Sunday Salute - YOU!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to YOU, our readers! We appreciate each and every one of you - our fellow bloggers, friends & family, web-surfers, and those of you who stumble onto our site from Google searches! We're glad you're here and thank you for reading!

We've enjoyed over 30,122 visitors since we started keeping track - from all over the States and around the world. We've learned a lot about geography just from checking out where our readers live! We also love reading your blogs, and learning about your part of the world, wherever it may be! In fact, we're in the process of updating our Cool Pals list in the sidebar; please check it out soon!

We couldn't come up with an appropriate picture for this post, so here's a sunset from a few weeks ago.

Thank you for reading, for your encouragement, for leaving comments, and just for stopping by! We salute our readers!

The Army of Four

The Results Are In

Ha rooo! It's me - Zim! Mind if I stick my snooter in here?

I just wanted to thank everyone who voted in the poll about my legs! We had 57 votes! Here are the results:

Do Zim's legs look incredibly long in the 20 SEP 07 post?

Yes, incredibly long! 24 (42%)
No, not really. 5 (8%)
Long or short, he's a cool pirate! 33 (57%)

Thanks, guys! I may have long legs, but either way you look at 'em ... I'm a cool pirate! HARR!

It's good to have friends!

Play bows,
Zim

I Got the Last Woo In!

Woo. It's me - Dave. Stormy mentioned yesterday that I was pouting because of Saturday's fiasco -- Mom going to a quilt class without ME, her Guide Dog for the Color Blind. Notice she said that I "was" pouting. Not any more.

Here's what Mom was learning how to make:

Mom's one block

It's called a Stack-N-Whack block. Apparently, it's quite the long process; it took her all day to get that one block made! It's easier from here on out, though, now that she has that center "focal" fabric cut. Here's another one she made:

Mom's second block

It didn't take all day to make that one. There seems to be a lot of initial pinning involved. I never get to help with the pinning. Go figure.

Mom, never being one to actually take the "normal" path, wants to do some blocks on the blue background that I picked out for her, some on another background, and some with a split background. I was all for that and wanted to help pick something from our stash. She wanted brown and said she wasn't 100% convinced any of the browns we'd tried were "right". I kept going over and nosing around in the batiks. She said all the browns were in the closet, and that she'd tried them and reminded me that I didn't woo over them either. I went back over to the special area where we keep the batiks.

I heard her say, "Davy darlin', we don't have any brow.... hey, whatcha got there?!!?" Woo. Check out the look on my face:

I couldn't believe she doubted me! I knew the right brown was in there!

Who's the best Guide Dog for the Color Blind in the whole world?

Mom said I am.

Ah, shucks, Mom. Just doing my job.

Mom said she'll never doubt me again. I get to make ALL color decisions from here on out. Woo. Just for that, I'll let her show you the quilt once it's done.

Luv,
Dave

Golf Day!

Ha roo! Stormy here! Hope everypup is enjoying some cooler mornings - I know our cooler temps have got us mighty pumped up for our morning runs or walks! Yesterday, Dad took Am and Zim running, then Dave, Mom and I went to find them. It was great fun! Mom and Dad kept talking about getting us "tired" before golf. What? Mom doesn't golf! But Dad invited her to go with him, just to enjoy the scenery and all. Fine with me; I had some important things to take care of here at Ao4 HQs. Ammy doesn't really care for golf, having had a taste of it last year; Dave was still having a minor pout-fest from Saturday; Zim was a tad disappointed, as he thought it would be cool to tool around in a golf cart all day. Apparently, there's some "no Siberians allowed" rule ... otherwise, I'm sure they would have let him come. Mom promised to take pictures to show us, and that sounded good enough!

Here are some of the pix, complete with my explanation of what was going on.

Here's Dad, teeing off - but not getting t-ed off. Ha roo roo roo!

Nice shot, Dad!

After Dad's tee shots, they'd drive over to the ball, for Dad to make the next shot. Mom would try to help spot the ball, and would say, "Here it is!" Here's one "ball" she found:

Yeah. Well, she said the mushroom looked like a golf ball from a distance. I'm sure Dad found her very helpful.

Zim said we should post some of the flower pictures Mom took. Here's a real Kansas-y one.

Hey, Louka! We've got all kinds of cool stuff in bloom! You can see all the pix, if you'd like, on our FlickR site - we set up a special album for the golf day. We liked this big display by the main entrance to the club house; check out the cool thingies on them:

They look like something out of a Science Fiction movie, don't they? Zim has no idea what they are; nor do I. We'll ask Aunt Janet and get back to you. Here's Dad in a scenic spot:

I wonder if he got tired of posing like somepuppy else I could mention? Ha roo roo roo.

Oh! Here's a member of Dad's gallery of fans!

SQUIRREL!

Maybe that's why Zim wasn't allowed to come; he'd want to sit and stare at the "gallery". There's a time-limit on play.

Dad does think about us when he plays. He says it helps him get calm and centered to think about us - and hey, check out the club head cover he has as a reminder!

Hello!

Mom didn't re-align the photo; sorry. Do the "Lab Look" and tilt your head to the left. Isn't he cute? I thought he was a puppy the first time I met him!

This is Dad, making a really good putt:

Way to go, Dad!

Oh, yeah! And along this one fairway, Mom and Dad met up with these two guys:

Dad is helping go over that one guy's scorecard! Do you know who he is? One of the founders of Pizza Hut! Cool, huh? That's his house (or one of his houses) right behind them! We have no idea who the other gentleman is. Mom asked and they didn't answer; she said they were a couple of stiffs. I think she just said that to make Ammy giggle. She did. :)

That's about it. Like I said, you can check the FlickR page for more shots of the landscaping and scenery. Here's Dad approaching the last hole:

He and Mom both had a great day out there. And I got some serious nappin--- I mean work done while they were out. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Tail wags,
Storms

Look to the Left! Look to the Right!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Mom wanted me to pose on the front porch the other day. She actually wanted me to look at the camera instead of everything that was happening in the neighborhood. Hmmm. But Zim isn't the only student at the Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal School of Siberian Studies! I took my cue from our mentor.

I looked to the left:

And to the right: But not at the camera.

I looked in that general direction one time ... but let's be honest. I saw Oswald running around behind Mom. Hee hee hee! I was looking at him; can you tell?

Oswald! I see Oswald!

We went in the house after that. I don't know why.

Love,
Amber

We've Got Beans!

Ha roo, everypup! It's me - Zim! I thought it was time for a Magic Bean Update! It's been a really hot, dry Summer, so that - combined with a late hard freeze back around Easter - has really taken a toll on all of our plants. Not to mention the bunnies and the bugs ... though I guess I just mentioned them! Mom said she's just happy most of our stuff is alive!

I went out through the screened-in deck and noticed something funny. Hey! What's this?

I don't remember having a rose bush here! And what are these little guys!!?!?

Mom said Aunt Janet sent us the rose bush and some butterfly weeds! Cool! Thanks, Aunt Janet! On to check out my beanstalks!

I wanted to be sure we were watering it well enough, so I stuck my snooter in there to investigate.

Oh, yeah. Nice and moist. And HEY! What's THIS!?!?!

Beans!

How exciting! We've got purple beans! This is so exciting! Our beanstalks didn't get real lush and plush and huge like they did the first time we grew them, but we had all those challenges I told you about before. Now that we have beans, Aunt Janet said we can leave them on the vine until they dry out, then save them to plant next year! How COOL! She's a Master Gardener, so she knows these things.

Here's what the line up of Magic Beanstalks looks like now:

Pretty cool, huh? See the ornamental grass in the sort of upper right hand side of the picture? That's one of the Purple Fountain Grasses that was on the lower deck. Stormy told you about those a while ago. Mom removed a special kind of Euonymus Pauli bush, called a Dead Euonymus Pauli. It gets too wet there, so Mom pulled out the special plant, dug in a deep saucer, then set the potted Purple Fountain Grass on it. It's stable, and is elevated enough that the water problem there won't effect it like it did the Dead Euonymus Pauli. I'm pretty sure Stormy told her to do that!

Here's a shot of the Magic Beanstalks, the fountain grass (can you tell the wind was kicking up?), and hey - right smack in the middle! See where that white tag is? That's the rose bush! The two plants to the left of the grass are Euonymus Pauli that are actually alive.

We really don't think the Magic Beanstalks will get much bigger, but we're really happy to have seeds for next year!

Here's where we put the Butterfly Weed plants in.

They're just beyond the Becky Daisies and (in this shot) in front of the Blue Fescue and the Dead Blue Fescue Grasses. They'll add a great splash of color down there, according to Dave!

That's my garden P-update for today! Isn't it exciting about the BEANS?!?!?!?

Play bows, all!
Zim

Overboard - Payback

Ha roo, everypup! Mom found this Overboard cartoon strip remarkably funny. At least the first part. (You can click it to enlarge, if you can't read it!)

Me? I think Louie's last pose is priceless. Ha roo roo roo!

Play bows,
Zim

PS: Besides ... she would have missed the whole lunar eclipse a while back if it hadn't been for me!

Sunday Salute - Ivy!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to the cutest, most clever, most talented Keeshond in all of Blogdom - our friend Ivy! Like us, many of you are readers and fans of Ivy's blog! She always has interesting adventures to share with us, where she's been out geocaching with her people, exploring the culinary world, and discovering many, many other incredible things!

Here she is on a recent trip, seeing the water for the first time:

The brave discoverer - Ivy!

She's fearless! She also knows someone who knows someone who knows Super Ivy - remember that, if you're in danger!

She works hard keeping her people and the all of the world safe - especially from the evil squirrels! She developed a game so we can all hone our skills, too! She comes up with some GREAT games - she has incredibly cool computer skills! Sure, she gives credit to her Randy, but I think we all know better!

Ivy is a very gifted poet. One of our very favorites is "Why Oh Why Do I Haf to Get Dry?" It's very profound. Action-filled, too! Please check it out at that link, if you haven't read it!

Ivy has been very busy lately helping her Lindsay and her Randy get ready for the day when BP gets there. Have you entered a guess as to when he'll be born? It's so exciting! I wonder when Ivy will get to meet her biped puppy? (Hey ... maybe THAT'S really what "BP" stands for! Biped Puppy! Ha roo roo roo!)

It was during one of Ivy's posts about helping get BP's room ready that we saw one of the best pictures of Ivy ever! Dave was moved to write a Haik-woo, just for her! We hope you like it, Ivy!

Haik-woo #39

For all you do, Ivy - we salute you!

The Army of Four

Dave Sings the Blues

Woo, everypuppy. It's me - Dave. Mom was gone all day taking a class at the Bernina Shoppe. Without us. Taking a quilt class. Without me - her Guide Dog for the Color Blind. At least she let me pick her background fabric before she left. I was still sad. Woo.

How could she go without me? I'm Dave, GDFTCB!

I may or may not choose to let her show everypuppy what she was working on. We'll see. Maybe I'll get to help with the rest - she only made one block.

We had fun here at Ao4 HQs, watching college football and stuff with Dad. But I really should have been at the quilt class. What if she would have had to choose another fabric!?!?

Luv,
Dave

Nicknames!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Our really cute friend Bama tagged us in a fun new game - she asked us to list all the nicknames our humans call us! This is a very nice game ... just remember - no teasing! Hee hee hee!

I'll go first! I'm called Ammy, Yams (I'm a little sweet potato!), Yamber, Yammy, Am-a-lamb, Lamb-ber, Lamikens, Lammy, Amber the Scrambler, Scrammy, My Ammy (or is that Miami?), Ram-a-lamb, Am, Ams ... and lots of other things that I can't remember but that rhyme with any of the above! My middle name is also one of my nicknames - Zichick! (It's Ukrainian for rabbit or hare, and has to do with a growth spurt involving my ears and legs!)

Me in the Zichick phase!

Next is Zim. Or Zimmie, Zim Zim, the Z-man. Drill SGT Zim or SGT Zim. The Cappuccino Kid. And sometimes Daddy calls him Zimmie from Zimbabwe. He's not from Zimbabwe, though. Not as far as we know, anyway. Monsieur Zim. And the Schmoozer or the Schmoop.

Zim, looking schmoopy

Dave is called Davy, Dave-Dave, the Deeeeve (especially when he listens to the bagpipes!), Dave Furman, the Snuggler, Mr. Snuggles, Snuggle-bunny, Pickle Nose, and David. That one is mostly used when he's in a little bit of hot water ... if you know what I mean! When he isn't in trouble, Mom and Dad usually pronounce that as "Da-veeed". Davy Darlin'. The Guide Dog for the Color Blind and ... the LabraDave!

The LabraDave in action!

Stormy is called Storm-Storm, Stormy-Storm, Storm-Cat, Storm-Kitten, the Kit-Cat, Storms, Mama Storm, the Supreme Commander of the Ao4, the Dean of the Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal School of Siberian Studies, and Her (Royal) Majesty. She also is called Zoluschka, her middle name; it's Ukrainian for Cinderella. Mom sometimes calls her Patuschka, which means nothing at all.

Her Royal Majesty ... Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal

That's all the ones I can think of right now. A bunch will probably come to me later; Mom and Dad call us all kinds of nicknames. It's like Davy likes to say, "Call me whatever you'd like, just don't call me late for dinner!" Hee hee hee!

We're going to tag Marvin, Sitka and Tia, and the Tube Wolf!

Love,
Amber

Question From Zim

Ha roo, Zim here. I was looking at some of the pix Mom took of me during my cool Pirate Photo Shoot for yesterday's post. And something struck me as odd.

Is it just me ...

...or do my legs look REALLY long here? Seriously!

I put a poll up in the sidebar, so you can let me know what you think.

Play bows,
Zim

PS: Our cool friend Bama tagged us yesterday and we'll post our answers either tomorrow or Saturday!

Cap'n Maverick's Big Day is Here!

Harrrr, mateys! Yo ho, yo ho! It's me - Zim the Pirate! We haven't posted any good yarns about being pirates lately, but you may remember our adventures from previous posts. We even found a Treasure Chest in our living room, remember? Harrr! (Stormy helped ... even though she was somewhat unwilling to go along with the pirate dress-code!) Here's a shot of me after one of our last pillaging sprees:

Harrrrr!

Harrr, those were the days! Well, it's a big day today for our pal Captain Maverick - the coolest pirate captain I know! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Harrr! Avast ye mateys! Sail on over to his blog and wish him a happy ITLAPD!

We'll be celebrating here with some special pirate grog (that looks suspiciously like water ...) and some biscuits. Harrr!

Yo ho ho and a bag o' Eukanuba!

Cap'n Mav - a happy day to ye!

Play bows and HARRRRR to all ye fellow pirates!
Zim the Pirate

Vehicle Tag!

Well... maybe not the kind of vehicle tag you're thinking of ... it's a new tag game about vehicles! How fun!

Tail wags, it's me - Stormy. Our good buddy Echo tagged us in a great, creative game! It's what kind of vehicle you are; you have to think of what type of vehicle your personality most resembles. Echo and his family came up with really good answers - we think Dave could fit in with Echo's vehicle, a tank!

We tried to stay away from the obvious choices - dog sleds - and put our thinking caps on. Here's what we came up with!

Amber would be a schooner:

She's graceful and FAST! She can fly like the wind!!!

Dave is a golf cart. He gets you where you need to go, is utilitarian ...

...and if the grass is too wet, he needs to stay on the cart path. Ha roo roo roo!

SGT Zim is an M-151 Jeep!

It's a versatile vehicle, built for off road use and could be unsafe at high speed. Hmm. Seems fitting! It can be fitted with all kinds of cool armaments and/or armor, and is otherwise lightweight and adaptable. Of course, there is also a connection to Eugene the Jeep (at right) ... but he's not a vehicle.

As for me, Stormy ... we chose a vehicle that's small, lightweight, powerful and fast. And rather distinctive. What better choice than a chariot!
Don't you think? Seems like a good fit!

Great game, Echo! Thanks for the tag! We are going to tag Maggie and Mitch, Ruby, Sitka, and Holly! Have fun!!!

Tail wags,
Storms

I Can't Can't Stop Laughing!

Ha roo, everypup! It's me - Zim. Did you see the video on Sitka's blog over the weekend? You know ... the one of Sitka, Holly, Kat and my sisters doing the Can Can?!!? I've watched it a bunch of times now ...

and I just can't can't stop laughing!

Ha roo roo roo!

Seriously ... go over to Sitka's and check it out. Every time Mom watches it, she has tears streaming down her face!

Play bows,
Zim

Sunday Salute - Sitka!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes to our sweet and very bee-roo-tiful friend Sitka! You might think that this was Zim's idea and that he wanted to salute Sitka just because she's so bee-roo-tiful... and you'd be partly right! (Ha roo roo roo!) But this Salute also goes out to her Mom - Shelli! - and it all has to do with the quilt we've been telling you about. You know we've had lots of fun helping mom with the quilt - and you've seen us in action! What you may not realize is why we made the quilt for Sitka!

True ... she needs one to snuggle up on. Look at her:

Comfy, yes. But clearly in need of a snuggly quilt! But that's still not why we helped make her the quilt!

Remember when we told you about Xia and how Harnessed to Hope Northern Breed Rescue was trying to raise funds for her care? (You can follow this link to our initial post about Xia - it's at the "Important Bulletin".) Well ... Sitka talked to her mom - and they decided to make a generous donation to HTHNBR - and so we made them a quilt to say "Thank roo"! It was a really, really sweet thing for you to do - and we thank you BOTH! And thanks to Tia, too! And to Sitka's dad!

We can't wait to see these two curled up on the quilt together!

Maybe they'll even share with their bipeds! That would make a great photo, too!

Sitka and your mom Shelli - thank roo for ALL you do and for your most generous donation to help out HTHNBR and Xia! We salute you!

The Army of Four

Rainy Day and Thanks, Ivy!

Hey everypup! Zim here. We're getting some much-needed RAIN today - Mom's real happy that the gardens are getting a good soaking. For us ... it means a walk or run once the lightning is over, lots of towel-work, then we'll all stay inside and do our "rough and tumble, outdoorsy type, Siberian Husky" stuff. Here's Dave, hard at it:

I don't know about you, but he exhausts me! I've got to go catch some zzz's.

Oh, hey. Before I zone out...

... we would like to thank the most bee-roo-tiful Keeshond Ivy for nominating us for the Awesome Blog Award this month! There are all kinds of cool blogs nominated; head over to the Bone Zone at Dogs With Blogs and check them out! Please cast your vote for your favorite blog! Thank roo for submitting our blog, Ivy! And good luck to YOU on Photo of the Month!!!

Play bows, all!

Zim