Canine Literati

I recently discovered a new author. Christopher Moore has written many silly books. I started with You Suck, a vampire novel with a fantastic title. After only a couple of chapters I realized that it is a sequel. So, I had to get the first book, Bloodsucking Fiends. I was startled when I found the original even funnier than the sequel. I know it often works that way, but the sequel was so funny that I couldn't think of it as less funny than something else. I highly recommend the books to all dogs with refined literary tastes. These two books even have a couple of fun canine characters.

Eddie RIP

I'm starting to really miss having a pet. My rat Eddie, who died last year, was a joy. I loved it when he sat on my shoulder and stuck his nose in my ear. His whiskers were wonderfully tickly. He already had pneumonia when he moved in with me. My fiance said I could run a hospice service for rats because I spent so much time with the little fuzzy guy while I had him. I have begun at long last to seriously consider getting a couple of young rats to roam about the house. Rats are so inquisitive and friendly. I've always thought that rats are terribly cute. Anytime they are represented as icky or creepy on TV or in movies, I always have an, "Oh! Cute!!" reaction.

Bunnies Bite

Cute, hungry rabbits ate my tarragon plant. They left nothing but a few inch-long stems sticking out of the ground. I don't mind being a rabbit farmer. We have a warren somewhere near our house, whose residents are getting more and more cheeky by the day. I'd go out and bark at them like any reasonable puppy, if they weren't so darn cute. The wildlife in Upstate New York is amazing. I've taken up birdwatching at the suggestion of my shrink. I'm finding it terribly exciting. I am slowly putting up photos on Shutterfly from some of my cool bird sightings. After hearing about a million stories about squirrels hogging birdfeeders, I decided to put up a separate feeder for squirrels. I got some great photos of what I can only call squirrel acrobatics. Check them out at ...

http://bitsy5.shutterfly.com/

Sorry, I didn't have this working right before. It should be working now.

Tarry here for me a little while ...

I just planted some tarragon in my garden. I discovered this herb in an egg salad sandwich at a local restaurant. I have loved it ever since. Now I will have fresh tarragon, unless the chipmunk eats it all. I love to experiment in the kitchen. I do a little cooking too. ;-p Most recently, I've been learning to make meat pies.

231 in Dog Years

I feel old. I have severe Rheumatoid Arthritis in multiple joints. Can you say polyarticular? I wish I didn't need to. I use a wheelchair sometimes mainly to take the weight off my knees. Things like museums are just too difficult without it. It took me a long time to work out how to pace myself and allow for days when I can't do much. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Taking care of me is definitely a trick or at least tricky. I was only 119 when I was first diagnosed with some form of arthritis. (Hey! She's making us do Math.) That's 17 to you humans. It changed my whole perspective. A life of promise became more complicated. Teachers, think twice before telling your students they can do anything. It might not be true. I'm not saying that I am unhappy with my life. I get to do some of the things I love; I just have to be a little less ambitious. Did I mention the manic-depression? Hm, guess not. There are days when I want to do everything all at once. Hey, me! Nobody can do that. Maybe God can if you believe in God. I never wanted to be God. Queen of the World, yes! I think I'd be good at it. Then again, I'm kind of a communist. Life is full of contradictions. Thanks for listening.

I Feel Puppy Today

I feel puppy today. Am I a sad in-the-doghouse puppy or am I a where-do-I-hide-this-bone excited puppy? Sometimes it can be hard to tell. I know that sounds strange, but I have been depressed and mildly manic at the same time. Right now I am just dog-tired. Why do I feel puppy? Well, I am short, furry and cute ... Curses, foiled again. I keep trying to be scary; I always fail. No one has ever found me scary. Although, there was that guy who asked me out in middle school. I hope he recovered. That is completely off-topic. We were discussing puppiness in all it's myriad forms. I am a puppy of the two-legged variety. I bark more often than most puppies of my breed, but it's always playful and rarely loud. I absolutely never ever bite (hard.) Many people claim that puppy is in fact a noun. Puppy is far too versatile a word to be limited in such a fashion. Here are some examples to prove my point. Bob took his puppy to the vet (noun.) "Why did you do that?" "I was just feeling puppy" (adjective.) He greeted me puppily (adverb.) I would now like to apologize to all non-native English speakers reading this post. Thank you and good night.