Behind the scenes: Harry and his stylist make some last-minute adjustments

Our tiny terrier turns ten today.

Ten!

That’s worth seventy people years, and lately we’ve noticed that he’s finally begun to dress a little more appropriately for his age.

… with the exception of pants (but we’re working on that).

It’s quite rare to see him without his pipe these days but he’s not allowed to smoke in the house.

No, not even on his birthday.

So far, being ten isn’t so bad.  It’s brought two new toys (we’re never too old for those) and the prospect of chicken & rice for dinner.

He’s planning to spend today out on the front porch, yelling at the pups from down the street to keep off his lawn.

“Get off the grass, you hooligans!”

Happy birthday, little fleabag.

Thank you for being the best dog in the world.  We love your guts <3

I couldn’t help but notice that a certain small dog had a very serious case of The Mondays this morning.  He followed me around as I got ready for work, and eventually took himself off to a dark corner to listen to The Cure and write bad poetry.  With his own tears.

There is only one cure for emo dogs – walkies. And it’s gonna need a soundtrack.

Walkies from Scarlet Words on Vimeo.

Because walkies aren’t for pussies, they’re for puppy dogs!

31 Photos in 31 Days

Every afternoon when I come home from work I am greeted by a slightly psycho but very happy dog.  He usually manages to tell me the story of his day before I have even had time to put my bag down (I really wish he would learn to speak English) and does laps around my feet wherever I walk.  The first few minutes after coming home are LOUD!

As soon as I can I always open the front door so that he can have a quick run outside and do whatever dogs do.  He usually comes inside a much calmer, contented animal.

This afternoon I filmed Harry during that time, about 10 mins after getting home.  I had found him upside down in his bed having “happy seizures”.  I mean, look – there’s no other way to put it…

So we talked.

Sing! from Scarlet Words on Vimeo.

You may like to turn down your speakers at the 2-minute mark when my little performing monkey really takes off.

I guess I’ve earned my membership to The Society of Crazy Dog Ladies by posting this video here (we all knew it was just a matter of time).  Please understand that I am publishing this with a healthy level of embarrassment for both myself and my furball.

So.  Who is the bigger weirdo?

Good advice from Friends of Type

By the time this weekend rolled around I was seriously overdue for some downtime.  I’ve been keeping the flu at bay for a couple of weeks (it’s doing the rounds at work), so for ages I’ve been feeling just slightly under the weather.  I’ve been lethargic, a little headachey, thirsty all the time and cranky!  Really, just ask Tim.

The thing is, I didn’t really have any time in my schedule for doing nothing!  I was going to do SO MANY THINGS over the past 48 hours that would have helped me to kick next week’s butt.  I was going to have five different packages all boxed up and ready to mail, I was going to have the World’s Cleanest House and begin my week with bright nails and perfectly shaped eyebrows.

Instead, one of the five packages is ready to mail.  Two more of them are almost ready to go, and the other two?  Well, Mum and Dad might be receiving gift cards for their respective birthday and Fathers Day presents this year.  My nailpolish is chipped and my eyebrows and I haven’t really had any alone time.

It’s all a bit unlike me, but there was an overriding theme to this weekend, and it was Look: Stop Doing All Of The Things, Or You’ll Die.

So on Friday night I put myself to bed before the sun had even set.  I slept for about 13 hours, and for the first time in two weeks I woke up feeling refreshed!  It was a sensation that was almost completely foreign to me, which maybe suggests that I have been burning the candle at both ends lately.

I still got a bunch of stuff done this weekend, but it didn’t feel like hard work.  I went to my super fun art class and brought home something resembling an apple.  I got my laundry up to date, and picked up a few things around the house.  I took a moment to acknowledge that our house is actually in pretty good shape, and that it doesn’t necessarily need to be spotless in order for the repair guy to do his thing on Monday.  I roasted two chickens for lunches this week, and installed a new commenting system on this blog.  All things that will make life better (I hope!) even if they weren’t on the grand list of must-dos.

As a result, this weekend actually felt like it was two days long.  There are times when I find myself back at work on Monday having felt as though I’d only been there the day before.  This was different, and it’s good.

Of course, we can put money on the fact that at least one member of this household is going to have a case of The Mondays when my alarm goes off tomorrow.  You have never seen a sadder creature than the dog who has had his people home for two days and knows that they are going to work for the next five.

31 Photos in 31 Days

Hey – if you have a minute to spare I would really appreciate your help in testing my new commenting system.  I have just installed Disqus, and although I’ve read mixed reports I think it’s going to work well for my little blog!  You can still leave a comment as a guest – no signing up or any of that rubbish.  Please do your best to break it so that I can see if I’ve made the right decision!

31 Photos in 31 Days

Don’t let the photo fool you.  This is the sort of dog who will seek out the prettiest flower in the garden, sniff it lovingly, and then do a wee on it.

Good dog!

There are few things in this dog’s life that make him sadder than bathtime.  Usually we try to wash him every few weeks, but since he’s spent most of Winter indoors he hasn’t really needed a bath for a while.

Until a couple of weeks ago when suddenly he stank.  He stank like the stench of a thousand arseholes.  His fur had grown so long that I knew his bath was going to be a major exercise and so I put it off another week.

Today I couldn’t stand it any longer.  We took a “before” shot.

… and then his worst nightmare began.  It’s a shame I forgot to invite the Academy because his performance was legendary.

31 Photos in 31 Days

The end result was a much cleaner, happier dog.  We were stunned to discover that there were even eyes under all that fur!

31 Photos in 31 Days

Everybody’s got something to hide except Harry and his monkey.

This dog could really use a haircut.

And a toothbrush.

31 Photos in 31 Days

Tim has suddenly gone back to work, and this fuzzy little buddy is full of sadnesses.

Big ones.

31 Photos in 31 Days

That dog pulls out every trick in the book at bathtime. But guess who always wins?