WHERE DID THE DEVIL GO?

So Guardian said we were going to see that Devil Tongue plant again...you know that weird plant we showed you back in April.

From April 25, 2012 post

We were sort of afraid that the plant had gotten really, really hungry since we first saw it and maybe Guardian was going to allow it to nibble on us.  Maybe we did something wrong and....well, you know how humans can sometimes be when they think you've been messing with them.

So, we followed her over to Jake’s house, sort of nervously.  When we got there, we started looking for the Devil’s Tongue.

But we couldn’t find it.














So where'd it go?

Then she pointed to this bunch of leaves on a spotted stick.

THIS is that Devil’s Tongue!?!?!?  Nah, couldn’t be!  But Jake has lived with this plant for years, and he assures us this is what the plant looks like after that creepy “flower” dies. Then Guardian found this on the big cyber spider web.

http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Amorphophallus%20konjac%20pc.html

She figured somebody might not believe what they see here. She said that its real name is Amorphophallus konjac. 
Common names:  Voodoo Lily,  Snake Plant, Dragon Plant
Sometimes known as:  Devil's Tongue, Snake Palm, Konnyaku, Pinyin, Konjaku, and  Elephant Yam

So, anybody read about that plant?  Do you believe us now?  Just for the record, I think she's messing with us.

FOOD DYE

Well, I’ve been outed.  Let me explain.

You know how my face is getting grayer and grayer.  Yeah, I’ve got plenty of spring in my legs and good attack maneuvers when Gus and I tussle.  I can jump pretty high and stand up on my back legs if there’s a treat involved.  And I run fast when I need to.  I do enjoy soft places to snuggle and sleep, for sure, but I am just resting to gather energy for my next ball chasing or Gus beating.

So when I saw myself on our last blog entry, I couldn’t understand who that gray-faced dog was sitting next to Gus.  Then it hit me—it was ME!!! Whew….this cannot be ME, I thought!!

Who is that gray faced creature?

So I worked out this scheme to turn my gray a darker color by mushing my face into my food bowl.  It knew it was working when I heard someone say to Guardian how brown my face was looking.

Then Guardian decided to wash my face.  She kept licking it and licking it with some white cloth thing. And the more the cloth licked, the browner it became.  She made these ugly noises and wrinkled up her face. Maybe she was trying to pretend she was a pug!  It didn't work.  She's as human as ever (or maybe IN-human?).

See?  This is how brown my face could be from the food dye

And now she uses those cloths to lick my face almost every day.

But I’ve got the last growl….my food mushing has worked.  My face has some brown that simply won’t lick off.  Hah!  

GLASSY JAZZ

So I didn’t know Guardian was sending out photos of me to Stratoz, one our blog followers.  He and his wife, Margaret, are really good with making little bits of things into pictures.  And, well, Guardian decided she wanted one of those bit pictures to be of me! The little bits in my picture are really bigger bits of glass, so I’m told.  And that sign that says “Nutmeg Designs” is where Stratoz and Margaret show their other little, medium and big bit pictures.

Guardian was so happy to see it.  My eyes don’t see as well as they used to, but even I liked it!  That’s supposed to be a red background.  If I could see colors, red would be my favorite.

Stratoz (glass bit picture creator), Me, Gus and bit pictures--including the one of MY face! See? It really does look like me!

 

So, here are Gus and me and Stratoz in front of some of the other pictures made of little bits, the ones Margaret made. You know about my Christmas present—that’s my name.  Then there are the two little bit designs by Margaret.  Guardian told me one was a "healing mandala"—she needed that at one time when she was sick, and when I was much younger. I guess it worked, 'cuz she seems healthy now.  And the other, she said, is a “trivet,” whatever that is.

I told Guardian to let people know where they can look at more at these little, medium and big bit pictures.  They even have those things people (women, mostly) wear around their necks.  They don’t have any more pugs, but I’m sure Stratoz would be happy to make one of your pug, too!  Or whatever picture you wanted with all sorts of great colors that I can’t see, but your eyes can!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nutmegdesigns?page=1

OBSESSIONS

So, Gus and I are obsessed with food.  We live for our next meal and other eatable things.  We are obsessed about going out on walks because we get little various treats (like dried duck breast; beef, turkey, and lamb jerky just for dogs; dried beef liver bits, etc.), all of them legal for Gus.  (With all of his allergies, you know.)  And we just adore those smells everywhere!

We are also obsessed with bath time and our little ‘Cuz squeaky balls we play with after the bath.

 

We love our Skinneeze, too.  Sort of an obsession, but not all the time.

But our Guardian is obsessed with something totally strange.  She calls it “Artistic Rubber Stamping.”  She spends DAYS in the basement, hunched over a table, moving around wooden and other blocks with a rubbery thing on them, smacking them on some kind of thing first to color the rubber, then pressing them on paper. She sometimes forgets to take us out and....and she forgets to eat.  That's just WRONG!

She also sits at a computer for hours taking what she says are classes to learn how to do this better. How you do this on a computer is puzzling.  (Humans are SO puzzling anyway!)   

She has these special coloring sticks.  She says they’re “Kohpix” or something like that.  She ought to have one of those college degrees, with all the classes she’s taken on stamping.  She keeps filling up the house with her “art works,” putting them on furniture, clipping them to this white board thing-y on the wall…and so on.

So, here are some of the pictures she’s made. I don’t know why she doesn’t have any pugs in them, though.  And she SO ignores us while she's making them.

She assures us she’ll get around to a pug picture, too. Hah!  won't believe it 'til I see it!

Not a single pug here. Except me, Gus. And the thing that works the lights, too. See it? Me neither. But Guardian swears it's there.

HEY YOUNG READERS...IT'S......GUS!!

Gus here.  Jazz is zonked out somewhere, and I got Guardian all to myself.  I’m so pumped!  On Saturday I went to the close library (short car ride). It was for the “Who Let the Dogs In?” reading program for kids.  Just me.  Only me.  

Jazz had been here before, but none of these kids knew who she was.  I had no competition.  They saw me as “me.”  And this me was pretty darn good!

I was a bit confused at first.  What was I doing here?

I looked at Guardian, “Hey, why am I here?”

 

Soon I realized why…and after the kids read to me, you can see how happy they were to have me here!

 Yeah!  Remember that, Jazz, next time you woof about kids loving to read to you!

GUARDIAN’S GALACTIC TRAVELING

(Just want to start out by saying the fuzziness of any of the pictures just shows you how much activity there was in this house.  It was hard to get a non-fuzzy image, ‘cuz the humans and animals moved around so much.)

Mackenzie and Jazz

So our Guardian left the planet and abandoned us for over two weeks. She said she was going to a boot-shaped planet that didn't speak our language.  Well, she doesn't really speak our pug language anyway.  But I think she meant the human language is different. Anyway, that's the big reason you haven’t heard from us.  She left us in a house a long crate-in-the-car trip from home (but on this planet) with a toddler, a 4 year old, a 7-month-old big, goofy, annoying dog, and two grownup guardians.   In the middle of nowhere, too.

Gus and Abigail

 

I’m a 9-year-old pug who grew up in a quiet household.  I like quiet, peacefulness and no scary loud noises.  That was not this house.  Now, you know I’m a therapy dog.  You’ve seen how I like kids at the library and older people in their group homes.   Libraries are pretty quiet.  Group homes are, too, except there are strange chairs with wheels and sticks people use—both of which I’m wary of.  The kids and older people behave themselves.  The kids where Guardian dumped us were great when they were sleepy, but they were another species entirely the rest of the time.

I'm not sure about this house.

 

And that dog…Blade…he was the biggest pest.  I made my maddest face and meanest noises, and what happened?  He danced around and thought I was PLAYING!  What an annoying creature!

I could not believe Gus, either.  He and Blade ran around and chased each other like two puppies.  He’s 5 years old…what was he thinking?!   Traitor!

Blade and Gus playing

 

The grownups would sometimes leave the house with the kids and go visiting.  Gus was the first in line to go with them.  I hid under a bed blanket.

I had to hide.

 

I thought for sure we would never see Guardian again.  I began to give up hope and began to come out from under the bed. I also made friends with the kids. And even though I sound grumpy, the substitute Guardians really took great care of us.  It just wasn't "home."

Abi and I are down with each other

And Kenzie even took us for a walk!

 

Gus was always OK with everyone, that ..that…party pug.

The two substitute Guardians and Gus

Kenzie and a sleepy Gus

 

Then I was OK with the man guardian.

 

But in the end, we were all tired, exhausted, and I even curled up with Gus.

 

Just when I was sure this was to be our permanent home…our main Guardian appeared!  We were SO surprised.  I tried to be aloof, to punish her, but frankly, I was pretty darn relieved.  Couldn’t help myself.  Climbed all over her, sniffed her mouth to find out if she had been eating anything interesting (nope), and began to feel happy again. Gus is always happy to see anyone.  Unfortunately, Guardian didn't have her Canon, so no happy picture.  Check back again.  I'm sure there'll be some smiling pugs!

A WALK IN THE PARK--AGAIN

We went for another walk with our pug buddies Oscar and Otis again in Fisher’s Park.  It was a pretty hot day, so we started out in the shade. 

   

O&O’s guardian, Judy, found this strange plant.  It was Jack something—why would someone name a plant “Jack?”  Anyway our Guardian got all excited about it because she used to have one in her backyard when she was a pup.   Only she said hers was like 3 feet tall.  What's with her and these strange plants anyway?? (Remember the Devil's Tongue?)  http://pugsnortreport.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html

Gus and I were pretty tired when we came to the trail’s end and started across the big, wide lawn. 

This is how far we were from the big white car Guardian uses to take us places.

We are just worn out!

Me especially

Hey! Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here!