That Italian Pug

Ever since I wrote about those dark, dank and dated tiles in my mother’s kitchen many weeks ago, I have made a conscious effort to return and document the many different styles of ceramic tiles that have been jam-packed into my parents’ small, Tudor home! I don’t know why but for some reason I feel like our readers need to know the severity-level concerning the dated floors throughout their home. The tiles alone are not as shocking as the jarring change from room to room with only a simple, neutral slab of marble used as a visual/transitional break (I know, picture a needle hitting the record every time you enter a different room). Anyway, as you all may recall, Mamma Biscuit spent a weekend there visiting with grandma while we were out attending a wedding in Long Island two weeks ago. This visit gave me the perfect opportunity to photograph our little Biscuit Beast (I’ve always wanted to call Mamma a beast) against the backdrop of the living room floor when we picked her up—and if you can’t get enough, no worries, we still have the dining room tiles left and boy are they something to see!

Now let me tell you, Mamma Biscuit could very well be an old Italian lady standing on top of these ceramic beauties—I should have put one of my mother’s aprons on her to complete the look! The tiles alone compliment Mamma very well, however, they do little to compliment the living room they reside in. I would have taken a photograph of the furniture and the tiles together but I thought I would spare you all the visual agony. Instead, I would like you all to envision Mamma Biscuit prancing around in a villa in the hills of Calabria while viewing these photographs because these tiles are more appropriate for a home like that than the current one they are installed in!

I also find it really funny how the brown colors and the overall design of these tiles make Mamma Biscuit so confused when a treat lands on the floor. Our Biscuit Beast is so used to being able to easily identify a treat if it was thrown on the floor at the Pug Palace—but not in grandma’s living room! I guess it could be worse, afterall, when I was growing up in this home, we had a room right off the dining room that was built specifically for a fountain (built by my deceased grandfather) that rivaled any fountain at the Palace of Versailles (I kid you not) and my father drove a white Lincoln Continental that was the size of an aircraft carrier with white leather interiors, an 8-track player with radio and maroon plush pillows in the back seat. The man did yard work in a three-piece suit—of course his living room floor would look like this!

Here’s Mamma showing her Italian roots perched upon these tiles. She practically looks like an expensive piece of Capo Di Monte!

Enjoy

Posted in Just Because . . ., Oddities | 2 Comments

Turtle Time!

Looks like Mamma Biscuit made a new friend while taking a stroll on Pier 86 yesterday. Normally our Biscuit Lady is indifferent to the many dogs that she encounters on her walks throughout this city (we don’t blame her, most dogs seem to only be interested in mounting her) however, Mamma was quite surprised to run into a creature of the hard-shell variety—and she was totally entranced!

His name is Lollypop and his owner informed us that his general life span is about 150 years (thank goodness, at least someone, or shall I say something will be alive in this city to see the 2nd Avenue subway line completed). Lollypop is currently 7 years old (green with envy here, has anyone seen my youth?) and he will most likely have numerous owners as each will have to make provisions for where Lollypop will end up once they kick the bucket!

So here are a couple of photos of Mamma Biscuit coming dangerously close to Lollypop the Turtle. It’s rare to witness our Biscuit Lady being so animated around another living being that’s not human but when she does, she almost becomes obsessive! She would not leave Lollypop alone—and of course Lollypop was no match for our gremlin as he tried to run away from her. All he wanted to do was to snack on a few blades of grass!

Enjoy

Posted in NYC Life, Oddities, Outdoor Life | 11 Comments

A walk amongst the dead!

Mamma Biscuit has definitely had her share of graveyard experiences. Don’t get me wrong, our Biscuit isn’t necessarily draped across a tombstone dressed like Stevie Nicks on a Friday night (although knowing me, I could possibly make that happen for her). She’s not lighting candles and hanging out with the Goth kids and listening to The Cure either! She does however enjoy the serenity and silence that can only be found in a crumbling graveyard. We Biscuits also love the Fall Season and the upcoming Halloween holiday so to get into the spirit, I thought I would relive these photographs of one of our many visits to a graveyard—this one located in Provincetown!


There is something really funny about watching our little gremlin weave in and out around crumbling tombstones with faded epitaphs and hearing the jingle of her collar tags and the crunching sound of her paws on the dead grass below her feet. It’s like she’s being chased by the Headless Horseman and the only time she’ll stop running is when she feels the need to pay her respects to the deceased by urinating all over their resting place!


At any rate, here is Mamma hangin’ with her two dads in one of the oldest cemeteries in Provincetown. I have no recollection of the exact name of this place (even after doing some light research online) but I can assure you that it is not the main graveyard in town a few blocks away from Commercial Street—we’ve been to that one too. If memory serves me well, this crumbling piece of history sits upon a hill at the beginning of Bradford Street and affords some spectacular views of the Pilgrim Monument! Mamma Biscuit considers Provincetown to be her second home and the locals love every bit of her as much as she loves them, their town and their graveyards!


Bring on the really crisp Fall weather, we’re ready!

Enjoy

Posted in Outdoor Life | 2 Comments

Clownin’ Around

Our little gremlin is giving us a serious face for such a silly cut-out clown booth in the park! Maybe it was because we abruptly picked her up from the ground to take these photos and thereby interrupted her unyielding plight to scour the ground for anything edible the moment she set foot outdoors? Or perhaps she’s simply afraid of clowns and jesters—in which case she is permanently traumatized! At any rate, Mamma looks incredibly adorable and miserable at the same time! Her face can only be described as that of a child who has just realized that his/her parents has hired the wrong entertainment for his/her birthday party! I guess we (Mamma’s two annoying daddies) need to stop clownin’ around because Biscuit Lady has had enough! No more detours through the park when taking Mamma to the groomers—next time, a quick subway ride will suffice!

Enjoy

Posted in Just Because . . ., Outdoor Life | 2 Comments

Biscuits to go!

So Mamma Biscuit spent this past weekend with grandma (my mother) while we were off in East Long Island celebrating the nuptials of two very special friends of ours. My mother was so excited all week for Mamma’s arrival to her second sleepover, and as you can see, we delivered our bundle of Biscuits freshly out of the oven (she was warm from napping all morning)—and to go!

Now let me tell you, it took a lot of restrain on my part to not scream from sheer cuteness-overload when we plopped our little gremlin into her Lacosté travel bag to send her on her way—afterall, we were outside in front of our apartment building and I didn’t want to make the local drug dealers uncomfortable as they made their weed transactions! Instead, I channeled all of my adoring and doting energies into taking these photos—you’re welcome!

It’s amazing how Mamma Biscuit was able to cradle herself right into her travel bag—she practically looked like a fresh delivery from a baby stork (although our little lady has gained some weight so that stork would be hovering lowly to the ground instead of flying high above while being delivered) Either way, her cradled position and that jaunty gremlin ear flapped up and over tickles me beyond belief—especially since her other ear is tucked neatly within the bag!

You all will be happy to know that Mamma Biscuit was so incredibly well behaved at grandma’s house! Minus peeing on the door mat upon entering her home, Mamma practically slept in her donut bed the entire time—right next to my mother as she was toiling away in the kitchen!


Hooray for a second successful sleepover!

Enjoy

Posted in Just Because . . ., Transportation | 2 Comments