pinch me

I'm fine, thanks for asking. Oh no, sorry, I mean Grace is fine. Seems she's the only thing anyone cares about anymore! Little miss whitey-princess sure is popular but hey, when you've got a face like that with gold eyelashes and all, I guess it can't be helped (she muttered jealously).

Seriously, it is true that I haven't really posted much this week. But no, smarty-pants mom-of-Rocky, it's not Grace that's been taking up my time. I was actually much more popular socially this week than usual. Today as a case in point: this morning Grace and I had a nice long walk with a friend, her toddler and their springer spaniel and then I had a lunch date with two ex-colleagues from my last contract that just finished a few weeks ago.

So, about Hiroshima (and yes, about Grace's weekend too, don't worry, I'll get to it)... It's a beautiful city, what with several rivers running through it--actually channels of the same river--and mountains nearby. And though very disturbing to see, the A-bomb dome and Peace Museum are something I'm glad to have experienced.

But my favourite part of our trip was Miyajima, as you might have surmised from the photos. Though now quite touristy, this famous island--long revered by the Japanese as sacred--is so quaint and full of beautiful spots.

Now, on to the pup's weekend. I think her sitter might have spoiled her just a little! Cookies and long walks and this dog had not a thing to complain about. In fact I think it might have been a good socializing experience for her because the sitter wasn't shy to take Grace on really crowded streets, which I hadn't yet done very often for her sake and for the safety of hurrying pedestrians who might trip over her, since Tokyoites aren't that accustomed to dogs bigger than 'fits-into-a-fancy-doggy-carry-bag' size.

But as I knew she would, she's getting less and less shy/fearful of cars. We go on long walks on all kinds of streets: some with wide sidewalks but lots of cars, some narrow with fewer cars, some with lots of people, most with less. She's even learning to sit at street lights and when we get in the house (so I can take her harness off).

And as you can see from the photo, I've already got the dog food-making process down to a science. Forty percent protein, 30% starch and 30% vegetable. Chicken is great for dogs and lucky for me it's really cheap here (the whiter, the cheaper, since it seems the Japanese like fatty meat). She's almost off the kibble too; I've just about got it graduated out of her mix.

I've concocted different recipes every time I make a batch. One time I even used fake crab (also cheap here), rice and spinach. I used oatmeal once for the starch, potatoes another time. But it seems Miz Furry Thang don't really care one bit what she inhales from her bowl. Grrl has quite an appetite. I also made her easy treats (if a bit gross for a non-meat-lover such as me) by cutting chicken hearts into thin slices and baking them at 250 until they're totally dried out.

Dog-owning readers, please consider switching your dog to this type of diet. I didn't research cat food but it's probably just as feasible. (But check with your vet first if your pet has any pre-existing health problems.) It's not much more expensive than kibble but so much healthier for them. All you really need is one or two pots/wok/electric frying pan and a blender or food processor. And a maximum 40 minutes of your time for a batch that'll last you 5-7 days.

Okay so unless I change the name of this blog to Pet Me, I will not be writing long posts like this about dog stuff again! I even bored myself with all this. Sniff ya later.