In Memoriam: Uncle Ren

This is a picture of Uncle Ren from years ago, with Aunt Nancy holding him.

Uncle Ren went on this weekend.

He was 14 in thumb-haver years. He didn't like to play very much at all. The Alpha says he used to love to jump up high, and roll over, and shake hands, and go after members of a certain political party, and catch peanuts, and even kill a gopher or two out in the garden. But that was back before The Boy and I got to know him. Lately he'd just been tired, and deaf, and nearly blind. His smeller still worked great, though. He could always find where the food was.

Ren was our Pop's buddy, and his pardner, too. I hope Pop does okay without him.

According to Martin Luther and Rowan, Ren now has "a little golden tail." We were wondering, is that a stump-tail like he had here, or does he get his full tail back in heaven? Because "a little golden stump" just seems kinda funny.

Either way, it's golden.

Rest well, Ren.

Dear Cub: How did you find out about Egg Love?

In the comments to my previous post, Grendel writes:
Wow, Eggs are Love, too?
How do you eat them? Raw? Boiled? Fried? Poached? Scrammeled? Deviled?
And how did you find out about Egg Love?
I need to know!!!

Yes, Grendel, Eggs are Love. I eat them scrammeled. Here's how I found out about Egg Love...

A few days before Christmas, I had decided I didn't want to eat because my tummy felt bad. And so The Alpha and The Typist took me to the vet for needles, and then back to the vet the next morning for an all-day needle called fluids. The vet gave the thumb-havers some pills for me, and special smelly wet chow for me, and I ate it all up. For a few days.

But while we were at Christmas, I started getting a little more picky. I wasn't sure I liked the wet chow any more. The thumb-havers were all talking about how it's better to keep a dog eating, and the next thing I knew, my grandma was cooking eggs to mix in with my wet chow. My grandma loves her granddogs, especially me, her granddogter. (All the other granddogs are boys, and sometimes she calls me one, too, but I don't really mind.)

I've kept not liking my wet chow, and so I get more eggs, even now that we're back in Texas. The Alpha and The Typist keep trying to get me to eat my wet chow, but I won't eat it mixed in with the eggs anymore. Now we're making a game out of it, and I like playing Catch the Treat. They're obviously having great fun making the smelly wet chow into little treat-sized bites to throw in the air for me to catch.

So, Grendel, if you want Egg Love, I think you have to get your thumb-havers all worried about you. But maybe, if you're really, really good, you could get one anyway.

Blog-Blessed!

Scout has a blog of her own now, and she blessed me over there! Thank you, Scout!

Here is the big explanation so I don't have to re-type it, and I can hurry up and get to the blessing!

The idea… it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for one blog friend. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you recieve a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!

Okay... here are the three I'm blessing and praying for today:

I bless Whistle and everybody over at his place (Fish, Sister, Dubby, Andy, thumb-havers). They have had a really big year, and I pray that with Fish's leg all healed, everybody stays healthy and happy.

I bless Molly, too. She and I both have had not-feeling-good times this year, and I pray she keeps feeling better. Also I pray that Sam quits eating stuff he ought not eat.

And, I bless Zorra. I know Scout already blessed Amie through Zorra's blog, but I want to bless Zorra herself, too, because she helps The Typist pray for me and they have big email discussions about me and Amie. I pray that Amie's raw spot where she likes to lick her paw gets all better so Zorra doesn't have to keep worrying about it.

And please keep praying for me, everybody. I had another test yesterday (too many rides with needles at the other end lately!), and I think something else is coming up soon.

Love and poppy kisses,
Cub

p.s. to Grendel -- Over Christmas, I learned from my grandma that, like Gravy, Eggs are Love. You might want to check them out.

Christ Candle Aglow: The Peak of Liturgical Yard Art

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Merry Christmas!

Advent 4: Liturgical Yard Art continues

In Which I Get The Boy

I'm pretty pleased with this video. As you'll see, even when I'm not at the top of my game, I can still catch The Boy. And if there's any question as to whether I really got him, notice who has the Kong at the beginning, and who has it at the end.

I'm home!

Thanks for all the praying! I'm home now, and feeling decent. I think I still need more praying, though.

Here I am after I got home, but before supper. See my pretty wrap with the stars on it?


They really like me at the vet. If they have to shave me and leave a needle in me all day, at least they put pretty stars on the spot when they're done.

Miss Cherrie came by to see me and told me there are lots of prayers for me all over the place. I gave her poppy kisses.

I kept my breakfast in me all day. And I've kept my supper tonight, too...they're still giving me extra-special soft chow.

I did have a little bit of a seizure after supper. It wasn't too bad. But I never do like them, and neither do the thumb-havers. And they're looking at me a lot lately, even without the seizure.

Tomorrow I don't have to go out anywhere! After this week, it'll be nice to lie like a dog around the house. 'Cause I am one.

Not So Hot

Well, I haven't been eating for a couple of days, and it really got The Alpha and The Typist all worked up. So they took me to the vet today for some needles and stuff, and rumor has it they're taking me again tomorrow for something called "fluids." And then at some point there will be something called a "specialist." They were frowning at some piece of paper the vet showed them. But I got sent home with some really good soft chow from a can, so that helped me eat my supper tonight. I didn't even try to give it back the way it came in -- which I think had something to do with getting that stinging needle. Because after it, my tummy started not feeling so bad, so that was nice.

I'm pretty sure they want y'all to pray for me, so will you please do that?

Dog Hero Profile: Boe and Budge

Meet Boe and Budge.

Boe and Budge are trained to work with combat stress units, which I think means they help thumb-havers who have had a rough time of things start to feel better. That's a very heroic kind of thing to do.

Read more about them and learn about the big plans they have. If my Uncle Kevin starts to feel bad or needs special help from dogs when he's far away from his own dogs next year, I hope that Boe and Budge will be there for him. But mostly I hope they all come home safe.

Dog theology

My dogblog friend Rowan has been doing some very nice thinking this weekend. In particular, about big theological thoughts. He even writes about Martin Luther, a very famous dog person who happened to be a theologian.

Liturgical Yard Art: Advent 3

This week, observers may notice a slight modification.

The candle flames now enjoy the protection of clear 16-oz. party cups, secured by clear packing tape. We are always learning.

(It rained this week. The candles threw a breaker. All is well.)

Also, we are glad to report that the cups aren't as visible from the sidewalk as they are in this photograph.

For those of you wondering, "Why didn't they light the pink candle on the third week?" this site offers explanations of various Advent wreath practices, including: "With the shift to blue for Advent in most non-Catholic churches, there is also a tendency to move pink to the Fourth Sunday of Advent. It still remains associated with Joy, but is increasingly used as the climax of the Advent Season on the last Sunday before Christmas."

The Alpha, as further justification, wishes this blog to transmit the following message: "So there. Nerts to everyone else."

Advent 2: Liturgically Correct Yard Art, Continued

Here we are, second Sunday in Advent:


Okay, confession time: the paint on the pink candle is actually red. But the lights are pink.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

I Got Blessed!

Today The Typist took me on a ride! to go get blessed! (It was just us girls. The Alpha stayed home with The Boy, because the thumb-havers thought it might be too much for all of us if The Boy went.)

We rode for a while, and when we got to the church I helped by unbuckling my harness myself. It wasn't our church, it was another church a little further away, where The Typist knows some thumb-havers. She said hi to people while I said hi to people and dogs.

After a while we all got quiet and sat in a circle in the parking lot. Pastor Katherine read a Bible story about how it isn't good for thumb-havers to be alone, and that's why God made me and all the other dogs (and cats!) who were there. After that, the thumb-havers all said a prayer together and Pastor Katherine went around the circle and blessed every one of us by name! She also asked God to heal my liver.

Then I got to sniff some more dogs and thumb-havers before we got back in the car for another ride. (I've noticed that rides usually come two at a time.)

I was very, very good when I went to get blessed. I didn't show my teeth to any of the other dogs (and The Typist didn't let me get close enough to the cats to even try). I politely sniffed other dogs and less-politely jumped up and kissed lots of thumb-havers. And there was this one miniature hot dog who freaked me out a little bit, but I was even nice to her.

I highly recommend going to get blessed! Maybe next time they'll take The Boy, too. Though The Alpha says he may need an exorcism instead of a blessing. (I'm not sure what that means.)

Meet Charlie

Charlie is a real coyote who lives with a thumb-haver. He was an orphan, and she took him in when he was wee tiny. Go see him!

Liturgically Appropriate Yard Art

Most of my RevGal friends share my dislike of inflatable yard decor, as we learned from this week's Friday Five.

But what do y'all think of this custom creation from The Alpha?


It's hard to see the pink candle this week, but it's on the far right in this photo. If you like, I'll post a pic each week of Advent... let me know...

Friday Five: Seasonal Edition

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Will Smama writes a Friday Five that The Typist will enjoy (I'm sitting this one out):

Please tell us your least favorite/most annoying seasonal....

1) dessert/cookie/family food: I'm tempted to go with Will Smama and say ribbon candy (see her reasoning). But I think for me, it's probably.... no, wait, I'm going with ribbon candy after all. It's pretty, but not really what I'd call edible. Which is so not nice.

2) beverage (seasonal beer, eggnog w/ way too much egg and not enough nog, etc...): Hmm. I actually like most holiday beverages... cider, wassail, Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash (mainly because of the Holiday Hawk)... but I will say egg nog has to be just right for me to enjoy it, which usually involves mixing some of the dairy store version in with the liquor store version.

3) tradition (church, family, other): It used to be that my hometown church insisted upon doing Christmas Eve Communion the slow way -- everybody come kneel, use your Jesus shot glass, wait for a dismissal -- which, thanks to the size of the crowd gathered, kept the service running at nearly two hours. Far too long for an 8-year-old nephew who knows he gets to open presents as soon as this thing is over. Also far too long for the adults to avoid giggling over a gassy stranger seated nearby. Now, though, they have mercifully switched to intinction -- rip it 'n' dip it, y'all! Body/blood combo! Keep it moving, thanks very much!

4) decoration: Santa Claus, Father Christmas, whatever you want to call him. Hairy old men everywhere, even on top of some Christmas trees (yeah, I know, they're from the Druids anyway, so there's no real reason to put a star up there, but still...)

5) gift (received or given): I'm thankful that the Big Mouth Billy Bass appears to have run its course in our family. I still haven't actually touched one myself.

BONUS: SONG/CD that makes you want to tell the elves where to stick it:
"Santa Baby." EWWWWwwww. Ew, eww, ewwwwww.

Candy Cane Monday (Thursday, actually)

We got tagged by Zorra for this meme! She invited both of us to play. I'm going to let The Typist go first.

So, Typist, name five of your favorite all time gifts, either given or gotten:

1. This one's a little bit of both giving and getting: for our 10th anniversary, The Alpha and I gave each other a trip to Alaska. (Far better than one of those bits of jewelry the diamond cartels want you to buy, at least as far as I'm concerned. And definitely more memorable.)

2. The portrait of Cub that my sister painted. She has a truly amazing talent. Nobody else could have done it so well.

3. A thick book of children's stories given to me by a retired school teacher who was one of the saints of my childhood church. The book is now almost 100 years old, and Miss Gertrude used to read out of it to her students. By the time I got it in the 1980s, the back cover and spine were gone. I don't keep it out with other books because of its condition -- I keep it in a fire box. But it's very interesting to read and see how harsh many children's stories used to be!

4. Giving The Alpha an electric chainsaw for Christmas turned out to be loads of fun, even though he figured it out early. Or maybe it was fun because he figured it out early. He was so excited that I just enjoyed watching him react instead of being miffed that he guessed the surprise. It was amazingly cute!

5. Rufus, a stuffed toy dog, the first gift The Alpha ever gave me. Also known as Fake Dog, ever since we adopted Real Dogs.


Okay, now my turn to name five of my favorite all time gifts, either given or gotten:

1. SQUIRRELY! I don't have very much of squirrely left now--just a tail pelt--but I still like it. And I think I may be getting another one for Christmas.

2. I love giving thumb-havers poppy kisses. I've got the fastest tongue in the West (whatever that means).

3. My canvas teddy bear. I'm not allowed to play with it anymore because I tore all the stuffing out, but Aunt Lidna gave it to me after my hip surgery. It was very nice of her to do.

4. My friend Tux gave me his ropey Kong because he didn't play with it much. It's an Outside Toy. I really like it, and I even share it with The Boy. Sometimes we play tug-of-war with it. I usually win.

5. The Typist is kind of embarrassed that she knitted me a scarf, but I really do like it. She says that her knitting homework just happened to fit me, not that she did it on purpose. But I like it no matter what she says.

Does anybody else want to play this game?
Tell us if you do!

Too busy!

I got tagged by Zorra, but The Typist was out late, so we can't play tonight. She came home way too late, smelling like church and the band (I know what the band smells like, because they were all over here a couple of weeks ago). It gets busy that way for her before Christmas.

Maybe tomorrow night I can really blog!

Dog Hero Profiles: Thunder and Haven

This dog may look very familiar, but it's not me.

This, dear readers, is Thunder, Dog Hero, with his thumb-haver Carlos. Thunder is a working dog who does all Carlos's looking for him. He gets to wear an official Guide Dog harness and everything.


Our good friend Lily knows Carlos and Thunder from her work (stuff she does when she's not here petting us). Lily says Thunder is really great, and we know she's got to be right about that.

What happened to Thunder and Carlos is really scary. They were with Carlos's girlfriend Diane and her guide dog Haven when a car came right at them. The car hit Carlos and Thunder, but Haven, being very smart and doing a Good Job, pulled Diane out of the way. So Haven is a hero for that.

Thunder's hero bit came when he was already hurt. He got himself back to the library they all had just left. In special emergency dog language, he told the people who work there that there had been an accident. They called 911 for him to get Carlos some help.

Carlos and Thunder are injured, but they're slowly getting better. Thunder may have to retire from his job, but he will live with Carlos no matter what (and for that, Carlos is a hero, too).

And guess what? Carlos and Diane got married this weekend! Hooray!

I hope they let Thunder and Haven have just a teeny bit of cake...

What the vet thinks

Hey everybody! Guess what? The vet thinks I have another big word. I don't know what it means, but it doesn't matter 'cause I really don't have time to be bothered with that kind of thing. There are things to sniff, people to lick, The Boy to chase. I'm a busy dog.

What it really means for me is that I get lots more peanut butter every day now! (So what if it's wrapped around pills? It's still a nice treat.)

Here are the pills I take when we get up in the morning:


And here are the pills I take when it's time for breakfast:


And here are the pills I take when I have my supper:


The Alpha and The Typist have been saying, "Most people make car payments. We make dog payments." I don't know what that means, either, but I'm not very curious. Curiosity is for cats.

So, thanks to all of you who are saying doggy prayers! The Typist says to keep it up, and we'll know something in a month.

A prize from Mindy

The Typist here, reporting that I got a lovely prize in the mail when we came back home from our weekend adventure with the dogs! Thank you, Mindy!

Here it is:


And guess what? It's reversible, too!


How great is that? Oh, and it smells nice, too.

I'm going to have to wear purple to work as much as possible this week so I can show off my nifty-cool headband that my fellow RevGal made. Thanks again, Mindy!

We went places!

Friday we knew something was up because we got dressed in our bandannas and harnesses. And the thumb-havers started putting stuff in our car.

The Boy decided to see what was in there. Usually he tries not to touch our car when he stands up to look in, but here he is, caught with his paw on the shiny paint. I don't think he's supposed to do that.

So, sure enough, they put our beds in the back seat and we got all buckled up and went for a big, long ride!

We rode and rode and rode and rode, and The Typist played with her sticks and yarn and The Alpha drove, and right about time to eat, we got to Mamaw's house!

The Boy had never met Mamaw before. He liked her, but he wasn't sure we were supposed to stay at her house for very long. He kept whining in his soft little shouldn't-
we-be-doing-
something whine.

But we just settled in and spent the night there and everything. And in the morning Mamaw even let us have some eggs for breakfast. (She wanted to give us some gravy, too, but The Alpha and The Typist said that probably wasn't a good idea. But Grendel says gravy is love, and I think that may be the case. Even though The Typist says it wasn't the same kind of gravy that Grendel has.)

Then the thumb-havers who call us their Granddogs came to Mamaw's house, and we followed their car in our car and we rode and rode some more, and got to this place where we got to stay in a motel! Once again, we were Very Good Dogs. We were so Very Good that we even stayed in the room alone for a little while, with our very own TV to watch (there was a wolf pack documentary on PBS).

And we also got to go on a big, big walk downtown, where we met lots of people who loved us and said how beautiful we are. Some of them even let us come in their shops. In one shop that smelled a lot like rawhide chews, I saw this other dog that looked just like me inside this little window near the floor. The Typist laughed when I tried to go behind that shiny little window that she called a "shoe mirror" to get closer to that other dog like me. Funny, I sniffed and sniffed and never could smell that other dog.

Here we are waiting with The Alpha outside a shop we couldn't go inside. This is how well we watched the door where The Typist went -- as soon as she came back out the door she took this picture. You can't really see in the picture, but there was a bubble machine blowing on that street, and I wasn't even scared. (I didn't like bubbles when I was littler.)

We also saw a Real Wolf! On a leash! while we were downtown. The Alpha and The Typist seemed pleased to see him, but they wouldn't let us get very close. I think maybe it was because the Real Wolf! was growling. And I think they probably made the right decision for us. They take very good care of us.

Near the end of our walk, The Typist saw a yarn store and wanted to go in there. We were ready to wait outside with The Alpha, but the shop owner saw us and said, "Oh, we're dog friendly! Please come in!" and gave The Alpha a place to sit and learned our names and everything. The Typist got some more yarn to put around her sticks.

Then we walked up the big hill and we were Very Tired Dogs. But we'd had a Very Good Day and our beds were in the motel room all ready for us. So we had a Very Good Nap. Then today we came back home. We had fun, but we like being back here, too.

BellyDog

So, I got another ride to the vet today. I stayed all day.

And after a while they started messing with me, but it wasn't that bad. No needles this time, and they didn't make me take a nap, either, but they played with my belly.

And see? I got a special belly haircut!


The Typist got another picture of it, too, but she cropped it because she said it was indecent. And also because one of my eyes looked like it had turned into a flashlight.


I'm not sure what the deal is, but I'd like all my RevGalDogPals (and CatPals, too) to pray. The Alpha and The Typist seem worried.

They should really just have a good roll in the grass. I know that makes me feel better.

DogBlogs galore!

I hadn't even gotten around to having The Typist add Tanner and Grendel and Rowan to my sidebar when Josie and Boudreaux got a blog, too!

The Boy and I met Josie and Boudreaux back in June. They didn't really know what to do with us, but we had a good time in their nice shady yard. Plus, they're fluffy, so that was interesting.

I love this picture of Josie.

Or Boudreaux.

I can't tell them apart very well.

Vet words

Dang it. The Alpha's been talking to the vet again. And of course then he talks to The Typist, who gets all down in the dumps. They're using big words like "ultrasound" and "biopsy" and "antibiotics."

Seriously, I feel fine.
Really, I do.

I don't know what the big deal's all about.

Backyard Bulletin

Hi, Internet! Sorry it's been so long since I blogged. The Typist has had busy evenings. Here's what's been going on lately:

• The Alpha dug up a big long patch of grass in our backyard a few weeks ago, and he won't let The Boy and me dig in it. It's supposed to turn into something called a "garden." I have a feeling we're not supposed to dig in it when that happens, either.
• I think I get to go for a ride tomorrow! ...but it may be the kind with a needle at the other end of it.
• I have some new blogging DogPals: Grendel and Tanner. Go say hi!
• The Typist had a birfday. She did not give dogs any cake. I think that is a shame.
  
• For some reason, The Alpha and The Typist have gotten the crate out again. I think it's okay, but The Boy is really scared of it, and he's not telling anybody why. He won't even go in there for treats very often. When they say "crate," I go get in the crate, but The Boy gets under the bed or the coffee table.
• We got new toys this week: a big bouncy jack with a rope through the middle, and a regular rope. We like 'em!

So, what have you been doing?

Adventure in the Wee Hours

Actually, I think it all started last night, when The Alpha and The Typist decided to have their supper in our backyard. They were watching some silly thing through the window, and they had a fire going in the grill for roasting food they did not let us have. But, they were also dropping perfectly good peanut shells on the ground, so The Boy and I snacked on those.

Which I think is where it all started.

In the wee hours of the morning when everybody was asleep, I started to feel kinda funny. So I decided to get rid of those peanut shells.

When The Alpha heard me acting on my decision, the adventure started! He woke up really fast and decided we were all running to the back door! Even though I wanted to finish my project right there on the bedroom carpet, I went with him. I even put most of my project outside, so he and The Typist only had to clean up a little of it.

Then we all went back to bed. But I don't think everybody got back to sleep. Funny, that seems to only be a problem for thumb-havers. I can take a nap anywhere, any time!

Off to do that now...

Friday Five: Homage to the Top Chef

This week's play from RevGalBlogPals:
We're more Alton Brown fans around here -- never have seen Top Chef -- but regardless of our television preferences, Food = YES!

If you were a food, what would you be?
The Typist: I've struggled with this one! I'm still not sure. Maybe the Everlasting Gobstopper, what with all the different-colored layers and the occasional surprise.
Cub: I don't want to be food! I hear some thumb-havers eat dogs! No, no, no!
The Typist: Relax, Cub. (Dogs aren't always good at metaphorical stuff.)

What is one of the most memorable meals you ever had? And where?
The Typist: I'm not the spicy food fan of the family, but for The Shed I make an exception. If food brings tears to my eyes, I normally stop eating it. Except when I'm there. It was at least as much fun to watch The Alpha's surprise as it was to actually have the meal.
Cub: Once I was at my friend Sophie's house and saw a dish of little candies on the coffee table. Everybody else was in the kitchen, and I could reach them myself, so I ate them. They were good! When the thumb-havers noticed what I'd eaten, they all got kind of worried because dogs aren't supposed to eat M&Ms, but I was fine.

What is your favorite comfort food from childhood?
The Typist: My mom's beer bread. She never liked beer, and hardly ever drank so much as a glass of wine, but for beer bread she'd go to a liquor store that would sell her just one can of beer. And the result was always wonderful.
Cub: When I was a puppy I'd sometimes get cereal in milk as a special treat. Hey, I should ask for that again!

When going to a church potluck, what one recipe from your kitchen is sure to be a hit?
The Typist: Anything The Alpha makes. The youth always want to know what he's brought. (It usually involves a Jell-O mold.)
Cub: I'm not allowed to go to potlucks. I would always be underfoot, looking for what thumb-havers might have dropped!

What’s the strangest thing you ever willingly ate?
The Typist: Well, separately they're no big deal, but together they make an unusual appetizer: prosciutto ham over cantaloupe was our starter item for an anniversary dinner several years back. Delightful!
Cub: When I was a puppy I had a towel that I liked to shake around. I ate a piece of it once, and it didn't come out so well, if you know what I mean. The Typist keeps my towel on a high shelf now.

Bonus question: What’s your favorite drink to order when looking forward to a great meal?
The Typist: A margarita or a nice glass of pinot grigio. Or, for a non-alcoholic option, sweet tea.
Cub: Milk. I really like milk! I have a little bit of white fur around my mouth, so it always looks like I've been in the milk, even though I haven't.

Lieutenant Calf! You got five laigs!

Remember the game from Sesame Street? "One of these things is not like the others?"


Notice anything different about the middle calf? Well, besides the fact that he's relieving himself. Which he's not doing in this next picture. So, do you see it? Up by his shoulder?


We are sorry we couldn't get a better picture than either of these, but his mama wasn't going to put up with us for very long.

Just so you know, he seems perfectly happy, running along on four of his legs with the fifth one swinging from that attempted thigh growing out of his back.

Thank you, Farmer L, for taking us out into the pasture for a visit. We appreciate knowing that this is the first time an extra leg has ever occurred in your decades-long farming career, as well.

But we wish Mama Cow had let him have his close-up.

Friday Five: Thankfulness List

Mary Beth over at RevGalBlogPals writes: Welcome to the Friday Five!

This one is going to be veeeery simple: List at least five things (people, places, graces, miracles...) for which you are thankful. You may elaborate as you wish, or keep it simple.

Hat tip to Princess Mindy for the idea. Oh...and if you know The Veggie Tales' hit "Thankfulness Song," please hum it as you post.
****
Okay, we aren't up on our VeggieTales, so we'll hum "For the Beauty of the Earth." Here we go with our tandem play on thankfulness:

Typist: For the beings of my household, one two-footed, two four-footed -- The Alpha, Cub, and The Boy.
Cub: For my two thumb-havers who keep me happy and healthy.

Typist: That I have the ability to stay so busy and do things that I both need and want to do.
Cub: For my sunny, grassy back yard where I like to relax!

Typist: No thankfulness list that may be read by Mindy is complete without clean panties!
Cub: Okay, as a dog, those really aren't something I'm aware of a need to be thankful for... but I'm thankful that I have a nice collection of bandannas for accessorizing.

Typist: For RevGalBlogPals!
Cub: For RevGalDogPals (oh, and CatPals too, I suppose...)!

Typist: For music.
Cub: For belly rubs.

Fab Four Meme

The Typist has been tagged by Zorra! This one is all about fours, but not my four paws... her answers in groups of four:

Four jobs I've held:
receptionist
junior advertising writer
public relations account representative
part-time church staff member

Four films I could watch over and over:
The Blues Brothers
The Muppet Movie
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
A Christmas Story

Four TV shows I watch:
Dirty Jobs
The Daily Show
Saving Grace
Doctor Who

Four places I've lived:
Clinton, CT
Hot Springs, AR
Conway, AR
Dallas, TX

Four favorite foods:
waffles
strawberries
vegetable steak soup
cheese fondue

Four websites I visit every day:
revgalblogpals.blogspot.com
www.umportal.org
www.methoblog.com
www.thepioneerwoman.com

Four favorite colors:
green
tan
red
gray

Four places I would love to be right now:
Seward, Alaska
New Mexico
Colorado
Right here at home

Four names I love but would/could not use for my children:
Forrest (immediate mental thought is "I'm Forrest, Forrest [insert our last name in place of Gump]")
Temple (love the name, but I will always remember what happened to Temple Drake in William Faulkner's Sanctuary)
Bartholomew ("Nothing rhymes with Bart!" --Homer Simpson)
Talkeetna (don't ask; I'm running out of ideas.)


I tag Mindy, Mid-Life Rookie, RevHRod, and LawAndGospel.
Hope y'all haven't already been tagged by somebody... this one's going around!

Back to Baseball?

A few days before I found The Typist and The Alpha, they were on a trip up north to see some guys lose a baseball game. It's part of how I got named Cub.

The Typist said that back then, she'd already been burned by the strike of '95 (she still has her protest t-shirt), but she forgave them after a few years. These days she's still not happy about all the juicing rumors. (She voted for The Asterisk.)

Now, the Cubs have made the postseason again. She's been very good about not watching all season, because it seems the more she cares, the more they lose. So, she will be not-watching on Wednesday (convenient that she has choir and band to keep her distracted, isn't it?).

The Phoebe Interview

This is Phoebe. She lives Out West, and normally doesn't blog herself, but avanta7, a friend of The Typist's (they go way back, she says), is going to let Phoebe answer my interview questions. Isn't that nice?

So, here we go:

1. Phoebe, you are very fluffy! How does this trait affect your fur maintenance?
2. I understand you have cats. You look like you're about the same size as these cats. Is that the case, and if so, how do you cope?
3. What is it like to live Out West?
4. The question for all dogs: What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-havers?
5. Wet or dry food? Explain your answer.

UPDATE: Phoebe has posted her answers.

If anyone else would like to be interviewed, please see the rules included in previous sessions and post a comment with your request. This has kept me busy blogging lately!

Dogs on a Mission

Well, the thumb-havers forgot the camera, so there are no action shots, but they took pictures of us at home after we completed our mission.

We're incredibly humanitarian, especially when you consider that we're dogs.

This morning we did a CROP Walk. See the special stickers on our bandannas?




The Alpha and The Typist tell us that there are hungry thumb-havers all over the place. As much as The Boy and I complain about Never Getting Fed, we know we're just being whiny and that we're actually quite well-nourished (The Boy has even had to go on a little bit of a diet this week). So we walked to raise awareness of all the hungry thumb-havers out there. It was a nice walk, too... a little longer than our usual neighborhood walk, but there was a water break halfway through. Also, lots of thumb-havers noticed that we are Really Good Dogs and came over to pet us and say how pretty we are. We even saw my friend Bear's thumb-havers -- they got to meet The Boy for the first time. They were amused, I think.

Anyway, doing CROP Walk is just one small way we can help. We love to help. You can help, too, if you like.

Dog Logic for Thumb-Havers

After supper the other night, The Boy and I got walks... all the way down to the Magic Treat Window at the back of the pharmacy! They said my name, and handed back and forth a card and a piece of paper, and got a little white bag, but we knew why we were really there.

The thumb-haver inside the Magic Treat Window saw that we are Very Good Dogs. He saw that we were so good we each needed TWO treat bones. Not the little dinky kind we get at home, either. Nice, big, long-as-my-muzzle, serious treat bones. Apparently The Alpha and The Typist do not understand that these are what we actually require.

But, thanks to Sunny the Papillon, whose thumb-haver is John the Methodist, we now have a training tool for our thumb-havers. Sunny showed me a great thing that this other thumb-haver by the name of Khoi Vinh uses to figure out what his dog, Mister President, is thinking:



Go see! It could change your life.

Two More Interviews!

Wow, this interview thing is interesting! I have had two more requests, one from a thumb-haver and one from a dog. This time they aren't in the same house, though: Aunt Lidna, from around here; and Molly, from far away where it snows more, and where Songbird lives with her.

First, for Aunt Lidna:
1. Why don't you live with a dog?
2. Sometimes you smell like chili. (The thumb-havers can't smell it, but I can.) Why is that?
3. Will you please share a St. Francis story?
4. Do you love me more, or The Boy more?
5. Dog on floor, or dog on lap? Explain your answer.
UPDATE: Aunt Lidna has posted her answers.

Then, for Molly:
1. You are a Ministry Dog. What is your favorite kind of ministry?
2. Like me, you have a dog brother. But you also have human boys and a human girl. What's that like?
3. Is the floor slippery at your church? Some places in my church it is, and I slide all over.
4. Same question I asked the other dogs: What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-havers?
5. Frosty Paws: ever had them? If yes, share your opinion; if no, do you plan on trying them?

Please see my previous interviews for the Rules On What To Do Next, you two!

AnotherNother Interview: Bandy

Wow! The dog interview circuit is the place to be! Bandy has just requested an interview, too. Here we go:

1. I really loved swimming in your pool. How come you don't swim?

2. I'm sorry I knocked your tooth out... Want to try getting along with each other again some time?

3. You're a trim and pretty dog. What's your secret?

4. Same question I asked the other dogs: What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-haver?

5. Walks or rides: which are your favorite? Explain your answer.

Now, when you've finished your interview, post it on your blog. Include this invitation at the end, for anyone who would like to be interviewed by you. These are the rules:

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment on my blog saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Thanks for playing, Bandy!

Another Interview: Amie the Cattle Dog

I've had another interview request! My friend Amie the Cattle Dog, pictured here with her thumb-haver Zorra, wants to give it a try. So, Amie, here we go:

1. You are the same breed as The Boy. Can you give me any insight into what goes on in his mind?

2. How did you get your name, and do you have a middle name, too, or any nicknames?

3. You look very happy in your picture! What is it that your thumb-havers do that makes you the happiest?

4. Same question I asked Cletus: What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-havers?

5. Toys that make squeaky noises: yes or no? Explain your answer.

Now, when you've finished your interview, you have to post them on Zorra's blog with this invitation at the end, for anyone who would like to be interviewed by you. These are the rules:

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment on my blog saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Thanks for playing, Amie, and thank you Zorra for letting her share your blog for a little while!

UPDATE: Amie has posted her answers.

Interviews: RevAnne and Cletus the WonderMutt

Fellow MethoBlogger RevAnne agreed to be interviewed, and has graciously included the non-blogging Cletus the WonderMutt! So, here we go, with five questions for each:

RevAnne...
1. You're part of a clergy couple... what is your favorite thing and least favorite thing about you and your husband having the same vocation? (Yes, I know, big question coming from a dog, but I do have an intellectual side.)
2. How did Cletus the WonderMutt come to live with you?
3. Have you ever had a blogger meetup? If yes, how was it? If no, what would you like a meetup to be like?
4. I have one costume, Ace the Bat-Hound, to go with The Alpha's Batman. The Typist says I'm not getting any more costumes. (I'm kind of relieved by that.) Have you ever dressed Cletus up in a costume? Why or why not?
5. It's getting to be the St. Francis Day time of year. Do you ever do Blessing of the Animals?

Cletus...
1. "Paraclete Duke" -- how did your ever-so-stately name come to be?
2. How much do you weigh? I can't tell how big you are from your picture.
3. I hear you live with a cat. I sometimes wonder how I live with The Boy, who is also a dog... cats are only long-distance blog-friends for me. How on earth do you live with a cat?
4. What is one secret of a blissful life that you'd like to share with your thumb-havers?
5. Bandannas: yes or no? Explain your answer.

Now, when you've finished your interviews, you have to post them on your blog with this invitation at the end, for anyone who would like to be interviewed by you. These are the rules:

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment on my blog saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Have fun!

UPDATE: They've posted their answers.

Interviewed by Rowan

Rowan did an interview, and he asked who else would like to do one. I said I would, so here are the questions he asked me:

1. I can see from your photo that you like chewing on sticks. I do too. Here's the question: Which is better, a good stick or a belly rub? Explain your answer. Well, this is a tough question... I think it might be a two-part answer: outside, in the wilds of the backyard, I really think I like chewing a good stick the best. But inside, on the couch or the floor or (when The Alpha's out of town) the thumb-havers' bed, I think a belly rub really is more satisfying. Both are nice relaxing and rejuvenating pursuits for dogs, though. I recommend them.

2. I am a Methodist too! It’s a good religion. But, if you could practice any other kind of faith what would it be and why? Wow! My other dog-blog-pals are UCC and Lutheran and stuff. The cat-blog-pals are mostly Presbyterian. Molly is always blogging about how she loves everybody and they let her come to church a lot, so I think I'd pick UCC. (I've been to church a few times, but not when very many people were there. Don't tell anyone.)

3. What is your favorite thing about being a dog? I have lots of favorite things about being a dog! Let's see... I can take a nap whenever I feel like it. I never have to wear pants, and in fact, I look rather stylish without them. I get to greet almost everyone who comes over. My thumb-havers sometimes make jokes about me needing to pull my own weight around here, but I know they don't mean it (I would be a horrible sled dog, with my hip problems). I get by just fine on being an extra-cute girl and patrolling the perimeter a few times a day.

4. It looks like sometimes your guardian uses your blog to post her own stuff. I would never let my guardian do that. How do you deal with it? Well, since she does all my typing for me (she is The Typist, after all), we have an informal arrangement that if she really wants to post on her own, she can. But not too much. She really just wants to comment on other people's blogs more than she wants to blog herself. Also, now that she blogs for work, it means less nosing in on my posts.

5. If you could tell your guardian one thing, what would it be? Don't worry so much! Even the stuff that doesn't seem good is actually okay. We love each other and God loves us, too, and that means a whole lot. All shall be well.

Thanks for the interview, Rowan!

Now, if anyone -- dog, cat, thumb-haver -- would like to be interviewed by me next, these are the rules:

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment on my blog saying, 'interview me.'
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Who's in?

Friday Five: Meetings

As the dog of this blog is highly fortunate to be excused from meetings for life, The Typist is playing this one alone today.

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Reverendmother writes:

In honor of a couple of marathon meetings I attended this week:

1. What's your view of meetings? Choose one or more, or make up your own:

a) When they're good, they're good. I love the feeling of people working well together on a common goal.
b) I don't seek them out, but I recognize them as a necessary part of life.
c) The only good meeting is a canceled meeting.

I'm pretty much in the camp of b). I do a lot of sitting on my butt for the Lord (or, more often, for the church), and I confess freely that I do get impatient with them. I'd rather just DO stuff!

2. Do you like some amount of community building or conversation, or are you all business?

It's great for a newly-gathered group to have those elements, but for those where we already know each other and interact regularly, I prefer limiting the community building to prayer requests and move on with the agenda as quickly as possible. Of course, informal conversation before and/or after the meeting are great... let's just not tie up everyone's time with it.

3. How do you feel about leading meetings? Share any particular strengths or weaknesses you have in this area.

Ooh, I can't stand to lead meetings... I run, quickly, from chairing anything. I'm better at filling the role of snarky commentator and comic relief.

4. Have you ever participated in a virtual meeting? (conference call, IM, chat, etc.) What do you think of this format?

Tons of times. I really like a certain brand of webconferencing, but don't really want to give it an advertisement here. Conference calls are effective as long as all participants actually talk, and also remember to identify themselves (I've totally mixed up identities of male voices before, and directed comments in follow-up emails to the wrong people -- but nothing embarrassing, thankfully).

5. Share a story of a memorable meeting you attended.

A leadership meeting in our congregation years ago, when someone who is now no longer a member stated that he wasn't getting his ROI out of the church. I was new on church staff and intimidated enough by that fact that I bit my tongue the rest of the evening and let someone else say, much more gently than I would have, that it helps to SHOW UP at church instead of going to your lake house every weekend.

Oh, and Reverendmother, thanks for the ever-so-appropriate graphic! I use that line all the time.

Image from despair.com, a wicked and funny site.

Smells of Not-Here

Well, The Alpha and The Typist were gone for a while, but we didn't really notice because they sent Aunt Cathy to stay with us. We did notice when they came back, especially because they had a lot of dirty laundry for us to sniff.

I'm not sure, but I think I smelled this:



And possibly a hint of this:



And most definitely THIS, all over the Typist's stuff:

She keeps calling that last smell Walter. And she insists that Walter is a good Walter, even if he was gassy.

I wonder why The Boy and I didn't get to go smell all those smells up close?

For Mindy

Hi -- The Typist here, butting in on the dogblog to share a very special moment from last week.

We got to the Denver airport, picked up our dinky little rental car, and as we drove through Aurora we were compelled to exit the freeway and turn around. For Mindy. So that, via this blog, she, too could behold the wondrous sight:


It was in front of a Holiday Inn Select. Nobody around to let us have a look inside, but we did get this shot through the window:


Notice how the dashboard features two hot dogs snug in their buns? Isn't that the cutest?

Also, you should know we weren't the only ones. As we were leaving, a guy pulled up in a New Beetle and asked if we'd take his picture in front of it with his camera phone. Of course, we obliged. There are tons of us out there who want to drive the Weinermobile. We may not know why, but we love it.

My vehicle has a first name, it's O-s-c-a-r...

They're home!

I can blog again because The Typist and The Alpha are back! But right now they're tired, so I have to wait some more. In the meantime, The Boy and I will be smelling the laundry they took out of their suitcases and will tell you what we learn from that.

Also, we LOVE Aunt Cathy, and we are so glad she came to stay with us. We barely even noticed we Got Left by our regular thumb-havers.

Friday Five: Seasons Change...

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Reverendmother writes:
It's Labor Day weekend here in the United States, also known as Summer's Last Hurrah. So let's say goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn. (People in other climes, feel free to adapt as needed.)

It's another tandem play for me and The Typist today!

1. Share a highlight from this summer. (If you please, don't just say "our vacation to the Canadian Rockies." Give us a little detail or image. Help us live vicariously through you!)
Typist: Hmm. I'm not feeling into imagery this morning. Dare I say something as small as having a lovely 11th anniversary dinner with The Alpha? Because that was very nice, indeed. Our real summer hurrah is coming up tomorrow -- we had to put it off until September because of church-nerd obligations.
Cub: I've had a pretty good summer all around. It was nice to go for a swim a few weeks back.

2. Are you glad to see this summer end? Why or why not?
Typist: Indifferent on this one. I don't think I'll get any less busy, but summer hasn't been as scorchingly hot as it could've been this year. Still, I'll be more inclined to spend time outside when it cools off a bit more.
Cub: I'm pretty much with The Typist. Although I haven't been nearly as busy as she has.

3. Name one or two things you're looking forward to this fall.
Typist: Going to northwest corner of Home State. Technically, the trip is for a church-nerd meeting, but there should still be some wonderful time outside at the retreat center.
Cub: My fur really looks even more beautiful in the fall. I'm an autumn dog.

4. Do you have any special preparations or activities to mark the transition from one season to another? (Cleaning of house, putting away summer clothes, one last trip to the beach)
Typist: A trip to the northwest corner of Home State, particularly to town of The Alpha's alma mater (coincidentally, the same town as retreat center mentioned above). We try to have a weekend up there every autumn, but it doesn't always happen.
Cub: I start to grow in some more fur. I have plenty, but I want to be extra-sure about it.

5. I'll know that fall is really here when...
Typist: ... I step outside and smell freshly-mown grass mixed with falling leaves. Smells like high-school football season. Keep in mind that fall only hangs around here for about a week, though, so I have to be really attentive to catch it. It was easier in Home State.
Cub: ... the backyard grass dries out and The Alpha doesn't have to mow it for a while. And when I roll around in it, some of it will hang onto my fur and The Typist will pick it off when I come inside.

New friend we haven't met yet

Remember Miss Cherrie? She sent us a cute picture of Nick today, from back when he was young:
Nick definitely knew how to have fun. He even liked little thumb-havers, the kind that make me nervous. Such a good boy, that Nick.

Well, Miss Cherrie sent another picture today, too. It's of someone new. Internet, meet Jay:

Jay came to live with Miss Cherrie last weekend, and The Typist got to go meet him, but we can't play with him yet. Not until he's settled in. And that might take a while, because he's a bit of a scaredy-dog from being in a shelter for a very long time, and being in a place where good people had to come take him away from bad people before that. ("Cruelty" is what it said on the form. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I know I don't like it.)

Jay has decided he likes living at Miss Cherrie's house, so The Boy and I will get to meet him eventually.

The Typist says that in the morning, Jay is going to be on her work blog, with a story from Miss Cherrie. (I haven't gotten to be on her work blog, but I have been on John the Methodist's blog and in the paper, which is more than The Boy can say.)

I'm glad Jay and Miss Cherrie found each other. Not every thumb-haver would be so patient with a dog who gets scared when a book falls over on the shelf. But Miss Cherrie understands, and she's helping him not be so scared.

The Return of The Typist

The Typist left yesterday and didn't come back until today. The Alpha didn't let us up on the thumb-havers' bed while she was gone, either. (He's such a "rules" guy.)

Anyway, when she came home she smelled like this. With plenty of this on top. Also, some of this. (She said we will get to see a picture of that last one.)

Cultural Friday Five

As a RevGalDogPal, I play the RevGals' Friday Five as much as a dog can play it. Today it's about Culture, though, and I'm not very big on Culture. So, I'm letting The Typist play on her own this time:

Sally writes: I have spent the week at Summer School studying the Gospel and Western culture, we have looked at art, literature, music, film and popular culture in their myriad expressions. With that in mind I bring you the cultural Friday 5.

Name a

1. Book The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (does this one count? because it's not exactly secular culture. In case it doesn't, my backup would be Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird).

2. Piece of music: Too many to list! But the one that comes to mind right now is "Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel (despite the fact that I have more hope than the speaker in the song).

3. Work of art: Pieces painted by my sister. Her situation in life hasn't been the greatest for a while now (The Alpha rode the MS 150 in her honor earlier this year), but when she feels up to it, she can paint beautifully, and it's a gift from God (and sometimes results in a material gift to us).

4. Film: Big Fish

5. Unusual engagement with popular culture: Being married to a comic-book/sci-fi geek, I know far more about some of genres than I realize until it surfaces (did you know, for example, that The Thing is Jewish? Any time someone brings up the Fantastic Four, I can't help but blurt that out. Also, Superman: Methodist!).

That have helped/challenged you on your spiritual journey.

Bonus: Is engagement essential to your Christian faith, how and why? This is a "well, duh" one for me. I have a much harder time relating to non-churchy people if I don't at least attempt to keep up with what's going on in pop culture. Still, with the sheer volume of variety in this world, it's often hard to maintain a broad awareness!

Dog Hero Profile: Nicky

This picture is of Moose, a Jack Russell terrier who pretended to be Eddie on TV.

But tonight I'm talking about a dog who looks kinda like this: Nicky, a local hero.

Or, should I say, who looked kinda like this. Nick went on today.

We never met him, but Nicky lived near us, with our friend Miss Cherrie. He was very old, but he had lived with her since he was a puppy. She took very good care of him and loved him lots.

There was a time when Miss Cherrie couldn't hear well. Nick understood she needed help, and so he used his ears for her until she got her own ears fixed (and even some after that).

He liked pickles.

He liked watching Wishbone on TV.

And he loved Miss Cherrie.

Rest well, Nick.