girl at large

someone has a crush

kisses! Miss Ruby has really taken to Ryan...a new and currently still-willing victim for her licking obsession and spinning/dancing/leaping displays of affection...

tease me all you like, but don't mess with my dog...

Dog Camp is not for losers! i'm looking forward to going sometime when Ruby and i are stateside again next year, no matter what Ryan says! at least it's not Manners Camp. or maybe it is..Manners for Dogs anyway. geez, maybe i do need another hobby. or a job. or a boyfriend. or all of the above. come on Ruby, time for our walk...

mistaken identity, again

something always gets lost in the translation when frenchie folks ask about Ruby---i speak french to them, english to her of course ("Elle ne parle pas francais." always gets a smile)..and after a few affectionate pats they leave believing her name is either 'Heel' or in today's example 'Sit'...

doggy-doppelganger

Derek and Chewy, 7.5" x 7.5" oil on panel by Leslie Enders Lee, 2000 Ryan and Ruby, 2002 my newest copy of Bark magazine arrived today--i'm in doggy heaven. ugh, horrible pun. but look at this! a painting by Leslie Enders Lee so like this snap of Ryan and Ruby napping back in December of 2002.

sloppy kisses

Miss Ruby--what other Valentine's Day kisses could a girl want? i adopted her two years ago this week. Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, shame I have to pick up my Valentine's Poo.

she's so popular

i got scolded again today for not bringing Miss Ruby with me to the Tabac. i scored smiles and laughs (so rare!) when i said, in french, that she's trying to quit! yeah me.

chien billet

as if it isn't hassle enough to get fearful Miss Ruby on and off the train--today i got stopped for not having a ticket for her! i use the machines to buy my tickets, but of course the machines don't issue dog tickets. so, i missed the earlier train to stand in line to BUY A TICKET FOR THE DOG. "01chien"=1.30 euro. for a ten minute ride, standing up the both of us. i don't mind, it's fair really and i'm happy that i'm allowed to take her on at all--what i don't get is that i've walked by the same ticket inspectors four times a week with the same dog and the same one PERSON ticket for the last four months without a word. a beaurocrat must have recently decided that all this free dog-travel must stop! imagine. after some online research, i see that she needs a ticket (though why randomly Messieurdames Ticket Inspectors?) because she is over 6kilos (13lbs). hmm--diet time!

the fast train, ferocious dogs and finger food

Miss Ruby is afraid of the trains, in fact she fears the entire train experience--the train station, getting on and off the train, watching the high-speed train bullet by, riding the slower regional train, even the loudspeaker announcements through her off-balance. going back and forth from Cannes to Antibes by train is still a snap--provided i pick her up and carry her and don't mind de-furring my clothes upon arrival. the other night, she was showing marked improvement--walking into the station herself, though haultingly. as we turned the corner on to the platform, she froze. a few yards away was the most terrifying looking dog we've ever seen. it was a giant pitbull-rotweiler-albino-demon cross, complete with intimidating chain, muzzle and security officers. Ruby understandably hit the pavement, trembling. first the train, now this! one security officer was amused--"Regardez--l'aperitif!" he said to the drooling beast. speaking of aperitives, amuse-bouches, appetizers---i'm amused myself to know the french use so many ways of saying hors d'oeurves, without ever once in my experience using the word hors d'oeurves. (though to be accurate, l'aperitif is usually a starter drink, not a food...wonder why he choose that word? or maybe i misheard..wouldn't be the first time).

my own personal Discovery Channel

Miss Jack the cat went on heat yesterday..not fun. Miss Ruby seems to think she can do the duty. great--i have a cross-species lesbian dog. did i mention she's fixed? good grief.

motoring to Menton

Christmas Day, sunny, in Menton Mom and Bert sailed (motored) to Menton for lunch with Aunt Peg and Uncle Natale...Ruby and i took the warmer (though slower!) train over.

holiday spirit, French style

i was walking Ruby out along the ramparts the other day in Antibes, though there was a nip in the air the sun was out, when i paused to let Miss Ruby do her sniffing thing. From behind me came a person on a bicycle--you can sense these things--always fond of bicyclists (next painting subject maybe?) i turned to get a better look. this is what i saw: an older lady, probably over 60 with that blonde-white hair all French ladies of a certain age seem to have, wearing a bright red wool coat--the kind with princess puff sleeves, a nipped in waist with brass buttons and a big swirl of a drop to the ankles--this volume of red fabric was caught up in the wind behind her. Her bike was an old-school type with big white wall tires, cruising handlebars and wicker baskets front and rear. and in the back basket? wrapped Christmas presents and a bunch of evergreens. did i just see Madame St. Nick?!? of all times not to have my camera. a few days previous, again in Antibes, i was walking through the square--now complete with Christmas train ride for the kiddies and various vendors selling various kitsch--and noticed a rather tall, thin man selling animal shaped mylar balloons. he'd made an attempt to dress festively, but i must say it was the worst Santa costume i've ever seen--too short for his long arms and legs, he was much in need of padding for that 'jolly fat' look and he'd given up on the cottonball beard by just letting it hang down round his neck on his chest. just when i was thinking this was amusing enough-- a little boy, 3 or 4 years old, spotted "Santa", pointed, smiled and exclaimed "Ho! Ho! Ho!". only this kid was French so it came out "Heau! Heau! Heau!" i had to struggle to keep from laughing out loud, you should have been there, it was so funny.

my favorites!

homemade German Chocolate Birthday Cake from Mom (and a lovely chocolate brown leather handbag, not pictured because it's lost somewhere under the mountain that is our coat tree)! a gooorgeous ring from Miss Maria! a Guide to French Cheeses book from Miss Liz! kisses from Miss Ruby! what more could a girl want?!

doggy daycare

Miss Ruby is in creche (with Miss Jill) today...on my way to pick her up, wonder what kind of trouble she got into... i stayed out of trouble today--just a little digging around in pottery group. good stuff.

Thanksgiving shindig

sweet potatoes...gone.

sunset sailing

what am i thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend? one word: DRAMAMINE.

momma got me a brand-new bag

Mom misses me! i didn't see her at all this week, nary a phone call as she pointed out..in an effort to force myself to adjust to Cannes, to get out there and find things to love about it like i did in Antibes. and it was successful..i've been out and about much more this week and am liking this new town more each day. but, moms will be moms (or more accurately, my mom will never pass up a chance to visit the casino), so she popped over this afternoon after the afore-mentioned rugby match to spend the afternoon with me and Liz. a great lunch (it was warm and sunny enough to eat outside!), some shopping, a quick stop at the slots, and a coffee chat with Duncan 'round the kitchen table. i scored a new purse for my growing continental collection as an early birthday gift and we discovered Cannes' answer to the 'hardware-kitchensink-everything-you-didn't-know-you-needed' store just around the corner. oh, and we payed through the nose (Monsieur Fluff 'n' Fold is cute, but 9 euros?!) to have Duncan's sheets washed and dried at the laundrette (no machine in the apt.) after Miss Ruby had an 'accident' last night. i think she was trying to tell me and Liz that she wasn't happy about being left out of girls night.

do not attempt to carry home large canvases accompanied by hyperactive terrier; two blocks will suddenly feel like ten

neglected to mention, that whilst pining for boy, am not entirely useless..have started work on large format series...continued studies today, preping canvases tomorrow--four to five pieces, each 4 ft. by 5ft, inspired by that gray-silver-green mossy business going on in Savannah. can you believe that? here i am, in one of the most overly-painted, classically idylic locales and i'm painting images of Georgia? go figure.

awww

mom called me tonight. i think she misses me. maybe almost as much as she does the dog.

closer

Jack and Ruby made progress by napping on the same bed yesterday. they did the same last night, sleeping on my bed this time...a purring cat to my right, a sighing dog to my left. and me with no place to turn. hmm, is this truly progress?

no fur flying so far

Miss Jack the cat is winning the battle at Chez Dom et Dale...she thinks she is a person of course. and now Ruby thinks maybe she might be a cat...she keeps jumping up on counters and table tops cat-style. i nearly lost it laughing when she scrambled up and tried to walk on the edge of the bathtub only to go sliding down in and give herself a good scare. Erin and baby Sam arrive early tomorrow afternoon. another number 200 bus ride..yeah me.

on la route again

think driving in France is scary?!? (home of the roundabout, 13 year olds on scooters, mad motorbike drivers, indicator ignorance, guerrilla-style parking and delivery vans with a license to demolish). try doing it in a circa '72-'73 Mini Cooper!!!! the last thing i used that had a 'choke' was a lawnmower, and that was fifteen years ago. but, no worries, only my nerves are shot. one more trip for a box of painting supplies or two and i can park her for awhile. though..it is awfully nice to have wheels again... Miss Jack the cat jumped up on my lap this afternoon. i think we're going to get on just fine. Miss Ruby seems a bit jealous already.

siesta avec la chienne

Mom and Ruby take their afternoon nap together everyday...and are so accustomed to each other that they've begun to mirror their sleeping positions. when i'm trying to sneak through the bedroom to the balcony the scene is cute, though a bit creepy. and yes, that is a tattoo.

did we pay any attention to the actual boat?

Bert is happy as a clam today..loaded down with leftovers from last evening's little shindig at the boat (on the dock). Mom and i are loaded down with a bit of a hangover, quelle surprise. Ruby was the belle of the ball..and is sleeping it off this morning, tail still wagging. i hope Peg doesn't think our life is all canapes and corkscrews..oh, wait a minute..it is!

i'm gonna have to wear a sign or something

Ruby and i enjoyed our regular stroll up to Fort Carre this afternoon. the weather is beautiful, the old town is less congested--September has been a big improvement over August. only some people seem to think i'm a lingering tourist: a little french boy saw me with my camera, pointed at me and said to his parents "That tourist brought her dog". thanks alot kid. that's 'artiste', not 'touriste'. is it a good thing or a bad thing that i'm begining to really understand what the frenchies are saying?

dogs and kids

a little French girl shreeked and jumped away from Ruby (who was innocently occupied with wee-sniffing anyway) on our walk through the market area today..very unusual, i don't recall any other incident of dog-fear since we've been here...once, in Savannah, a grown 6ft man yelled at me from across the square, some 50 yards away, to "Keep that dog away from me!" um, ok. have you seen her? she's like a 17lb mouse with a waggy tail. speaking of little french girls and Ruby...went round to R's for a doggie playdate and some dinner yesterday and her upstairs landlord's children were around, as usual...if i could put up with their pestering long enough, i'd learn a lot of french from them. i've certainly mastered "no!, don't do that!" "that's not nice!" "leave that alone!" "i told you already, don't!" "no, i don't want my hair done" "don't put your dirty feet on me!" i love it when they tell Ruby to "Sid!"

dog days of summer

mom actually made frozen buillion cups for Ruby today because she read in Reader's Digest (5 euros!) that it's a "cool treat for dogs suffering in summer heat". there are just so many funny things to be said about that. as the record heat continues, we are all suffering. pup-sicle anyone?

Ruby makes a friend, nearly eats it

we had a visitor this morning. don't send me PETA information...i scooped him up on a bit of newspaper and put him safely on the terrace while Ruby was distracted with a pig's ear.

black dog with pink tongue, pink irises, and black-eyed mom

Ruby cuddles up with Napoleon in car for ride home after vigorous (hence panting) morning playdate. Rachael's lovely gigantic flowers. Mom's 'mosquito bite' of a boating injury has blossomed, at day three, into a full blown black eye (to her secret delight).

ruby naps with randomly-tossed sweater

awww, wokatdat...

Ruby buried a treat in R's (Napoleons mum) garden during our play-date yesterday, something i've never seen her do before...holding in her mouth, she dug a little hole, dropped it in and covered it back up using her nose...sounds silly, but it was the cutest damn thing. i'm so pathetically in love with my little doggie woggie. couldn't you just shoot me?