My Lap, Presently...

Her mother stepped on her and made her cry, so I picked her up, and now she's sleeping on my lap:

UPDATE:

Things to DO in 2013

I miss my ambition. I miss making crazy, outlandish goals. I used to have so much fun planning out all the things I would do and become in the new year, but somewhere along the line I grew cynical. If I couldn't reach ALL my bizarrely ambitious goals, then why make goals at all? But that's just silly. I ended up becoming a person who doesn't really do much of anything, and this pointless little life is starting to weigh me down. So this year, for 2013, I'm going to indulge in some wide-eyed plotting once more. I'll put the pressure on myself again, and see where the new year takes me.

Somehow I've ended up with over 1,000 page views on this blog. So what if 873 of them were just me checking again and again to make sure I didn't make any embarrassing spelling errors? As far as I can tell, there are some eyes on what I'm saying here. There are human people out there (Hello!) to whom I can be at least somewhat accountable. And there's this endless blank space in front of me where I can post or mention all of the creative things I do. Instead of just rehashing what I've done in the past, which seems to have been the theme of my tweets and blog entries in 2012, I want to do new things. Below, I'll break down the kinds of things I'd like to do and make and share in the coming year:

DAILY

• I'd like to post a translation of a bit of foreign text every day. Rather than dabbling in little bits of dozens of languages (as fun as that is), I'd like to focus on the three I know best: Italian, French, and German. Maybe I can add Spanish. I've felt so silly saying I used to speak French (or Italian, or German). I'd like to find some public domain texts that have free online audio books read by native speakers so I can practice my pronunciation at the same time. This will take some searching, but I think it could be really helpful. And my blog-readers (do I have "readers"?) will have a little bit of a story to read every day.
• Speaking of which, I'd like to post a little bit of an original story every day. Maybe a mini short story, or installments of a novel. It would be exciting to have to "publish" as I write.

WEEKLY

• I'd like to post one quality video to YouTube every week. These could be vlogs, or funny things, or little experimental films. The point is, I would like to get relatively good at making videos, considering I spent most of my life wanting to be a film director more than anything. (I could stand to buy an actual camera for this; using the webcam is awkward, and everything comes out dark and grainy. It makes me look like a serial killer.)
• I'd like to post at least one quality photograph per week to Flickr or some other photosharing site. By "quality" I mean I want to learn to use my camera's advanced settings and take arty-looking pictures. (I shouldn't have to buy a new still camera, but the one I have is ten years old, so we'll see.)
• I'd like to cook, share and review one vegetarian or vegan recipe per week. I have half a dozen cookbooks, but I mostly improvise. Maybe I could share one recipe from a book and one of my improvised meals or treats every week. 
• I'd like to make one "artwork" every week (in addition to the videos, writing, and photographs). I took a lot of studio art classes in school, and I was never great at it, but it's something I used to really enjoy. I'd like to post photos of my art to this blog or to Flickr (or wherever my photos end up) and maybe even put some things up for sale on Etsy. (It depends on what their fees are like. Maybe I can put it all on Etsy at the end of the year.)
• I'd like to post one essay on a topic of general interest on my blog every week. It could be related to current events or things I've read or just my own deep, dark thoughts. I'd like to move away from the personal stuff. I can still have a puppy update now and then, but I'd like my weekly essay to be "serious" (even if I liven it up with some humor) and interesting to people who aren't me.
• I'd like to make and meet one exercise goal weekly. I can say on the blog what I've accomplished and what the goal is for the next week. These should be concrete goals, like "run five miles in under an hour." The last time I did that one, I had a mini-heart attack (or I just fainted, whatever), so they'll probably be slightly less demanding.

MONTHLY

• I'm very, very, very bad at writing songs, but I did write a good one once. I have a flattering story about it, so I'll tell it here: I was in Indiana with my mom and my mean aunt to clear out their parents' house. The whole time, my aunt was very critical and mean (that's why I call her "my mean aunt"). She criticized what I ate, how I dressed, what I did, what I wanted to keep from the house, and all the renovation work I did. One day she saw that I'd brought my guitar along. "Why did you bring that guitar all the way to Indiana if you're not going to play it? What a waste. Do you ever practice? Can you even play anything?" I got it out and played an original song. It was just finger-picked arpeggios in the Dorian mode with a wordless melody sung over the top. It was probably the best musical performance of my life. When I was done, my aunt was quiet, as if thinking of something to say. Finally she said, "Actually, that was kind of nice." I want to do that again. On YouTube. With a different original song on or by the 28th day of every month. This will count as one of my weekly videos.
• I'd like to design and sew a dress or shirt every month. I ought to buy or borrow a sewing machine. I've always had lots of ideas for clothes. When I was a kid, I even wanted to be a historical costume expert and design costumes for movies. Now, it would just be nice to have some wearable clothes. That'll be the tough part: can I wear it in public? I will. And I'll post photographic proof on my blog.
• I'd like to read one book every month and write a substantial but brief review of it in my blog. This can count as one of my "serious" essays.

So. Do you think I can do it all? It may not be pretty. In fact, I'm really, really worried about the song videos. And should I go out and buy a camera and a sewing machine right away, or should I see how much of this I can actually do first? Ambition! Goals! Doing stuff! I'm a little bit excited. And that's good. I haven't been excited about doing new things in a long, long, long, long time.

Puppy ONSLAUGHT!!!

First of all, just before I posted my last entry, this blog reached 1000 page views. So thanks for clicking on the links I post on twitter, skimming through the entries, and continuing to follow me on twitter anyway. And if you've actually been reading my blog? There's nothing I can do to help you. It's possible that you're beyond help by now. But thank you very much anyways. Goodness knows I need the attention.

Now for the puppy update:

Everybody's getting fat. The little black puppy, who was born slender and proportionate, suddenly resembles a brick. He weighs 1 lb. 5.2 oz.! He has the biggest paws in the litter, which supposedy means he will grow up to be the biggest. Spot is in second place, at 1 lb. 1.5 oz., and the little girl, Brownie, weighs 1 lb. 0.8 oz.--20% less than Blackie. In fact, Blackie gained three ounces in the last two days--a 17% increase!

Even though hearing isn't supposed to develop until the second week, the puppies have begun to respond to sudden loud sounds. For example, in the early hours of this morning, El Camino by the Black Keys toppled off the top of my wall-mounted CD rack and crashed onto Ginger's food dish, which is next to the puppy box. All the puppies went "kYOO! kYOO! kYOO!" for thirty seconds or so. Their ears, which began as tiny fuzzy flaps that might as well have been merely decorative, have begun to open up. Some days they're pointing up and you can see into the tiny ear canal, and the next day they're floppy again. And although their eyes are still completely shut, they have begun to make blinking motions. I took a whole slew of pictures in the last few days because, now that the flash and beeping sounds of the camera could potentially be bothersome or even harmful to them, I think I ought to cut back on the photo sessions over the next couple of weeks.

So here you are: one last onslaught of puppy madness before I have to get better at using my camera so that every flashing, beeping shot counts.

In this photo I tried to show Blackie's MacGruff face. I opened the windows and turned two lamps on him so I could shoot without the flash. It's still pretty dark, but you can almost see his "take a bite out of crime" snout:

I made the next two pictures (also taken without a flash) into an animated gif, but couldn't load it onto my blog. If you enlarge one of the photos, then use your keyboard arrows to go back and forth between them, you can see the puppies nursing:

Here's the same scene with the flash. I think they look hilariously eager:

Here's Ginger hugging Brownie. Or, more likely, Mama was asleep and Brownie crawled up through her arms:

It's very snuggly inside the puppy box. It's getting smelly, too, so I bought a plastic storage bin 19" X 42" with 6" tall sides to replace it, but everyone seems happy with the old box for now:

The next four pictures show Spot trying to join his brother and sister for lunch. I finally had to move big ol' Blackie toward the front to make room:

I'm obsessed with the little brown one. I can't figure out what she looks like. Her head is too large for her body, and her legs and feet are too small. She has a wise little bear face. I laugh just looking at her, and even though I'm trying to protect the puppies' immune systems, I may have kissed the top of her soft little head a few times:

Here's Spot being a mama's boy. Or a scarf?:

Here are the babies all snuggled up on Christmas day. Ginger was so excited by all the goings-on that she practically abandoned them:

Same photo without the flash. I like to keep their environment as dark and warm and soft as possible. Except, of course, for all the camera flashes:

Oh! Christmas! It poured rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, and Ginger won't go out in the rain. When she finally heard it stop, she asked to go out. She ran out from under the porch and froze. She looked up to the left, then up to the right. The rain had turned to snow!! She didn't know what it was. She did her business quickly, then ran back to the porch. But just as I opened the door, she ran out into the yard again and gave the snow a good barking at, just to show it who's boss, then skittered back inside. 

Here's another Christmas Day snuggle. I couldn't have arranged them better. Well, maybe without Blackie's butt in the bottom of the frame:

Like I said, they've begun to notice the camera. The photo above woke up Spot:

But Brownie went on slumbering in ultimate cuteness...:

...with her brothers nearby:

The next day, I thought I had the perfect shot of Brownie and Blackie, but Ginger saw the camera and began to lick Brownie protectively:

Then Spot got lonely and came over for a snuggle...:

...squishing his bigger little brother...:

...who got back at him later while they were in the small auxiliary box, awaiting clean bedding:

Here's the same scene from another angle:

Here's Ginger on the clean bedding, anxiously waiting for me to put her puppies back. She likes the cavelike coziness of the box she gave birth in, so it may take a while to transition her to the new plastic bin:

I'm obsessed with the snuggly little brown one:

For this photo I sat her up like a teddy bear, which is the very most precious thing I have ever seen, but I didn't have the heart to use the flash on her in this somewhat awkward position:

Snuggle baby!:

The following is a photo essay I call "Spot's Journey." He starts out on Mama's neck:

Heaves himself over:

Steps on her face a bit:

Goes around behind:

And comes right back to where he started. Notice Mama's creepy zombie-dog eyes, from lying on her back. Seeing that took some getting used to:

More snuggles:

Baby:

Handsome:

Cutie:

Little sister snoring in the background:

And that's it! I'll try to take only fancy pictures from now on. Find the camera manual. Put in some effort. Make 'em count. 

Thanks! Bye!

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Human Race

Like, a ZILLION More Pictures of PUPPIES!!!

Taking care of Ginger and helping her take care of her puppies is pretty much my life right now, and what a fine life it is! The puppies are still nursing a lot:

As well as napping a lot, but now sometimes apart from their mother:

At first Ginger didn't want to leave her puppies even just to run out to the yard to do her business, but on day three (Friday) she "demanded" a walk, and tried to drag me farther than just around the block. Today she wanted to run, and despite being worn out from nursing, she is in better shape than I am! While we're out, she never wants to go home, but once we reach the door of the house, she remembers her babies and claws at the door desperately, then dashes through the house to get to them. She even wiped out once taking a turn on the kitchen tile!!! (She's fine, by the way.)

As recommended, I'm feeding Ginger 2 to 3 times what a dog of her size should ordinarily have, and only high quality puppy food. Still, she is looking very lean because the puppies are absorbing a lot of nourishment and getting nice and chubby. This is especially apparent when they roll onto their backs to take a nap after nursing:

My roommate, who thought I was a nuts for taking so many photos of Ginger, DEMANDED that I take a picture of this moment:

(That's Blackie's foot in the upper left corner. I noticed that Spot has pink paw pads, Blackie has black paw pads, and Brownie has brown paw pads. Everybody's claws grew in literally overnight the night before last.)

The dogs wind up in countless amusing sleeping arrangements. When I woke up this morning, I found Mama Ginger wearing her daughter like a hat. Unfortunately Ginger started to wake up as I knelt down, so Brownie slipped off, and as a result, this picture is only a tenth as funny as what I saw:

My roommate is in love with the way Blackie (the younger boy) sleeps on his side with his arms straight out. Spot seems to have to no qualms about nuzzling his brother's butt:

This afternoon I found the little girl, Brownie, sleeping all by herself at the edge of the box. I put her on my tummy to warm her up, and she went right back to sleep. I just can't get over how adorably smushed her face is. Pictures never seem to do it justice, but this one comes close:

And this one:

Blackie is hard to photograph because his silky, silky fur is so very, very dark, and all his white and brown bits are on his legs, lower face, and underside. This is the best I could do in a prolonged photo shoot that made his mother very nervous:

Spot, however, is easy to photograph:

And let's not forget Ginger! I finally took a picture that shows her funny black smile, her floppy yet attentive ears, her shiny cartoon-dog eyes, and her mischievous little eyebrows . Unfortunately, she's standing in front of my dirty laundry, an electric cord and an old hat. Where's a field of wildflowers or a Victorian chaise lounge when you need one? Oh well--in this photo she's enjoying a well-deserved break from feeding and warming her puppets--and she's so happy, she doesn't seem to realize she's standing on her own foot!:

Thanks so much for stopping by! We'll see you later!!