Why not write?

Here's the deal.  I've been begging for her to sit down and write.  As soon as she gets the laptop out, gets comfy with blankets and beverages, I jump right up next to her, curling myself into a behind-the-knees shaped ball and nuzzle in.  She thinks this is to keep warm and to have a nice long sleep, but really it's to encourage her to stay longer at that keyboard and write, write, write!

How I came up with this idea is that I began to notice that people in this house are reluctant to wake or move a sleeping dog.  You should see Glenn contort himself around me if I get into his bed before he does!  I think it means he loves me.  And Faith will lift the blanket I'm on to move me somewhere more conventient if that means I'll stay sweetly asleep.  What is it with these humans?  If some other dog was in my way, I'd just growl until they moved, and without an ounce of guilt (what is guilt anyway?). All this to say, I knew that if I really wedged myself next to her, she would be more apt to stay where she was...writing.

I don't mind that the writing hasn't been for my blog here.  I mean, over two years is a bit ridiculous, but I don't press the issue. (I think maybe guilt is what she feels when she knows she hasn't kept up with things like cleaning, my blog, or calling people she loves; this guilt seems to keep her further away from doing what it is she really wants to do, so I try not to pile it on.)  As long as she's writing, that's the key.  And that's where I come to the best news (besides my dog adventures like going on the NYC train system for the first time, chasing nature in Central Park, and digging sand at the beach last week) which is Faith has decided to pursue sharing her writing by starting her very own blog and by applying to Teachers College to pursue an advance degree in English Education/Writing.

She promises she won't neglect me for this pursuit and I trust her, especially since she lets her mind wander most during our walks together, and that's when she finds that thing she absolutely must write about.  If only distractions didn't distract her...SQUIRREL!

For now, I'm waiting for the next time I notice subtle lighting and incense burning in the apartment, and as long as there's not a yoga mat laid out or a bath running, I know it will be time to squeeze up next to her and help her stay put until her thoughts are out the page.

Have I mentioned how good our lives are right now?  I'll put that on the list for next time.

P.S. Did I mentioned my rowboat experience in the country, upstate NY??

My Pic

Faith hasn't made time to write for me in a while, so I asked her to at least post something of me.  My auntie Berta sent  this old pic of me yesterday, so I begged Faith to please put it out there, so people knew I was alive and well and they could see how awesome my tongue is!

Madge's New Jersey Adventure

There are tales of a land across the river called New Jersey that’s so foul and smelly that my friends in New York City groan and moan with displeasure. One day, Faith disappeared to a place in the mountains, and I was naturally upset that I could not join her. I am a Rocky Mountain pup and I love to chase the clouds, but Faith packed my bags and assured me that George would take me to the country for a weekend adventure.

George and Olga picked me up in the morning and we drove away in the box-on-wheels. We took a bridge & tunnel, and there were industrial facilities and swamps as far as the eye could see, crisscrossed by highways and railroads. There were ominous clouds spewing from tall chimneys but these were different than the ones I chased in Colorado. The boxes-on-wheels were growing boxier and boxier and there was a sense in my nostrils that these stinky wetlands were made of garbage.

All of sudden it occurred to me: this was the “shithole” they call New Jersey.

George explained to me that the Hackensack Meadowlands were once-upon-a-time a gigantic wetland and one of the richest ecosystems in the world, but in the last few hundred years, humans have literally created new land on piles of garbage to build giant stadiums and runways for jets, leaving toxic sewage and sludge where life once thrived. Paradoxically, New Jersey also has a tremendous amount of beautiful open space that its citizens have managed to protect. We passed a Great Swamp with hundreds of species of birds and amphibians that were saved, and dogs like me could enjoy nature.

We arrived in Mendham, NJ.

There was a huge field and a big old tree. We had a great time running around, wearing leaf hats. 

…and wallowing in the grass.

We went to a farm with pumpkins fields and all kinds of gourds of different shapes and colors.

We picked pumpkins...

 ...and I picked a baby one for Faith.

Then we went for a long walk in a giant corn maze. 

George and Olga were hopelessly lost, but with my nose we sniffed the path to freedom.

We went back to town where we had cappuccinos, pumpkin pie, apples, and bison hearts!

Dr. Pingeon, George’s 94-year old grandfather from Switzerland, was very friendly: “Hello Little Monkey!” he said, but he wasn’t sure if I was a cat or dog. After dinner, we fell asleep.

It was all very cozy! What an adventure!

And I learned that New Jersey isn’t such a terrible place after all…

-Madge's New Jersey Adventure as dictated to George Pingeon.

Uncle Glenn is home!

Uncle Glenn is home!  Uncle Glenn is home!  He went to visit our homeland in Denver, Colorado.  Right now, I'm just relaxing, glad I can cuddle up with him on this cool, rainy day in NYC.  When Faith gets back from work, I bet they'll share lots of stories.  Do you know what I'll be doing while they gab?  You guessed it:  cuddling up and taking another nice long snooze.

Country Fun!

Faith doesn't even know the fun I had in the country with George, Olga, and George's Grandfather.  It was my own time of walking in a corn maze with my dog-walking friends, sitting on grandfather's lap, and getting some great outdoor smells to savor before the icy New York City winter locks me and Faith indoors.

George dropped me off last night and told Faith he's sending some photos over.  She'll get a little flavor of my weekend away, and maybe she'll arrange for another one someday!!

A Weekend in The Country?

Faith keeps talking to me about something I don't really understand right now.  She says, "George" and "Olga" and "The Country" and "Weekend."  What's really making me perk up is that she's packing up one of those bags that can sometimes mean I'm coming with her and sometimes mean she's leaving me home.  I sure hope "The Country" is something wonderful I get to visit and that if Faith leave me home that "George" and "Olga" will be picking me up.  I like them a lot!  They let me sniff other dogs a lot easier than Faith, who is a bit nervous about my capacity to growl...George uses a gentle voice to tell me he doesn't want to hear it, and I obey. Oh my! Oh my!  What if George and Olga are taking me to The Country?!  What if it smells like this?

  

Danny Kang Zipped In

Faith and I shared a room with this boy, Danny, when she first moved us here to NYC.  Now, Danny comes over to our place sometimes to play.  Faith kept trying to get me to go into this new boxy thing she brought into our home, but I wasn't having it.  The first time Danny saw it?  Jumped right in and asked to be zipped up.  Fine by me, as long as I don't get zipped up in that thing!  Faith assures me that I'll enjoy it once I realize it's my own little safe den.  It will take some more convincing before I'm ready to try it out...