* Cake Connections *

~ 30th September 2008 ~

Regarding my recent cake marathon blog, there are a couple of ladies I would like to thank. Without them my buttercream fiasco would have been a disaster as I would have panicked and given up after failing so many times.

Crumb coating and later frosting the cake was no easy task for a novice like me. Baking lessons for me were mainly from friends, family

* cakes marathon! *

~ 28th Sept 2008 ~



I just got home from a very dear friend's house. We've known each other since kindergarten! It's her birthday, well...today i.e. but we were at her place I guess you would say yesterday, considering it is now 0142hours.out from under the ring but thank goodness yours truly did a brilliant job with the paper cutting. And a couple of hours later, I had a beautiful heart shape cake. I wanted to do a marble effect but could not remember how and ended with a bit of red batter blopped in the middle like a heart. At least I now know what will happen when I do that again. :P

* designer in the house *

~ 23rd Sept 2008 ~

It's over a month since the little fella's come into our home. He's not the timid little bugger I picked up last month but he still does not warm up easily to people. Something I like so that he won't be easily duped by potential burglars. Unlike my silly Guzz who barks at visitors but it sounds more like "Come nearer so I can nuzzle you!"

* who's that dog? *

~ 21st September 2008 ~

Thought I'll leave you with these two cute videos of the pup taken on day 4 with me. It was the first time I finally heard any sounds from him. He was annoyed with the dog that kept staring at him each time he came into the room.

* Hallelujah! *

~ 09th Sept 2008 ~

I have a rule. I do not blog or share any personal matters online but today, I'm going to make the exception because I believed and it happened and I am so happy.

* doggie sense *

~ 6th September 2008 ~

Recently I blogged about a pup I rescued. Well, it took 4 days when I finally heard him do a playful growl at Guzz. Since then....he's been gaining his confidence daily and his colours are beginning to show.

He still wavers whenever I call him, thinks a couple of times to come or not. There is no hesitation if he knows food is the reason. Yet, when he does come, he enjoys the rubs around his ears and body and starts to rub himself up against me for more....something like a cat does. Haha..

He is smart. Never runs out the front gate, backs away towards the house as soon as the auto gate moves. Guess he realises he's in a better place and he was not going to be caught out on the other side of the gate.

He adores Guzz, who was not very happy with him at first. You can hear Guzz giving short warning growls every now and then followed by little puppy returns. Guzz is the only one he wags his tail into a frenzy to. I only get it when I get home from school or just before I set down his food bowl!

All in all, he is a lovely fella. We are still working on his trust issues but he is very good at routine. He's been sleeping in my room since he came because I was not sure how he'd be all night outside with Guzz being so grumpy. So every night as I am ready to close that glass door, he sits behind me watching and soon as it's shut, he heads to the room.

In the morning, he heads straight to the glass door, tail wagging, excited as hell.

1. Greets Guzz.
2. Goes to pee.
3. Bugs Guzz for awhile.
4. He gets back in for his breakfast.
5. Out with Guzz till forever if he can.

Ironically whenever I am home, he checks back in every 45mins or so and quietly watches me to see what I am doing. He would peer from behind the wall first before he thinks it's worth coming nearer to further investigate. If food is involved, he sits nearby otherwise he's out with Guzz once more.

Guzz has gotten used to the idea of him staying and has shown signs of actually enjoying playing with him. I was watching telly the other day and I could hear the two of them doing a whole series of grunts and sneezes and barks, growls, snarls,etc right around above my head. I was lying on the floor and these jokers were just behind me. I turned around and there was Guzz standing there with his jaw open and the little fella's head was in there! Not only was he able to turn his head in different angles whilst in there but he was absolutely enjoying himself. It reminded me of the circus act where the lion tamer puts his head into his lion's open jaws.

So there's the story of my two circus acts. The big brother and the little happy fella who is at this moment snoozing peacefully by my side after a gruelling session with Guzz earlier.

Little fella still does not have a name and I am cracking my head to give him a good one. We made jokes referring to his lameness but no. The vet said whatever fractures he had in his hinds have healed and though not correctly so but he is still able to walk without much problems. His lower back too had suffered the same fate and you can see his back stoops a little as he walks. As for the suspect injured ribs, she said nothing can be done but lots of rest and they'll heal on their own. Other than that she said he's good. Gave him a jab and some lotion to treat his bad skin and he's looking better and better everyday.

He needs to exercise his legs to strengthen them and she said swimming is the best. Mmmm......don't have a pool or big bucket. Maybe will have to invest in a wading kids' pool? Hahaha...

He now uses both back legs when he walks. Running, he is a 3 legged dog, using his hinds as one. Rarely I see him drag one back leg but he is trying to be as normal as any other pup and he is for sure loving his new found friend and home.

He has started barking at the neighbours and visitors. Pretty fearsome sounding coming from the shorty. I once heard the neighbour telling him off for barking at her and he barked back after every sentence! It definitely was a two way conversation going on there. :)

* tugging at my heart strings *

~ 18th August 2008 ~



I work in a kindergarten just behind my place and walking is of course the best and most economical reason compared to driving. As for the exercise bit, it hardly works up any sweat cos I am there within eight minutes tops.

One morning as I was nearing the school, I could hear a puppy's cry for help. It sounded as if it was coming from the huge drains just across from the school. I went in and the teacher told me a pup had fallen in.

So I went there and true enough, there was this little fella crying its lungs out for its mother to come get him. Mother was meantime walking up and down the length of the drain and saw me near her pup. She came and I spoke gently to her, clicking assuringly to let her know I meant no harm.

I gingerly held both sides of the drain and swung my feet into the deep drain. Standing in it, only my head was barely visible over the top. Imagine what a drop it had been for the little fella!

Moving slowly so as not to scare the fella, I reached it and quickly carried it up over the edge and placed it on the grass just as it turned its head around and barely missed my hand with its teeth in between a snarl. So much for gratitude.

The mother seemed grateful and they happily ran off together.

The next day, the same thing happened, twice and this time when I hesitated the second time, mother stood there and barked at me to hurry up! And to my surprise, it was a different pup.

We later discovered there were actually four pups altogether. I also noticed a few odd things I had to admire them for. When mother left them in a spot to scavenge for food, they stayed within the space she left them. One of them woke up once to find himself alone and started to howl for its mother and siblings. I came out thinking it had fallen into the drain but eventually I found it under a parked car.

The moment it saw me peering under the car, it clamped up, curled into a ball and stayed that way until its mother came back!

Another morning I heard a pup's cry for its mother and I found it in the smaller drain in front of a house's driveway. When it saw me, it stopped and looked away. I lifted the iron grill that covered the drain but it immediately walked deeper in where I could not reach it. Of course, it also snarled and snapped at me and I could see its tiny little sharp teeth. Sigh....I never could get it out and left it there.

Next day, I saw it out on the curb with its mother who seemed elated seeing me. I stroked the mother while the pup growled softly to warn me from touching it. By this time, we were wondering where the others were cos there was no sign of them for ages.

I noticed the pup's hind legs did not look normal. They seemed too relaxed as if lame. I suspected it was either due to the falls in the drain or someone's tyres had lightly rolled over them. I felt my heart strings tug and that was when my mind started to play with me.

All day I worried about the pup being knocked over as it tried to move around on its front legs, how it got from one place to another. I later found it around the same spot on its own. I walked up to it and just as I gently stroked its back, it slithered into a drain hole. I would have grabbed its tail or legs to get it out but it was growling fiercely and I did not have any protection. So I left and decided to come back for it later.

I prepared a box with two small towels and looked for my gloves that I used at my previous job. This box stayed ready at home.

It was Friday and I had the car by chance for the weekend. I cruised the area when it was not hot as I guessed it would come out from its hidey hole but I never saw it. I tried tailing its mother one day but she went somewhere else instead. I gave her biscuits in a small plastic bag a couple of times. She took the bag gently in her mouth and took it back to her pup to share. She's a good mother. She taught her pups defensive techniques and to stay and wait for her return. Sunday evening I did a few more rounds but no luck. :(



Monday morning I said a prayer that I needed to find that pup and bring it home. I wanted to check its legs and hoped that I would be able to give it a better quality life if I can help its legs be better with some massage therapy. When Guzz's mother first came to our home, one of her hind legs seemed to be limp and the vet told dad to do physio with it and now she runs and walks like any normal dog.



So, a little sad at my bad weekend search, I headed to school. Lo and behold, there was mother walking along the school's shallow drain. The teacher told me that the pup was in the drain and that's when I heard it cry for its mum. I was elated and stroked the mother who came up to me. However, when the little fella saw me, it tucked its tail in between its legs and kinda walked away to hide beneath the little bridge at my school's gate. Of course, it growled as it walked away. I tried to talk to it but it just growled and snarled and curled up quietly.



Mother left to scavenge as our fella fell asleep in that spot. I kept checking to make sure it stayed there and after school, I went out to do an errand with my mum. Upon our return, I enlisted the aid of our help and with box ready on the side, she with a broom and my hands in gloves holding a towel, I waited on one end as she tried to frighten it towards me.



The moment it knew I was waiting on the other end, it tried to go over the broom which freaked out our help as he was quite the growler. I yelled at her to shake the broom and try nudge him back at me. It was this point mother came back and she was getting excited with all the commotion. My help started to panic but I assured her the mother was not going to bite any of us.



For a suspect lame pup, it could escape quite fast from me. Partly cos it was a bit difficult for my two left feet to nimbly run in that uneven drain after it. It was in desperation I threw the towel over its head before scooping it up in my gloved hands and shouting for the box as I got out of the drain. The little fella howled and mother started to bark concern.



Funnily as soon as I placed the little fella into the box, it gave one last yelp and curled up into a ball and shut up! Even when I called its mother to come reassure it, it did not make one squeek. I softly told its mother I was taking her baby home to take care of his legs, to give him a better life. She seemed to understand and enjoyed the stroking from me as I spoke. When I stood up, she just looked at us and stood aside. I said to my mum to drive a little faster as I did not want mother to follow us.



Surprisingly she did not. This got me thinking, 'Maybe her pup being where it was was not a coincidence but her own feelings of assurance knowing I was there to watch over it. I guess she did not think I would take it away from her. I'm sorry but I can only afford to take one home.



From the minute the little fella was placed in the box to my house, it made no sounds. It did not try to climb out of the box nor get up at all. I readied a bigger box and gently tipped it into it. He gave me a suspicious stare as he moved to a corner in bewilderment.

He was afraid of his new surroundings and of the crazy person that kept talking softly to him and patting him on the sides of his face. He wanted his mother but he dared not cry out. However he was beginning to enjoy that patting and his eyes felt heavy. He was getting sleepy but he was still cautious and kept opening his eyes often to make sure his patter was not going to harm him. Sleepy....sooo sleepy.

* Fluke or Real? *

~ 05th August 2008 ~



In my first blog post I mentioned of a probable heart attack if Guzz starts talking to me one day. Well....it didn't quite happen that way today but let's just say I had early angina.



Guzz has been banned from the entering the house for more than two weeks now. Prior to this he was more of the house dog than the watch dog. There were nights when I locked up, he would give me that 'uh uh ' look and sprint into my bedroom, laying in wait with sad eyes as I come round to get him out. Of course, one look and I was emotionally manipulated to let him stay. Sometimes you can see me doing a fitful dance as I fought within myself to let or not let him sleep in!



He has since accepted the fact his indoor priviledges have been revoked and some days he would stand ready to rush in when I am opening the door but backs off when I warn him to forget his intentions. Other times he would just watch me from a distance as if he was not bothered.



So today, my mum and help came awhile and I left the grill slightly ajar. Guzz seized the oppourtunity to sit just inside the entrance on the mat. Pretty soon he was comfortably fast asleep, his nose twitching as he dreamt of whatever dogs dream of.



Later, our help said something and he moved places within the same place and laid his head on his paws almost dozing. She commented on how comfortable he was.



I stood about 4 feet from him and this is what happened.

I said, "Mmm.." (Ahem!) He stirred a bit, slowly lifting his lids a quarter open.

Then I said, "Ah...." (Yes...?!)His eyes opened slightly more and there was a hint of a wag somewhere.

"SO?" (Well..??!!) His tail began to wag harder and he lifted his head slightly in my direction.

"Hor" (Well??!! in a tone higher) He gets up, stretches and smiles at me.

"What?" (What you gonna do?) He turns towards the door and steps out, tail wagging slowly and makes a 360 degrees turn and looks at me.
He yawns while still wagging his tail, a consistent pendulum rhythm and gives me his sad eyes " It was just for a little while..."

I turned to our help and pointed out how he understood my intentions without me actually saying words like get up or go outside, etc.

Then I looked at Guzz, " You know very well what you are not supposed to do yet you tried huh?"
" Don't give me that look and go drink some water. "
Guzz looks at me, yawns again and shifts about.
" I said go drink some water "
He gives me a strange look and slowly turns to his left before walking in that direction. My hair stood a little as I realised he was heading towards his water bowl.
I walked to the doorway and to my * Indescribable feeling * , watched him with incredulity as he drinks from his water bowl! Yes, part of the hairs along my back stood at his reaction to my unspoken words. He knew all along what I was getting at and got back at me by doing exactly what I wanted of him.

Would you call it fluke? Or was it a coincidence? Or is my Guzz really that smart?
Mmmmm............................