Ruby Tuesday

Ruby is a beauty. You can click on that picture and see the amazing patterns in her coat. It’s lovely. You can also look close at a new flaw . . . Ruby has discovered a hard learned truth. BBQs are hot. Very hot. They can burn you.

My old dog Rosie had exactly the same mark on her nose.  (Wasn’t Rosie a beauty?  Sigh.  I should do a post on my labs someday.  I miss that old girl!)

It’s a little harder to see, but it’s there.  That’s why I’m so sure what happened to Ruby.  When Greg was bbqing steaks on his new grill a week ago or so, Ruby decided it smelled too good to ignore.  And, she sniffed at it and burned her nose.

The pigment will never come back.  She’ll always have that pinkish spot on her nose.  Sigh.  If I were a dog showing person still, I’d use a black sharpie on it to make it look black for the dog show ring again.  As it is, I’ll just sigh when I see it.  Poor Ruby’s nose.

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Ruby Tuesday — The Craft Edition

Ruby firmly believes that she would be a remarkable crafter if only I’d give her the chance. Cat-like, she wants to jump in your lap and help you knit or crochet or glue buttons down to a wreath with hot melt glue. Poor silly girl . . . that whole no thumbs thing really gets in the way.

This is also a sneaky way for me to write about my crafting on Ruby Tuesday. Ruby and I consulted and decided that my “tangerine dream” was an ugly orange nightmare. Soooooooo, I moved on to bigger and better things. Above is the knitting that I did with some amazing alpaca yarn. Totally yummy! Alpaca yarn is amazingly soft and easy to work with. Everything that Julie Zickefoose has been saying about Alpacas must be true!  I am utterly in love with alpaca fiber.

But then, we had Crafty Chix on Saturday and I learned how to crochet.   And, I was — if you’ll pardon the pun — hooked!  I am seriously thinking about ripping out the knitting and crocheting it instead.  And, that is even though my scarf did not turn out — although, I think it’s still wearable.  I’m thinking about ripping it out too and starting over but I’m not sure I can really do that — it was a lot of work!  We’ll see — I would really like it to lie flat the way it’s supposed to.  Decisions, decisions!

This was a big home improvement project this weekend (hmmm, note to self, get out the shop vac and clean up that debris!).  Greg put in a dog door for Ruby.  It is supposed to be electronic so that Ruby can go in and out but her little squirrel/raccoon/skunky friends can’t decide to follow her in.   So far that is proving a little bit problematic.   We had fun training Ruby to use it and still have to remind her about it but it has greatly cut down on my door monitoring hours.  Yay!  You can’t tell but it’s in my laundry room (the most awkward room known to womankind).  The way the room is set up, there is a ludicrous angle that we have to sort of ignore.  I’ve always shoved boxes into this corner to at least fill the space with ‘storage’ (aka, out-of-my-sight-clutter).  That’s going to have to change now because I’m already tired of moving boxes to make sure the path is clear for Ruby!  🙂 For more on our home improvement projects, go see my house blog.  We got a lot done this weekend!

Ruby Tuesday — Christmas Wishes

My wish for all of you is that you have a

joyous Christmas filled with happiness and love.

Ruby, on the other paw, wishes for a torment-free Christmas.

A Christmas without sweaters. Without hats.

A Christmas without cookies on your head.

Ruby wishes this for the whole world, but mostly, she wishes it for herself.

Ruby Tuesday — Oh, the baleful looks

Sunday, we started out on a journey that led us farther afield than we intended. We started off just going to get dog food and batteries for the smoke detectors. But, then Ruthie got the mail and there was check for Greg so we figured we had to head off and get that into the bank and oh we really need socks for the kids as it takes forever for them to find socks in the morning and then on the way, we realized that we had told the kids that we’d see The Bee Movie. Only, oops, we had Ruby with us.

No worries, we’ll take her to my mother-in-law’s. She’ll be safe there even though my mother-in-law is out of town. No worries. So, we take her and drop her off. We barricade her in the little front entry way because the yard isn’t secure and Ruby will leave the yard when the opportunity arises. Thankfully she’s not a roamer — she doesn’t go farther than the carport and its a very quiet street — much better than leaving her in the car on an 80 degree day so, off we go to the movie.

(It was delightful, by the way, if a bit off on the science of pollination.)

And, then we returned to get Ruby. I wondered if she would still be in the yard waiting for us as she is a wily creature. Well, we rounded the corner and there she was, waiting in the carport. She saw our car and started running towards us. I stopped the car, Ruthie opened her door, and a frantic Ruby jumped in. She licked both kids and then jumped into Greg’s lap in the front (not something we normally allow). But, she was frantic. Worried and feeling much put upon by life. As we drove home, she recovered enough to start giving baleful looks. Not to the kids. Not to Greg. To me.

There are those who believe in psychic communication between dogs and people. I won’t say that I believe in it. I also won’t say that I disbelieve. I’ve had a few moments when I’d have clear communication from my pets. But none so clear as the communication I got from Ruby on that drive home. She was ticked and ticked at me. No doubt, it was my fault that she’d been left behind. I explained that she would have been miserable and much too hot in the car waiting for us but she wasn’t buying it. Greg didn’t help — he assured her that he wasn’t to blame — it was all my fault. She lapped it up and gave him delicate kisses on his cheek. Then returned to baleful looks at me.

Never fear though. Ruby isn’t one of those sucky grudge holders — she forgave me and curled up and had a lovely nap with me later in the afternoon. She snuggled into my bed and let me rub her belly. She forgave me and clearly needed some quiet healing time with Mom. What an adventure she had.

And, yes, I bribed her with a new toy when we got to the Feed Store. I’m not a complete fool. There was no arguing with her! I was wrong and I knew it. She has a new pink fluffy teddy bear to prove it. But, I’m forgiven and that’s all that matters on a Ruby Tuesday.

A brief view of Halloween 2007

 

Ruby Tuesday

“You must love me. I am sweet and innocent. I would never dig in your plants. No more would I pull things out of the garbage or pee on the rug in the bathroom. I am all that is good. Surely you can see that.”

 

This is, to me, the essence of Ruby — a clear, intelligent look. Ready for anything.

 

“Enough, already — Quit taking my picture. Can’t we just play?”