There goes the Weekend...

SIGH!
Totally zonked from trying to catch up with everything we had been missing out on the entire week. One Sunday just isn't enough. Why can't we have a second Sunday, say around mid week?

Do you know of anyone we can write to who can make that happen?

Early morning tomorrow. Gotta go get some sleep. It's way past midnight and even that pesky cricket out there in the balcony has gone off to sleep

Zzzzz...

Ginger

MUTT BOY

I am a mutt.

The Most fiercely loved, the Most deeply valued,  the Most warmly cuddled,  the Most handsome,  bravest, smartest and the most sensitive Mutt pup in the whole big world!

Mummy says our family picture is incomplete without me.

I love being me and I am in no mood to change my 'mutt' status anytime soon.

Well, make that 'ever'...

Signing off,
Shadow

HAPPY BARKDAY, MUMMY

Thank you so much, Dear Friends for all your suggestions. You finally helped us decide on an idea that worked out well. We want to tell you all about it but, right now, we have a very important affair to attend to.

This is just a quick little post to say ‘Thank You’ to you all and also ‘HAPPY Barkday’ to Mummy once again before her day ends.

 

About that affair.

Well, we are watching the Oscars - the re-telecast. Not our fault that we missed the live telecast. It is the sun and the earth and the latter rotating on its axis over 24 hours that made it impossible for us here in India to get up at the hour it was on live.

Anyway, we got to go now. Can't afford to miss THIS telecast too.

Wags,

Buddy, Ginger and Shadow

Pee ess: Mummy says HEAPS of Thanks for all your wishes. And she says you really completed her day.

Just A Laugh!

They say…

An Apple a Day,

Keeps the Doctor Away.

But an Onion a Day,

Keeps Everyone away!

(So now you know what to do, when you just do not want to see someone!! …Tee Hee Heee…!)


Check this one out…

Definition of ‘Respiration’:

When you breathe, you inspire.

When you do not breathe, you expire!!!

 

 

 

Have a Bright, Warm, Sunny and Happy Day

Wags,

Buddy, Ginger & Shadow

A Special HARVEST FESTIVAL

 

Today we celebrated a special Festival commemorating the winter solstice and the end of the Harvest season.
 
Yes, we know we are not farmers and we do not own any agricultural land but this doesn’t deter us from celebrating this special Harvest Festival which is associated with a great deal of feasting and festivities.
 
Know by different names in different parts of India, this festival is like an Annual ‘Thanksgiving’ Day.
Prayers and Thanks are offered for the full granaries, people exchange sweets and prepare special dishes to mark the occasion.
Children go from door to door, singing folk songs and are gifted sweets, savouries and sometimes money.
 
These collections are called ‘Lohri’ and hence, in the North Indian states of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, the festival is called ‘LOHRI’ or ‘LODI’.
Like most Indian festivals, there are many legends associated with this Harvest fest too. (You might want to read about them HERE)
 
In India’s North-East it is called ‘MAGH-BIHU or BHOGALI-BIHU’.
‘Magh’ is the Assamese month starting from mid-January while ‘Bhogali’ is the word derived from ‘Bhog’ meaning ‘A feast’!
 
The name is associated with the abundant feasting that is a part of this festival.
Traditionally, people stay up overnight, dancing and singing around a bonfire, feasting on special barbecued food.
 
In Western and parts of Southern India, it is called ‘Makar Sankranti’ while in the Tamil Nadu, it is called ‘Pongal’.

One special feature of this festival in the Western Indian State of Gujarat is the beautiful ‘KITE FESTIVAL’. It is almost a week long event and attracts people from all over the world.
The skies are dotted with exquisite creations which are truly lovely.
 

Some lovely kites are being sold all throughout this month, here in our city too.

 

View Full Album

 

 

We decided to have our own bonfire and barbecue last night on the terrace.
This will be our last ‘January Fest’ here before we move to Delhi and we decided to have fun on the terrace one last time.

Our plan was a rustic, traditional ‘Barbecue Night’, without the electric grill or the rotisserie, which meant Mummy and Daddy had to go to the woods to collect fire-wood and hunt down a bird or two.

 

 

Or so we thought till we saw these pictures!

Ha! Not only did our chicken come out of a super-market shelf, Daddy bought our wood at this shop he found!

 

 

 

Our make-shift grilling board, though, was more in line with our ‘rustic’ plans!

 
 

We were a little doubtful initially, about the fire. The crackling noises disturbed us a bit.
And believe it or not, our Puppy brother turned out to be the bravest of us all!!

 

 

He was the first to go upstairs to investigate the goings-on!! And then, he settled down with Mummy beside the fire.

 

I, Ginger, chose the Safest place- Daddy cushion!

 

 
Now, there isn’t such a thing invented or discovered yet that can keep Buddy away from yummy food.
And of course, the crackling fire was no exception!

 

 

 

Everything went into the fire....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ...and Thankfully came out!

 

We had a lovely time last night, and collected warm memories of our time in this home.

 
 
Today morning, we all went to the rocks for our walk.
 
Now, we do believe that whatever happens actually happens for a good reason, however small or inconsequential.
I, Buddy, was complaining the other day about Mummy not finding the time to help me with my ‘Special Morning Walk’ post.
Good that that happened. Because, after our walk today morning, I have some nice photographs for you.
We will definitely post them in our next post.

 

Have a good weekend, Everybuddy

Wags,

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

…Goodbye, Dear Luke…..

Good-night! good-night! as we so oft have said
Beneath this roof at midnight, in the days
That are no more, and shall no more return.
Thou hast but taken up thy lamp and gone to bed;
I stay a little longer, as one stays
To cover up the embers that still burn.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

We will miss you , Dear Friend.

But all that we would like to say has already been said so well……

Unable are the loved to die.  For love is immortality.  ~Emily Dickinson

 

We Will NEVER Forget You, Luke

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

Pee Ess: Thank you, Scout and Freyja for this gift to remember Our Golden Friend by.



Deserted…Again!

We also have a sleeping arrangement, alternate to the one you all happened to like so much. Especially for those times when Mummy and Daddy take up our couch and stay up late watching a movie.

Don’t get us wrong. We do like a good movie. But not at some weird, unearthly hour. A pup’s sleep-time always comes first.

Anyway, on such nights we bunk here. See, we make sure we leave enough space for Mummy and Daddy to curl up.
 

 

 
What do you mean there isn’t enough leg-space!!
It is winter, isn’t it? You are supposed to curl up nose-tip to tail-tip…errr…toe-tip!
And of course, we don't mind lending our beds to Mummy & Daddy, if they want them! They are almost new!

 
Tonight, however, space isn’t an issue.

Well, Daddy is gone AGAIN!
Yes, he has deserted us to go on another trip.
This time, it is to a place near Bangalore, further down south of where we live.
We don’t like it. Not one bit.
 

 

( Don’t go, Daddy, Please?)

(May be I can fit in there and come along too?)

( I will fit in. Please take me along?)

Mummy says he has been invited to be the External Examiner for the Final MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery) Examination in a medical College there. He will be busy the entire day and can’t take us Pups along.
And that it is an honour and will add an extra feather on Daddy’s cap.
 
WHAT!
Daddy has deserted us to go collect feathers?

Why, we could have done it for him. Collect feathers, that is.
We are Retrievers, if you remember. Besides, we even have Shadow trained to retrieve things and he does it with pawfect finesse.
(Note to self by Ginger: We must get Mummy to video-graph his training sessions with Buddy)
 
Anyway, Daddy is gone and he will be gone for a WEEK!

Sigh!

 

Mississippi One… Mississippi Two… Mississippi Three…

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

Sleeping Arrangements

AN UNPRECEDENTED SHOWER

This happened some days ago.
The evening was windy and much colder than the past few days. Our post dinner walk felt refreshing and invigorating, just the right temperature for a pup to get active.
Just after about 5 minutes into our walk, a light drizzle started.
Now, Mummy gets runny nose and recurrent sneezes at the drop of a hat! We thought it would be prudent for her to get her wind-cheater on before her nose realises it is cold enough to leak! So, we came back home, collected her jacket n set off again.
Off we went, happy and gay and enjoying the nightly sounds and smells when suddenly the sky burst open!
It just broke! And before you could even think of dropping a hat, it had rained 5002341 Gallons on us!
Where did the rain come from? We thought it had reached the southern hemisphere by now!

Mummy tried to hurry us home but we saw no reason for doing that. We were already soaked to the marrow of our bones and nothing could have made us any wetter.
So we just decided to find the puddles, splash around, get as muddy as ever and generally have an absolute fun time. Mummy did not have a say in this matter anymore. Besides, we had her on a leash, so she had no other option but to follow us.
She was rather worried that we would all catch a cold or something. And then there was the matter of giving us a bath at that hour of the night. It was mandatory, she said if we wanted to snuggle into bed with her.
Not that we mind. We are water dogs remember?
And though Mummy wouldn’t admit it, we suspect she had a lot of fun too!

 

Well, talking of water dogs, did we tell you we have successfully trained our kid brother to be one?
Till just about a month ago, he wasn’t very keen on getting wet or finding water holes on our walks.
But over the past few weeks, we convinced him that the basic rule about being a Labra-dawg (Well, he thinks he is one!) is that YOU GOTTA LOVE WATER.
Though he hasn’t learnt the part about sniffing out a water-hole and leading the way, he gladly follows us into one.

 

 

He’s smart, our little puppy boy! And look how he’s growing!

(Isn’t he just so handsome?)

(He does believe he is a yellow lab!!…Tee hee hee)

Happy Tuesday, Everypuppy. Have fun.
And make sure your Mums and Dads have a lot of fun too, even if you have to drag them by their leashes!

Wags,

Buddy and Ginger