Monday Mischief: The Deconstructed “Buffet”

Have you noticed how “deconstructed” recipes have caught on over the past few years? There’s “deconstructed lasagna”, “deconstructed eggplant parmesan”, “deconstructed stuffed cabbage” – on and on it goes. The “art of deconstructed food” is so popular that there are websites dedicated to restaurants that offer it.

Well, Daisy has her own version – the “deconstructed garbage”. It’s her version of a buffet filled with – ahem – “interesting” selections. And here’s a small sign that she’s been hitting the buffet line:

“Deconstructed” trash.

Usually there’s a long trail, but this time she found what she wanted right away. Fortunately, I discovered her little excavation quickly, before she had a chance to further deconstruct the tissue of choice. Here she is with one of her famous “I’m-just-sitting-here-innocently” looks – which always comes after she does something mischievous. (I’d found the targeted tissue nestled tightly between her paws.)

Little Miss Innocence

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The Sticky Note Bandit Strikes Again

A while ago, I wrote about Daisy’s sticky note addiction – for some reason, these things are to her what chocolate is to most of us women….at least the women in our family!

Well, this time the sneaky little thing went after a pack of sticky-note bookmarks right in front of me.

Daisy’s new rule of mischief: Feign interest in someone’s work to distract them from your ultimate goal.

Hmm….this looks like a complex piece, DD….let’s study it more closely…

Now, what’s this note here?

I’ll just move up here so I can see the whole thing better….

I…ahem….need to see this particular page better…. ::cough cough:: [Eye on the prize!]

Just checking to make sure you’re not looking at me….

Zeroing in…..

It’s MINE!!!

Oops….do you think they’ll notice that I flipped it over?

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PS~ Thanks for all your good wishes for DH’s surgery. It went well, but he had far more extensive damage than the doctor thought. He’s home resting, using the ice machine, and tolerating the pain. We appreciated all your messages!

Monday Mischief – Daisy Says, “Sock It To Me!”

Remember Daisy’s little quirk about having to topple high heeled shoes over? Well, her next favorite thing in the world is…. socks. (She has a lot in common with our buddy Snoopy!)

Lookee Mommy – I found treasure!

Worn socks are her favorite, but she’ll take anything she can grab. When we have the laundry basket out, she LOVES catching a sock as it’s tossed into the basket. You’ve never seen a happier dog!

Umm, why are you staring at me? Am I not supposed to have this?

I’ll just look away and pretend not to notice you. But don’t touch my sock.

I’ll just settle down and get to work on this sock. This thing’s mine now.

Think I’ll take a break from all that sock work….but I’m not letting go for a second!

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Monday Mischief – Using Her Havachon Wiles

It’s an unspoken Havachon Rule in our house that all ribbons are Daisy’s turf. Daisy will charm you, doe-eye you, and pour on the sweetness until you go into diabetic shock…..IF you’re wearing something with a long ribbon on it.

Once you succumb to her sweetness, which everyone does at some point, she’ll climb on your lap using those big eyes to their best advantage, tiny ears drooping  to emphasize her cuteness. “Awww,” you inevitably say, “this is so sweet!”

She’s got you right where she wants you. All cuted-out and helpless.

And that’s when she makes her move.

She’s used her Havachon wiles to gain access to your ribbon. The telltale sign? A loud open-mouthed, lip-smacking chewing sound and a very content looking puppy.

It's mine....all mine....

This is such a deep pleasure for Daisy that she actually goes into a “zone”, with an expression on her face that tells us she’s miles away, thoroughly and completely enjoying her ribbon addiction.

::slurp chew chomp munch::

Most of DD’s pajama bottoms have draw-string ribbons running through the top, and that’s Daisy’s Number One Target. She could sit on DD’s lap for hours if we let her, just pulling and chewing away on those ribbons.

The weirdest thing is — she actually ties knots in them somehow. Tight knots that can’t be undone. (Could she be a reincarnated super-flirt who used to tie knots in cherry stems with her tongue??)

Who'd believe these used to be flowing pink ribbons?!

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Monday Mischief – Daisy On High

Look where I found Crazy Daisy last week!

Uh ohhh.....they caught me.....

Yup, she’s perched on top of the sofa. Not on the seat cushions – on the sofa back. She’s balanced between the hard frame and the removable cushions – not an easy task.

Why, you may ask, would Daisy choose to leap up there and risk breaking her leg rather than enjoy the soft cushions, blankets, and multiple pillows below her? Answer: The Lure Of The Pillow.

The one pillow that was separated from the rest. The small pillow was inadvertently left on top of the back cushion. To Daisy, this is irresistible – there must be something special about that pillow if it gets the highest ground.

If I look away and act nonchalant, maybe they won't notice me....

If it was safe for Daisy up there, we wouldn’t mind. But there’s just enough space between the sofa and the wall that she could easily get stuck and break a leg or even a hip; plus the cushions aren’t attached to the sofa, so this balancing act she’s doing is pretty risky.

Pushing the sofa back against the wall isn’t really an option for a number of reasons, so we’ll just have to remember never to leave a pillow up there again.

You have to take special precautions when you have such a mischievous little pup! 😀

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Daisy and the Dishwasher

What a little character we have here!

If any of you have ever seen the old Star Trek movie “Wrath of Khan”, you’ll remember the moment when Khan’s second in command asks him why he insists on seeking retribution against Captain Kirk years after he’d been wronged by him. Khan’s response, with fists clenched, was, “He tasks me.”

Well, the dishwasher is Daisy’s Captain Kirk. It definitely tasks her.

Every time we put anything in it, she comes flying into the kitchen looking wide-eyed and expectantly between us and the dishwasher. “Is it going on, Mommy? Are you turning it on now? Can ya, huh huh huh?”

When we don’t turn it on, she gets a bit frustrated and sometimes grumbles.

But when we do turn it on….that’s when the show starts.

As soon as Daisy sees us open the under-sink cabinet and take out the dishwasher detergent, she goes into action. With an excited yip, she squeezes half of her body underneath the open dishwasher door.

Then, when we close the door, she waits for that telltale SNAP that tells her all systems are go and liftoff is imminent. She then stares at the Start button, and if we take too long to push it, she starts grumbling and yipping again.

As soon as we push it, she shoves her nose into the corner while the motor quietly hums and waits for the sound of water flowing into the dishwasher. This really intrigues her. With ears at attention, she investigates the corner, the front of the dishwasher, and the small area beneath the dishwasher door.

When she inevitably cannot solve whatever mystery she’s investigating, she looks up at us for an explanation.

It’s just too funny. Eventually she gives the dishwasher door a lick to match the nose marks she’s left, and she’s on her way. This happens every single time, day after day, week after week, month after….well, you get the idea. And with each passing week, she gets a little more excited and yippy.

Daisy leaves her mark!

Silly puppy! 🙂

Daisy The Purple Paper Post-It Eater

For a dog who’s so finicky about her food, Daisy sure isn’t finicky about her “snacks”.

Daisy is part goat, I’m convinced of it.

The other day, DD asked where her purple Post-It bookmarks were. We looked high and low, until Daisy walked innocently into the room with something weird looking sticking out of her mouth.

Hmmmmmm……

I reached down and pulled a purple Post-It bookmark out of her mouth – it looked like a dark cigarette dangling out of someone’s mouth! When I realized what it was, I opened her mouth and swept my finger over her tongue, where I pulled out a thoroughly soggy, scrunched-up Post-It that looked like a chewed wad of gum.

Chewed Post-Its....or what's left of them....

Uh ohhhhh……

I went into the family room – lo and behold, there was a thin pack of DD’s purple Post-Its lying on the floor, chewed and soggy. Around it was a bunch of smaller Post-It bits, again looking like chewed purple gum.

“I think I found your Post-Its….” I called to DD.

When she looked at them in horror, I knew something more was wrong.

“That was a full pack of Post-It bookmarks!”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I only used two of them! The pack was really thick!” She indicated at least half an inch with her fingers – at least.

“She couldn’t have eaten them!” We searched and searched – we shook out Daisy’s blankets as well as the blankets that protect our sofa from Daisy’s torturous nails; we looked under furniture and even in places where she couldn’t possibly go.

Nothing.

This silly puppy ate a WHOLE PACK OF PURPLE POST-ITS!! We were so worried! Immediately we went online and Googled “Are Post-Its safe for dogs to eat”. We thought it was a ridiculous query – and it was. Apparently Daisy is one of very few dogs who find Post-Its to be an irresistible culinary delight.

This is what we half expected Daisy to look like after her Purple Post-It dining extravaganza! 😉

There wasn’t any real help for this, so we followed the rule for dogs who eat a lot of paper – wait it out and see if they continue with normal eating and normal stools. If not, there could be a blockage.

Great.

We watched her like a hawk for the next 48 hours (we do a lot of hawk-watching since we got Daisy!). DD moved Daisy into her room for the next two nights so she could immediately hear if she vomited or anything else sounded wrong.

I’m happy to report that Daisy suffered no ill side effects from her exotic dining adventure. We were also concerned as to whether the purple pigment and sticky stuff on the back of the Post-Its could have any long-range toxicity issues. We’ll mention it to the vet at her regular appointment in September – I guess I know the story he’ll be telling at dinner that night!

Daisy the Finicky Gourmet Havachon

When it comes to food, Daisy gets bored easily. Makes things a bit difficult, since new dog foods need to be introduced slowly so we can’t just switch her to something different when the winds of change hit her.

::yawn:: I'm just so darned bored with the same ol' food day and night....

Leave it to Daisy. Our previous dog ate whatever was put in front of her, but Daisy’s got quite the sophisticated palate. 😉

Daisy was enjoying a beef-based dry dog food for months, when she suddenly started turning her nose up at it. Turned out she’d decided it was too dry for her. I found this out on a whim, when I added water just to see what would happen.

She scarfed it down as if it were a fresh roast.

Now that another few months have gone by, Daisy’s Finicky Gourmet Palate has struck again. We’d put her food down and she’d just sit there, staring at us as if to say, “That again? You expect me to eat that?”

Vets always seem to say that if a dog gets finicky and refuses to eat her food, you should just leave it there for 20 minutes to half an hour and then remove it. They’ll eat their next meal because they’ll be hungry.

Not Daisy. When she goes on a hunger strike, she won’t budge. She’d rather starve to death than give in. You should see the theatrics!

So we made a trip to our local dog store to see what we could find. Wow, were we ever happy to see that they had an abundance of trial-size dog foods that they were giving away for free! The owner was very knowledgeable and helped us sort through the dozens of brands and flavors – she ended up filling a shopping bag with everything from lamb, beef, venison, pork, and bison-based foods to vegan varieties. All organic, and all quite different from each other.

Now that's MUCH better! Smells more like "people food"! 🙂

We still have 16 pounds left of a very large bag of dog food we’d purchased on sale, stupidly thinking Daisy would always like it. Hah! No way were we going to toss that much expensive food out, so I rifled through the samples we’d brought home and found one organic brand that was dehydrated – you just add water, wait 3-5 minutes, and voila! Instant dog food.

What we didn’t like was that there was no chewing necessary. Except for a few veggie slices, the stuff was like oatmeal and could be eaten easily by a toothless granpup. 😉 Daisy doesn’t do well with moist dog foods in the “aftermath” – I’m sure I don’t need to explain! BUT – it was very flavorful.  We could tell just from sniffing it that it was well seasoned – the garlic aroma was evident.

So I got the idea to mix a small bit of reconstituted food into Daisy’s regular food just until we finish the rest of this big bag. Success! She gobbled it up like it was Thanksgiving dinner!

And since we’re just putting a little bit into her food, these trial-sized bags of dehydrated food will last a long time. Now, instead of Daisy refusing to eat, she practically watches the clock – around 5:00, she starts pacing around, then comes in and stares holes in me.

So now we have a happy puppy again. One very small drawback for us, though – she actually does end up with tiny garlic breath…. 😉

Lesson learned, though – we’ll never invest in 30 pounds of dog food with this picky eater again!

Daisy’s Doing the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop Again!

We had so much fun with last week’s Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop, we decided to do it again!

This is Daisy’s sillier side – her love of hanging upside-down 😀

Daisy’s Bliss – The Ear Rub

What a frustrating day yesterday was! My ISP was – and still is – down nationally. Major outage. They don’t know when they’ll get their 4G service working again, and they’re a MAJOR provider! I couldn’t be offline a second day – as a freelance journalist, the internet is crucial for me. This morning I called them again and explained my situation, and they gave me a workaround to access the 3G network, which is still functioning. A bit slower and choppier because of the high demand due to the outage, but at least it’s working.

So it’s a short post today, since I have a LOT of catching up to do. But I just had to share this picture of Daisy getting her ears rubbed. She reacts like a person who’s getting a full-body massage after a weekend of hard yard work; she doesn’t move a muscle:

Ahhhhhh....don't break the spell......