The furry ones

Here's to the furry ones

the ones who drive us crazy

the ones who teach us about unconditional love

and patience

the ones who lick our wet toes

the ones who never stay angry

the ones who we forgive much easier than our human counterparts

Jux of the Bushveld

In the words of Jux:
My owners took me along with them the past three weeks - everywhere they went. Maybe because I was crying a lot - I was lonely, okay. Having a sister in hospital is really really difficult - nobody to bark at, nobody to chase around the house, nobody to dig holes with, nobody to chase cats with, nobody to cuddle up against and nobody whose food I can steal.
So they took me on this great trip to the Bushveld where I could run around, sniff all sorts of new things, jump through the high grass (to be honest, I didn't like the grass that much) and ride on the back of the bakkie like a real farm dog (okay, it was only for 30 metres and then I got scared). One thing that I really didn't like was the small thorns getting stuck between my toes...Ouch!

There were these strange animals - they were very interesting and I liked the way they smell. The also had funny sharp things growing from their heads. I wonder if their ears are also only ornamental? I did not get very close, though - you never know if they will bark or bite.

All photos taken by my husband.

Sunnyside Sunday

I feel human again. Architecture had to take the backseat just for today and we had a normal Sunday: walking the dogs in the neighbourhood, taking photos, making comfort food, sitting in the sun. It was a glorious day with beautiful weather and I have some footage to share of the vibrant, rich neighbourhood we live in.

It all started with the nice light inside our house.

I will never get tired of the modernist aesthetic of the apartment blocks - functional yet beautiful, with very strong horizontal or vertical lines, protruding slabs and the use of clay bricks or the blue mosaic panels that is such a distinctive characteristic of the Pretoria vernacular.

In Sunnyside, you do whatever you can to make ends meet and entrepreneurship is not uncommon in this part of town. I think there must be at least 100 of these beauty salons in Sunnyside. They are open at the oddest hours of the day hand I love walking by, looking at braiding and gossiping taking place. 

A very tired four legged companion....

And at last...signs of spring.

a week in words and images

Well, it was my birthday on the 15th. I decided to make cupcakes for the peeps at work and being my un-domestic-self I scavenged for a good (non-googled) recipe. I discovered this book that my mom got me when I was 6 or 7 with aspirations of a well-mannered domestic goddess for a daughter...
Things didn't quite turn out that way but I still enjoy making these cupcakes from scratch every now and again. So, why not on my birthday?

Do you remember this book? All you South African girls growing up in the 80's, being members of the Daan Retief book club? Those were the days... *sigh*

After a lot of hand mixing (since electronic mixers don't agree with me...I've broken about five in my life) these lovely golden cakes popped out of the oven...mmmmmm

Schnuki also contributed her bit by being under my feet all the time and licking up all the icing and flour that found the way to the floor, resulting in a funny looking Dalmation-Dachshund

We went to Isabella's cake and food shop (as if the cupcakes weren't enough) for lunch. Had a lovely time and it was also quite a laugh having the very manly colleagues there against the very feminine, pink backdrop. They serve a killer roast lamb sandwich there if I could make a recommendation.

We also went to Bellbottoms this weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with this amazing little place, it is an antique / vintage shop in Pierneef street with the most amazing quirky vintage finds. It is always nice to go there and get completely lost in nostalgic feelings and things. 

There we go - a lot of local for the week. 

Fat Camp

Jux and Schnuki will be going to Hotel Basson today. For one entire month. This is a lovely place I called home for 18 years of my life. It's also dog heaven. They get to sleep on the beds (an absolute no-no in their current home), couches or any soft horizontal surface for that matter. They are patted, stroked, talked to and played with the entire freekin' day. They get to eat their favourite human food to such an extend that I think they order from a menu.

But here's the thing: While Schnuki gains weight (my mom makes sure this skanky dog gets fed at least twice the amount than the others), Jux (the fat one, maybe a bit obese) loses weight. Hence the title of today's blog. She runs around with her best friend Nala the Great Dane and tries to flirt with Scruffy and Stoffel as a pastime.

When we come back from holiday we are usually ignored because they've been in heaven and how dare we take them away from this heavenly environment?

I'm a bit sad to see the two poochies go, but I know they will be spoiled in a way some humans can't imagine to be treated.

Jux on the left, Schnuki on the right. Photo by Riette Basson.

Jux. Photo by Thys Kotze

Hello, my name is Jux. I am two years old and I am a Dapple Dachshund. I love to lick everything in sight, especially freshly showered human feet. My name is short for "Juxtaposition" because my owners are fancy architects but I really don't care since food (and licks) is all that matters to me. I like to flirt with male dogs, especially Alfonso the Italian Greyhound.

Schnuki. Photo by Thys Kotze

Hello, my name is Schnuki. I am four years old and I am the Alpha Dog. I love playing catch (this is an understatement, I am totally obsessed) and I'm really not scared of anything, especially not dogs three times my size. I don't like small humans, they are just funny looking and they make me nervous. I also like to chase anything that moves and then dig holes in my owner's lovely garden because all things that move disappears into the ground, especially under nice blooming flowers.