Madama Butterfly

This year, I picked out a costume for Her Royal Highness (HRH) Berkeley. One that she could wear and that we all could coordinate with. She was Madama Butterfly and we were butterflies in waiting and our friend Karene, the chemistry teacher, was a crazy entomologist following us around with a magnifying glass! 8-)

Here is HRH's outfit. Pink and purple wings with a headband antennae (our wings coordinated, of course!).

HRH was pretty good about letting us put the outfit on her. The hard part was figuring out how the outfit went on. Here we obviously have it wrong. The front part goes in front of her front legs!



Then we had to figure out the back ties. They were made for a much bigger lab. We think HRH might be a pygmy lab. She is the runt of the litter and is only 42 pounds at 6 months.

I finally gave up and just tied the back in a bow. It worked.

She gave me a big lick in the face when we were all done with the wings. But there was one more part of the costume to go: the headband!

Would you believe she wore it for the Entire Day! Never once tried to take it off. I think she thought it was a crown or a tiara. 8-)


Here she is watching the little lower division kids parade by with their costumes. Their reactions were awesome. Every time they caught sight of her, they would say, "Look at BERKELEY!" And they pointed and smiled and laughed. It was SOOOOO worth it. All the middle division kids loved it, the upper division kids loved it and the faculty loved it. She made EVERYONE'S day. She was a happiness generator on Wednesday. It was so cool.

After the parade, I put her coat on and then put the wings on over her coat. She still looked cute.

And they didn't impede her napping.

Truly, she was a Monarch Butterfly!


Here we all are with Her Royal Highness.

Rock Hound

By Fred
A few years ago I put in a new stone patio in the back--fun, like doing a giant crossword puzzle, except that none of the pieces actually fit together so I often had to break them with a hammer. And at the end I was left with a collection of very small pieces that I put into a cute pile (in case, as I often explain to Cheryl, I need them some day).

These sedimentary stones come from the bottom of ancient sea beds. Over the years minerals and organic matter in the water drift down and settle and eventually become a nice, flat layer of rock. As you might expect, these stones vary greatly in color and composition. They also have some secret properties.

Lately Berkeley has taken an interest in these little rocks. More than a casual interest. She carries them in her mouth, preferring them to any of her toys. She sucks on them and even chews them a bit (which sends chills up my spine). She knows we disapprove but doesn't care.

At first Cheryl and I thought this was just a phase, a really nutty phase. Berkeley comes in from outside, wagging her tail like crazy and acting, well, just suspicious and way too happy. She runs into another room, and now we know that she's trying to hide the rock from us.

Surely, we thought, it can't be pleasant to roll a hard rock around in your mouth. There must be something more.

So I washed one of the rocks and popped it in my mouth. At first nothing, and then I noticed it. A faint saltiness, maybe with overtones of almond. Not bad. Hmmm, I can barely tell one wine from another, but maybe I've found something here that my taste buds can truly appreciate...



Shown above are six of the rocks that we've confiscated from Berkeley. Here's my review, from left to right:

- Sweet, with a hint of chocolate
- Fruity (pears and watermelons), a lingering aftertaste of sea salt
- Bright and tart. One of Berkeley's favorites (not mine)
- Didn't try. (Might be dried cat poop)
- Cardamom and tea, spices from India
- Fishy

Who knows, before long I may be selling these babies on eBay.

Long, Long Day

Saturday turned into a long, long day. It started out with a trip to Home Goods. We were looking for a baking stone and a wooden peel. Home Goods didn't have one. So, we continued on to our lunch date with Amy at the Red Mesa Cantina (best Mexican food!). We arrived early and went to the Publix to see about a baking stone (no luck, but they did have some odd pan that guaranteed browning that Fred wanted to try). On the way back, Fred went to drop off the pan and I took Her Royal Highness (HRH) in to the Cantina.

When we went inside the hostess took a look at us and said, "Inside or out?" and then answered her own question. "Outside?" She starts to walk us out to the patio (seen below in a photo from their website). I start to say something about being able to sit inside, but thinking that it is a nice day, go along for the ride.

Outside is PACKED. There are two tables open. She takes us to the table that is opposite a table with two standard poodles at it. Standard poodles being the big kind of poodle (60-70 pound range). These black hooligans were none too pleased when we walked up and immediately leaped to their feet and gave voice to their displeasure. I looked at the hostess and said, "This won't work."

I walked back toward the restaurant with the hostess bringing up the rear. I turned to her, "Since she has her coat and can be inside, I think it would be better for everyone if we got a table inside." She half heartedly waved to the empty high-top table as we passed it, but I was headed for the inside and she had really given up at this point.

After lunch we went to Lowe's where HRH was billed and cooed over. There was a couple who stopped us and commented on how lovely she was. They said that their sister was disabled and had a working dog and that HRH was doing a great job. They seemed really tickled by her.

After Lowe's it was on to the grocery store: Publix. We have now been out and about for 5 hours. HRH has been a dream dog. Lovely manners, walking like a sweetie. You name it, she is doing it.

I have the cart filled up with groceries and we have run into the Lowe's couple in the Publix and smiled and nodded at each other. HRH is holding her own until the avocado incident.

I had picked out some avocados for Fred to make some guacamole (he is the guacamole king!) for my tea party on Sunday, but he said my avocados were too soft and he wanted all new avocados.

"Fine. I'll wait over in the bakery." I took HRH with me and the full cart to wait in the bakery. HRH look up at me and then she did the flop.

FLOP.

Then she grabbed the leash in her mouth and started to chew it. I yanked it out and said, "No!"

She hopped up and tilted her head and then it came out. Like a clear, pure bell. A perfect note. A single bark. And like a roomfull of zombies who smell a fresh brain, all heads turned to look at me.

I turned to look at Fred. "Fred!" I shouted over to the produce department. "We are out of here!"

I think I saw the Lowe's couple laughing, but I was moving too fast to be sure.

Reading Dog

The lower division librarian invited Her Royal Highness (HRH) Berkeley to visit one of the 1st grade reading times on Friday. So a week ago we paid a surprise visit as did the Lower Division Director, who is reading the story. HRH started off the storytime with her coat on, but after the story was over the kids got to pet her (one at a time!).

Here you can see one child petting HRH as the others look on longingly. They were so well behaved (as was HRH, really!) In fact, I was tickled when at the end of the period, Trey came over to me and in a very serious voice said, "Berkeley has very pleasant manners." I said, "I think so too. Thank you for saying so."

Her she is with her royal face on. Behave, little ones!

It was a good day.

It Only Took 6 Months

Finally, after waiting 6 months for Willow and Her Royal Highness (HRH) Berkeley to figure out how to get along, I caught them playing nicely the other day. Actually having a good time playing with a toy together. Like a pair of normal dogs and not the usually bickering dorks they generally are!

Here's their moment of zen:

KnightMUN: The Hotel Experience

The weekend was our annual hotel experience with the Model United Nation's club at my school. We took Bingo last year and it was the perfect hotel experience and the kids seemed to enjoy it as well. The conference is called KnightMUN and is held at UCF's campus on Saturday and Sunday, which means a VERY early rising on Saturday morning and a late return on Sunday night.

4:20 am

The alarm should have gone off at 4:20 am, but it didn't. It was on the 5 days a week schedule and this being a Saturday...I woke up at 4:50.

"Holy crap! Berkeley! Downstairs, eat, poop, out the door!"

We managed to be on the road in 20 minutes. I had packed and showered the night before. 8-)

Fortunately for us, we weren't the last ones to arrive. I won't tattle on anyone (faculty or student!), but I did rest a little easier knowing that we had a little time to chill. Here's a shot of Her Royal Highness (HRH) Berkeley in the car waiting for that last student to arrive so we can get on the road.



Orlando

We followed the bus to Orlando and met them at the Panera where we all had breakfast. Imagine the Panera staff's excitement at having 30 teens surge through their doors all famished and needing caffeine and carbs! Followed closely by teachers needing caffeine. Not a comforting sight. Then add to that, a small black dog. The Panera staff made not a peep. Good Panera staff! Good.

Radisson

We dropped the kids off at the conference, got them registered and then went to the hotel to register our rooms. Since I had HRH, Michele was already at the counter getting the rooms assigned. As I walked up to the counter I could see the hotel clerk's face get stiff and her posture go rigid. She turned from Michele to address me.

"We don't allow dogs in the hotel."

"She's a service dog for the blind. She's in training." I said and had HRH sit, which she did beautifully. She has a perfect sense of audience.

Michele looked up from the folder she was perusing and in her very clear, not to be messed with teacher voice, said, "We come here ever year with a service dog and there has never been a problem. It's the ADA. Look it up." Then she went back to her forms, dismissing the clerk.

The clerk glanced at me and I raised an eyebrow, signifying that I wouldn't mess with Michele if I were the clerk and she should drop the matter if she were smart, which she did. I love Michele.

Here's a shot of one of the MUN kids bringing in HRH's crate. Mitchell carried in her crate and carried it out. He's a big HRH fan.


Barnes and Noble

The nice thing about MUN tournaments is that for us, as chaperones, we get lots of work done because we spend the day in the bookstore. Here is a shot of HRH and Tim in the cafe of Barnes and Noble. They also were lovely about HRH and treated us very well.


I'm So Pretty

When we got back to the hotel room Berkeley got to experience the BIG MIRROR. Here's a snippet of her reaction. I have to say that Bingo was mesmerized by himself for at least 15 minutes. 8-)



Closing Ceremonies

The next day it was more of the same and HRH continued to be a little lady. It was only at the end of the day at the closing ceremonies, sort of like a toddler who has been up too long and needs a nap, she started to bark a little and be a bit crotchety. But the screaming, cheering crowd drowned out her little barks and all was good.

Soon we were on the road and homeward bound. Hotel experience, checked off.

Bingo's New Home

Bingo's new owners are a young, athletic couple who absolutely love him and let him sleep in their bed. How they all fit in there, I have no idea! 8-) Bingo is quite a big boy, but I am sure he is a happy camper about it.

They also have a pool and allow him to go swimming everyday. He was always getting overheated, so this is the perfect thing for him. You can see from the photo of him below in the pool what a happy pup he is.

Now, I don't know where his new owners live, but if I had my way, they would be nearby so that we could puppysit Bingo when they went on vacation. But I don't think the adoption rules allow knowing that info, unfortunately. So I will be content knowing he is in a happy place with people who love him!