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Post by SarahIvy on Jan 8, 2007 2:43:28 GMT -5
Congrats on your promotion, Janet! I love (and so wholeheartedly agee with) the artist's quote you posted, Cassie, I love the overlooked details of the mundane or small. And thank you for the compliments! I would never ever consider calling myself a photographer....I just like little things, and tend to take lots of pictures for my own pleasure. I'm tickled pink if other people enjoy them I'd join in on the poetry fun, but I'm not capable of writing anything but terribly filthy limericks strewn with profanity.
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Post by sobergal95 on Jan 8, 2007 3:38:25 GMT -5
What a busy little day this board has seen. I missed out on some "news", mushrooms, poetry and a promotion. My goodness! BTD, my condolences on your loss and congrats to janeth! And thank yous to our various creative poets. I am impressed!
Meanwhile, we continue our efforts to be better "pack leaders" to our little dog family. We are helping to train my sister's beagle puppy to be housebroken. (Shes a single mom who works wacky hours and probably shouldn't have adopted a puppy who needs so much attention right now, but for my niece's sake, we are making an effort to help). Our dog "came" to us as a stray is an adult shih tsu, and already had been trained and apparently one of the commands she knew (that we didn't know she knew) is "speak". We are trying to train the somewhat vocal little beagle to "speak" at the door (rather than scratch it), so I am standing at the door with a bowl of cheerios (ie "cookies") encouraging her to "speak" and the other dog is just barking her head off. This happens if I put her in the other room while working with the younger one, the beagle looks at me, jumps on me, anything but barking at me, and from another room, endless loud barking emerges.
The puppy is relentless in her pursuit of a game of chase from the older dog, who is not very playful and pretty much prefers to just be a lap dog. She jumps at her, barks at her, pokes her in the hind end, tries to trip her, and teases her with toys or chew bones. This usually ends up with the older dog standing there barking, and the younger one just runs and runs and runs and runs and occasionally a few steps are taken after her by the older one. On the plus side, the older one has finally figured out she means no harm, and a few good wrestling matches have occured in the middle of the living room floor. They wear each other out! I think they'll miss each other once the beagle puppy goes home. I know I'll miss the free entertainment. Well, not so free, "someone" chewed the cord to a laptop computer and this involved 2 trips to Best Buy and one to Radio Shack, and now we also have some bitter tasting but harmless "goop" to put on the cord (and my shoes) to discourage the chewing behavior.
Borrowing from a tv commercial: The cost of a beagle puppy: paper towels for the "accidents": $15.00 replacement tennis shoes: $30.00 a new computer cord: $89.00 the "goop" to put on the cord :$4.00 watching my niece with her new best friend: priceless.
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Post by BegToDiffer on Jan 8, 2007 12:03:17 GMT -5
Thanks everyone on your kind thoughts regarding the loss of my uncle. He lived for his "cop" work, yet made time for family and friends. How nice of all of you to send your thoughts.
Peachy: Great poem. I really enjoyed it.
Sobergal95: Puppies just want to have fun.
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Post by NikkiGreen on Jan 9, 2007 18:31:01 GMT -5
BegToDiffer, sorry to hear about your Uncle. My condolences to you and your family.
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Post by trisha on Jan 10, 2007 21:46:28 GMT -5
Peachy, I love your tanka, it's very smooth and evocotive
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doctorj
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Post by doctorj on Jan 11, 2007 1:38:00 GMT -5
sobergal, loved the story about the puppy. (are you sure the little pooch speaks english? have you tried another language? -- i caught a marathon of the dog whisperer over the holiday. it was great. "i can be the pack leader" is my new mantra. i say it to myself as i walk out the door every morning now. (not for, like, a dog or anything. i don't have one. just in general, you know: i can be the pack leader at the post office when someone tries to cut in line. or when someone throws an elbow in a crowded room. for all the little indignities of city life, i can be the pack leader.)
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rue721
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Post by rue721 on Jan 11, 2007 2:06:12 GMT -5
i can be the pack leader; is my new mantra. i say it to myself as i walk out the door every morning now. (not for, like, a dog or anything. i don't have one. just in general, you know: i can be the pack leader at the post office when someone tries to cut in line. or when someone throws an elbow in a crowded room. for all the little indignities of city life, i can be the pack leader.) Hahaha! In all those situations where you are saying to yourself "be the pack leader!," I'm saying to myself, "don't be an asshole! don't be an asshole!"... different instincts, I guess
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Post by sobergal95 on Jan 11, 2007 3:42:57 GMT -5
sobergal, (are you sure the little pooch speaks english? have you tried another language? You could be on to something.... hmmm, maybe I'll try "parlez" next time! ;D Well, I think the commands she most often hears (and sometimes you know, actually complies with) are "off", "no", "sit", "cookie" and she sorta gets "fetch"; although the act of giving you the object you have thrown is optional in her version. Sometimes she gives it up to be thrown again, and sometimes she tries to get you (or the other dog) to chase her. Kinda like her version of the housebreaking thing: most of the time she'll go when you take her out, but thats no guarantee that shes not saving some for the corner when youre not looking! My mantra through this is: "I love my niece, I love my niece, I love my niece"
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peachybc
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Post by peachybc on Jan 11, 2007 7:18:26 GMT -5
Peachy, I love your tanka, it's very smooth and evocotive Thanks Trisha! I really had fun that day with you guys here. You got the little gray cells churning on a very soggy, rainy day. The fun here made me try my hand at an Eames poem. I love how this board explores almost everything thought provoking. I still have a bit of the newbie jitters, so I don't always comment here, but I'm an avid reader. PeachyBC
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peachybc
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Post by peachybc on Jan 11, 2007 7:29:22 GMT -5
Sobergal, I've enjoyed your stories on the beagle puppy. Beagles are wired up dogs. Some dog people even refer to the breed as all nose with very little brain! We've had several breeds of dogs. We love critters and usually have a house full of dogs and cats. I tried to teach both my shepherd dogs to bark at the door to go out. It was a no go. Shepherds just don't do that. They prefer the mind meld method; they are very telepathic dogs and expect their pack leader to understand same. It's a very polite way of communicating. LOL They either sit at the back door and stare at the doorknob intensely or they come right to you and give you "the look". Roger that. Received mental need. I hear and obey! ;D
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Post by sobergal95 on Jan 11, 2007 8:48:59 GMT -5
She definitely has a nose, and I dont know that its no brain, its that shes more stubborn than we are. We've always had big dogs (boxers, labs) so when we "inherited" the stray shih tzu I had reservations: I didnt want a froo-froo dog or one of those super hyper little dogs. And she is neither (we keep her groomed short) and her job in life is to be with me (the book refers to them as companion dogs). And I must say there is way more room on the couch/bed or in the car with a 13 pounder than a 95 pounder that thinks she is a lap dog! And she actually has alot of personality. I don't think her communication style would fall into "the mind meld method" peachy describes, shes far less subtle, stepping on her water bowl so it rattles around if its empty and coming to growl and grunt at you till you get off your lazy butt and herd you to the door to take her out. She can try to be self sufficient and jump into the bathtub to drink out of the drain (poor thing cant reach the commode like those biguns can). :DWe dont have a yard, so its not a matter of just opening the back door, but I live with my mom and I will hear her tell the dog to "go get Laurie" if shes trying to tell her something and she does. I swear she knows all of us by our names. I think the puppy goes home in 2 more days, and since the computer cord incident, I think shes only stolen and demolished one pack of mom's cigarettes and a cardboard box. I think the only one that won't miss her is the cat.
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doctorj
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 92
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Post by doctorj on Jan 11, 2007 12:33:10 GMT -5
i can be the pack leader; is my new mantra. i say it to myself as i walk out the door every morning now. (not for, like, a dog or anything. i don't have one. just in general, you know: i can be the pack leader at the post office when someone tries to cut in line. or when someone throws an elbow in a crowded room. for all the little indignities of city life, i can be the pack leader.) Hahaha! In all those situations where you are saying to yourself "be the pack leader!," I'm saying to myself, "don't be an asshole! don't be an asshole!"... different instincts, I guess naw see, you must already be good with those kinds of situations and feel comfortable addressing them immediately. for whatever reason, people often look to me to solve problems in these kinds of situations, but it takes me a minute to step up because i'm naturally a little shy...
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Post by NikkiGreen on Jan 11, 2007 14:46:23 GMT -5
Birthday wishes for all of you born in January.
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Post by Techguy on Jan 11, 2007 17:58:45 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to all who celebrate in January!
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Post by sobergal95 on Jan 11, 2007 18:13:12 GMT -5
My neice got a Playstation 2 and the game "Dance Revolution" for Christmas. (Its a game attached to a mat, and you try to step on the right squares) She has definitely improved since Christmas and I gave it a try this afternoon. Well, I could get hooked, its a blast.
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