The Waiting Is the Hardest Part...

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  Yesterday, we hit a record-breaking temperature of 70 degrees here (21.1C).  Dad was out playing golf and I thought it would be nice if us boys would take Mom on a walk after lunch.  You know, making the most of  this crazy weather and all!

I polished off my meal lickety-split, got a little water, then went to check on how Dave was doing.

"Is he done yet?"

I was just checking.  Not like I was doing a "sneak up from behind" maneuver and was going to help myself to anything that Dave spilled on the floor.  No, not at all!  Oh, I might have policed up anything that had been dropped on the floor. You know.  Just to help with KP.  Keep the kitchen clean and all.  I was named after a Drill Sergeant.  That sort of thing is in my blood.

"How about now?  Is he done now?"

I sensed that Dave was almost ready, so I approached Mom and started the mind-meld message:

"Look into my eyes.  Yes... yes... that's good.  Now deeeeeper... deeeeeper...."

Mom got my message loud and clear.  She said once Davy was done eating, we could go.  It takes a lot of work, but I've got her pretty well trained.  I checked on the Deeve again.

I asked him how he was coming along and he didn't answer.  That told me he wasn't done yet - you know -- he's real good about not talking with his mouth full and all.  Besides, he hadn't given his signature "I'm Done!" signal yet.    I waited... and waited... and then:

DONE!

Once his paw goes in the bowl so he can lick it out, I know we're good to go!

And "go", we did!

"What a great lunch!  I'm ready for a cool adventure now!"
"I love it when a plan comes together!"

I hope you got to get out and go yesterday, too!

Play bows,
Zim

Greeting the Day

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  Zim's right here with me, too.

"Looks like a Monday out here, Zim!"
"Yep!  A whole new week of cool adventures!"

Have I mentioned lately he's the best kid brother a guy could ask for?  He's got the best outlook on life!

Luv,

Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Play bows, pups and cool cats. Zim here, getting in touch with my inner zen.

Well, seriously... I am feeling mighty serene!

Play bows,
Zim

PS: We had some problems with yesterday's post not showing up for quite a while. We aren't sure what the problem was, but think the glitch has cleared up now.

The Up-Side of Our Crazy Weather

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  Our weather has been just crazy.  This is the end of January in Kansas, and we should be buried in snow and enjoying icy-cold temperatures!  But what do we have?  The 50s!  It's crazy!  I guess there is an up-side to it, though...

So the other afternoon, it was one of those "almost 60 degree" days (15.5C).  Dad was out golfing.  Golfing!  At the end of ... well, anyway.  Dave and I had our lunch, then Mom said she'd take us to the corner before heading to the Studio.  Maybe around the block.  We'd see.

Here we are way down on the main drag through our area:

Dave and me

In case anyone is wondering, that's not exactly around the block. See what I mean about the up-side? It was so nice out, that we just kept going!

Dave and I led Mom up that hill, and I suggested we cross the road.

"Crosswalk?  I don't need no stinking crosswalk!"

Can you see what's over there?

"Look!  It's the Giant's Castle!"

Some of you may remember the Giant's Castle!  It's a pretty cool place to go exploring; Dave and I love it!  

After a while, we headed back down the hill.  Here we are, checking out Little Kitten Creek:

"I don't see any little kittens, Zim!"
"I don't see much of a creek, either, Dave..."

Given our drought-like conditions and lack of feline friends, there wasn't much to see, so we headed home.

"Pretty cool adventure today, Zim!  I felt like I was in Switzerland or something!"
"Yeah, sure beats going to the corner!"

Ha roo.  Switzerland!  Where does Dave come up with this stuff!?!

Thanks for walking with us!  There really is an up-side to this crazy Kansas weather!

Play bows,

Zim

About That Quilt...

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  Hey, remember that quilt Dave showed you the other day?  Right!  The one with the cool cat fabric in it!  Isn't that great!?!  Reminds me of my friend Callie Co Kitty.  Dave thought it over and let Mom go ahead and put that block in the quilt - but said the quilt should be for me!  Wowzers, Dave!  Thanks!  (I hope Mom buys into that!)

Anyway... I found another block with the kit-cat fabric in it (on the floor, oddly enough ... DAVE!) ...

"Kitty Cat!"

...and told Mom to go ahead and put it back up on the design wall!

"Knock yourself out, Mom!  No, really.  Dave said it would be OK!"

Oh! Before I forget! See the long wall-hanging behind me? Our sweet friends Sadie, Isabella and Angel asked about that. Yes, it's little hearts with pix of our dear sisters Stormy and Amber - and me and Dave. Here's a better look:

Mom made it back in 2002! Above it is a star bearing a pic of our great sisters Jesse and Lucky. Thanks for asking about it!

Anyway, since Dave was busy ...

...I decided to have Mom add a few more fabrics to the quilt. Here's one:

And since Dave put (click here) a certain fabric in, I thought this would be appropriate:

Ha roo roo roo!

Here's a look at what we've got so far:

Not bad for just grabbing out of the scrap basket!

Oh... and Dave? Don't worry! He's cool with this whole thing!

Besides, our Auntie Laura sent him Mom some new fabric, and he's all over that!

"There are NO CATS on this fabric.  I'm Dave ... and I approve of these fabric packs!"

Gotta keep peace in the family, right?

Play bows,
Zim

Breaking News!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with some breaking news.

My official Action News photo

There's big news here at Ao4 Headquarters.  Are you ready for it?  Check this out!

*GASP!*

That's right - a new shape for my Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats! A new SHAPE?!?! But... but... but will they taste just as good?  I investigated as soon as I could!  Check this video!




If it won't play, please click here.

You heard it here first!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Luv and play bows,
Dave and Zim

Well...?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats. It's me, Zim. I thought everyone could use a smile today.  I'm normally pretty good at this in  person  Siberian, so let me give it a go over the internet.

Try this on for size:

Well...?

Are you smiling yet?

Play bows,
Zim

GDFTCB - Other Duties

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  Some of you might be wondering about some of my other duties as my mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind. It's not all about the color and trust me ...

...sometimes it's hard, hard work!

Right now, Mom and I are focusing on that scrap quilt I showed you the other day.  I normally am not too keen on scrap quilts - but we settled on choosing only fabrics in the "warm, fuzzy (I especially like the fuzzy part), muted" arena.  That was enough of a color scheme to please me and to let me relax.

Perhaps I relaxed too much, because the other day I came into the Studio to check Mom's progress and ...

Me, hanging my head in disbelief in front of Mom's design wall

I couldn't believe the fabric she had slipped in there!

"Not in my quilt!  Not on my watch!"

I got right to work, taking the offending (and I DO mean "offending") block out!

"This one right here!  It must GO!"

Sorry the pix are so blurry:
A) I was working really fast!
B) Mom was in disbelief as to what I was doing!

I've never had to remove a block before, but this was just ... just too MUCH!!!

"Sorry to have to do this, Mom!"

That's so much better.  Can you see the block I took out?  When you see it, you'll understand why I had to do what I had to do.  Here - I did a special close up for you that should explain it all:

Oh, sure, the colors fit! ... but CAT fabric?!? Unless maybe this is for Zim or another cat-lover ...

I better keep a closer eye on my mom.  A Guide Dog for the Color Blind's work is never done!

Luv,
Dave, GDFTCB

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! Zim here, with Serene Scenery Sunday. Dave's here with me, too.

Dave and me

It seemed like God worked overtime this week giving us some gorgeous sunsets, so we thought we'd share a few pix Mom took of them with you. I think they'll help you feel all kinds of serene.

Here's a panoramic shot Mom took with our iPhone:

Isn't that incredible!?! Our sky goes on forever here. Dave likes the intense colors in this next one:

That was shot with the Nikon; all the others are "just" iPhone pix.

Another panoramic from another night:

Here's a regular shot, the same night:

...and the changing colors as the sun slips down:

We hope those photos help you find your inner serenity. We'd feel a bit more serene ...

... if Mom would hurry up with the treat dispensing!

Play bows,
Zim

Off into the Wilds of Kansas...

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim!  Yesterday was all overcast partly sunny and bitterly cold really nice and windy as $#%& a nice breeze was blowing, and it just seemed like the perfect day for a nice, long walk!  I could tell Mom really wanted to go, too.  I was doing zoomies through the downstairs, trying to get her and Dad to play (both the Studio and Dad's office are downstairs) and was just having a GREAT time.  Mom kept calling out encouragement to me - "Zim!  ZIM!  ZIMMIE!!!" - and before I knew it, Dave was snuggled up on Dad's feet under his desk helping Dad with his work and Mom and I were off on an adventure!  Oh, sure there was that crazy talk about "someone" having excess energy that needed to be channeled in a positive way, but all I knew was we were headed out the door!

Before I knew it, we were out in the middle of nowhere! We were totally in the wild, untamed prairie land!

"Isn't that the coolest, wildest place ever?!?"

Gorgeous, isn't it? All that ... nothing! Let's explore!

It's very nice that there are some sidewalks growing out here in the wilds, isn't it?

Oh... wait a sec!

"Ha roo???"

OK, never mind.  I saw some quail in there the last time Mom and I were here and had to check for them.  They weren't there this time.  We can keep going...

I kept my eyes peeled for them, just in case. I'd hate to miss them; they're very cute birdies!

Mom and I kept walking through the wild prairie land, enjoying to the fullest the wind and cold and each other's company!  (Mom says one out of three for her...)  Before I knew it, we were at a very familiar place!

"Look, Mom!  It's the Kansas Ocean!"

It was a great day to be sea-side!  I paused and struck a pose up on the bridge that spans one of the tributaries:

It was extra cold there, since the wind went underneath us, too! It was GREAT! For some reason, Mom made me start walking again.

I let her get a shot of me by the water ...

My serious side

...then we decided to head home quickly, before Mom's hands and face froze solid to see how Dave and Dad were coming along with Dad's work stuff.  

Thanks for coming along with us!  It's about the same out there today, so I'm going to see what I can do about another extra afternoon walk!

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday - In Review

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  Thanks for understanding about us punting yesterday.  You guys are the best!  Of course, now we feel pressured to come up with something really great today ... but that's the way it goes.  Zim and I thought we'd show you some photo highlights from the past couple days - you know, what's been keeping us so busy!  Ready to get started?

Me? I've been working in the Studio a lot! Here I am, working very hard:

"Hi!"

We saw a picture of a beautiful quilt our buddy Remington's Beth made that was all really wonderful "comfort colors" -- those fabrics that just make you feel as warm and fuzzy as ... well, as me ... inside and out! It inspired Mom and me to dig through some of her baskets and put together a scrappy quilt out of some of our "comfort colors"! Just scraps of stuff Mom has saved from other projects.  Take a look at our early progress up on the pressing table while I take a quick break:

How about a close-up of one of my favorite little snippets?

Ha woo. I wonder how that Siberian got slipped in there?

Mom left me to finish up some work, then went upstairs to make an apple pie.  Zim helped her out - he's great at kitchen stuff!

"Hey, Mom.  Whatcha doing?  How long does that thing take, anyway?"

Zim said it took Mom forever to make the pie, but he stuck with her every step of the way.

"Zzzz..."

As a reward for all of our hard work, and to celebrate single-digit temperatures, we did a lot of this:

In case you're wondering, we didn't get any pie. That's OK, we still have lots of Happy Heart cookies and Stinky Goodness treats!

Dad worked hard doing a lot of work stuff this week, too, and because he doesn't think it's fun to golf when it's all frosty and cold outside, he started recording some of his and Mom's vinyl albums (that's what bipeds used to listen to a million years ago) - and put them into Mom's iTunes thingie. Mom let me sample some old Michael Franks one afternoon in the Studio. Here's what I thought:

" ♫... say B'wana he no home... ♫ "

Can you see my smile? That guy is smoooooooth!

Speaking of smooth guys ... Zim conned Mom into taking him out to that Tuttle Creek Dam/Ocean place!  Here's a collage of him looking around:

Zim said it was super windy and colder than cold can be. Doesn't that sound great?

So as you can see, we've been real busy right here in Kansas, working hard and stuff. It's not like we've been on an airplane somewhere with some of the other Mango Minster judges flying to an undisclosed location. Really.

Luv,
Dave