but you don't need to tell emma this. she already knows.

I loooooooove you, puppy! because you are soooooo cute!
- a little girl on the sidewalk, as emma and i walked by

just a gratuitous picture of my dog basically

It's my day off, but I'm working, because I had one of those weeks when the week sort of ran out before the work did. Emma is helping me. Well, more napping than helping really.

I have been terrifically grumpy for the past week or so. So, I'm not going to update my blog because it'll probably just be a grumpy update. You know? What's the point of that?

Until we tried to put a present bow on her head

Walking my dog through the 20 cm of snow we've gotten in the past 48 hours wins the "cutest thing ever" award. A little black dog, wearing a pink shearling vest, up to her elbows in snow, with a little snow-beard = one of the best things in my life.

Also

I forgot to say that we keep adding new names to Emma. She is officially Emma Mothbane Autobot Iphone Ackbar. However the vet's file just says "Emma" since I think having that many names for such a small dog might be construed as "ridiculous."

When James is not home

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by jocelynb.

Emma likes to sit/sleep in his chair. My theory is that she has executive ambitions. That, or some kind of weird masochistic love of leather.

Day off project

What is this? (Besides a blurry, crappy photo)


Hmmm...


Yeah. It's a little sleeping bag/pocket for my dog. Jorge Garcia's dog has one so it's only fair, since Emma loves burrowing under soft layers more than any other animal I have ever met. I made it today with fleece and quilt batting and some leftover fabric and VELCRO!

Next step: I am going to put those adhesive grippy things for the bottom of the shower on the bottom. Then she can ride in it in the car and she won't slide around on the leather seats.

Recently Emma, aka "that sneaky little dog," has completely lost interest in her food. She shows no other symptoms of being sick or anything--leaping onto my head with her usual unbridled enthusiasm--so I wasn't too concerned, but of course, it is better to have a dog that eats than a dog that doesn't eat. Yesterday I was grating up some zucchini to make cookies and I noted how keenly she was eyeing me, so I put a couple tablespoons of grated zucchini in with her dry food and mixed it up. Wonder of wonders! She attacked it. Maybe she was just bored. I know I would be.

Also, since I haven't posted any cute pictures of her for awhile:

Yep, she's wearing a little pink hoodie. I feel a little guilty about putting it on her, but all evidence suggests she LOVES wearing it. Her lavalife provide would say: I love zucchini, my pink tracksuit hoodie, and long walks on the beach. Or in the park. Or on the sidewalk. Or, barring that, across the living room floor.

Things my dog reminds me ofBy Jocelyn

A mobster
Zuul from Ghostbusters
A gargoyle (like this one for example)
Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars (and also a little bit Yoda)
an iPhone (in fact I recently changed her name to "Emma iPhone Ackbar")

Edited July 15 to add: Kim Jong Il. I forgot about this one. Check it out: 1 2 I think it's the big, domey head.

The dog from Men in Black (note: this dog is just a pug, and my dog is part pug, so really this is not that exciting a comparison)

update

Today I spent a few minutes at work searching to see if I could find a ninja costume for my dog to wear. But I didn't find anything good.

so i might as well just post a picture of my dog

emma likes this pillow, originally uploaded by jocelynb.

goodnight, seattle

I'm back home, and as I write this Emma is asleep in her little Emma-sized bed and James is working in his James-sized chair across from me. We had a lovely trip, with a play and a movie and a concert--a perfectly balanced triptych of entertainment!--plus some outlet shopping and fresh seafood and two art museums and some lovely books waiting for my at my parents' house. Still, I have found that I love coming home a lot more now that I have a giant bed to come home to. Not to mention a dog.

Emma is the weirdest dog I have ever met. She uses her front paws like hands, for grabbing things like toys. She scratches--not on purpose I think, but just as a way of getting attention, the way other dogs will stick their head under your hand when they want to be petted. James and I call her the lick ninja because she will sit quite quietly in your lap, and then suddenly lunge at your face with her long tongue extended. It's hard to avoid her--she has won more than one round of this game of make-out chicken. She is surprisingly good at certain things, like riding in the car (she sits quietly in the back seat) or getting her paws dried off (she stands quite complacently and doesn't fidget). Getting an adult dog is weird for this reason, I guess: they arrive in your life fully formed and inexplicable.

Weird phenomenon: I am kind of looking forward to returning to work tomorrow after 5 days off. Undoubtedly this is partly because of the cute purple coat I am going to wear tomorrow, and the cute purple arm warmers that go with it. But it's more than that. I am ready to start the next set of things.

More extended entry on MFK Fisher to come, as she is my new obsession--and it doesn't hurt that on the cover of the edition of How To Cook A Wolf that I have, she glows like an ingenue.

this pretty much sums it up

New dawg

This is our new dog. She sits nobly on James's lap. We find her intriguing. She has this look on her face all the time: I'm watching you. We won't get away with anything as long as she's around.

i. swine flu ii. dog fever

i. i do not understand the obsession with swine flu. AT ALL. I know people have died from it, which is very sad, but we're all probably infinitely more likely to die from one of the other dangers that surround us at all times. (I can't help it, I'm just an eternal optimist.) if you want to worry about something, worry about super-resistant bacteria, or getting hit by a car, or for that matter heart disease. sigh.

ii. James and I are getting a dog! her name is Emma. She's magnificent, kind of a cross between a pug, a terrier, Admiral Ackbar, and Marilyn Monroe. Stay tunes for a reasonable, non-excessive number of pictures--or at least, I'll do my best.