Rain Rain come this way........

We need more rain. Our dams are pretty much empty. We need a flood or two, not that I want to live through that particularly, but we definitely need the rain. Actually, I could live without the rain here, so long as it rained over the dams. That'd be good.

This morning it's raining. The weather men and women on the great god TV tell us that it will rain much of the week, which probably means it won't, because when are they ever right? I mean, honestly....

I like the rain, though. It gives me an excuse to curl up in bed with a good book and read for a few hours, or go online and just do some research, which I love to do.

I have to admit though, I know now why I changed from dial-up to broadband. At my boyfriend's place I use dial-up, and it's so incredibly slow, compared to broadband, but at least its unlimited, so I'm not complaining (much) :)

Anyway, things to do, rain to enjoy.

The frailty and fragility of life and the wonders of anime

Since my dog died, I think I've been more aware of the frailty of life on this planet.

Not just human and animal life, either, but plant life too. The day before my old girl died, my rose bush burst into furious blooming, and hasn't stopped yet. Normally, I'll get maybe 12 roses at most all year from the rose bush, but I must have had at least 30 in the last month. And yet, yesterday, when I happened to look at the bush, I noticed only one or two roses on it, when it's been covered in them for weeks now.

And when I was standing in my back yard yesterday, I happened to look up and see a sign writer. He was busy writing "NO DAM" across the sky, but by the time he got to the M in DAM, the NO had almost vanished.

Perhaps I am just more aware now of the life teeming around me on this beautiful planet that we call home, or maybe I just finally opened my eyes again after a long sleep.

Recently, mostly because my boyfriend is seriously into it, I have been discovering the wonders of Japanese Anime. My experiences of this genre previously had been Akira, Neon Genesis Evangeleon, and the old tv show "The Yearling". I loved that show as a kid, and I'd love to track it down on dvd now. But as I said, my boyfriend is into the anime thing, and has a rather nice little collection of dvds (though my collection seems to be growing too, courtesy of a friend of mine who keeps plying me with more) representing this fast growing genre.

The japanese have, apparently, been doing anime for simply ages. It's just that us westerners didn't necessarily know that. We tend to think, as Westerners, that if we didn't create it, it doesn't exist. I found a rather nice blog about that yesterday, that commented on the fact that Western films and tv shows all seem to have an annoying male kid at the centre, and all have intelligence levels of Barney, whereas the Japanese Anime stuff has normal people in it, decent intelligence levels, and a hell of a lot of quirkiness.

One of the series my boyfriend introduced me to involves a talking motorcycle and a girl who travels on it, around the world, only staying in one place for three days at the most. It's an unusual little series, and I'm sad to say I cannot remember the name of it just now, but it's worth watching.

Currently, though, we are attempting to watch all the Studio Ghibli films. I think the oddest one I have seen so far is "My Neighbour Totoro". It involves an 8 foot tall cat. 'Nuff said. :-)

Though Studio Ghibli films all have a lot to say for themselves. A lot of them have inner meanings, and messages. Some are just feel good type films. But most of them you do need to watch more than once. Without offering any offence at all, I think if it was possible to describe them this way, I would say that Studio Ghibli is Japan's answer to Disney, but with more intelligence and better characters.

Apart from that, what have I been up to? Hmm...let's see. I'm in the process of packing up my house for the elusive move that will happen one day, some day, down the track. It also gives me a damn good excuse to stop being lazy and get off my bum and be ruthless and chuck a heap of stuff I've been holding on to for years, that I don't need anymore.

I'm also playing with languages. More for something to do than for any other reason. I've always loved languages. I find them interesting. I get excited at the idea that I can read and write in another language. It's like opening that secret door that always seems to exist in computer games, and finding a whole new level (or world) out there to investigate. But then, I guess I also have a passion for learning in general, as I am discovering. The amount of lecture notes I still have is truly frightening!

Anyway, the day is sunny, and I have things to do.

An innocent soul set free xoxo

My dog has died. Her "visit" this morning was her way of saying goodbye, it seems.

Dad was with her right up until the end, and she died with him there in her kennel, surrounded by greyhounds who had only got to know her over the past week, but who already loved her.

At least she's no longer suffering, and is free once again to be a happy-go-lucky pup.

RIP my sweet and beloved girl. You will never be forgotten, and you were honestly and truly loved.

Happier times....?

Do you believe in psychic goodbyes? I do.

When one of my grandfathers died back in the 1980s, I remember this feeling just before he died, that he was in my room with me, trying to tell me it was his time to go. Shortly after that, the phone rang, and we were told he had died a few minutes before.

The same thing happened in the 1990s when an uncle I loved dearly died. I knew he had died before Mum even rang me at 6.30 in the morning to tell me. All I could say to her was "I know. I was there." She didn't understand, and I don't expect her to, because rightfully I was asleep in my bed at home, not up at the hospital holding his hand.

Last night, or early this morning, I was woken by a jangle of collar, a thrumming down the back stairs, and a happy joyful barking. I haven't had the phone call yet, so I don't know if this means my beautiful, sweet, loving dalmatian has died, and she was coming to say goodbye and let me know she was no longer suffering in any way, or if (and here I know I am hoping like mad, but do you blame me?) perhaps it is her way of saying she is better now, or at least on the mend, and that she will indeed soon be home?

I have had guinea pigs hold on until I came home so they could say their goodbyes to me before dying. I even had a pet chook who let me know her moment of death.

This dog has been special though. She came to me as an older dog, to begin with. Shy, reserved, timid. But coming here seemed to change her. All of a sudden she became this happy, joyful pup again. Walkies were her all-time favourite part of the day, except for maybe dinner time :-)

She has gone from a dog that would lie quietly near the back door, hoping that someone might consider feeding her, to a dog that takes an active role in getting that food from the fridge into her tummy. She howls at the back door, she tries to stick her little wet black nose through the security door mesh, and looks so incredibly sweet and loveable that I can't help but feed her.

When she came here, she had never seen steps, let alone ever had to climb them. She was 5 years old then, and one rainy night, my two older cats got out, so my dog had to come in! And so, in the rain and the dark, I had to teach her how to climb my back steps. I'm sure if anyone had been watching they would have been laughing themselves silly, because in the end it involved me having to show her how to climb the stairs, by going down on all fours and doing it for her, so she could copy me.

In the end, I think the fear of being stuck out in the storm without "mummy" made her give in and attempt those stairs, all the time crying her little heart out. She's always been scared of storms, apparently, so she spent the night inside with me, and believe me when I say that a single bed really and honestly does not fit a human and a dalmatian. She refused to sleep on the floor - just had to sleep with me, I guess. She not only hogged my pillow, but also most of the bed, so I had a sliver on the edge, and she had the rest. But it was worth it, to keep her safe and happy.

There's not much I wouldn't do for this dog.

Together we have discovered the joys of walking. Because of her, I finally managed to lose some excess weight that I just never could shift before. And because of her, too, I am overcoming my shyness around strangers. It's hard to be shy when you are walking a dalmatian, and there are kids around going "ooh doggie!" and "oooh spots!" and such. It's also cool when total strangers shyly come up to you and ask if they may pat your "doggie" because they have never been that close to a dallie before, and have always wanted to pat one.

This dog has changed my life for the better, and I know I have done the same for her.

I just have to hope that if she has indeed died, then wherever she is, she is happy, and joyful, and once again puppy-like. And that if she is still with us, then her "visit" this morning was just a heads-up that she's feeling better, and for me not to be so sad anymore because she's coming back soon.

One can only hope, anyway.

A prayer for my dalmatian

It's cold here today. I got home from a weekend out with my boyfriend only to find that the cats had left little presents for me. Ick. So I opened all the windows last night, after cleaning up the mess (and they had fresh cat litter too, but it seems, chose not to use it this time. Grr). Hence the reason it's cold here today, I guess.

Currently my beloved dalmatian is having a prolonged stay with Dad. She's not at all well, and I guess the cold weather hasn't been helping her much, given she's an older dog to start with. But I do know that I miss her terribly, and hope like crazy that she comes home to me soon.

I have to admit, it's very odd here without her. She'll have been gone a week tomorrow, and I still cannot get used to seeing her empty dog bowl, empty dog bed, and lonely-looking water bucket. It's very strange indeed, not to see her sweet and extremely loveable face staring at me through the back security door, and to hear her whining at me at 3pm every afternoon.

Now that she isn't here, I feel bad about all the times I told her to shut up and stop whining, and made her wait until 3.30pm or even 4pm before I fed her, and all the promises I made to take her walking every single day, twice a day, when in reality I'd take her walking a couple of times a week, though more in winter.

I miss sitting on the back stairs with her, and beginning my day with a cup of coffee and a whole lot of doggie kisses. I miss seeing her stare up at me with her patient, beautiful, sweet, brown doggie eyes, so brimming with love and devotion.

I hate it when she's not here, and yet, I've not even had her two years. Suddenly, I cannot remember what it was like when it was just me, two cats, and a guinea pig or two. The velcro kittens came along with the dalmatian, from the same household, and I know they miss her too. I find them sitting at the back door, miaowing sadly, hoping she'll appear and say hi. My dog loves those two little kittens, though she loves to bark madly at the two older cats :-)

It's strange how one (or a bunch, as in my case) animal can change your life so drastically. I grew up with dogs, for sure, but I never really saw myself as being a dog owner when I became an adult. I didn't really plan on having pets as such, anyway, but the cats, at least, all seemed to adopt me, and so here I am. But when my dog came into my life, and yes, she was another rescue/adoptee, my life changed for the better.

All of a sudden I was out walking all the time, seeing more of my suburb than I had ever done before, meeting people, having complete strangers come up to me and ask if they could pat her because they'd never been that close to a dalmatian before. She's such a happy dog, friendly to the whole world, and I miss her so much. My house feels so empty without her. Granted, it still has four cats and a dalmatian guinea pig in it, but it still feels empty without my old girl.

Quiet. That's it. No happy doggie noises. No thrumming up and down the back stairs. No rushing off to bark at things only she can see. I miss those noises. I miss the fact that its almost impossible to go down the back stairs without having to first ask her to move her backside out of the way. I miss being unable to go around the back yard without her tagging along to "help". I miss her "helping" me hang out the washing too.

I hope she comes home soon. I love her too much to ever want to lose her. Get well soon, my sweet loveable dalmatian.

Happy Little Vegemites

Apparently it's Thursday.

Not 100% sure on that, but that's what I'm being told today. The bin men are outside too, so I guess it must be true because my garbage always gets picked up on a Thursday.

I had to get up early this morning and race outside to put the bins out because, as usual, I forgot yesterday to do that!

When I went outside, I realised that I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt on this cold winter's morn, but actually, it wasn't all that cold today. Odd, considering there was wintery fog down the other end of the street, and I was barefoot, standing in dewy grass, in summery clothes!

My boyfriend was happy to see me yesterday, I think. I brought him over some soup, and did a general tidy-up of his flat for him - made his bed, did his washing - all the kinds of things that people do for others when that other is sick and they care about them.

Today, though, I'm doing the "matchsticks propping up the eyelids" thing in an attempt to be awake. I have heaps and heaps of things to do today, and I'll do them, really I will.....it might just take a few cups of coffee first before I'm capable of doing any of that :-)

Why is it, though, that when someone is sick, we always seem to bring them soup? I for one happen to love soup - any time of the year, sick or otherwise - but what makes soup, that thing most people don't seem to like, become "comfort food" when we are sick?

For the rest of the year, most people won't touch the stuff, but the minute they are sick (and this is particularly true of men, no offence to my boyfriend or any other male that reads this blog, intended), all they want is soup? I love the taste and texture of soup. I love the fact that I can pretty much eat as much of the stuff as I want and not put on weight (depending on the type of soup, of course). But these same people who all clammer for soup when they are sick, are also the same ones who are claiming its "icky, slimy, wet" stuff when they are well! :-)

Currently I'm going through a phase of trying out soups that are a bit different to the normal stuff. Oh don't get me wrong, I still love my tomato soups, my cream of chicken soups, my beef soups, my garden veg soups, but I'm discovering that there is a whole plethora of flavours out there.

My newest favourite is Dutch Curry and Rice. Ooooooohhh yummy! The Potato and Bacon one isn't too bad either. Then there are the range of Asian soups, most with noodles, that seem to be quite good too. As soup is one of my main food sources these days, I like to challenge my taste buds a little and try a few of the new ones :-)

And as my batteries haven't yet been charged with enough coffee, I'm going to play "dumb blonde" and change my subject in this blog willy-nilly again (not that I am blonde, because I'm not!)

It's been ages since I posted a picture here. I'll try and do that on the weekend. I'm going off with my boyfriend for a couple of days to meet some of his friends who live out of town, so I'll try and take some pictures while I'm there. He promises to give me a "grand tour" of where he used to live, and apparently there is a gorgeous park there. So maybe some trees and flowers and such might just appear in next week's blog entries. Really need to update my digital camera though. It's good for basic photos, but not good for close up details.

Have a look here:

http://silverhound.blogspot.com/

This post has some great photos on it. She's really good at it, and she used to send me semi regular emails with other photos she'd taken.

Anyway, stuff to do. A gallon of coffee to drink. Vegemite toast to make and consume. Pets to talk to and deal with. Dust bunnies to wage war on.....

Cybermen, Daleks, and gorgeous Doctors.....

It's early and I'm having my second cup of coffee in an attempt to actually wake up before I make a dash for the train to go visit my sick-with-the-flu boyfriend.

I was thinking last night about how the Winter's sky in Australia can be so beautiful. It gets a really really deep blue colour, almost like the colour of the sea, and there's something rather calming about it all.

And last night, I dreamt of Cybermen and Daleks. I've been watching season 2 of the new Dr Who, and the new-improved Cybermen are there to be seen. These guys are scary as shit.

I think perhaps my cats were knocking at my bedroom door last night or something, as I kept having nightmares that Cybermen were trying to break down my door and get at me :-)

I'm really impressed with the new Dr Who show though. I was always a fan of the old one, so I was a fair bit wary at the thought of a 21st century version of an old classic, but the BBC stuck to its guns and stayed on track, and created a show to be proud of.

And I know I'd certainly love to see a blue telephone box turn up outside and a gorgeous Dr come for a "spot of tea"....*ahem*....

Anyway, stuff to do.