Thursday, August 30, 2012

Getting off at Haymarket?!

Life is almost back to normal.  I said "almost" because we're so tired that we fall asleep on the couch at 10 p.m and sometimes the house is a mess but Orlando is adjust with day-night schedule. Except for yesterday night when he wanted to play at 3 a. m. but I know how to stop him now.  
Anyway, he is so vital and funny! I love to see him playing and we do have lots of fun together.

On a different note, I'm reading Ian Rankin's books, the inspector Rebus series. The books are all set in Edinburgh. As you may recall, last time I went to Scotland the weather was terrible that I kept complaining  about the fog, the cold and the rain BUT Edinburgh is a fascinating city and a perfect location, I think, for a crime novel. Knots & Crosses is the first of the inspector Rebus and, surprisingly enough, it hasn't been translated into Italian while the 10th (Dead Souls) has been translated (!!). It doesn't make sense to me but I'll read them in "English" anyway:

Haymarket was the last station into Edinburgh before the much grander Waverly. Rebus remembered that the premature withdrawal of the penis during intercourse for contraceptive reasons was often referred to as "getting off at Haymarket". Who said that people in Edinburgh were dour?






Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The truth lies in the middle

And now we argue because I am too permissive (he thinks) while he is too strict (I think). 

An example: Orlando likes to bite hands and feet. He's just a puppy, it's ok. Sometimes he's too excited though and bites too hard. I'm aware that he shouldn't do it as play-biting is can be dangerous in the long run but still, he is only 3 months! G. thinks that he should stop biting my hands ("he does it with your hands but not with my hands...guess why?") and he is right but he's just playing and sometimes I let him play ... and stop him  only when he bites hard. He disagrees.

Sometimes it's difficult to calm him down and G. looses his temper because I'm not doing what "I'm supposed to do" (what?!!).

G. loves him but the fact that he's never had a puppy makes things a bit challenging. And Orlando is not a calm dog. Well, he is calm... when he sleeps! By the way, now he sleeps through the night which is a real blessing. From 11:30- 11:45 p.m. until 7 a.m. He wakes up a wants to play but we know how to stop him now. This morning he woke up earlier but 6:30 is fine, no problem. 

I've had puppies before even though they were not like him who gets really excited for everything and chews & bites all the time. I think he's funny. Very demanding but funny. G. thinks that he needs to learn that there are limits and boundaries but perhaps he is too small to understand. 

Anyway, he is adorable :-)




Thursday, August 23, 2012

Love

I'm aware that this blog has radically shifted from Lola to Orlando but I just can't help it and I'm happy with the change, by the way. Orlando is much more interesting than Lola ;)

He is sleeping now and looks exhausted. The vet told me that this what they usually do: play and then sleep for hours. The problem is that when he sleeps a lot during the day, he is not keen on sleeping much at night, like yesterday. I guess we slept more or less 3 hours and a half. But it's ok. I mean, I feel tired and can barely work but dogs are my life, really. Dogs are my passion and this dog has changed my life for better already. After my beloved big boy passed away, I spent 4 long months without animals. My readers know that I was devastated. Completely devastated. Now Orlando is here and I am ready to give love again.

Unconditional love.

I'm even more convinced now that I can live without a kid but not without a dog.

Ps. my boss nearly had an heart attack because of the following email

Hey, am I entitled for maternity leave?
I strongly hope so as ... we have a new puppy!...  I'm completely exhausted but very happy.

His answer:
Cazzo... I've just come back from holiday and read only the first line... I nearly died.

Perhaps this requires a bit of background information: he mainly works with two people M. and myself. M. will move abroad in the coming months. If I get pregnant now he'd commit suicide ;-)

A question

Am I entitled for maternity leave?!!
After all, Orlando IS a baby.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Training

G. is training Orlando while I'm trying to get some work done. I'm terribly late, I don't know if I'm going to meet an important deadline but I'll do my best. So now we're training him to sleep in a specific place. It's not where we had in mind as he wants to stay with us. He shouldn't sleep in the bedroom, we're aware of that but we don't have another option. We bought him a dog bed and put it in our bedroom. Yesterday night we tried without the bed and it was a nightmare as he:
a) didn't know the room and got very excited about the new environment
b) he chewed every single thing and didn't sleep
We went downstair, where he usually sleeps, and immediately fell asleep on the floor but G. had to sleep on the couch again. 
He is now with G. in our bedroom and is taking a nap in HIS lovely dog bed. He needs to know the place in advance ... they'll be staying there at least until 7 p.m.
Fingers crossed!

It's very tiring and we look like zombies but if we  fix "the night problem" everything it'll get easier.

Earlier he met my dad and tomorrow he'll meet A. who is thrilled about the baby. Out of interest, no, I'm not back to my workout routine. Neither I have time nor I have energies.

Back to work now.





Monday, August 20, 2012

Jack Nicholson?!

Oh my God, his dad!

Orlando's chronicles

So he is here! He's sleeping now (thank God) and will eat in around an hour. We are exhausted! Wow. It's a first for G. and it's a first for a us as a couple: having a puppy is not so easy. He is wonderful but he does't spend 5 minutes alone. We always have to be in the same room which is fine... during the day. Yesterday I took F. advice and slept on the couch. Orlando was fine but he checked every hour or so in order to be sure that I was there. At 5:30 we went outside (he had to pee) and then he wanted to play a bit. We did play (poverina, as Andy says) and he got back to sleep. Lucky him, I didn't sleep at all. I feel a bit dizzy today. Orlando seems fine even though we've noticed that he sleeps more than yesterday which is a blessing. It's a big adjustment both to him and to us. Tonight I'll take A. advice and let him sleeping on his own in a room downstair. It'll be hard and he will cry a lot but he needs to understand that there are some rules, one of them being that he can't sleep with his parents.

Apparently he is very good with pee and poop. He doesn't "ask" to go outside but he pees and poops only in the garden. So... so far, so good.

We're getting to know each other and it'll take time. This morning I called him Duick....

Of course he is lovely even when chews my shoes or my books. By the way, he likes to chew everything, curtains and blackberry included. He is so funny, especially when he runs.

There are more things that I'd like to share and I'd also like to upload some pics but I really need a nap now :-) I feel like I've just had baby!


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Welcome Orlando

Our new puppy :-)
Born on May 29th 2012.
In the picture above his very first moment in the garden.
As you can imagine, we're super thrilled.

To be continued

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

J. Iriving

the architect of a story.

10 things to do before leaving


  1. emails (tons of) & phone calls 
  2. dinner with friends (tonight) + beer with other friends (tomorrow)
  3. read & review a paper
  4. write down in CAPITAL letters my pilates homework 
  5. let go negative thoughts
  6. let go of stress 
  7. sleep more 
  8. buy sunscreen 
  9. eat less (from tomorrow, maybe?)
  10. STOP WORKING NOW