Greyt Days

I have been neglecting my blog!

2012-01-26T21:19:00.000-05:00

When Mr. D states emphatically that I need to get back to posting, well, I have my marching orders :D In all seriousness, life lately has been ridiculously busy. It is for all of us, I know. OK, I just haven't made "Greyt Days" a priority.

But, I looked at my camera and realized that I have some VERY overdue photos of Bella to post!

I don't think Bella was all that impressed with the Christmas crackers and wearing a silly paper hat

And really, not very impressed with the Santa hat, either

Really, Mom? Haven't you had enough?

Bella's first Christmas tree

2011-12-13T20:12:00.000-05:00

Last year, we didn't get a real tree - only a little potted bush

Well, this year we decided we'd get a real tree.

And of course, we got one that is really too large! But it's pretty. It may not look to big in this photo, but we've had to do a fair amount of furniture rearranging, we can't really get to the sliding door and our files are totally inaccessible while the tree is up.

And of course it was a perfect photo opportunity, both before getting the tree and through the lights going on. Despite the expressions on Bella's face, no greyhounds were harmed in the making of these photos....

Daddy, SAVE me!!

Just a fun photo

2011-12-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

Bella is convinced I'm hiding treats

More Greytalk Secret Santa!

2011-12-08T20:10:00.001-05:00

Oh, I think I know what THIS is!

OK, I'm getting the hang of it

Just root around in here a little more....

Ooh! Yummy! (Bella snagged a styrofoam peanut, which I don't think she's seen up close before and gave it a couple of good chomps before dropping it!)

Wow! A Mac the Greyhound, terrific treat jar & treats, yummy chocolate for me and more inside the treat jar!

Thanks RhodyGreys! Bella received this pretty, personalized hand-painted treat jar!

Filled with home-made treats. Beef garlic and peanut butter cinnamon.

And this itty-bitty grey on a stone - so pretty!

A greyt collar, too but Bella kept sniffing around for more treats, so I couldn't get a decent shot :D

I know there are more somewhere.....

Thanks RhodyGreys!!!!

It's Greytalk Secret Santa time again!!

2011-12-07T19:07:00.000-05:00

It's a box for me? Sure smells yummy!

Ooh - I'm going to hop up to be closer and REALLY check it out.

Mine!

At this point she grabbed onto the box and started trying to drag it to her crate :D

Mom, I'm being really, really good right now. Maybe if I lie down I'll get some of the yumminess....

Oh, I can't stand it, I've got to sniff.

Whoa! I got the box within the box open and there are TREATS! Yummy, yummy Burpdog treats!!

I've heard about these...

Mummy, I can have more, right? Maybe if I look really cute, I'll get more....

I'm being soooooo good, especially with the open box

OK, I couldn't resist any longer!

Thank you Ms. Diane for the lovely Secret Santa gift! Bella's lovely new necklace (with rhinestone bunnies!) is on her as I write this, I had to wrestle the box of Burpdogs and the chicken feet away from her and I know I'll find her new toys scattered through the apartment tomorrow. The squirrel is perfect - she likes to chase them here in the city :) Thank you, too, for the snowman tea towel - so cute!!

Photography

2011-11-28T17:01:00.000-05:00

Many of the photos of Bella that I post here are just quick snapshots to illustrate a point. I do enjoy photography, though, and have fun playing with the camera. I'm always in awe of great photographs, so I'm going to share a couple of blogs with you.

Retirement Chronicles (the link will open in a new window) is a favorite. The author lives in Michigan and takes some amazing photos. She also runs a monthly photo contest, each with it's own theme, so I sometimes enter with a photo that I've dug out of my archives or treat it as an assignment and go do something fun. There are so many amazing photographs that I've not yet won, although I received a "special mention" for the October "Fall" theme with this photograph.

One of my favorite blogs to visit mixes photography and greyhounds. Meet Mr Alex The Dog - Steve makes beautiful photographs.

Secret Santa

2011-11-27T20:06:00.000-05:00

Again this year, we're participating in the Greytalk Secret Santa and holiday card exchange. They're both fun ways to get into the holiday spirit without a whole lot of expense or angst. We've just order our cards, so expect to see the images posted here soon :D

Bella received a teaser gift from a Secret Santa - this made Mr. D and I laugh because she's generally well behaved and doesn't need to explain, but every now and then.....

The bandanna reads "Santa, I can explain"

November catch up

2011-11-17T06:49:00.001-05:00

Life has been busy, busy, busy this month! Lots of travel for work which means leaving Mr. D and Bella to fend for themselves (Mr D is good at it, though!). It means Bella turns into Velcro dog, however, when one of us is home.

Bella: Hi, Mom, where are you going? I'm going, right? Right?

Me: Bella, sweetie, I'm going into the bedroom to unpack my suitcase

Bella: Ok, I'm right here with you, I'll help. Just one quick pat and I'll come with you.

And proceeds to stand in front of me blocking my way until I give her lots of scratches and pats. Every time I move from one room to another (and remember, we're in a 600-square foot apartment, so there are only two main rooms!) she's right there with me.

It really is sweet.

Bella's also gotten more advanced in using her paws to indicate that she'd like attention. If she is on our bed or on the sofa and she doesn't feel she's getting adequate attention, she'll lift a paw. It's the "pat me now" paw, lifing just enough so that you can rub her chest and belly. You don't even need to be that close by, but when she's in the mood and sees one of her people moving around, The Paw extends to summon you.

Smart girl, because we think it's so cute that we always respond. Yes, she has us trained!

I'm ready for my pats now, please

Snow!

2011-10-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

It's the end of October and the northeast was hit with snow, sleet, slush, rain, wind and cold - generally a lovely combination.

Bella so did not want to go outside in this weather and the expression shown here really expresses her feelings, I believe

Oh, Mom, why do you need to take pictures NOW?

We haven't participated in the Saturday Pet Blog Hop in a while - and we're a little late to join this weekend's, but here we are!

hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor.

The Private Bella vs The Public Bella

2011-10-27T19:16:00.000-04:00

Bella is loosening up more and more and showing her silly, playful, goofy side. We'll come home in the evenings to discover that she's pulled toys out of her basket and scattered them in the apartment. When we put on her raincoat, she'll bend around and bite at it and her tail, rub against walls and race around. She'll frequently roach and bat us if we walk past her without rubbing her. She'll race around in the hallways, doing air snaps and playing. She'll lean against us in the elevator and nudge her nose under our hands so that we keep loving on her.

But she won't do any of this with an audience! She can go from absolutely nutty crazily racing around, bound into the elevator and walk out on the ground floor like a senior girl who would never think about doing anything that isn't elegant. It's as if she decides to only share her personality with some people.

Lately, though, as the weather has been getting colder and breezier she'll bounce around on our walks. She'll try to run a little, knowing that the leash will constrain her. Tonight on our walk she focused on a Westie and decided he was her playmate - started whining and play-bowing on the leash. He thought she was terrific and started trying to play, too. Oh, and it was pouring rain and cold and neither the Westie's human nor I were all that excited about the pups trying to play instead of do their business.

Funny, funny girl!

Scritches, Scratches and Pats

2011-10-23T09:02:00.000-04:00

Bella has long since learned the joys of having her humans give her attention. If there is a limit to her enjoyment of neck scratches, I haven't found it. The best (or seems to be, based on how long she will stay in this position) is when she hops on the bed and puts her whole head against my chest, with both of my hands giving her neck long, hard scratches. If we stay that way for more than 30 seconds or so, I have to be careful not to step back too quickly, or she'll overbalance from leaning on me so hard.

Apparently Mr. D has known this one for a while, although I've just discovered it. Right at the base of her tail, on either side is an itchy spot. If you scritch there, Bella will curl her whole body up into a "c" shape and sort of stagger around trying to keep it going.

Of course belly and chest rubs remain a favorite, and if she feels you haven't given her enough pats, rubs and attention, you will get batted by a paw. If you stop more than once, the stink-eye usually is turned on you - much like this!

The online community

2011-10-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

I've marveld for some time about the power of the online communities that exist. Mr. D has met, stayed with and skiied with people he's met through an online skiing forum. I never truly appreciated that community until I started blogging and getting involved with Greytalk.

Last night a member posted a thread about her greyhound being put down as a result of contracting osteosarcoma, an all-too-common plague of greyhounds. I had never met this hound nor her people (although this family was Bella's Secret Santa last year) but found myself crying as I read this beautiful tribute. Some people have a gift with words that draw you into their stories, and this member is one.

Bee Wiseman, you will be missed by your family and your extended, online family.

Please help talk me out of......

2011-10-12T20:13:00.000-04:00

Participating in the Greyhound Friends of NJ annual craft fair. Seriously. Not that it wouldn't be a ton of fun.

I get these things in my head that I think will be a good idea. Sometimes they work out - usually they cost me more time and money than I anticipate.

When I was younger, some family member (I think my grandmother) taught me how to make candy wreaths. I thought they were the coolest thing and until a couple of years ago would make one for particular family members every year. So, the craft fair rolls around and I start thinking, how fun would that be to sell the candy wreaths!

OK. Maybe it would work. But keeping in mind that I have a very limited amount of space in the apartment, would have to pay for a booth and rent a car, plus supplies, plus crafting time, plus correct pricing. And the event is in 5 weeks. I don't have a photo, but do a web search of images for "candy wreath" and you'll get the idea.

I can almost hear Mr. D's voice in my ear saying "Honey, really? This really is not a good idea.". I know I'll hear it when he reads this post!

Bella says, "Whatever Mom, just let me snooze"

I should just take the time and volunteer at the event instead. That's the better idea. Really........

Velcro Dog

2011-10-11T19:46:00.000-04:00

Bella's become steadily more outgoing and affectionate over the past 18 months. She still generally only tolerates strangers patting her, although she's gotten comfortable enough with some of our neighbors that if we're letting her burn off some energy in the hallway and she sees someone she likes, she will go bounding toward them. Luckily the only people she does that with don't mind!

With Mr. D away for the week, I get the full effect of our affectionate, slightly Velcro-like girl. I sat down this morning to put on my socks and shoes and her head is immediately in my lap. I was doing some major fall cleaning yesterday and I ended up having to pull out the baby gate so that I could wash the floors without paw prints. Normally she sleeps in her crate by choice - last night I think she had 2/3 of my bed, pressed hard against my side.

Of course, she's probably slightly weirded out by the cleaning, as it also entailed sending the area rugs for cleaning, and packing up some of the extra "stuff" that we don't really use that has made it's way into our apartment. Luckily this time Bella's learned that she can't leap onto the sofa as enthusiastically from the bare wood floor - she unfortunately learned that the hard way last time by trying to launch herself normally and slipping.

Demonstrating the favored "using Mom as a head rest" move

The Manhattan Apartment

2011-10-10T16:23:00.000-04:00

You might think with a 620-square foot apartment (and I'm not entirely sure that figure doesn't include the insides of the closets, by the way) it would be impossible to misplace something. I unfortunately am able to disprove that with much more frequency than I'd like!

We do store off-season clothes elsewhere, along with ski equipment, my horse equipment and everything else we're sure we'll have room for later in life. So somewhere in with those items are Bella's Minnie Mouse costume - yes, the one I was thinking about putting on her for the Pet Parade yesterday. It's of course not with our other costume/Halloween items - why would it be that simple? :) Usually I'm pretty organized, but not this time. Ah, well, Bella, we'll just have to recreate it or come up with a new costume.

Three day weekend!

2011-10-07T20:10:00.000-04:00

Ahhh.... Friday night of a three-day weekend. Mr. D leaves on a work trip on Monday so he doesn't get the full value, but I have lots of plans to enjoy it. Headed to my favorite market to introduce a friend to it's wonders (amazing cheeses, spices of all kinds that are super-fresh and inexpensive, olives and lots more), dinner with family Saturday night, a possible visit to a Pet Parade on Sunday (debating whether to go with the tried-and-true Minnie Mouse costume or the new Anubis one for Bella) and just time around the apartment to putter around and do a good fall cleaning.

Bella, can you set the tone for the weekend, please?

Hmm, not sure exactly what that means, but we'll go with it......

Yikes & Vacation

2011-10-01T21:22:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe it's been a month since my last post! (That would be the "yikes" part of the title). It's not that I want to abandon my blog, it's just that with one dog and two people and pretty ordinary lives, how much is there to write about? If you, the readers, have suggestions, please let me know! :D

The most exciting thing recently is that Mr D., Bella and I went on vacation. We went way far away from any civilization. 500 miles from NYC, a place called Aziscohos Lake, Maine. 40 miles southeast is the closest cell phone reception availability, so when we told people from work that we were on vacation and not reachable by cell phone or email, we really meant it.

My family built a "camp" there in 1966 and although I used to go up fairly often when I was younger, I haven't been there since 1992! I use "camp" loosely - it's a solidly built 3-bedroom house. No electricity (lights and stove are on propane) and no running water (other than the hand pump at the kitchen sink which pulls from the lake).

Of course - the interior hasn't changed since 1966, either!

Bella wasn't too sure about being an outdoorsy adventure dog

But she was really, really good at finding sunshine to snooze in.

"Camp" from the water

It was rare to see/hear more than two motorboats in a day, which made these sunsets even more peaceful.

A family photo

Bella was great on this trip. We stayed in three different homes - with a friend on Saturday night before going up to camp on Sunday; at camp for several nights and then with a family member on night on the way home to NYC. Camp really kind of disoriented her, I think. Well, probably all of us, to be honest. Because there is absolutely no ambient light up there, it is absolute dark. You can not see a THING unless you switch on a flashlight. The wildlife noises, after the noises of the city, were a little disconcerting.

Regardless, Bella was really great the whole time. We bring her crate with us when we travel, when possible, but at camp she was more comfortable and happier when she could sleep on our bed. Normally she's on and off the bed too much and disturbs us, but when we travel together it's almost as though she liked the comfort of being able to snuggle up to us at night.

Good job Bella - a city dog adapting to country life, at least for a few days.

A few moments of quiet on the lake....

Movie Making in NYC

2011-09-02T13:51:00.000-04:00

For some reason, this building at 101 Park Avenue, which is across the street from my office, gets a lot of film attention.

It was featured in 1987's "The Secret of My Success" with Michael J. Fox; the soon-to-be-released "New Year's Eve" with Michelle Pfieffer, and today there is filming for "The Avengers" with Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and more (the actors weren't actually there).

We often will see "Law and Order" being filmed and it's rare that a week goes by without seeing some evidence of a movie or other filming. The filming and parking permits are always conspicuously displayed so you can always see the project name - sometimes it's real and sometimes it's a fake. For example, the project name listed on the permits for "The Avengers" is "Group Hug". Someone's got a sense of humor.

Setting up a scene with lots of fake rubble (mostly spray-painted styrofoam)

A view of the same corner from my office

Hurricane Irene in NYC, Part 2

2011-08-28T12:42:00.000-04:00

As predicted, Bella slept through most of the storm - Mr D. and I were the antsy ones! No damage or power loss for our apartment, and limited damage nearby from what I could see on our morning walk. Other parts of the city are flooded but hopefully no major impacts to the subway systems or power grid. Because our power lines in Manhattan are buried, we don't have the downed lines to deal with, but if salt water gets to the lines underground, that causes major problems. No reports of that yet.

A few photos from our balcony last night - the streets are still strangely quiet today.

Hurricane Irene in NYC, Part 1

2011-08-27T19:42:00.000-04:00

Bella seems fairly undisturbed at this point, although to date (7 pm EST on Saturday) we've only had intermittent rain. I'm sure she's a little confused by the rearrangement of some items in our apartment, putting towels along the window and such. The couple of trips she's taken out today have been short and sweet - I'm sure she'll employ her iron bladder tomorrow.

The rearranged apartment, including everything from the balcony

A local restaurant with a sense of humor!

This is the first time I have ever known this McDonald's to be closed

(including in blizzards)......

... but Ripley's two doors down was open and doing a booming business with the tourists.

An almost empty 10th Avenue in Manhattan - unheard of at 2 pm on a Saturday

Our building lobby, absolutely stripped down - mirrors removed from walls,

console tables packed away....

... main windows boarded up...

... hallway windows taped.

With Bella seeming somewhat anxious and us not really knowing what to expect, Mr D. and I decided that we'd enjoy tonight. I had some terrific shrimp in the freezer so made a wonderful scampi, Mr. D picked out the perfect white wine (a Handley Pinot Gris, for what it's worth) and we settled in to a lovely dinner. Bella got a tin of sardines as an addition to her kibble tonight, as a special treat. She LOVES sardines - well, to be honest, I haven't found anything she doesn't like yet - but she LOVES sardines!

Hurricane Irene is supposed to hit the NYC area around 2 am tonight/tomorrow morning. I suspect that Mr. D and I won't sleep a whole lot tonight - him over excitement of his first hurricane, me over just a bit of anxiety :D We'll probably drive Bella NUTS!

Ah, sleep

2011-08-19T07:34:00.000-04:00

Bella is so laid back and mellow 98% of the time. The other 2% either involves food (as I ype this I'm getting a stink-eye because it's past her normal breakfast time) or when one of us comes home from work. Then, she goes nuts and does wild, crazy zoomies in the apartment building hallway. She's startled more than a few people!

Of course, this morning was one of that 2%. Mr D left quite early to catch a flight, and he took Bella out for a walk before he left, then popped her back into her crate. She was good with that for about another half hour and then started getting restless. I opened her crate and went back to bed, but Bella decided that would be a great time to start doing zoomies on the bed. OK, alright, I'm up. As soon as I open the bedroom door, she raced to the sofa and flopped down to snooze. Gee, thanks, Bella.

She does love her comfort, though. I had picked up a new bed but because of other things going on, I didn't have time to do something with her old one. So, I just dropped the new one on top of the new one and looked over to see the princess enjoying her many layers.

What, Momma? I don't know why you're laughing at me....

Photos (grumble)

2011-08-15T21:09:00.002-04:00

I really don't know what happened, but apparently there's a problem with my photos linking to Blogger. I'll work on it this week - grumble.

Not cool, Blogger.

Long time no post

2011-08-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a while since my last post - life has been a challenge lately. I'm so thankful for Mr. D and the rest of my family, and so glad that Bella is with us.

I briefly posted about what's been going on, and then took the post down because I really didn't feel like leaving it up. Every day is a little easier, though.

On Thursday, July 14, my 22-year-old brother died of an accidental drug overdose. Chris had been battling addiction for several years, had been in and out of rehab (and was trying to get back in) and had so many wonderful qualities and talents that were overshadowed by the addiction. He made and kept amazing friendships, was athletically talented in a number of sports, had the gift of gab. He was an incredibly talented actor and master manipulator. Because of these last qualities, I never quite believed that he was in as much trouble as it turned out he was.

A soapbox moment - Drug and alcohol addiction are sad realities. So many people try to pretend that addicts don't exist, or that addicts only belong to other families, or a certain upbringing or a certain "type" of person. It just isn't true. Addicts are found on big city sidewalks and in boardrooms; homemakers and doctors and your next-door neighbor.

Off the soapbox.

Dealing with grief could take up several posts on its own. But, since this blog is about Bella -

Bella has really been a blessing the past few weeks. The first day back in the office and back to real life was a really tough day. I came home and I'm not sure whether she was relieved to have her schedule back to normal or sensed somehow that I needed cheering up, but she did the biggest, craziest round of hallway zoomies I think I have ever seen!

She's been particularly patient about my snuggling with her, kissing her and talking nonsense to her. (Mr. D has been extremely patient with listening to this and my doing the same to him!) She's been somewhat more snuggly with me than normal, too. As I type this, she has wedged her head in under my arm, resting on my leg, so that I see her nose poking out. This means that I have to stop every couple of sentances to pat her, of course. Smart girl.

Is Bella a "Huggable Hound"?

2011-07-26T20:01:00.000-04:00

I know, I go through periods where I don't post much. The past couple of weeks was one of those periods - not for lack of inspiration, but other parts of life interfered.

I'm posting today, though, because I entered Bella into the "Huggable Hound" contest. I've bought quite a few collars for her from Huggable Hound on Etsy and really like them. Reasonably priced, well made, lots of options and fantastic communication from Carol, the maker and seller.

So, the deal is that I had to submit a photo of Bella in one of her HH collars. The winning girl is the one with the most "likes", so if you have a Facebook account, click on this link and then "like" the photo of Bella :) Thank you in advance!

Broadway Barks - again

2011-07-12T22:07:00.000-04:00

A few photos from Saturday's event -

And one of Bella, just because I found it and hadn't posted it on this blog yet :)

Broadway Barks and a great request!

2011-07-09T08:57:00.000-04:00

"Broadway Barks" was put together by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore to benefit NYC's animal shelters.

This event is held just a few blocks from my apartment, yet because of the sheer volume of things going on in NYC, I've never been. Well, it turns out that one of the people who came to the last greyhound meetup that we went to works for the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. She liked the photos I took of the greys and asked if I would be willing to take photos of some of the pets up for adoption at this event.

I'm really excited that someone thinks enough of my work to ask me to participate in this. I'm not a professional nor do I have any aspirations in that direction, but I do enjoy the process. I almost never do anything to the photographs I make except for cropping - I"m kind of a purist in that respect. I learned how to develop my own film and print photographs, so I limit myself with software to the small changes that I know I could have made through the film and print process. I know professionals who use a ton of post-production editing software and those who don't and both ways are perfectly legitimate - this is just my preference. Now, granted, I'm a complete amateur in many ways and I'm sure there's a lot more that can be done in the print process than I am capable of, but I really prefer to try to make the best photo I can with the camera and leave it at that. Below are two examples - these are the original images with no editing.

OK, enough about photography - this is supposed to be all about Bella. Here you go, a classic Bella combination - snuggling AND a stink-eye!

On a side note - someone asked about the spray we use on Bella's teeth. I was having trouble posting a link to your blog, so click this linky

We’re participating in this Saturday’s Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts and those who follow you, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor. Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!

Opportunist

2011-07-06T07:53:00.000-04:00

Bella will rest her head almost any place that is convenient.

The Lexus Project

2011-07-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

To start off - I know my posts have been less and less frequent of late. It's not that I don't enjoy posting, but just like all of you, I have a pretty regular daily life and as amazing and wonderful as Bella is, there are a lot of days where nothing too exciting happens. Maybe if I don't have anything to say I'll just start posting photos.

Now, on to the point of this post.

I was reading a post by an unfortunate greyhound owner. I won't get into the rights and wrongs and "should haves" but suffice it to say that a hound got loose and killed a neighbor's cat. Animal Control was called and the dog is in danger of being put down.

Little did I know, there is a couple who runs "The Lexus Project: Legal Defense for Greyhounds". Good to know that there is a resource out there that is very knowledgeable about greyhounds, animal control laws and has legal resources to help. As much as greyhounds are in general gentle creatures, they are also bred specifically to chase and catch small furry things and incidents do happen.

Thank you to Robin and Rich of The Lexus Project, for what you do!

Teeth

2011-06-28T06:55:00.000-04:00

Apparently, greyhounds are fairly notorious for having bad teeth. I think we got pretty lucky with Bella and we put a lot of care into her teeth. Mr. D has really taken over her dental care, with a daily Petzlife spray, brushing a couple of times a week and an occasional bone or other chew thrown in there.

This all paid off in our recent annual checkup. Our vet was really impressed with the state of Bella's teeth - he almost had himself convinced that she had a dental scaling at some point in the past year.

Way to go Mr. D!

Well, that's one way to show off those pearly whites, Bella!

Father's Day

2011-06-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Mr. D and I spent Father's Day weekend in completely different places, but both with our dads. He got a chance to go skiing (yes, you read that right!) at Snowbird with his dad. Snowbird is just outside of Salt Lake City where the family lived for years, and received so much snow this winter that the lifts are still running!

Skiing together is a family tradition, so I'm glad Mr. D got to do this with his dad.

I went to Connecticut and with my family and friends took a boat trip down to around the Statue of Liberty. It's a gorgeous trip and Saturday was a beautiful day to be on the water. The boat is a 31' motorboat, which I finally feel comfortable handling, so got quite a bit of time at the helm. Silly me, I didn't bring my camera, but have included a couple of photos from previous trips.

The flag on the back of the boat as we're cruising down the coastline

A private boat can get awfully close to Lady Liberty

I opted not to bring Bella on the boat, both for her and our comfort. I set up her crate so that she could see the other dogs and vice versa but so that she was safe. We've learned that she can scramble over the gate that keeps the dogs in their "room" so I definitely didn't want to leave her with that temptation while no one was in the house.

After coming back to the city and walking back to our apartment, she snoozed the afternoon away.

Racing

2011-06-13T06:55:00.000-04:00

Not greyhound, but horses! Being in NYC we had to go to Belmont yesterday, even with the rain. I'm sorry to say that neither of us won a single bet, but we had a great time. Bella was at home keeping her sofa warm. I'm a firm believer that not all racing is bad, we just need more consistent approaches to medication (at least in thoroughbreds) and more programs to give retiring athletes a home.

That being said, of COURSE I took photos!

It was REALLY muddy

The gates open....

And they're off!

Just after the start of the Belmont Stakes. Ruler on Ice, the 24-1 longshot winner, can be seen in the pink and orange silks with the orange cap and orange noseband, one in from the rail.

Thank You Bella

2011-06-11T09:20:00.000-04:00

I had planned a completely different post for today, but it got derailed after events of last night (the originally planned one will show up soon).

Of course there are a lot of high-rises in Manhattan and our apartment building is one. Typically the higher floors are more coveted with higher rents. I'm perfectly happy to be below the tenth floor - I can take the stairs if the wait for the elevator is really backed up, it's easier to contemplate exiting in an emergency and it's less time in the elevator each day. What I try not to think about is how I really don't like elevators much nor being on high floors. Side note - the 2006 crash of New York Yankee Corey Lidle was close enough to my office building at the time that we heard the crash, saw smoke and flames and almost needed to evacuate via the stairwell - from the 45th floor. Ever since, I've kept sneaker or other flats in my desk drawer.

Ok, get to the point. Last night I took Bella for her last walk before bed. Unfortunately, the elevator had other ideas and not only did it not go down as expected, it went UP slightly. Then stopped. Then the display that shows the floor went off and an alarm started up. Yikes!!! Since this was just a quick walk I hadn't bothered to bring my cell phone but luckily the emergency phone in the elevator did work.

It of course felt like hours (I learned later was less than 20 minutes) until I heard someone calling to me. I couldn't hear much of anything because of the alarms going off, but all of a sudden the doors were pried open. Four firefighters and I stared at each other for a moment - they seemed a little wary about being greeted by a big black dog. I did keep Bella back for everyone's safety, and they did ask if she was friendly. I can only imagine some of the situations that firefighters have had to deal with involving dogs, but that's another story.

Once in the elevator lobby waiting for another elevator to bring us all back down (because Bella did actually have to potty), there was minimal conversation. I did ask a few questions and that opened the door to ask them to ask some questions about Bella - yet again, she was a terrific ambassadog.

My doorman on duty, Justin, was calm, cool and collected - he called the FDNY, reassured me, made sure I was ok, and once I finally reached the lobby, made sure again that I was ok.

I'm just so grateful that I had this wonderful, calm, loving girl with me. I'm sure she was picking up on some of my anxiety but when I sat down (not knowing how long the wait was going to be) she stood right between my legs, put her chin on my shoulder and just leaned into me.

Wonderful girl.

We’re participating in this Saturday’s Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you’d like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor. Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!

Very bad idea

2011-06-09T06:47:00.002-04:00

There have been two instances lately where we *almost* went to another GFNJ open house.

We regained our sense at the last moment, however. Our lease restricts us to just one pup and Mr. D insists that there's only room for one pup in our current apartment anyway. I do wish we had the room/ability to foster, but not here and now.

But really, what were we thinking, that we could go to an open house with 20, 30 even 40 available greys and NOT find another one that we adore? (Click the names below these wonderful photos to go to that dog's page).

Burrsa

Cukes

Kwire

Majoram

Oh, sure, we could have resisted, but only because of a silly legal technicality (the lease). And we would have been SO happy visiting all of these lovely pups and then driving away and leaving them (insert sarcasm here!)

For those who do, how are YOU able to go to open houses and not come home with pups? If we were close enough to any group to really be involved, I could absolutely see volunteering to help at the kennel and open houses, and that would be different. I think. :)

Mighty Huntress

2011-06-04T09:08:00.001-04:00

I was walking Bella back to our apartment after bringing her to meet some friends, when all of a sudden, she froze. Ears as high up as she could get them, every muscle tense, quivering, one front paw dangling slightly off the ground. Straining against the leash, she then lept!

A sudden movement, and now I see what had caught her attention...

No, wait, that's not it....

Um, no....

Ah, there we go! This little mouse that brought out our girl's hunting instincts couldn't have been more than 4 inches long from nose to tail. Bella chased that little thing halfway down the block until it disappeared into a small crack in a wall, and then paced back and forth whining slightly in frustration? Excitement? Either way, she did NOT want to leave in case the mouse peeked out again, and for many days afterward she would stop and investigate that spot.

The only reason she didn't catch it is because... well, actually she did catch it once but then dropped it. That only made her want to catch it more, but I decided that a city mouse was probably not the best thing for her to eat.....

Saturday Blog Hop again! Hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume, the rules are simple. Follow your hosts, follow people who follow you and enjoy!

*Note - I accidentally entered three times because I misunderstood what the linkytool page was doing - I thought I kept messing up but in reality my blog was entered, I just didn't know it!

The New York Times

2011-05-25T07:00:00.002-04:00

Did you ever see the movie "Julie & Julia"? Well, if not, I won't summarize the whole thing here but the relevant part is that "Julie" sees people reading about her in the New York Times and gets a thrill out of seeing herself in print and watching people reading the article.

I now get it - I'm in the New York Times! My name's in the print version but not the online version. Oh, well.

*Edited to add - I should have specified - click on the link above, which is to the article. :)

It's Saturday, so that means adventures

2011-05-22T14:50:00.000-04:00

OK, right NOW it isn't Saturday, but this post is about yesterday's adventures, sooo.....

Another greyhound meetup with more photos here

To add to the fun of the day, we all loaded into ANOTHER cab and went to the NYC Pet Show. Not really a pet show, but a show for pets - all kinds of pet-related merchandisers exhibiting. Victoria Stillwell (It's Me or the Dog) was speaking, Cesar Milan, etc. Bella handled the crowds very well and was a credit to retired racers, although she was very reluctant to leave what we dubbed "Treatland". Almost every booth had kibble samples or treats to give out.

Is there a resemblance?

Bella would be happy to travel by carriage some days, please.

A fresh food roll vendor was giving out samples just outside. Bella really didn't want to leave.

Saturday Blog Hop again! Hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume, the rules are simple. Follow your hosts, follow people who follow you and enjoy!

New meaning for ETS?

2011-05-17T09:50:00.000-04:00

I'm familiar with the phenomenon known as "escaped tongue syndrome", or ETS - as demonstrated here in a fairly dainty manner by Bella.

I was in a nearby hotel speaking at a conference (not the one advertised below) and noted this sign - it added a bit of levity to a hectic day.

Food Festival Time!

2011-05-16T07:00:00.001-04:00

We brought Bella back to the 9th Avenue International Food Festival this weekend.

Much different weather from last year, this year was not too warm and, while threatening to rain on Sunday, held off until late in the day.

Lobster Roll

Giant Turkey Legs

Kabobs of All Kinds

Roasted Corn.....

... with all kinds of toppings

The contrast of a gastropub and fried Oreos

Lots of restaurants and bars on 9th Avenue expanded their business to the street

Mr. D was giving Bella a serious talk about not picking up scraps from the ground or snatching anything from hands.

There were still lots of looks like this - "Please share Dad!"

Lots of other dogs attended, although most on their own paws

Besides food, you could buy jewelry...

...and baskets....

... and orchids....

... and cosmetics....

...and even lottery tickets.

Headed home after a busy couple of days

I think next year I should spearhead a booth for greyhound adoption. We gave at least three families information on our group, but because there are multiple groups that adopt into the city, it might make more sense to raise awareness of greyhounds in general, with information on our various groups.

Bella is scared of a table....

2011-05-10T20:34:00.000-04:00

Bella gets very anxious around these two tables in our building lobby. I can't figure out why but when she has to go past one or the other she walks as far away from them as possible. If she has to walk near them, she leans as hard as possible against me and scrambles to get by, which usually causes her to slip a little on the marble floors, making the problem worse.

Any ideas?

Kentucky Derby

2011-05-09T08:18:00.000-04:00

I like horses, grew up with them, and for as long as I can remember, have watched the Kentucky Derby. Mostly on TV, but one year I was there in person- it rained like crazy, but was still fun.

This year Mr. D and I decided to throw a party. We had 25 people in our tiny little apartment, but that's Manhattan - everyone's used to it.

Poor Bella didn't know what to do with furniture moved around and all of these people! We forget, however, that an agitated greyhound is still one of the most mellow being possible. She was pacing around most of the day instead of just staying on her bed and people kept commenting on how calm she was!

Luckily, the training on leaving food alone if it's on the coffee table held fast - she didn't take a thing even though there were lots of opportunities. She did, however, try to snatch a snack from someone who took something off the coffee table - she didn't understand that it wasn't for her and one "No!" kept her from trying again. Overall, she was an angel and there was one couple (who had met her before) who is now thinking of adopting a greyhound - yay, Bella!

Split Personality

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Bella really has a split personality. With Mr. D and me, she will show her silly, goofy, playful side - zoomies, air snaps, funny noises and demanding about affection. Around others, whether in our apartment or out in NYC, she's calm, reserved and generally laid back. She is starting to give tail wags and the occasional kiss to select people and I have no idea why some people and not others.

Do your dog(s) do this? Do they have different personalities for you than they do in public?

Meet and Greet

2011-05-02T07:16:00.000-04:00

We took Bella to her first official meet and greet event today, at the Edison Family Fun Day. We were placed right near a very loud DJ and she took it all in stride - she was the most relaxed one there.

Lots of kids, lots of attention

She decided to lie down and take a load off.....

While all of this was going on!

Bad Momma

2011-04-29T04:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Bella's birthday and I didn't even note it here - bad Momma, bad blogger :) Even our pet insurance company got into it, and sent Bella a birthday card!

We really do love you pretty girl - happy to have you as part of our family!

Pillows

2011-04-16T08:04:00.000-04:00

Bella has definitely learned of the value of pillows. There have been a number of photos that I've posted here in which she is caught lounging with a pillow. This use is one of my favorites, however.

It's the Blog Hop again!
Thanks to our hosts (the first three blogs listed) - follow them and anyone else you like, just leave a comment to let everyone know you found them through this Blog Hop!

Should I be jealous?

2011-04-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

A boy and his dog - Mr. D and Bella snoozing on the sofa

There are unique promotions in NYC

2011-04-12T07:00:00.004-04:00

While walking to work one day, I came across this. Barricades of this sort aren't unusual, but a second glance revealed something different...

Tangled

2011-04-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

The front paws are crossed and interwoven with the back paws. How DOES she do this?

Happy Gotcha Day!

2011-04-10T10:14:00.000-04:00

One year ago today, Bella came home with us.

She took a few days to understand that the sofa and our bed (not to mention her bed in the living room) were ok to lie on, treats were food, peeing in the apartment was not the way to make your people happy and that life was going to be pretty good. It took us a few days to learn that stretching and pacing meant "I need to go out", her favorite scratch areas, and to readjust our schedules to our new family member.

It's funny to look back on Bella's first few weeks here when she wasn't food motivated. Boy has that changed! Even though she'll inhale almost anything that we give her, Bella definitely has a preference for Rain Dog Treats. Note - there is no motivation for sharing this, other than they're great treats that even the pickiest eaters seem to love, all natural, and handmade. Bella had gotten some from a Greytalk Secret Santa, one of whom was the Rain Dog Treat family. So, for Gotcha Day I ordered more treats.

Is this boks for me???

Wow, Bella, an extra Gotcha Day treat bag of "Desert Dog" treats!! Lucky Girl! Many thanks to the Rain Dog Treat family - that was a fun surprise.

This is the face when Rain Dog Treats are about to be offered.

April Fool

2011-04-01T07:30:00.000-04:00

Our April Fool - Bella as The Pillow Master

Since April has both Bella's birthday AND Gotcha Day, it's going to be a big month!

Ambition personified

2011-03-29T07:28:00.000-04:00

I was able to patrol with Parks again this weekend. On Sunday, we arrived at the barn to get ready for the patrol and were greeted by the scene below.

Snoozing in the sunshine isn't a bad way to start the day

Bella's lost her head

2011-03-28T09:16:00.000-04:00

Or maybe she's just hiding from Mondays.

She's recently starting hiding her head under her blanket - we really can't figure out the rhyme or reason, but it's highly entertaining!

I don't really understand why you were laughing.....

FDNY

2011-03-19T09:20:00.000-04:00

In the past week, I've gotten to spend a fair amount of time watching fire trucks from the FDNY. I do appreciate what they do, but I'm not sure I needed two up-close-and-personal demonstrations.

The first was at the office - our floor's HVAC unit started acting up and caused a small electrical fire (what a lovely smell, by the way) so we had to evacuate the office. Darn it, right at the END of a long meeting instead of the beginning!

Then, a bus I was on had a brake problem. We had to evacuate and wait for a new bus to arrive. In the meantime, 5 FDNY trucks showed up. It's comforting to know that the response time was quick even on a rush hour NYC highway.

Spring is coming!

2011-03-16T07:10:00.000-04:00

Bella was snuffling around in the dirt - there's some on the end of her nose in this photo!

Donating and volunteering - an appeal for blood donation

2011-03-15T07:01:00.000-04:00

Yep, I'm talking about blood donation, complete with photos - fair warning!

I'm pretty passionate about donating and volunteering. I'm on two non-profit boards, give funds to support two groups I care about (Greyhound Friends of New Jersey and Thoroughbred Charities of America) and volunteer days here and there for various efforts, including NYC Department of Parks (which I've blogged about before) among others. Sometimes, though, I just want to be able to give in a way that will directly help others with a minimum of politics and money.

So, I donate blood and platelets. Donating blood is easy and a short process - platelets take a little longer and isn't great fun, but so needed. The staff at the New York Blood Center is terrific - American Red Cross doesn't collect blood in NYC. I've donated enough that I know exactly what works best for me (for example, I don't like to know when the needle is going into my arm) and they really try to work to make me as comfortable as possible.

According to the Red Cross, only 38% of Americans are eligible to donate blood and only 8% of those do so - that means only 3% of eligible people donate. If you can't donate, consider helping by organizing a blood drive or volunteering at one - you don't need to get anywhere near the blood or needles if you don't want to!


	Horrible photo of me - it was a Saturday morning after a late night, what can I say?

Will Bella be a blood donor, too? Probably not, as from what I understand canine donors cap out at age 6, and B's 6th birthday is coming up soon. If that is incorrect, let me know!

Cops & Donuts

2011-03-14T06:52:00.000-04:00

I know it's a running joke that cops love donuts, but when you see something like this, it's hard not to believe the stereotype.....

NYPD Mounted outside of Tim Horton's - 42nd St, near Times Square

Dog parks, again

2011-03-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

Yes, we take Bella to dog parks. We haven't bothered in a while because she wanders around, sniffs at people's pockets and then seems ready to go home.

A few days ago, I took her over to the closest one after work. We had the run to ourselves, which was a nice change, and I was able to snap a few photos. Of course, the light was going and I had the point-and-shoot which I'm not thrilled with, but I actually saw Bella RUN in the dog park! Whoa!!

A little Mardi Gras spirit

2011-03-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

Bella and her beads!

Sneaky Hound

2011-03-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

I'm ashamed to admit that I fell for Bella's tricks. This innocent, sweet, wonderful hound sucked me in and completely fooled me. I thought she was this perfect houndie and she proved me wrong. It's taken me a few days to come to terms with this and be able to share. We've had a couple of conversations about her actions and yet she hasn't apologized nor said she won't engage in this particular behavior again.

Saturday morning, Mr. D had an early dentist appointment. I was not paying any attention at all to his timing, so after he left, I got up and fed Bella. Then I learned that she had already had breakfast! Sneaky, deceitful houndie! :D

Yep, mom got completely suckered by Bella.

B, you don't need to look QUITE so pleased with yourself!

More on adoption

2011-03-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I heard a news story about a dog who survived attempts to put it to sleep. You can read the story here.

What bothers me is the line "Hundreds of people from the United States and Canada want to adopt an Oklahoma dog....". Why is it that "hundreds" of people are wanting to adopt a dog that's in the news when thousands of dogs (and other pets) are available from shelters every single day? Rhetorical question - because this one is famous, this one survived something he wasn't supposed to survive (twice!), this one's a miracle.

While I would hope that the many people who don't adopt this particular dog decide to adopt another one, there's never any follow-up to these stories that delve into the number of other animals that were adopted from shelters as a result of a news story such as this. Probably hard to track, but easy enough to get anecdotal evidence and write some human-interest stories. With 4 to 5 million pets in shelters and approximately 60% euthanized because no one adopts them, I would hope that stories such as the above would move more people to adopt.

Movies

2011-03-01T06:57:00.000-05:00

There are tons of movies and tv shows that are shot in NYC. It's rare to go a full week without seeing some signs of a shoot happening or getting ready to happen - from no parking signs on streets to catering tents to the actual shoots.

A fake newsstand with "snowbanks" after the shoot. The security staff in the building were getting a kick out of how many people were actually trying to buy lottery tickets and other items there!

A view from across the street. You hear a lot of "keep moving, keep moving" - the general public was supposed to stay outside of the cones and keep walking. The crew would get pretty aggressive about this.

Another view of some of the action.

The movie is "New Year's Eve" with Robert DeNiro, Sarah Jessica Parker, Aston Kutcher, Hiliary Swank, Michelle Pfieffer, Zac Ephron, and many others. I did see Michelle Pfieffer and Zac Ephron (not that I recognized him!) but didn't get any photos. Oh, well.

Along with the catering tents and trailers for generating electricity, wardrobe, and others that I couldn't begin to explain, there are always trailers for the actors. Names are never on the doors, instead, they're always labeled "Lucy" and "Desi". Or maybe that's just the "Law and Order" shoots that seem to be all over the place. Either way - I find it funny!

I'm sure I walk past a ton of actors and celebrities on a regular basis that I just don't recognize. NYC is that kind of place, where often famous people can just lead a relatively normal life if they choose to do so. The latest interaction was having lunch at the next table over from former Mayor Ed Koch.

Another meetup! Oh, yes, lots of photos

2011-02-28T07:41:00.000-05:00

Sunday was such a lovely day - perfect for a meetup. The biggest gathering yet - you can see the rest of the photos on the NYC Greyhound Meetup page.

Bella surprised us and did a little running and playing when we first got there - of course I didn't have my camera out yet. After the meetup, the three of us walked the approximate 3 miles back to our apartment and finished the afternoon with a big nap!

Big group turned out today

A 6-month Saluki pup, Kassius, was shocked to meet other dogs as fast as him!

A hound for each hand :)

Blaze actually met another dog larger than him! Wow!

Argos dug a hole again.....

And taught Bella that it's fun!

Shopping trip

2011-02-27T07:47:00.000-05:00

In NYC, you'll see a lot of small dogs in strange places, including places they're really not allowed such as grocery stores. A few spots welcome pups, like our local wine & liquor store. In the warmer months there is a water bowl outside and there are always cookies inside - no wonder Bella always wants to go there.

Everyone in the store compliments here and tells her how pretty and well-behaved she is. Of course, then she puts her paws up on the counter looking for a cookie, but at least she got down and sat pretty for her cookie when asked by the staff member.

Cooking: Halibut with an Asian-inspired glaze

2011-02-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

We have an amazing fish market nearby - it's been in the neighborhood for years, and all about that will be another post. The result is that we cook a lot of seafood.

Halibut steaks with green beans and an Asian-inspired glaze of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and lime juice.

Prep time - with a glass of wine, of course

Searing in the cast-iron pan

Plated up, with green beans simmered in the same glaze, rice, scallions, a terrific Argentinian wine and a little salad with homemade croutons and homemade mustard vinaigrette dressing.

Bella, I'd really like to know....

2011-02-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

Why do you seem to want to play with other dogs while you're on a leash, but you can see those same dogs in the nearby dog park and have no interest?

Why you absolutely need "return" some pee-mails and only "read" others?

Why you settle down on our bed and then freak out and launch yourself off the minute a foot gets near you?

Why do you do crazy zoomies in the hallway twice a day (at least) but won't in the wide-open dog park, even if no other dogs are there?

Why do you play with a rawhide in front of my parents, but stop the minute I come to see what is making them laugh? And refuse to have anything to do with your nice soft squeaky toys?

Why are you so stubborn about going specific directions on some walks, and on others you have no opinion?

How do you manage to startle yourself awake by growling while sleeping? Speaking of dreaming, what ARE you dreaming about when your tail is wagging, your face is twitching or your paws are flipping around?

What is it about some belly rubs that makes you give us a bat with your paw, as if saying "More!". You can be awfully demanding sometimes with that paw.

Do you know how much you've relaxed and gotten more silly over the past almost-year? It's fun to watch.

Why are you all of a sudden spending a lot more time on your bed in the living room?

Do you mind that I have 75 nicknames for you, most of which make no sense?

Why do you always carry your Kong into the living room, but if I place it there, you move it to your crate immediately?

Do you know how much I love it when you lie down on the sofa with your head touching me? Makes it really hard to get up and do what I need to do.

How did we get lucky enough to have you in our lives?

A change will do you good

2011-02-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Oh, yes, another song

I know it's good for a blog to have a specific focus, and I originally started this blog to talk about having a greyhound in New York City, in part so that we could share our journey with others and in part so that we could look back and have fun remembering. But with one dog, there's getting less and less to write about that focuses on her, so I'm going to expand a little.

I love to cook so I'm going to post a little about that. I love to read so I'll share some of what I'm reading. I'll start sharing more photos from being out and about in NYC. I definitely won't forget about Bella!

So for today, a little about my cooking passion. It can be a little challenging in a tiny kitchen, but it keeps me a little more organized.

This is all of the counter space. Occasionally I'll take over the dining table, too!

My cookbook problem - the shelf isn't REALLY drooping, it's the angle of the photo, really!

Yes, I have an olive oil addiction.

And maybe a little pepper grinder collection....

Expect to see photos of things (when I remember to take them before serving!) and maybe some recipes.

Winter Wonderland.... again

2011-02-21T07:56:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I didn't really believe the weather reports that predicted 1.6 inches of snow overnight. I thought anything that precise was silly, and that we were more likely to get the rain instead of snow.

Boy, was I wrong!

Bella was bouncing around and being silly, until her paws got cold and I had to stop and warm them up with my hands.

Ahh, it's good to be home

2011-02-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

I've been away from home for most of the week, traveling for work. I was hoping I would be able to write a post today about our first long springtime-in-the-city walk, but between yesterday afternoon and today, the temperature dropped from no-coat-needed to snowing and very windy!! Just light flurries, but enough so that Bella and I don't really want to be out in it for long.

It sure is nice after several hectic days to be able to come home to my husband and houndie. Today I'm looking forward to a fairly relaxed weekend, although I do have some work stuff to catch up on, laundry and other little projects. It was such a hectic week that I didn't even remember that my office is closed on Monday - yay for three-day weekends!!

Yes, expect lots of neck scritches this weekend Bella!

Life with a dog

2011-02-15T05:58:00.000-05:00

... is pretty much the same routine regardless of where you live. Besides the obvious of things like walks vs yards, the daily routine around here is pretty close to yours, I bet. There are only so many posts I can write about Bella loving the sofa - we really do walk her every day and longer walks on weekends, I promise! As the weather gets better, too, expect more photos from around the city.

It's been fun reading over the past 9 months of posts. The economy must be improving as fewer taxis stop to take Bella, she's opening up and getting sillier and more opinionated, and now I look back on our first day and think "I can't believe we took her into Petco an hour after adopting her, poor thing". :D

Bella's latest quirk is that she's spending much less time on our bed and the sofa. However, she likes to shake and hop on the bed around 5 am, so now she's back to having the crate door closed. It doesn't bother her a bit and lets us sleep until a more reasonable hour, like 6:30 on weekdays. Even 7:30 this weekend - wow!

She gets so much attention on our walks - particularly with her bright pink coat. I guess I'm so used to seeing odd things and people in NYC that it surprises me that a greyhound gets attention, but then I remember that they are few and far between here in the city - tiny dogs are much more common, so almost any larger dog gets more attention.

The only thing I don't like about living where we do right now is that there is a one-pet limit! Humpf. I was (making the mistake of) looking at GFNJ's list of adoptables this weekend, showed Mr. D a couple of pictures and got THE look. You know the one - the "you're out of your mind" look. Although he did say, in a very reasonable tone of voice, that if we wanted to trade Bella for one of the new dogs..... Not a chance!! He's a funny guy sometimes. I mean, we could stack another crate on top of Bella's, there's a loveseat in the living room that easily fits a hound..... (I'm sure he's reading this and rolling his eyes at me again - love you honey!)

Bella's favorite pillow

2011-02-12T07:29:00.000-05:00

Bella adores "her" orange pillow. Warning - lots of photos!

Small things

2011-02-10T08:12:00.000-05:00

I was soooooo happy today to be able to come home and walk Bella before it got dark! Yay!!!!

Much of the snow has melted between the warm days and rain, although it's back to being bitterly cold again. I need to remember that it's not even the middle of February and more snow is likely. In fact, my work intranet had an article posted today about preparing for "upcoming inclement winter weather". Huh - where have YOU been for the past two months?

Bella seems determined to rid our block of the last bits of snow and ice by peeing. Funny girl.

Mom, I'm ready to snooze in the grass again.....

Bella is happy....

2011-02-08T06:11:00.000-05:00

... that much of the snow and ice has melted! She still hasn't gotten the hang of doing her business while her feet are sliding out from under her. I hate to tell her that it's only the beginning of February, and even though we had window open this weekend, it will probably snow again.

Nope, not a big fan of this stuff Mom!

Mama Said

2011-02-04T08:14:00.000-05:00

I've had this song from the Shirelles (listen to it here) stuck in my head for a couple of days, and just before I fell asleep last night, I caught a glimpse of Bella in her crate, curled up with her nose tucked under her leg, something like this.

Yes, Bella, that's pretty much what I'd like to do right now, too.

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this Mama said

(Mama said, mama said)

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this my Mama said

(Mama said, mama said)

I went walking the other day,

Everything was going fine,

I met a little boy named Billy Joe

And then I almost lost my mind

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this Mama said

(Mama said, mama said)

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this my Mama said

My eyes are wide open

But all that I can see is,

chapel bells are callin for everyone but-a me

but I don't worry cause

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this Mama said

(Mama said, mama said)

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this my Mama said

And then she said someone will look at me

like I'm looking at you one day,

then I might find

I don't want it any old way,

so I don't worry cause

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this Mama said

(Mama said, mama said)

Mama said there'll be days like this,

There'll be days like this my Mama said

Mama said, mama said

Hey! Don't you worry,

Mama said mama said

Hey! Don't you worry now.

Mama said mama said,

Hey! Hey!

Sofa vs dog bed

2011-02-01T06:22:00.000-05:00

Lately, Bella has been spending more and more time on her bed in the living room, forgoing the sofa by choice. She used to only use it under duress, if she was asked to get off of the sofa and someone was sitting on the love seat. Now, though, she'll go to her bed on her own. I even came home from work yesterday to find her on her bed instead of the sofa. Is the novelty of the sofa wearing off, in favor of her own spot that she doesn't have to share?

She is getting better about keeping her head on the bed, but we still frequently look up

and see something like this!

Bella is seriously ticked

2011-01-28T08:06:00.000-05:00

Our apartment is almost entirely wood flooring, and we're required by terms of our lease to keep something like 80% of it covered by rugs or carpet. That's great, except in a 600 square foot apartment with two humans and a dog, those rugs get a lot of traffic. So, that means that once a year or so we really do need to send the rugs out for cleaning. Spot cleaning with Resolve only works so well. Ideally we'd stagger that because of the cost and so as not to have everything bare at once, but that didn't happen this year.

Bella does NOT like the mostly bare floors. I think when we first rolled up the carpets she thought we were packing or something else dastardly and now she just plain doesn't like the slippery floors. She loses her footing when trying to jump on the bed and the sofa and I got a major stink-eye earlier. I'll rearrange a couple of things so she has some footing because I don't want her to get hurt, but it is kind of funny of how she's had to readjust her race to her food dish and bed-to-hallway zoomies.

I did put down some carpet pads - the rubber non-skid pads - in strategic launching areas so she can more easily get on the bed and sofa now. She's gotten the hang of those very quickly, smart girl.

More snow

2011-01-27T07:52:00.002-05:00

Snow falling Wednesday evening

Bella's not to sure how to get around - luckily there are some small paths

The small paths where sidewalks haven't been shoveled get very packed down. Hard to see, but this is a good 6" step from the shoveled to the uncleared area.

Building owners are to clear the snow from sidewalks - sometimes resulting in a half-cleared block!

I would say that hopefully the delivery guys don't have to try to use these bikes soon, but I know better.

The result of parking overnight

At least the fire trucks can get out

Edited to add - this was as of 6:30 am EST. By the time I walked to work at 8... well, I'd like to say there were more cleared sidewalks but it was still pretty messy. Photos tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T07:24:00.000-05:00

Random thoughts

2011-01-25T06:39:00.000-05:00

Background - we have a subscription to New York magazine. In addition to enjoying the writing, there are great listings of events, museum exhibits, music, restaurant reviews and more. The first page we usually flip to is in the very back - the approval matrix - "Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies." Check it out - you'll see what I mean.

Quote from this week's approval matrix - "our endlessly filth-trapping, refreezing, remelting, refreezing world of slush". Yep, pretty much describes NYC in the winter.

That lead me to a series of other random thoughts -

The variety of footwear people in NYC consider appropriate for snowy days amuses me - from LL Bean boots to sneakers, Uggs (genuine and knock-off) to stiletto-heeled boots. REALLY! I'll get a picture one day.

It's highly entertaining to walk around New York and eavesdrop - people are not in the least shy about holding very private conversations in public places, like sidewalks, restaurants, public transportation. For example, in the last couple of days alone, I've heard conversations involving phrases such as "I guess I really should get a lawyer and finally divorce the scum-sucking moron", "Nah, morphine doesn't do all that much to kill the pain anymore", "I was partying with Kim Kardashian last week and...", "O-M-G, I can't believe that coat was on sale at Barneys for only $3,000!", "I didn't mail the rent check - I thought you did!"

I'm gratified that so many people read my blog, since daily life with a dog is pretty much the same everywhere, big city or not.OK, we do have adventures with trains and taxis, but you get my point.

Why do some people think that if their dog poops in the street instead of the sidewalk it's ok not to pick it up? Why do some people think that if their dog poops in the snowbank, it's ok not to pick it up? Guarantee they're not going to pick it up when the snow melts!

Yes, as you've always thought, everyone in NYC is always glamorous. HAH! Case in point -I managed to wear my shirt inside-out all day and only noticed when I got home and took off my suit jacket.

I'm not upset that the Jets lost this past weekend.

Update regarding Bella painting

2011-01-24T08:11:00.000-05:00

When I posted last week about the wonderful painting that was done of Bella, I think the words that hit Mr. D were "painting" and "Bella". He was envisioning a huge piece that would be the center of attention in our living room and was a little nervous. He's been known to make comments about "taking the greyhound thing a little far" :) Imagine his relief when the painting arrived and it's 5" x 5"!

Please excuse the poor photography - quick snapshots!

Snow stories

2011-01-22T11:33:00.001-05:00

Bella is learning to deal with the snow - she doesn't love walking in it, but at least doesn't bounce around like a rodeo horse upon having to step in it. I know she's a sighthound, but she spends a lot of "walk" time snuffling pee-mail and gets a lot of snow on her nose. Nothing like my parents' Goldens, though - they really get into snuffling in the snow!

IWe're participating in this Saturday's Pet Blog Hop, hosting by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. Use the Linky tool below to join, to get the code to add to your own blog, follow your three hosts. Check out other blogs, let them know you found them through the SPBH, follow as many other blogs as you'd like.

What would make you give up your pets?

2011-01-21T07:29:00.000-05:00

As I walk around NYC, I have noticed ads for The Shelter Pet Project around NYC -

A post on GreyTalk also got me thinking about reasons for returning/abandoning pets. That lead me to the Southeaster Greyhound Club and their extensive adoption application. One of the questions reads as such:

What do you consider a valid situation for relinquishing a pet (e.g., barking, biting, chewing, digging, housetraining, allergies, divorce, large vet expenses, financial problems, house remodeling, having a baby, illness, job relocation, mover to smaller home, new marriage, too rough with children, fleas)? Please list any.

This really struck me. We all know of situations where people have returned or given up pets, because of illness, death, finances, poor match with the family and many other reasons. I commend anyone who has made the difficult decision to surrender a pet so that the pet can be better cared for. But what about the pets who are just abandoned? An unfortunate trend of the home mortage crisis and forclosures is the number of pets abandoned in homes. How in the world does a person close a door for a final time, leaving their pet to their own devices in an empty house?

Of course, anyone reading this blog cares about animals. Will we ever eliminate irresponsible breedings, including puppy mills and backyard breeders, and thoughless puppy purchases? Will there be a time when no pets are euthanized because there are too many in shelters and not enough adoptions?

And, why is it that "celebrity" abandoned pets have hundreds of offers of adoption, but the same people who are clamoring for the celebrity pet aren't rushing off to a shelter to adopt another pet?

Examples - Pit Bull Abandoned on Williamsburg Bridge Needs Home

Happy Anniversary!

2011-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Mr D and I celebrated our third anniversary yesterday. Thanks to an amazing artist, I had the perfect gift.

Mr. D's favorite photo of Bella is this one of her eating watermelon

Xan is an amazing artist who does portrait marathons every now and then (see all 11 of the recent marathon and her process here, and I sent her the above photo of Bella. The resulting portrait is in the mail and I can't wait to see the actual painting!!

Thanks Xan!!!

Sleeping in

2011-01-14T08:04:00.001-05:00

Bella has gotten pretty attuned to either Mr D or myself getting up between 6 and 6:30 am most weekdays. Ok, mostly Mr. D. That means, of course, that on weekends she's ready to go at that hour - ready for her walk and BREAKFAST, thank you very much!

This week has been different. Bella was at the kennel (excuse me - the Resort and Day Spa!) while we were away for a few days on a ski trip, and then Mr D had to turn around and leave the following day for business. All this week she's been happily sleeping in with me until 7, 7:30 or so and not getting up until I do.

I'm thinking this is going to lead to a really nice weekend......

You let me know when you're really getting up and I suppose I will, too

PS - Mr D always has a handful of treats with him when he takes Bella out for her walk, and since he's usually taking her for the first walk of the day..... nah, her being ready to get up early can't possibly have anything to do with treats, can it? :)

Christmas cards

2011-01-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

We don't manage to get Christmas cards out every year, but did this year. Partly the impetus of participating in the Greytalk card exchange, partly because I was working on a card project at work, partly to celebrate our first Christmas with Bella - well, for a variety of reasons we got our act together and got cards out this year.

Living in NYC, tipping is rampant. Especially around the holidays. So, because we had plenty, we used our card when giving tips to people in our building. Turned out to be a really smart thing to do, because there is no other dog like Bella in our 43-story apartment building. EVERYONE recognizes us, or at least Bella, now.

It's snowing!

2011-01-12T08:12:00.000-05:00

Again! As I'm typing this, at 9 pm EST, the snow has just started in the last half hour.

Bella may not like the snow very much, but she sure is pretty with snowflakes on her face! This was snapped just seconds before a major stink-eye. She wouldn't let me put on her coat and then I get the stink-eye!

And Wednesday morning, in 6" of snow. Princess doesn't like walking in snow and was putting on a bucking bronco, rodeo routine that had me laughing so hard I could barely snap any photo. There were a lot of outtakes as she tried to get to bare ground.

We haven't disappeared!!

2011-01-11T08:24:00.000-05:00

Between Christmas, New Year's and other family travels, I just haven't been around to post - nor did I get busy and plan out automatically-publishing posts in advance.Bella has been spending a lot of time in the nearby kennel, but she's home now and snuggled up against me so hard that it's going to be hard to get up!

From our last post, there were several comments about Bella's thin coat. She's always had a pretty thin coat - we tried melatonin for several months and did have her tested for low thyroid, but she just seems to have a naturally thin coat. She also doesn't have any other symptoms of low thyroid but maybe we'll have her re-tested.

After all of the travel and kennel stays (for Bella, of course!), this pretty much sums up how we all feel!

Poor neglected Bella

2011-01-04T07:05:00.000-05:00

We've been traveling a lot lately, so our poor, neglected girl has had to go to the kennel (which she really enjoys) and then have friends take care of her while we were gone overnight.

Bella's scritches are obviously not neglected at Pets at Play, her home away from home

Bella says she's exhausted from all of the travel and snow.

Bella in the snow

2010-12-31T09:43:00.000-05:00

NYC is still pretty much a mess, almost a week later, from the snowstorm. Piles everywhere, narrow paths shoveled on the sidewalks, improvised narrow walkways at street crossings, slush - there's no avoiding it.

The only real challenge for us as city dwellers, not having a car to dig out or shoveling to do, is that Bella has decided she doesn't particularly care for snow, thank you very much.

I'm outta here!

Cold paws, shaking off the snow - can we go home now?

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve and many happy wishes to you, your family and friends, two and four-legged.

Merry Christmas from NYC!

2010-12-24T06:41:00.000-05:00

A little of the Grand Central Terminal madness - although this was taken early afternoon on Thursday and Friday afternoon will have been the peak.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas!

PS - Bella had the run of the apartment yesterday, and was perfectly fine. She got into less trouble than she sometimes does in just the bedroom, so we may have moved into a new era!

The baby gate doesn't work

2010-12-23T07:44:00.000-05:00

... when I don't put it up correctly!!

Came home last night to find the gate on the floor and Bella happily roached on the sofa instead of in the bedroom. This is the third or fourth time recently - obviously she's very, very happy on the sofa while we're gone and obviously I need to be much less sloppy about the gate!

Bella knows how to relax

2010-12-18T10:07:00.000-05:00

Bella sure has figured out how to best arrange herself for comfort and maximum belly rubs. This is one night after dinner, relaxing on the sofa, reading and listening to music.

My belly is ready for rubbing Mom

It's been a while since our last blog hop!

We're participating in this Saturday's Pet Blog Hop, hosting by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume. If you'd like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor. Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!

Calendar girl

2010-12-17T07:19:00.000-05:00

As if being the subject of a magazine article isn't enough, one of the photos I took of Bella was chosen for the Greytalk Calendar, put together by one of the moderators of Greytalk and from photos submitted by members. The calendar is available for anyone to order directly from My Canvas.

Bella is in July, the theme for which is traveling greyhounds - you can look at the calendar here.

Celebrating Greyhounds publishes greyt greyhound calendars, both wall and desk options. They are created for fundraising for adoption groups, so you can order directly from your favorite group.

Celebrating Greyhounds magazine

2010-12-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

I had almost forgotten about writing an article on having a greyhound in NYC for Celebrating Greyhounds, until the issue arrived this week! Bella's story is featured on the center page.

In addition, the author of Tales and Tails blog wrote a great article about blogging and included some of her favorites, including this blog. That's very cool, thank you!

Bella isn't as impressed, as usual.

Christmas tree hunting in NYC

2010-12-15T07:06:00.000-05:00

No, this doesn't mean sneaking into Central Park in the dead of night and chopping down the tree you've had your eye on all year! Right after Thanksgiving, there are a number of sidewalk Christmas tree stands that pop up. The trees range in size from 2' to well over 10' and there really is something for everyone.

This is only the third time we've had a Christmas tree because of traveling to other spots for Christmas. The first year we had a tiny apartment but still managed to have a 4' tree. Last year, we got a little nuts and got a 6' tree - while gorgeous, we couldn't get out to the balcony for the time we had the tree and we now have a table where the tree went.

This year, we mutually decided that we'd make it really easy on ourselves and just got a little tabletop bush. Add in some "evergreen" essential oil through a diffuser and it still feels and smells like Christmas.

Note the Bella ornament from our Secret Santa!

Bella is officially part of the family!

2010-12-14T06:59:00.000-05:00

We found out that we could apply to the National Greyhound Association for a pet transfer of ownership for Bella. I contacted the association, they sent me the address of her registered owner (trainer and breeder, too). I wrote a letter enclosing the transfer application and telling a little about how we came to adopt Bella from Greyhound Friends of NJ.

I very quickly recieved a very nice letter in return, thanking me for referring to adopting instead of "rescuing" (which I also have strong feelings about) and enclosing the signed pet transfer.

So, in yesterday's mail arrived the official certificate!

It's kind of fun to have, as part of this "we're new to Greyhounds so everything about and involving them is so cool" thing :)

Baking

2010-12-13T07:17:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy cooking and baking, even in our tiny Manhattan kitchen. Baking, however, means lots of extra calories that neither I nor Mr. D need. So, my logic led me to start baking dog cookies. Bella is loving this as she gets to be the official taste-tester of the dough and finished products. Unfortunately, she isn't the best judge since she'll eat anything.

Pumpkin stars

A couple of weekends ago I made several different varieties to include in secret Santa packages. This past weekend I made another couple of batches to get some more practice and because I had an apple that was about to go bad, as well as an open container of pumpkin. So, why not? I ended up playing around a little and came up with my own recipe and I think the cookies came out well.

Working on the new apple-banana recipe

Don't get me wrong - I'm not about to start competing with Rain Dog Treats or anything, just having some fun.

And Bella agrees - she was working hard, guarding against any intruding cookie-stealers or anything dropping. Much to her dismay, Mr. D tried one of the apple-banana cookies and thought they were pretty good. Uh-oh, Bella, you may have to share!

An ordinary walk

2010-12-09T07:28:00.000-05:00

I didn't know Mr. D was snapping photos as Bella and I walked along the city streets. Her pink coat gets a lot of comments.

To follow up on Mr. D's comment from yesterday....

2010-12-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

... about Bella wishing for more collars.... well, this arrived Monday :) Bella wasn't in the mood for posing, but she HAD to have a holiday collar.

I know, I've got to stop. Really. Bella has 7 collars now. Really have got to stop. If anyone has any suggestions.....

Subtle

2010-12-07T07:22:00.000-05:00

Are you hinting at something, Bella?

My favorite blog

2010-12-06T07:22:00.000-05:00

No, not mine. Check out Tales and Tails.

The reasons I'm bringing this up are several - one, this is a very well-written, entertaining blog about life with several greyhounds and now a German Shepard.

Second, Houndstooth writes a comment on my and many, many other blogs every day. EVERY DAY. I can't even manage to read many of the blogs I follow every day, much less post comments.

Most important, I'd like to spread the word about the Auction for Blueberry. Blueberry is one of the Tales and Tails family, and recently had a lump removed from her head which turned out to be cancerous. A number of people from the blogging community have gotten together and created a terrific auction to help with the surgery and treatment costs. You can also do a straight donation. Won't you help this terrific family?