Sunday, September 30, 2007

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!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

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.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

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!

Monday, September 24, 2007

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!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

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.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

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.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

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, September 14, 2007

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.


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.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

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?

Sunday, September 09, 2007

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...

Friday, September 07, 2007

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.