Meet my new doggie!!!

This summer Zipper - my dog for about 16 years, went up to Rainbow Bridge. My other dog, Duke did not do well without Zipper. There was marked changes in his demeanor... I felt that he was missing his sissy... Zip. I decided that I would find him a sister or a brother from the city pound.

Another Llasa Aphso mixed breed doggy caught my attention. He was charming as can be. He is 1 1/2 years and grayish/black in color.

After a week-end of wait, Prince came home with me to meet his new brother, Duke.

We found out that this little rascal has much too much of an energy, being a young un. He is into everything that his mouth and teeth can get hold into. And whatever that may be, rest assured it is torn into pieces. Now the backyard is Prince-proof!!!

He sure has made Duke a very active brother by getting Duke to play, get into mischiefs, and be the partner in his "crimes"... Poor Duke!!!

I can't wait for Prince to get older and get over all these stages that young dogs go through!!! Until then, my backyard will never be the same!!! LOL

Zipper, Duke and Prince are doggies from the Llasa Aphso breed.

The Lhasa Apso (lha-sah ap-so) is a non-sporting dog breed originating in Tibet. It was bred as an interior sentinel in the Buddhist monasteries, who alerted the monks to any intruders who entered. Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet and apso is a word in the Tibetan language meaning "bearded," so Lhasa Apso simply means "long-haired Tibetan dog."

A one year old female Lhasa with short length hair and a slight underbite.

Male Lhasa Apsos should ideally be 10.75 inches at the withers and weigh about 14-18 pounds, 6–8 kg. The females are slightly smaller, and weigh between 12-14 pounds, 5–7 kg. The breed standard requires dark brown eyes and a black nose, although liver coloured lhasas have a brown nose. The texture of the coat is heavy, straight, hard, neither woolly nor silky, and very dense. Colors include white, golden, rust and parti-colored with various shadings.

Lhasas can be with or without dark tips at the end of ears and beard. The tail should be carried well over the dog's back. The breed standard currently used by the American Kennel Club was approved on July 17, 1978. Lhasas can change color as they get older, starting with a dark brown coat which gradually turns lighter.

A movement called the Tibetan Line Breeding Programme exists, to breed preseve the original Tibetan Lhasa Apso. This movement is based on the premise that after 60 years of Western breeding, the breed is losing key characteristics of their original Lhasa ancestors still living in Tibet and Bhutan.

Smelly good!!!

Do you ever wonder how perfumes and cologne got to be??? The word "perfume" is a derivative of the Latin word "parfumare" meaning "through smoke".

Back in the olden times in Egypt, they used fumigations in honour of their gods. They sought wood aromatic, grasses, roots, etc... to create perfumes. They burnt the famous incense called Kyphi, a very odorous mixture composed of the myrrh, Matsic tree, bays of juniper, seeds of fenugreek, pistachio and edible shoveler duck, the whole crushed and mixed with wine and a preparation cooked containing resin and of honey.

The Egyptians manufactured ointments, and essential oils for their religious practices and their personal uses. They applied them to their skin to fine cosmetics or therapeutic. The ointments were preserved in cups or mud out of alabaster. There were also small stone or ceramics bottles.One of the supreme pleasures of the Egyptian women was to place, on their head, of the small cones of greases and aromatic resins, which, while melting, scented their hair and their face.

The Greeks continued the Egyptian practices with new reported fragrances their voyages. They coated the body of oils and ointments during the bath.The Greeks scented the body of their deaths and they buried them with personal objects of which a perfume bottle. The aryballes made it possible to spread the ointment on the skin. The Greek athletes coated the body with them before each test.

The Romans, in their turn, granted a great place to the perfume. They made improvements as for the ingredients and developed the use at the time of the religious, funerary rites of it and of the daily practices. The Greeks thought that the perfumes possessed medicinal virtues. They consumed some with excess going until sprinkling some on the walls and the grounds of their house. A great innovation was the use of the container out of glass.

Even today, France remains the centre of the European perfume design and trade.

Perfume types reflect the concentration of aromatic compounds in a solvent, which in fine fragrance is typically ethanol or a mix of water and ethanol. Various sources differ considerably in the definitions of perfume types. The concentration by percent/volume of perfume oil is as follows:

Perfume extract (Extrait): 15-40% (IFRA: typical 20%) aromatic compounds

Eau de Parfum (EdP), Parfum de Toilette (PdT): 10-20% (typical ~15%) aromatic compounds. Sometimes listed as "eau de perfume" or "millésime".

Eau de Toilette (EdT): 5-15% (typical ~10%) aromatic compounds

Eau de Cologne (EdC): Chype citrus type perfumes with 3-8% (typical ~5%) aromatic compounds

Splash and After shave: 1-3% aromatic compounds

Perfume oils are often diluted with a solvent, though this is not always the case, and its necessity is disputed. By far the most common solvent for perfume oil dilution is ethanol or a mixture of ethanol and water. Perfume oil can also be diluted by means of neutral-smelling oils such as fractionated coconut oil, or liquid waxes such as jojoba oil.

The intensity and longevity of a perfume is based on the concentration, intensity and longevity of the aromatic compounds (natural essential oils / perfume oils) used: As the percentage of aromatic compounds increases, so does the intensity and longevity of the scent created. Different perfumeries or perfume houses assign different amounts of oils to each of their perfumes. Therefore, although the oil concentration of a perfume in Eau de Parfum (EdP) dilution will necessarily be higher than the same perfume in Eau de Toilette (EdT) from within the same range, the actual amounts can vary between perfume houses. An EdT from one house may be stronger than an EdP from another.

Men's fragrances are rarely as EdP or perfume extracts. As well, women's fragrances are rarely sold in EdC concentrations. Although this gender specific naming trend is common for assigning fragrance concentrations, it does not directly have anything to do with whether a fragrance was intended for men or women.

Fragrance compounds in perfumes will degrade or break down if improperly stored in the presence of:

Heat
Light
Oxygen
Extraneous organic materials

Proper preservation of perfumes involve keeping them away from sources of heat and storing them where they will not be exposed to light. An opened bottle will keep its aroma intact for several years, as long as it is well stored. However the presence of oxygen in the head space of the bottle and environmental factors will in the long run alter the smell of the fragrance.
Perfumes are best preserved when kept in light-tight aluminum bottles or in their original packaging when not in use, and refrigerated to relatively low temperatures: between 3-7 degrees Celsius (37-45 degrees Fahrenheit). Although it is difficult to completely remove oxygen from the headspace of a stored flask of fragrance, opting for spray dispensers instead of rollers and "open" bottles will minimize oxygen exposure. Sprays also have the advantage of isolating fragrance inside a bottle and preventing it from mixing with dust, skin, and detritus, which would degrade and alter the quality of a perfume.

So... what is your smell preference???