Snowy and blurry

We get excited when it snows, The Boy and I do. It all comes from snow only happening every once in a long while.

Today the thumb-havers made us stay inside when they went to work, but when they got back, it had started snowing and we got to go out and play!

We went round and round the yard. You can see here that I really streamlined myself, to make a well-furred machine totally determined to Get The Boy. Which I did, a few seconds later.

We both got a little blurry with all the nifty cold air and cold white stuff and action! I couldn't even chew on a stick slow enough for the camera to get the whole stick.

The Boy couldn't even stop being blurry for The Alpha to pet him.

See? Or, can you?

We sure had fun! (Molly, I remember what you mean about the snow now, even though we don't get as much as you do!)

Abandoned. (okay, not really.)

Yeah, we had different thumb-havers this weekend. The Typist and The Alpha took luggage into the garage -- and we all know The Boy knows what a suitcase means, and he tried to go with them, but wasn't allowed. Pretty soon, though, a back-up set of thumb-havers arrived and stayed with us a couple of nights, but they slept in that other room that we only hang out in when we're defending the perimeter from people who think they have a right to use our sidewalk or something. Anyhow, here's a picture Aunt Lidna took:

The Boy is either shy or itchy in this picture. My bet is on itchy, because he really needed a bath.

He got one, too, as soon as The Alpha and The Typist got home. For some reason, I was able to avoid the same torture by lying casually in the middle of the bedroom floor. Apparently, if I don't make a big deal about it by hiding, they forget to give me a bath. Then again, maybe I didn't need one; it's only been a day since his bath and The Boy is already getting his stink back. He has a natural talent for that. (Why can't he have some other natural talent?, The Typist wants to know.) My natural talent is shedding... I'm a German Shedder, after all.

The Boy swears that the next time the suitcase comes out, he will not get left. (Apparently he has some sort of plan, though I can't imagine it would be very involved, with his thought process. My guess is it's something along the lines of see suitcase, run for back door.) Like it's any sort of struggle being here without them -- heck, we get pampered either way -- but he has definite preferences for our regular thumb-havers. He won't even go outside to pee for Grandma.

RevGals' Friday Five: Giving Thanks

From RevGalBlogPals: It's that time of year. In the U.S., college students will be on their way home, traffic on the highways will be at its highest point, cooking and baking will ensue. But before the gorging and napping begins, let's take a moment to give thanks. Please tell us five things or people for which you are thankful this year.

The Typist and I are both going to play! Here goes:

DogBlogger: I'm thankful for The Typist and The Alpha. They took me in when I was a wee pup with missing fur, and they helped me grow my fur back and everything. Also, they're still very nice to have around. I have a feeling I wouldn't be allowed in this house if it weren't for them.
The Typist: I'm thankful for my PoppyGirl! She's truly been a blessing, and as my own very first dog, she taught me how amazing, smart, loving, and all-around wonderful pups can be.

DB: Aw, shucks...
TT: Don't mention it, SweetieGirl. Poppy kisses?
DB: Poppy kisses!!!

DB: I'm also thankful for The Boy. I wasn't too sure about him when he arrived on the scene, but he's proven to be entertaining, willing to share, and I still get the same amount of food as before he was around, which is comforting.
TT: I'm very thankful for The Alpha. He's also entertaining and willing to share. I'm especially thankful he shares my whole life with me.

DB: Hmm, number 3... I'm thankful for a sunny yard. I love lying out in the sun with my coat shining and getting all warm and toasty.
TT: I'm thankful for friends and family (two- and four-footed), especially friends who have become our in-town family and church family, like Mid-Life Rookie and her family.

DB: I'm thankful for walks and rides! Even when the rides get too long sometimes, because it usually means good stuff at the other end.
TT: I'm thankful that life, though it has its frustrations, is really pretty darn easy and good for us.

DB: And last on this short list, I'm thankful for everyone who comes through the front door to see me! I'm always so glad to have guests!
TT: I'm thankful for music and the great people and things it has brought into my life.

"S" is for Strangekitty

On our double-u-ay-ell-kay this evening, The Boy and I saw a really fluffy kitty! We wanted to go chase it, but The Alpha held us back. We pulled and pulled, and I noticed that the black fluffy kitty didn't quite look like the other neighborhood kitties -- it had a really fluffy tail, and some white stripey fur all the way down its back and tail, too.

So, the fluffy kitty ran away from us and behind some trees. The Alpha seemed pretty pleased that the kitty ran away, but I'm still thinking about what fun it would've been to run up and sniff that kitty. (You never really get a good sense of something until you've given it a good sniff.)

RevGals' Friday Five: What's Red and Blue and Purple All Over?

I can't see very many colors, but The Typist can, so she decided she wanted to play the Friday Five this week. So, here it is.

Those of us who are in the United States have just been through quite a topsy-turvy election. During the campaign we heard a fair amount about red states and blue states, when in fact most of us live in some shade of purple. And so... a lighter look at those confounding colors:

1. Favorite red food:
Strawberries.

2. Tell us about the bluest body of water you've ever seen in person.
When we took our Kenai Fjords National Park glacier cruise from Seward, Alaska, we saw some blue, blue spots near the mouths of Resurrection Bay and Aialik Bay, and at the toe of Northwestern Glacier, that were amazing beyond anything words or camera could capture. (We were too agog to be even a little worried about the icebergs bumping against the hull of our boat.)

3. It's movie rental time: Blue Planet, The Color Purple, or Crimson Tide?
Don't think I've ever seen Blue Planet, but I do remember liking Crimson Tide pretty well, even though it's been at least a decade since I've seen it.

4. What has you seeing red these days?
Lots of stuff! Injustice and stupidity are right there at the top, though.

5. What or who picks you up when you're feeling blue?
The Whats: The right CD for the mood I'm in; sweet and/or fatty foods; and the shirking of responsibility, even if it's just a tiny bit.
The Whos: The Alpha, The Best Dog Ever, and her goofy sidekick, The Boy, of course! Also, assorted BlogPals (RevGal and otherwise).

"Wild and Unruly"

So The Alpha and The Typist were watching their favorite girl band on VH1 Storytellers the other night. We were all on the couch together, and we overheard The Typist comment that she likes the lyric "I want to grow something wild and unruly."

That's when The Boy grumbled to me, "Every time I try to grow something wild and unruly, she tells me, 'Boy, put that thing away!'"

I think I know what he was talking about, but I just pretended I didn't hear him.

Why doesn't he get it? WHY?

Okay, I realize he wasn't around here when he was a tiny pup, so he didn't get all the benefit of growing up with The Alpha and The Typist like I did. But, you'd think, after all this time, that The Boy would've figured out the "down" command. He hasn't.

They attempt to teach him the same way they taught me... with voice, hand signals, physical guidance on positioning, praise, ear rubs, toys, even treats on occasion. But first off, he seems to like sitting way better. And second, he apparently thinks "down" is the same as "are you a bellydawg?" because he rolls over on his back half the time.

I can hear The Alpha still working with him in the living room. There are more "Good boy"s than there were a few minutes ago. So, maybe there's finally some hope. He's smart, The Boy is; he just doesn't seem to apply himself very well.

Any ideas, Internet?

Oh, my...

Check out what I got when I tried this trick I saw over at Zorra's blog:

dogblogger -- [adjective]: Extremely flatulent 'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

The Typist says it's actually more true of just about everyone in the house but me. I'm kinda glad that word isn't in my vocabulary, because I'm not sure if I want to know.

Snoozy day

Today has been a day of not doing much so far.

This picture is actually from an evening a while back, but you get the idea.

I'm so darn cute when I'm all curled up for a nap!

Nothing like a good wrassle!

Last night The Typist held onto The Boy's collar and made him sit and stay in the kitchen while I got to do something very special: wrasslin' with The Alpha!

We hadn't wrassled like that in ages. Probably not since The Boy came to live here. There was crouching, there was play posturing (The Alpha looks kinda funny with his butt up in the air like that, what with no tail on it), there was faking back and getting caught for a doggy noogie. It was great! Eventually The Typist had to let The Boy loose again, and he totally tried to horn in on my wrassle, but that's okay because we were pretting much finished anyway.

It's nice to know The Alpha still likes playing with his Poppy Girl.

Bath? No bath.

But The Boy certainly got a shampoo and rinse today, even though I didn't. I kept expecting to have to take my turn, but I didn't have to. I guess my nose really does know -- I always thought he got stinkier quicker than me. I'm not sure if it's because of his breed or because he's a boy, though. Boys of any species seem to get stinky quick.

Anyway, he's cleaner and softer now (but his coat is still not as soft as mine). And he smells all clean (which I'm sure won't last if we spend any time in the backyard this evening).

And I think maybe it's time to chase him around the room again (The Typist says there's a country song about that, but I have no idea what she's talking about).

Shockingly normal.

Life has been ever-so-typical this week. That's why I have nothing to blog about lately. It did rain a bit the other day and we had to stay inside while the thumb-havers were at work, but that just meant a nice cushy couch for napping, and that The Alpha came home at lunch to give us an outside break.

Oh, yesterday The Boy got in trouble for chewing a branch off a shrubbery that The Alpha planted. I guess, technically, we both got in trouble -- the chewed-off branch was shaken in both our directions, with "no" happening behind it -- but I know who actually did it.

I'm an enigma... what's an enigma?

Yeah, so The Alpha did some mmm-hmm-ing into the telephone after it rang this morning, then he left and came back with... more prescriptions for me! I'm one pill-popping poppy. Or one druggy doggy. Or a prodigiously prescribed pooch. It's a good thing I don't mind when a finger full of peanut butter has something hidden in it.

Rumor has it I may even start eating prescription chow. My liver's giving them fits. They are mystified because I act fine, yet they don't like what the vet says after I get needles stuck in me. They've also mentioned it'd be great if I'd get a job so I could pull a little more of my own weight around here. (I'm thinking maybe a Cafe Press product line?)

Okay, off to chase The Boy some more. It's a lovely day, but even sunbeams can grow tiresome after a few hours.

Trapped at the vet...

Okay, I'm home now. But this morning I wasn't. I had to go get more needles stuck in me. At least they fed me between stickings, because I wasn't allowed to have breakfast when The Boy was. Instead, The Alpha got me all excited by telling me I was gonna get to go for a RIDE, then he didn't take me when he left. After what seemed like forever, The Typist put The Boy outside all alone (poor The Boy -- but he did get an extra-big treat for his trouble), and we girls went out to the car. For a ride with needles at the other end. Oh, well, I like rides anyway, and I got one after the needles, too, which is how I'm back home!

Upon my return, The Boy sniffed me carefully. All over. Several times. He knows what the vet smells like.

He was right!

The Boy was totally right about getting left! We never even saw the suitcase... I think The Typist snuck it out to the car while The Alpha took me and The Boy for a w-a-l-k. Because today when they came back, they rolled it on in from the garage like nothing unusual had happened.

We did enjoy the company of Aunt Jessica and Winston, which meant not just two, but three dogs with Aunt Jess on the people bed! (Even if Winston is a little tiny thing, he still counts. Especially because even at one-quarter The Boy's size, he can freak out said Boy quite a bit.)

He knows.

The Boy (new file photo at right) is suspicious.

When The Alpha left after supper, The Boy tried to go with him. Snaked past him out the back door and into the garage. It was only after a few seconds with the door shut on him in the darkness that he would come back in, away from the car.

"Aw, you know there's a trip coming, don't you?"

Why yes, he does.

Odd. We haven't seen a suitcase, or any Getting Ready of Things, but there's been talk. Not that he can understand fully, by any means, but The Boy knows.

I know that if we get left, it'll be with somebody nifty like Aunt Jessica or Aunt KitCat, so I'm not too concerned. The Boy, however, still has Issues. Poor The Boy.

I thought that was what they wanted.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't, I say.

A couple of days ago, The Alpha was out in the back yard washing something other than me, and he left the bottle of soap outside. Naturally, The Boy decided to play with it. I noticed it smelled pretty interesting, kinda like how we smell after they make us take baths. So, I decided to lie down in the goo that came out of it, just to make them happy.

Well, it didn't make them happy. In fact, it confused them, and The Typist spent a lot of time brushing the spots on my shoulders that were sticky from the good-smelling goo. Also, it took them a while to figure out what the goo was -- but tonight The Alpha found the bottle in the yard and solved the mystery.

So, they want me to smell good... but only if I agree to go about it their way. I say we have a new mystery there.

A creek!

So we went for a RIDE just now (two rides, actually -- one there, and one back), and at the other end there were all these cool woodsy trails and a creek! The Boy and I waded in the creek while the thumb-havers tried not to get too wet themselves. (And they're still forgetting to bring the camera to capture our antics. Silly thumb-havers.)

The Boy seemed to like the water much better when he could go in on his own terms. Not like at the city pool. He even took a drink or two.

We got nice and dusty/filthy after we got out of the water. Fun!

Mmmm, denim!

Jefferson, who lived with us when I was a puppy, came over this evening. It had been quite a while since we'd seen him, so I was very excited. I squeaked and fell down on his feet. A couple of times.

His blue jeans are really yummy to lick. I don't know why. He doesn't have any animals living with him or anything that would make his denim especially lickable. They're just that special, I suppose.

The toys are back in town!

Okay, well, back in my realm, otherwise known as the floor. They'd been confiscated when I came home all groggy a while back. But we had another (another!) trip to the vet this afternoon, and when I came home we got our toys back! I'm having fun keeping them away from The Boy already.

I heard something else about "two weeks," and judging from the warning I got from the heeler in Houston last time, I'm pretty much Eee Ex Pee Eee See Tee-ing to have to go back. (Yes, more spelling. They still don't know that I know, but I know! I do.)