Daisy, the little sorceress
Daisy's afternoon pose
Daisy is the younger of the two, and boy, does she know how to be the baby! This is her afternoon pose, which I find totally adorable! It’s like she’s getting prepped for a manicure. She’ll plop her paws in, and then she’ll rub her chin on the edge of the bowl. Her little quirks are really fun to watch.
Honey and Daisy may be sisters but they are quite different in temperament and even physically. Daisy has longer, silkier fur. Very flexible (check out this sleeping pose). Loves body contact; she’s always up for a belly rub. I think her favourite moment of the day is brushing time — the moment the hairbrush comes out, she comes running no matter what she’s doing. And she’ll let me brush for as long as I want, which is nice.
I used to think she was the rough and boisterous one, but because she’s slightly smaller and lighter than Honey, she sometimes gets bullied, poor baby. The dog container is actually her spot, but if Honey wants it (she never used to want it, but lately she’s been pushing her way into the container)), Daisy would let her have it. But of the two, Daisy is the headstrong one. She obeys only when it suits her — that is, when there’s a treat in my hand. When she does obey, however, she does it perfectly! (All the obedience stuff I learnt together with Honey I practised with Daisy at home.) But if she doesn’t want to sit, no matter how hard I push, her butt will NOT go down. Both are intelligent dogs, but Daisy … Daisy is the crafty one.
She has the most expressive puppy-dog eyes, and she certainly uses it to her advantage. There’s a look she often gives me–a sideways sort of glance that I can only describe as her being self-aware. Like she knows that she has the upperhand. What a cheek!
Something Nice: Dance dance dance
Oh, it’s been some time since I’ve been to a tango workshop. I had passed on a few in the past year or so because there were a couple of times I didn’t learn anything at all, and because there were twice as many followers as there were leaders, I didn’t get to practice the moves much. Not only that, there was one workshop in which I had to be a leader, and I did it grudgingly, because, come on, I was paying to learn how to be a better follower.
When I heard that Eva and Patricio Touceda were going to be in town, I decided right away I would go. And I’m so glad I did. This was one of the best workshops I’ve been to so far. They went at a good pace, breaking things down into bite-sized pieces so that everyone could follow, and they were so patient and encouraging. It was such a pleasant learning environment.
I was awestruck by Eva–she was so statuesque and so utterly beautiful in every movement she made. How does one maintain such a beautiful line, and yet still look totally relaxed? She made it look so effortless, but I guess that sort of mastery comes with practice and a whole lot of talent.
What I really liked was how the instructions were clear and made absolute sense. No guessing games, which was much appreciated all around, I’m sure. There was humour, too, and it made the workshop even better.
The bonus of watching such great teachers at work was also eye-opening for me as a fledgling teacher. They had the whole rapport thing going with the students, and they were kind even when we were doing less than brilliantly…. I have to make notes about all of this before I forget.
So this was a truly inspiring weekend for me, as a tango student and as a newbie teacher. It’s given me new impetus to do stuff, and to do it better. Lovely!
(About the video clip)
Eva and Patricio demonstrate the boleo here — they make it look so smooth and elegant, but it’s nowhere near as easy as it looks.
Something Nice : Sweet little non-happy camper
Watercolour girl, courtesy of mushroommeadows.blogspot.com
What an adorable sad little girl! I’m usually ambivalent about watercolours (sometimes they look so lifeless and … somehow … unjustified), but I love, love, love the ones by Mushroom Meadows! And this little girl is especially sweet. Even if I can just imagine a little thought bubble above her head going “Hrmph!”
Also a rather apt one for me at this point–I was a right old curmudgeon in the past couple of weeks. But I’m almost done with the course, and I have been feeling quite cheerful in the last 2 days. The final day of Celta is 4 days away! Soon I’ll be exchanging that upside-down smile for a right-side-up one.
