Devout Chihuahua

NAHA, Japan (AP) -- At a Zen Buddhist temple in southern Japan, even the dog prays.

Mimicking his master, priest Joei Yoshikuni, a Chihuahua named Conan joins in the daily prayers at Naha's Shuri Kannondo temple, sitting up on his hind legs and putting his front paws together before the altar.

It took him only a few days to learn the motions, and now he is the talk of the town. "Word has spread, and we are getting a lot more tourists," Yoshikuni said.

Yoshikuni said Conan generally goes through his prayer routine at the temple in the capital of Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture (state) without prompting before his morning and evening meals.

"I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it too," Yoshikuni said.

The priest is now trying to teach him how to meditate.

Well, sort of.

"Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate," he explained. "It's not like we can make him cross his legs."

Oregon ducks

This pair of ducks likely waddled over from the park and duck pond a couple of blocks away. One found a puddle for splashing in the grass strip right in front of our house. They just hung out for a while, Michael gave them some bread, then they were on their merry way.

New toy #2

Now that we have a yard to mow (our landlord sits back and rakes in our dough while we do all the work), we decided to get a mower of our own. The landlord does provide a gas one that's stored in the garage, but with small yards in the back and the front, we thought an old-fashioned human-powered mower would be the responsible way to go.

Michael did a little research and decided the Scotts Classic was best for us. We mow the grass about once a week, leaving the short trimmings on the grass. No muss, no fuss. All in all, about a 10-minute job or less per yard.

Oh, and I tried out the mower myself. That may not sound like such a big deal, but I had never mowed grass in my life before. My grandpa always hired my male cousins to mow our lawn, and every place I've lived since, it was handled by someone else. I have to say, even with the push mower, it's a little unwieldy and will take some practice to get turning the corners right.

QT with a cutie

Now that we live in Oregon, we get fairly regular face time with our niece, Rebecca. Here she shows off her huge dimples, personality and "wrarms" (the upper version of "cankles").

'Shrooms

Growing in our front yard. Yep, we're in Oregon!

(Taken with the new camera. Woo-hoo!)

New toy #1

Finally got the digital SLR I've been wanting. Now I won't have to mess with the crappy Canon point & shoot anymore. Nothing but problems with that camera, which went back to the shop for repairs four times in about as many years.

Got a great deal on the Nikon and a bunch of related extras here in the land of no sales tax. Now I need to get shooting!

Song stuck in my head

We all get songs stuck in our head, and it happens to me on a regular basis. But normally it's there for a reason. All day today, and I don't know what put it there, I've been singing "Big Bottom" by Spinal Tap.

The part that's been running through my head:
Big bottom / big bottom
Talk about bum cakes / My girl's got 'em

Good things ...

come in pink boxes and on Frontier jets.

Our friend Monica, a master ceramicist and all-around creative type (not to mention one of Angus' favorite people in the world), flew in from Denver last weekend to check out the Oregon College of Art and Craft. The bonus was that we got lots of QT with her.

The weekend was mostly about eating and driving around checking out neighborhoods and cute shops. We also caught the Blazers-Celtics game, with a surprise appearance by Maceo Parker, who was in town for a concert. He played the Black National Anthem before the game (as part of Black History Month) and performed during halftime. A good time, but despite a strong start, the Blazers lost. Aside from "real" food, we had lots of sweets, chief among them a selection from the ever-enticing Voodoo Doughnut, famous for Nyquil and Pepto-Bismol doughnuts, though those flavors are currently on hold (I can't imagine someone could eat many of those without getting kind of sick, despite both substances' curative properties).

Among our choices were Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs and Butterfinger doughnuts. Voodoo is also cool in that you can get married in the shop, complete with a doughnut reception.

Before taking Monica to the airport, we stopped by the Stash Tea Store, where it's easy to drop a load of cash. Yes, Stash Tea is available everywhere, but this is the only place I know of where you can find all their flavors, and then some, in one place.