The first half of this post, I wasn't planning to write. But then I did write it. And it's long. But there's lots of pictures. :)
The Six Months Point
Yesterday was the six month anniversary of the day we lost Abby. (Or the day we helped her get fitted for her wings, as I like to think of it.)
I really didn't plan to make a big deal about it. I'd kind of been dreading it, which is silly because why is 5 months and 29 days after we lost her any different than 6 months after? Anyway, I'd planned to get through the day without spending much time dwelling on it.
But Abby had other ideas. She put many little signs in front of me all day yesterday!
Here are a few:
In the morning when Rita and I were heading out for our walk, I pulled Rita's leash and harness out of the drawer - only somehow Abby's old harness came out instead of Rita's walking harness. Of course Rita was very interested in it since it smelled like Abby. (Sometimes I wonder if Rita is thinking, "Where is that other dog that lives here?" since she plays with Abby's old toys and sleeps in Abby's old bed.)
Giggling in the daisies
Pouncing on bugs.
Later in the day I went to leave a comment on someone's blog, and I had to sign in to my Google profile. I've changed my profile pics in almost all of my various social media places to be me/me & Rita now. (It was sad, changing them over, but some folks on Twitter commented on what a pretty dog I had, and I had to explain that she's an angel pup now, and that we have a new dog. I figured it was time for Rita to have the spot light.) Anyway, when I logged in to leave my comment, somehow my old profile pic of Abby's face came up instead of my new pic (the one in the upper right corner here) of me & Rita. Just a little surprise of her face saying hello.
In the afternoon I finally got around to going to Michael's to buy frames for some pictures/paintings I've had sitting in the closet for months. Of course, one of them was the 8X10 of the pic below of our little familial unit, so I was carrying that around the store with me for a long time, looking at my gorgeous girl.
"Let's play!!"
"I'm ready for my close up, Ms. DeMille. I mean, Mama"
Running like a maniac
There were at least three other things too last night, so finally I
was, like "Ok, I get it! You want me to pay attention to you and make a
fuss!"
All hail the Princess
"Mmmm. Frosty Paws...."
Our
girl always was really good at demanding attention! She did it pretty much every night! In the words of
that crazy skank from "Fatal Attraction," she was not going to be ignored.
No, never. (Carrying on with that "Fatal Attraction" thought for a
moment... both Abby and Rita would also probably be really into some bunny
stew... But they are not crazy skanks. Ok, they're crazy. But they're not skanks.)
Sparkly girl
"This. Place. Is. Awesome!"
So, that's why I've plastered some of my favorite pics throughout today's post: to remember (and make a fuss over) what a special girl she was.
"Nom nom nom"
And Now For Something Completely Different
"That looks good..."
When we last left Elmo & his Boy, George (hehe, see what I did there?), they were enjoying their spa day. Things got a little hairier on the Fourth. It started out fine during the day, when we enjoyed typical Fourth-type foods, including some watermelon, which George bogarted.
That night, we decided we needed to be home in case Rita was afraid of the fire works. Since this is her first Fourth of July, we weren't really sure how she'd react. You may have seen in the news about the "Big Bay Boom/Bust."
From our living room, it sounded like a rocket ship launching into space. And Rita was OK with that. But not Elmo and George. Nope, they hid under the guest bed and covered their eyes. (Or "eye" in Elmo's case. Notice, though, that he covered the space where his other eye used to be. Old habits...)
They really did have something to fear when Rita came along...
Rita would love it if they could stay forever. ("Forever" meaning until she's done killing them.)
"I'll take this! Thank you."
"I'm going to kill you, Elmo!"
"No, Mama! Must. Kill." "But, Rita, he has another Tour stop!"
Rita in the "MonkeyButt Bunnies - It's All About the Ears" cape
She got a treat for enduring that!
It's time for the boys to get back in their box and head to their next stop. By-bye, Boys. It's been fun.
Next time...
Stay tuned for lots of news about the book (in print!!! It's HERE - but only available for purchase direct from CreateSpace so far; it'll be at Amazon soon!), and some links to guest posts and whatnot.
Last time I introduced you all to the silliness that is the Monkey-Me Elmo Tour. I think the boys are enjoying their time here in San Diego - especially since we are one of the more pleasant places to be right now, at least in terms of air temperature.
See how there's that lovely little "72" down in the lower left corner? We're actually even cooler than that. If we got up into the 70s in my neighborhood today I'd be surprised. I even had to wear a jacket this morning when I walked Rita. But back to the boys, since "It's All About the (bunny) Ears" and not the weather...
They kicked off their visit with a cocktail while watching the sunset.
Chillin' with a martini (you can just barely see the sun)
...and here you can see Rita lurking... (Cue the Jaws music.)
...and then getting closer...
...and closer....
...and attempting to abscond with Elmo.
Luckily Elmo was saved from Rita's clutches. (But not by George, cuz he was half in the bag already...)
Next the boys insisted on a spa day. Apparently they heard about
Barney's spa day and didn't want to be outdone by a stupid singing
purple dinosaur. So we started with a lovely steam shower.
Cuts down on cucumber expenses when you only have 1 eye.
It was all very relaxing. Until Rita showed up...
Look at the horror in Elmo's one good eye. (George is oblivious.)
George remains oblivious while Rita nibbles Elmo's head...
...and attempts to abscond with him.
Tripawd Warrior Princesses in Pink
Elmo was again snatched from the jaws of the beast. But not by George.
Then (bi)Curious George insisted that he wanted his nails done.
Thankfully Elmo offered to do the manicure (monkicure?). George also
insisted on wearing the Tripawd Warrior Princess crown while his nails
were done. And he wanted them painted pink, but I had to draw the line
there. A temporary borrowing of the crown is one thing, but I told him
in no uncertain terms that pink is reserved for Tripawd Warrior
Princesses so he settled (begrudgingly) for a coat of clear polish.
There was talk of massages but I put the kibosh on that.
Don't they look well rested and ready to rock on roll on to their next tour stop? We just have to get through the 4th of July holiday and barring any mishaps, they'll be ready to travel again!
Brief Book Update
I ordered the "proof" copy of the print book today for What the Dog Ate. It's on its way here, and if all looks good, then it will be ready to start selling!
Also, if you want to read a little something I wrote about birth order, check out my friend and fellow author Tracie Banister's blog here. There's still time to enter to win an e-copy of What the Dog Ate.
Today, Rita got some very special mail. Remember when we hosted Barney last summer? Boy, there was a lot of blog fodder there! Well, just like Barney is meant to spread joy (and a desire to kill the stinky purple beast) amongst Tripawds, "Monkey Me" Elmo is on a mission to spread joy (and sometimes meatballs) to Monkeydogs (aka: Monkeybutts, Monkeybunnies, or Monkeybutt Bunnies), the often beleaguered four-legged siblings of Tripawds.
Elmo began his tour, officially the World Tour of Monkey Me Elmo – It's All About the Ears!, last year in Sin City. He didn't just start there cuz it's a hip and happenin' place for a party animal like Elmo, but because the leader of the Monkeydogs, Rocket - the MBBVP himself, lives there. MBBVP (the MonkeyButt Bunny Vampire Pirate) appears here in this video of Elmo kicking off his world tour.
[Let me just interject here... I know it might seem like Tripawds people
have a little too much time on our hands, but when you are going
through the loss of your pup's leg - especially if it is due to cancer
- it helps to have a lot of silly folks around making you laugh!]
"For me??!"
Anyway, Elmo mysteriously disappeared for a while in the Windy City, only to later reappear in East Tennessee, sans one eyeball. I'm not sure what happened, but maybe he wanted to have some empathy for Tripawds. (Unlikely, since Monkeydogs are all about having no empathy and tolerating no special treatment of Tripawds!) Luckily, after some reconstructive surgery in E.T., he's back on the road, with his pirate scarf over his missing eye.
Even though Rita doesn't live with a Tripawd and therefore doesn't have to compete with one for treats and car rides (translation: pills and trips to the vet), she does sometimes seem to tire of hearing about how great, wonderful, pawesome, beautiful, amazing, etc. her angel Tripawd sister Abby was. So, she was pretty excited to get some mail that was all her very own today.
Even better than a stinky Monkey Me Elmo and his traveling companion, Curious George (or is it Bi-Curious George... They were alone in that box together for a long time...), the box came with MEATBALLS!
"Forget the dolls, give me the meatballs!"
Elmo & George chilling after their journey
"Seriously, I'm outta here. Can someone open this for me??"
"Please give me the meatball!"
"I NEED it! I need it NOW!"
Yup, this Tour is All About the Ears for Monkeybutt Bunnies.
"Yes, I'll wear the ears. Just give me another one of those."
"Um, a little help here!"
Stay tuned for more of Elmo's adventures in San Diego!
In other book-related news... The print version of What the Dog Ate is progressing! I spent the last two days obsessing about fonts (for the text, the title page, even for the page numbers!), but I think the formatting is all set and ready to rock and roll. So, on to the next step - submitting to Amazon's CreateSpace print on demand service and making sure it looks okay. I'll keep you posted!
Also, thanks to everyone who voiced/typed/posted their opinion on which "author shot" I should use on the back cover of the book. The winner, by far, was the black and white of Rita and me together, so I sent it off today to the book cover designer!
Finally, I got interviewed on the Manga Maniac Cafe blog the other day. My favorite question was "What are three things Kona would never eat?" You can check the link if you want to know the answer!
But Abby had other ideas. She put many little signs in front of me all day yesterday!
