2013-09-27

Basking


Walked into the room and found Mary basking in the early evening sun on top of the short-legged kotatsu table that I use for a desk when in the tatami mat room.


Mary is lucky in so many ways. I wouldn't mind coming back in my next life as her! :-)


In some ways, she acts like a cat -- does her own thing at her own pace -- but acts like a spoiled baby when food comes into play.


Am so happy to have her as a part of our family!

2013-09-24

Still a Puppy


Dale is still just a four-month-old puppy in these shots. Her fur is fluffy and soft!


Still having a little difficulty with potty training.

2013-09-23

Sleepy Mini


I have never seen a dog sleep so much!


Further, I didn't expect that she'd usually sleep on her back so much with her legs pointing up into the air!


Kind of envy her!  :-)

2013-09-22

Samukawa Envelopes


The two envelopes contain items we received from the Samukawa Shrine last year after we took part in a Shinto ceremony to pray for a good year and to ask that the "Gods" watched over us. In addition, the priest at the ceremony performed rites to ward off any evil or bad luck from our lives. 


This shot was originally rather bland. Added some slight saturation using editing software, which bad the blues almost look flourescent!

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Dog IDs


Don't know which would be worse, two rows of eight dog teats or a dog penis? Fortunately, Dale has much more fur to avoid her teats from being so darn noticeable.


I wonder why the ant-red-eye software doesn't work with dogs' eyes?


This is one of my favorite poses. Her proportions are good and her muscularity is well-defined.


One bad thing about Mary is that her claws grow rather quickly. She has a tendency  to walk on her claws like a cat when prancing around, which makes it easy for her to slip on the tatami mats. Her breed is for digging out varmints in the fields or around the barn -- not for living in a house with a slick floor.


In the end, this is the shot we chose for her pet insurance ID card and her dog run ID card.


She definitely looks "royal" in this pose. Miniature Pinschers are known as the "King of Toy Dogs."


As to be expected, she can's sit still long enough before having to start sniffing for some doggy snacks! :-)


When she isn't licking me on the face, hands, or feet, then she'll resort to licking herself and tidying up.

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2013-09-18

Sunny Morning


It was a beautiful, sunny morning today! Dale has not been feeling very well. She seems to have lost a little bit of weight. The vet said that she seemed okay, so I guess there is nothing really to worry about.


The top of this wall is about six and half feet high. I have trained her to jump and crawl up the wall until she reaches the top. I wish we had the time and money to take her to dog school for agility training!

2013-09-17

Four of the Same


Got a new batch of flowers today. Hopefully with a little extra care, they'll stay fresh for a week or so.


Again, our local florist chose the flowers for me. She also gave me some tips on how to properly arange them.


I like to keep colors together in their own little group or try to layer them. Doubt anyone even notices besides me.


Interestingly, the violet colored flowers never open up once cut. I thought they might but was told otherwise.





2013-09-10

Late Summer Alcove


It's quite difficult to keep flowers fresh during these hot and humid late summer days!

I do, however, like the different kinds of flowers that are in season this time of year.

2013-09-07

Wilted Tone


These two shots are of today's flowers. Obviously, they are the same flowers, but I wanted to see the difference between indoor lighting and using a flash.


The top shot used a flash, which seemed to take away from the natural tones of the tokonoma alcove wall. The bottom shot was ambient lighting while using a tripod. I like the color of the wall more, but the white flowers are showing their wilted tones as well.

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Pink Clip


I must have dropped this plastic clip on the floor, and it landed under my desk.


Leave it to her to find anything that she can play with!


She really loves this clip! And, she looks so cute when trying to chew on it. However, I'm afraid she might swallow some plastic or it might get stuck on her tongue or lips. So, sadly enough, I had to take it away from her.

Sorry Mary!

2013-09-05

U-Turn


Rained a lot yesterday, so the local river was flowing at quite higher levels than usual. Dale didn't expect it to be so deep and was a bit surprised to not be able to touch the bottom as she usually can. She made a quick U-turn for the shore!

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2013-09-04

Naughty


Hey! Someone is where they're not supposed to be!!!


Hard to get upset when she gives me that look!


OK...time to get down off the table!







2013-09-03

Hagoita Flowers


Different shots of the flowers in the tokonoma alcove in the Japanese-style tatami-mat room.


If I had the time and money, I'd love to learn how to do ikebana flower arrangement since I have a place to put the flowers now.


These flowers were chosen by the local florist down the street. I told her what I wanted to do, and she suggested these flowers for the tokonoma alcove for this time of year.


Overall, this small bundle of flowers cost about 800 yen, which was a bit less than 10 dollars.


I hope the summer heat doesn't kill them right off. The florist suggested that I add ice cubes to the water in the vase to help keep the flowers fresh. 


Every morning, I change the water, clean out the vase, add ice cubes and a bit of water, and put the remaining flowers that still look fresh back into the vase. 


This is a wooden, Japanese hagoita paddle used the the Japanese-style badminton game called hanatsuki. This paddle was given to Kyoko when she was a little girl. She has had it ever since. I am glad she didn't throw it away!

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