Take a life with a small dog in tow, add a dash of red hair dye, a selection of crumbling biscuits and a passion for recitable verse… The result is a recipe for laughter. Sue Vincent shares her world in verse.
My review:
Laughter lines – Life from the Tail End is a beautiful book of poetry celebrating the bond between man (or in this case woman!) and dog. The poems make you laugh, smile and are so relatable. That’s simply because they are about everyday life, sharing memories, experiences and humorous doggy anecdotes!
Poetic thoughts on:
Trouble sleeping, – being that I suffered badly from insomnia when I was younger I relate to this so much – (The Demon List.)
Cute doggy ones such as bathing Sue’s dog Ani, (Hair of the Dog,) and Sue’s poem about sharing her food with Ani and therefore not having to diet! (The Canine Diet,)
I loved the poem Grandad Doughnuts which involved being excluded from the kitchen by Grandma and therefore having to resort to cunning and imaginative measures to make another kind of doughnut with Grandad! This was probably my favourite poem in the collection. Loved it.
Hearts and Flowers explored how love should be more than a shop bought card
There were poems about being an indie author/creative living from hand to mouth –The Archetypal Indie, and An Author’s Lament, all very relatable!
Sue Vincent’s hair dye disasters Red For Danger and Saturday Morning Blues made me smile. Been there done that! And her desire to live the free life came shining through in Rewriting The Wrinkles.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the poems and would highly recommend.
In response to Charli Mill’s challenge this is my entry.
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of Charli’s dear dog Bobo, pets are family and to lose a dear family member is so hard.
My piece of dog flash, dedicated to Bobo.
‘What’s the point of these daisies?’ Bandit asked.
‘I’ve no idea, you can’t eat them, their flowers smell’s rank, but our human pets like them,’ replied Duchess.
Bandit poked his nose towards human pet Annie, who was sitting on the grass making a daisy chain.
‘Stop nosing about Bandit! Hey, girl.’ Annie stroked Bandit’s imaginary friend’s coat and popped a daisy chain over her head.
Bandit barked.
‘Okay Bandit, I have one for you too. Look how it contrasts with your black coat, boy.’
‘Woof!’
The two Labradors ran away, one black, another camouflaged by the field of daisies.
As engaging as a tail wag.
Celebrating the simple things in life as seen through the eyes of our old time favorite furry friends, “As Good as Gold” is a volume of poetry revealing the talent and humor we always knew our dogs possessed.
Dogs are full of questions, yet they are famed sellers of innocence especially when it comes to explaining their mishaps and often foolish effervescence through such pondering as “Why IS a Cat Not Like a Dog”, “As Brown as Chocolate”, “Silver Stars and Puppy Tail” or, best yet, “Dog or Book?”
A book with an enormous heart for readers of all ages, it includes 35 poems and haiku accompanied by expressive portraits of our canine friends. The poems are grouped in: Questions, Colors, Musings and Haiku.
* Ideal to boost you up by reading one poem at a time,
* Great conversational piece to have around on a rainy day,
* Fantastic tool to discuss colors in nature and everyday questions with your little ones,
* A gentle way to introduce children to animals’ feelings,
* Amazing picture to cheer you up.
* An ideal gift for any dog lovers!
My review
A very sweet book of poems and haiku about dogs, nature and dog’s human! It made me smile a lot. I really enjoyed the poem at the end about cats too (cats are my preferred animal but I love dogs too.) This would particularly appeal to readers who enjoy poems about animals, snowmen, Christmas, and life through the eyes of some very cute dogs. I loved the lovely photos of our furry friends in the book too.
It’s a feel good collection of doggy poetry which would be an ideal gift for Christmas.
I received a copy from the author in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
Recommended, particularly for doggy and poetry enthusiasts!
My rating: 4 very woof woof stars.
Goodreads Author Profile:
Patricia Furstenberg is the author of Amazon Bestseller Joyful Trouble. She writes children stories about real and imaginary dogs and about animals in general. Patricia believes each creature has a story and a voice, if only we stop to listen. Patricia came to writing though reading, her passion for books being something she inherited from her parents. “When I write, I write,” she usually says. When she’s not writing she likes to read, listen to music, dance and bake. One of the characters portrayed in her children stories is Pete, the yellow toy elephant. Not many know, but Pete exists and lives in Pat’s home. This Romanian born writer is living happily with her husband, children and dogs in sunny South Africa.
Colleen’s prompt words this week are Sugar and Spice – after her two cute Pomeranians:
So with Sugar and Spice in mind I’d thought I’d introduce you to …
Zog, a little friend of mine who visited us recently. I thought Sugar and Spice might like to hear about this very cute doggy true life Tanka and Tale:
Zog The Gentleman Dog
I’d been in London for the day but knew Zog was coming to stay. What I didn’t approve of was that three rather naughty men, (including my husband,) where going to leave him alone in our house while they went off to the pub. Talk about men behaving badly! Humph…
Guess what? My daughter popped home and in his bid for freedom poor Zog rushed out the door and refused to come back in the house. Can you blame him? He must have thought his owner had abandoned him and he was now being re-housed with a strange new family! My daughter Georgina panicked, believing that Zog would do a runner. So she called me on my mobile, expecting me to miracle a solution in typical wonder mum fashion! I know this blog is often referred to by its original title: Kyrosmagica, (crystal magic) and I still like to think I have some magical skills but this was beyond my white witch capabilities! I couldn’t jump off the train particularly as I now had a bunch of fellow travellers who were now pretending not to listen to my frantic instructions to rescue Zog on my mobile phone! I had no chance of physically helping in the quest to save Zog from escaping, so Georgina called her boyfriend, who popped over, reassured Zog and convinced him to come back in. What a hero! By the time I arrived home poor Zog seemed much happier, and we all had fun taking him for a walk at separate intervals to keep him occupied.
When I had the dog-walking pleasure, I realised that:
Dogs go crazy excited when you pick up their leads. And leap up your leg in a spectacular fashion (even if they are pretty small.) Their enthusiasm is kind of infectious and enchanting.
He might look small and cute but he pulls at his lead like a maniac when he sees a cat or another dog! I had to show him who’s boss!
When do they ever pee or poo? This dog refused to do either? Perhaps the trauma of being away from his owner had caused him to be constipated, and unable to pee? Poor Zog, or maybe he was just being polite. Maybe he didn’t want to do so in view of us ladies!
***
Later that same evening the rascals, (three men behaving badly,) came back from the pub. In, proud Zog fashion he turned his nose up at the idea of forgiving them! Moreover, he had nothing to do with his owner.
By now, Georgina had disappeared – after the stress of nearly losing Zog she needed some respite – besides teenagers are never in… so I became Zog’s new best friend. He followed me all around the house – I couldn’t even take a pee, or have a shower without him coming!
The next morning I opened the patio door to let him out – he was bursting to explore (or do a pee,) I’m not sure which. Later, I realised Zog had been on a mission. A very special mission. He came back with something in his mouth that he deposited on my kitchen floor. Being used to cat’s offerings – dead mice, decapitated mice, etc… I took a step back, somewhat alarmed, but I had no need to be. Zog’s mission had been to gift me a tiny flower, (a pretty weed,) – but in his eyes it must have been the finest specimen of his appreciation that he could find. Isn’t that so lovely? So Zog is my inspiration for my tanka today.
Here he is. Zog the Gentleman dog.
Isn’t Zog so cute? What a sweet dog. I’m smitten!
Hope that Sugar and Spice enjoyed my special Tanka for them, Colleen.
Fellow Administrators of our Authors Bloggers Rainbow Support Club #ABRSC on Facebook, myself, my good friends Colleen Chesebro and Debby Gies. Click on Colleen’s and Debby’s photos to be directed to their awesome blogs. These ladies rock!
I discovered this Totally Not Serious Author Bio Generatorvia Helen at Journey to Ambeth, and as I like a giggle I thought I’d have a go and share it for Rachel Thompson’s @RachelintheOC,#MondayBlogs.
See if you’d like to try it out – the more crazy and humorous the better! Her link is at the end of the post – so do visit her blog to congratulate her on coming up with this awesome idea. By the way I’m currently reading Helen’s book Oak and Mist and will be reviewing that soon, so do keep an eye out for that.
Just fill in the blanks!!!!!
(your name) was born (time, place) and grew up in (place, dimension etc) learning to (do something odd). They left (your birthplace) for (a far flung destination) where they (did something amazing). (your name) now lives in (somewhere fabulous and unusual) with their (living companions). When not writing bestselling novels, (your name) likes to (do some sort of unusual and creative hobby).
I kind of got a bit carried away with mine, it started off as a short paragraph and grew….. into a mini story… I really enjoyed this! This is about 90% true, ha ha…… I had an unusual childhood!
My Funny Author Bio:
Marjorie Mallon was born many moons ago in the Mount Alvernia Hospital in Singapore, otherwise known as The Lion City.She grew up in a high rise heaven scraper in a mountainous court in Hong Kong.
Her Far East stint was cut short by her crazy parents who decided that the relentless humidity, fabulous food, and endless parties were too much to bear. They dragged her spotty soul to the frozen wasteland of Scotland. Kicking and screaming she left her exotic childhood and her much loved dog Topsy too. Relentless tears and a posh attaché briefcase made this girl a target for primary school bullies. In this new regime she was duty bound to master Scottish country dancing, haggis bashing, farting, bagpipe playing and a whole new Och Aye lingo. Some say that this Scottish coming of age convert heard tell of the root of all evil: the thing that lives in hiding beyond the ken of the kilted sporran!
As a teenager she travelled to many far flung destinations to visit her abacus wielding wayfarer dad Ronald. On one such occasion steel bands were playing Calypso music. A silver barracuda swam by. It viewed her snorkelling bikini clad body, longing to take a big bite. This began a pattern that has continued to this day. With dogs’ fangs replacing barracudas’ teeth, she returned to her mother’s birthplace, Kuching, otherwise known as cat city. Her friendly Malaysian relatives introduced her to a ferocious dog called Blackie who sniffed her frightened butt. She must have smelt pretty terrible -it was a scorcher of a day – poor Blackie whimpered and ran away! It didn’t end there……more animals became a feature of her adult life. Notably an angry female Orang-Utan chased her unfit ass out of the Malaysian jungle believing that she was a threat to her babies!
She still monkeys about as much as possible, would love to own a cat, or a replacement Topsy but refuses to entertain any murderous dogs, knife wielding maniacs, or over-protective monkeys.
It’s rumoured that she lives in the calm punting Venice of Cambridge, with a six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and two enchanted daughters. These youthful babes are often seen surfing the country park lake before the soul stealing trees awaken.
Of course after such an insane upbringing her author’s mind has taken complete and utter leave of its senses and she now lives in a fantasy world where her family and complete strangers pay her millions to write all day and every day. When she’s not writing bestselling novels, she likes to eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, and surfs to the far reaches of the moon to keep her abs trim. To chill out she practises Tai Chi and Yoga on the crest of a wave. If the adventurous mood takes her she goes snorkelling with mermaids, or signs up for idyllic holidays with Ch’i lin (or K’i lin), the Chinese Unicorn. This mythical creature radiates a myriad of extraordinary colours, and has a voice that sings like a thousand wind chimes.
She is a child of the light and the dark. Her motto is simply this: Do what you love, stay true to your heart’s desires, remain as young at heart as you can – and inspire others to do so too, even if it appears that the odds are stacked like black hearted shadows against you…
I loved writing this!!! It was such fun……Do have a go and don’t forget to link it back to Helen’s original post: Helen’s Link
Can you guess what’s true and what I’ve made up or embellished?
Hugh from Hugh’s Views and News is sponsoring his Charity Christmas Tree Topper Challenge again this year. Last year’s challenge was a great success!
Do you want to join in with Hugh’s Photo Tree Topper Challenge? Here is all you have to do:
From Hugh’s blog: “Here’s how you can all join in and help Angela, Macy, Toby, and I raise £250 for The Dogs Trust.”
1. Take a photo of what sits on top of your Christmas tree. 2. Create a new post on your blog entitled “Hugh’s Photo Challenge: Week 8 – Charity Christmas Tree Topper Challenge.” 3. Add the photo(s) you have taken to the post and tell us a little about what you are showing. 4. Create a pingback to Hugh’s post or leave a link to your post in the comments section of Hugh’s post so that other participants can view your post.
The challenge is open until Tuesday 5th January 2016 and more details can be found on Hugh’s and Colleen’s blog:
Please click on the link The Dogs Trust if you would like to make any donations directly to The Dogs Trust, in UK. Or alternatively in America, you could consider making a donation to the Humane Society of the United States or a local Humane Society in your own hometown.This is not compulsory to enter in the challenge, but if you would like to do so that would no doubt be more than welcome!
Sadly I don’t have a dog myself nowadays but I did as a child, Topsy, a cute little black and white cheeky rascal who used to like eating all sorts of things that weren’t particularly good for a dog! Look at that tiny frame it disguises a hearty appetite for inedible things! I remember one year she ate a balloon at my birthday party. Thank goodness she was okay no harm done. Also one year she ran off and had a love affair with a local dog, we were really worried that she had been lost for good but she reappeared with her guilty tail between her legs…
So to get into the spirit of celebrating man’s best furry friend here are a couple of photos of Topsy:
First this photo is of mum and I on our balcony in Hong Kong, I used to live there when I was little. Actually this kind of captures cheeky me and rascal Topsy pretty well I reckon! My mum is smiling but in a hesitant way as if she knows that she has a handful there…
This photograph below is of Topsy, my brother Donald and my dad Ronald looking all smiley, but Topsy is a bit sad, she is thinking of her wild escapade with her lost love….
As well as participating in the Tree Top Challenge and chatting about dogs I am also joining in Colleen at Silver Threading’s lovely idea to share Christmas Trees from Around The World, so if you’d like to join in with this particular challenge don’t forget to say where you are! My tree is situated at my home in Cambridge, England.
Here’s the link to join in Colleen’s Trees Around The World:
At the weekend I went out with my husband and my youngest daughter to find a lovely tree at our nearby garden centre. At that point in time my eldest was still at University so unfortunately she missed this trip but she’s back home today, it’s so lovely to see her, and now she has seen the tree too.
I just love a real tree, don’t you?
Especially when it is lit up.
I knew it was the one as soon as my husband pulled it out from amongst an array of other trees it had such lovely symmetry and a fullness that caught my eye. So I said, “That’s the one.” Of course my husband still pulled out a few other likely contenders but I got my way in the end! I can be quite stubborn at times….
I decorated our beautiful Christmas tree with my youngest daughter but to my dismay we couldn’t find the angel to top the tree, so I asked my husband if he could get me another one, but he didn’t manage to find one, he was too busy buying the groceries! Just as well, as I found her hiding in amongst a large bag of Christmas gift tags and wrapping paper. For some reason she wasn’t in the bubble wrap with the other Christmas baubles. Perhaps she felt a bit too grand to be stuck there amongst the bawdy riff raff!
Now she may look like she’s sleeping on top of my tree but don’t let that fool you, she knows what’s what! She’s keeping a look out for any sneaky opening presents before Christmas, that is not allowed.
Thanks for popping by to see my tree and my childhood dog and for joining in the Christmas festivities Kyrosmagica style, and don’t forget to pop over to Colleen and Hugh’s blog to join in the challenges.
I’m thrilled to be taking part again, this is only my second week! Bit of catching up to do. Hurrah!! What am I up to? Julia at My Red Page’s Camera Lucida Photo Challenge.
an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
a gesture or action used to convey information or an instruction.
a notice on public display that gives information or instructions in a written or symbolic form.
For this week’s prompt I wanted to focus on doing a light-hearted post about funny signs rather than a serious photography post.
PART 1 : THE MYSTERY OF THE PARKING LOLLIPOP LIFEBUOY
My photos didn’t come out too great so with that in mind I thought I’d challenge myself to do this funny post. How can I make fairly boring photos interesting? Apply a sprinkling of humour, a bit of an adventure, a dollop of Tintin and Snowy mystery… Me hopes.. to spice up these photos.
My first photo to the left of the trio of mediocre-ness is odd, the yellow out of focused sign says: Have you paid for parking? Don’t worry it didn’t speak to me personally I just read it while I was waiting at the bus stop. Also that yellow STOP sign painted on the ground on that far right photo caught my eye. I think the other folks at the bus stop probably thought I’m a bit loopy taking photos of it and its neighbour a round circular object that isn’t a lollipop. The yellow parking sign is placed right beside a sharp incline with wild grasses and plants growing, no car park immediately behind or near it. Of course it makes sense if you know that you can park and ride at this site. So no real mystery after all or is there? Of course there is a mystery there has to be or else this post would be oh so dull. Here’s a clue: wonder of wonders there is a red lifebuoy next to it. That one’s specially for Julia, I know she likes the colour red. There is no lake or river here, and never has been as long as I’ve been in residence in Cambridge so why would I park my yacht, or possibly my rubber dinghy nearby, and then get a bus? More importantly why would I need saving? The Tintin and Snowy plot thickens. Don’t disappear meet them in PART 2 BELOW.
PART 2 Tintin and The Stone Wall To Nowhere.
Then I found the answer, I walked through the park to the other side of town looking for more strange signs and I came across this beauty for you dog walkers out there, apparently when your dog poos, fire comes out of its a**. That’s a revelation to me!! What have you been feeding your dog? Chillis, curry sauce, hot paprika? So that’s my answer to this peculiar mystery, I need saving from doggie poops that combust by themselves! Who needs fire lighters for BBQ’s, oops that’s getting a bit too much. Moving swiftly on. Let’s get serious now, be good citizens, don’t let your dog off its lead just in case it tries to sneak through a stone wall.
Back to the parking issue, and to my friends Tintin and Snowy my final photo’s caption is NO PARKING GOODS ENTRANCE. What? There is nowhere here to park your car, yacht, or dinghy either, just in case you’re wondering. There is just a solid brick wall, this does not count as an entrance for your goods. They’d have to be invisible goods to get in there. Ah magic and wizardry, perhaps this is a stone wall to nowhere. I’m so curious – what is behind those bars on that window? I hope there isn’t a prisoner in there …… Really there’s no way in, and no way out either. I’m not kidding, it’s kind of getting a bit Dr. Who ish…. Snowy would be relieved to know that even a little spider couldn’t get through those crevices, believe me, let alone you and your trusty dog on its lead. Maybe there is scotch whisky in there, now that would get Snowy on the trail, he like a little tipple. If Dr. Who is busy with his tardis lets get Tintin, and Snowy on the trail, this sounds like an adventure for a man and his dog. I loved those books as a kid, The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. I must re-read! We could call this Tintin adventure The Stone Wall To Nowhere, or just simply The Stone Wall, that sounds very Tintinesque.
Anyway, getting back to reality, (a bit,) I suppose you could smash a window and get in that way, but your dog and Snowy might not approve, he or she might think it is a very bad idea. Let’s face it he or she just wants to go to the park. To do a you know what…. Sensible dog… Fire extinguisher at the ready. Call the fire brigade!!!
Hope you enjoyed my wacky contribution to Camera Lucida, I enjoyed writing this so much!
It’s a bit of daftness to keep you entertained at the start of the week. Happy Humorous Monday, Folks….
Oh if you fancy writing a piece of flash fiction, or a short story about this theme do have a go, I think it would make for fun reading…… I might write one too….
Bye for now. I’ve got to get my shades on and play poker with my imaginary dog, see you later!
Of course I had to end the 3 day 3 quote challenge on a farewell kiss! It would have been so remiss of me not to. Absolutely believe Ingrid Bergman’s quote one hundred and ten percent.
There is nothing like a kiss especially if that certain somebody is kissing you. A kiss is the honey elixir of the soul, it speaks volumes when words carry very little or no weight. The kiss can be tentative, or tender, it can be a peck or a passionate full on don’t come up for breath number, all of which are worthy of our utmost attention, especially the last one! A, sigh, been there, done that! It could be your first kiss, or a kiss with your granny with her false teeth out! Sorry for that gummy image but it’s one that comes to mind! It could be a smooch with your dog, even soldiers kiss dogs. Dogs get kisses too!
Who could resist kissing this little kitten? I couldn’t. Cats seem to love me though, they follow me everywhere I go….. A bit of an exaggeration – but there is a little fellow that always follows me to the bus stop, he’s so cute. I always stop, pat him, and have a little chit chat on the way to the bus, time permitting!
All sorts of kisses can be memorable for so many reasons. I remember before I went under the surgeon’s knife way back in October my husband kissing me, that kiss meant a great deal, it calmed and reassured me. It worked a treat, I didn’t panic, it was just what the doctor ordered, the perfect prescription, no words could have been as effective!
Thank you so much to Swagata Mukherjee from Kolkata, India for nominating me to take part in this 3 day Quote challenge, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking part. Swagata is a PhD student in Physics. She loves to travel and is passionate about photography.
Any other #BlogBattlers that I haven’t mentioned (I could only nominate a certain number of bloggers) please do join in too if you’d like, the more the merrier…….
Thanks for joining me in this 3 Day Quote Challenge.
What are your favourite quotes, and kissing tales? Oh, I can’t wait to hear them, don’t be shy!
I hope you’ll agree that they are quite amazing. Let’s start off with this beauty:
This one’s a bit dingy in comparison! Hope you have a warm jumper and a torch.
Maybe you prefer to be cushioned in a tree hand. What about something a bit more uplifting?
Or perhaps you’re a gambler who likes to take risks? The architect for the one below must have been drink! It reminds me of a pack of shuffled cards that’s out of order and tumbling everywhere!
Or would you like to blend into the environment? This one’s calm and tranquil. But how would you find your way home at night? Maybe you’ll need a sheep dog.
Perhaps you like to live dangerously?
This one would suit a hermit with a love of the tropics. Just imagine, you could swim every day. Heaven.
Quirky, yes, why not? I wonder if you have to climb up that hill with your groceries? Or would you give up and live off the land?
A fondness for mushrooms perhaps? Just don’t pick poisonous ones or magical ones!
Eggs? Yes, this reminds me of the material egg boxes are made of. I hope it’s not windy, or this egg box house may turn into a frisby. I hope you can climb trees.
One for a posh hermit with a love of the tropics who likes diving, and living precariously.
You enjoy the circus? Some stilts perhaps?
A lover of shoes?
Fond of gardening and like to keep chickens? This one’s a fancy chicken coop, but you could have a bigger version!
Like your garden but fancy an oriental touch?
An oriental tree house?
An artist with an obsession with plastic lunchboxes?
Or an artist with a door obsession?
A lover of books?
A bookworm wouldn’t just settle with the house, we’d need a few accessories too!
For skiiers, and adrenalin worshippers who also like a touch of summer sun?
Cat lovers, don’t look at me like that, I haven’t forgotten you.
And of course, last but not least, a special home for all those dog lovers out there, equipped with tail, and cute puppy.
Thanks for coming on this Friday’s Quirky house tour, hope you enjoyed yourself. Have a wonderful Friday, and a lovely weekend see you again soon!
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