Dia de Andalucia (and Leap Year)

Misery tells me I need to put up a post today because I won't have the chance for another four years.

So what. I can put one up tomorrow. No, it seems I need to put up a Leap Year post.

What is Leap Year? Means nothing to me. But mistress tells me that my girlfriends can propose to me today. Er.....I don't think that sounds like a good idea.

Pippadog is not the marrying type. Imagine. If one of my beautiful girlfriends asked me to marry her I would have to say yes and upset all the others, or say no and upset her.

And we all know how upset I have been by those flirtatious young huskies who just want one boyfriend and cold-heartedly ditch those of us who are generous with our Pippalove.

Anyway I'm bored with Leap Year already. How about Día de Andalucía which was yesterday (28 Feb). Every autonomous community in Spain has a special day in the year and naturally it is a holiday.

So I decided to enjoy Día de Andalucía in my favourite fashion.

I lay on my terrace. I sniffed my flowers. I supervised the cooking of the mushroom omelette (courtesy of Jimena and Negrita who are laying scrummy eggs again). I looked for my place at the table. I couldn't find it so I lay down. Then I was tired after all that.

My other side - which is better?


What's down here?


Sniff, sniff


What do you want?


What did I hear?


I am in charge of the cooking, mistress


Where is my place?


Here, I think it is here


Maybe I'll just wait here for my omelette


Tired after all that work


Hasta la proxima

Pippa's lovely treats

Tasha and Eva



I am Pippa, el perro muy asertivo hoy.

I commanded mistress to come back and stop gallivanting. Master and I have decided we don't want to leave our nice sunny terrace just yet. So here she is, back home, as much of a nuisance as usual.

I have made her give me My Own Log-in. After all, it is my blog, so why do I have to go round everyone else's blog with mistress in tow. So now, I have got off the leash and am signing in as Pippa - after nearly a year huh.

But my bestest news of all is My Treats. (Much better than mistress coming back). My adorable furable girlfriends *Tasha and Eva* sent me some treats for my Gotcha Day last month. They went on a very slow boat from America to Spain, but they arrived this week. The treats, I mean, not Tasha and Eva. Sadly they did not arrive with the treats.

However I had to wait for Misery to come back before I could eat them because she has the only camera. I ask you.

And not only did they send me some delicioso treats, they also sent me two beautiful photos. I am not sure which I love the most. At least the photos have a chance of lasting longer than the treats. (I am not going to chew the photos up like Charlie chewed Freda's photo hehe).

So here are my piccies. And NO FLOWERS today. See, I told you I was assertive.

Mmmm, smells good


Waiting soooooooo patiently


Give it to ME


Crunch, crunch


Using the Tasha and Eva you-are-under-my-spell look


This is a NICE box


Taking so nicely me


Yummy, where are those extra bits?


More, I would like more please



And thank you Tasha and Eva. I am very lucky to have such thoughtful and generous girlfriends. I will write more about these nice treats later but I wanted to put up a quick post to say thanks so much. These were Wellness WellBars with yoghurt, apples, and bananas. They are wheat-free and vegetarian. Tasha and Eva remembered that we are a vegetarian family.

What to do?

Master and I are deciding whether or not to go and visit mistress.

I have mixed views about it myself, although it means we will have a nice drive in my Landy.

And it has been raining here too, so I have been refusing to go out and do what dogs do. As I have said before, this dog does NOT do it in the rain.

Master tells me he has spotted a rally for Landy owners and other such people. He thinks it will be fun. Between you and me, I think he is a bit jealous that mistress had a fine time running around in silly tunnels in the middle of the Rock of Gibraltar. Anyway this rally/excursion thingy is near mistress, so we are currently considering this proposal.



Oh, and if anyone really wants to see pictures of boring old tunnels and silly stuff like that click *here* to read about mistress spending a whole morning wandering around gloomy doomy tunnels and looking at explosive stores and stuffs.

You see, I have been very firm. Hana helpfully commented that history photos are a no-no. Thank you Hana. And in fact, no flowers either today.

But I do have a lovely award from my adorable dachsie girlfriend Roxie, and her brothers Sammy and Andy. Look, a Smiley award. I was very pleased because they recognised what problems I have with Misery, and I was little bit Pippa-embarrassed because they said I wrote clever stories that made them smile. Hehe. That made me laugh because I am not clever at all. Anyway, thank you Roxie and the bros.



I do want to mention a couple of other comments that pups left on my last post.

Kathryn and Ari said it was important to herd humans - as we all know - otherwise they sit down at the computer one more time. Huh! A voice of experience there I think Ari. And why do you all think mistress is ALWAYS late when she is meant to meet Master and I on our walks?

Now, regarding my jasmine terrace. There is lots of it - jasmine not terrace I mean - so there is plenty for every single girlfriend, every other pup, and their humans as well. So that's good isn't it?

And I wanted to arooroo a couple of things following some ruff ruffs to my Post-Valentine Snooze story.

Dave from Ao4 mentioned Brazilian jazz and bagpipes. I will have to wait for mistress to come back as she knows more about that sort of thing than me. She doesn't know much, but I know even less. About music I mean.

And Comet and Blue told me that the cushion in the picture (the one on my head) is supposed to go underneath. Hehehe. I thought that was funny - definitely Bits of Witz from a Couple of Spitz. Actually, it usually ends up on the floor. But I was feeling muy tranquilo listening to the musica.



While I am on music, I did a PippaQuiz back at the beginning of this month. I asked what the funny small round black thing that spins round and round at 45 rpm on a large machine was called. I forgot to announce that Diane got it right. Well done Diane. It is called a record. I did not know that. Thank you.

There was some mention of girlfriends and my list. It is a sore point, yet again, with those pesky beautiful young huskies. No more on that one for now.

Well I am worn out now. So nighty night.



Oh no. What is this? An infiltration of my blog from hundreds of kilometres away. Apparently it is a strelitzia (two of them to be accurate) that mistress *just happened* to take a photo of when I am trying to get a post up without tedious flowers.



I think master and I need to go and keep an eye on her. Before I know it she will have taken a picture of every flower in Gibraltar.

Out with master

Off we go for our lunchtime walk.

I get so excited. When we are lying at my gate master will say:

"Come along Pippa, time to go out."

I run inside. When we get to the kitchen he picks up his keys and I do a vuelta or two.

Twirling.....


Twirling....


And right back in position and poised


Then master and I run through the house. Well, I run anyway and then I get in front of him so I stop, do another vuelta, and wait for him to catch up, run behind him and then stay very closely by his side.

When we reach the patio it is time for another vuelta while he picks up my lead and his stick (to beat off any nasty attackers of whatever type).

Waiting patiently by my lead


Nearly off now


And off we go.

I have some good news.

First I have an award. Thank you Momo and Pinot.



Toadally awesome. Hehe. I like that.

And second, Misery Mistress is off on her travels again for a few days. She wants to go on some silly history outing with her heritage society group.

Let's get this clear mistress. When you come back - I do not want history pictures on MY blog. Put them on your own. Look how more and more flowers have crept onto my blog. I have decided to allow one or two occasionally because some of my girlfriends have said they are nice.

But I am not, repeat NOT, having history pictures on here. So you go have a nice time mistress, and master and I will do macho bonding on my jasmine-filled terrace.

Post-Valentine snooze

I had a brilly Valentine's Day. Thank you to all my girlfriends who mentioned me on their blogs and who came to visit my post. I love you all to bits. As you know. I love you as much as toast in fact.

But I was very tired. And the silly cushion fell on my head.



So I went to sleep listening to this nice music. They go arooooroooo too. I like it. And I am thinking about all my girlfriends when I listen to it. This song is for you.





Today master went out on his bicycle. Without me.

AROOOOROOOOROOOROOOO I called. Helpfully. So he could hear me. Mistress wasn't impressed.

"Shut up Pippa."

I didn't want to shut up. I wanted to go out with master.

I ROOOOOROOOED some more.

*Sigh*

"Come here Pippa," she said. I went into the bedroom where idle mistress was still lying in her bed.

We did snoses and head rubbings and ear rubbings and she said sort-of nice things in a sort-of nice mistress voice.

Then I went out and did another roooroo. And mistress told me to shut up again and to go to my cama (bed). So I did.

I still don't like it when master goes out without me. Mistress is boring and she is NOT EATING TOAST at the moment so I am missing out.



I am in a grumpy sleepy mood now thinking about all this.

I need a nap. I need those Nights in White Satin.



ETA: Master and Mistress seem to think Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues is A Classic. Whatever that means. Sounds nice though. Pippa

Valentine Pippa

This will not be a long post. I am a busy Pippadog as I have to make sure I visit each of my girlfriends today and give them a big snose. And I might even manage a kiss for each of you.

I made mistress make a few card designs, but she didn't know whether to put some flowers on. I thought that was a particularly stupid idea. There are enough flowers infiltrating this blog as it is. What my girlfriends want to see on Valentine's Day, is Me, Pippadog.

As this is my first Valentine's Day on Pippadogblog I have included all those I have considered to be girlfriends from the past year, even though some of you have moved onto other boyfriends, or maybe have just decided you prefer being friends. I have put asterisks next to those who have other boyfriends though, so I don't cause you any problems with your current boyfriends.

I thought about putting asterisks next to Sophie's and Penny's names to indicate all their admirers but I don't have that many toenails to count with, even including my dew claws.

Abby and Holly
Amber at Army of Four
Bama, Queen of the River Hill Pack, and *Mikki* too
Bella, Kuki, and Honey, at Bella's Dog Blog
Cleopatra at Mad About Labrador Retrievers
Ethel - Wally's sissy at Dogblog
Guinness at The Stoutino Inn and Foster Kennel (and Misty before)
Jazz and Dixie - my girls in Japan
Kelsey Ann - Queen Kelsey - at The Kapp Pack
Lorenza, El diario de Lorenza
Mati at Rockstar and company
*MayaMarie* - The husky in the window (and her sisters - Missy and Bella)
Megan at Dogs from the Blogs
Narra at Tracing Lucky Skies
Pacco de Mongrel
Penny at Jackman Avenue
Randi the Lab/Newf
Roxie at Dachsies Rule
Sophie La Flirtador at Sophie Rules the World
Tasha and Eva at Tasha and Eva's World
Ume at UmeVerse
Zen at the Zoo Crew

There now. It's not a very long list is it? I thought it was longer myself. I do hope I haven't forgotten any beauty.

Much love from Romantic Pippa xx

Cat paradise .....and more pink flowers

I told master and mistress it was time we went for a drive. And preferably a little bit further than we went the other week when we got stuck down the river bed (click here).

As we approached the river bed (ok the stream bed, the arroyo in fact) Mistress said very clearly: "Going straight on at the cross roads."

The crossroads is actually the end of the tarmac road, the start of the dirt track and is bisected by the arroyo. I had a little laugh to myself. I don't usually, but clearly mistress did not fancy spending another two or three hours down the river bed, five minutes walk from home, digging ourselves out of a hole. So on up the dirt track we went.

Driving up the track in my Landy


Sunday morning is always quiet in Spain, because people like to stay in bed till at least mid-day. Then we went down another track and across the big river. Except there was no water in it. I have posted this photo on our Landy blog but I think I should put it up here too so you can all see how dry it gets even in the middle of winter.

Dry river bed


When it rains lots, and the snow in the mountains melts, the river is in full flow from bank to bank. It is hard to believe looking at it right now though.

Then we went on some road which was dull because I couldn't smell anything so I lay down.

As we climbed the hills, I looked out of the window again as there was lots to see and some different smells.

But the best bit of all was when we arrived at the village car park. There was a very tiny car parking gap. And just next to the tyre of the car on our left was a little gatito.

Ohhhhh. I was so excited. I started to do boundaround. Then master opened the door and decided to do up his bootlace and a million trillion - well four - cats charged across the car park. I was beside myself with excitement. What a brilliant place. I couldn't wait to get out.

"You just stay here and guard the coche, Pippa. I've opened the window, it's nice and shady, and we won't be long," said master.

What? What? You two are wandering around Cat Paradise and I have to stay guarding the coche and squeaking away at the nasty gattos? Huh. I howled as they walked off. But they didn't come back so I settled down to Guard Duty.

Mistress took a nice photo for me as she wandered round Cat Paradise Village. I think it is a shame I did not get chance to greet these fat friendly cats don't you?

Fat cats


Twee rustic house. Well, that's what mistress says


A well-earned rest on the way home


Here is a boat. Inland. How silly


Waiting to jump out at home - do I smell more cats?


And when we got inside I went to sleep on my sofa.

The end of another hard day


Now. *Important PippAnnouncement*

I would like all my girlfriends (all those who still love me an eensy teensy bit that is) to be my Valentines. I will try and visit you all personally on Valentine's Day and will do a post to mention you all. And yes, Bella, of course I haven't forgotten about you. Silly darling.

Well, that will keep mistress busy on Valentine's Day. She will be stuck in front of the computer all day. Hehe!

Speaking of Valentines, Randi says it is ok to show photos of pink flowers, although Cleo says it is not very masculine.......but as you know I am a sensitive dog. So I will leave you with some pink flowers that I saw on my drive.

Almond blossom - for all my girlfriends