7 posts tagged “dog”
Meet Szep.
This weekend was just excellent. For some reason I got really active on Friday, meaning I got most of my house more or less cleaned up even before the weekend had officially started, leaving me with a little more time to do fun stuff.
Waking up early on Saturday morning (I've been waking up earlier and earlier ever since I got the kitten), I snoozed for a little bit, half awake, half asleep and groggily took up the idea to load up the horse and go to Kootwijk for a bit of a trail ride. Solon has been a bit of a git again lately, so I wasn't 100% sure about it, but I went with the flow, and around 11 we were driving along the A1 towards the Veluwe, one of our biggest national parks. The nature around there is just stunning. Looking at it's Wikipedia entry just now, I learned much of it goes back to the last ice age! I never knew! What I love best about the area is the huge sand drift, which apparently is the biggest in Europe (I did know that). Riding across it on bareback, the wind and a few drops of rain falling around you, you consider yourself almost alone, surrounded by vast amounts of nothingness. It makes you feel pretty insignificant and small, and really gives the "poor lonesome cowboy" idea. I absolutely love it.
Passing that brought us through heath lands and then into the forest. I only encountered other people maybe three times, but for the rest of the 2 hours, I was alone with my horse. Absolutely glorious. Solon started off a bit rocky and overexcited, but settled down very nicely, allowing me to leave him with a long rein to enjoy it as much as I did. He really got into it after a while, galloping for miles on end, jumping over puddles and branches ear pricked forward, trying to look around the corner for the next bit of excitement. He didn't get stroppy again until we almost got back to the trailer, where he refused to get onto the parking lot. He probably decided the fence just there was spooky or something, then decided to throw a temper tantrum when I wanted to go there anyway. He's a real monster when he gets like that.
He got over it pretty quick though, after he's had some water and feed and found some grass to nibble on. I sat on my car's bumper, shielded from the rain drops by the back door and watched him graze. Perfectly content, perfectly relaxed. A little monster at times, but also a little star. He's such a character that horse!
Speaking of characters, there's Sterre my 3 month old kitten. She's like a little rubber ball, bouncing around my flat. Poor Storm takes the brunt of it, as she thinks his tail is the best ever toy she's ever had! So she'll sneak up on him and jump on his tummy when he isn't looking. Poor chap. Anyway, Sunday I was taking it slow, lounging on the couch for a bit, watching Sterre play on the balcony with some flowers or whatever caught her attention that very moment.
Well, he attention was captured by a bumble bee, buzzing around her head. She lashed out with her little paws and caught it. For a few seconds anyway, until it stung her. I wasn't quite sure if she really got stung or not, since I couldn't find a stinger or anything. She was sucking her paw though. About two hours later, her entire front leg had swollen to twice it size and she was very quiet. I started worrying a little, her being so small and all. For all I know, a bee sting may kill a kitten, so I called the vet. Nothing to be done about it, just cool it and put some cream on her paw against the itching. I was a bit reluctant to leave her alone after that, but I did have to chuck some food at Solon as well.
By the time I got back, her paw wasn't her main concern however... Keetje was. I was dog sitting our Tibetian Terrier for the evening, while my stepfather is in the US, and my mum had some evening with friends. I'm not entirely sure who was more scared of who. Keetje spent most of the evening as close to me as possible, even climbing onto my shoulder, quivering in fear, while Sterre would sometimes tip toe closer, only to hiss at Keetje and run off again. Through it all, Storm just slept and Keetje weed the bed...
A very laid back, pet filled weekend then, though I could have done without the weeing of the bed.
This week I have a few cool thing coming up. My birthday this wednesday, thought I have decided against the Scissor Sisters gig. Thursday is Rufus day, and Saturday I got on a week's vacation to Texel with the "whole" family (my family isn't that big) and the horse to celebrate my mum's 60th birthday. Quite looking forward to that actually, though it would be nice if the weather would clear up a little.
This is what my living room looks like at the moment.
For the disaster gawkers out there. That furry brown thing will be the vest for Halloween, it still needs some stitches. In the middle the grey wings. The one on the right is more or less finished, the one on the left I just sprayed and needs to dry out, hence the discolorations. I started all this on my balcony, but it's been raining so much that I had to move indoors. Then there's a couple of cans of spraypaint, grey, silver and black. Various towels, papers, tissue, fabrics, needles, thread, pliers, drills and so on. I did myself the favour of not including the huge pile of laundry just to the left of this picture. Disaster zone.
Just called my mum, who also seems to have that feeling of relief regarding Sammie's passing away. She told me one of my nephews (4.5) had called last night in tears saying how bad he felt about Sammie dying and asking what the vet had said. It's sometimes amazing to see how much these little kids pick up from their environment. So tonight I'll be digging up some pictures I took last year, to see if I can find a nice one of her to give to him.
Oh and speaking of my nephews... I'll be getting another one April next year. There's some message in there about life and death going hand in hand or something.
This afternoon I sped home from work, while trying to keep my eyes on the road, and not let them be clouded by tears, knowing I only had about thirty minutes before death would set in. Strangely enough, the song that hit my cd player just then was Wild is the Wind, that very same song that accompanied a friend's funeral a few years back. It's strange how that song has gotten associated with death for me, making me recall not only one, but now two deaths every time I hear it.
I tried to keep it together as best as I could, while I watched my dog breathe out her last breath. She's had a good life, and her death was peaceful, or at least about as peaceful as deaths get. The vet called around the house and really took her time to make it all go as smoothly as possible. There really wasn't much fight left in her though, which in turn made me recall what that rabbi said when my grandmother died. It was something about believing when someone dies near or on her birthday it's a sign of that fulfilment, of a life lived fully and coming to a closure. I've never been overly religious, but that's stayed with me for some reason, and it's given me peace.
We shed our tears and recalled memories. At the same time, there was some sense of relief. relief at having finally made that decision, putting an end to her pain and giving her her dignity. But still, it stings.
For some reason I completely missed my alarm call this morning. I think it's my phone, really, which seems slightly buggered (but still needs to last me another year). So for some reason I didn't wake up at 7, as intended, but at 8:30. I panicked slightly, jumped out of my bed, picked out some clothes and whatnot... dived straight into the shower, where I promptly got a nosebleed. No idea why, but it wasn't very enjoyable.
And then I found out there was no reason to hurry at all, cause the appointment I have today is not until 11:30. While it's about an hour away, it gives me plenty of time to do whatever I want. Like writing this.
The weekend was filled with lots of horsie stuff that I won't bore you folks with, lots of music (Leonard Cohen, mostly) and an unvoluntary spending of money. I got suckered into talked into bought some more Nick Cave tickets. One ticket for Mainz, which is nicely in the weekend somewhere in November and one for some impossible November tuesday night in Bonn. The last one is going to be fun though, since a friend is coming along and I don't think she's ever seen Nick. I already warned her we'd probably end up sitting on the floor, but she seems fine with that. Wicked :) It'll make a nice difference from going alone.
Went over to the folks last night who had invited me for dinner, where we ended up discussing the dog. My mum blatantly asked me what I'd do if I were her, and I didn't have the heart to answer her. Frankly, the way Sammie seems reluctant to get up, go out, beg for food (which she has done for 14 years) or even lift her head pains me. At the same time, I'm not sure if that's reason enough to put and end to it... We all kind of keep hoping she just won't wake up one morning and I caught myself checking her breath a couple of times. Not sure what to do, if something happens while I'm in Dublin I'm not sure what I'll do with myself.
Aside from that, fierce headache at the moment, which in combination with the random nosebleed makes me slightly worried.
Mister Bowie did not seem to take well to having his choice of music (Arcade Fire, Deerhoof, TV on the Radio) called "boring" by someone on the boards. He was challenged with Gogol Bordello, Bedouin Soundclash and Jim Noir.
I'd been listening to Gogol Bordello before and I do agree that they are unusual and different. I suppose you do kind of have to like them, or have a feel for them, but then that kind of goes for all music, I suppose.
So which of the debatants won? Hard to say. I really do like Gogol Bordello, but I don't think Arcade Fire are boring or unoriginal either. Not so sure about the others... Kind of funny to see David being given a run for his money though. He'll just have to suck it up.
In other news, my doggie is eating again (being hand fed rice, chicken fillet and beef... Hell, I'd eat it!). Lots of relief all around... Hopefully she'll pick up a little in the next couple of days and we may enjoy her company a little while longer. My other dog loves it; she's emptying out both dinner bowls...
I suppose I should do that whole sleep thing. Pretty hard to imagine I'll be in Dublin again in about a week. Heh. I don't think I've ever been this disorganised before. Looking forward to the whole thing, and hanging out with the gang again (minus Sue, plus Sandra this time). Hopefully the Octagon bill won't be quite as bad as last time, but I imagine it will be. Fuck it.
And then there's Budapest in a couple of weeks too... man, I haven't even thought about that at all. That party is going to rock... :-] I should dig out the pics of previous years...
Joan at the FNAC in store rocked. It was the weirdest little place, with plastic folded chairs and a tiny little stage. Joan seemed a little frustrated about not getting anything from the audience who were very polite, French and non English speaking and didn't get any of her banter.
I called Stuart on the phone to let him listening to one of the songs, because he keeps missing her concerts for some weird reason. I did get to talk to her a little after the show, which was kind of neat. She's a genuinely nice person and funny too, which helps.
My last night in Paris was a blast. I ended up sharing a room with Oliver and Mandy, both American but vastly interested in foreign culture, France specifically so. It's always nice to meet people like that, who blow the lousy American stereotype to pieces. We talked art and history and the beauty of things in general. Somehow we ended upall together sitting on the sidewalk in front of our hostel. Everybody chipped in with a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers, juice, chocolate and so forth. A grand little, very spontaneous kind of party, in the heart of Paris. It was a perfect ending to a perfect break.
Back at home, things didn't look so up. My eldest dog, Sammie, is very, very sick at the moment. Alright, she's not the youngest anymore at 14, but she's always been doing quite well upto now. That seems to have changed almost overnight. She basically refuses to eat anything and just lies around being miserable. At the same time, she still gets excited whenever I come in, and will cuddle up to me, but only momentarily. The way it looks now, she's starting to slowly slip from our grip. She seems to be suffering from a problem with her liver, which basically makes her feel miserable. The problem is that we don't really know what's wrong with it, and my mother doesn't want to put her through unnecessary suffering where the treatment gets worse than the cure. She's an old dog, and too much doctoring might prolong her life a little, but "a little" is frankly not good enough. So now there's not a lot we can do, but wait and keep our fingers crossed that she'll pull through.
I did go to Antwerp sunday and monday to see Nick again. I've been to Antwerpen a few times, but for some reason never quite realised how small it really was. I wandered around quite a bit, not sampling the Belgian beers, but enjoyed watching the sights and walking along the Schelde river. The show was alright, but not great. I think it's mostly down to me hating the venue and the Belgians being a bit quiet.
Nick on the other hand... I don't know what's come over him. I don't think I have ever seen him so laid back and forthcoming. He'll walk onto the stage and spend the first couple of minutes of the show shaking hands and signing stuff, being really spontaneous about it. He almost seems.... happy.
A happy Nick Cave. There's an interesting concept. What next? The pope having sex with another man? What's this world coming to?
Next thing up is the Came So Far For Beauty thing in October. And what a stellar line up it is. I initially get excited because Gavin will be on stage, but I'm getting Jarvis Cocker, Lou Reed and Nick Cave thrown in as well. What a setup! Now I'm not big on afterparties, but I bet this one is going to be hot.
A few more gigs lined up after that. Looking something like this:
04/10 - Came So Far For Beauty - Dublin
05/10 - Came So Far For Beauty - Dublin
03/11 - Cat Power - Paradiso
09/11 - Nick Cave - Nurnberg
10/11 - Nick Cave - Stuttgart
11/11 - Nick Cave - Mainz
16/11 - The Killers - Paradiso
28/11 - Muse - Brabanthallen
19/12 - Muse - Sportpaleis Antwerpen
Not sure if I'll be going to see even more Nick Cave shows... Im tempted, but I've got this cash flow thing going on at the moment (not surprising at EUR80/ticket). The Killers will be cool too, probably one of the last times we'll see them in such a small venue. Going with loads of friends too, so should be a nice night out. Somewhere in between the Crossing Border Festival is on as well, and Joan is playing a few more gigs, so I'll see if I can go to some of those. So yeah, pretty booked up right upto the end of the year. Very exciting times, but I have to keep an eye on the funds with regards to coming to America next year.
