Une Envie de Sel

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where we met up with a friend from my gradeschool days in Woodstock, Megan.

Megan is an illustrator, designer and writer, and her home reflects her love of vintage design and illustration.

In her rooftop garden, we met her famous and talented dog Ruby, model for Megan and her partner Mark Newgarden's Bow-Wow series of books for children. Ruby was kind enough to perform her extensive collection of tricks for Q, who was suitably impressed.

Q's favorite trick by far was one in which Ruby fetches a tissue for someone who has just sneezed. Q has replayed this episode for us many a time since we returned home, and as a result she often refers to Ruby as either "Woo-hee, the sneeze dog" or just plain "Ah-choo!"

Here, Daddy is having Q perform one of Ruby's tricks, in which she spins in circles when one circles one's finger in the air to indicate a dervish. I'd say there is a bit of hero-worship in play here, especially since, after we returned to Denver, Q had us take her to a local toy store in order to purchase a stuffed dog that bears a striking resemblance to Woo-hee the ah-choo dog. She now sleeps with it most nights, and frequently demands that it fetch tissues for her.

Mike and Woo-hee, who was permitted to stand on the table only for the occasion of her academy award.

When it was time for us to leave, Megan was kind enough to offer Q one of Ruby's Bow-Wow books. She was asked to choose, and she studied the stack long and hard before making her selection. The gift came home with us in our suitcase, and has since been in heavy rotation every night at bedtime.

As a footnote to this story, I have to tell you that the Bow-Wow books have turned out to have a seminal role in Q's development. The book she chose as her parting gift turned out to be the first book that inspired her to begin actually reading. Q has just turned three, and though she has always been good with letters and numbers, she never showed an interest in attempting to read actual books until the Bow-Wow book entered her life. Needless to say, we quickly ordered several more.

If you're interested, you can find out more about the Bow-Wow books here. There are even t-shirts to be had, and the website is as clever as the books. Don't miss it.