Lily - the reign continues

So today, when MOM and ARI - these humans actually have pet names for each other - went out, MOM left me her handbag to play with. It was very nice of her because usually I am not allowed to riffle through her bag. I found a crunchy writing thing that the humans make marks on paper with. It didn't taste like much but made nice crunchy noises when I bit it into little pieces. There were 2 round balls, that MOM calls naaaaaaarchies. They did not taste good, but I left my teeth imprints in them. Then I found my favourite: a container with a label on. I chewed the label off and then the tin thingy was soft so I chewed it because there was some interesting smell coming out of it: sweets! But I ate a few of these then started to feel funny, like all floaty and things were looking all streeeeetched and wobbly. KYLE and SARAH - the new humans in my house, put on my leash and wanted to go waklies, no... walkies, that thing where you drag them in the forest or they drag you...

The houses were all funny and sideways and the trees were looking at me. So I had to sit down. There was this stringthing around me and it was telling me to lie down but the humans were saying Lily walk. I was confused so I sat down in the middle of the road.

The we were in the forest and the trees were funny colours and they were walking around and talking to each other, so I said I wanted to go home. The humans took off the string thing... it's usually a leassssh but this one was wobbly and twangy...

They carried on walking and left me with the singing trees. Then I had to run and run andrunandrun in circles. The there was a very cheeky dog who laughed at me so much that she fell over so I had to attack her. Her humans looked at me down their veeeeery long noses and had a cross look. Although I couldn't see too well, because one of my eyes decided to look over theeere.

K & S (my new humans) were also cross and they took me home. MOM and ARI were laughing at me too, I think so but they were standing on the walls loooooking at me. MOM said something about phoning the vet because I seemed to be 'high' on 'Strepsils' - I think they were talking about the sweets I ate...

I have to sleeeeeeep now....

Diary of Lily (Mistress [I am a girl] of the world as she knows it)

So today, my humans go out and leave me (BOC took me for a walk this morning!?). They tried their 'clever' trick of distracting me with a meat-filled Kong... which worked: I was distracted and eating the yummiful treat when I realised I was alone! I spent the time occupying myself... with sleeping in my nest.

My humans arrived back in the middle of my dream where I was chasing the hairy dogs with needle teeth who stare at me and make strange noises which sound like they have been caught in some machinery (kind of a iaaoouuww sound)... you know the dogs I mean? Anyway, my humans come in and GOF tells me it walkies time (again?! I am not complaining). So we go out. Back over the scary bridge: so many smells there! And she took me down the same path where BOC took me this morning, where I didn't want to go again! 'IT' is lying amongst those leaves and plants, I can smell 'IT' - I can feel 'IT', waiting and calling and 'IT' scares me! Humans don't understand anything about the otherworld! GOF drags me along anyway. She keeps making me pull her: so tiring. She says "heel" and then expects me to drag her along. When will she learn! Sometimes she gives me a treat when she says "heel" and I slow down to see what she wants. Training humans is really hard work!

We get back home, and GOF goes upstairs. I was going to follow her, but then I smelled this wonderful smell. I jumped up on the couch (because I can!) and there it was. Coming from GOF's bag. I had to open the bag with my teeth, just enough to get my snout in. Hmmm. A little packet of yummy, tongue-licking, soft meaty stuff. Except it wasn't at all like meat. It was sweet and sandy. I ate and ate and ate. Then GOF called me. But I was loving the sweet sandy meat too much. I just kept eating. GOF took my sweet sandy meat away! And said I was going to be SIK (?!) She said "who eats FOUR pieces of fudj!" Hmm yummy.

I started to feel funny. Not so good, after a bit. My head hurt. And my tummy. I squeaked for GOF to take me out, she called for BOC to take me outside because she was talking to someone called RO. I hid in my nest. I wasn't feeling good. Then. In my nest, I think I was SIK... It wasn't nice...

I don't think I will eat anymore sweet sandy meat fudj again. Hey! What's that smell? Sweet sandy meat fudj: my favourite!

Diary of Lily (Jackage, Master of the world - as she knows it)

Yesterday:
We went for a Lily-walk. I was given treats every so often whilst trotting next to one of my humans: GOF (Giver of Food). Not sure why I was getting them - these humans are a little odd- GOF would say "heel" and I'd think "What! Where?" and look around from behind her foot to make sure all was safe, and then she'd give me a treat and say "good girl!" Very odd human this one. Oh well, it keeps her happy I suppose.

Such yummy smells in the forest, but GOF kept me on my leash and would pull me away from the lovely warm smells EVERY TIME just as I was just about to roll in and cover myself in the smells!

We met some BIG shoebox dogs, ugly things really - who would WANT to be a big ugly shoebox! I stood politely behind GOF while she talked to Shoeboxes' humans and then Shoebox 1 comes over and starts sniffing my pretty unders! One should have some choice in life about who gets to sniff one's unders!

Further on there was this GIANT slipper that came running over to us, and I thought "Fine, this is how it ends for pretty Lily: smothered to death by a giant slipper..." But Skye (he had blue eyes and a husky voice) turned out to be quite friendly and his owner gave me some 'yog-hurt drops' - hadn't had those before. The human told GOF a funny story about a chihuahua, and GOF laughed. I didn't mind because I was getting treats, and Skye was looking at me and I was being pretty for him.

Then GOF let me off the leash and in front of me was a big black flying dog. I think GOF called it a Rayvin. It was standing looking at me, so I ran as fast as my (pretty) (strong) (muscular) (just right) legs would carry me - and I scared the silly Flying-Dog-Rayvin away. hahahaha

Then we saw some little round dogs, the ones with fluffy round tails and long ears that dive into holes in the ground when you see them (wabbits? bobbits?). I wanted to chase them too but GOF had put me back onto the leash because there were humans with bags on wheels and sticks and balls walking around. So I just sniffed at them and told them I'd be back.

There were also some tiny dogs with really long tails that can climb trees. Every time GOF sees one she says "Skirrel!" and the little Long-Tails skirrel up the tree. She seems to have some power over them. I must learn of this power so I can use it... to take over the world!

Today:
Went for Lily-walk with BOC (Big One Cuddly). He lets me be free more than GOF. I manged to roll in the lovely warm smelllll!! and then when we got home GOF put me in some water and rubbed smelly stuff on me and wet me all over. I am shivering with cold as I write this...

Becoming

To create a mushroom in art... you must "become" the mushroom.
The art work could be a beautiful evening gown, it could be a sculpture, it could be a fantastical tea set...
I will "become" the mushroom, and let you know what evolves.

My princess

I have a little princess, called Ariél; named after the airy spirit in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Her twin brothers had just been to see the Disney version of the Little Mermaid a few days before she was born, so always associated her name with that. She is my little airy spirit. She has grown into the most amazing young woman yet she is a wise old soul… who has wisdom and inner strength that draws people to her. She is intelligent and creative; she needs life experience to hone these gifts. She has a very interesting future ahead of her… so many threads of skills that will be woven together to make up her Quilt of Life.

Cupcakes

In my Journal of Whispers there are many disconnected things. Cupcakes and glass feature quite often.

Cupcakes should be feminine and pretty and outrageously decorated. They should be light and airy to eat. One day when we have our cupcake shop, we will bake a new batch everyday, in order to meet this requirement. Their presentation is also very important: light, attractive accessories, glass plates, silken cloths, wrought iron baskets....

At the Good Food and Wine show at the Dome, Ariél and I were enticed by the cupcakes accessories (as girls will wont* to be…*old-fashioned word). We couldn’t decide between the huge love hearts (with pen with edible ink – so you could write your own love messages on the hearts) or the wafer hearts. In the end we didn’t buy either. We bought some other whimsical cupcake decorations, which at the moment are at sea! They are travelling in our container with our other belongings, specially selected to make the journey abroad to a new land… In the meantime we have the Barbie sprinkles from Tescos with which to adorn our cupcakes.

Ariél and I make the best cupcakes ever. My favourite are the maraschino cherry ones. WE have had to adapt our South African recipe slightly – the sweetness of beet sugar is slightly sweeter than cane sugar. Cooking times were also different. Last time we made cupcakes here, we took them out of the oven (we have two ovens) at the same time as Tom took out a roast chicken. Our cupcakes were on the cooling rack next to his spluttering chicken. Only later, when we came to taste one of our cupcakes, did we realise that they tasted like: chicken!! Not a good flavour for dainty little cupcakes.

Perhaps I should bake some cupcakes tomorrow…

"My favourite!"

Who among us hasn't envied a cat's ability to ignore the cares of daily life and to relax completely? (Karen Brademeyer)

This morning we did gardening. Tom mowed the lawn, I raked up the grass, and Lily ran round and round and round the garden. "I'm running! I'm runnning!" We dug out all the summer veggies from the garden. Lily rolled and dug, and half buried herself in this new stinky soil. "My favourite!"

Today has been a slow day. I having been feeling a bit low in energy, have a bit of a cold. So I decided after lunch to lie down, relax, perchance to sleep. It wasn’t to be. Lily wanted to join me; "playtime: my favourite!" She leapt about standing on my face which I covered with a blanket, so she thought it would be fun to bite me inviting me play (as one does. If one is a puppy). I lay completely still while her sharp little teeth sunk into arm, then my wrist was enveloped by her jaw. No response from me. She ran to get her toothbrush ("Toothbrush: my favourite!") from the bathroom and gnawed this on my body for a while, making the bed bounce and jiggle. Then it was time to bury the toothbrush: in my ribs. Much ‘digging’ pursued. When she realised this wasn’t working she buried it amongst Tom’s pillows. (Note to self: had better warn Tom that there is chewed toothbrush sticking out from his pillows). "Toes: my favourite!" No, Lily they are not!

Gave this up as a bad idea. Went for a Lily-walk in the forest. Tom had to wait for me to keep up today. Lily, off-leash, decided that it was her favourite(!) to roll in the excretion of some other animal. She had a very spiky, iffy section of fur (once black, now khaki) down one side. Lovely! Tom bathed her in the kitchen sink once home. "Bath-time: ... not my favourite..."