Breakfast with Danny

For some time now, I've been wondering why despite all my scoldings, Danny still jumps and barks at me when I eat.

Meals and snack time with Danny loose in the house is quite an affair. Our friend already has an egg every morning, which is plenty for a little dog. But he still goes after scraps.

It turns out that I've been going about it wrong. It's the parents that need training.

Danny's breakfast routine:

Step 1: Go to mum. Beg and bark.



Step 2: Go to dad. Beg and bark, but don't bark so loud cos dad will kick ass.


Step 3: Eat reward for being a bad dog.


When I told mum she's too soft on him, she shot back, "But he will bark at me!"

To think she speant her life in teaching and retired a vice principal.

Danny's new groom

I still can't get over how different Danny looks every time he comes back from the groomer. Recently we had to send him again as he was getting that scruffy alley dog look even though it's been less than 3 months since his last cut.



I asked Bryan to give him a schnauzer trim minus the beard and long leg fur - that basically meant everything was cut short. Such a difference! Honestly, I might have taken the wrong dog home and wonder why "Danny" was so well behaved.

But not to worry. My ears are still ringing from him shrieking in the morning and mom shrieking right back, so it's definately him.

He looks so stern and serious with this cut. So doesn't suit his personality.

Holiday without Danny - Flowers, Food and Other Observations

Okay, final post on my trip and I'll go right back to Danny. I just need to get it out of my system.

One of the things I really like about Canada and the US is that people can do what they like and be respected for it. The following two shots are taken in Vancouver.

In this shot, the guy did these "paintings" on the sidewalk completely in chalk, as in blackboard chalk! (The white bucket is for "contributions". )


In this pic, the guy crouched down is a spray paint artist. He is a degree holder with a full-time job as an IT engineer. (SMRT is you're reading this, I think we should pay him to do up our trains.)


And it's not just Canada.

In Alaska, our bus driver was a Masters student who lectures part-time at the university. He likes being a bus driver as it lets him interact with people which is a nice balance to research and books. Can you imagine someone with a Masters degree doing that here?

Again, on the train, our waitress was a recent uni grad.

I can't imagine any family here allowing their children to taken on jobs for which they are way over qualified. Somehow, it's seen as "beneath" them to do "menial" jobs. Our service sector here doesn't get the respect it deserves and it shows in the attitude of the staff.

Sad.

* * *

Another thing to love - flowers and scenary! The weather allows a vast variety of flowers and plants.

These flowers were in the Butchart Gardens in Canada. Don't ask me what they're called. I just take photos.

The rest were taken in Alaska. I thought this photo was quite nice but hubby doesn't think so. I guess the flag pole could be a bit shorter. Anyway, this was in Denali National Park.

These were taken on a track through a part of the rainforest.

Alaska was just entering Autumn when we went. Obvious, yeah?

It rained a lot in Alaska
This is so Smurf!

* * *

The people we met in Vancouver and Alaska were wonderful! We could be at a street corner studying a map and people would come up and ask if we needed help. Drivers on quiet roads would happily let us cross even though they had right of way (and hubby and I were jaywalking).

And cashiers and waitresses would have a quick chat with you. At no point did we feel like outsiders. It all added to the great time we had there.

The one thing that wasn't so great was the food. It was mostly bland, bland, bland. The burgers and steaks had little or no seasoning, Japanese gyoza was made with chicken, and even this Chinese restaurant that our originally-from-Hong-Kong guide recommended needed more garlic and soy sauce at the very least.

And for the record, I prefer our MacDonald's apple pie to the US MacDonald's.

Oh heck. I even prefer Brewerk's mac & cheese to the one I tried in Alaska. I ended up dumping a fair amount of salt and pepper on it.

My only memorable dish was this lavendar-something-cotta. First time I ever had a dessert that tasted like flowers! So super yums I had it twice!

When we came back, we made a beeline for Crystal Jade and Penang Place. Next stop - Newton.

Holiday without Danny - Fur, Feathers and Fins

You probably noticed in my previous post that the Alaskan huskies don't look like the Siberian Huskies with grey and white fur. That's because unlike other breeds, Alaskan Huskies are typified by their purpose rather than their looks. This defines them as being highly efficient sled dogs, regardless of ancestry. (Credit: Wikipedia) As a result, a lot of them look like the street dogs we have here.

One of the most famous sled dog races is the Iditarod, or as our guide called it, the Great Puppydog Race. It stretches around 1,100 miles or 1,770km, across 3 mountain ranges. Each team comprises of 12 to 16 dogs and takes anything from 8 to 30 days to complete. To prepare for the race, they are trained from puppyhood and can run 20 miles a day as adults in training.

Oh, and did I mention each dog eats 10,000 calories a day? Our guide likened it to a grown man eating 80 Big Macs every day!

So they may not look it, but these dogs are athletes in their own right.

Getting ready to mush

Taking a drink in an icy river

The other thing Alaska is famous for is Salmon. Hubby and I saw fishermen fishing in a river just outside downtown Anchorage. Hubby was actually super grumpy cos he had a runny nose, wanted to sleep in and was so sure we wouldn't see anything. When I said I'll go on my own, he got out of bed and got dressed.

He was Mr Sourpuss all the way from the hotel to breakfast and on the way to the river. When we reached, a fisherman happened to be reeling in a catch. Thank God! After that, he was the one scurrying around trying to spot salmon.



I spotted a few of them among some rocks and I yelled to hubby. The fishermen heard me and they started casting their lines there. One of the salmon came up with blood running down. Oops.

* * *

I was without Danny, but Alaska wasn't the only place I managed to get my dog fix. Up on Whistler mountain in Canada, we headed to this park by the river. Someone was playing fetch with her German Shepard.

Canada's quite a dog friendly place. We spotted this water fountain just for dogs outside the Buchart Gardens. I think it means dog parking. We also spied a few water coolers for humans with an identical one below for dogs around the city.

Oh, and check out the ENORMOUS chew bones for dogs! I have no idea what animal they're from ... goat, cow, ...dinosaur?

We saw several birds but they were too small or too fast for the camera. However, this seagull and his girlfriend, made themselves quite comfortable on our hotel balcony. They were our wake up call every morning in Vancouver...and he still had the cheek to moon me!

In Stanley Park, I had my first encounter with a black squirrel, which came racing up to me, ...

...and a racoon!

Both of them were heading my way because they thought I was going to feed them. Appearantly people have been doing so cos they think they are cute, but as with our monkeys here, they bite and scratch.

Still, I have these people to thank for me seeing the racoon. They are nocturnal animals and this one only came out during the day hoping to be fed. He is super cute though!

* * *

One of the stranger pets I saw was up on Whistler. From a distance, I saw this lady walking what I assumed was a small dog.

Erm...It's a mongoose.

Funny thing is, no one else thought it was weird!

* * *

Oh and yes, what is Alaska without the reindeer? In case you weren't aware, there are 2 kinds of reindeer. The first come in herds.

The second come in sausage. And they're yummy too!

Holiday without Danny - Canada and Alaska

Yes, it's been a really long time since my last post, but this time, I have a good reason. I was away touring Vancouver and Alaska. Since Danny's been annoying me (he figured out how to pull off his muzzle and promptly chewed it up), I'll be posting about my trip instead. Hah!

Just before I left, I tried to take a few photos of Danny so I have something to look at when I miss him. The rascal was busy running all over the place, making a mess and wouldn't let me to get a good shot. Eventually, dad managed to catch him in mid dash and hauled him right up to the camera.

For the record, that's a tea towel he pulled off the table.

I think he was wondering what the heck was happening when the flash went off.

Anyway, yes, the trip. Canada has much nicer scenery than Alaska. I think it's because they benefit from longer summers so plants and flowers have a chance to bloom. Though I could be biased cos when I was there, Vancouver's weather was absolutely perfect, while Alaska was raining a lot.

Favourites from Vancouver?

Rocky Mountaineer (FYI, that the name of the train going up the mountain). They serve you breakfast in nice comfy, cushy chairs and free flow of drinks. Way better than taking the coach!

My advice? Sit on the left side going up and the right side coming down. You get a better view!

Whistler Mountain, where I did ziplining for the first time! You're about 7 storeys up in the trees and you zip across the river below. We also went up the gondola to the top of the mountain.

Surprisingly, it wasn't very cold. I just had a long-sleeved top on and I was fine. Some people were a bit mad. They were up there in shorts and slippers, bouncing about in the snow.

Coal Harbour....Luxury yachts and mountains. What's not to like?!

Stanley Park. Okay, to quote my friend, no park is complete without ducks in a pond. Plus, calling it a park is quite misleading to this Singaporean who pictured it to be about the size of Bishan Park. It's more like the size of MacRitchie and the Botanic Gardens put together.

And definately the Butchart Gardens! I know it's manicured and maintained by an army of garderners, but it's absolutely lovely!

As for Alaska, I'll be frank. I travelled halfway around the world just to see huskies in action. And after almost a week in Canada, I finally did!

Dogs at work - Coming back from a run. Since it's summer, they train them using a tractor sans engine.

Dogs at play - after the run. I can't believe a couple even jumped in the river! It was frigid cold! I was on the boat and I couldn't feel my fingers from the cold!

Dogs back at work - with me in the buggy!

AND THEY HAD PUPPIES!!! These little guys are only 3.5 weeks old!

More in the next post....