New Magic Cold Box!

Ha roo, pups. It's me - Zim! Wow, what a busy day yesterday! Despite a drizzle of rain in the morning, Mom and Dad had a truck-load of mulch delivered to spread in the front gardens. I had to go out and greet the delivery person, let her scratch my ears... you know, schmooze her a bit. Due to what I'm sure was my charm, she agreed to bring "just" one truck load yesterday and the second truck load on Monday.

Us members of the Ao4 had to stay inside and watch Mom and Dad work all morning - it took them hours, working constantly, to get that spread. It was exhausting for us to have to watch.

For some reason, Mom didn't take the camera out there with her, but here's a picture from one Winter of Amber watching out the front windows.

Just erase the snow in your mind, picture the four of us taking turns at the window where you see Ammy, and you'll have an idea of the hard, hard work we put in. Exhausting!

Amber and I had to run Dad to the park when the bipeds were done; Storm and Dave got Mom and came to meet us. Can you imagine how tired we were? But as Dad and Mom's personal trainers (or ... uh... Siberian trainers) we are committed to making sure they get some PT in.

As if that wasn't enough work for one day, the appliance dealer called and said the new magic cold box was in! They could bring it in a few hours! Wow! Then I had to watch Mom and Dad take all the stuff out of the old magic cold box and run it downstairs to the magic cold box down there. Whew. Lots of up and down, up and down. You have no idea how tiring it was for me, laying at the top of the steps watching them step over me!

When the magic cold box arrived, the four of us had to stay downstairs. Something about the front door being wide open. Mom said Dad and the delivery guys had to work some magic of their own to get it to fit... but it did! Here I am, helping to load it up:

Yeah, Mom... little stuff up here ... then the veggies in the big bins.

It was an exhausting day, as you can imagine. I had to get a nap in. This is an old picture of me napping.

I don't know why Mom didn't take a new picture. With all the help she and Dad got from me and the rest of the Ao4, you'd think she'd have energy to burn!

Play bows, pups!
Zim

Best Hiding Space

Hi everypuppy, it's me - Amber! I'm still a little concerned about the whole "bath" thing. You know ... our friend Nikki got a bath and now I just KNOW Mom is thinking about doing the very same thing to all of us. YIKES! I gave our friend Magnum my best advice, as he thinks a bath might be in store for him, too -- hide behind the chair in the living room!

Really! No one will EVER find you there. They can't see me, so it's bound to work for you! I hope this advice works for any of you who might need it! Good luck!

Love,
Amber

Tail Wags!

Ha roo, everypup! It's me - Stormy! Wow, what a day yesterday! Did you read our dear friend Marvin's blog? He wrote a poem about US -the Ao4! And he made his Wednesday Tail Wag about us! Our whole pack!!! What an honor! We were all so touched, so flattered...... what a cool guy you are, Marvin!

Dave saw the post first, since he was the one posting yesterday! He called me over to the computer. I had been doing something VERY important...

What? I'm sort of in the middle of something....

But Dave, being the heck of a nice guy that he is, wouldn't pull me away from my work for nothing. He told me about Marvin, his fellow poet's Tail Wag to us and wow! Did it make me happy!

Roo! That Marvin! What a guy! "Lab in Sibe clothing"! Ha roo roo roo!

Dave went in to get Ammy to tell her - she was working at the time, too.

She was SO HAPPY to read Marvin's poem and went on and on and on (you know how Ammy can be!) - then she told Zim. Meanwhile.... Dave went to help Mom with something.

I am so a lap dog! Really. I can fit. Zzzzzzzzzz...........

We all read Marvin's wonderful ballad and thoroughly enjoyed it. Marvin, you are SUCH a talented poet - and I think Dave was right in his Haik-woo #33 -- you are better than Burns! You're the best Scottish poet of all time!

Being the subject of such a literary masterpiece does seem to have gone to somepuppy's head around here, though.

"Zim the pirate"? A "favourite" with Marvin? Nah... haven't seen him, babe.

Oh. Sorry, Storm. Yeah, it's me. I thought you were part of the puparazzi.

See what I have to deal with here? Anyroo - Marvin, a big Ao4 THANK ROO for the very cool "Ballad of the Famous Army of Four" and the Wednesday Tail Wag. We are so honored!

Tail wags,
Stormy

Big Mean Kitty

Woo, it's me, Dave! Zim posted some pretty cool pix of some of our flowering stuff yesterday, didn't he? And he's right - I just LOVE those ornamental fruits when they drop off and get squished and lay there for a while fermenting. Mmm... those are tasty!

But anywoo... I asked Mom to take some pix of our Texas Quince - since I'm from Texas and all. We have a few different groupings of them, but the biggest are on one of the tiers along the South side of our house. Here they are:

Aren't they cool? Go in for a close-up, Mom!

Oooh, pretty! Then I asked Mom to take a picture of them from the backyard. Here's that shot:

The first tier on the other side of the fence has Froebel Spirea on it that aren't doing much at all yet, then the second tier has the TX Quince (they're actually on both sides of the pine; the wall curves around!) and a HUGE Austrian Pine, then the top tier is at street level - it has the Redbud trees, Snowmound Spirea (my favorite kind!) and other stuff.

Oh... and Zim asked me to post this for our dear friend Althea:

Sorry. That's all the inferior Altheas are doing right now. We'll keep you posted on how they progress.

Moving right along... Did you see our new friend Maggie the Airedale's blog the other day? She and Mitch have a mailman toy that's made by the same people as one of our toys - Big Mean Kitty! We only get to play with Big Mean Kitty when it's one-on-one playtime in the yard with Mom - or else we'd totally destroy it. As it is, Big Mean doesn't squeak any more. Woo. Here I am playing with it!

Gotcha, Big Mean Kitty!

You can't get away! I've got you!

Look at the scary face he's making!

It's a pretty cool toy, don't you think? No disrespect meant to any kitties.

Luv,
Dave

Springtime in Kansas!

Ha roo, pups and pup-ettes! It's me - Zim! Springtime has hit Kansas and you know what that means! Yeah! Time for drinking coffee out on the deck!

Yeah... right there, Dad! Thanks!

Oooh, I love mornings spent like this! Ha ROO!

OK, just kidding. Have you seen Jazz and Dixie's blog lately? It's Cherry Blossom time in Japan, and those Beagle babes have posted some lovely pictures! Surf on over and check them out!

Here at our house, we don't have any bee-roo-tiful Cherry Blossoms, but we do have a Redspire Pear tree, an ornamental fruit tree, and I told Jazz and Dixie I'd post some pictures of it! The blossoms might get fuller, but with the storms that have been sweeping through here (rain, thunder, lightening, 40 mph winds...) we didn't want to take any chances with waiting!

Here's a shot Mom took this morning; it was raining so it's kinda bleak-looking. You can see how nicely it's shaped, though.

And here's a close-up from yesterday. Aren't they pretty? Can you smell them?

Dave likes it after the ornamental fruit has ripened and falls off in Winter and is smooshed on the sidewalk. He says after it's fermented a bit, they're really tasty. They're OK, but I'm not as into them as he is.

We have some Redbud trees starting to bloom, too. They look all purple-y and pretty! Here's a branch silhouetted up against our house.

Pretty cool, huh? We'll take pix of more stuff as it blooms. I think Dave and Mom took some of the Texas quince; Dave will share those soon, I'm sure!

Hope you all enjoy the pretty pix! Happy blossom-time!

Play bows,
Zim

If You're Not the Lead Dog...

Woo, it's me - Dave. I hope everypup had a great weekend! We did - lots of walks and going out on the deck and stuff ... which brings me to today's post.

Usually on walkies, if it's the whole Ao4 plus Mom and Dad, Stormy and I walk up front. Stormy usually takes point because she's our alpha and the lead pup. And she pulls way too hard if she doesn't get to go first. Zim usually guards our six. Sure, Dad and Mom sometimes accuse him of lolly gagging, or even looking for his friends or wanting to go back to meet a biped and have her scratch his ears or something... but Zim says he's got our six covered... and I'm sure he does. I mean - he IS named after a Drill Sergeant and if a Drill Sergeant says he's got your six, he's got your six! (You can click those hyperlinks for more info, if you need it!)

I like to take the lead sometimes, too. In fact, I used to walk with Am and I'd pull really, really hard. Dad and Mom figured out that if I walk up front with Storm I don't pull as hard. Hard, but not as hard. Sometimes Storm lets me take point with her, but usually I'm behind her. And you know what they say. If you're not the lead dog...

the view never changes. Woo.

What do you say, Storm? Can we go shoulder to shoulder for a while?

Thank woo, Stormy.
Yeah... whatever. You're a heck of a nice guy, or I'd never let you take point with me!

Stormy's really cool, isn't she?

Luv,
Dave

Sunday Salute - Nikki of South Africa!

Our Sunday Salute this week goes out to our friend Nikki of South Africa! You may remember having read about her before - she's gone on some really cool hunting expeditions (uh... we mean "walkies") and is an excellent excavator! This past week, we got an email from her (complete with photos!) about a recent trick her Mom and Dad played on her! We thought we should share the horror of it all with you dear readers, in case your bipeds try the same scam on you! Warning - Amber says these pix are VERY scary! (Dave thinks they look relaxing ... but we all know about Dave and his rather odd tendencies.)

Here's Nikki's email; we've cut in the pictures, to illustrate her tale (and tail) and have added our comments:

Dear Everysibe!!! What a morning!! My humes decided that today was bath day!! (Editor's note: Did you hear that gasp? It was Amber!) What is wrong with them??? I think I was “nice to be near” and certainly did not need a bath. Anyway there was no getting out of it, they tricked me into putting on my harness by letting me think we were going to have another walkie!! (What a cruel hoax!)

Once they got my harness on I was in for it.

Water, gallons of it, was poured all over me!! What could a pup do???? I just had to stand there and put up with it, (although here she is, trying to make a get-away! Go, Nikki, GO!)

then some really smelly stuff was poured over me, they said it would make me smell nice. I want to know what was wrong with my smell to start with?? (We bet you smelled GREAT before! Bipeds have a really odd opinion about what does and doesn't smell wonderful!)

More water, lots of rubbing – oh the indignity of it all!

Then more smelly stuff, this time a blue colour and I was told that this is what was used on my brother Max when he was going to shows! The blue is supposed to make me “whiter than white”!! More water, I really thought I was going to drown . . . . . and then da da . . . . FREEDOM!!! (Finally!)

I wanted to go and dry myself on my humes bed (that’ll teach them!!) (Ha roo roo roo! Been there, done that!) but I was locked outside – me, Nikita Porter, locked outside!!!! I had to try and find a nice patch of earth so as I could at least regain some of my “character”.

Ahhh! Bliss!

Phew, it is all over now and I am told that I am now the most beautiful girl in the whole world and the best smelling too!!! (We thought you looked great BEFORE!) I am also told that I had to have a bath as I am going on holiday in two weeks time and I have to be nice and clean for that!!!

Must... find... dirt to roll in!

If this is what happens when you go on holiday, I think I will stay at home – thank you very much!!!!!

Woo’s and love from a clean (what’s that?) and very pretty Nikki

Wow, Nikki, what an ordeal! Amber had to put her paw over her eyes several times; she was just horrified by what you had to go through. Except for somepuppy, the rest of us are a bit uneasy, too, as Mom seems to think that now that our weather is warming up, we're going to meet the same fate mighty soon. It's time for us to get our Weather Control Device fired back up and set it for "Siberia Weather"!

Nikki, way to try to fight your way out of the bath! And way to roll in the grass and dirt afterwards! (We can't believe you were locked out of the bedroom!) For all of these things, we salute you!

The Army of Four

A Favorite Joke from M. Beublet

Hello, everypuppy! It's me, Amber today! In light of Zim's post from yesterday, I thought I'd tell you a funny joke. I think Marvin might really like this, because he seems to like a good pun. And Tin Tin is just so funny! I think he'll like it! Well, I hope ALL of you do! It's one that a Belgian friend of Mom and Dad's used to tell them - back when they lived in Belgium. I didn't get it at first, but then after studying French a little more at the Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal School of Siberian Studies ... I got it. Without further ado - here is Monsieur Beublet's joke:

A rabbit challenged a snail to a race. He figured he was a shoe-in to win, as snails are notoriously slow. The snail agreed, but said, "Let's make our own cars and race those!" The rabbit agreed, figuring he could have his car built, painted real cool and waiting at the start line before the snail could even start work on his! The two of them got to work, and the rabbit indeed got his done first. His car was red and had a huge "R" painted on it! Just when it looked like the snail was finished, he started some fancy paint work on his. "Hurry up, Snail! You don't need that!" But the snail took his time and painted a big "S" on his vehicle. He finally got it to the start line, the signal was given, and the cars took off! Surprising everyone, the snail shifted his car into gear and TOOK OFF with a huge lead! ZOOM! He pulled way ahead of the rabbit! The crowd went wild ... and do you know what one spectator said? "Look at that 'S' car go!"

Hee hee hee! Get it? ... "Look at that 'S' car go!" Here is a shot of me and Davy the first time I told him the joke. You can tell he thinks it's funny. I also told it to Monsieur Zim.

"...'Look at that S car go!' Ha ru ru ru. Très drôle, Am! Très drôle!"

Sometimes I think Zim takes his studies too hard.

Have a happy Saturday, everypuppy!

Love,
Amber

Give Me the Keys ... and I'll Drive You Crazy

Hey everypup. It's me, Zim. It was our really cute friend Sitka's birthday a week and a half ago. I wanted to borrow the car and drive out to Georgia to help celebrate. Dave was going to come with me - and I think the girls, too. We had great plans - stop in Overland Park, Kansas (the KCK area) to pick up our friend Thunder (and Dakota and Phantom, if they wanted to join us), see if any of the D'Azul Sibes could come, swing up to Holly's place, you know ... just picking up friends along the way - to go celebrate with Sitka. I hit a snag, though. It would appear I don't know how to drive.

I tried to remember how Mom does it. Here are pix of me from a while ago; she said the car is all dirty right now and she wanted it to look clean on the blog. Whatever.

I told Thunder and Sitka what happened; they couldn't see where I went wrong, either. I got in, sat in the driver's seat and started singing. Usually when Mom does that, the car goes. It didn't budge an inch. I wonder if the battery is dead or something?

How do you make this thing go?

Any ideas from anypup? I was thinking I could drive around and get everypuppy who's interested and we could go to Siberia.

Give me the keys..... and I'll drive you crazy!
Play bows,
Zim

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Hi everypuppy, it's me - Amber! Have you read Pippin's blog lately? Her flock-mates are taking turns posting their puppy pictures and they're all just so DARLING (and maybe especially Hamish, but I don't want to hurt anypuppy's feelings and really they're ALL so cute!) and in Kyzer's post, he mentioned football and perhaps what positions they'd all play! Zim told Kyzer we'd post our football positions and Stormy let ME be the one to write it up!

After some consultation with our coach (Dad), here's what positions we'd be!

Stormy would be our quarterback, naturally! She's smart, is good at calling plays, and has a sharp, strategic mind.

Davy would be the offensive center or maybe a left guard. He prefers to protect, not attack. He is a great supporter to his team mates!

Zim would be a rookie running back, being mentored by the QB. He needs a tad more direction, supervision and discipline.

And me? I would be a wide receiver or splint end! I understand where the ball will go when the QB throws it. I take direction well but also operate independently quite effectively. I am tall and have deceptive speed; I have a good muzzle for catching things!

Here I am from yesterday, on the move!

I love playing football! It's my favorite outdoor game - other than running! Here are more pix of me from yesterday!

Identify target...
And POUNCE!

Prepare to run like the wind!

Enjoy your Spring training for football! What positions do all of you play?

Love,
Amber

Milking It

Hey pups, it's me - Stormy! Before I get to today's post, some exciting news to share with you! Remember two Sundays ago - our Sunday Salute to the Dogs of the Iditarod? We are happy to report that Mr. Don Smidt and his team of AKC-registered Siberian Huskies have completed the race! This was his rookie year running, yet he and all 16 pups finished the grueling race! Congratulations to him and his ENTIRE team - and naturally, to his Siberian Huskies! Ha ROO!

So... did you see Steve and Kat's blog the other day? Steve got "fixed" and has a really cool bandage on his leg. He's real tough and isn't looking for sympathy ... but I've got to tell you - there's nothing wrong with milking the situation a little bit, if you play it right. Not only do you get tummy rubs, ear kneads, and sweet talk - but you can get cookies and other treats out of the deal. Seriously. For instance ...

Here is a picture of our great-sister Lucky from 1986, when they all got to the US from Belgium.

Gorgeous, wasn't she? Oh, but look at her left front paw! A bandage! She caught her dew-claw on the side of a swimming pool (they were in SE Virginia and just weren't used to the heat!) and got a nasty owie out of the deal. Poor, sweet Lucky! But look at her! Not a care in the world! She looks like she's about to go play tennis or something, doesn't she? I'm not criticising her at ALL, but had she only paired that bandage with the Harp Seal Look, she'd have had Mom and every other biped waiting on her hand and foot. Or paw and paw. Whatever.

Case in point:

Owie, my paw hurts. Can I have some tuna?

Here I am, from a couple years ago. I, too, caught my dew-claw on something and it was bleeding so bad Mom had to take me to the vet's. Oh, it was no big deal, trust me, but why not make the best of the situation? Check out the look on my face.

Here I am from another angle:

Woo is me...

Steve, you see where I'm going with this, right? You wouldn't believe the amount of pampering and treats and everything I got! Milk it while you can, pal. Pair your bandage up with a Sad Eyes Look. You won't regret it.

Tail wags,
Storm

My Really Cool Polar Bear Blanket

Ha roo, pups! Zimmie here! My friend FuFu asked a question in our comments section the other day. He said, "I wanna see Zim's puffy polar bear blanket." Technically, I guess it's not a question, more like a request...... but at any rate, here it is!

In the daytime, like in the picture, it's in the sunshine and I can lay there and soak up the rays. Oh, it feels so good!

The polar bear blanket started out in the Quilt Studio, as something for Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind, to lay on. Here he is, hard at work!

That's Stormy helping over by the stack of quilt tops. Mom gave ME the polar bear blanket and then got the big puffy work place for Dave for in the Studio. Or for whoever is working in there. I haven't seen Mom curl up on it, though. She should give it a try.

That's my polar bear blanket, FuFu! Hope you liked seeing it - and thanks for asking about it!!!

Play bows!
Zim

Let Them Eat ... Steak!

Hi everypuppy! It's me, Amber! I hope you all had a very happy weekend! We sure did - we kicked it off with our big Adopt-A-Storm Day celebration, then had some really, really, really fun walkies AND got to spend time as a whole family sitting on the deck. It was very warm out there and I really wish we'd all sit out there when there's snow on the deck and it's below freezing, but Mom and Dad don't seem to be interested in that. I'm not sure why!

Anyroo... did you see our Sunday Salute to our dear friend, K? He's SO handsome and so sweet and so handsome ... and did I mention handsome? He's just dreamy! And very sweet. He mentioned in emails to me that he really would please like to have steak more often and that got me to thinking. What is "steak"? I've never had this! I don't think we've ever had any in the house!

Without giving her what she calls "proper context", I asked Stormy, "What does 'steak' mean?" She said if we went on walkies up where the Giant lives, that she could show me. It seemed funny to me that the Giant would leave something laying around that is apparently such a treat to eat ... but then he does leave his candy corn all over the place, so who knows?!?!

Like I said, we did go on great walkies - to include going to the Giant's stomping grounds! Before too long, Stormy said she spotted some steaks!

"Hey, Ams! I've found some!"

Then Davy said, "Here's one just laying on the ground, Amber! Come check it out!"

So I went over there. Here I am.

"I don't see what all the fuss is!"

I told Stormy I wasn't sure what K sees in these. She ha roo roo rooed for a good time, then said that since we have to communicate through emails instead of Siber-speak or sniffies, that a lot gets lost through the biped language. She said there is a TON of difference between the steaks K is talking about and the stakes we found. Wow. His kind looks lots tastier! I'll keep looking around and see if the Giant has left any of those laying around! Wish me luck!

Love,
Amber

Sunday Salute - K!

This week's Sunday Salute goes out to our dear friend K of Mexico City, Mexico! We've known K for a few years now and were SO pleased to see him featured as Dogster's Dog of the Day last week! How cool is that? Congratulations to K! We thought there was no time like NOW to put him in our Sunday Salute spotlight!

You may remember K from a post Amber made in December of '06. Like us, K is a Master at doing cute poses. Dave has even written a Haik-woo about him! Here it is, Haik-woo 23:

But he hasn't always lead that kind of life ...

K lives in Mexico City. His parents found found him roaming the streets of the city - no tags, no microchip, and despite putting up posters and signs about him, no one claimed him. His mama said she thinks he had "been living rough for a long time because he was very skinny, had scabs all over him and had bits of his face fur missing." Being the wonderful biped she is (and the wonderful biped his dad is!) they gave him lots of loving and good food and care - and in a few weeks he was like a new pup! Ha rooo!

Look into my sweet eyes. May I have some steak, please?

We have heard incredible things about K's life in his fur-ever home - eating spaghetti bolognese, going on lovely walkies with his mama and Kali, doing cute poses - it's hard to picture him roaming the streets! We asked him about his past and he really works hard to forget that old life. He said, "I don't know anything about my past. All I've been told is that I was adopted mid-December 1999, which means I've been with my family for 7 years." He went on to say he was a "tornado". He told us, "Walkies was purgatory for mummy and daddy because all I did was pull, pull, pull; I just wanted to get there, wherever 'there' was." He added, "All I know is that since 1999 I've been loved, loved, loved."

Amber says that K is one of the kindest Siber-boys she knows; he always has something supportive or nice to say! She asked him if he is still a tornado on walkies today, and he said only if he sees a cat. Ha roo roo roo! We can relate, K!

K is estimated to be about 9 years old. In November of '05, he and his parents rescued his (now) 8 year old Siber-sister Kali. It took K, Kali, and their parents hard work, patience and understanding to make the dynamic work, but these two formerly abused pups do great together today! K even said he'd share any extra treats he got for being the Dog of the Day with Kali! Only for the day ... but that's mighty nice of him!

K's mom is so proud of him - Dog of the Day and now honored with our Sunday Salute? We think steak is in order, if we do say so ourselves! Often! (Let us know if that works, K!)

Congratulations of your Dog of the Day selection, K! And more importantly, for all you've overcome in life and the sweet, caring, Master of cute poses you've become -- we salute you!

The Army of Four

Froggie Doggie

Ha roo! It's me - Zim! Wowzers, did we celebrate Storm's Storm-aversary in great style yesterday! I got so tired from our long afternoon walk, I could barely run around doing zoomies after dinner! Imagine that! Storm thanks everypup again for all the sweet wishes!

My friend Dixie asked a great question the other day! She wanted to know if "Siberians lie with their legs straight out behind them with feet turned up?" Mom said her beagles used to lay down like that all the time, so I'll bet that's why Dixie asked! The answer to her question is - well, I sure do!

Here I am a couple of Christmases ago, waiting for Santa. See my back legs? Ha roo! That's what we call my Froggie Doggie Pose!

There's apparently an old mushers' tale that this is a sign of good joint health. Seeing as how I've never pulled a sled, I'm not sure - but my joints are nice and healthy - so they could be on to something!

Here is another view. In this picture, I'm helping Mom change the mattress bed-skirt.

Remember, I'm a member of the Working Breed Group! I may not pull those sleds, but I pitch in around the house as best I can!

Oh... remember my Zen of Zim post? That second-to-the-last pose is a Froggie Doggie. It's just that my legs get sorta lost in the comforter. I can even Froggie Doggie it up on the carrier - pictures 3 and 4 on our Bunk Beds for the Redheads post showcase it very nicely!

Amber doesn't lay like this. I'm not sure why. She has nice, healthy hips. Dave and Storm do have some joint issues - and neither of them are Froggie Doggie posers. So who knows? Here I am with Dave, showing him how to do it, in case he wants to try.

He didn't want to try. (For some reason, Mom gave that picture the title "The Boys Plotting" - I wonder why? I have a totally innocent look on my face, don't I?)

So... how about the rest of you? Do you do the Froggie Doggie?

Play bows and thanks for the question, Dixie!
Zim