Lambiedog

In which I meet Laura

Part One - The Cap

When Thomas' beloved knit cap was tragically ruined over Thanksgiving, Charlie secretly determined to knit him a replacement in time for Christmas. 

It was an ambitious goal, given that Charlie knew nothing about knitting.  However, he cast his search for a knitting instructor upon the waters of the Thiel network, found a teacher, and actually completed the cap in time to wrap it and put it under the tree. 

 

Thomas was thrilled.  He put the cap on and, other than giving us each a brief chance to try it, hardly removed it for the rest of the time he was at home.

      

Part Two - The Knitting Instructor

Our family was wowed by Charlie's tenacity and his knitting instructor's magical teaching skills.  Whenever Charlie and I would catch up after he'd returned to San Francisco, I would ask after the Knitting Instructor.  He always seemed to have lots of news about her.  It developed that her name was Laura, and that she was a devotee of this blog.

Part Three - The Visit

Charlie and Laura came down to L.A. for a few days.  Though they had planned a full schedule, it included multiple Lambie-centric events.

I was excited anticipating their arrival, but at the same time concerned that I would not meet Laura's expectations of me: that in the flesh I might prove less fascinating than I profess to be herein. 

But when they arrived and Laura launched into a deliberation over what she could cook to make me happy, it came over me that she was there not to judge but to bond. I melted into her arms.  

It was a great weekend.  We took some walks together, and I showed off my 'Sit' skill set.  Charlie and Laura also engaged with me in some rawhide throwing and mock-fighting, which is one of my favorite activities.  I felt highly appreciated. Highly gifted, one might even say. 

Silver lining

    

In recent weeks, hiking has taken a back seat to sofa-sitting on my agenda.  I like it that way.  So when I was taken to Will Rogers State Park for a hike on Saturday afternoon my initial thought was to stop and refuse to ascend the trail. 
      My owner insisted, however, so I grudgingly cooperated, dawdling where possible.

 

At the top of Inspiration Point, where we stopped for water, there was a big surprise:  horses.

They were taking a break, too.   I observed them for a while.

 
Eventually, they turned and headed back down the mountain.

I followed them closely, all the way down.
 
What an unexpected pleasure the hike had turned out to be.

Horse

On a hike at Will Rogers I encountered a magnificent creature: my first horse.

I was awed.

 

 

    After the horse disappeared, I stayed transfixed, staring at where it had been.

Finally we resumed our walk. Down the path and around a bend, we encountered a second one.

 

It occurred to me that every bend in the road offers the possibility of another horse.

Magic pose

Nearly a decade ago, Jamie Lee Curtis posed for an amazing photo spread in More magazine.  The spread showed Jamie Lee first in her plain-Jane skivvies, then looking glamorous after thirteen assistants had worked for three hours on makeup, lighting, and wardrobe.  

 

Here we have a similar set of photos.  On the left:  Me and Magic looking glamorous. Below, the back story: raw footage of our preparation for the photo shoot.   

The article accompanying the More photos quotes Jamie Lee as saying, "I’m trying really hard to take the veil off the fraud, to be real, to start with me."  

That's what I'm trying to do as well.  I don't want people to see photos of perfect Lambie and be discouraged thinking that my photogeneity is effortless and unattainable.

Heroic rescue tale

    Enough about the deficit -- now here is a newsworthy story, from Australia. It concerns a dog named Bibi who is blown from a pier but saved by a heroic young man who happens to be at the pier to scatter his family member's ashes. 

Bibi's rescue actually occurred almost two years ago, but news is slow to travel across the Pacific.  Here's what happened:  

Bibi, who is a Maltese / Shih Tzu mix, was walking on the Brighton pier in suburban Melbourne with his owner when he was blown into the water by gale-force winds.  He tried to dog paddle back, but the wind was strong and for a while blew him even further from the pier.  

A hero named Raden Soemawinata happened to be on the pier for a ceremony to scatter his grandmother's ashes into the Melbourne bay.  Mr. Soemawinata stripped to his underwear (conveniently, he was a part time model), got into the water and swam Bibi to safety.

 
Bibi and his owner were both very grateful.

Yes, Lambie, there really is a Santa Claus [forgot to post this last week]

 

                                Apparently he came while I was dozing on the sofa.

The licking saint

 

I am well known for my devoted licking.  If a nose or a mouth presents itself, I will lick it. 

Some say licking is my calling.

I have been reflecting on this as I considered comparisons that have been raised between my licking and the hugging that has made an Indian woman named Amma famous.

Amma has become known as the "Hugging Saint" in consequence of her propensity for embracing and comforting people -- specifically, hugging them. She's gotten a lot of press and has a big foundation and goes on world hugging tours where people line up for hours so she can hug them.

Do I aspire to the same recognition for my licking? No.  My licking is personal.  Perhaps the world would be a better place if I went on a world licking tour, but I just don't feel driven to share my licking with humanity.  

I prefer to work on a smaller scale, bringing happiness by just licking the noses that come my way organically.  It feels more authentic.

           

Gothic tale

It was late in a hitherto uneventful afternoon.

   A shrill sound split the air at a pitch audible only to dogs and to humans age 24 and younger.

    
   Suddenly, computer and TV monitors were swarmed by images of scary men in threatening poses.

 

The world placed its hopes in the only individual who could combat evil of this magnitude.

Wearing his lucky ID tag, he set out to vanquish the enemies unknown. 

Lambie doin work

          A sports figure whom I admire starred last year in a Spike Lee documentary about his work ethic.  Entitled "Kobe Doin Work," the documentary followed Kobe Bryant through a day in the life.

I've been inspired by that film to present this homage, which I call, "Lambie Doin Work."

 
           
         
         
         
         
         
           
         
 
         
 

A case of trash

    While I was doing some sniffing work on the slope at the south end of the bluff, I happened to turn and look uphill. 

    My eye was caught by a disturbing vista of garbage. 

   
Bizarrely, the garbage appeared to be growing out of a bush.

 

I hurried to investigate.

It didn't take me long to determine that garbage-droppers had been having a heyday at this end of the bluff.

Everywhere I looked I saw signs of their disrespect.  Cans and cigarette butts were scattered plentifully around the area.

My mind turned to the late Lady Bird Johnson, who spearheaded the "Don't be a litterbug" campaign to beautify America.  I felt grateful that Lady Bird was not alive to learn of this desecration.

But then it occurred to me that Lady Bird might have been a can half-full type of person -- someone who focused not on the trash but on the lovely views, the crisp air, the cliffs too far for litterbugs to reach with their hurled cans.

What would Lady Bird do?

Gifted with opposable thumbs, she would likely have picked up the trash.  I didn't have that option.  But I did have the ability to look at the can half-full, so that's what I did.