An Island Off an Island

Hi friends, Ruby here.

I must admit I’m a bit conflicted about this whole Christmas thing. I get vibes through the ether from my big sisters, who for the most part, were Christmas Grinches of the ‘bah-humbug’ persuasion. They were of the opinion that the hype rarely lived up to the reality for the canine part of the family. I will say that I am looking forward to the arrival of the man in the red suit because it will mean a relaxation in the ridiculous diet regime imposed by M&D, and hopefully lots of Christmas treats to enjoy. Let me tell you that if mince pies are left out on Christmas Eve for the great man, he will have to be willing to share – actually he gets enough from other houses – I will assist by getting rid of them. The reindeers are welcome to the carrots.

So, on the plus side there is a lot of different festive foods to be reacquainted with and presents to anticipate. We very nearly didn’t get a Christmas pudding this year due to an unfortunate incident in the kitchen. The four-hour cooking of the pudding happened to coincide with the construction of the new Christmas present of a barbecue. Dad regrettably became too engrossed in its fabrication and forgot to top up the water in the steamer, resulting in a shattered pyrex bowl and a very burnt pudding. Thankfully he has made a replacement which I will look forward to sampling on Christmas Day.

I like the tree and I like the fact that every time I get too close, M&D instantly tense in case I try to dislodge any ornament – some of those baubles look very tasty! I do love to keep them on their toes. As you all know, I have a penchant for inhaling socks and hankies, and because of this they have become very careful to put away these tempting items. However, I pinched a sock out of the washing last week, causing great consternation lest another trip to the vet was required. Happily, for everyone, I woke them up for a two o’clock ‘up-chuck’ a couple of days later.

The definite down-side to the season is the many times that they leave me alone to attend various Christmas drinks, parties and events. They have become very entrenched in the local community and as such see the need to socialise – without me! I had to endure a whole Sunday alone while they helped out on the cake stall and selling raffle tickets at the Dennes Point Christmas Fair, another Sunday when they swanned off to drinks over at Kingston Beach. But the biggest indignity occurred last Monday when M&D hosted the annual Neighborhood Christmas drinks. When we have guests, I like to greet them with exuberance and enthusiasm and then proceed to lurk around in the hope of looking cute enough to elicit food from them (I am good at this). They thwarted me on this occasion by banishing me to the studio with Classic FM on the radio and a ‘chill pill’. They couldn’t hear my manic barking, or at least, they pretended not to. When they finally relented there was plenty of crumbs to hoover up in the aftermath.

The afternoon walk on the beach is happily still a constant, although the weather was so bad last week, we actually missed one evening, and I didn’t even really mind – it really was miserable. The highlights are those times when our walks coincide with my mates Norman and Pearl. We have a great time together and the added bonus is that their M&D bring Normie’s discarded beef chews for me. Sadly, my mate Mercx and his Dad have gone back to the mainland to live. At this time of the year the tourists are starting to arrive and with them their dogs. Sometimes they don’t understand that Nebraska Beach is my domain and that they should be a bit more respectful of the locals. The upshot is that I have to be on the lead a little more than I think is necessary. This might have to be put on the negative side of the Christmas ledger.

I am going to remain positive this Christmas and try not to stress M&D too much by bad behaviour. I won’t even mind too much if the presents are a little underwhelming, I really love to rip up the wrapping paper and any cardboard boxes unwittingly left around (although I do suspect that M&D leave them around on purpose).

Merry Christmas from Ruby on an island off an island.