Lambiedog

Year-end wrap-up

        I spent last night at the bar with my drinking buddy, reviewing the past year's ups and downs.

 It was a good year overall.  I solidified friendships, controlled my seizure disorder, and honed my connection to the bluffs.  We got a new president, and he got a new dog.

 Yes, there were some disappointments, notably in the squirrel department.  But, as my friend reminded me, in toto it was a banner Year of Lambie.

 No one can know what the coming year will bring, but tomorrow I may come up with some resolutions to guide me going forward.  

So, until next year...have a safe and happy New Year's Eve, dear Readers!

Anthropomorphized

    This guy Pepe or Paco always arrives at the bluffs in a carriage.  His owner pushes the stroller up to the curb, and then Pepe/Paco steps out like a pasha.  

    We get along fine but I secretly look down on the way he is pampered and infantilized by his owner.

    I would never put up with that.

Malibu

     There's a puppy named Malibu at the bluffs.  I find him very interesting.

  He still has that puppy tendency of leaping onto those around him.  As soon as he does the leaping, his owner swoops in and restrains him, and they depart.  Which usually means that he is restrained seconds after he arrives at the bluff, and that he is only at the bluff for seconds before he leaves.

    So my sightings of Malibu tend to be of him departing.

 

Holiday gift leads to uncomfortable revelation re increased girth

 

    I received a holiday present from some East Coast cats I know.

    They sent me a most thoughtful gift:  a faux-sheepskin coat from LL Bean. It is very cozy, with a nice warm collar.  And the color complements my fur beautifully.

    Unfortunately however, while the coat they sent was a size Small, it appears that I am now a size Medium.

 The Velcro straps could not make it across my chest unless pulled very tight.  The neck strap does make it around my neck, but just barely.

    

Perhaps we will sew on some extra Velcro to extend the stomach closure a bit.  Or maybe I should just enjoy the garment as a cloak rather than a coat, in which case there would be no need to fasten the stomach ties shut.  

I am sure that Buster, Myra, Arnie, Flash, Blackie and Ruff would be mortified if their gift caused me any body image anxiety.

Ho ho ho

 

        I paid Willy a holiday visit.

    Kim greeted me warmly.

    Then Willy came out to join me and my family for a walk around the block.

    When we dropped him off at his house, I watched wistfully as he walked inside without a backward glance.  Apparently, he's not as sentimental as I am.

    

In need of a Christmas miracle

 

Things are looking grim for Thomas' computer.  He cracked the screen a few days ago, and ordered a new one from eBay.

 Today Charlie got out his tools to install the replacement screen and carefully, taking hours, took everything apart, only to learn that that we'd been sent the wrong screen, which won't work with Thomas' computer. Then, while he was putting the computer back together, he dropped a screw into the computer's headphone jack.  He and Thomas tried everything, but they couldn't get it out.

 While Charlie worked on a communication to the eBay seller, Thomas took a quick nap on the sofa.  

Perceiving that they were both dejected, I tried to lend support.  

I wished I could do more.  Why couldn't I be a helpful techie when my brothers needed me most?

It's terrible to feel impotent to stop the suffering of those you love.  

Secret of my success

    People sometimes ask me how it is that I am so attuned to bluff goings-on.

 

    I don't want to brag, but the answer is that I have super-sensitive ears.

Joyous reunion

 

We were just one of many families in the scrum at the airport. But our reunion was very special to me, even though it took place surrounded by a multitude of people standing around waiting for their loved ones and luggage.

  

It's in my genetic code

 

 When I saw Sisi running after her ball I felt the primal urge to herd her.   

 I wonder how she feels about this buckaroo side of me.

Consolation prize

 

 I had hoped to be invited to light the tree at Rockefeller Center this year, but the call never came.  

Although I had been told that Aretha Franklin was going to condition her involvement upon me being included, apparently she forgot. Perhaps her handlers talked her out of it.

 In the midst of my disappointment, I was mollified to at least receive a local tree-lighting invitation. "Lambie," I said to myself, "Remember that there's no place like home for the holidays."

View from the bluff

Early morning:

 

Late afternoon:

 

Evening:

 

Roadside assistance

    Bo was doing some maintenance on his vehicle.   I offered to help.

He checked the oil with his dip stick. 

   

I checked the gas cap.

All systems looked good.  

 Bo was ready to hit the road.

 Before he left we compared our fur coats.   

           

This just in: three new benches for the bluffs

  
There were five city trucks at the bluffs this morning, and a bunch of men digging.

     They were there at the behest of the Los Angeles Parks Foundation , which will install three! new benches there by the end of the year, as well as some at the Via de las Olas bluff.

 I had been wondering since November about a chalk rectangle that appeared on the ground roughly halfway between the Calamaro and Berman benches.

 It turns out that that spot, which is where the men were working this morning, will be the site of the first bench to be installed. I think it will be up by the end of the day.

  It seems wonderfully appropriate that the bench will memorialize a longtime neighborhood resident who rescued dogs and loved animals in general:  Melodie Mooz, who passed away last year, way too soon.  Melodie understood dogs and was devoted to them;  they reciprocated her devotion.

  Not all of the other benches will be memorials.  As Rudy, the gentleman in charge of the bench installation, told me,"People shouldn't have to die for you to get benches to enjoy."

I liked Rudy, who seems like a warm and wise man.  I also liked Judith Kieffer, Executive Director of the L.A. Parks Foundation, who was at the bluff as well.  Below is a photo of the three of us at the site of the second bench that will be installed.

 

 And here is a photo of Rudy and Judith walking over to check on the Robbins bench, which is going to be repaired.  (That's my friend Raymundo you see parked to their right on Asilomar, trying to get his truck to start.)

All in all, it's a great time to be at the bluffs.

Vogue of the bluffs

While I've been focusing on my Japanese study, it has been quite a week for fashion at the bluffs.  The weather may be cold, but it has not stifled bluffgoers' enthusiasm for beauty and style.

First I saw a dog in a flashy racing outfit.

 

Then I noticed a fashion shoot taking place.  

 

 The models kindly interrupted their poses to spend a moment letting me adulate them.

    

 Finally, I ran into my friend Gucci having a grooming session on the bench.

The weather was not great but Gucci's hairstyle looked chic and up-to-the-minute. 

 

Perhaps it's shallow, but I must admit I've enjoyed hobnobbing with all these beauty insiders.  It makes for a good break from my studies.

I spy with my little eye...something that is green

 While I was walking home from the bluffs the other day, I glanced into a driveway and noticed a familiar sight.

 
    A good samaritan?  A hedonist overcome by guilt?  Someone reserving a chair to put out along the parade route on July 4?  

    The important thing is that it's off the bluff.