Big Girls Come

It's Saturday. Time for the neighborhood girls to come over. My favorite, Tanya came with her little sister Khushi. Altogether, seventeen girls came this week. We sang, we listened to the story, and we made crafts.

 I think I'll make a book mark.

 Awww, come on Lady! What did you stick on me now?

 Don't you remember what happened when you stuck a shamrock to my head? When it came off I had a bald spot!

 Please take it off?

 Need any help Tanya?

 Just don't stick anything on me, okay?

 I got fussed at for walking through the craft projects, so I'll just hang out on my blankie by my heater (which isn't even on).

Tell me, how is a dog supposed to walk through this mess?
No good snacks today. Lady just gave them lemonade. But that baby from downstairs came up this morning and fed me plenty of treats!

WARM SUN

Spring has definitely sprung! I am no longer huddled by the heater, and Lady is mostly wearing a single layer of clothing. We are soaking up the rays! It's still chilly in the mornings and evenings, but she lets me go naked as I work up a sweat trying to exercise those Amazon legs of hers. She was busy all morning getting ready for a meeting here today. Nancy, Vick, Seema and Sonya came. Lady fixed them an American lunch instead of rice and dal. We had grilled cheese sandwiches (yum), carrots and Ranch dip (yum), hot and sour potato soup, something like a spicy Cheetoh, and carrot cupcakes. I didn't have soup or cupcakes. Two of the girls are Nepali, and the other two kids are half Nepali. They liked everything! Lady was a little sorry they liked the Ranch dip, as they almost ate it all! The packets have to come from America. Oh well, Lady's always telling me to share.

 After the meeting, Lady and I went out on the balcony to just hang out. She read from her Kindle. I kept an eye on things in the 'hood.

Give me back my Santa!

CLEAN!

Lady said I was a dirty boy and shedding like crazy. Time for a bath. Oh, joy. Although I take it like a dog, I do not relish having a bath. I stand still, I shake on demand, and tolerate the towel, but then I am outta here! I do my after-bath dance, tearing through the house like a wet dog after a bath! I put my head down on the carpet and spin in circles trying to get dry and scratch myself at the same time. I scatter every rug in the house, and spread dog hair from here to there. But I am clean. Then, I search for a sunbeam in which to bask and rest.

LADY'S HOME!

Oh happy day! Lady came to get me first thing this morning. I was having breakfast at the Home with a couple of American visitors. Aunty told them I was American. No, I'm not -I'm Chinese. I have an American mommy. I am of German decent, but born in China. Anyway, I was ready to go home with my Lady. She says I'm a bit fluffy. She made me grilled cheese for lunch.
Lady got to see my friends Millie and Max. They are wire haired doxies. Millie and I were briefly engaged until her people got her surgery. Lady was so disappointed they got her a LARGE chocolate bar. My last birthday party down south was in their home.
Yes, Lady brought me a surprise. And, Uncle Greg sent me an Easter card and a book. Thanks! He visited me in China one Easter. We had a fun time sharing about Easter with the Chinese kids in our 'hood. I think that was the year I accidentally ate Easter grass from Lady's basket (as I was stealing an egg) and it got stuck on the way out. I cried. People noticed. Lady was embarrassed. I never ate Easter grass again.

Another Vacation

 My eyes look weird. I've got my bag packed and ready to go.

Christy and Raul came to get me to take me to the Children's Home. Lady walked with us as Christy is afraid of the street dogs, and she said a bunch were out tonight. You read what happened to me this morning! Our nighttime temps are still in the 30's but in the day, and in the sun it is almost 70.
Lady is taking off tonight for our old city in the south. Her goddaughter Deborah is graduating. She'll get to see our old friends, but it is a quick trip. She'll be back Tuesday night. I hope she brings me a present! 

Naked!

It's finally warm enough for me to go naked again! Lady still makes me get dressed for our morning and night excursions because it is still quite chilly when the sun goes down.  But during the day, I'm naked! I also sleep in the buff because I get my pj's all twisted up or I chew at them if I get hot. Lady says technically, I'm not naked because I wear a fur coat. Semantics. See? My happy meter is a blur!

 Lady says I need to accept the fact that I am not a doberman pinscher. I am not as big as the street dogs, and I shouldn't take them on. I stuck my nose where it didn't belong and got in a fight this morning. It's so embarrassing when Lady has to pick me up. I'm sure I would have won, but Lady says no. We don't know which dogs have been picked up and inoculated. Well, I may be a doxie on the outside, but I am a BIG DOG on the inside!

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Okay, not really. As you know I am Chinese. But today, everybody can be Irish! Lady made me wear my green tee shirt and she painted a green shamrock on my forehead. Two years ago, she put a shamrock sticker on me. When she pulled it off, all the hair came, too. I had a bald spot right between my eyes for a month. Lady colored it in with black magic marker. So,she doesn't put stickers on me anymore.
We worked and worked to get ready for the party. Twenty girls came! We had a good time except for when they played the balloon stomp game. They wanted me to go out with them so I did. Was I sorry! I hate balloons. I especially hate the noise they make when popped. They each had a balloon tide on their ankle. They had to tie the balloon to their ankle and try to pop everybody else's balloon. Christy felt sorry for me and held me.
Lady let my pal Tanya give me treats. Sometimes the other girls laugh at her, and forget to help her. That makes Lady mad. She tries. We love her and want her to come. Lady made shamrock shaped treats for me.
Christy stayed and helped Lady clean up. Her mom sent us chicken for dinner! She sent Lady cauliflower and rice. Poor Lady. What a life without meat!
So, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Lady told the story about Maewyn Succat who was kidnapped at age 16 in Great Britain and taken by slave traders to Ireland where he was sold to a sheep farmer. Maewyn worked as a shepherd for 6 years before escaping to Great Britain. Later, he returned to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of Ireland. He died on March 17 461 AD. See? I was listening. I've heard this story MANY times.
Lady's Irish on both sides, so I kissed her good!

My friend Tanya.

Bacon and Cheese Treats for Marvelous Me

An empty treat jar is a sad thing. My Marley's Munchies jar had but one broken treat in it. I gazed at it pathetically and slowly wagged my happy meter. It worked! Lady made me some more treats! Thanks to Aunt Lindsey, they are bacon flavored. Lady also sacrificed some of her cheddar cheese. We can rarely find it in our city, so Lady has to bring it in from the capital, a day's travel away!

 Oh joy!

Thank you, Lady!

RECIPE

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup hot veggie stock

3 Tablespoons bacon grease

1/2 Cup (or 1 cup  if you have it in your city) shredded cheddar cheese

In a large bowl make a well in the flour and add the veggie stock.

Work in the bacon grease.

Finally, add the cheese.

On a floured surface, roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut wiht cookie cutters.

Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Store in an airtight container.

COMPANY!

Winter break is over, the kids are back in school, so here come the neighborhood moms! These are moms of the girls who come on Saturdays, plus friends. They all have daughters, but not all of them come on Saturdays. The ladies seemed happy to see me -nobody stepped on me or tripped over me. I did scare a few when I checked out the lingering aromas on their attire. And, I have a feet fetish for bare toes. I like to lick them. Sonya was the only one without socks, as it is still cold. She just giggled, but when I licked a few toes on Saturday, the girls freaked out.
I already knew today's story about Eve so I slept by the heater. Lady practiced telling some of the story in Hindi. The moms liked that, but still read it for themselves.
Sonya stayed and helped Lady clean up. There were a lot of dishes as Lady and the moms cooked. I had a soft pretzel. It was yummy! Warm, right out of the oven!  We were busy the rest of the day getting ready for Saturday's St. Patrick's Day party. I love parties! I am going to try to catch a leprechaun and make him give me his pot of bacon.

I'm under the table politely waiting for scraps.

HOT DOG

Monkey Business

It's been a nice Sunday. Lady went to church, then a friend came for a late birthday lunch. Lady ordered from the local dhabba, which I love! We had yellow dal, rice, chapattis, and mixed veggies which has paneer (the local cheese) in it! I had seconds.
After lunch we heard a commotion outside. MONKEYS! And, not just any monkeys, these are gray langurs, the BIG monkeys. They run off those common monkeys.

 This one is running from our neighbor's stick!

 Uh oh, don't get on that motorcycle, or as they say here, bike!

 Thinking about a getaway!

 

These guys are REALLY big.

 Here comes the posse! This street dog climbed onto the car to try to get to the money!

 Back up!

I was going nuts on the balcony, wanting to get into the fray. Of course, Lady sqahed that idea. Well, I squashed her geraniums. She was not happy! 
The Gray Langurs were used during the 2010 Commonwealth Games to keep the common monkeys away from the guests! You can read about it in this article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39414085/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/india-hires-monkeys-guard-games-venues/

The Girls Return

Saturday, the neighborhood girls came for Bible Club after a winter break. They'll now come every Saturday that I am home. We had three new little girls, but one of them fell in love with me instantly! Christy comes too, now that she is no longer living at her school. 

 Hanging out on my balcony waiting for the girls to come. I brought my Pooh rug and Pooh coat with me from China.

 Those girls sure made a mess! I tried to help but they fussed when I stepped on their books and scattered their carefully punched out little bits of paper.

 It's my house, I just want someone to play with me.

 Working on her book. She threw my elephant for me.

Coloring.

Happy Birhtday Sonya!

I like Sonya. She comes every day and cleans up after me. She sweeps up my dog hair. She stays for about an hour. She also helps Lady practice Hindi. Her English is worse than Lady's Hindi! She likes me. She's 21 today. I asked Lady to make her a cake and some cookies.

Sonya shared a birthday cookie with me. Lady made mine in a bone shape. See her new earrings? I gave them to her. Happy Birthday, Sonya! Come back tomorrow.

Happy Women's Day!

All you lovely b* uh, ladies out there, HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY! 
Lady took our friend Prabha from the Children's Home out to lunch. I wasn't invited. 
It's been quite a day! Sonya (our helper) arrived and promptly smeared colored powder on Lady's forehead, and mine, too! Lady took me out so I could walk her, but she didn't put a coat on me -I went in the buff. It's a good thing because we got doused in colors! 
Today is Holi!

 Cleaned up and watching from my balcony.

They sure had fun! 
Guess what? We had snow flurries today! Didn't stick but it was cold!