314/365: Self portrait with family dog

314/365: Self portrait with family dog, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

November 10th

Last minute photo. Guinness is feeling lonely because mum is in London...

292/365: Puppy

292/365: Puppy, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

October 19th

Went for a walk, met a puppy. :):):):)

243/365: The Jogo Dairy and Dog

243/365: The Jogo Dairy and Dog, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

August 31st

The Jogo Dairy is just a short walk from where I work, so we go there all the time to buy yoghurts and cheeses and butter and ice cream and and and and. There is always a little dog standing by the gate. The Jogo Dog.

120/365: Lady and dogs

120/365: Lady and dogs, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 30th

Close to where I work, this friendly woman has a little house with a yard full of junk and extremely friendly dogs. There were also puppies! Amazing adorable fat-sausage-with-legs little puppies! :D :D Oh, how I wanted to take one home. But I have no time or money for a puppy :( Besides, they were all already accounted for.

Everyone wanted to hold one :D

83/365: A walk with Guinness

83/365: A walk with Guinness, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 24th

Under some acer trees today. Walking with Guinness is most fun at this time of year, in early spring when the sun is out but not yet scorching, and the air is fresh without being chill. I always take my camera.

More photos from today:

62/365: Buskers in the Warsaw Metro

62/365: Buskers in the Warsaw Metro, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 3rd

With a little help from two very polite lady friends, this woman was collecting money to feed their brothers and sisters back home. They are not all as well-behaved, she said, so she can't bring all of them to busk in the underground passage at Metro Politechnika.

She was kind enough to agree to a photograph- naturally, I dropped some money in the hat first.

Here are some more buskers and street performers I've seen at home and around the world:

61/365: These boots

61/365: These boots, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 2nd

We are tired after the party. The only time I left the house today was to go for a walk with Guinness, and these are the boots I wore. They're amazing. I can't tell you how much I love these boots. They're lined with removable polar fleece, are completely waterproof and keep your feet warm and dry in at least -20 Celsius (that's -4 Fahrenheit). I know because I've been wearing them all winter and have never ever ever been this comfortable trudging through the snow. These boots are flawless. They feel like big fluffy warm slippers. Oh, and they're made of ethylene vinyl acetate which sounds nasty but brings their weight down to a lovely 19 ounces.

I have never ever had better winter shoes, and they are just perfect for the early spring mud we're having right now. Walking boldly through any puddle is so much fun! Squelch squelch squelch.

I love my boots. Even if they are not as pretty as my blue wellies:

But my blue wellies were cold and leaky. Comfort beats fashion any day. :D

49/365: Guinness

49/365: Guinness, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 18th

I'm visiting my parents in Warsaw again, and guess who's happiest to see me? :) All right, he doesn't look delighted in this photo but that was because everyone was eating soup and he was anxious to get the bowls for licking.

20/365: Alert!

20/365: Alert!, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

January 20th

Guinness (like the beer, not the book of records, though both come from the same brewery) is my family's dog. He's a chocolate brown labrador retriever.

He's not a historical landmark but I will tell you his story nevertheless: in 2007, our elderly golden retriever Liffey had to be put down. She was spent, and suffering, and my parents said they didn't think they wanted another dog. We buried her in the back yard, poor thing- the vet who gave her the shot was already telling us about pups that needed a home. "We'll think about it," my parents said.

Two days later she called them and said: "There's an accidental litter of labs that need a home, and there's only one little boy left, do you want him or not?"

Yes. Yes, we did.

Guinness, like any dog, can be annoying. He'll roll around in poop and run away from you and wrap his leash around your legs and destroy the shopping when he tries to help you bring it inside. But this dog makes my family smile every day. Every single day. It doesn't matter what else happens, you look at Guinness, he looks back at you, and you have to smile and start speaking in that strange language we grown-up humans presume is what dogs, cats and babies best understand.

He was named after the Irish beer just like Liffey and Shannon were named after the Irish rivers. We all used to live in Ireland and our pets always seem to end up with relevant names. Well, not so the case with my Radesh, but I will tell you about him another time.