Ugh...Mornings in Finland

Samuli woke me up at an ungodly hour today. OK so it was 8:25, but considering that it's winter time and in Finland (without snow) it was ungodly. The sun only rises at 9:21!! Grrr. And it's pitch black at 15:12. Miserable miserable winter without snow!

So, I got up at 8:25 to help him with something, with the intention of going back to sleep and waking up when it was light. However my plan failed. By the time I went back to bed Bobby had decided to take over most of it. He was lying right in the middle of our bed, on both our blankets looking adorable (so, of course I didn't want to wake him up). After somehow slipping under Samuli's blankets I was ready to drift to sleep. But no! The neighbors baby started crying. I've noticed that their baby cries a lot. Not that it really bugs me or anything, just a random observation. When the baby stopped crying there was some kind of ruckus (What was that ruckus? -Uh, what ruckus? -I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus.) outside our front door. (-Could you describe the ruckus, sir?) It sounded like a huge truck trying to back up into our kitchen. Hmmm.

So, so much for sleeping.

Bobby Does Fahsion and Gets 'Done'

In a desperate attempt to make my dog as fashionable as his owner *ahem* I've gone through quite a few bits of doggie apparel before I have found ones that fit my baby (and ones that look completely ridiculous). But no matter how ridiculous the outfits I have captured them all on film. Muahaha...

Bobby with the leg warmers I made him.

Right after I finished the first one I decided to take him outside for a test walk (in the dark). We went all around the neighborhood (even chased a hare round the neighboring block). Then when we were on the way home I noticed that the test leg warmer was missing! We had to track back our whole walk to find it (it had fallen off when we were chasing the hare).

The bunny outfit that was too small.

Bobby-bunny!

Bobby in his iPoo t-shirt I ordered from USA. LOL!

Sailor t-shirt Bobby doing what he does best.

The 69 shirt (with daddy randomly attacking Bobby).

Getting a MANicure from uncle Stinky-Tom awww!

Then on Sunday we took at trip accross town to go to the Spanish Rescue dogs pre-Christmas party. And our Bobby spent most of the evening trying to do a (boy) doggy. But at the end of the evening he got what was coming.

Poor Bobby gets done by a very confused dog.

Here are some random bonus pictures:

Bat-dog begging for food.

Our beer guard. Really lousy guard, all the beer was gone by the end of the night.

Mummy and Bobby

Christmas party with dog-daddy's family.

Bored on the train.

Samuli's family was holding the annual Christmas party last Saturday. On Friday we had to embark on the grueling trip to Mänttiharju. For some reason the Finnish rail system is prejudice towards those wanting to travel the West-East-West-axis. They probably would blame this on the fact that there is a stupid lake (Päijänne) in the middle of Finland that you have to go around so, initially Finnish geography is seems to want to keep the West from going East and vice-versa. But I think the way the trains are scheduled doesn't make traveling any easier.

On the Lahti-Mänttiharju train (train number 3).

First of all the whole train part of the trip from Tampere to Mänttiharju takes almost 4 hours (one takes 4h 30min). Secondly this trip is split into stupid segments. So, if you're lucky you'll only have to change trains once, the unlucky ones need to change 3 times (that's 4 damn trains!!).

Bobby doing what he does best (at lest someone had fun on the train).

Anyway, I was really reluctant to go since I don't really like going to Mänttiharju, plus our travel cost was about 100e and the fact that I have better things to do on a Friday night than sit on a train (like watching TV and having a beer!). But we did try to make the best of it.

I was a little worried about taking Bobby to dog-daddy's parents place because 1. they have two cats 2. they don't like dogs. So, of course the first thing that Bobby did was chase the cats and pee on a bed. Woohoo! Luckily after that he was a good little pooch.

Bobby on dog-uncles lap.

Looking how mummy feels when visiting dog-daddy's parents.

"Mummy get me out of here. C'mon! At lest let me chase the cats!"

Well in the end the Christmas party itself wasn't bad at all. Bobby was really good! Since there were three small children I had to hold him in my lap for most of the time (both for their and his safety). Everyone kept telling me what a wonderful/special dog he is. I'm so proud!

What our Bobby thinks of Christmas songs.

On Sunday we went for a walk in the forest before setting off back home.

Bobby getting the mail from the other dog-grandparents house.

Crazy-dog and dog-daddy (see he's not all sleep and eat).

Bobby's New Coat

If you read my last post you'll know the dilemma I was having with getting a coat for Bobby. In the end I decided to make him a coat myself. Here is the result:

"OK you made me a coat, now will you feed me?"

Looking so adorable in his coat.

Side view of the coat.

The "mummy quit it with the pictures, you're embarrassing me"-look

Mummy's little cutiepie <3

OMG it's... a Bobby Lookalike!!

It's pretty cold and snowy/rainy here in Finland and as you know my doggy has Spanish fur. It was suggested that I should get a coat for him. I got one in advance from ebay but it turned out to be WAY too small (chihuahua size... grrr). So, I found another coat on ebay, but it is taking for ages to get here.

My dad keeps asking if we've gone to the dog park and I kept telling him that I'm not going for such a long walk with Bobby until he has proper protection against the cold. He just laughed and told me not the be silly, "dogs don't need clothes and if they do get cold they'll shiver and want inside. You'll know when he's cold because he'll tell you. Don't buy him stupid clothes he'll try to kill himself..." etc... So, on Monday I decided it was time to take Bobby to the dog park (despite his lack of jacket). It's now Thursday and we're both coughing and I at least have a sore throat. So, what did we learn? 1. Don't listen to dad 2. Bobby needs a coat fast 3. Don't listen to dad.

What's a student to do when pet shops in Tampere don't stock dog coats. Finnish online pet shops offer overpriced coats (Seriously would you pay 60e for a coat the size of a tissue???). Buying of ebay takes for ever and the measurements might be off. What's a mum to do? Make a coat by hand of course!!

I'm really not very good at sewing and planning things from scratch so I decided to google dog clothes instructions and found a fairly simple coat pattern and made some adjustments. Then I decided to get some inspiration on what kind of materials and accessories I could add on. I checked out Etsy (a D.I.Y. shop/showcasing website) and found this:

Bobby lookalike!

Doesn't that dog look EXACTLY like my Bobby?!?!? I swear, that's my Bobby! Only I think t-shirt dog is a girl. Lookalike even has those white tips on 'her' paws! Freaky stuff! Haha.

In other Bobby news: he was mean to me this morning. He pooped INSIDE a rosebush. And then smirked at mummy who had to stick half her body inside to scoop the poop out. Grrr... naughty little doggy.

Top 10 Hype List

1. "Where'd You Go/C'est Ma Faute" Kyo vs. Fort Minor
2. "Giving It Up For You" Holly Brook
3. "Ivory Tower" Anna Abreu
4. "Apologize" Timbaland feat. One Republic
5. "Ihmisten Edessä" Jenni Vartiainen
6. "Love Song" Sara Bareilles
7. "Saturdays" Holly Brook
8. "Indian" Sturm Und Drang
9. "Are you Ready" Anna Abreu
10. "Soulmate" Natasha Bedingfield

Bobby Lives!

So, yesterday we managed to get a time at the vets. By the time our appointment was Bobby was already eating and was clearly feeling better. We bought him one of those D.A.P. (dog appeasing pheromone) diffusers that are supposed to calm dogs (cost 40.00e!).

Mummy and her Bobby

The vet really liked our Bobby (who wouldn't!). She said he was an excellent patient. We were so proud... well that is until he decided to mark 'his' new territory, TWICE! Ah well we didn't get mad at him tho', even the vet didn't mind that much. I was just glad that he was going to be alright.

Bobby and the rabbit he slaughtered.

Today he's been much more active. We've been on many short walks and he's even 'murdered' one of my stuffed toy rabbits. On subject of rabbits on our evening walk we had a run in with a real live one. And all I can say is my baby runs fast! If he hadn't been on a leash with my lazy butt on the other end he would have caught the damn thing no problem.