Wrapping It Up, Napping It Up

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  We are wrapping up 2015 here at Ao4 Headquarters in a strange (for us) way -- Mom and Dad are sick.  They've been passing a nasty head-cold/bug back and forth -- and for two bipeds who very seldom get sick, it's an adjustment for all of us!  We thought we'd wrap things up by showing you what we've been doing.

Santa was a little late, but he did bring Maggie and me some snow:

"How awesome!"
"Oh, it is!!!"

Thank you, Santa. A blizzard would have been better, but some is better than none. At least both Mom and Dad were feeling good enough to go on the walk! (We have walked everyday -- with either Mom, Dad, or both.  They DO have their priorities right!)

When we got back from our snow walk, Dad told Mom she should try to get some rest. She decided to settle in with a book, hoping to slip into a nap. This is how we helped:

"Gotcha!"
"Gotcha back!"
"Hey, girls?  I thought we were going to nap."

She didn't nap, but at least she was entertained!

The next day, while Mags was napping, Mom seized the opportunity and joined her. Here they are:

Mom and Mags.
Mom is the one with blue nails.

Yes, both Maggie and I love to hold paws with Mom. It's what we do.  Mom had too much fun holding paws to nap.  Who could blame her?

Yesterday, Mom wasn't feeling up to the morning walk. I thought I should stay with her - so Maggie took Dad. When they got home, Maggie caught us up on everything we missed:

"Oh, YEAH!  So then, we turned up the trail by Murphy's house..."
"Zzz..."
"Did your daddy buy you an espresso somewhere?"

We apparently missed a LOT!

"And then we saw 87 million squirrels ..."
"Mm... hmm..."
"Were they drinking espresso, too?"

After Mags filled us in, we settled in for a short nap:

"OK; I'm out.  Zzz ..."
"Zzz ..."
"That's it for me, girls."

I really think Mom should adjust her schedule to coincide with ours a bit better, don't you?

Anyway, that's the wrapping up and napping up. Have a great New Year's Eve, everyone -- and remember, if you must drink and drive, make it a bowl of water!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie! (and Mags)

Working Holiday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  As you know, Cam and I are Working Breed pups.  We're always "on", 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail, call now and we'll double our offer.  Work, work, work!!!  As most of you are aware, I spend a lot of time helping Mom.  And I do.

"We've got this, Mom!"

Yes, it's exhausting work, but I was bred for this sort of thing! Oh. And don't think for one minute I don't help Dad out, too!

"I'm here for you, D--hey.  Can you turn the TV up a little?"

I'm a professional.

"Better, thanks.  Oooh, Dr. Who!"

Do not try this at home.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Stick To It

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Cam and I took Mom and Dad for a lovely walk yesterday morning.

Me and Cam, in perfect step with each other!

Other than launching into Crazed River Otter Games, what could make a great walk even better, you might ask?

"A STICK!  A STICK!  Look, everybody!  I found a STICK!!!"

And not just any stick, either.

"WOWZERS!!!"

It wrestled me back and everything!  It was the best stick EVER! What a great walk!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Now That Santa's Not Watching...

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Now that Christmas is almost over, Mom will be removing the trees from the front porch soon ... which means no more posing by them!  In hats!  And bandana hats!  And possibly both!  Well, OK, I didn't have to do both.  Not outside, anyway.  But Cam and I were discussing this on our walk the other morning.

As we reached my favorite corner (the corner of Churchill and Churchill), it hit me.

"Yeah, you know what I'd do with those trees, Cam?!?"
"Now, Maggie..."

Cam is always the voice of calm and reason. We might have fantasized a bit about what we'd do to the trees when we got home ...

If the movie won't play, please click here to view on YouTube.

A missile strike!!??!!  Why didn't I think of that?!?!

Now ... what to do with the hats ...

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Boxing Day 2015

Greetings to all!  It's me, Polargold's Margaret Thatcher.  Just call me Mags.  You know what today is, right?!?  It's BOXING DAY!!!

"Happy Boxing Day to all of you Boxers out there!"
"And to all of my fellow boxers with a small 'b', too!"

A day to celebrate how awesome boxes are!

"I have no idea why we don't play up Boxing Day as much here as they do in the UK!"

"Hmm.  Are there treats associated with Boxing Day?"
"Mom? Don't you think Cam should join me in my box?"

Mom said the real treat on Boxing Day is the boxes themselves.  I got out and ran around playing Crazed River Otter Games with Cam for a bit -- that's a Boxing Day tradition, too! -- then jumped back into my box.  I had forgotten there was crinkly paper in my box - so I dove right back in!

"Crinkly paper!!!"
"Blah."

"Best Boxing Day EVER!!!"
"If you're happy, I'm happy!"

"If anyone wants to stop by to box with me, I'll be right here waiting!"

Happy Boxing Day to all!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Christmas 2015

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." 

Luke 2:9-11 King James Version 

"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." 

Luke 2:12-14 King James Version 

From all of us at Ao4 Headquarters, we wish you and your families a most joyous Christmas!

"Isn't this where we toss our hats in the air, then rip them apart?"
"I think she's right, Mom..."

Merry Christmas!
Mags, Cammie, and our mom and dad

Christmas Eve!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie - and it's Christmas Eve Day!  You know what that means, right? Right. Time for one final plea to Santa Claus.

Cam and I have been SO good!  We help around the house, we make sure Mom and Dad get plenty of exercise, and we bring smiles to faces all OVER the place!

"I can't even remember the last time the Maggie Motion Monitor went off!"

Look!  I'll share one of those Santa hats with Cammie!

"I'd even be happy to share BOTH of them with her!"
"No... you've done more than enough already.  Seriously.  But thank you."

See how polite we are?  We try to remember our manners - especially to say "thank you"!  For instance ... we received this package in the mail just the other day!

"Really, Mom?  It's for us?"
"And we can open it now?"

How exciting!

"Oooh!  That stamp reads 'Royal Mail'!  I know who this is from!!!"
"I smell the faintest hint of Puppicinio ..."

It was from our dear friend in the UK - Princess Leah!!!  She sent us a beautiful card in with the gifts.  Mom asked us to pose with it.  What with Leah being a princess and all, I thought she deserved a throne.  I jumped up onto the big ottoman and brought her with me!

"Thank you so much, Princess Leah!"
"And Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family!"

Let's zoom in:

Me and Princess Leah!  Isn't she beautiful?  So regal!

Yep.  Just hopped up there to make her feel at home.  You know, a throne for a princess and all that.

Oh.  Oh, so Mom pointed out that Leah was wearing a Santa hat in her photo and that if I really wanted to bond with her ...

"Only for you, Princess!  Ho ho ho!!"

Anyway, as you might know, I love watching the TV show "Death in Paradise" - and Princess Leah's mum worked on the show!  She sent us a some "Death in Paradise" themed gifts - a jigsaw puzzle (Mom loves doing those!), a CD of the cool music, and a set of DVDs from the latest season!  Thank you SO much, Princess Leah and your mom!  I can't wait to get caught up with the show!  (An update:  Techno-dad was able to rip the DVDs to his computer, move them to a flash drive, then put them in iTunes; we'll be able to watch that on the TV.  Somehow.  I have no idea.  It's magic.  But it WORKS!!!)

So ... Santa?!?  Really.  Cam and I have been good - plain and simple.  Trust me.  I'm a Siberian Husky!  See you tonight?!?!

"C'mon, Cam!  Santa won't mind a round of Crazed River Otter Games!"
"Maybe just a short round ..."

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Well, It's Wednesday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Normally, we'd do a Wordless Wednesday post, but then normally, we aren't dressed up in Santa hats and made to pose on the front porch.  In front of the entire world!  (Or at least the west side of town.)  (Or at least our neighborhood.)

You know the routine - Mom's great idea of getting us to pose on the porch for "the" Christmas shot.  She did it for our first Christmas here, she did it last year, and yep, she's been trying it this year, too!  You'd think she'd just give it a rest, but no.  She's as stubborn as a Siberian Husk--oh.  Yeah. Never mind.  Anyway, here's a look into how things went the other day.

We were both sitting like good girls, facing Mom and everything, when ...

"Wait.  My hat is slipping over my eyes."
"Hey, Mom.  The flag isn't cooperating, either!"

Yeah.  The Kansas wind can be a little tricky to work with. Mom waited for just the right second for the flag to lay the right way and ...

"Sigh.   I need a nap.  Not feeling it."
"Yeah.  Me neither."

Well, sure, she had treats.  But they weren't ones that really WOWed us.  Mom moved in closer, but ...

"Yes.  Yes, Mom.  This IS my imitation of Grumpy Cat."
"This is my look of total ennui."

It's not like she asked us if WE felt like posing!  And there's a fine line between catching us when we aren't in zoomie-mode and catching us right before nap time!

"Oh, great.  Now the neighbors are out."
"They can't see us in these hats, can they?"

So ... that's how that session went. Oh, fear not! She didn't give up. Stay tuned for the next day's fun. "Fun". Riiiiiight.

Ho ho ho!
Cammie!

Still Being Good!

Hello, everyone.  And especially Santa, if you're reading.  Though if you're reading, just how closely are you watching us, too?  Hmm...

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that Mags and I are still being good.

"Hello, everyone."

What? Oh, sure, Mom. I'd love to do some snooter-hanging, too.

"Is that some Wooscotti you've got there?"

Yep.  Being very, very good.

I know all of you are doing the same - right???!!!???

Cammie!

Let's Move Over To My Sitzbank

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Have I mentioned that Mom hung a few of her little quilts by my sitzbank?  It makes the entry to the house nice and festive, plus it decorates my sitzbank area so nicely!  I thought I'd jump up as part of the photoshoot - then Mom decided if I was going to be up there, I could also wear the Santa Hat, the Santa Hat as a bandana, AND have the "ho ho ho" pillow hanging from my snooter.  I thought it was an awful lot to ask for ... but ...

"Sigh.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  'Santa's watching'.  Whatevs."

Oh, right.  What I meant to say was, "Ho ho," and "ho."

"Ah.  Look at that.  The pillow fell off my snooter.  Mom?  You OK?  Mom?"

Mom seemed kind of slanty or something.  I figured the shoot was over.

"Hey!  Who turned out the lights?"

I got a little stuck.

Oh.  And apparently the shoot wasn't quite over.

Right.  If you're interested, here is a look at Mom's little quilts:

Flying angel - note the coffee bean fabric for her hair.  No decaf there!

Hearts and antique buttons

This one is our favorite:

Judges 19:6
"...let your heart be merry."

Our great brother  Zim liked that one a lot, too.  It comes in handy.  Especially when you're dodging that whole "no Siberians allowed on the furniture" thing.  I'm fairly sure the sitzbank doesn't count.

"Seriously?"

Anyway, have a great Monday, everyone!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Serene Snowy Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Well, yes - Serene "Snowy" Sunday.  Sadly, as I compose this blog entry, it is a blistering 52.6 degrees Fahrenheit outside of Ao4 Headquarters, so we're talking the artificial kind of snow.  Oh, sure, we have 45 mph wind gusts, and those are all kinds of fun - especially when you're out on a walk and a LEAF blows by and you pounce on it!  TOTALLY fun.  But ... not as fun as snow.  Not when you're a Siberian Husky, anyway.

In an effort to put the horrid weather conditions aside, Cam and I thought we'd show you some of the snowman decorations around the house.

"I just stopped in to say 'hello', everyone!"
"And because Mom has cookies."
"That, too."

Let's start with the snowman just behind us!  Take a look:

A snowman bearing a gift!

He looks happy, doesn't he?  That's because he's made from fine china, not snow.

Anyway, he's joined on the dining room hutch by these guys:

Soft, squishy snowmen!

I briefly met the guy on the far left, before he was placed "up high".  Too bad.  He smelled  tasty  interesting.  Whatever.

Here's a wooden snowman:

He's the one who brought up 'melting', not me!

Mom made a few quilts with snowmen on them that are scattered around.  We showed you the one by the patriotic tree  a couple weeks ago.  One of the others is hanging above one of my and Cammie's beds:

"Hmm.  'In the meadow we can build a snowman.' That sounds like fun ..."

It sure would be more serene around here with real snowmen!

"And if I could ditch this Santa hat."

Maybe once this crazy jet stream moves off of us.  I need to bone up on my meteorology type of knowledge.  Or - since Cam and I have been SO GOOD - maybe Santa will bring us some snow!!!

Have a serene Sunday, everyone.  And for those of you with snow - please enjoy it for all of us!!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher