Badness is the Spice of Life!

      On Sunday I went grocery shopping, and bought a bunch of ingredients to take to a friend's house for dinner Monday night. I prepped as much as I could ahead of time, leaving a bag of spices, cooking spray, & other non-perishables pushed to the back of the kitchen counter. Safe, I thought...

   Taylor is notoriously hungry (as his dog tag, "Chow Hound" professes). So I should have known better. "But he's been so GOOD lately," I thought. I left for work Monday morning.

   At 3:00 pm I was sitting in a meeting, and my phone buzzed. I was getting a call from my own home phone, which I knew meant that my pet sitter had stopped by. She only calls when it's important. She informed me that she came into my house to find the bag of food dragged into the living room, with the spices' lids chewed off... garlic, salt & pepper, onion powder blends. Ugh.

Nothing like getting a call at work about how bad your dogs are being at home!

   Taylor may be a shorty, but I figured out how he gets on my countertops, because my oven door handle is scratched: he jumps up & does a chin-up to get up there.

   My friend Susan heard about this, and sent me a photo of a collie wearing a sign stating, "I eat trash". I thought it was so funny that I had to do my own version... here's MSIR Aki & Taylor, telling it like it is!

Lesson: The Shiba Always Wins

   Let's see... When last I recounted the Ballad of the Shiba in the Compost Bin, I had added an extra layer of defense, which I thought to be overkill, but surely effective.

   But for those of you just joining us, a recap: Taylor used to break in to the large plastic bin by removing one of the four doors at the base, and pulling out compost and having a snack. So I constructed a chicken wire fence around it. I should have buried the chicken wire, because he dug under it, as well as tore the wire from the stakes in the back corner, and got right in to eat more garbage.

   "Okay," I thought. "I'll buy extra stakes and pound them through the handle of each of the doors to hold them in place. It didn't work—he still managed to lift them, giving him access to the sweet, sweet garbage. Or, if the mood would strike him, he'd mix things up by removing the lid (HOW?!) and go in top-down.

   That's when I bought the sturdy, wrought-iron fence sections to ensure that once-and-for-all, this beast would be permanently separated from the refuse. (Never mind that the fence cost twice as much as the bin itself!) Surely there was NO WAY he could get around this!

   Well, of course I was wrong. He managed to jump up and break the hinges on the lid, and continued to dine despite the protective fence. I'd find the lid in the corner of the yard, and peels, coffee grounds, paper towels, and the like strewn about.

   "This will be easy to stop—finally, I've won!" I foolishly thought, as I placed a very large, heavy landscaping stone on top of the bin. It is heavy for ME to move, and quite frankly, a pain when I need to fill the bin. (But you saw the word "foolishly" up there, right?)

   Last night I went outside to find the stone five feet from the bin, the lid removed, and the garbage all over the yard again. And a fat, happy-yet-shameful-looking Taylor on the deck.

The bin is much taller and the fence secure—HOW is he still getting in there?!

   Of course the simplest solution would be to get rid of the bin and stop composting. But I like the idea of composting, as it significantly reduces my volume of trash, and in theory, will someday provide rich soil for my flower beds (assuming the contents don't all end up in Taylor's belly). Besides, then I'd be letting the dog win. Who's the boss here, anyway?!
   So this weekend I will be electrifying the iron fence, then digging a deep moat around the bin, and filling it with piranha and crocodiles. Cameras trained on it. A war elephant on guard. Shiba-seeking missiles pointed toward it.
   Yet somehow, deep down, I am sure this will not be the end of this story.  TO BE CONTINUED...

Leggo My Taco!

   Last night she took a bite out of my garlic bread; tonight she's taco-stalking. And as irritating as that should be, as long as she's hungry, I'm happy!

Gypsy Gypped Me!

   The cat that formerly wouldn't eat just put the moves on my garlic bread!! I can't take my eyes off her for a second!

Random Adorable Photos

Gypsy on New Year's Eve, feeling spunky and claiming the dining room table as hers

She has claimed the adjacent stools as well

Aki curled up with me on the couch

So relaxed, her tail uncurled!

Taylor looking coy

Right after a bath... the second in just three days!

Despite my pleas, Gyp refused to eat the entire Filet-O'-Fish that I got just for her

All-out food assault: I literally tried everything* to get her eating again!
(*dry food, more dry food, canned food, chicken baby food, turkey baby food,
real rotisserie chicken, real turkey breast, dry food soaked in water,
Three Dog Bakery freeze-dried salmon treats,
dry food soaked in homemade chicken stock, tuna fish, shrimp, sirloin steak, pork,
McDonald's Filet-O'-Fish, and Sara Lee additive-free chicken lunch meat.)

Modeling this year's awesome red Nite Ize collars from Kelley & Eric,
and last year's white LEDs from Madeline
(we ran 3.5 miles in the dark tonight to try them out!)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good nap!

Love this sign at Eggtc.

An Expensive Lesson

- One pack of Orbit gum with Xylitol: $1.37
- Trip to emergency vet from Midnight to 3 am to induce vomiting
   and to run bloodwork: $149.00
- Day at the veterinarian for monitoring and 3 blood screenings: $59.00
- Bringing your best friend back home with tail wagging: Priceless!

   Here's my Public Service Announcement. The following foods are poisonous to dogs and should never be fed to them: chocolate, grapes, raisins, avocado, onion, garlic, mushrooms, macadamia nuts, fat trimmings, caffeine, alcohol.

   Poinsettias and Easter lilies are poisonous too.

   Cooked bones, and fish bones are dangerous because they can splinter and lacerate the dog's insides.

   Xylitol and pennies are extremely dangerous because both are broken down quickly and can destroy the liver in a matter of hours.

   All should be kept well out of a dog's reach. I would have thought my gum was safe hidden in a bag on a high counter, but the tropical fruit scent was too alluring, and somehow, he nabbed it. Fortunately I acted quickly when I discovered that Taylor had eaten the gum, and so far he seems to be doing well. We'll know how his liver fares in a few days.

The patient, resting comfortably

Getting comfortable-er...

Sushi to Die For

    After doing a little research online while sitting in the corporate lobby yesterday waiting for our meeting, I was determined to hit Blowfish Sushi (subtitled "Sushi to Die For") on this trip, and made a reservation to eat there prior to the concert. Unfortunately the construction on the way back from Muir Woods and the painfully slow return of the rental car, plus the fact that after 10-12 miles of hiking I really needed a shower, all meant that I was late for my reservation. Which they cancelled because they assumed I wouldn't show up. Fortunately it's pretty easy to get a seat for one, especially at a sushi bar. Which is generally the best seat in the house, since you can talk to the chefs and watch them create.

    The decor was fun, with a large TV showing anime, original hand-painted anime cells adorning the walls, and anime all over the menu. Two of the chefs were clearly Japanese: one looked fairly conservative, and the other looked like a rockstar, with long, spiky orange hair. Awesome. It was almost like being back in Tokyo.

   I settled in and ordered a special cocktail, the proceeds of which would benefit Japan, and it was a tasty concoction of gin, cranberry, lime, yuzu, rosemary, and probably some other things that I've since forgotten. The sushi was fantastic and I can't wait to go back.

Halibut crudo (which had an interesting sourness that I loved once I got used to it)

Ritsu roll (their signature roll, and it's obvious why)

Blowfish maki (yum) & Super dynamite roll (super delicious)

    And I topped it off with hiramasa nigiri (young hamachi—even more tender and buttery!) My only regret was that I wasn't hungry enough to eat twice that much. The manager was really nice, too, and gave me a coupon for a free roll next time I return. Disco!