Sunday, November 15, 2009

New Bed

It took a lot of hint-dropping before they got the message, but I finally convinced my humans to get me a proper bed for my new spot.
New Bed

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Home... Again

Last week I moved house for the eighth time.

I actually moved a week ago Wednesday, and Laura came with me, but then she had to go back to our old house as she still had more moving to do. (It takes humans longer to move house than puppy dogs. I don't know why. It even takes Laura longer -- though she has moved house 44 times now. You'd think she would be faster at it by now, but she isn't.)

Laura was gone for three more days to finish moving. (Plus, I think she went to a party at that place where they don't allow puppy dogs.) I was sad when she went back to our old house without me, but I knew she would not be gone for long because all of our stuff was already in our new home.

I am glad that we left Guelph. My friends hardly ever came to visit me there, and that made me sad. Plus, my friend Janet (my best friend in Guelph) who used to live next door to us moved away at the end of July, and then we got new neighbours who were noisy. The new neighbours had loud parties that made our walls throb and they smoked on our front lawn and they never gave me any cookies. I didn't like them very much.

Now, where Laura and I are living, I have a big yard to go exploring in, and friends come to visit me every day. Life is much better here.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Fly Catching

I learned something new today.

Those of you who know me know how much I like to be helpful. I especially like helping my friend Laura. Well, one of the things that I do to help Laura is that I catch flies for her. When Laura is working, I don't want those flies to bother her. They are not supposed to come in our house, so when they do, I catch them and I eat them. Well...

Today Laura was making me my dinner, and a big nasty fly came into our kitchen. I did not want that fly to bother Laura while she was getting my dinner ready, so I chased after it and I caught it... and it bit me back!

Flies are not supposed to do that. They just buzz around and annoy people until I catch them and eat them. But not this fly. This fly hurt my mouth so much I had to spit it out. There it lay on the kitchen floor on its back, kicking its feet in the air. Laughing at me.

Laura was really mad. She was so mad at that fly, she took one of my candy jars and she smashed it into the fly. She smashed it and she smashed it and she ground that fly into the linoleum so it wasn't laughing anymore and it could never bite me again. Then she scraped up that nasty fly and threw it in the garbage.

Note to self: Next time, leave the yellow and black striped flies for Laura to deal with.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Garden Guard

Garden Guard


This is a picture of me on guard duty. I am guarding our back patio garden from rodent invaders.

Last night while I was sleeping, a dastardly squirrel infiltrated our garden and stole several jalapeño peppers and one crimson hot pepper. He chewed right through the crimson hot too, leaving only a small bit of flesh behind. I hope that squirrel's insides are a burning!

As you can see in the window beside me, we have to keep most of our plants inside to protect them from the squirrels,

Herb Garden


but Laura figured hot peppers, of all things, would be safe outside. I guess the rodents in these parts are made of stronger metal than we'd given them credit for.

That plant you can see down in front (in the top picture) in its own pot is a habañero.

Habanero


It doesn't have any fruit on it yet, but Laura says to give it a few more weeks. Then we'll see if those dastardly squirrels dare do battle with our habañero.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Lost in Translation

Laura is always telling me how smart I am -- and I think she's right. I am smart. I know this because I know a lot of human words. For instance:

I know what "breakfast time" means.

TRANSLATION: Jump on the bed and rub your face in the blankets, and if your human doesn't get the hint, stick your bum up in the air real high. (It's important to start your day with a good bum massage when you are a princess.)

And I know what "dinner time" means.

TRANSLATION: Do the happy dance:

Doing the Happy Dance


then run into the kitchen real fast before your human gets distracted with something else:

Dinner Time!


(Humans have short attention spans. You do not want to let them get side-tracked with email or some other computer thing when it is dinner time.)

I know what "come here" means.

TRANSLATION: Crack one eye open just a sliver to see if the prize being offered is worth the effort:

peeking through just a slit


And I know what "let's go for a walk" means.

TRANSLATION: Run away and hide!

towel games


I even understand "it's not time yet, Princess Kendal."

TRANSLATION: Try harder.

Compare all of that to how poorly Laura understands puppy dog.

Laura is really smart, but sometimes, when I tell her it is dinner time, she fills my water bowl, and when I tell her my water bowl is empty, she tries to make me go outside in the yard!

Sometimes I let Laura sit on my throne, because I know it makes her feel important to sit there, but when I say to her, "Laura, it's my turn now please,"

It's My Turn Please Laura


she slaps her leg and says, "Come on then," like she thinks I'm going to climb up and sit on top of her lumpy body! Some days I have a devil of a time getting her to move so I can have my throne back.

Me on My Throne


Some nights, when I tell Laura it is bed time, she just says, "Kendal, stop licking me." Then she turns back to her computer. If I persist, she looks at me again and says, "Kendal, I have no idea what you want." After all the time we have been together, Laura still doesn't understand a simple thing like bed time.

So, like I said, I think all of the human vocabulary I have picked up over the years is pretty impressive in comparison.

There's still some human speech that eludes me, however. Sometimes Laura opens her mouth and words come out and I have no idea what she's talking about. I perk up my ears and look right at her.

better listen up


Still no clue.

Now, being a smart Princess, I know some tricks to help me figure out what Laura is saying, even when she uses words I don't know. Watching her body language often gives me clues, especially if she gets up and starts walking about the house.

If Laura walks to the front door, I know to be wary.

which way is she walking?


That's not such a good direction. When Laura walks that way, she's usually going out someplace and telling me how long I'm going to be left home alone -- or worse: Sometimes she wants me to go outside with her.

If Laura walks towards the back of our house, however, I perk up.

food is in that direction!


Food is in that direction!

Laura doesn't always move around when she's talking, however. Sometimes she just sits at her computer and says strange things. When she does this, I tip my head to one side.

Listening


I've seen Laura do this when she is puzzled by something. It's supposed to help you understand things better.

If the held-tipping trick doesn't work, then I squint my eyes and peer at Laura through tiny slits.

Listening


Squinting is supposed to help with understanding too -- but sometimes it just makes me fall asleep!

Listening


For all of my smarts, however, there are still times when all of the head-tipping, eye-squinting, and paying-attention-to-body-language in the world doesn't help me. Like when I give Laura my very best "I'm so cute you cannot possibly deny me," grin:

I'm So Cute


and she just smiles and says, "Princess Kendal, I admire your perseverance."

What does that mean?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Hunting for Satellites

Last night Laura said she was going out to look for the International Space Station. Then she went out our back door.

I wasn't really sure what an International Space Station was, and usually, when Laura goes out the back door, she doesn't go very far. She just goes to look at the plants in our backyard. They're mostly plants that produce spicy food. And I like food. But princesses aren't supposed to do their own gardening, so usually I just help Laura by sitting in the kitchen and keeping watch.

But last night, Laura walked right past our plants. She opened the gate, and she walked out of the yard and far away! I decided maybe I'd better not let Laura be that far away all by herself, so I went outside to help her.

It was dark outside, and I can't see very well in the dark -- but I can still smell things! Laura has better night vision than me, but I have a more sensitive sniffer. I still wasn't sure what we were looking for, but I figured anything that was so interesting it would entice Laura away from her computer to go and look for it must smell pretty good. So I put my nose to the ground and started sniffing for that space station.

But Laura said, "Come here Princess Kendal. Come and sit by me." Then she just lay down on the grass.

Well, I'm good at lying down too -- buy I like to lie down on my nice comfy bed, not on hard, prickly grass. This seemed like a funny way to go looking for something (whatever it was), but humans do get funny ideas sometimes. Sometimes Laura's funny ideas mean I have to do stuff that's hard, like walk really far, but so far nothing really bad has come of her ideas, so I decided to just go with the flow and lie down beside her.

I had almost found a spot that was semi-comfortable when Laura said, "There it is!" Then she jumped up and started walking across the grass, following this bright light in the sky.

Turns out that's what the International Space Station is. It's just this little light that flies across the sky. You can't smell it, and you certainly can't eat it!

"There's people up there," said Laura. "People from all over the world. There's a Canadian guy up there right now. They fly the whole way around the world in an hour and a half. Isn't that cool?"

I'm not really sure how big the world is. I'm just a puppy dog. I've never been outside of Ontario. But I know it takes more than an hour and a half just to get to my Mum and Dad's house -- and that's driving in a motor car. Motor cars are already pretty fast. So, if those space station people are going further than my Mum and Dad's house in only an hour and a half, they must be going super fast. I think that's more scary than cool. (But humans have these funny ideas, like I said.)

Then Laura started running. Running. After a light in the sky.

"Come on Princess Kendal," she said. She wanted to get someplace where we could see the space station disappear over the eastern horizon.

I tried to run as fast as I could, but my legs are little, and there's lots of tall buildings and trees where we live. We ran all the way around to the front of our house, but the space station still disappeared behind the next row of houses long before it ever got near the horizon. Then Laura and I had to walk all the way around back to our back door, because the front door was locked, and Laura hadn't brought a key.

After that, I got to sleep for almost and hour and a half before I had to follow Laura outside to look for that space station again.

This time, the grass wasn't just hard and prickly, it was cold and wet too! I love Laura, but she's not royalty like me. She has no appreciation for the finer comforts of life. At least she didn't try to make me run after the space station the second time. We just watched it disappear behind the houses to the north of us, then we went back inside...

... and Laura went straight to get my lead.

"Let's go for a walk, Princess Kendal," she said.

Hey. Wait a minute. I'd gone outside with Laura two times already that day. I got off my nice day bed to go walking in the cold wet grass to look for something that turned out not to be food. And now Laura wanted me to go for a walk too? Hmph!

Well, there's a game I play with Laura when she wants me to go for a walk with her and I don't want to go. I run away!

Running away works better in my Mum and Dad's house, because it's bigger, and there's more things to run around there. At my and Laura's house, there's only the coffee table and the dining room table -- and there's no use running into the kitchen or the bathroom at all. There's no escape from those rooms, so Laura always catches me if I go there. In our big party room though, I can evade Laura for longer.

Dining room tables are especially good for running away from people who are taller than you. Laura has great big long legs, which help her to run really fast out in the open, but my short little legs are faster for running underneath tables. So I run around and around the table, and make Laura chase me. Then, when she gets close, I run under the table and get away from her again!

I keep hoping that if I make Laura chase me for long enough, she will get tired and give up.

So far, that hasn't happened.
I Don't Want to Go for a Walk!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Helping to Put the Groceries Away

Lately my big tub of kibble has been looking pretty empty. Every night Laura had to reach down further and further into it to get me my dinner.

I always get concerned when that happens. What would happen if we ran out? Princesses have sensitive stomachs. I cannot eat just anything.

Then, on Wednesday, Laura said she was going out shopping. "Don't worry, Princess Kendal," she said. "I'll be back as soon as I can, and maybe I'll bring something nice for you."

Well, Laura was gone for a long time. And when she came back home, the shopping cart was full, and her knapsack was full, and she had another big bag besides which was also full. Hurrah! More food for me! I followed Laura into the kitchen to help her put away the groceries.

Laura produced fruit and vegetables and olive oil and bread out of her knapsack. Then out of the other bag, she produced boxes, which she put in the freezer. Then she started to unpack the shopping cart. There was a big bag of soil in it, and two plants (we already had enough of those!) and a scary-looking thing that water comes out of when you tip it. (Fortunately, Laura likes to tip the water-thingy over the plants and not over me!) But there was no food for Princess Kendal. I put my nose inside the shopping cart, just to make sure, but there was nothing there. Nothing at all.

No One Will Play With Me


Where was my kibble?

That night, Laura had to reach down so far inside my kibble tub to find me my dinner, her head almost disappeared inside it! This was not good.

On Thursday, Laura went out with the shopping cart again. I figured she couldn't possibly be going to fetch any more plants, because we didn't have any more space in which to put them (except maybe my empty kibble tub) and we didn't need any more soil (all of the plant pots were full of that already) and Laura's food cupboards were all full too. Surely, this expedition had to be to find some food for me.

And I was right! Laura came back home with the shopping cart full of a big bag of Princess Kendal kibble!

That bag was so big, Laura couldn't get it out of the shopping cart, so she had to cut the top off in the cart and scoop out the kibble into my big kibble tub.

Well, that kibble tub was mighty empty when Laura first started on filling it, as I've said. But the new bag of kibble she brought home was really big. I watched the kibble tub get fuller and fuller.

Oh oh!  The tub is almost full!


What would happen if there wasn't room in my kibble tub for all of that food? We have to be tidy and put everything away in its proper place, and I didn't know where Laura could put my nice kibble if it wouldn't all fit in the tub.

So I decided I'd better help Laura by making sure there was room.

I'd better help!


I like to be helpful.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Camping In

Last night, Laura was working on her computer, too late as usual, so I reminded her it was time to go to bed.

Laura said, "You're right, Princess Kendal." Then she turned off her computer and turned out the lights and lay down on the sofa.

That's not right, I thought, so I reminded Laura again, as gently as I could, that it was time to go to bed.

Laura mumbled something about it being too hot. Then she rolled over and went to sleep.

This was not working out as I had planned. Laura was correct about it being hot, however. And it is a long flight of stairs up to our bed. Sometimes Laura needs to rest to recover her energy to carry me up all those stairs. I figured that was what Laura meant, so I lay down to wait while Laura had her nap.

Three hours later, Laura was still sleeping. That is a long nap! When I tried to remind her again about going up to bed, however, she didn't even move.

Well, I am a princess. I cannot just sleep on the floor! But Laura hadn't flattened out the sofa before she fell asleep on it. It was still folded in half, which meant there wasn't very much room with Laura already stretched out on it.

Finally, I found a spot where there was room for me to jump up by Laura's feet. It wasn't a very big spot, but I was able to use Laura's feet as a pillow, which was pretty comfy.

In the morning, I decided the sofa wasn't such a bad place to sleep. It was just like camping really, where you have to sleep someplace strange, only without the bugs and the scary fire. Plus, when we woke up, I didn't have to go downstairs to get my breakfast because I already was downstairs! I liked that part the best.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

What If...?

Last night, Laura was playing a game of "What If...?" in which she was brainstorming ideas for some stories she might like to write. I always like to try to help Laura, so I decided I would play too.

I didn't come up with as many ideas as Laura, but I had one that I thought was pretty good. How about this:

What if everybody knew that I am a Princess?


What do you think?

I think that could be a good story. Think about it:

1. If everyone knew that I am a Princess, I wouldn't have to be bored anymore when Laura is working on her computer, because I would always have people to play with me. Everybody wants to be in the presence of royalty, so my loyal subjects would be lining up every day to visit me, and they would all want to stroke my ears, rub my tummy, and give me nice bum massages.

2. If everyone knew that I am a Princess, I wouldn't have to stay behind when Laura goes out, because nobody would dare to say that a Princess couldn't come into their house.

3. If everyone knew that I am a Princess, I wouldn't have to walk anywhere anymore. Every time Laura wanted to go for a walk, my loyal subjects would build a chariot for me and they would carry me in it, so I could be with Laura on her walks and still sleep.

That's a story I would like to read.

When I told Laura about it, however, she said, "Thank you, Princess Kendal" in that way people do when they're being polite but they're not really going to use your idea.

Hmph!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Night Patrol

Usually when Laura is in the bathroom, I like to rest on our bed. I know it's my job to be with Laura and look after her and protect her from bad people, but sometimes even a Princess needs a break. Our bathroom is in the middle of our house, so I figure Laura is safe in there.

Last night, however, while Laura was having her bath, I heard scary noises. There were explosions going off outside. Lots of them. Sometimes a whole bunch of little ones in quick succession and sometimes really loud ones.

I ran into the bathroom as quickly as I could to make sure Laura was okay, and I sat right beside her while she had her bath to keep her safe and help her not to be frightened.

A Guard Dog's Work is Never Done!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

House Rules

One thing I don't like about visiting is that some people have funny house rules.

Like at my Mum and Dad's house: They have a really big room with all sorts of comfy furniture in it -- but they only let humans sit on the furniture! What is up with that? Also, my Mum keeps most of the beds in secret rooms behind closed doors. Only my Dad lets me go in his bedroom, but his bed is really tall, and I cannot jump that high.

There is one room, however, in which Laura and I usually stay when we visit. That room is supposed to have my bed in it. But ever since Laura moved our big red bed to our new home, it's been hard to find a place to sleep in my Mum and Dad's house, even in our old room.

Not Much Room

Hmph! Laura didn't leave much room up here for me. I don't know why all of her bags need to be on this sofa.

I Did It!

Hah! I made a spot for me!

DontTell

Shh! Don't tell anyone I'm up here!

Someone's Coming

Uh-oh. Someone's coming.

Feigning Sleep

If I pretend to be asleep, maybe they won't make me get down.

Visiting

Laura brought a car home this week and we used it to go and visit my Mum and Dad. I like to visit them and all of my other friends who come 'round to see me at their house like Melissa and Leanne.

Laura took me to visit my friends Barb and Trevor too, which I guess was okay. (Barb poked me in the bum and then she stuck my arm with a needle, but afterwards she gave me a pretty red bracelet, so I decided to forgive her.)

Sometimes when I am at my Mum & Dad's house my friend Claire comes to visit me -- but she didn't come this time. I was sad about that. Claire didn't come to my birthday party either. I haven't seen her in a long time and I miss her.

Safe Inside


Maybe I can help Laura to find another reason to have a party, and then Claire could come to it.

Friday, March 20, 2009

It's BEDTIME, Laura!

Last night Laura didn't go to bed until 10:15 this morning!

Now, before you go on saying, "Princess Kendal, that doesn't make any sense," -- I know!

I know it doesn't make sense. That's my point! Bedtime is supposed to be at bedtime, not after breakfast the next day.

I know when it's bedtime, and I try to tell Laura, but sometimes she gets so busy, she doesn't pay attention.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Inspiration

This afternoon Laura and I were out walking when we saw another dog out for a walk with his human. That other dog was so tired, he had lain down on the sidewalk. Sprawled flat out on his side, he was, too tired to go one more step.

When the other dog heard us coming, however, he lifted his head. Then, when he saw me, he got so excited, he sprang right back up onto his feet again! I said "hello" to him and checked him out to make sure he was okay. Then he was ready to continue on with his walk.

Laura says it is good to be such an inspiration to others.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Towel Games

Towel games are the most fun to play!
Here is how you play them:

First, your human gets the towel and she has to try to throw the towel on top of you.
Your job is to jump out of the way and to grab the towel in your mouth.
If your human succeeds in getting the towel onto you, you have to find a way to get it off. Then you grab the towel and run away, and your human has to chase you!

Towel Games

Sometimes I let Laura think she is winning the towel game.
(It is important to let your human believe this every now and again. You don't want her to get discouraged and stop playing with you!)

Towel Game Victor

Then I take the towel and run and jump onto the futon.
If I can get the towel away from Laura and get onto the futon with it, I win!

Back in the olden days, Laura only used to play towel games with me if I went outside in the rain or the snow or the mud first. Slowly, however, I have been training her to play towel games every time I come back in from being outside. (Why should we miss out on such a fun game, just because the ground is dry and the sun is shining?)

Laura has been getting pretty good at remembering to play towel games with me every time, but sometimes she still forgets, and I have to remind her. This gave me an idea:

Since Laura sometimes forgets about our towel game, maybe I could convince her that she had even forgotten that I'd been outside! I don't always like going outside because it has been cold outside lately, and there is a big step down into our backyard that's scary for a little puppy like me, and the top step even sinks when you step on it -- and that's super scary! I love to play towel games with Laura though, so I tried this:

First I got Laura's attention and got her to open the patio door for me.
Then I waited in the kitchen for a couple of minutes.
Then, once Laura had closed the door again, I ran over to my towel and tried to get Laura to pull it down off its railing.

It didn't work though.
Laura remembered that I hadn't really been outside.

Drat.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

You Put Your Left Foot In...

Dancing Princess
Laura and I have a big dance hall in our home in which we like to dance and do yoga.

I'm Ready
I especially like to do yoga.

Yoga Is Easy!
Yoga is easy!

Pig Yoga
Even Piggy likes to do yoga.
Here he is practising his nose stand.
(I am spotting him to make sure he doesn't fall.)

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

All of my beautiful snow is gone again.

I had fun in it while it lasted though:


Snow Angel
I love to make snow angels!

December 2008 Snowfall
It smells like my neighbour Sierra buried something good back here.

December 2008 Snowfall
I wonder what it could be.

December 2008 Snowfall
I'll find that treasure yet!

Dogbogganing
Dogbogganing!

It's Best to Lead with Your Nose
It's best to lead with your nose.

Fun in the Snow

Mud!

Mud!


Laura and I went exploring in our favourite park on Sunday. As you can see, it was a little muddy.

I don't mind getting muddy so much, because it means that, once we get back home, Laura will have to spend a long time playing towel games with me. I love to play games with my towel! It is my favourite toy of all!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Me and Claire

Best Friends


This is a picture of me and my friend Claire.
See. She really does love me.

This is how it's supposed to be when Laura hosts a party:
Laura cooks food and entertains the other guests, but I get to sit with Claire!

Kendal & Claire

Sniff

Claire didn't come to my party.

I tried not to be angry because Laura said it wasn't Claire's fault.
She said it wasn't even Loretta's fault.
(Sometimes that Loretta comes to visit Laura and she doesn't bring Claire with her and then I do get mad because Loretta knows that I love Claire and she is supposed to bring her to visit me!)
But Laura said Loretta tried to bring Claire to our party, and they didn't make it because there was too much snow.

I don't really understand that.
Snow is fun.
More snow equals more fun.
Sometimes there is so much snow, the snow is taller than I am! But I still go out exploring in it.
Laura says it is different when you are driving a car though. She says snow isn't very much fun then.

Anyhow... I tried not to be angry, because you shouldn't be angry at people unless they really deserve it.
And I tried not to be sad.

But I was sad.

I really love Claire and I miss her and Laura promised Claire would come to our party and then she didn't.

No One Will Play With Me


It is hard to live so far away from your friends.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday Princess Kendal!
Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday!
I am eleven years old!
(Laura says that is a very good age.)

Laura is making me my very favourite cookies for my birthday because she loves me! Also today I got to play in the snow, and then when I came inside Laura played fun towel games with me and then I got to sit on her lap. And I didn't have to go to the puppy park today! Yay! I am a big girl now so I don't have to play with those ankle-biters anymore!

Tomorrow we are having a big party to celebrate my birthday.
(Well. Okay. It is Laura's Rainbow Day party. But I was born in Canada so I think that makes my birthday my Rainbow Day. So tomorrow's party is really for me too.)
My friends Alex and Jennifer are coming and my best friend Claire too! I can hardly wait!