Archive for the ‘puppy love’ Category
doggies in a box
If you’ve been paying attention, you know that the most recent addition to our household, Stella, is about to give us even more additions to the household.
Well the other day, Stella was acting a little funny, so I thought maybe the time was approaching when the puppies would be joining us. We have no idea when she was sperminated, other than that it was before August 31 when she came to stay with us. The gestation period of dogs is between 60-63 days, so for sure by the end of the month, there will be some action around here.
Stella’s anxiety turned out to be a false alarm, but it did inspire me to whip together a whelping box for her. I swear that’s what it’s called!
Since I thought this was an emergency, I grabbed got a good-sized cardboard box and did it up with some old sheets and whatnot–whatever I could grab was going in just in case this was the real deal.
Just as I put the last sheet in, this happened: 
And that turned into this:
I think she likes it.
And I couldn’t help but sing “Don’t be fooled by the nips that she’s got–she’s still (she’s still) Stella in the box.” Needless to say, P didn’t get it. You get it right? (Notice I’m not asking whether it’s actually funny.)
And then, a couple hours later–after the immediacy of the situation had passed and it became clear that there wouldn’t be any little Stellas that day–I looked over and saw this:
For those who can’t tell, this is Luna (who is *not* pregnant–see why here).
So the new plan is that when P and I finally move house (we should be starting work on the new place within the month!), Luna and Stella will have new homes too–because P has been commissioned to build some doggie boxes.*
And that’s love right there.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
*Very different from the type of box Justin Timberlake has made famous.
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[tags]dogs, puppies, whelping boxes, love thursday[/tags]
Well I Love a Rainy Night, Such a Beautiful Sight
Ciao! I hope everyone had a nice weekend full of Internet connections!
Yes, we lost contact with the outside world (via computer) again on Sunday morning, and it lasted until yesterday evening–and this morning it has been so frustratingly slow to do anything. I’m not even sure if this is going to post when I’m done, but it’s worth a shot.
To be clear, I’m not complaining because when I called the Internet provider, they told me it’d be fixed by giovedì mattina–Thursday morning. Look at Telecom coming through early! Miracles do happen!
So what caused the outage? Well, they can blame this:
But in reality, we lost the phone and internet before the *big* storms came–and they were big. Huge. Scary in fact, and they lasted most of the day Sunday and yesterday.
No complaints on the rain either as it’s been so very long since we’ve had a good soaking, although I could do without the lightning and thunder. I think the pooches, though trembling, secretly enjoyed it all because it meant plenty of Mommy Lap time–Luna on the upper half, Stella on the lower as we stared off into the fog, clouds, and rain (no television allowed when there’s lightning!).
So, forced to stay inside, we did a little of this:
Which eventually led to this:
Those are pieces of one of our chickens marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Stubb’s Rosemary-Ginger Spice Rub (sent by my mom) and then basted by P using a brush made of his mother’s dried oregano. Yum!
Great family and food time aside, I also got *a lot* of other things done–finished all the translations that were piled up, completed another couple writing assignments, wrote a handful of blog posts, and ran a bunch of errands (in between the raindrops of course). I haven’t felt so accomplished in weeks!
I love the rain! Especially when it’s followed by this:
And, in case you’re wondering, now we’re back to this:
And how was your weekend?
P.S. Thanks so much for turning the last post into a wonderful discussion! You have no idea how happy it makes me when that happens.
september i hardly knew ye!
I completely forgot about my Monthly Musing this month! Why is that? Probably because I love, love, love September and was too busy enjoying it…and didn’t it just fly by?!
September is my second favorite month after October, my birth month (the 18th if you’re keeping track), which is really like September Plus in my mind–but more on that another time.
So to me September is:
Relief from heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and all the nasty stuff about summer
that makes me irritable just thinking about it…
Renewed energy and fresh starts–
this from years of the school year really starting to kick into gear…
Smells of wood burning, rainy mornings, and
actual hot meals coming off the stove and out of the oven…
A crispness in the air coupled with warm sunshine, and
never knowing exactly how to dress for the weather…
Longer walks with the dogs because I won’t be pouring in sweat and
dreading every successive step…
Shorter but not too-short days, which means more cuddle time
with P as well as with the pooches…
I always love the glorious ninth month, and this year was no different. Thanks for the memories, September! Loved it, loved it, loved it, and I can’t wait to greet October (doesn’t hurt that Season 3 of “Lost” starts here tomorrow–yeah!!!!).
Now tell me do–
what do *you* like about September?
P.S. Have you noticed that I’ve signed up for NaBloPoMo? If you’re a blogger and want to pledge to post something every day during the month of November and join a great community besides, go here.
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[tags] september[/tags]
stellaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Lovely Luna filled out this meme a while back, and ever since Stella Bella found out, she’s been pestering me for some blog time. Yeah, she goes through my archives when I’m not looking. Crafty, this one.
So here’s Stella’s first meme, as originally filled out by Mushu at A Spot of T. You can check out Luna’s meme here.
Not enough pooch talk for you? Check out our friends Phil and L over at the Dog Blog. They so crazy!
Whaddya mean you have to leave the house for three minutes?
1. What kind of dog are you? One that looks a lot like the other dog around here. I’ve heard that I resemble a Basenji and also a Cirneco dell’Etna. Whatever. I’m cute. That’s all you need to know.
2. Are you a boy or a girl? I’m all girl, and, in fact, expecting.
3. How old are you? The humans think around 9 months, but I’m not telling.
4. Name one thing you received as a gift on your last birthday. Haven’t even had one yet, at least not with these people.
5. Choose one word to best describe your physique. Wiry, and my mind is wily. Hah!
6. Share a quote. “Did I do that?” Steve Urkel.
7. Have you ever been stung by a bee? If so, where? Please don’t put the malocchio on me.
8. Who’s your strangest family member? Paws down, the other mutt. She does *everything* the humans tell her to. Weirdo.
9. Who’s your favorite family member? Tie between the guy and the girl. They both give good petties and treats, so there’s really no telling the difference between them most of the time.
10. Do you make an effort to be environmentally friendly? Yes. I’ll “recycle” anything.
11. If you were given a blank canvas and water colors, what would you paint? The bunnies that the guy took me to see precisely once. I wonder why he hasn’t taken me back there. Oh they were cuddly.
12. When is the best time for you to take a 20 minute nap? Only when everyone else is asleep, otherwise I’ll miss something.
13. Your hair? “Every-freaking-where” says the one typing this.
14. What do you want to be in 10 years? A mom. I’m a shoe-in.
15. What you’re not good at. Saying no to strangers. I’ll go to and take anything from anyone.
16. What are you wearing? Swollen nipples. It’s a statement.
17. What aren’t you wearing? My chastity belt. Obviously.
18. Your mood? Hungry. You got some biscuits in that pocket or what?
19. Your kitchen? Lovely. Would be perfect if that other dog weren’t always up in here though.
20. What are you thinking about right now? Why there’s chicken on the stove and not IN MY BELLY (said like Fat Bastard of Austin Powers fame).
21. Love? I got your love right here! Gimme a kiss! Or an ear! Or a leg! Mwaaaaaaah!
22. Foreign languages? I’m starting from scratch here, but I’m progressing nicely in English, Italian, and Calabrese. I’m smart.
Happy Love Thursday everyone
and Happy, happy Birthday Scarlett!
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[tags]dogs, memes, love thursday[/tags]
an abundance of love
So much love around here these days, I just have to share it.
For the past few days, my grandmother’s first cousin from America has been visiting with her childhood friend who also happens to have roots here. This was the first time either of them had visited the birthplace of their mothers, and it was such a pleasure to be able to share my new (to them) Italian life.
Together, we spent time with P and his parents and talked about old family memories, all while looking at old black and white photos that I had never seen (which may explain my recent obsession with the colorless versions of my own pictures)…and also never-before-seen-by-me footage of P as a baby and young lad. Too cute!
I’ll be able to share more of our time together as photos become available (I borrowed a digital but not the cable to upload–argh!), so in the meantime, you’ll just have to accept some other images of love that I captured recently.
I almost stepped on this heart in the pavement of a nearby agriturismo
(but instead stopped to take a photo).
And there’s just nothing like sisterly love.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags]love thursday, dogs, hearts, love[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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