Wednesday, November 29, 2017

IconoPON.


6.00 am. Sophie joins me in the kitchen. I could say something about her appearance but don't.

Her big brother looks more 'presentable'.

Over the years we've always had male PONs. Sophie is our first female. The males have , in their own way, been essence of dog. Patient, affable, humorous, great listeners, always ready for a tickle, displaying as much energy as robust teenagers. Sophie by contrast is a law unto herself. Her motto : '' You want me to do what ? ". One very strong willed, fiercely independent and very smart lady. An iconoclast or perhaps more aptly an iconoPON. Both brother and sister, in their very different ways, make us laugh constantly.


After our morning walk there is 'paw' evidence that someone has been digging up bulbs.


The nearby Galeries Lafayette is closing. The local version of Macy's. What will they do with these huge 19th century buildings when they shut ? If they had any sense they'd put a restaurant in on the ground floor and turn the rest into loft apartments. There again loft apartments might come as a shock in this part of deepest deepest France profonde. 40 staff gone here, another 40 there. 


The owner of this Chinese hotel saved eight thousand  1000 year old trees and scores of 500 year old buildings and shipped them 500 miles to Shanghai. Remarkable. https://www.aman.com/resorts/amanyangyun/the-story





12 comments:

Lisa in Tokyo said...

Based on our life with Cherry over the past seven years, I think it's a girl PON thing - or, as my son puts it, we should have got her brother (I think he means "in addition" rather than "instead," at least I hope so.) I became even more persuaded of this after you recently admitted that Sophie had stolen food from your dining table. In our house, if someone wants to step into the kitchen at a moment when there's food on the table, they need first to designate someone else to stand guard. We do have an African Grey parrot who has her cage in the dining room and keeps close watch on all of this - she'll shout "Cora, Cherry!" (roughly "bad dog" in Japanese) if she sees Cherry putting a foot up on a chair that has not been pushed in all the way, but by the time we get there . . .

Angus said...

Glad to hear that it's not just us who suffer from stolen food. We're amazed at a) the dexterity required to clamber onto a chair then onto the table ( especially if you have metal legs ) and b ) the intelligence that is required to plot, plan and execute mischief in the brief of moments when her owners backs are turned !

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

After mostly female dogs, Dui takes a bit of getting used to. Love Sophie's wild woman hair.

MOPL said...

A law unto herself is MLLE Sophie. bob is much more the diplomat. Those buildings with a restaurant underneath and spacious apartments would be wonderful addition to any city/ town/village

WFT Nobby said...

That 'bed hair' picture of Sophie is a classic.

Coppa's girl said...

Sophie - digging up bulbs? Surely not - it will ruin her manicure !
We've had three male dogs and three females, over the years (five Labs and one spaniel cross male) and have found that the females have never tried to climb on furniture, join us in bed, or steal from the kitchen or table - unusual for a Labrador ! The males however have taken every opportunity to add a little illicit treat or two to their daily diet. The best one was Duke, (spaniel X) who walked off with the just roasted leg of lamb for Sunday lunch. We caught up with him just as he was about to bury it in the garden with his other purloined treasures !

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari om
There was only ever one food-robbery in all the J's time with me... and the senior culprit was Jasper CAT, leaving his sisdog Jade to clear up the leavings... and get caught red-pawed! YAM xx

Swan said...

Just keep telling Sophie she’s beautiful, 😊

Sheila said...

An amazing story of restoration and a beautifully done video. I'm rather surprised that there was enough vacant land to accommodate all of those trees and buildings so close to Shanghai. Or perhaps it wasn't vacant at the time I guess.

Kathy said...

Sophie is a Diva! What's your point?! lol

Swan said...

The supply of Presidents Butter from France is slowing fading..you did warn us. Are the cows on strike? It really is better than other brands.

BaileyBobSouthernDog said...

Loft apartments makes perfect sense to me. Perhaps it would be accepted if it could be tried even once! The people would see that the saving of an old building, homes for people, and the additional revenue these people would bring, could be a very good plan.