Marshmallows, anyone?

August 31 - probably a new record for the earliest lighting of our fireplace. It's chilly and wet here and if the drive back from B.C.on Friday is any indication the rain is here to stay for a while. After spending the day canning B.C. peaches, and making pickles, and walking dogs in the drizzle, this is a good way to kick back. But first, Rory had to watch America's Funniest Animals. He actually watches it, especially the birds - it's the strangest thing to watch him watch the TV. Of course, he also stares intently at his own reflection in the glass cabinet doors. He growls at himself. Not in a "Grrrrr.....you are SO handsome" way, more like "Grrrrr....uh, growl, uh, WHO are you and what are you doing in my house???" thing.

Lights! Camera! Oh, s#%t, STAND STILL!!!

Not that it needed to be confirmed, but a photo shoot is about the best place to figure out that Ridgebacks are not Border Collies. Or Golden Retrievers. Check out Tamzin's blog for today's details on the adventures of the boys (and a girl) in the high-stakes world of print advertising. When he was photographing Kika who is an absolutely adorable, mellow, docile little female RR, the photographer was so impressed he said that he would rather take pictures of puppies than children, any day. Hmmmm...thinks I. Wonder if he knows what he's facing next? He soon found out. But first, Seth. Mellow enough. Certainly obedient enough - he knows what 'stay' means. But old. And the lights were hot. And the sheet they had him sitting didn't provide any traction. Poor fellow. One of the guys in the studio said his favourite shot was the one where Seth's eyes were closed tight, tongue hanging out - he looked like he was laughing! Anyway, there were a few good shots, and more later on. I don't know if Seth will do Raimi justice, since the dogs are all supposed to be the same dog at different life stages and Seth is not quite as impressive looking as Raimi. Beautiful enough in his own right though.




Tamzin described the moron mayhem accurately, and her show collar idea was our saving grace. Also, putting a rubber mat under the sheet provided more traction. There ended up being some absolutely gorgeous shots of Rory and Raimi. Seth came back in and things went much better for him too.




I brought my camera to take pictures of the dogs having their pictures taken. Weird, I know. So, I got pictures of Kika in the spotlight, which I'll send to Tamzin to post and forward to Barb. Tamzin used my camera to take pictures of Seth during his turn in the lights. Somehow, we managed not to get any shots of Rory or Raimi having their pictures taken. Probably because we were pretty focused on climbing ladders, throwing toys, coordinating dogs, treats... There are a couple of pictures of the boys checking out the lunch fixin's. Of course.

Bad, bad, bad

Yah, I'm bad for not having posted to the blog for over a month - there is more to come, really.

And Rory's bad for eating one of our outdoor chairs. And my new Merrell water sandals. And he has this obsession with a throw-pillow that I keep on my favourite chair in the living room. My brother gave me the pillow, which is embroidered with "My goal in life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am." I don't know what kind of person Rory thought I was last night when I got home, but it probably isn't good. I was prepared for the cushion and the chair, since Norm had called me already (conversations that begin with "YOUR puppy..." are never good). Norm then came to pick me up downtown, and by the time we got home Keelan had managed to rescue what was left of my new sandals (non-salvagable in any event) and the throw-pillow had once again been stolen from the living room. Rory is now an eight-month old puppy in a very large body, intent on sniffing, poking (and if nobody is looking, chewing) EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong, he absolutely oozes charm, and is completely adorable if you happen to be in the same room with him. I'm off to the store tonight to look at a collar and sensor/deterent device that I saw there a while back, since the baby-gate intended to keep Rory in the kitchen while we are out is no longer a challenge for him.