Benvenuti, Bienvenue, Bienvenida, Hos geldin, مرحبا بكم, ברוכים הבאים, Welcome!

Hi there,

Welcome to my little corner of the planet. It may change physically, but my life is always evolving and things are always happening; sometimes hysterical, sometimes heart-wrenching, but never, ever dull. Masallah!

Nicole Silverman, Zazoo's Mama

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Be careful what you wish for...

...or a how to divert a morning of disaster.


Lately, there have been way too many Afghan Hounds and sight hounds running away and staying away in this great big nation of ours. Facebook is the perfect medium to spread the word. But to an anxious Afghan Mama of two, it's made me even more apprehensive. And anxious. So anxious that I've recently purchased a gps tracking collar for each Mötley Monkey.

They were charged up, activated and placed on their collars yesterday morning. When Zaz and I marched, it sent me an SMS stating he left the home zone. Cool.

We have had record-breaking mild weather this Winter. Man, Mother Nature heard my prayers. Finally. A wet snow day in October then another of about an inch that melted the same day in January. Blessed.

It's been really warm. So warm that daffodils and crocus are everywhere. A fog rolled in over the water at dusk so I knew we were in for some weather. Sweet Lucile texted a weather update. Colder, rain, possible thunder and high winds. I do love a good thunder and lightening storm and I love to hear the wind howl. The drama of it makes me feel alive and invigorated.

Ok. So the winds came and are still here this morning. Bright and sunny but windy! Love it. Looking forward to the march with Zazoo.

As they finished dining, I have to shuffle them around so...to make my life easier. I put ililiSit! on the deck and prepared to saddled up the big guy. He barked frantically as he peered through the front glass door. It was the "get the hell off my property" bark. So I took a look and saw the back half of a big yellow dog in the hedges surrounding the stairs. It took a second but...it was f ing ilili! She escaped. The first time in Premium Point, I thought. I put Zaz on the deck where i knew the table barricade was in place so he couldnt get down the stairs and grabbed her leash and the iPhone. I didn't have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Priceless. I knew I'd get her back safe and sound. She came to me straightaway but slipped through my hands! Tricky girl. She had a romp through the neighbour's properties, of which I had the opportunity to see close ups of their homes as I watched ililiScamper not sit, through the properties at this early morning, Saturday morning hour.

We are not very far from a main road this time so that's the primary reason for the gps purchase. I saddled her two houses away as she peered into their glassdoor and we returned home. The gps system didn't even activate coz we were so close to our house. Easy peasy.

The confidence I had in knowing she had the locator affixed to her collar made me not stress and catch her in a more relaxed way. God, life is good when I take precautions. Priceless.

And how did she get out? I walked the grounds and saw that a big trash bin that sits outside the wrought iron gate was blown by the wind into said heavy gate which opened enough for her to scamper. Ahh, the wind that I love. Tricky.

The items are from tagg.com. Cost for both and charger is 200 USD. Monthly gps fee is under 10 USD. Live stream tracking comes up on a map on any smart phone. SMS and emails sent as well. http://www.pettracker.com/

Sunday, February 19, 2012

There seems to be an incredibly large amount of Afghans escaping or...

...the humans that care for them just aren't feeding them enough?

Via Facebook, I learn about lost domesticated animals.  Some local, some nation-wide.  Afghans are the nationwide ones & friends constantly post & ask for cross-posting of these beautiful but illusive silly, scared animals safe return.

My stomach turns each time I read about another lost one.  Mine have been easy to bring home...so far.  But I got that strange, horrible feeling in the pit of my tummy after reading one of these postings this morning.  Time to do something.  Even though our posh new residence, Premium Point, is secluded from the outside world, we're only a block away from a busy main thoroughfare. Uff!  I can't even...ok, so what to do?

I asked Cesar Milan, but didn't get a reply. I also asked Afghan Hounds International & The Pedigree Database 

also known as the Afghan yentah hot line.  This was my post: 
I'm getting a bad feeling with all these Afghans taking a runner. I want to buy gps locators for mine so I'm not the next sorry MoFo posting about this. Question: What is the best system? I want to buy it today. If I can afford this expensive breed, then I sure as hell can afford a gps system to care for them. Thanks.
 I received over a hundred responses with only one, yes, one, reply to the question and it was this big, heavy collar with an antenna.  I can just picture my monkeys running around like "Lost in Space" or  Astro, "The Jetson's" dogs.  Oy vey.  I did manage to meet a lot of squirrel-y Afghan owners and was quite amused reading their comments.
Bottom line:  after some comprehensive research on my own, I purchased 2 collars, a white for Zazzy and a pink for...you guessed it.  With all the other stuff that comes with it & a monthly charge so I can track & find them with my handy dandy iPhone.

They will be here in a few days & hopefully the Jewel will don the pink one & we can play "hide and go seek".



Wednesday, February 15, 2012

What's wrong with this picture or....

...what did that damned ililiSit! Get up to now?

From years of traveling, I wash lingerie by hand, in the tub, as I wash myself. Time efficient. Conserves water. Saves the delicate fabric and elastic. So what I usually do is throw said lingerie into the tub when I peel it off at night and forget about it until it's washed In the morning with me.

Side note: since the spay/neuter drama, I've let ililiSit! have more freedom. Translation: she's giving her Facebook friend, SophieNo! a run for her money. First it was the commanda on Monday. Thank God they send a free replacement today.


And then today: When I walked into this kitchen this morning I saw something on the window seat. It wasn't a toy. It wasn't her because she was in her crate. Upon closer inspection I realised it was a brassiere. Mine! Damn her. And as I picked it up to bring it to the tub I noticed she really chewed it up. Little bitch. She even ripped it. It must have been fun and tasty coz it smelled like Mama.

Does anyone want an Afghan puppy, real cheap? In fact, I'll throw in some food, a crate, and many chewed items.