Sunset

Earlier this week Alice saw this nice sunset. She likes to watch the sky sometimes. Don't know why she does. I prefer to sniff the air, not look far up where there are no interesting smells.

SF Embarcadero

Had a very long walk along the Embarcadero in San Francisco today. Ann and Pam joined us. I like walking with them! Ann goes fast and Pam lets me sniff anything I want just like my first person would. Here's a picture of them with Ann holding the Mayo Trophy which she won and which has just been engraved with her name.
Alice introduced us all to Red's Java House just south of the Bay Bridge. She used to go there a lot when she was younger and her Dad had his offices nearby. They liked the hamburgers. I got one!! It was better than In 'n Out's burgers. The people shared some french fries.
Then I got a snooze in the car while the humans went inside the Ferry Building. Alice bought some nice smelling cheeses. Riccota and cream cheese. What will she make with them? Maybe lemon pancakes? Lasangna? Cream cheese and chutney sandwiches?

Stella and Better Quince

Sunny day. Stella never budged from her bed by her front door. Nor barked. So sad. I guess she's learned a lesson from the zapper collar. Just so sad.... Beagles should be free to trot around with their tails up and wagging. Barking hello. At least once and a while. I sniffed at the bushes by her fence. Didn't have the heart to leave any mail for her.
Nearby are some more flowering quince at the house where Katie the greyhound lived. Cheerful those bushes, no?

Quince and a New Hole

Sort of a dreary day. Lots of clouds. Puddles. A day for being tucked up in my green blanket.
Long walk this mornning. Quince is blooming all over the neighborhood. That hole for the new house nearby is getting bigger. And, Alice had fun taking our picture in someone's mirror on Middlefield Road by the Junior Museum. The sun keeps tryng to peek out. Come on sun!!!

Floor Pour at Cody's

Today, I strained to see the concrete pour for the first floor where Cody used to live. The people have been all abuzz. Very unusual construction for a house. The first floor is being built like a parking lot with long cables which will be pulled tight inside the concrete. You can see the bringt pink ends of those cables.
Alice talked with one of the concrete guys. Yes, he said, it's pretty unusual. A bit over-engineered. But, the new house will be owned by an engineer who wants this type of construction. I suppose it means they won't need big supporting walls in their new basement.
Alice noticed the big boom for getting the concrete to the right place. It has painted on it crossed USA and Canadian flags. Did they come from Canada? Who knows!

Jay-bombing

Well! Alice was watching Mr. Jay working the bird feeder between eating trips to the flagpole when -- WHAM!!! -- another jay divebombed him. Lots of manueovering by the jays around the branches of the apricot and sycamore trees nearby. No more birds at the feeder for quite a while..... Just the feeder slowing its pendulem swinging from Mr. Jay's last feeding.
Alice better get out there and fill it up. The natives are getting restless as the sun sets and another cold night begins. The sparrows are taking advantage of the jay-free almost-empty feeder, but they are easily spooked by a camera, so only blurry pix of them.

Green Blanket

I really like my new green blanket. I pull it towards me in a big heap and then cozy down on it. Best in a sunspot on a cool day like yesterday.
Today, I went for a long walk. Lots of new smells at places I'd never been to before. One smell was so great I wanted to lick it. Watched a big yellow machine around the corner digging a basement for a new house. The day the old house was torn down, Alice took a picture of me there. What do I remember of the old house? A yard almost entirely of pavement. Fence posts with burned out Catherine wheels from July 4th. One bush. One tree much too big for the house and too close too. A house with 20+ years of deferred maintenance. Lots of broken glass. I suspect we'll walk by there often to check on the progress. I always like watching construction projects. Seeing the new workers. The lunch trucks coming to sell them hot meals. Good action!
But for now, a post-walk, post-lunch snooze. Dogs sleep a lot. We know what matters most. Cogitate, mediate and dream sending contented vibes out to the world.

Concreted Spa

The spa at Sta. Rita has gotten its concrete base. Alice wanted me to look at it. I did not want to go near it. Happy to watch instead from a distance. It smells funny. Acidy. Not totally dry yet deep down. Still out gassing. Alice can't smell it. Human noses just are not up to snuff.
The people haven't decided yet how the spa will be finished. Tile? Stone? Colors? Alice expects there to be some removable wooden hand holds for people to get in and out who need help. Perhaps in redwood like some of the other outdoor furniture there? I just hope there are some good large basking stone areas nearby. Or grass.
Anything to get the people outside is good.

Struggle to Keep Warm

Finally! Alice noticed I was curled up by the dining room heat vent. So, she turned up the heat.Thanks!!! But.... too hot now. Off to a sun spot.
Typical Sunday.

Real Winter

There has been entirely too much fussing about winter in my house. Alice needs to recall what a real winter is like. With snow. Lots of it. And ice.
Last night she looked at pictures of her mother and aunt playing in the snow outside their family house in New Jersey. Her Mom said the jacket she had then was beautiful. Pale blue wool. And a nice fur collar on gthe hood. Yes, fur is nice and warm. I'm not going to be a hypocrite about fur since I love to eat meat. Especially liver and chicken. I'm just glad one of my jobs is not to become meat, fur or leather.
They had a dog named Frosty when they lived there. Now I know how he got that name...

Spa Inspection

Over at Santa Rita, the spa is waiting for City inspectors to see if the plumbing is OK before the concrete is poured. I had a look at it. It's been moved over a bit more towards the back fence. There is a big muddy mound of dirt all around it. (Alice had to help me clean my paws after this viewing.) Frankly, I found a stick with a good smell much more interesting than the spa. I don't think I'll ever put paw into the spa. But I will be glad to stretch out on the side of it when the sun is out. Alice says I will then have a new additional job: to make sure people don't fall asleep in there.
I've never enjoyed baths. Can't understand why the people like spas. Or pools.

First Daff and Mr. Jay's Success!

Alice noticed the bird feeder swinging wildly today. Soon she saw Mr. Jay perched on it. After much thought, he's found a way to the best seeds now the sun has come out and after the rain last night. Nothing like a cold night and sunny morning to perk up your apetite. He picks out a sunflower seed and then flies to the nearby clump of birches.
Meanwhile, far below, the first daffodil is almost ready to bloom on the primrose path. Alice must get out there and start weeding before things get out of hand. I like it when she does that. I stretch out on the sidewalk with my leash attached to the birdbath and watch everything happening on our street. And also close my eyes and sniff all the nearby blocks, too.
However, sad news. Neighbor's big pink bouganvillia has been hard hit by the cold nights. Maybe only the limbs sheltered by others will make it. Alice lost a big boug to frost back in the last hard winter of 1998. Everyone's citrus trees are still under big sheets and tarps, and all the calla lillies are bent over. More cold nights ahead.

Mr. Jay

The bird feeder outside the dining room window has been getting a lot of action. Alice fills it frequently in this cold weather. Little chickadees and sparrows work the feeder directly. Doves and robins forage in the ground, and Mr. Jay tries to feed directly but is just too big, so instead he stares at it from the flag pole below. Alice has to go outside now to fill it again.
And, yes, she did clean out and refill the birdbath.

Woodstock and Bird Bath Skating Rinks

The bird bath in front of my house was still frozen at 10:30AM. Very odd for California. This afternoon it opened up for the two robins who use it the most.
Made Alice think of Woodstock who skates on a bird bath after Snoopy clears it with a Zamboni. And how she needs to get out there and clean it up and add more water. But she has a very bad cold. Every time she talks she starts coughing. She just must bundle up and do what needs to be done.

More about Heat Vents

My ancestors never saw heat vents like the ones in my house. One of the best things from the Western World.
Alice knows when I am too cold because I curl up next to a heat vent or stare at one until she turns up the heat. Training her up!

Below 30 Degrees F this Weekend

I'm sticking close to the heat vents for the next few days. And in sun spots. Weekend temps below freezing are predicted.
On the first walk today, Alice noticed the quince bushes blooming outside Katie's old house. Daffodils are coming up at our house. Hope the weekend freeze does not kill them all off.I'm so glad Alice is not clipping my feet and toe fur nor my undersides. In this weather, one needs lots of fur.

Hello 2007

Goodbye 2006. You've had your last sunset. Welcome to 2007.
Alice returned from the beach. She said she thought a lot about me while away. I thought about her, too. When she came back, I did my two-foot dance for her. But, I will miss my walks and time with Ben, Jane, Pelle and Patsy.
It was not a coincidence Alice saw a tibetan spaniel last Saturday at the farmer's market in San Jose del Cabo. Nor that Pika and her people saw two more in Philadelphia on the same weekend. We tibbies are a tight bunch. We like our people to remember us. Always. We are champions of ESP.
What will happen in 2006? Don't know yet. For sure, lots of time in the sun. And for now, warming up by the heat vents and sniffing new wool blankets.