wanted to catch something. I checked all around and couldn’t find any rabbit or deer or anything. When I followed where his nose was pointing, I found a car driving on one of the roads on the facing hillside. From where we were sitting, it looked no larger than a beetle.
I hadn’t realized until then that my puppy didn’t understand perspective. The only way I could think to explain it to him was to pick him up and reach one arm out as far as I could toward the car. When he saw that even I couldn’t touch it, he finally settled down.
I still have a lot of work to do before I am comfortable with a more abstract style of painting. This one is driving me batty because I want to go back and make it right. Except, I don’t want “right” I want “mood”.
It’s a good thing I have a lot of paper because I’m pretty sure I am going to need it!
Can you find the puppy hidden in this picture?
When Bitey was little, this was his favorite hiding space…until he got too big and needed help getting back out. Wasn’t he an adorable itty bitty beast?
In instances like these, I try to envision non-linear time. What might it be like to have your little dog with you as a puppy and a senior and every step in between simultaneously? I suppose we have that with memory, but to us the points of time don’t fall together but are strung apart. I imagine that in the world beyond this one, time is non-linear.
I guess we won’t need Flashback Fridays then! : – )
The Adventures of Bitey Dog 