An Appropriate Ending to the Year

It’s all over the news today: the last day of the old year is going to be cold. No, let me rephrase that: COLD!! German women’s magazine freundin even has a featurette on its homepage about how one might stay safe in December’s freezing grasp. I don’t understand all the hullaballoo. It’s winter. Of course it’s cold. And I’m enjoying it. Because, after all, it is a dryyy cold (talk to someone from Arizona to explain how to properly say that. They have a dryyyy heat). There’s very little worse than that clamminess that creeps into your bones when it’s cold and wet outside. People seem to get sick faster. And I myself never want to be in it for long.

But there’s a special quality to that crisp wintery air out there right now. If you’ve ever licked a fresh icycle, you’ll detect that same cool promise of snow in the skies. The air bears a crispness that is only rivalled by the wonderful sound of snow crunching under foot. Sadly, we have to do without the latter for the moment. But winter is still young.

So while this may not have been the best year or the most exciting year or even simply a good year, I thank the weather gods for this lovely gift on this 31st of December. Yes, there is definitely promise in the air. To all of you, all the best. Stay safe tonight. I’ll see you in 2009.

The Truth about Cats and Pigs

Riley made an unusual friend once. At a time where our cats barely tolerated her and she realized the dogs were not ideal playmates, she discovered Buddy the guinea pig. He was quite furry, much like her, and though he probably smelled and looked a bit odd, she really took to him. Every night, she’d climb into his cage and sit there in front of his house. Sometimes, she’d pat him on the head. And the amazing thing was, he wasn’t afraid. He would run around the piggie room, Riley hot on his non-existent tail, and when it got too much, he’d swiftly turn around and threaten her with his little beaver teeth. She always backed off.

After Buddy died, Riley tried to befriend Louie, but until just a short while before he passed on, they never really warmed to each other. Now, though, there’s the girls. The girls are three-month-old Minnie, nearly fully grown with a lovely rosetta arrangement of black fur, and tiny five-week-old Emmy, who still resembles a mouse and fits into the palm of one hand. At the moment, she has a rather interesting hairdo, kind of like a Mohawk, and nobody knows for sure what will happen when she grows up. But the fascination to Riley is undeniable.

Since the girls moved in on Saturday, she’s been spending hours in the temporary pig room. Yesterday, she snoozed the afternoon away on a crinkle bag next to the cage, but normally, she lies on top of the cage and watches little Emmy zoom around in there. Emmy, on the other hand, is an amazingly fearless pig for her size. While Minnie cautiously sticks her nose out of the house she has claimed as her villa, Emmy is turning out to be quite curious. And as long as we or Riley or even her very large brother Max just look at her, she’ll sit right in front of the cage, munching hay or grooming herself with her itty-bitty feet. Sometimes, Riley will dangle one arm into the cage. Emmy is beginning to ignore that. The only thing that’ll get her scurrying for shelter with her big sister is Max, who gets overexcited sometimes and yelps or barks at her.

I’m not silly enough to allow Riley to “play” with Emmy as long as she is only hamster-sized, but I can imagine that once she is bigger, she might not mind a big friend to cuddle with. Perhaps even Minnie will learn to relax a little. And I’ll be there to keep an eye on everyone.

Schmusi, our grande dame of catdom, has so far shown no interest at all in the muikers. Quite possibly, she is distracted by the wonderful aroma of turkey wafting through the house. There were nine people here for dinner on Saturday, but that bird left plenty of meat for later. So, while Riley watches cat tv, Schmusi patiently waits for us to realize that she reallyreally needs some turkey. It’s good for the fur, don’t you know! Rufus and she are agreed on this point. His fascination with food is much greater than his interest in squeaky furballs.

I can’t wait to see how the girls get along with Julius. I surely hope they will!

Winter Came

Winter came on quiet feet last night. It snowed in my Inbox before it really started snowing outside. But then I listened to Sarah Brightman’s “Winter Symphony” in the car, snowflakes caught in the headlights all the way past Ludwigsburg, and it was near perfection. Tonight,  a couple of lovely Bratäpfel  will be just the thing against the cold.

The Piggish are Coming, the Piggish are Coming!

The girls are moving in this Saturday!!! Yeah, yeah, eventually, there’ll be room for other topics again. Until then: suck it up!

New Pigs on the Block

Without wanting to sound flippant, nature does abhor a vacuum, at least in our house, and so there will be new piggies occupying the empty cages soon. I don’t have any pictures of the little girls yet, although -if I’m lucky- they’ll be here before the holidays. And in January, after sitting out his recuperation period after getting neutered, there’ll be Julius. He does look a little bit like Louie, doesn’t he?

Julius currently resides in Nürnberg with Amelie.

Your Wish was my Command

I’m kind of a spur of the moment gal, so when I initiated the blog project 2008 (Your Musical Wish Concert), I was stoked to get actual requests from real people. Well, it’s over now, but you can still listen to the playlist at blip.fm. Here’s the listing of titles I played. I say thank you to the participants, I had a lot of fun! We must do it again sometime.

1. Little Drummer Boy, the Dandy Warhols

2. All I Need, Air

3. Fairytale of New York, the Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl

4. Run Rudolph Run, the Brian Setzer Orchestra

5. Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant & the Ants

6. Christmas is for Losers, Mike Nicolai

7. Waterloo, ABBA

8. That was the Worst Christmas Ever!, Sufjan Stevens

9. Setting Sun, the Chemical Brothers

10. Christmas Eve in Sarajevo, the TransSiberian Orchestra

11. What can you get a Wookie for Christmas? 3CPO & R2D2

12. Steinbeisser, Paul Kalkbrenner

13. Riders on the Storm, Snoop Dog feat. the Doors

Snow!

Fabulous! Guess I got the snow tires on just in time. I’m going to have to post a picture for you guys out there….

And in Heidelberg: amazingly, the same temperature. Mucky field dreck. When do I get to go home again?

A Better Life-Exclusive: On the Pond

Link:

Mark with Max and Rufus, Anke and Robi with Daisy.

A Musical Blog Project

I guess I’m a sucker for punishment, I have no other explanation why I’m doing this…
Anyway: send me your favorite songs by Sunday, December 7th, and I will give you air time on blip.fm! Yes, if I get enough entries to make a playlist (and musical style is of no consequence here, just pick what you like), I will play DJane and present to you, my darling readers, your Christmas concert 2008!

If I don’t get YOUR playlist, I’ll just have to play mine… find me on blip.fm

Vyv is a Vixen

You Are Vixen

Sexy and sultry, you’re the one all the other reindeer dream about. Why You’re Naughty: That fur pulling spat you got into with Dancer over Santa. Why You’re Nice: Because even when you’re nice, you’re still delightfully naughty!

Which of Santa’s Reindeer Are You?