Happy New Year.

The guests in both rooms are Americans. The couple we just met have no New Years plans.

 They are exploring  the country. The big concern is what will be closed in the AM.

The two women in the other room look like a party so I expect they will be doing something fun. 

We didn't make a plan. Maybe a bike ride and first cuddle puddle of the year.

Happy New Year. 

Dead fish on the doorstep.

We found some cryptic gifts on our porch.
Upon opening the one with my name on it, I found a dead fish in a lovely box.
Olive got a vial of Christmas scented essential oils.
The fish is a callback.
Earlier this year we did some house sitting for friends.
I wrote a long dry-erase board novel about what happened every day of the two weeks.
In the tale I wove
their fish actually died (from me registering that I fed it three times a day).
I told them on the last day that I replaced the fish with an exact replica.
In actuality the fish was fine until now.
Little did I know that 6 months later I would have the product of my fisherman's tail.

That wuz weeerd,

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Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

aw kindsa peepoes

We were getting home from a gig. A lady and her kid were walking by. 
They looked at us two clowns with wide eyes and lots of apprehension.
Then the lady hustled the kid along saying 
"Just like I tow jew, The citys full of aw kindsa peepoes.
Just look straight ahead, mind yer biddness and they prolly won't do ya no harm."
I was cracking up.
We are just clowns not baboons!
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/

Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

introductions

This is a riot.
The people in both rooms right now are from India and Korea.
Neither speak much Americanese.
Everyone is on the Vay Kay so it's loose.
It's so delicious to hear introductions happen in the hall.
Attempts at saying each other's names are made.
Sometimes they nail it, 
Sometimes not even close.
I have about the same record.
Once Olive asked a guest to write his name in the flour we had on the table.

After that it was easy.
Olive realized that we don't have any problem sticking guest's names
if we see it printed.

A rags to riches Portland story

We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/
Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

shut down

A couple just missed out on their chance to visit Crater Lake.
They couldn't get in because it's shut down. 
The government is on it's partial shut down. oh joy... :(
 All of us are more worried about the employees not getting paid than disrupted plans.

We gotta be clowns this morning. Even if a couple are in a bad way.

Downstairs a couple are having a bit of a row. 
The two guys from Canada left early. We woke to the couple banging around.
Olive came up from downstairs with a decadent smile. 
She whispered,  "That couple are bicker fighting, it's heated."
Then it became the fun challenge. 
How do we put our clown drag on while a couple who are not having a good vacation are having it out in the same hallway?
I wish we had time to get involved. 
That would be entertaining but we gotta go to work.
After stalling as long as possible we went downstairs to face the music.
They decided to do the hiding thing.
That's cool.
We could hear them but we still have no idea what they look like or anything about them.
They were gone when we got home so I guess we will never know what the big deal was.

The first couple I met here a while back had a similar situation ...but... different.
They were up from the Bay Area for a wedding.
I got home from clowning and went to the backyard for some good old  "4:20 safety meeting."
The couple joined me.
I warn them that it's strong.
As we get to know each other I see the effects are effecting them.
I have a crazy high tolerance so I was fine. They however, were realizing that they were smoking out with a clown.
They looked creeped out as they dashed off to their room.
20 min. later I'm in the brekky nook wiping out some fruity pebbles. I heard muffled shouting but that would be none of my beezwax. Pebble on!
Suddenly the dude walks out and asks, "Did Jacky come by here?"
I did seem to see a blurred flash go by between slurps of my milk candy.
 I looked out the window, motioning for him to look. 
Across the street his GF was standing, crying by the garbage can.
He sees her just as his phone starts ringing.
It's her.
He walks to the edge of our driveway and has a lovely argument on the phone... with her standing across the street.
They had it out, looking right at each other from a car length away.
It would have been so dramatic had there been traffic.
There wasn't any traffic so it looked awkward as all get out.
Vacations aren't all gravy.
They got it together and soon joined me in the back for round two, and three etc.
I'm here to help.

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Making chapstick late at night.

https://www.facebook.com/dingo.dizmal/videos/10157198256479644/

Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/
Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

making cobbler and cookies together.

My son decided to contribute a cobbler.

I was very proud hearing him communicate patiently with our friend who speaks mostly Korean.

I'm Proud of her for her English skill.

"San Francisco Guy walking by the kitchen light, Won't you help us make these damn cookies tonight" Classic Xmas tune.

Nutells filled cookies

Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/
Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

Christmas at the bungalow

My new friend is into cooking Spanish shrimp.

Olive is killing it with the Korean language skill.

I'm learning these languages as a protest against the ignorant reputation Americans have. 

Olive is learning by default. They are cooking together and they gotta be on the same page with the cookies.

my kids enjoying the house.

Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/

My wife just asked a fumy question. "Is that your coffee cup on the stove?

Thanks France!

I was walking by some French women cooking in our kitchen. I say, "Poulet."

She smiled. Then her and her friend each took a small portion and gave us the whole bird.

We took it up to our room to devour.

Thanks France!

Clowns know that word because it's hilarious.

YUMMY!!!!
Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/
Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

Understanding each other with wine, sushi, hot Ramen, whiskey and some very smart phones.

Olive has been trading lifestories. She doesn't speak Korean but her phone does. 

A couple of very tall, elegant, French women are walking around our kitchen making tea.

We were doing the silent co-existing maneuver that is so popular in elevators, when one of them noticed a jar on the kitchen table: "Izzat?"

Me: "Oui c'est, madame. That is indeed, a honking, huge jar of chronic."
Her: "Croonik?"
"It's weed lady, the whole neighborhood's gone to pot. Help yourself but be careful, it's strong.
Made of Oregon sunshine."
She said: "Portland is like Amsterdam."
Me: "No, I'm pretty sure they have universal healthcare there. Here if we get sick or hurt, they want us to die or work till we die of old age. Murika."
Her: "I see why you like deu pot."
Me: "Oui, Madame."

Hope ya got some laughs from this blog
Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/


Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

A young S. Korean woman just walking into the kitchen wearing only a tiny shirt and panties.

She was very embarrassed to see me and apologized over and over as she backpedaled out of the room. 
Now we are even. When we met this morning, I was only wearing a towel. 
I hope she knows I don't care. 
I'm somewhere between indifferent and slightly amused. 
She came back with some clothes on asking me to help her open a huge bottle of IPA. 
I think she may be the shyest party animal on the block.

Hope ya got some laughs from this blog
Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/

Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

Two attractive women from France are staying at our place.

They may be models or in tv. They seem really together. They have easy smiles so that fits into the house vibe well.
Hope they are enjoying our town,
We haven't been around to talk to them much today.
 I'm just glad the prez isn't in France right now.
We had French people here the last time "Don the con" was being a Jackass in France.
It was embarrassing.
Also, this week we had a mom and daughter from Louisiana in a room. 
They were absolutely delightful.
Olive is a mom and a daughter too so they had lots of language and priorities in common. 
The kid was looking at Reed college. She didn't want to go home, "Everyone is friendly here, the town is walk-able, good food and fun everywhere, and people ride tallbikes! At home everyone is mean and it's hot. Let me stay with the clowns Mom!"
 I loved their N'orlins accents. Hearing Olive and them connect was bliss.
 They just met and yet they are all into the friendship with the hugs n such.
Mom is a nurse and matriarch. Olive and I were impressed by this gorgeous, charming, powerful, soon to be empty-nester.
It was neat to hear they are Southern Progressives.
I was hoping they were gonna make some Cajun food. Everyone was hanging out in the kitchen.
I thought I smelled the faint aroma of pinto beans. But I was wrong.
There was a traditional dish cooking but not from any of the traditions at our house at the moment. Olive had made everyone a pot of Pho.

Hope ya got some laughs from this blog
Like what we do?
We live out of a tip jar (sometimes chicken sometimes feathers) if you are in a place to keep our sunny side up and rubber side down then feel free to drop off a donation at our website.
http://oliveanddingo.com/donate/

Thanks! It's a great town to be a clown.

"I don't actually speak your language"

I need to learn how to say, "I don't actually speak your language" in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, French and Russian. I've been concentrating on learning greetings so much that my perfect pronunciation creates a misleading situation. I'm brave enough to attempt languages when I encounter folks from around the world but I end up writing a lot of checks I can't cash. Not yet, anyway. Working on it. 
Pantomime skill comes in handy a lot. I am motivated to learn this stuff.
Clowns can be entertainers, diplomats, spies, all those jobs are enhanced by knowing lots of languages. Also I consider it civic duty for all of us to know all the languages.
During a heated discussion with a Chinese person I was asked 
"Why are Americans proud of not knowing things?"
I don't have any answer but now I make it a point to demonstrate a better trait.
I try and learn something from every person that comes through.
People love hearing that I know bits of their language.
I hope they go home to report that they met, informed, emotionally intelligent, intellectually curious, friendly people.

meanwhile...it's been a fun year.

Having an icy dinner.

In the 10 years we've been together we've never had a dining room table. We've always wanted to try having an icy meal where we just stare at each other being curt and pithy. It was fun.

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