PMQs, Session One

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with my first installment of PMQs - Questions to the Prime Minister.  I know it's Monday, and I know PMQs are normally conducted on Wednesdays, but (a) I'm a puppy and (b) I'm a Siberian Husky.  That's right.  Two very good reasons to break the rules!  Besides, the way Google and Blogger have been about updates to the feed lately, some of you might not even see this until Wednesday!  Anyway - let's proceed!

Our first question today comes from our dear friend and fellow Sibe Typhoon over at the Thundering Herd. He wanted to know, "Why are the humans always asking when we are going to grow up? I like being a puppy and I am almost 2 years old." Oh, what a good question! I've been wondering that myself! All of us still act like puppies and it's FUN!  I'm sure the humans just want to enjoy the puppy spirit to its fullest.  I mean, my brother Zim is 14 and he still has lots of puppy-ness in him!  It makes our parents smile; I'm sure it's the same Chez Herd!

"Ooh!  What did you find, Zimmie?!?!"
"Smooshed ornamental fruit!  Snarf it down fast, Mags, before Mom can grab it out of your mouth!"

I think your humans are just asking to be polite and secretly hope you hang onto puppyhood as long as possible! 

Lily had a question for Cammie!  She asked, "Cammie, how is the training going with little squirt?"  Take it away, Cam!

"Stay right here, Maggie."
"Yes, ma'am."

Thank you, Maggie.  Lily, by "little squirt", I assume you mean our mom?  I've been here, what, about 9 months now?  Her training is coming along quite well - I seem to have her right where I want her!

"C'mon, Cam.  Do you need to do your business?"
"No, Mom, I'm fine.  I just said I wanted to come outside; I didn't say I needed to do anything."

Thanks for asking, Lily!  Back to you, Mags.

Our third question comes from that wonderful Dachsie duo Frankie and Ernie!  They wanted to know, "When is Spring coming?" Spring came yesterday, here at Ao4 HQs.  It was sunny, over 60 degrees, and just a slight breeze.  We spent a lot of time out on the deck with Mom.

"Don't worry, Maggie.  Nicer weather is on the way!"
"Yea!"

Then, yesterday evening, the winds shifted, a cold front blew in, and our temps dropped by 60 degrees!  YEA!  It even snowed a bit!  So... Spring came, but then it left.

Our dear friend Molly had an excellent question!  Her query was, "Should one remain on the straight and narrow as the lady is not for turning????? What happens if I know a squirrel is behind me? Can I do a u-turn??? Does this mean I have no conviction in the path I choose previously? Tricky stuff MT." Tricky, indeed, Molly!  As you well know, the Lady's not for turning!

Walking the straight and narrow, not turning!

There are times, however, that turning in the literal sense, rather than the figurative sense, is entirely appropriate! In your case, for getting the jump on a squirrel; in my case ...

"BOOM!"

... a sneak attack on Aunt Cammie.  U-turns are unexpected and can be a great weapon in your arsenal!  Use them in your squirrel chasing pursuits, Molly, and happy hunting!

Our sweet Airedale friends Mitch and Molly asked, "Have you ever thought of painting your nails purple, Maggie?" Oh, how delightful! If I were to paint my fingernails, I think purple would be a lovely choice! Nail polish doesn't seem to be in my near-future, though. My mom said it doesn't pair well with someone who never sits still.

Me, playing

I'm not quite sure what she meant, but my current hobbies of playing, walking, playing, running, playing, zooming, playing, chewing, and playing sure take up a lot of time in my schedule, so maybe she just means that we can't fit it in right now.

Question number six is from Isabella and Angel over at the Beaded Tail.  They asked, "Do you like kit kats?" I'll assume you don't mean the chocolate covered candy bar, since chocolate is one of the very serious "nononoMaggienonono" things. As per feline kitty cats ... I think I do! I certainly have had a warm welcome from all of our kit-cat blogging friends - so a BIG yes to all of our fellow bloggers! But neighborhood kitties? I have to say, so far, so good! I got about 5 feet away from Zimmie's friend Fluffy Black Cat and did fine! Mom and Zim were quite pleased! Aunt Cam wasn't available for comment.

"FBC?!?  It's me, Maggie!  Are you out here?!?
No... Aunt Cammie is in the house - really!"

Our next question is from those fun-loving Golden Doodles, Fiona and Abby!  They wanted to know, "Why does our Mom have to have a camera on hand ALL THE TIME? If it's not her new one, it's her old pocket point-and-shoot, and she just got Dad's old DSLR fixed so she can use that, too. Yes, we are beautiful, but it seems like Mom can't throw a frisbee without a camera in her hand. Is it a sickness? Can she be cured? Or is she going to just have to keep buying more and more external hard drives to store all the photos?"  First of all, yes, you two certainly ARE quite beautiful! And I think all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters understand where you're coming from on this Photo Bug thing!  When Cammie and I each got here, Zim briefed us on it, since our mom has a similar condition.  Basically, no, it cannot be cured.  He told us just to get used to it - and to learn to use it to our best advantage.

"Come on, Mom!  There could be birdies down this way!  Really!"
"Oooh!  Was that a flock of Snow Geese?  Hurry, Mom!"

Isn't Zim smart?!!?  An extra walk for him and Cammie, all in the name of photographing birdies!

Our Aunt Shelli asked us, via email, "Have you met Roger, Maggie?"  As some of you know, Roger is a stuffed rat from Australia who resides in Mom's Quilt Studio.  Zim's bestest friend Huffle Mawson sent him to live here at Ao4 HQs.  Cammie got to meet him not too terribly long ago, but I hadn't met him yet.  I thought Aunt Shelli had a great idea there, and the next time I was down in the Studio, well ... Mom made a wild throw with my Hol-EE Roller ball and ...

"Hey, what's this?  Some kind of hamster ball?  This looks like--"

"BOOM!!!"
"Helpppppp!!!!  Hellllppppp!"

I don't think we need to discuss this any further.

Our last question for this session of PMQs comes from our cute friend Sasha! She inquired, "Maggie, do you think I should have my favorite cookie every day after supper or after lunch or(hopefully) both??" Oh, Sasha! Your favorite cookie!?! Not only should you get one after lunch AND supper, but you need one for a bedtime snack, as well. Seriously. Just look at your mom like this:

"Sigh.  I'm so sad.  And hungry."

Use those big, brown eyes of yours with gusto!  Your mom will be doling out extra treats in no time!

This concludes PMQs for this session.  I hope my answers have been satisfactory.  Please feel free to leave any further queries in the comments section or zip us an email!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher