Tag: dogs

The Power of River

River still has the same superpower as always. No matter how many tears fall from missing him, one look at his sweet face can inspire a smile.

It seems like the last twelve months raced past, but the way Tim misses River meant long, difficult months for him. That’s what makes it even more generous that Tim opened his home and heart to Rex.

It wouldn’t have surprised River at all, of course, as he well knew the best of Tim.

The Dog Whisperer and the Princess

Margot is a good dog, but she has issues. Even though she’s been in a loving home for many years now, living on the street left its scars. She hates loud noises; thunderstorms and fireworks are particularly hard for her. She gets along great with Guinness, but with other dogs, her timidity and playfulness are in conflict. This often causes her to charge and snarl at Rex, who can’t understand Margot’s moodiness when he tries to engage her in a game.

She got in trouble with the Dog Whisperer for her behavior during one of these incidents, and here’s what happened afterward.
photos here

Mea culpa

For all y’all who are e-mailing and calling me, I hope you read here, so you’ll know that I’m not ignoring you, and I will respond, just slowly. I love hearing from you, I truly do, and I appreciate hearing what’s going on with you (if only you all had LiveJournals!). I’m just overwhelmed right now with the writing stuff. It’ll get better.

I did take a little break on New Year’s Eve, my least favorite holiday of the year–though it’s always okay if I keep it low-key, and I did. Lynne brought Greta the Dowager Doberman, Sparky, and Minute for a slumber party with Margot and Guinness. You can’t pay for comedy like that. Greta’s got some continence issues, so she has a snazzy snap-on diaper that she wears in the house. No pictures, because she IS the dowager and deserves to hold on to some shred of dignity. Sparky’s blindness didn’t stop him from playing hard with Minute, but it also didn’t serve him well in a strange place with hazards he can’t see, like steps, bushes, brick walls, and other dogs. Margot sometimes wanted to play, but mostly she just arranged a pillow on the bed and perched on it like a princess, staying above it all. Guinness by turns wailed, barked, and passed out–which is what many of you were probably doing on New Year’s Eve, too.

After we prepared and ate a Tex-Mex feast, Tim went back to the Satellite Office to continue writing. Lynne and I got to Lindsey and Rhonda’s minutes before the year changed. Lynne played The Simpsons Clue with Lindsey, Ileya, and Adam, while another of their guests approached me with, “Did you used to work at Bookstop?” Amazingly, after all these years, I was able to recall Patrick’s name and met his cool wife, who was patient with us while we reminisced, as former Bookstop employees are wont to do. She also had the coolest black leather trench coat.

As we were leaving later, Rhonda and Lindsey offered us one of their remaining bottles of champagne, so we got to come home and share a toast to 2007 with Tim. Lynne and her canines went to bed shortly afterward, and Tim and I sat up until five a.m. talking about the things that Tim and I talk about (conversations that often get repeated by characters a year or two later).

Monday, Lynne and I hung out and talked about the things WE talk about. After we made a trip to Whole Foods, she went back to Green Acres with Greta, Sparky, and Minute. I did a dash to Shady Pines to make sure my mother got her black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day. Tom got home safely from his trip to see his side of our family (and to bring more fabulous presents to me from them, including a big stack of canvases, YAY!).

And now it’s all about work, because TJB5 is due January 15 and Coventry 2 is due March 1. I’ll probably be a horrible friend for the next eight weeks.

a few photos here