Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  I thought I'd share a recent picture of me soaking up some calm vibes in our backyard.

"Ah, sweet serenity!"

Can you feel it?!?

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Chaos!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Remember the interrupted meeting Maggie showed you yesterday?  It was our big Friday Planning Session and it's a really important part of our week. Without it, there would be chaos around here.  Like this ...

"Hey!  Didn't we decide it was your turn to blog today?"
"No!!!  It's your turn!  ... Isn't it?"

I think we didn't get to that part of our planning session.  Maggie was right - we need a private conference room!

Cammie!

It's Friday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Cammie and I were just in our Friday meeting when ...

"OH!  Uh ... hi, Mom!"
"She's right behind me, isn't she?"
"Hi, girls!  What are you two up to?"

I mean, come on.  It's Friday and we have to lay in some plans for the weekend!  Am I right?

I think we need a private conference room.  I'm going to look into that!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Take A Guess

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Maggie and I had quite the interesting afternoon the other day.  One of us was a very good girl and had her nails done and the other one provided comic relief. Would you like to guess which one of us did which?  Here are a couple hints, in the form of photos:

"Next, please!"
"Good girl, Cammie!!!"

"Hey!  Whatcha doing?  Are those treats you've got there?  Check out this cute pose!"
"Uh ... Maggie.  You're on the ottoman.  You're not allowed up there, you know."

Go ahead.  Take a wild guess.

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

TV/Movie Review

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  I realized I haven't done a TV/movie review in quite a while, so I thought I'd do a quick one today.

A couple of weeks ago, we finally got caught up on the most recent season of The Last Kingdom.  (We wait for all of the season's episodes to air, then binge watch.) Anyway ... it's historical fiction based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories series of novels. Is it as good as the books? Nothing really ever is, but this series does a great job bringing the books to life! I was riveted to the TV!

"OOOH!  It's Uhtred!  He's awesome!"

The story starts in the 870s, and is a great Danes versus Saxons, Saxons versus Danes show.  Lots of action, lots of drama, lots of scenes with horses!, and plenty of good guys, bad guys.

"I don't want to say anything, but things aren't looking so hot for you, Aelswith!"

I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I highly recommend both the series and the books!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Memorial Day 2020

Here in the United States, the last Monday in May is Memorial Day -- a day to honor our war dead.

"Ruptured Duck" grave marker honoring a WWII veteran

It is a day of reverence, respect, and reflection rather than one of celebration.

Originally called Decoration Day, this was a day on which flags and flowers were placed on the graves of soldiers who died in the American Civil War.

Today we remember all of our service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Please remember to take time today to honor our fallen service members.

Monument honoring those who deployed through Ft. Riley, KS, to fight in the War on Terrorism;
names of those who have fallen are etched in the towers

May God bless the souls of our fallen veterans and comfort their families. We will not forget you!

Cam, Mags, and our bipeds

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  The other afternoon, we had some awesome-looking skies.  I thought you might find them as serene as I did.

"Oooooh, check out that view!"

Isn't that beautiful?  Mom asked me nicely to pose for her, so I obliged:

Me, doing my Regal Look

I was feeling very serene!  I hope you are now, too!

Cammie!

The Silent Approach

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  As you may have seen in yesterday's post, sometimes I do need to yell at our mom to get her to fill up our Pickles with tasty treats.  And then other times ...

"Look into my eyes.  Deeper.  Deeeeeeper.  You will now reach for the cookie jar ..."
"Yes, Cammie.  Is this enough treats?"
"Hey, you're getting some for me, too, right?!?"

And that's all it takes!

Cammie!

Friday Fast One

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  So there Cammie and I were, being EVER so innocent ...

"What?!?  Us?  Scheming?!?  No ... Cam fell asleep with her head on my leg and now I can't move."
"And then I'll yell at Mom until she fills our Pickl---oh.  Quick thinking, Mags!  I didn't see her there!"

I mean ... it's not like we were in a planning session or anything.  Reeeeeally.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Memorial Day

Greetings to all.  It's me, Mags.  This morning, Dad and I walked up the hill on the big road - much like many other mornings.  Only today, it looked a little different.

"Get a shot of this, Dad."

See all the flags?

"Gearing up for Memorial Day, huh, Dad?"

"We should take a moment now to remember our fallen service members."

It's really nice that the local businesses put out the flags like this.

"What a great thing to do!"

How does your local community honor Memorial Day?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Guac On!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Last week or so, we got something super cool in the mail!!!  Check this out:

"She MADE this?!?"

Isn't that the coolest thing ever?  It's a 3-D card of avocados!  Mom's friend Nancy in Texas made it for her!

Avos are a big favorite here at Ao4 Headquarters.  Not that Cam and I get to have any.  I asked my mom if I could eat these ones and she said, "No."  Naturally, I gave it a quick lick anyway.

"Mmm!  Tasty!"

Dare I say it guac-ed my world?

Just kidding; I didn't really taste it, I got a cookie instead.  Ha roo roo roo!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Excuse Me ...

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  In case anyone was wondering ...

"Excuse me, but my Pickle appears to be empty."

... I could use a little help.

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  For Serene Scenery Sunday, I thought we'd head out into the backyard today - what do you say?!?

Up here on the top retaining wall, there's a great view toward the west:

"Oh, yeah.  Very serene!"

You can almost smell Colorado!

Let's move further down that same wall!

"Such sweet serenity!"

"Give me a few minutes here, Mom.  I'm in the zen zone!"

I hope you find some serenity today, too!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Armed Forces Day 2020

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Today is Armed Forces Day here in the US, the day we celebrate those who serve or who have served in our nation's military! In honor of them, here's my best War Face:

Me, Polargold's Margaret Thatcher

It's hard to do a real fierce War Face when you're in the Friendship Garden, but you get the gist!

On behalf of all of us at Ao4 Headquarters, our heartfelt appreciation to those who honorably served or who are serving in our Armed Forces!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

We're Late Posting

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Sorry we're late posting today, but Cam and I were in an important meeting.

"We are very busy Siberians!"
"Yes, we are.  Plus, we needed to get a nap in."

Well, yeah.  That, too.

Happy Friday!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Today, I thought----oh, wait!  WAIT!  I think I hear Mom ripping into a new bag of treats.

"Hi, Mom.  Whatcha got there?  MAGS!  Come quick!"
"Right behind you, Cam!  Cute poses on 3.  1, 2, 3!!!"

Sorry.  We had to tend to something extremely important.  

And I totally lost my train of thought for the post.  Sorry.  But WOW, are those new treats tasty!!!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

Quick Garden Tour

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  I thought I'd show you a few things that are blooming down in our backyard -- ready to take a look?

Right by the gate, we have a lovely Miss Kim Lilac bush.

"Get a shot of me over here, Mom!"

Can you tell the blooms are about to pop open? Let's get a close up!

Miss Kim Lilacs

For whatever reason, none of our Lilacs have been very showy this year. It's been cold, though - that might have something to do with it.

Over on the other side of the yard, our Yarrows are budding up - let's go in for a close up of those, too!!!

"Oooh, yeah!  Check these out!"
"Margaret THATCHER!"

I was just appreciating Mom's plants ... right?

"Fine.  'Sit on the retaining wall.  Don't eat the Yarrow.'  Whatever."

"Oooh!  Are those Daisies?!?"

And thus ends our garden tour for now, for some reason.  Anyway - I hope you enjoyed seeing a couple things springing to life!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret ILoveItWhenMomUsesMyFullName Thatcher

Attention Commuters

Attention commuters!  There is a 2-Sibe pileup on the Living Room Expressway, by the Kitchen exit.

Please use the alternate Dining Room Parkway route until    we've finished our naps   we get this cleared up.

Thank you!

Cam and Mags

Picky, Picky, Picky!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags!  Yesterday afternoon, Mom and I played around in the backyard together for a while, then I did some serious garden posing.  Mom likes that sort of thing, so I was happy to oblige.

Right.

She also had treats.

Anyway, when we went down by our Linda Irises ...

"Margaret THATCHER!"
"What?!?  I was just going to pick some flowers for you!"
"You were going to EAT some flowers."

As the title of this post says, "Picky, picky, picky!"

Anyway, happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, be they moms of bipeds or quadrupeds!  I know one dog-mom who won't be getting a hand-picked bouquet! Or is that "teeth-picked"?  Hmm.  I wonder if she'd buy into the whole thing as being Cam's idea?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Modeling Gig

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  I got all excited the other day because Mom asked me to do some modeling for her.  Usually there are all kinds of tasty treats involved, so I was all for it.  Much to my chagrin ...

"Seriously, Mom?"

Fine.  It's a pleated, tie-on mask.  Great.  Whatever.  I do like the pirate motif, though.

"Now untie me and hand over the booty, or ye'll be walking the plank!"

How am I supposed to receive payment with a mask on?!!?

Note:  always check the fine print before accepting a new modeling gig.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Your Friday "Aww"

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  The other night during TV time, Maggie and I did this:

Maggie and me

What can I say?  We love each other!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cammie!

Deck Weather

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  We've been having some nice, cool weather lately - which means perfect deck sitting weather!  I love relaxing out there ...

"This is so nice and relaxing!"

... while Maggie takes a different approach to deck time:

"Walkers at 3 o'clock, Cam!"

Mom and Dad like drinking coffee out there - there's something for everyone!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

Hello, Down There!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  This is a little something my mom calls "How To Tell If The Neighbor Is Outside":

"Hey!  Tao!  Need any help?  I've got your back!"

Hey, he was doing a lot of heavy yard work, moving rocks around - he NEEDED me!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

It's A Nice Day For A ...

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  We're getting a real house-shaking, Kansas-y thunderstorm this morning.  Do you know what I recommend?

"It's a nice day for a NAP!"

Snuggle up and get some rest!

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  For this week's dose of serenity, I thought we'd take a look at what's blooming out front.  Ready to take a look?

We'll start with the blooms that make Cam and me the most serene ... our SNOWBALLS!

"Ah, such sweet serenity!"

I mean, what could be better than snowballs, right?  Since it's now way too warm for real ones, we'll settle for our Snowball Viburnum bush.

Just a little bit over from that are our Beth Lily Of The Valley:

"They smell incredible!"

Our friend Beth gave them to us!  They're a bit larger, fuller, and milkier-looking than our "regular" ones.  They're a lovely addition to our Spring garden!

Speaking of friends, our dear friend Molly's mom sent these Lily Of The Valley to our mom way back in 2009!

"I love these!"

They're PINK!  Mom had never seen pink ones before, so Maggie and Mitch sent some to our great-brother Zim!  You can read all about them here!

Here's a close up:

They are so special to us!  Mom loves having plants from friends in our gardens!

These next plants were also from a friend. They aren't in bloom yet, but they're almost ready to pop open!  Here I am in front of the Peonies:

"Hang on, Mom.  I see people!"

Sorry.  I got distracted.  But I was still serene.

I hope you enjoyed our mini garden tour!  Are your Spring things starting to open?

Enjoy the day, and remember to grab a little serenity where you can!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher