Violet
double thumbs up
For the evening's entertainment, we have...
not today
about that glow
I've been angling for one of those sweet electric fireplaces, but Neel is having none of it. Instead he dragged out our old kerosene heater and fired that puppy up. It's the kerosene heater from his childhood. From the drafty old house he grew up in. And let's face it, despite how ugly it may be, that thing is a dream.
Still, I haven't given up on my hope for a fireplace. You knew that, right?
char-broil
Thea Turbo McFatty loves nothing more than to cook out with Neel.
She's a big help.
"Could this grate be dirty?"
"I'd better check."
"Uh-oh. Busted."
"How about if I just sit up here and help?"
"I'm sorry. Really, really sorry."
"I can still help, right? Right??"
hounds about town
On gorgeous fall Sundays, we all spend a lot of time outside.
Every time one of us steps outside, they feel the need to put on a show.
Let's face it, they do it all the time, anyway.
Thea looks like she's laughing her dang fool head off.
Violet's a lover, not a fighter.
Break's over. We joke that Violet is the hardest working dog in show business. She takes her duties very seriously and clearly feels more comfortable controlling the perimeter than cavorting with those other two bozos.
Thea's ready to rest, however.
Violet, listen to your mother.
But Lucy's a restless soul.
D.O.D. Dogs on Duty. The trick is to make it look like you're resting.
Lucy and Thea cave pretty sharpish. Violet has everything under control.
G.U.L.P.
So when I came inside from chatting with some friends on the block last night, Neel was leaning against the living room wall where our eventual doorway is going to go. "Hi!" He said cheerily.
And then he moved his head.
See that little hole?
See that hole?
And that one? That's on the kitchen side, so I I knew we were going for it, just not so soon.
Just as I got used to that little hole...
They kept going.
Good-bye wall. Hello doorway.
The dogs are worried, the mess is unbelievable, and I had a hard time concentrating on Top Chef Masters, but they did it.
Lucy kept going around the corner, getting surprised and barking at the gaping hole in the wall, but Violet fits right in!
sick bay
Well it turns out I had the flu. We seem to have knocked it back to a glancing blow, and I'm down to a gnarly cough and resultant diaphragm pain and deadening fatigue. I plan to go to work today, but I haven't quite worked out how I'm going to manage the drive. I'm convinced I never would have gotten so well so fast without some tremendous help.
Nurses Violet, Lucy and Thea now reporting! (Not pictured, Nurse Turbo McFatty Thea, on duty at the foot of the sofa.)
Hop to, Nurse Lucy! (It's her third 11-7 shift in a row, and she's feeling the effects.)
We're all pretty worn out, actually.
Nurse Violet is steady-as-she-goes, though. She's offered to take a double shift, if it means she doesn't have to move.
Photo credits to Neel, who I'm sure, would want me to point out the Eagles cap. He said it would keep me warm, and I said, "Like it helped them win?" I had to wear my own cap today.
three bad dogs
They're pretty cute, huh?
Pretty guilty, I'd say.
We really had this escape-business resolved. Good dogs, one and all. Violet and Thea are the worst. Lucy has been so good. She'll even tell us if the other two get out.
Not today. These three broke, and I say that literally, through the bottom panel of our fence into the worst possible, most inaccessible, the world's-a-scary-place place. Damn dogs. So here I am, yelling, yelling, yelling. Down on my knees, peering through the broken fence as they run and frolic in the backyard behind ours. Aside from the fact that I'm still in my jammies, I can't get there from here.
Thea comes back. Back through the breach, and submits to me (and well she should). Violet and Lucy still running and they will not come. The lady in the house whose yard they're so enjoying calls to me from her doorway, "The little one is here, but I don't know where the other one went."
Great.
So I bring Thea in, run to the car (did I mention that I'm in my jammies?) and drive around the block to find both Lucy and Violet trotting down the street towards me. I open the car door and right away Lucy jumps in. Violet seems hesitant but is near enough for me to grab her collar, and in she goes as well.
My mouth was dry, my heart pounding and here they are, wag, wag wag and wreathed in doggie smiles. So much for my restful morning at home.
Can you believe they are still asking to go out?
sick bay
Well Violet and Thea had a little...ahem...procedure done today. You know, the removal of their lady parts. And now everyone is draped over a loved one and languishing. All is well, but much love and extra kisses are definitely prescribed. Keeping them quiet tonight is no problem, but how the heck are we going to keep them quiet tomorrow?
the house at pooh corner
I know you probably don't care much about what I've been up to this week. I'm sure everybody is wondering how the girls are all getting along and settling in.
So far, things are going pretty well.
I have a lot to learn, I know, about the politics of a multi-dog house. Dare I say a multi-bitch house? Present company excluded, of course. But we are very proud of our girls and how well they are seem to be adjusting to life together. I've told several people now that we have a shake-down of characters from Winnie-the-Pooh.
Lucy is Tigger. Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. I worried about her adjustment the most, even though I knew she was lonely. But she's held her own. Our first born pup, Phoebe was so old when Lucy-Goosey moved in, that she was no real companion for our little beagle pup. Every morning when I'd get up early, early, Lucy would come downstairs with me and chase a ball or a bone or a decapitated squeaky toy from room to room. Only when the other girls got here did I realize that she was probably waiting for that toy to chase her back.
Now she has Violet. Lucy and Vi have really bonded and they play just the way Lucy and her tennis ball used to.
Violet is our little Piglet. "I'm a very small dog, you know, " she reminds us continually. She is a sweet, wee little peanut.
I mean look at that face. Impossibly sweet. She reminds me of a Steiff stuffed animal. Except her theme music is from The Great Escape. This very small dog (you know) has been very big trouble. Oh but she loves you so much, all she wants to do is snuggle. And kiss you. And snuggle some more. Except she's just very curious about what's on the other side of the fence. Our very own Pokey Little Puppy. She seems very confident and self-assured. I don't know what it is about Lucy that makes us think she's looking around to say, "Is this how we do it guys?" Not Violet. She knows the score. If she doesn't like how things are going down (Lucy and Thea's scraps were troubling to her at first), she'd just get up and leave. Hang out in her crate. But mostly she's happy. Her whole body wiggles when she wags her tail. And she'll put her paws up on her mom or Lucy's back if she's trying to get a little taller. Have to get a picture of that sometime. I keep trying.
Thea cracks me up because she is so serious. She's our Rabbit. Bossy and, well, bossy. I don't know anything about the Welsh national character; she strikes me as more German. Life is work. And she's regal too. When they got here, she jumped on the sofa and said, "Madame may be served her dinner now." When Team Squirrel springs into action, Thea is very focused. The first off the starting block as they all scamper outside. While the little girls play and bounce and chase about the back yard, Thea will watch from the porch.
I love this picture because she looks almost lighthearted. Almost. She's not. We had dinner by the fire Saturday night, and Thea is not lighthearted about food. She knows her way around a kitchen and a dining room, and she works hard in both places. She disdains toys, she never smiles, she's even been known to frown upon a milkbone. She reminds me of Mrs. Fisher in Enchanted April. All Thea wants to do is be left alone and think of better times and better men.
It's hard work on all of these girls running this house. Still, I think they'd all say they landed some place soft.
