Since you haven't seen much of him recently, here's a picture of gilby, our silly, silly dog who sometimes sits on the top of the sofa.
Oh, and just for the record, I think Lawrance might love Mr. Gibs more than I do. :)
I also just found this silly photo of him sitting on the same spot on the same sofa . . . He's dressed for one of the Christmas parties we had at our house last year. He's proudly sporting a Christmas shirt from Auntie Sarah and an elf costume from Nonny (his maternal grandmother).
He often gets either on top of or next to his bags when he thinks I am getting ready to leave. Or, if his travel crate is near the door, he climbs into it to wait to be taken out the door with me.
In the absence of his travel bags or travel crate, he will sit right by the door on top of my shoes. :)
P.S. Yes, he does have a superman outfit he wears when we go to visit children. :) Gotta love a super-dog.
Just wanted to tell you that my little dog with many nicknames* is doing ok.
The bruise on his leg has cleared up very well, and he seems to be doing just fine.
I've not yet taken him out around mopeds, so I'm not exactly sure what his reaction will be now. He was already scared of them to begin with, so . . .
Anyway, thanks to all of you who've been asking about him. I appreciate it. :)
*Gilby answers to "shiao bye" (little white), "shiao Gil" (little Gil), "Que-Be," Mr. Gibs, and of course Gilby. Why he has so many nicknames I have no idea! But, he does, and he doesn't seem to mind. Oh, maybe I do know why . . . . he is Taiwanese!! :D (Just in case you don't know . . . Taiwanese people all have many nicknames. A Taiwanese person with no nickname is someone with no friends.)
For gilby’s first christmas he was only five months old. And, he hadn’t ever had a haircut. He looked quite different than he does now . . . long gone is that adorable little puppy phase.
Oh, he is still cute–but it is defiantly a different kind of cute. :)
This red toy that he is playing (a Kong) with was a Christmas gift from my grandparents. He even unwrapped his present all by himself. I highly recommend the Kong toy–it’s the most played with toy we have. Also, it’s now two years old and still in great condition. Oh, and the little snowman outfit was a gift from my coworker/office-mate, Kady. Her friend designs doggie clothing.
Ok . . . that it is for awhile about Gilby . . . I promise not to turn this into a dog-blog. :)
I think Gilby has actually learned to "smile" for the camera. When I say "Gilby, look at the camera" he actually does!!
I used to hold a treat right by the camera and give the command. That way he’d look at the treat and thus be looking into the lens of my camera at the same time. But, now, no treats are needed at all. And, not only does he look . . . he opens his mouth and appears to be smiling.
In fact, he absolutely loved taking pictures last night. I was trying to get some shots to send home to parents and grandparents so they could see my tree. In some of them I held Gilby, but if I decided to take one by myself he either jumped into my lap or ran over to stand by my feet.
Silly dog . . . you think it’s possible for a canine to actually fall in love with the limelight?
You see him just sittin’ there beggin’ for me to take his picture, right?
I leave Gilby in the bathroom when I leave the house for more than 5 hours (if less than 5 he stays in his little crate, also in the bathroom).
The last few times I’ve come home guess where I’ve found my little guy? That’s right . . . in the bathroom sink!
Last week, I saw paw prints all over the sink and just wondered why. But, now I know. When I’m not home he climbs into the sink! Silly dog. It must be the perfect size for him to curl up in for a nap, but it worries me a little as far as safety goes.
I guess I can add this to the weirdplaces my Mr. Gibs likes to sleep.
Does your dog sleep anywhere weird? Has your pet ever surprised you by being in a strange place when you got home?
6. He really enjoys playing fetch, and he will initiate the game himself.
7. He also knows how to lie down, stand up and walk (on hind legs), give five, “ask for it,” “drop it,” and go into his crate on command.
8. He loves to get into bags and boxes whenever possible.
9. I sometimes call him Mr. Gibs.
10. My Taiwanese friends who don’t speak English call him “Q 比” (which is pronounced Q-B”).
11. He loves fruit–especially apple, mango and pineapple.
12. He loves to meet new friends and hates to see them go. Friendliness to strangers is one reason why I choose the Maltese breed. But, his friendliness scares some of my students who are not used to being around dogs.
13. My mom has sent her grandpup doggie treats all the way from the US.
14. He sometimes wears clothes–mostly in the winter when he is cold (we don’t have heat here)–and he loves it!
I can’t believe I’ve had Gilby for two full years. My how time flies!!
I love you Mr. Gibs!! Thanks for being my sweet puppy-boy!
When Martin Luther’s puppy happened to be at the table, he looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes.
Luther said, "Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope."
As I’ve read and visited blogs this past week I have run into so many "blogkitties" in bloggy world. Don’t get me wrong, cats are cute, but come on . . . where are the dogs?
I even read–but don’t remember where–that for every picture of a child posted to blogs there are 2.3 cat pictures posted.
I can’t do much about the cat to cute kid ratio, but I can help with the question about where are all the dog?
So, without further ado, I offer you a few pics of my own sweet Gilby with his new haircut.
Cute right?
… Here he is (pre-haircut) with Karen and Christine, some friends of mine.
… And, last but not least, here is where I found him a few weeks ago after I finished putting away all the groceries.
Yeah, that’s right–inside the newly emptied sack. :)
Last week, two of my students, Gilby, and I went to PengHu County–south of where I live–for an evening of traditional Taiwanese fun.
We ate some traditional foods for dinner and then tried the famous 冷熱冰 (literally translated: "cold hot ice") for dessert. "Cold hot ice" is a bowl of hot treats–red beans, taro chunks, glutinous rice balls filled with peanut powder–covered in shaved ice topped with brown sugar water.
Here are pictures of what 冷熱冰 (cold hot ice) looks like, as well as pictures of me and Gilby with my students outside of the famous restaurant.
Another cool thing about this restaurant is that just outside of the restaurant is a vendor who sells mantou (steamed bread) from a converted bicycle.
Here is a pic of me on the bike, and a pic of Julie pointing to what is inside the steamer on the back of the bike. (Yes, we had the vendor’s permission to play with her movable store.) But, since the vendor was done for the day, she had already cleaned out the glass case in the front. (I found one on flickr taken in the daylight when her case was full.)
I’m in spring clean and declutter mode right now. So, I was using a box I found as my papers to be recycled pile . . . well, that was until Gilby decided to climb in and claim it has his new den.
When I put the box away, he was a little upset and let me know that he could not get comfortable without it. So, it is back out for now–and as I type he is sleeping in it.
Don’t know for how long I’ll keep the recycle box out as his new little "den."
Forget the expensive dog pillows and wicker baskets . . . just get an old box the right size!
Since its been nearly four months since Gilby had his own post . . . I thought I’d let him say hi today. I took this right after he dried off from his bath last night.
He is finally getting much better about not jumping out the tub during bathtime. :)
This little pig and Gilby did not quite hit it off–Gilby just couldn’t quite figure him out.
This is actually not the first pet pig I have seen in Taiwan. And, awhile back, another pet pig made it into the English language newspaper.
And, it is my guess that since this is the "year of the pig" even more Taiwanese will take in pigs to be their pets. And, why, might you ask, would someone want a pet pig . . . well, it is claimed that pigs are clean, don’t smell, are affectionate, and don’t bark.
Like last year, I am summing up my entire 2006 in only 12 photos (one for each month).
For someone who took over 9000 photos in less than one year that is a lot of choices!! So, picking just 12 is NOT easy to do (in fact it is REALLY HARD)!! It gets even harder when several important things happen in one month.
Anywho . . . less yappin’ and on to the pictures.
(BTW, each month name below is a link to a calander view of pictures I took that month and uploaded to flickr. Just in case you wanna see more than 12.)
After my old camera bit the dust (actually it was tile but that’s just semantics) this time last year. My "old one" was my precious for about 3 years. It lived in my purse and was with me at all times. It blessed me with over 7000 digital images. That averages out to about 7 pics a day.
I got a new camera–a new precious in January. This new baby took the empty spot in my purse and lived their all year, faithfully accompanying me through my adventures.
I’ve not owned this camera 365 days yet, but this precious has blessed me with over 9,000 digital images! That’s averages to about 25 images a day. I know that sometimes my precious didn’t see sunlight for days or weeks at a time, so that means some days I took hundreds of photos.
Thought I’d grace you with the 9000th image I took with my Sony T9:
Christmas is not a holiday in Taiwan, so most people do not celebrate and it. Christians usually have some kind of activity at church for Christmas, but nothing like we are used to in the West and not necessarily on Christmas Day. So, for the most part it is work and school as normal. However, every year so far, I have been blessed to be able to rearrange my classes, so that I don’t have to work on Christmas Day. Day after Christmas? Yes! But not the actual Christmas Day.
This year, I went to our mission team leader’s home. We had a traditional Christmas meal, and then played games for hours! It was fun and full of laughter. However, I do miss my family.
Feeling the need to brag a little more about my dog . . . I give you a home video showing his latest (and greatest) command.
Gilby has now learned the command "up. be a bear." In order to "be a bear," Gilby is supposed to walk on only his back legs. He walks for awhile, but then he hops.
The book that gave me the idea to teach this command says you have to help the little dog to develop muscles so that they can go further and longer on just two paws.
Anway . . . what are you waiting for . . . Watch and see Gilby’s greatness for yourself!!
This is not a particulary flattering photo . . . but I like it. Right before I left Taiwan for a month this summer, I clung to Gilby wanting to savor every moment with my little pup. The night before our parting, I actually made him my pillow, and he didn’t seem to mind.
This morning Gilby and I were taking a walk, but before we headed home, we stopped to buy some breakfast. As we (yes, Gilby and me) were talking with the storeowner, two women who had been buying fruit just down the street started running and yelling obviously very upset. They were chasing a moped that was weaving in and out of the crowded street traffic. Since they were shouting in Taiwanese (I speak Mandarin), I could only guess what they were shouting about.
I was close. I guessed someone had hopped onto their moped and driven away with it. Instead, as the breakfast storeowner told me, the two boys on the moped had driven past the ladies buying fruit and grabbed their bags; thus, stealing their purses and purchases.
Normally Taiwan is a very, very safe place. As a single woman, I actually feel much safer here than I do in the States. However, this is actually a problem for me. Since the Taiwanese people are so nice, friendly, and inviting, it is very easy to get lulled into “they are a good people” mentality. This line of thinking of course is very wrong, and it leads to a lack of zeal for sharing the gospel because it causes me to fail to see the lostness of the people I live among.
The Bible says that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.”
I am not thankful that these two women lost some of their belongings today, but I am thankful for the reminder that the Taiwanese people are hopelessly lost without Christ.
Please join me in praying for the Taiwanese—less than 3% are Christian.
After I published my post about Gilby the other day, I realized that he had been in my home for about a year now. In fact, he entered my home on Friday, September 23, 2005.
A bit of triva for you: I was reading a "how to name your dog" webpage when I saw the idea to use "house names" to generate names for a pet. I clicked on a page that listed names for houses in Australia and saw the name "Gilby"–so it got added to my "possible puppy name" list.
Moreover, Gilby was nameless for about a week. I had a poll online so my family and friends in America and students here in Taiwan could vote and help me name my puppy. Other names in the poll included Kody, Timmy, Theo, Quincy, Bailey, Howie, Frankie, Jake, and Buddy. I actually casted my online vote for Quincy, but in the end agree that Gilby suited my pup much better.
Anyway, I thought I’d share photos of him from that very first day with me. He was SO tiny!! Looking at these photos makes me really, really want another one! :)
Isn’t he just the cutest?
~Saturday side note: Skipping the photo hunt this week, because I’m not really into photographing eyes. Will join back in next week for "comfy."~
We live in Taiwan--a little tea leaf shaped island in Asia.
Amanda is from Texas and Lawrance from Tainan. We met, fell in love and married in 2008.
We both teach English and both love to tell others about Jesus. We also both really enjoy laughing, and we both just happen to enjoy "ching cha," a type of fabulous green tea.
