Life Made Simple

Move Like A Shih Tsu… or not

As the great house move draws ever closer, allegedly, I am constantly reminded of all the ways in which dogs are superior to their humans. 

Does Sharon obsess about sorting out the mail and the telephones? I don’t think so. Does Sharon care about which furniture stays and which furniture goes to the local hospice? Hardly. Does Sharon care whether she will recline on the new king size bed or the old double? I doubt it, provided I provide her with a nice little ramp or set of steps so that she can scale the dizzy heights of the new bed. You can’t expect a Shih Tsu of her dignity to attempt vertical take off.

Why Shih Tsus Don't Do Computers

Sharon has had another blissful day.  Rest, relaxation, the odd tidbit of a nice organic Cheddar cheese, a delightful walk in the spring sunshine, good food, good company, good music - she's quite a fan of Eros Ramazzotti. Life-Made-Simple, on the other hand, feels she has aged a thousand years in about 8 hours.  Why?  Computer troubles naturally.

The Importance of Being Congruent

While Life-Made-Simple has spent the last little while mulling over the issue of congruence Sharon Shih Tsu, blogging Dowager Duchess and canine fashionista, has not. Sharon has continued her own serene routine of beauty sleep in the morning, meditation and a little light exercise in the afternoon, play and repose in the evening.

Sharon has never had a problem with congruence. With Sharon what you see is what you get. (Although it has to be said that occasionally, when the little dog’s housetraining suffers a momentary blip, what you get is not necessarily what you see – at least for a while…)

Sharon deeply loves and accepts herself. And because she deeply loves and accepts herself she expects others, rightly, to do the same. Unconditionally.

Sadly, it’s not quite the same with humans.

The Shih Tsu ‘does’ property

Her Royal Dogginess, aka Sharon the dowager duchess, loathes discomfort. For a Shih Tsu, the snow we have had in the last couple of days constitutes a major discomfort. Yesterday Sharon made a firm decision not to get out of bed – my bed – under any circumstances. 

Yesterday we humoured her. It was the only politic thing to do. As it was she took being bathed in extremely bad part. Retaliation was swift and even more awful than usual. Since it was her half-sister who performed the dastardly deed and was unwise enough to leave her new, cute pyjamas lying around, it was on her sister that Sharon attempted to vent her wrath. By urinating on the singularly inoffensive pyjamas. (Happily Sharon was thwarted.)

Today, happily, is another day. The snow is melting and Sharon has graced the outdoors with her presence. Just. 

Yesterday and today Sharon enjoyed a well deserved rest. Tomorrow, however, she girds her tiny loins and sets to work doing one of the things that a little Shih Tsu does best. Tomorrow Sharon goes house hunting. Since the whole Kaszina tribe will be moving a few months from now.

"The Pursuit of Happyness"

It's rare that the Dowager Duchess lets Life-Made-Simple write a post, without adding her own unique contribution - or, more correctly, taking over.  But today I got lucky on two counts:

• Sharon didn't get to see the film.  Unlike Venice, people are so sniffy about allowing dogs in public places here in the UK
• She's just been for grooming and is currently too busy plotting further mayhem to even notice what I'm up to.

So here goes.  Let it be said for the record, that Sharon has never had to pursue happiness.  She is a hugely happy and successful Shih Tsu.  She is happy and successful both because she is and because she has a genius for conditioning the way that she is received by other people.  For her that is entirely natural.  For other people, it's generally something that they have to learn.  "The Pursuit of Happiness" is one of those films that can help you to shorten that learning curve.

A Dog's Life In Venice

The last two weeks have been a fact finding mission for my daughter and me.  We wanted to know more about living in Venice, since that is where we want to go in another couple of years.  Hence our decision to rent a flat and live a slightly more 'normal' life than is possible in hotels.  We enjoyed our time immensely and we learned a lot. 

Teaching a Teenager New Tricks

Sharon Shih Tsu, she of the petite retrousse black nose and huge brown eyes is becoming increasingly Zen.  Just a few brief years ago she would take matters into her own velvet paw and show her humans how things should be done.  These days she trusts, rightly, that in times of trouble or challenges, we her humans can be relied upon to ask ourselves: "What would Sharon do in the circumstances?" and come up with the right answer.

And so it proved a few days ago when Nina, her lovely human half-sister was afflicted with a bad cold.

The Pink Tutu Affair Rumbles On... And On

This morning the postman rang our doorbell with patent enthusiasm.  Why?  Because of a small, brown, hand addressed Jiffy bag from www.couturepaws.co.uk.  Even Sharon bestirred herself willingly from her bed.  The  fabled pink feather boa trimmed jumper had arrived.  Were we excited?  Or were we excited?

The Shih Tsu Wins Paws Down

Life chez Kaszina, Kaszina and Shih Tsu has resumed its usual placid trot.  Why? 

That Damned Pink Tutu

Life has not been easy chez Kaszina over the past couple of days. Sharon, usually the most even-tempered of canine gurus, has been on her high horse – so to speak. 

Why? Unkind media coverage of course. Even a Shih Tsu Dowager Duchess has her Achilles paw and the photo that accompanied her post on Wealth Strategy Secrets devastated her. It showed a kind of Paris Hilton of the dog world, a scrawny, rat-faced, long nosed runt of a dog in just the pink tutu that Sharon had desired and not got.

(For further information about The Pink Tutu Affair, please read the previous post.)

Sharon has been uncooperative in the extreme. She refuses to set paw outside the front door. Bad enough not to get the tutu, but then to be upstaged by a creature that is to her as Ugly Betty is to Kate Moss is simply intolerable. And just when she was building up an adoring fan base.