Archive | Oh look! Something furry!! RSS feed for this section

Not actually a post

by Mir on September 21, 2012 in My name is Grumplestiltskin, Oh look! Something furry!!

I kind of left you hanging, this week. I’m sorry. I would tell you all about it, but I’m currently still in the “I hate everyone and everything” phase on several fronts, so give me a few more days to return to some semblance of humanity.

In the meantime, here’s a dog:

She says she absolutely was NOT sleeping in the sun when I crept up on her, and she was NOT attempting to lick the drool off her whiskers when I insisted on taking her picture. Also, I love how even she is giving me the hairy eyeball. GET IN LINE, LICORICE.

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 26 }

Slobber therapy

by Mir on September 10, 2012 in Oh look! Something furry!!

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Reporting On Very Serious And Also Fairly Depressing Things to bring you this important update on where we stand in my campaign to convince Otto we need another dog*.

Mario’s family went away for the weekend, and so we had Kaiser here with us for a couple of days. (You remember Kaiser! He is Licorice’s boyfriend and partner in random barking, as featured in this post about our recent camping adventures.) I was thrilled because next to Licorice, Kaiser is perhaps my favorite dog. And I figured they would play together and it would be delightful. And also I am not very smart.

Shortly after Kaiser was dropped off, we had to head off to the hospital and leave the dogs alone for a while. But this was wonderful; they’d have each other to hang out with, and no one would be lonely. At least, this is what I told myself as we were pulling out of the driveway and we could still hear Kaiser barking.

“I’m sure he’ll stop once he realizes we’re gone,” I said to Otto, who was giving me A Look. “He WILL,” I insisted. “I’m sure he will. There, I can’t hear him anymore! Problem solved!”

“We’re a block away,” my darling husband pointed out.

“Shut up,” I replied, lovingly. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 27 }

Puppy love and a recipe

by Mir on August 28, 2012 in Oh look! Something furry!!

It’s Tuesday, and that means I’m over at Feel More Better. Today I’ve written a little love letter to Licorice, because that’s what my life has come to. Love letters to my dog. (Normally I just sing to her, you understand. You are my pupshine, my only pupshine / You make me happy, when skies are gray. / You’ll never know, pup, how much I loooooove you / Please stop snarfing butter, okay?) (I’ll be here all week!)

If you’ve ever loved a pet the way I love her (that is to say: beyond reason), you should definitely come check it out.

Yesterday several of you asked for the chocolate muffin recipe, and because I am a smart and logical person I know that if I share it with you, it exponentially reduces the number of calories in the muffins in my freezer. That’s SCIENCE. Recipe after the jump. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 6 }

Of shoes and sundaes

by Mir on August 13, 2012 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Oh look! Something furry!!

This morning we set alarms (and got woken up early, anyway, by our trusty I-saw-you-breathe-it-must-be-kibble-o’clock prancing canine alarm) and got up early and the boys went back to school.

Monkey’s first day back to Hippie School, and Otto’s first day back to teaching. Of course I made them pose.

(Please disregard the fact that Otto really needs to polish his shoes and instead focus on the fact that Monkey’s feet suddenly do not seem all that much smaller than a full grown man’s. ACK.) (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 38 }

Inappropriate laughter

by Mir on June 22, 2012 in Haven't been hit by lightning yet!, Oh look! Something furry!!

I have become the Queen of Inappropriate Laughter. This isn’t entirely new; I have always had a bent towards the unintentional snicker at less-than-optimal times. But now—mired in grief and worry—I go entire days in complete numbness, it feels like, only to have the odd comment strike my funny bone. I laugh until I cry. And that’s a nice change of pace from just crying.

Otto and his brothers text each other all the time. The other day, Nearly Nickless sent Otto a text that had him guffawing. I asked to see it, and at first I wasn’t sure what was so funny. It was a picture of Nickless teetering on the edge of curb. Otto pointed out that it was taken at the restaurant where my mother-in-law fell and broke her hip after Christmas. It was a reenactment photo!

We couldn’t stop laughing. Even as we kept choking to each other, “This is wrong. THIS IS SO, SO WRONG.” Didn’t matter. We laughed and laughed. You used to be able to take me anywhere twice—the second time to apologize—but now it’s safer for all involved if I just stay home and alternately weep and cackle to myself. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 49 }

Beware the paparazzi

by Mir on June 1, 2012 in Oh look! Something furry!!

“You know, I’m just catching some waves, enjoying some time with the family, sneezing for pieces of banana, and the cameras still follow me wherever I go. This isn’t even my good side! And my tail was all tangled! Hmph. I need a drink. Hey, is that bacon grease?”

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 9 }

My favorite child

by Mir on April 28, 2012 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Oh look! Something furry!!, Ottomatic For the People

Did you know that school is finished for the year here in just a few weeks? (And before the usual slew of “No fair! You get out so early!” comments that this usually brings, allow me to point out that the kids went back to school the first week of August. They’ve had a whole year.) Anyway, it’s true. School is nearly out for the summer.

Just a few more weeks to get through, which means that everyone’s Great Big Hairy Meltdown is right on schedule for… now.

This happens every year. I have no idea why it surprises me, every time. But the children are… oh, a little on edge, let’s say. Moreso than usual. And my tried-and-true rule about only one child having an issue at a time seems to go out the window, this time of year. Or, you know, THIS ENTIRE YEAR. (See also: hurry the hell up, 2013.) (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 19 }

Just like Jesus

by Mir on April 9, 2012 in Haven't been hit by lightning yet!, Oh look! Something furry!!

Easter was a relatively low-key event ’round here. Thanks to my last-minute grocery store run, we had enough food to feed a small army. This isn’t my fault; given our plans to just have a quiet dinner of the four of us, and given that one of us doesn’t eat meat, my intention was to buy a few ham steaks and we’d just cook them out on the grill. But it turns out that the day before Easter, giant hunks of pig are actually cheaper than smaller, more manageable hunks of pig. Naturally, I opted for a small ham because it was more food for less money (and that’s my particular mental illness, that I am IN MY MIND always just one grocery selection away from not being able to feed my family).

And as long as we were having a bona fide ham, well, then we needed stuff to go with it to make it all official, of course. So somehow we ended up with a giant meal. Because if there’s ham, there must also be a mountain of mashed potatoes! And veggies! And a whole pineapple, which we totally forgot about and never even cut up. Whoops. We did not, however, forget about the pie. Mmmmmm… pie.

Anyway. What? Oh, right. Low-key Easter. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 19 }

The good, the bad, and the furry

by Mir on March 29, 2012 in Oh look! Something furry!!

I bet you have no idea how much I like my dog, on account of I hardly ever talk about her. Haaaaaaaaaaaa!

The dog is a constant source of amusement. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. She’s just funny. Plus, she doesn’t have the stomach bug! Or any chronic diseases or developmental impairments! Basically, up until recently, the very worst thing about her is that she thinks a good way to remind you to feed her is to weave around your feet and step directly in front of you until you fall over. Now everyone in the house associates a twisted ankle with KIBBLE O’CLOCK, thanks to her.

She’s a 12-pound jester, providing comic relief amidst the chaos.

Well, I still love her, but I’m afraid she’s crossed the line. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 41 }

Lost dogs and four-pawed messages

by Mir on January 19, 2012 in Aspi(e)rations, Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Oh look! Something furry!!

I may have mentioned before that sometimes there’s a dog at Hippie School; the director was bringing her almost every day, for a while. This dog and Monkey immediately became the best of friends, because Monkey loves animals and Star is a saintly paragon of patience when it comes to children flinging themselves all over her.

It was reported to me on more than one occasion that when Monkey was having a difficult time, either he would spontaneously go bury his face in Star or she would go to him and sit on his feet. (It must be noted here that Licorice is also very patient with Monkey, but at 12 pounds, it’s not as though she can actually anchor him the way a large dog can, and that’s aside from the fact that if he’s truly freaking out, she gets scared.) Just one more benefit of Hippie School, right?

One day last week Monkey came home absolutely despondent. “Star ran away,” he told me, eyes brimming with tears. “She was probably just chasing something and got lost. She didn’t come back.” (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 64 }
« Newer Entries
Older Entries »
Design by LEAP