Wordless Wednesday

Cam and Mags

Good News!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Good news to report from Ao4 Headquarters!  Oh, no ... they aren't done with all the remodeling yet.  Puh-leez.  BUT they had most of the things done in the bathroom on Friday, so over the weekend Mom and Dad installed the new blinds in the walk-in closet.  See ... the remodel guys had to bring some large things in through the closet windows then into the bathroom.  They took the blinds down and stuck them on a shelf in there and the first guy stored a bunch of his stuff in there ... and let's just say they got a bit beat up.  Broken.  Ka-put.  SO ... the good news is -- check out the new blinds Mom put up!

"What the ... ?  Hey ... didn't I have those blinds shut?"

Aren't they great?!?! They're those cordless cellulars I was telling you about!!!

Previously, at Ao4 Headquarters ...

"Awesome!  Cordless cellulars!  Oooh!  I can see the whole front street from here!"

I've never been able to check the view from those windows before!  How cool is that?!?!  Isn't this great news?!!?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Did We Hear ...

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cam.  The other afternoon, Maggie and I were in the living room, when we thought we heard ... out of the kitchen ...

"Excuse me.  Did we hear a banana?!?"
"She's got fruit, Cam!  Swarm!  Swarm!  Swarm!!!"
"I just ... weren't you two in the other room?"

... as if we wouldn't have heard her peeling it!  Ha!

You're never alone in this house if you have a piece of fruit!  

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  This week, we thought you might get a big dose of serenity just looking through a few photos from this morning's walk.  Are you ready to come with us?

Look at all this great Fall color!

We hope you enjoyed our walk through the colorful, crispy leaves!

"New England's got nothin' on us!"
"I don't know why they don't do leaf tours of Kansas!"

There's nothing quite like Fall foliage to make us feel nice and serene!  (... except maybe for a foot of snow ...)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Cammie!

SATURDAY!

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie. Today is Saturday, and I think we ALL deserve a bit of a break!

"Whew, what a week!"

Don't you?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Boxing AND Crinkly Paper!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Did the title get the attention of all of my kit-cat friends?  Yesterday was such a great day - I wish you all could have been here!

After the remodel guys left, the guy in the brown truck rang our doorbell. He brought me a BOX with lots of crinkly paper! It was so awesome!

"It fits PERFECTLY, Mom!  Thanks!  Can I play with the paper, too?!?"
"Cam, do you want to play with the paper, too?"
"Is she getting treats?"

How great is that?!?  I knew Cam wouldn't want to box with me, but I thought she'd have fun with the crinkly paper!

"This is so great!  Take our picture, Mom!"
"I better get some tasty treats out of this!" 

Cam didn't seem too ... comfortable with the whole "playing in the crinkly paper" thing for some reason, but I'm proud of her for trying!

"It's ... touching me!!!"
"I know!  Isn't it cool!?!?"

I'm not sure she enjoyed it as much as I did, but at least she did get a couple of those crunchy Zuke's!

If any of my fellow Boxers or kit-cat pals want to come over, the box and paper are mine through the weekend!  Come on over!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

The Blinds

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  The other day, I told you about The Painters being here and Cam mentioned that I know how to open the blinds.  Our friends Kiki and Nala wondered how to do it, so I thought I'd put together a little tutorial.

Mom tried to shoot a video of me in action, but (1) I'm fast and (2) I'm sneaky.  Here's the gist of it!

First, you need those cellular cordless blinds.  Ours happen to be bottom up and top down, but I can't really reach the top, so that part doesn't matter.  There is a little tab at the bottom for the bipeds to grasp when they open them -- you don't really need that, but you can use it if you need to. Press your ear tips gently against the blind to hold it in place, then scoop the blind up with your snooter!

"Annnnd .... I'm in.  Hey.  Somebody left the gate open!"

Note the ear tip.  Don't press so hard that you damage the blinds, just enough to hold them steady.  That comes in handy for the "sneaky" part -- you don't want the blinds rattling around, making noise if you're trying to be sneaky.  You know -- like if your Dad doesn't really know that you know how to open the blinds.  Ahem, Dad.

Before you know it, you'll be in business.

"What the ..."
"Yeah.  I see you, Mr. The Painter!!!"

Kiki and Nala - and anyone else out there who was curious - I hope you'll give this a try.  There's really nothing to it.  It's really a great skill to have.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cam and Mags

Snowball Effect

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  As part of the bathroom remodel, they changed out a window in there, which meant they had to replace siding, which meant the whole house needs to be repainted. I'm not sure how that works, but that's how it goes.  Anyway ... Mom and Dad thought while they were at it, they'd replace the outdoor lighting and house numbers.  They thought doing that part themselves would be better.  And faster.  Much faster.

The Painters haven't done the trim yet, but over the weekend, Mom and Dad put the new fixtures up!  Once darkness fell, I went out to have a look!

"Oooh!  I can see everything out here now!"

They're super happy with the lights and the numbers, and are really happy with the paint color.  The Painters should get the trim done this week, weather depending.

"Any coyotes sneaking around?"

The lights are nice and bright, and are LED -- they'll burn cooler and last for decades!

It seems like every part of the house is getting some work done!  Mom says it's like a snowball rolling downhill, gathering snow.  I'm not sure what she means, but I'm all in favor of snowballs!

Cammie!

Oh. Yeah.

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Thank you for your kind words on our Serene Scenery Sunday post!  We were super-cooperative, weren't we?!?

"See?  Super-cooperative!  Right, Mags?  ... Mags?"
"Uh ... yeah, Cam.  Whatever."

Oh.  Yeah.  Well ... there may have been a few outtakes. Like remember that blue sky?

"It's gorgeous!  Look at all that blue!"
"Oh, VERY pretty!"

We also tried a couple shots up in the Friendship Garden.

"I think I see the neighbors."
"I can't see them ..."

That didn't go so well. EXCEPT for this lovely portrait:

Me!  D'Azul's Girl From Ipanema - Cameron!

See? Isn't that nice? Errrr ... don't ask why Maggie isn't in the shot. You reeeeeeally don't want to know.

Have a great Monday!

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Yesterday after our walk, Mom and Dad worked on a gazillion projects, then Mom took us girls into the backyard for some playtime and a photo shoot.  We thought we'd share the best photos with you for Serene Scenery Sunday.

It was a gorgeous Fall day -- check out the sky!

Maggie and me in the yard

Bluer than blue, and not a cloud to be seen!

Mom especially wanted to capture us in front of some of the Fall color, so we headed over to where the Amur Maples are.

Me and Mags under a spreading  Chestnu*  Amur Maple Tree

*Hat tip to Longfellow.

Anyway, too much dappled lighting on our faces; we tried again!  Oh.  And please don't mind the ladders; they belong to The Painters, who are still working on the house.

Me and Mags.  Amur Maples.

Mom decided to -- wait.  Did I mention she had cookies?  She did.  Quite serene!  Anyway, she decided to get us facing the other way -

Me and Mags, in what I'd call the Money Shot!

I'd say that's a lot of nice serene scenery!  We hope you enjoyed our gorgeous Fall colors!

Cammie!

On Base

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  We have a new rule in the Studio.  It started when Mom put a denim quilt she made about a gazillion years on the floor and told Maggie and me we could use it to nap on down there.  We thought we'd make it "base".  You know -- for when you're playing a round of Crazed River Otter Games ...

Maggie and me in a rousing round of CROG

... and you need a quick break.

"See?  Maggie can't get me, 'cause I'm on base!"
"Yeah.  She's on base!"

It works out really well!

"Let me know when you're done being on base, Cam."
"Yeah.  Well ... this is pretty comfy, Mags.  It could be a while."

"Don't worry; she'll find something to do."

Oh.  That's a big quilt Mom was working on there on the floor behind me.  She needed to lay it out to see what she was doing.  Mom asked Maggie to help her since we were done with our round of CROG.

"What do you think, Mags?"
"Yeah, Mom.  Looks great.  Zzz..."

I did say it was a rousing round of CROG -- we were both pretty wiped out!

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Cammie!

The Painters

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  So ... yesterday, we entered a new phase in this Great Remodel of 2018 -- these guys called "The Painters" showed up.  Not for the inside - for the outside.  We had a window in the bathroom changed out, so they had to replace siding ... which meant the whole house needed repainted.  Anyway, they were working on the side of the house by our breakfast room and Dad thought he should close the blinds to (1) give The Painters some privacy and (2) to give us in the house some privacy.

I had other ideas.

"Ha roo, Painters!  Careful on that ladder."
"Does Dad not know she can open the blinds?"
"I think he just figured that out, Cam."

I mean - won't they get lots more done with me staring at them?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Alert!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  When Cam and I aren't confined to certain areas of the house due to the remodel, I resume my Guard Duty duties.  Guard Duties?  Whatever.

One of my favorite posts by is this window in the Living Room:

Me, on Guard Duty

If I see something amiss, it's my duty let everyone know something is out there!

Oh, not by making noise. I don't do that. Nor does Cam. We're Siberians. Here's how Mom knows something is going on:

Me, giving the alert

Yep! A sure sign!

You do see the changes in my ear posture, right? That's how we Siberians let our people know. How do you let yours know if you see something?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cam

Launch Pad

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  I've discovered some sort of launch pad in the Library.

"Hey, Cam. What do you think?"
"Go for it, Maggie!!"

We're thinking I could hit that at a run and clear the line of chairs, Cammie, and the ottoman, landing on the carpet.  Who all thinks I should give it a go?  No need to run it past my mom, I'm sure she's a "yes"; she's the one who put the launch pad where it is!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Marvelous Monday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Mom keeps saying she has a feeling this Winter is going to be very snowy.  I'm not sure about Winter, which starts on the 21st of December, but Fall is looking mighty good!  This is the scene we came out to this morning:

"So those flurries last night weren't just a tease!"
"Isn't this beautiful, Maggie?!!?"

It is the perfect first snowfall of  Winter  Fall!

"Dad doesn't even need to shovel!"
"And yet look at all this lovely snow!"

"Isn't this great, Maggie?!?"
"This is so awesome!"

Here's the view out back:

This is shaping up to be a marvelous Fall!!!

Cammie!

Serene Sunday - The Library Version

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  I can't believe that so many of you actually thought that the lovely photos of us in the Library yesterday were the prelude to a round of Crazed River Otter Games (CROG).  I mean, we showed our winning smiles and I just happened to notice something on Cam's neck and was going to make it right ...

"No, really.  Just a little something ..."
"Can you get it?  What is it?"

"It's ... ME!  BOOM!"
"BOOM!"

I mean ... we really couldn't help it.

"Quiet round of CROG, Mags?"
"You're on!"

"YAY!  CROG in the Library!"
"Keep it down!  This is still a Library!!"

She had a point!  We circled around the ottoman a few times ...

We're in quiet mode; can you tell?

"We're ninjas!"
"Ninja River Otters!"

"I will BOOM you before you even see me coming!"
"I bow to you, sensei!"

It was all very quiet -- and serene!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Quiet Time

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Thanks for all the happy wishes yesterday - we had great fun all day long!

Since the remodeling guy is just on the main floor for right now, Cam and I have been going to the Studio to help Mom - that way, we can shut the door to the downstairs, have freedom down there, but still be safe.  Us girls all took a break and slipped into the Library for a bit.  You know - for some quiet time.

"Yeah.  Nothing like some quiet time! Right, Mom?"
"That's what libraries are for!"

"Wait a minute.  Cam, you have a little somethin' right here..."
"Ha woo roo woo!!!"
"Oh, my girls!  ❤"

We were pretty quiet!  I mean - if it wasn't for our tags jingling, we would have been like silent ninjas!  Quiet time is really fun!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Guess What Day It Is?!?

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I have a never-seen-before photo for you to help answer the question posed in the title - ready?!?

"Hello?"
"Hello!"

Who guessed that that's when Maggie and I first met?!?  That's right!  It's Adopt-a-Maggie Day!  My Maggie's homecoming!

Here's one of the photos I've shared before; it's a favorite!  It's me and our great-brother Zimmie seeing Mags for the very first time!

"PUPPY!!!"
Dad:  "I thought you'd want to go potty first..."
"PUPPY!!!"
"Hello?"
Mom:  "SQUEEEEE!"

What great memories!  Please celebrate with us!  Maggie and I are having a great day so far!

Cammie!