Vous Comprenez?

That seems to be the staple thing that people say to me when I look at them like they're from Mars.  Another week has passed and I'm no better at speaking French. But I sure speak Ikea fairly well. Most of my time is spent shopping and buying home furnishings and it leaves little time for brushing up on my French.  Mr. Wild Dingo called a gardener for our lawn to meet with me. I still don't know if I bought gardening services twice per month or twice per week.

Loki's doing much better. The training has helped a lot. Thank you for all your suggestions for helping him adjust.  He is much happier when Mr. Wild Dingo isn't traveling. He's even getting used to sitting up on retaining wall along Lake Leman without much anxiety.

"See how nice it is up here Handsome? We can stay here all day and chill out!"
"Princess, I'm not taking Lake Lemanness monster for granted. I'm ready to split if he roars again!"

We registered both dogs and ourselves with the Tolochenaz community and are applying for our drivers license. Unfortunately for Mr. Wild Dingo, since he just renewed his license this year and cannot prove he's had one since he was 16, his insurance will be at the rate of a "new driver."  The US is the only country that does not show when a person's first license was obtained so it looks like he's only been driving less than a year on his current license. Some countries never renew driver's licenses or even update the photos on them.

I'm having trouble finding decent dog food. All dog food and treats here are made with grain. Although I feed raw, I usually feed a base of dehydrated raw, Honest Kitchen, and supplement with frozen raw products that have been already grounded down. Both were conveniently sold in a pet store in the U.S. I tried to feed them a raw chicken leg the other night. Loki just looked at me and asked, "and just what am I supposed to do with this?"  This wasn't the first time he did this when I served him a raw meaty bone. Juno, the connoisseur of all things edible and non-edible, picked up her leg and tried to take it to the living room. She had no trouble figuring out what to do with it. She's a natural at raw. Loki happily eats raw recreational bones such as femurs, knuckles and marrow. But give him a neck or a leg and he's confused. So I'll most likely have to feed him ground or chopped raw food.

"I don't know why Mom is stressing out over getting us fresh meat when there's duck, geese and fish right in Lake Leman. You're a barbarian. Go hunt us some dinner!"
"Princess, I prefer my pate chopped or minced in light cream sauce served with a side of marrow bone for dessert."

Since I like things easy, I'm at a loss at how to feed them. The freezer in our refrigerator holds about 3 hamburger patties, a pint of ice cream and two beer glasses. Since frozen beer glassses are a 'must have' at Wild Dingo, I had to buy a (very small) freezer that will probably only hold a week's supply of meat.  I did find two raw meat vendors who could deliver organic chopped meat, organs (offal) and bone for dogs, but their language is German and I'm not even sure if they deliver to Western (French) Switzerland yet.  If I can't find dehydrated raw products or pre-ground or pre-chopped raw meat at a reasonable price, I may end up asking a local butcher for left over meat, bones and offal, buy a grinder to grind it myself. But it seems so time consuming for someone who doesn't have a job and spends her time playing with dogs or riding a bike.  As for their training treats, I am cooking up boneless chicken for now, but I'm researching recipes. I'm so not a good baker. I burn everything. Hopefully I may at least find some dehydrated liver in some pet stores.

I love the weather here. It's different every day. The skies can be so varied in one day.  It's very difficult to capture it on camera although. A few nights ago, the sunset illuminated the tops of the Alps. I tried to capture it below but it doesn't convey even close to beauty of it in real time.

"Hey Handsome, I see some fresh boeuf meet over there. Ya wanna go wrestle us up le diner pour ce soir?"
"Princess, my rule of thumb is never eat something that stares at me. C'est mauvais karma."

In the photo below, the sun is hitting the very tip of the mountains. I love how dark and dramatic it feels. Probably because both dogs are so focused on the two horses in the next pasture.

"How about wrestling up some cheval then Handsome? I hear they eat horse here a lot."
"Princess, je suis végétarien pour le moment. Tu comprend?"