Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The Pip conspiracy


I've posted in the past about having a very non-doggy dog.  She doesn't like balls, toys, ropes etc.  She used to quite like those tiny cat-toy mice, and she'd sit down and shred it in a lengthy session.  However, I think I overflooded the market because her last mouse - and the larger rat for that matter - are still whole, and 3 years later are still lying in her basket.  She also has a weird chicken/ball thing, and a stingray toy from the Melbourne aquarium (which she mainly uses as a mat to sleep on).  Yet, about once every 6 months, I'll come home and her rat will be out of her basket.  The assumption is that once every 6 months she remembers she's a dog and plays with the toy.

Since I've moved into my new house a month ago, however, the rat  (today it was the rat and the chicken/ball thingy!) has been out of the basket about 6 times on my coming home.  Last week, the rat had even made it into my bedroom, which is proof that it wasn't just 'scratched' out.


The question is, is Pip really playing? Or has she finally linked the relocation of her gifted toys with my coos of delight when I come home and see that she's 'played,' and as a result deliberately places the rat outside the basket to receive extra attention?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Bone Delusion

I decided to give painting a go for this particular project called Post, that I'm organising as part of the siteless ARI 10% Pending.  The result is The Bone Delusion, a small painting on ply, measuring about the size of a postcard:






The photos are a bit ordinary as I took them with my mobile.  The problem with moving house is that things like card readers disappear, and so my camera is pretty useless at the moment.

I've drawn from Medieval painting/ iconography and combined it with a reference to Dawkins' recent book.  It's not meant to be anything too serious, just a bit of fun!

Monday, October 12, 2009

you can't teach an old dog...

....that's right all you non-believers... I've taught Pip to wipe her paws on the doormat before entering the house!

It incidently happened the same day that I noticed that little Pip's lovely orange lashes are turning white. It's a shame dogs live such a short life.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

it's been awhile

Well, I've finally worked out how to connect my old blogger account (signed up with my hotmail account back in 2004) and my newer blogger account that was set up after Google took ownership of Blogger. Before that I was way too lazy to sign out of my Google account to post on this blog (yes, even I astound me sometimes).

Lots has happened since I last posted... Pip and I have just moved into our own house last week. I'm now trying to build a Pip-proof fence and work out the best posi for the doggy door (it seems an exterior wall - eek- is most suitable). Once the fence and the doggy door are up, Pip will have the rare freedom to come and go as she likes, (although she's rather partial to the sunspots inside the house). I actually chose this house with my dog in mind. Is that crazy? Signing the next 30 years of my life away to mortgage payments for a dog that's only going to live maybe 16 years max (and is 7.5 years old already)? It has a large north-facing window in the carpeted living room, which means that there's an all day sunspot in the living room just for pooch-baking. It also has a large backyard, and within 1 minutes walk is a large dog-off-leash park perfect for sniffing, running and taking on dogs larger than her.

Moving house has a major downside for pooch, however. She's had to say goodbye to her beloved Nola - my ex-flatmate of over 2 years. We'd often joke that she was her second 'mum', surrogate mum or 'aunty Nola'. Whereas I have a limited capacity to lie on the couch in front of telly, with a dog on my belly, Nola would lie there with Pip snoozing nearly every night, and so the relationship developed.... No flatmate has ever been so kind, so close, so devoted to Pip than Nola, and it's clear that Pip is missing her 'aunty' desperately. Apparently it's not one-sided either. Nola and Ingrid (my other flatmate) were discussing whether there was such thing as doggy 'custody' behind my back, and I know that tears have been shed over Pip's move. It's amazing how powerful doggy love is.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

I thought I might share this stuffed felt dog I made for my sister for her birthday. It's based on this hilarious tale she told me about her dog 'Bunny' (note the careful replication of 'Bunny's markings). Anyhoo, Bun walked into Clo's house the other day with just a possum tail hanging out from her mouth. Clo moaned' Bunnnn where's the other half?' and confiscated the tail. A couple of days later, clo found her with the head an upper body of the possum on the lawn. So I made a replica of the situation. The two halves of the possum can be attached to Bun's 'mouth' by clips that I've sewn into the sides, so you can have either half of the possum, both or none depending on the time of day or your mood. Okay, so my description is not the best. the pictures below explain it better....