Water Dog

So Ringo and I just got back from a stroll along the river at the India Point park down by the Brown Boathouse. The weather is just too pretty not to be outside.

I couldn't take any pictures because my camera ran out of batteries, but it was quite the scene. I learned that at heart, Ringo is a water dog. He stood valiantly on the big jetties overlooking the river and sniffed the fresh water air. He loved investigating all of the moss and algae on the rocks.

There was a little toddler girl playing with her mom and dad on the playground who came over to say hi to Ringo. Ringo was surprisingly well-behaved and let the little girl pet him without jumping around too much. He was quite patient. He got some three more admirers while we walked around.

Now he's curled up into a little ball next to me. I think we are going to take a little nap before pracy.

Sleep In

Ringo graciously let me sleep in until 7:50 this morning. I think he is a little puckered out from so much activity. He didn't even do his digger routine last night. He just curled up next to me and passed out.

We went on a walk and just got back. I FINALLY figured out his snout contraption, and it really does make for a far more pleasant walk.

Also, I think I am really tiring Ringo out. He fell asleep as soon as we walked in the door. Maybe I should chill out on the walks a bit...

Ploi, your email was highly amusing; I'm glad you guys had fun!

Off to class...

Happy Wedding!

P.S. - Whit & Ploi: I hope the wedding was so much fun! I want to see the pictures as soon as I possibly can. Maybe you can start a blog...

A Busy Evening Makes for a Tired Ringo

Leaving for pracy wasn't easy, but I succeeded.

I made it back around 9:30 with Kevin in tow and we watched an episode of The West Wing. Kevin and Ringo had a major bond session. Kevin tirelessly played tug of war and go-get-it with Ringo during the whole episode.

I took Ringo with me to drop off Kevin and we made a pit stop in Wayland to visit Emrod. Lindsay, Yadi, and Marod were all in Em's room, so Ringo got lots and lots of attention from so many rugby friends.

I left around 11 and stopped in my room to get my cell phone charger. Minjy, Mila, and Roman were all around and absolutely fawned over Ringo. When Mila found out he was hypoallergenic, she almost died. They cuddled and played and jumped around for a long while. The girls in the room next door then came over to see the commotion and oohed and ahhed over the little pup. Everyone made me promise to bring him back tomorrow so they could keep playing with him.

When we finally left around 11:30, Ringo was so tired he could barely move. Thank God for bedtime...

Naptime

Ahhhhh... We are asleep together on the couch. Ringo is lying on my tummy and breathing quietly. How do I get up and go to practice? I can't do it!

Love Him

I left for an hour to go to class, but when I got back Ringo acted like I had been gone for a decade.

We took a quick walk around the block and now I'm doing some work on the couch. Ringo is nestled on the couch cushion by the window. His head is resting on my shoulder.

Also, here are some pictures from this morning before Trina and I left for class. Note the second one in which Treens is actually talking to Ringo. In the third one, she is trying to tongue-kiss him... Wierdo.

Morning Constitutional

Some things I learned from our long morning constitutional:

1. The East Side of Providence is a busy place at 8:00 in the morning.
2. Ringo's poos are quite petite.
3. Ringo adores lifting his leg and letting about two drops off pee go on every tree, lamppost, and fire hydrant.
4. Ringo is a smeller. He likes to smell all things.
5. The apartment really is not that far from campus. Ringo and I walked all the way to Thayer Street and it didn't actually take that long.

That's all. Now I'm off to scramble Trina some eggs.

Goodnight Rodeo

Last night's sleeping arrangements were not easy. First, Erica fell asleep in the bed at about 10:30. Then I decided to go to sleep at about 11:45. So I went to the bedroom and quickly figured out that the bed is just not that big.

I almost fell asleep, but then Ringo moseyed in and hopped on the bed. He had his blue CareBear, and he kept trying to dig a little hole in the comforter for CareBear to sleep in. Erica, in a half-sleep, kept saying, "It's not dirt, Rodeo. Go to bed, Rodeo." I just wasn't sure if it was an appropriate time to remind her that his name is Ringo.

Dissatisfied with the whole comforter and being squished thing (Erica and I are larger human beings that Whit and Ploi... this left less from for the little friend), Ringo jumped off the bed. But then he wanted to get back on. And then off. And on. And off. And on.

Erica got tired off this and left to sleep on the couch. This made Ringo v. happy and he got in bed to sleep with me. Unfortunately, I still couldn't remember what it was Ploi had told me to do with the CareBear to make Ringo go to sleep. So he kept rustling and bustling. Finally, I was so tired I must have just fallen asleep.

I woke up a few hours later and Ringo was under the covers, curled up in the curve of my arms. He's a precious little one. We slept soundly for the rest of the night.

Ploi wasn't kidding about his wake-up time. At precisely 7:30, Ringo started to nuzzle my face to let me know it was time to get up. That brings us to the present; we are now off for our morning walk.

Trina's Musings

While this is not explicitly about Ringo and me, it's too funny not to share.

Trina is obsessed with spreading out all of her study materials on the floor. She thinks the space is a very productive work environment.

Anyway, Ringo was prancing about over some of her things, and these are verbatim Trina's words:

"So, I'm nervous that Ringo is going to pee on my notebook. It's just that if I were a dog, I would pee on a notebook. So it's not really that I'm afraid of Ringo's pee, but I'm afraid of my own pee."

Trina has v. deep insights into animal behavior. Perhaps it's because she secretly enjoys tongue-kissing Ringo so much.

Family Portrait

I went to the church service and then headed back to campus for a little while.

I got a little nervy thinking about going back to the apartment all alone so I decided to call Trina and ask her what her life plans were for the night. She loved the idea of staying at the apartment with me and Ringo so I told her I would pick her up at 10.

When I got to Perkins, a friend named Krumpet was also in the room. She was avoiding her roommate for the night and was planning on staying in Trina's room by herself. Obvi I told her to come to the sleepover too and make it even more fun. She agreed and we got in the car and left for the apartment.

Ringo had reenergized by the time we got back and was going nuts because of all the friends in the house. I wanted to take him on another walk before bed, so Trina, Erica, and I all tried to figure out the muzzle contraption again. And again, no luck. Sorry, Whit.

I walked him around the block down Gano, up Waterman, across Ives, and back down Angell. Ringo investigated many whiffy things and tinkled on everything.

When we got back, I decided it was time to take a family portrait. Though it took a few tries to get Ringo to sit still, we managed to achieve the goal. Our results are posted here... in the first one, he escaped from Erica's grasp. In the second, I am laughing too hard because he's giving me a kiss. The third one is perfy!

The First Walk

I arrived at the apartment and Ringo was ecstatic. He wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get him in his leash, so I let him bound around on the couches for a while. I finally nabbed him while he took a second to catch his breath and I attempted to put his leash on.

Whitney, you lied! The muzzle is not easy! I struggled for 10 minutes before I finally gave up. I buckled the two straps together around his neck and vowed to figure it out next time.

When I was all ready (with three plastic bags... just in case), we set out on our first walk. We walked down Angell Street towards campus. On the way, two different people stopped to admire Ringo. He was very flattered at all the attention and gave lots of kisses. One of them asked what breed Ringo is... I need to get the answer from Whitney or Ploi before the next walk so I don't look like such a fool because I don't know the answer.

We walked all the way to the Pembroke Field where I let Ringo off his leash for 20 minutes so he could have a good long run-around. There happened to be a frisbee lying in the field so we played our version of fetch in which I throw the frisbee; he races after it; he sniffs it; he tries to pick it up; he fails because his mouth is so little; he prances away and lets me run and pick it up; we do it all over again.

I put him back on his leash when he started to get tired and we began to walk back. Whitney, you warned me he was puller, but I really had no idea how true it is. I promise I'll figure out his muzzle thing.

The walk back felt shorter and it was dark by the time we got home. I unlocked the apartment and Ringo immediately ran into the bedroom and started nestling into the pillows. When he realized that I wasn't going to bed quite yet, he came and found me in the living room, writing this post.

Right now he's asleep next to me on the couch. In a little while I'm heading to church for the Ash Wednesday service, but it's going to be v. difficult to leave such a snuggly friend.

Packed... And ready to go.

So I'm almost totally packed. Once I swiffer my room in Caswell, I will head over to the apartment and begin my tenure as babysitter.

I am going to hurry... Ringo has been alone for more than three hours!

They've Left!

As of 1:00 PM, Ploi and Whitney have officially left for their weekend jaunt to Toronto for a wedding.

This joyous news means I will be able briefly to live out my dream of owning a puppy. Yes, it's a fact: I am babysitting Ringo for three and a half days.

There is just no way to know what sort of fun and happiness Ringo and I will have. Only time will tell... and it will all be recorded in this little blog.

While I'm sure there could be a huge, captivated audience for the Home Alone Adventures of Ringo (and Virginia), this blog primarly is intended to be a way in which Whit and Ploi can keep up with their child while they are cavorting about in Canada.

So, dear Whitney and Ploi, enjoy this blog... and Ringo, let the fun begin!