Mar 1, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries, Original Poetry
This is what I posted on Facebook (edited slightly) on Thursday Feb. 27, 2014 — oh, and forgive me for my utter vacuous silliness!
——————————————————————————————————–
About Holly …
(My latest ditty to the tune of “Shiny Little Surrey With The Fringe on the Top.”)
Who’s the silliest Holly ma Holly
She’s the silliest Holly ma Polly
She’s the goofiest golly ma wolly
In our lit -tle house.
Watch that Hol and see how she patters
When she leaps, she’s all that matters
When she slides I keep up my natter
Till her eyes roll around.
She snaps her teeth and chews my hand
She leaps and swoops in the kitchen
She squeaks and squooks to beat the band
And grins while her tail keeps a-twitchin’
….
I’m so happy, I grin like a silly
When I think of our silly ma-billy
When I see our goofy little furry
With the fringe on her top.
Watch her fringe and see how it flutters
When she eats and drinks and she mutters
When she squeaks and sings, she’s a nutter
With a pretty mop …
For she’s a funny little furry
With the fringe on her top.
____________________________________
And so on.
Well, that’s all.
So much for my “creative writing!”
Tags: Holly the Standard Poodle Pup, Holly-days, Puppy love, Shiny Little Surrey With The Fringe On The Top, Silliness with Holly
Feb 28, 2014 Original Poetry
Devil Dog, Angel Pup
A Poem Celebrating Dogginess
By Vijaya Sundaram
February 28, 2014
Rolling black eyes, teeth snapping with a click,
Devil Dog entices with a pink-tongued lick.
Angel Pup, mop-top, furry-snug thing
You lure me when you start to sing.
It’s all music when you whistle high and sweet
I respond to your signal, and the clicking of your feet.
When you’re comfortably fed, your snout, warm and black,
So wet in my hand, says there’s nothing that I lack.
You sigh that sigh of dog-in-its-place
The Universe shifts in a deep, dark space.
You snuggle, little ragamuffin warm and bright,
Claiming me as your own birthright.
Your trust in us, so simple and true
A human and her dog, that’s me and you.
And your sigh, which says that all is well
Fills this room with a flop-eared spell.
Time stands still, then begins once more,
The evening coalesces near the door.
And sudden, the humming fridge ceases to hum
And sudden, another sound starts to thrum.
A truck rumbles by, the highways sing
While soft falls the snow, and the quiet it brings.
The Great Outside where the unknown resides
Is blotted out now – and shunted aside.
But here, now, within, see – dog on my knee
This is peace, true peace, and it rests with me.
__________________________________________________________________
Tags: #Dog, contentment is death, Holly the Standard Poodle Pup, Puppy, Puppy love
Feb 22, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries
This is what I shared on FB during this past week:
February 17th, 2014:
So, it’s finally happened. We have our standard poodle pup — she chose us, and we love her. She is good as gold, and rode mostly on my lap on the four-plus hour journey all the way back from Colebrook NH — no messes, no pukes, no food, no water. She refrained from eating or drinking (wisely, on hindsight), but snuggled close to me, and later to S. No whining (except a little after S and I went to a Chinese restaurant in Concord — we got food food for Warren, who snuggled with pup in car, while S and I ate in the restaurant). Came home, and her tail wags and snuggles began. Finally, she ate, and drank. S and W set up the dog crate upstairs in S’s room, made a nice nest. Holly (named by S, after Captain Holly Short of the LEP Recon, thanks to Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl) went in, and settled down on her own. Then, back out she came, climbed up on my lap and snuggled again. Drank some water, and is now curled up happily near W, while I write this. She has innate good manners.
I think she likes us.
Puppy.
_______________________________________________________________________
February 18th, 2014:
Sleep?
Yes, it is a blessed thing, beloved from pole to pole.
(And when I get it, I shall utter thanks.)
Holly is alive and well, has eaten and drunk, done her doggy stuff and is happily checkng out the house. She’s playing hide and seek with S now, so S informs me.
Yes, it is a blessed thing, beloved from pole to pole.
(And when I get it, I shall utter thanks.)
Holly is alive and well, has eaten and drunk, done her doggy stuff and is happily checkng out the house. She’s playing hide and seek with S now, so S informs me.
_____________________________________________________________________
February 19th, 2014:
Chronicles of Holly:
Holly has established herself firmly in the family. She did so yesterday, nay the night before, when she arrived. She regards me as her divine Mother, S as her divine Sister, and Warren as her divine Father. We are her holy Trinity.
She knows where her food and water are, and is eating and drinking well. Last night, she slept almost all night in S’s room, in her little nest of clean towels and fluffy blanket, and my old shirt for comfort. She squeaked once or twice for me (I went to her, stroked her, and she went back to sleep). At five in the morning, I went in to check on her, and I found her in the bathroom, where she had gone to explore. She had shut the door by mistake. She seemed pretty calm about it. No agitation. She was pleased to see me, though. She went back to her bed, and slept.
She did not have a single “accident” in the house, beyond the first night. We (mostly I, yesterday) have responded to her every signal, and she knows and loves the snowy backyard. She comes to me, then goes to the kitchen door to let me know what she needs to do, and doesn’t shy away from the leash in the least.
She stayed in W’s arms while he taught yesterday, and looked at me in wonder, when I came in while he was teaching, and I sang back Warren’s notes.
She knows that is a musical household (all three of us sang to her in the car on the day we were bringing her home, and she fell asleep to us, and to Pete Seeger, waking up and looking around when he whistled on a few tunes).
She looks for us, and knows we’ll not ignore her if she calls. She greets us with an excited wiggle and waggles of tail.
She’s lovely. She’s bouncy. She’s calm. She’s funny. She loves her chew toy.
I’ve never looked after a dog before! It’s almost (just) like having a baby.
I love doing it.
If you read this far, thanks for your patience!
Warren just brought her home from a nice, long walk, and after greeting me and S excitedly, she lay down — she’s happy to lie on her pillow in the kitchen, in front of the portable electric radiator.
I’ll stop babbling now. The world of boring-things-to-do is calling me, alas.
Holly has established herself firmly in the family. She did so yesterday, nay the night before, when she arrived. She regards me as her divine Mother, S as her divine Sister, and Warren as her divine Father. We are her holy Trinity.
She knows where her food and water are, and is eating and drinking well. Last night, she slept almost all night in S’s room, in her little nest of clean towels and fluffy blanket, and my old shirt for comfort. She squeaked once or twice for me (I went to her, stroked her, and she went back to sleep). At five in the morning, I went in to check on her, and I found her in the bathroom, where she had gone to explore. She had shut the door by mistake. She seemed pretty calm about it. No agitation. She was pleased to see me, though. She went back to her bed, and slept.
She did not have a single “accident” in the house, beyond the first night. We (mostly I, yesterday) have responded to her every signal, and she knows and loves the snowy backyard. She comes to me, then goes to the kitchen door to let me know what she needs to do, and doesn’t shy away from the leash in the least.
She stayed in W’s arms while he taught yesterday, and looked at me in wonder, when I came in while he was teaching, and I sang back Warren’s notes.
She knows that is a musical household (all three of us sang to her in the car on the day we were bringing her home, and she fell asleep to us, and to Pete Seeger, waking up and looking around when he whistled on a few tunes).
She looks for us, and knows we’ll not ignore her if she calls. She greets us with an excited wiggle and waggles of tail.
She’s lovely. She’s bouncy. She’s calm. She’s funny. She loves her chew toy.
I’ve never looked after a dog before! It’s almost (just) like having a baby.
I love doing it.
If you read this far, thanks for your patience!
Warren just brought her home from a nice, long walk, and after greeting me and S excitedly, she lay down — she’s happy to lie on her pillow in the kitchen, in front of the portable electric radiator.
I’ll stop babbling now. The world of boring-things-to-do is calling me, alas.
________________________________________________________________________
February 20th, 2014:
Chronicles of Holly:
Yesterday was Day 2, and Night 3 at home. What can I say? This is one intelligent pup.
Yesterday night, one of Warren‘s students came home, played his guitar and sang.
Holly barked. And barked. (Even her barking is cute.)
We think she didn’t like energetic strumming. We hadn’t heard her bark at all till then. (She wasn’t sure what to make of the sound of a guitar, or perhaps, she was just startled.) She retreated into the kitchen, and stayed close to me. Ah well. We knew we had to get her used to the guitar right away.
So, last night, before her bedtime, Warren played a little. This morning, both he and I played some guitar. She looked at me holding and playing my guitar, and then at him holding and playing his, and looked VERY intelligently back and forth at us for a few moments, while we played. Then, she lay down and closed her eyes — didn’t bark at all. (Perhaps, she likes finger-picking. Sorry, pup! We’re going to strum too. Get used to it!). Warren said he wanted to teach her to play the piano. Yikes!
On the house-training front, she has me and us trained very well. Goes to the back door, indicates what she needs to do.
She’s very nippy (in a non-hurting way) just before bed. We let her know it’s not okay. So, she nips at her chew toys and tumbles around whoever is sitting with her. That’s her bedtime pre-sleep routine (I’ve noticed it every time she settles for a longer nap or sleep. It must be what she and her siblings did.)
And, as far as I know, she slept all through the night last night. So did I. Finally, I got much more sleep, without being worried about her.
Day 3:
She is showing more and more independence, nosing around, venturing into rooms that we’re not in, lying down on other spots that the two she’s elected as her own.
Holly has gotten to know some side streets on two or three walks that W and she took. Today, she played on the snowy slopes opposite our house, with all of us. LOVE, LOVES, LOVES the snow! Romps around in it like any child. She’s infatuated with her big “sister”, S. Holly ran after S, and followed her around in the snow, with me racing behind, trying not to get her entangled in her leash. Now, W and S are out, and Holly squeaked a little, missing them. It’s sweet. She kept going to the door, and looking at me. So, I distracted her, and now she’s napping (after nipping and chewing a bit at things, of course!)
HOW could I ever go back to normal life, now?
And yet, I suspect I’ll be ready. We’ll all settle into a nice routine. We’d better, or we’ll pay for it dearly.
But for now, Holly’s needs rule.
Yesterday was Day 2, and Night 3 at home. What can I say? This is one intelligent pup.
Yesterday night, one of Warren‘s students came home, played his guitar and sang.
Holly barked. And barked. (Even her barking is cute.)
We think she didn’t like energetic strumming. We hadn’t heard her bark at all till then. (She wasn’t sure what to make of the sound of a guitar, or perhaps, she was just startled.) She retreated into the kitchen, and stayed close to me. Ah well. We knew we had to get her used to the guitar right away.
So, last night, before her bedtime, Warren played a little. This morning, both he and I played some guitar. She looked at me holding and playing my guitar, and then at him holding and playing his, and looked VERY intelligently back and forth at us for a few moments, while we played. Then, she lay down and closed her eyes — didn’t bark at all. (Perhaps, she likes finger-picking. Sorry, pup! We’re going to strum too. Get used to it!). Warren said he wanted to teach her to play the piano. Yikes!
On the house-training front, she has me and us trained very well. Goes to the back door, indicates what she needs to do.
She’s very nippy (in a non-hurting way) just before bed. We let her know it’s not okay. So, she nips at her chew toys and tumbles around whoever is sitting with her. That’s her bedtime pre-sleep routine (I’ve noticed it every time she settles for a longer nap or sleep. It must be what she and her siblings did.)
And, as far as I know, she slept all through the night last night. So did I. Finally, I got much more sleep, without being worried about her.
Day 3:
She is showing more and more independence, nosing around, venturing into rooms that we’re not in, lying down on other spots that the two she’s elected as her own.
Holly has gotten to know some side streets on two or three walks that W and she took. Today, she played on the snowy slopes opposite our house, with all of us. LOVE, LOVES, LOVES the snow! Romps around in it like any child. She’s infatuated with her big “sister”, S. Holly ran after S, and followed her around in the snow, with me racing behind, trying not to get her entangled in her leash. Now, W and S are out, and Holly squeaked a little, missing them. It’s sweet. She kept going to the door, and looking at me. So, I distracted her, and now she’s napping (after nipping and chewing a bit at things, of course!)
HOW could I ever go back to normal life, now?
And yet, I suspect I’ll be ready. We’ll all settle into a nice routine. We’d better, or we’ll pay for it dearly.
But for now, Holly’s needs rule.
_________________________________________________________________________
February 22nd, 2014:
(Chronicles of Holly, continued):
So, yesterday was Day 4, Night 5 with Holly at our place,and I was exhausted. Yup, I was.
She is learning a lot, though. We were walking down the sidewalk with S and S’s best friend and her friend’s mother, when it began to rain. I scooped up Hol, and she wriggled, wanting to get back down. We started to walk faster, then ran towards our home, S running in front, Holly chasing after her, sith me chasing after Holly, making sure her leash wouldn’t pull on her neck. Foolishly, I overshot our house by a few feet, but Holly pulled up short exactly, exactly at our front steps, pulling on her leash! Then, she proceed to climb rapidly up ALL of our forty steps to the house! Clever dog! (Shaking head in amazement.).
She was cold and wet, so we gave her a nice, warm bath with pleasant, earth-friendly dog shampoo, toweled her off, blow-dried her and brushed her. She smells and looks very nice now. (My problem is that, while I LOVE dogs, I am not fond of “dog-smells” –I’ve got to get used to their dogginess!)
Earlier, I’d gone out to get some dog supplies, and do other shopping. Been out for three hours. Came home, tired and grumpy, thinking, “More work to do now, with all that pickup of dog stuff, doggie-smelling laundry to do, more cleanup, and … Stuff!”.
Then, as I walked slowly up my forty steps, weary and wishing to be twenty-two years old again, something happened. I saw Holly in my mind, and it was as if two mysterious fishing lines tugged my lips upwards, and fished out a smile.
I came home, and she pounced on me, nipping happily at my clothes and me, and squeaking with joy. Didn’t leave my side for a while.
Later, I did have a small meltdown, I was so tired. I thought of ALL the things I HADN’T done– missing those stories I didn’t write or even think up, those papers I haven’t yet graded, “The Secret Garden” which I still have to finish reading to Sharada, the time I spend with her (sans other pressing duties, like taking Holly for her potty outside and having to do all that business of picking it up and disposing of it all … ).
Mysteriously, Holly picked up my distress ( which was mostly a quiet one), and walked into the bathroom, where she looked forlorn when Warren went to look for her. Of course, I gave her plenty of hugs after that!
Two days ago, I taught her to come (she doesn’t really need to earn THAT (she already knows) and Sit (she learned that almost immediately). Nothing like a little dog-treat to teach a couple of tricks. She’s a quick learner. She’s hungry for more to learn.
Now, I have to learn to train a puppy who is super intelligent, and I’m afraid I won’t do a good job, being too fond and too wimpy to say “NO” firmly enough when she nips at my clothes, the rug or my socks or my hand (by mistake). Warren is better at this — still, I’m a pretty quick learner myself. So is Sharada.
So, I turn to my borrowed copy of “The Everything New Puppy Book,” and bury my nose in it from time to time.
All this is nothing compared to how she makes me, and us, feel.
She makes me feel happy.
She makes all of us happy.
So, yesterday was Day 4, Night 5 with Holly at our place,and I was exhausted. Yup, I was.
She is learning a lot, though. We were walking down the sidewalk with S and S’s best friend and her friend’s mother, when it began to rain. I scooped up Hol, and she wriggled, wanting to get back down. We started to walk faster, then ran towards our home, S running in front, Holly chasing after her, sith me chasing after Holly, making sure her leash wouldn’t pull on her neck. Foolishly, I overshot our house by a few feet, but Holly pulled up short exactly, exactly at our front steps, pulling on her leash! Then, she proceed to climb rapidly up ALL of our forty steps to the house! Clever dog! (Shaking head in amazement.).
She was cold and wet, so we gave her a nice, warm bath with pleasant, earth-friendly dog shampoo, toweled her off, blow-dried her and brushed her. She smells and looks very nice now. (My problem is that, while I LOVE dogs, I am not fond of “dog-smells” –I’ve got to get used to their dogginess!)
Earlier, I’d gone out to get some dog supplies, and do other shopping. Been out for three hours. Came home, tired and grumpy, thinking, “More work to do now, with all that pickup of dog stuff, doggie-smelling laundry to do, more cleanup, and … Stuff!”.
Then, as I walked slowly up my forty steps, weary and wishing to be twenty-two years old again, something happened. I saw Holly in my mind, and it was as if two mysterious fishing lines tugged my lips upwards, and fished out a smile.
I came home, and she pounced on me, nipping happily at my clothes and me, and squeaking with joy. Didn’t leave my side for a while.
Later, I did have a small meltdown, I was so tired. I thought of ALL the things I HADN’T done– missing those stories I didn’t write or even think up, those papers I haven’t yet graded, “The Secret Garden” which I still have to finish reading to Sharada, the time I spend with her (sans other pressing duties, like taking Holly for her potty outside and having to do all that business of picking it up and disposing of it all … ).
Mysteriously, Holly picked up my distress ( which was mostly a quiet one), and walked into the bathroom, where she looked forlorn when Warren went to look for her. Of course, I gave her plenty of hugs after that!
Two days ago, I taught her to come (she doesn’t really need to earn THAT (she already knows) and Sit (she learned that almost immediately). Nothing like a little dog-treat to teach a couple of tricks. She’s a quick learner. She’s hungry for more to learn.
Now, I have to learn to train a puppy who is super intelligent, and I’m afraid I won’t do a good job, being too fond and too wimpy to say “NO” firmly enough when she nips at my clothes, the rug or my socks or my hand (by mistake). Warren is better at this — still, I’m a pretty quick learner myself. So is Sharada.
So, I turn to my borrowed copy of “The Everything New Puppy Book,” and bury my nose in it from time to time.
All this is nothing compared to how she makes me, and us, feel.
She makes me feel happy.
She makes all of us happy.
________________ That’s all for now! Thanks for reading! ______________________