Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone who follows The Brindle and I here.

This was our Christmas card photo this year.

Gifts for The Brindle

I can't very well go away and not bring back gifts for the boy. I know he's happy at Marcodia's but of course I miss the silly guy.

So I picked him up a new collar in Key West, from Coconut Retriever. Here it is being modeled as a belt by his new friend, Frills the Grey Triceratops, yes that is a gecko on the collar. Frills is a Go Dog product, the same company that makes The Brindle's dragons.

I think he'll approve, what do you think?

Everything About Me #17

Greetings and salutations!

I'm going to offer you something a little special for today's entry from the list. It's to be an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc). I hemmed and hawed for quite a while over this one and then I realized, there is only one piece of art that I've truly loved recently and it's one that most of you will have never seen.

This is a work of art from a lady by the name of Teri Derome. You can see some of Teri's work on the Boxer Art website and I've liberated this little snippet about her from there: "Teri DeRome is a very talented artist and Boxer Rescue volunteer who specializes in watercolor paintings of dogs--namely Boxers."

A while back Teri did a particularly special painting for a mutual friend of ours. You see Teri is what I call an imaginary friend, someone I know via the internet but have never been privileged enough to meet in person. We met thanks to a wonderful creation called the Boxer Mailing List. The following painting is one that she did for one of list admins, Dale and his wife Diane, who aren't imaginary friends. I have been a guest in their home and enjoyed myself very much including waking up in the morning to discover Louis had joined me during the night.

I present you, Emily and Louis.

The First Brindle

For those of you that don't know, The Brindle was not the first. The first brindle was a lovely wee girl by the name of Kate. She came into my life in November of 1998 when she was a wee girl of 8 weeks. It was she that introduced me to the Boxer breed and all of the comedy, action, joy, and sorrow, that goes along with it.

She was often a serious lady. She ruled all she surveyed and took her duties seriously often giving me a long suffering look as if to say "could you DO something about these boys?".

But tiny Kate, when she was a lone dog was a little less so. She learned early on, thanks to stops after puppy kindergarten, that a drive thru window might provide her with Timbits. She developed a liking for beer from knocking over bottles meaning they were never safe from her. She lived to chase balls, especially snowballs and would go for hours. And I don't think there has ever been anything as beautiful as Kate in a full out run, butt tucked, ears flying, that girl could move.

As she aged she did so with dignity. Her face got grey, you could see her bones ached but she was happiest with her friends be they human, canine or some other species. She was a sweet old gal who lived to a grand age for a Boxer and loved by everyone who met her.

Run free sweet princess and give our love to Spencer.

Woefully Behind

I have fallen off the wagon, it's been weeks since I blogged and I guess I need to change the name of my list  to simply 30 Things About Me. I have to admit though that last week was a little busy for me and so I'm going to stray from that list for today.

November 11th is Remembrance Day for Canadians and being here in the heart of the WWI battlefields there was a lot going on. I participated in services at Beaumont-Hamel, France and Ypres, Belgium. Beaumont-Hamel was a significant battle for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Newfoundland was not yet part of Canada and that battle more than any other is what the people from that province commemorate on November 11th. Ypres is where you will find the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing dedicated to Commonwealth soldiers of WWI who have no known grave.

The events last week had me ruminating on my grandpa who was a soldier in WWII. Not a bad looking guy and I always thought he was the oddball of the four brothers. Born out by this photo that I have shamelessly stolen from my dad's cousin:

Grandpa's the one doing the Rockette move, no idea why. He's been gone now for over 35 years. I was his fourth grandchild of a total of 18 and I'm the youngest one to remember him.

So while my thoughts were drifting I found myself on the website for Canada's Library and Archives. I had very little information to go on and I tell you so if you decide to try this you realize you don't need to know much. I knew my where my great grandfather was born and I knew he came to Canada before his wife and sons. I knew the year my grandfather was born and the year my great grandfather passed away so that narrowed my window. Somehow I found this page which led me to ocean arrival records for 1919-1924, that was within my window. The next part seems sort of fateful. I was able to figure out what reel I needed, there were 5024 records on that reel so I decided to see where record 2500 took me. It was close so I started clicking record by record, grandpa was record 2507. From there I also found his parents and one of his brothers and I now have those immigration records in my hands.

Family history is important to some people, me being one of them. It's interesting to discover where the family originates from and what they were about. My next goal is get my hands on my grandfather's war service record which is going to be a little more work but once I have it I can go and see the places that were very much a part of the man he was.

Everything About Me - Day 16

Today's entry in 30 days all about me is another tough one, a song that makes me cry. Tough because my mind first went to contemporary music and then I realized I was going about this completely wrong. I gave it a little more thought and it hit me, or maybe a grand lady whispered in my ear.

Last year while I was at the funeral for the Guy's dad they played a hymn that I hadn't heard for years and I melted into a sobbing puddle, which is highly out of character for me.

It's been nearly 20 years but that grand lady can still sing in my ear and I can hear this song just the way she would have done it. There's no recording, that I know of, for you to hear what I do so I'm going to offer you a lovely lady of Canadian music, Anne Murray.

This one's for my grandma.

Everything About Me - Day 15

Number 15 on the list I mentioned in my post about Blogging More. Halfway there!

For today's entry I'm supposed to talk about my dream house. This one is a little hard because I don't have a picture in my mind of what I want. Well who am I kidding, I don't get pictures in my head, I'm not that sort of person.

I can tell you what I don't want. I don't want a big yard, in fact I don't want to have to worry about mowing at all. And while I'm at it, I don't want to shovel snow so that narrows the location down a little. I don't want a lot of stairs, a bungalow would be lovely. Nor do I want a house so big that when I'm in the tv room I can't hear the Brindle with his thieving ways in the kitchen. Now there's a catch, with the Brindle I do need a yard but I have friends in Florida who's backyard is pea gravel so I would be ok with that.

I just did a little searching and a floorplan like this would be perfect! Everything including the laundry room, all on one floor.

Everything About Me - Day 14

And we're back at it! Almost halfway through the list and today's topic is a non fiction book.

There were a couple of also rans today but I had to go with one that is not only a favourite but written by someone I know, Jenna Bailey. I attended her book release in Toronto, at her invitation, with my copy of the book in hand. Please forgive the picture, it was taken with my phone and I had been caught in the rain getting there.

 
What she wrote made me teary and still does when I look at it. She was also kind enough to have autographed a copy that I donated to Ringette Skates for a Cure ~ Ottawa as a raffle item.

The book is "Can Any Mother Help Me".

From Jenna's bio "While researching at the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex, Jenna found the papers of the Cooperative Correspondence Club (CCC). She set about finding the members of the CCC, and their families, to piece together the story of this remarkable group of women.  This resulted in her bestselling book, Can Any Mother Help Me? which was released in March 2007 by Faber and Faber. "

Everything About Me - Day 13

Ok, the list is getting repetitive, it wants a fictional book. I already told you my favourite books so now what?

I've looked at my bookshelves and I'm going with another series. This one is by the author Nora Roberts using the pen name J.D. Robb and is referred to as the "In Death" series. I already own about half the books and am working on gathering up the rest. It's a futuristic series with the main character, Eve Dallas, who is a cop with NYPSD, the New York Police and Security Department. Receiving almost equal billing is her husband, Roarke as well some recurring characters who are her friends, coworkers and antagonists (Summerset!)

If you like suspense and crime fighting with some romance thrown in I highly recommend the "In Death" series of books.

Book One, Naked in Death.

Everything About Me - Day 12

Well today's topic on the list was one I had to think about. Initially I was of the opinion that I'm not OCD about anything but then I realized Thursday morning that I'm wrong. Just now I thought of another one but I'm going with my first thought because that is the huge one.

It's my hair. Not the hair that most of you see but my hair when I go to work. I have a couple of options, I can put it up in a bun or wear it in a single braid down my back. Doesn't matter which it is, if it's not right I'll take it down and start over. With the bun it has to be round and even, not lumpy and not more hair on one side than the other. If it's a braid it has to be flat, no loops of loose hair, no little tendrils hanging down and the end has to be short, not a big tuft.

Sorry no photos today, I don't make a habit of taking pictures of the back of my head. :-P

However in case you were wondering, my other OCD is being on time. Must NOT be late especially in the new office where we get fined. :-D

Everything About Me - Day 11

And here I am again, no I didn't abandon you this weekend. :-)

We're 1/3 of the way through the list and moving on to the item of a recent picture of me. This one was taken a couple of weeks ago in Reims, France by my travel buddy Carole. We were on a tour of Champagne country. When I saw this outside a wine shop I couldn't resist. I think it's an awesome photo.

Everything About Me - Day 10

On to Day 10 of the list from my post "Everything About Me in 30 Days".

Today's list calls for a photo of me that is more than 10 years old. This was a tough one because I don't really have anything that old in digital. So I prowled around and was able to find this picture that was taken at my 40th birthday party of the collage my mom and sister put together.

The main photo is much more than 10 years old, it's the day my parents brought me home from the hospital. I must say that mom and dad look pretty cool, to me anyway, and it's a way better shot of them than me. Underneath there is a snippet from my graduation party from basic training, I'm on the left.  That one is almost 24 years old. :-)

Everything About Me - Day 9

I bet you thought I forgot didn't you? Nope, just a little lazy but here I am with the ninth entry in Everything About Me. Today I'm supposed to post a picture I have taken. I actually had it in my head what group of pictures I was going to choose from, it was simply a matter of which from the album.

This picture really requires no explanation. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.

Everything About Me - Day 8

Today's entry in Everything About Me is not a fun one. Today I'm to show you a picture that makes me sad, here it is.

Spencer, my heart dog, gone much too young. He was a sweet old soul that loved everyone and everything, and everyone loved him back. Babies were his favourite, no matter the species and he was fondly known as the WalMart greeter of the dog park because he would run to the gate whenever someone new arrived.

How could you not love that face? Miss you White Dog!

Tomorrow it's back to happier things.

Everything About Me - Day 7

Today's topic? A picture that makes me happy.

This one was easy. The best friend a girl could have took this photo on the beach in Florida the week The Guy and I decided we would give this thing called us a go. Little did we know at the time it was going to become a transatlantic relationship but coming up on two years now.

Not looking forward to tomorrow...

Brindle Interlude

The Brindle would like certain of his fans (you know who you are!) to be aware that he is running low on duck tenders. He says some grain free cookies would be lovely as well.

Can you say no to this sad boy?

Everything About Me - Day 6

Aha! Well here I am two days behind on the list which continues today with 20 things I like.

I have to admit I suspected it would happen. I was away at a hockey tournament this past weekend which gives me a nice segway into this entry.

1. the sound of skates cutting into freshly cleaned ice
2. Boxers, the canine variety (The Brindle is waving here)
3. good books, I mentioned reading voraciously didn't I?
4. sparkly earrings, especially if they're spurple (sparkly + purple = spurple)
5. red wine, especially KWV Cafe Pinotage
6. the opportunity I now have to see so much more of the world then I ever have before
7. laying on the beach in Florida, with The Guy of course
8. the internet, specifically it keeps me connected with all the people that matter
9. even more specifically, the Boxer Mailing List for all the wonderful things I've learned and friends I've made in the the last 11+ years I've been a member of it
10. the friends that don't need for us to be in constant contact to be able to pick right up where we left off
11. the career I've built for myself, for all it's ups and downs it's what I was meant to be
12. the feeling I get when, because of where I've gotten myself in this career, I am able to help others making the same journey
13. that at my age I have not only been given the opportunity to learn something new and amazing, but that I can do it and I love it
14. that I can take days to do nothing but entertain The Brindle
15. my niece who is the most awesome kid and I'm lucky to be able to say she's in my family
16. my family who has put up with all the strange places I've found myself and just "soldiered on"
17. more family, my cousins (all 18 of them!) who do some truly amazing things, we're a pretty diverse bunch that all look an awful lot alike
18. Ringette, I'm passionate about it and miss it more than I could have imagined
19. the city of Kingston which is my absolute favourite of all the places I've lived
20. that there are actually people reading this and telling me they enjoy it

That's plenty for today, next entry tomorrow. See you then!

Everything About Me - Day 5

Today's entry on the list will have us one quarter of the way through.

Today's topic is my favourite quote. This one was easy. Well the quote was easy, finding the paper I had it on was a little more difficult. This quote is from an author by the name of Po Bronson.

Failure's hard, but success is far more dangerous.

If you're successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money

and opportunity can lock you in forever.

Story of my life really.

Today's bonus entry is my other favourite from Grantland Rice.

For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks-not that you won or lost-
But how you played the game.

Everything About Me - Day 4

For today's entry in "everything about me" I'm to tell you about my favourite book. This is a tough one because if you didn't already know I am a voracious reader.

What it comes down to is that I don't have a favourite book, I have a favourite series of books. Although it might be too many to call a series. The author is Mercedes Lackey and in particular her Valdemar Universe. I have owned most of those books longer than any others I have.

But for something more recent. The best book I have read in recent months is Sarah's Key, I highly recommend. (and hope I get my copy back from my mom.)

Tech Announcement

I need to do some work on the design of this creature. The Brindle tells me the old colours were getting to him, too much brown just blends with his fur.

Please be patient, I'll try not to make it too annoying. It would go faster if Blogger didn't keep deciding that I must be Flemish.

Everything About Me - Day 3

Today we continue with theme theme of what entertains me. The next thing on the list is what is my favourite tv show. I have a number of shows that I love and will watch over and over. CSI (the original thank you), Criminals Minds, NCIS and with much nostalgia M*A*S*H.

The winner in this category is something some of you might consider just a touch obscure. Best frelling tv show ever, Farscape.


Here's the opening credits if you want to check it out:



yes, frell is their obscenity of choice ;-)

Everything About Me - Day 2

Well here we are again continuing with the list. I've been thinking about this one all day and I'm afraid that when it comes to favourite movie I really don't have just one. I've been torn between two and that's what I'm going to go with.

The first one I'll mention is The Matrix, what's not to love? Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, sci-fi, action. It's just an amazing movie.



But when it's time for some fun, something to make me laugh there is only one choice. Shrek!

Everything About Me - Day 1

As I said yesterday, I'm going to try and give you 30 days about me. I've gone back over the list and some of the later subjects have me a little worried so we'll have to see how it goes. I also foresee a potential problem next weekend since I have a hockey tournament but I'll just have to do the best I can.

Today's topic? My favourite song. Sounds easier than you might think but I'm going to go with my old standby. Modern English, Melt With You. Man, this video has not held up well to the passage of time.



More recently the song I like to listen to, way too loud, in my car is Jason Mraz, I'm Yours. Sorry, embedding disabled but it's the official video so it's worth it. It makes me dream of Florida.

p.s. The Brindle has no opinions on music as long as it doesn't keep him awake in the car.

Blogging More

I've been trying to come up with a way to Blog more often. At first I was thinking that this would be pretty difficult because there are days when the Brindle doesn't offer me anything to work with. Like today. The Brindle has been at camp since Friday and while I'm sure he's having an excellent time I have no idea what he's up to.

I do follow a few blogs myself and I've been picking up more fairly recently. One of the Brindle's favourites would be Lucy's Human, the life and times a young fawn lady that makes us laugh fairly often. Another is one that has brought me into the life of a cousin that I wasn't fortunate enough to spend much time with over the course of our lives. Angella is a pretty prolific blogger and thanks to Dutch Blitz I feel that I am coming to know her and her family, especially my three gorgeous second cousins.

But the blog that brings me where I am today is Nolie's Place and in particular this post. The idea is All About Me in 30 days and it goes like this:

Day 1 – your favorite song
Day 2 – your favorite movie
Day 3 – your favorite television program
Day 4 – your favorite book
Day 5 – your favorite quote
Day 6 – 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 – a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 – a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 – a photo you took
Day 10 – a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 – a photo of you recently
Day 12 – something you are OCD about
Day 13 – a fictional book
Day 14 – a non-fictional book
Day 15 – your dream house
Day 16 – a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 – an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 – your wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 – a talent of yours
Day 20 – a hobby of yours
Day 21 – a recipe
Day 22 – a website
Day 23 – a youtube video
Day 24 – where I live
Day 25 – your day, in great detail
Day 26 – your week, in great detail
Day 27 – my worst habit
Day 28 – what’s in my handbag/purse
Day 29 – hopes,dreams, plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 – a dream for the future beyond the next year

So I'm figuring I'll give this a go and see where it takes me. Stay tuned folks, we're about to see the Brindle as guest star instead of heading up the show.

The Brindle as a Sports Fan?

Those of you that know me are well aware that in my house sports, particularly hockey, trumps all on tv. The Brindle being the accommodating sort that he is doesn't have a problem with this. He's quite happy to curl up on the couch and watch with me, no idea why he snores while he's there.

Yesterday he shared my excitement when the season opened on our tv with Carolina vs Minnesota in Helsinki. We got to watch the whole game before I left... for hockey.

This afternoon after work the Brindle was headed off to camp but we had a little plan before he went. What with tonight being the season opener for the San Jose Sharks vs Carolina in Stockholm we had declared this corner of Belgium, Sharks Country. Rumour has it the same is happening in a small corner of Germany. The following photos are a special shout out to the Brindle's friend of the stripe, Bucky who is the Sharks #1 fan of the Boxer persuasion back home.

The model shot:



And in normal game watching position:



Go Sharks!

Brindle Shopping

The Brindle is not really a demanding fellow, he has few needs. The occasional dried tripe, a duck tender now and then, he's basically a low maintenance guy. I however wouldn't be a fine, upstanding Boxer keeper if I allowed that to be it.

In the past I have not been a purchaser of stuffies for my Boxers. The fact is that a soft toy in the paws and flews of Boxers is not likely to last for long. What I had forgotten is that when it's a sole Boxer these could be items to be cherished, especially if they squeak. Hence the Brindle has some particular favourite toys, all of them dragons.

There's the green dragon that traveled with him in his crate from Canada:



His second dragon is blue, his Belgian friend Daniel calls it Elliot after Pete's Dragon. This one often requires some acrobatics:



And the last one is the one we have numerous discussions about. The Brindle is determined that she's an outside toy, I don't agree but as long as she doesn't leave the patio we have a truce.



In more recent shopping, we have been on a quest to find a new harness for "he who must be obeyed". This included one attempt where the Brindle went into the store for a fitting of a simply beautiful model that was clearly not made with the Boxer chest in mind. And this of a harness that claimed to be made for Great Danes and St Bernards. Whatever!

This past weekend saw success, this harness isn't as luxurious (or expensive!) as the other one but I think he's pleased. What do you think?



(p.s anyone concerned with the Brindle's largesse, well this is what I got this weekend)

Brindle Comfort

Boxers are known for many things. They are silly, goofy, irreverent and the clowns of the dog world. The Brindle is all of those things and takes great pleasure in demonstrating that he is more than willing to uphold the finest reputation of his breed. I believe his various demonstrations of thievery are a good example of that.

Also, as befits his self imposed status of King of all he surveys, all things are his. He will share the sun lounger with me, but prefers not to:



He also has taken a good claim of the couch. No matter how often I tidy the pillows and blankets he will put them where he wants, all in the name of Brindle comfort.



Who am I to argue with his royal self?

The Greying of the Brindle

It has been commented on recently that the Brindle is showing some age. In the dog world it's not rude to comment on grey hair. So perhaps we should do a little comparison. Here we have the Brindle in his youth:




That photo dates from the summer that he was one. This next photo was taken just a few weeks ago:




Do we all see the difference? Yes, there is a little bit of frosting around the jowl area but after all the Brindle will be five years old in August.

I would like to point out that his head has also taken on a different, more Boxer-ish shape and he finally grew into his ears. He wants everyone to know that he, like his mom, is pretty ok with having grey hair. Life experiences are a good thing, even when they don't seem so at the time.

He would also like to invite everyone to join him for some virtual festivities on August 11th in celebration of his big day. Perhaps someone could be convinced to whip up a batch of Boxer brownies for him.

Roasted Brindle

It's hard to blog when your subject doesn't give you much to work with.

It's been hot here the last couple of weeks and hot is not popular with the smooshy faced canines. Mostly he prowls and hides out in the hedge, waiting for it to get cooler so he can do a rampage through the yard.

We are outside a lot right now though, enjoying the current rain free (touch wood!) period. He supervised the assembly of the new patio furniture and has given it his drool of approval.



Since my last entry we have celebrated Canada Day, yes even in Belgium. There was a good turn out and we had perfect weather. The Brindle elected to stay home for the evening, he's not a fan of crowds and it was cooler in the castle than in the field where the events were held. My personal touch of patriotism was pretty much a hit.



A few nights ago he and I went for a stroll around the garden. I scooped some cherries off one of the trees and checked out the rose bushes. Him? He ran, ate grass, ran, snuffled through the gardens and ran some more. And then? He came back to let me know he was, as always, having a great time.


After that, to finish off the night, he found himself a good spot to watch the world go by outside the castle gate.

In Defense of the Brindle

I think some people have gotten the idea, mostly from my facebook status updates, that the Brindle is a bad dog. I want to dispel that notion. The Brindle is not necessarily bad, he is however a prime example of the mischievous and somewhat devious nature of the true Boxer.

I remember many years ago when I was attending puppy kindergarten class with my first Boxer, the Princess. The instructor asked me why I was there and I responded that I had never had a dog before and now I had this wee brindle monster that was literally bouncing up and down in front of me. I needed to learn how to make her a polite, well mannered member of dog society. The instructor's eyes got big and she said "You never had a dog before and you got a BOXER?!" Then to the rest of the class, "Boxers slow down when they die or go into a coma, whichever comes first." She wasn't wrong. The Princess is nearly 12 and last I saw her she was still a little fireball of energy and toughness, just take a look:



Bless her wee brindle heart.

But the Brindle... he's a Boxer of a different stripe. The males just tend to be goofier and he takes even that to a whole new level. He will be five in August and shows no signs of being a grown up any time soon. He just likes to be busy and if that means that if he needs a milk carton or a loaf of bread behind the hedge, well he's going to find a way to take it. If it means that he needs to tuck a bar of soap or a tube of toothpaste into his bed, he'll be taking that too.

As I pointed out to my friend this week, for all that he is a kleptomaniac he has never (touch wood) destroyed anything of value. As for this being a new hobby. The fact is that at the old house if he attempted these sorts of thefts I would have heard him. This place is so big that if he and I are at opposite ends of the house I really have no idea that he committing another theft.

Is the Brindle a well mannered member of dog society? In a way. He doesn't know how big he is so he tends to be a bit rough with other dogs. He's also protective of me around other large dogs because he senses that I'm nervous around them. But he does know his basic commands, sit, stay, down, leave it. He will pee on command, a wonderful tool for travel. He walks well on a leash with only the occasional reminder to keep the leash loose and even that is only when the good smells get to be too much for him. He is after all a dog.

So all in all I really don't want people thinking he's a bad dog, he's not at all. He's simply a silly, irreverent, wonderful example of the male of the Boxer species.

And besides, how could you not love this face:

Separate Vacations (aka the Brindle gets a new girl)

Vacations are good for both the Brindle and I. We get a break from the castle and each other.

This time around I put in a little extra effort to find him someplace just a bit better to hang out at. After I dropped him off I announced via facebook that the Brindle would be spending eight days at Flemish camp, where I had seen a Boxer with a tail. Yes, it's Europe and tail docking is illegal in most places. The Boxer tail in it's natural state is long and whip like, as would befit their otherwise notoriously mischievous and occasionally destructive nature. My greatest concern on walking out was that the Brindle might be returned to me suffering from tail envy, but more on that lovely tailed creature in a bit.

I have to admit to a little bit of awe when I walked into Marcodia's Pet Hotel, or as it says on the sign Dierenhotel. The place is absolutely beautiful, any dog in their right mind would be thrilled to spend some time there. Hell, I'd spend the night there without much trouble. The indoor rooms are big and bright, the outside runs are equally wonderful and they have an awning system they put up in the summer to give added shade to the runs. The dogs go out every two hours, to do their duties, so lots of human interaction and if they're up to it they can play with the other dogs. Max couldn't. What I was told was that he was possessive of the staff and jealous of the other dogs, she said they see it often in Boxers. When I mentioned that some Boxers only like other Boxers she agreed and said that he was fine with the girl Boxer that was there. Yes, that's right, the Brindle may just have had himself a little camp romance.

Marcodia's have a wonderful website including a photo gallery, feel free to check them out.

And where was I while the Brindle was off being his usual galoot like self in such a lovely place? Well Florida of course.

Hanging out on the beach soaking up the sun and just generally thinking about nothing. My comment at one point during the week? "It's really nice to go on a vacation where I don't worry about work and I don't have a cell phone to drag around with me." The plan for the week was a whole lot of nothing because I just don't consider myself a tourist any more. The beverage of choice was the margarita with this little baby being from the Smokin' Oyster Brewery at Fort Myers Beach.



I got in a little tv from time to time including two whole hockey games! That was part of the to do list as were trips to Bath & Body Works, Total Wine, Target, a hair cut and a new pair of sandals that turned into two pairs. And of course, the requisite pedicure that I ended up getting during my layover at the Philadelphia airport. I love that place!

I had a wonderful time, I didn't want to come back and I wish I was back there right now. (go Powerball tickets!) In the meantime I'm going to hold this image in my brain until the next trip.

Loaves, Sans Fishes

There is no way to continue this blog with out telling the Brindle’s first Belgian story. It happened a mere ten days after his arrival and remains the most unique of his adventures.

He arrived, delivered to the very battlements of the castle, on a Friday accompanied by the green dragon. Poor boy was tired, confused and didn’t smell very nice. As indication of how exhausted he was, he actually allowed me to give him a bath, right there in the courtyard.

He was a needy fellow that first week. He didn’t much care for being left alone, he stuck close and slept a lot. By the next weekend though he was finding his feet, all four of them. He had inspected and approved his yard, especially the perpetually open door that let him roam at will. That Sunday he held court for the first time, making himself available for his first visitors. He was, as always, the ultimate in hospitality and entertainment, sharing his toys and demonstrating his repertoire of tricks. Company stayed for dinner and left, through the garden gate



which I presumed to be closed. I was of course wrong.

The following day was Monday, I returned from work and opened the garden door so the Brindle could do his daily inspection. I went off to do other things, still unpacking and organizing and it was probably an hour or so before I realized that he hadn’t been back to check up on me, unusual for him. Just as that thought crossed my mind I heard him pounding through the house. He loped into the room and flopped on his blanket, a baguette in his mouth.

The Brindle is a grain free gentleman and I would prefer that he not be feasting on loaves of bread so I removed it from his drooling jowls and headed off to the kitchen to dispose of it. While I was walking a light bulb came on and I realized, I had never bought a baguette since moving to the Castle. This led me to the garden where I found the gate standing open.

This means that the Brindle had gone out through the gate, into the village and absconded with his snack from one of my neighbours. I spent the remainder of the evening waiting for the doorbell to ring, someone come to complain about the ill mannered galoot I had imported to the country. It never came.

To this day I have never found out where he got that baguette from but his addiction to all forms of bread remains. Most recently I had picked up a fresh loaf of multi grain from the local bakery and when I came back to the house I had put it on the dryer with my purse, lunch bag and a bottle of vanilla cognac. Some time later when I went to retrieve it while the other items remained where they were the bread was gone. The only conclusion to be drawn was that it came to reside in a particular brindle belly.

It Starts Here

I have been saying since last summer, when the Brindle and I packed our bags and moved ourselves to Europe, that I should start a blog of our adventure. Well it only took me 10 months but here I am.

To set the scene, it all began with an offer that was followed by my highly intellectual response "Are you SERIOUS???" After that things moved pretty quickly.

I traveled to Belgium to find us a place to live. This involved my looking at ten houses in three days, eleven if you count the one I looked at twice. Yes, that would be the one I took. Yes, it's way more house than I need, but it was all for the Brindle because it came with the most amazing backyard. I can't even tell you how big it is but it has lilac bushes, cedar hedges, shrubs, apple trees and, best of all, a six foot wall to keep independent Brindles from roaming free. (or so I thought...)

The entrance is perhaps a little less than welcoming:



But of course it gives way to a wonderful place that we have come to call home. It's a work in progress, for one thing I don't have, nor do I want, the furniture to fill it. If I did that what would I do with all the stuff when it came time to go home? The most important room was completed first:

Because every good Brindle needs his own room.

I'll leave it at this for now. I'm going to have to make a few catch up posts, to tell the stories of the Brindle's adventures in Belgium and the mostly laughter that goes along with it.