Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Maggie, Mom, and I went out on the deck this morning to enjoy the peacefulness of a drizzly, chilly day.  Care to join us?

"It's really lovely out here!  So quiet, so peaceful, so ..."

"MAGGIE!"
"BOOM!"

Maggie had a little excess energy, so I thought it would be fun to run and play!

'Let's play, Maggie!"
"YES!  Let's do Crazed River Otter Games!!!"

And so ... we engaged in some very relaxing, serene play!

"Let the games begin!"
"Let's go!"

Maggie dove under a chair to try to elude me, but I was right on her heels!

"Nice try, Peeps!"

Wow, can that little puppy move!!!

"Hey!  Wait a sec---"
"Ha roooo!"

Can you tell how fast she is?

I thought THOSE moves were crazy - but check these next two shots out!

"How in the world ... ?"
"Wheeee!"

Incredible!

Here we are, in a double play bow:

"Play bows, Cam!"
"Play bows to you, Mags!"

Unfortunately, Mom didn't catch both of us in the frame, but she was happy anyway.  We were, too - plus a tad bit played out.  We went back up to the upper deck and struck a pose.  Mom had turned the camera off, but shot this with her iPhone:

Maggie and me.  Don't we look serene?

Mom tried a shot with the camera after that.  I decided to do my regal look.

My Maggie and me.

I hope you feel as serene as we do now! Have a lovely Sunday!

Cammie!

Lazy Day

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  It's a foggy, drizzly day here at Ao4 Headquarters - just perfect for settling in after a long walk and taking a little nap.  Right, Mags?

"Youuuuuu betcha, Cam!"
"Exactly right."

Do NOT wake her up.  Please.

Cammie!

Studio Work

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  As you may have noticed, Cam and I have been downstairs lately, helping Mom in the Studio.  Mom said she needed to wait until I was out of a certain crazy puppy stage before we could give it a serious try.  I have no idea what she's talking about.  Anyway, I've spent time down there, but it's been to run around playing Fetch!  Now that I'm a big girl ... it's time to get to work!

"You're not getting started without me, are you?!!?"

That's the outer Studio there.  I didn't want Mom to get started without me!  While she worked on the machine, I squeaked my Squeaky Red Football.  (See Wednesday's post!)  She said I was very helpful.

After that, we moved into the other room of the Studio - the inner room! Mom put some stuff on the floor and I went over to check it out.

"You want to know if they WHAT?!?"

As some of you may recall, my great-brother Dave, who I never had the good fortune to meet, was Mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind.  Mom wanted to see if I had any opinions or interest in color.  I gave it my best shot.

"This denim looks like it would be fun to chew ..."

Either you have the gift or you don't.  So far ... well ... let's just say Mom started checking the Studio for these:

Mom's marbles

She keeps them in an old jar right on her cutting table in case she thinks she's lost them.

We moved back out to the outer Studio. I did a safety check out the French doors. Mom decided to have the curtains open after that.

"But all that sunlight is making me sleepy!"

"Seriously, Mom.  All this work and that bright sunlight ... I can barely keep my peepers open!"

Mom seemed happy about that, for some reason.  Hmm.

Dad was in the Library, so I moved into the Gallery, where I could keep an eye on both him and Mom.

"I'm still here for you, Mom.  Just holler if you need any more help!"

This Studio work thing is pretty tough.  I'm building up to it.  I'll keep you posted on how it all progresses!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Chef-in-Training

Greetings to all - it's me, Maggie.  Thanksgiving is only a week out and there is still so much to do!  Mom has assigned lots of tasks to Cam and me.  Here I am, apron-ing up!

"OK!  Clear the way!  The kitchen is MINE!!!"

I.  Can.  Handle.  This!

Are you helping your bipeds prepare for the big day?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Not Puzzling At All

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I don't think it's puzzling at all ...

"Yes, I KNOW it's 5 degrees out, but I'd like to go out and play!"

... but my mom does!  Come on!  I'm a Siberian Husky!  It's BEAUTIFUL outside!!!

Cammie!

Good News And Bad News

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  I have some good news and some bad news to report in to you today.

The good news is that the UPS man brought us a BOX over the weekend!!!!

The bad news is ...

"Umm... Dad?  I think we're going to need a bigger box!"

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone, it's me, Cammie!  I was going to show you some lovely photos today - ones my mom took out at Tuttle Creek of Pelicans and Herons and stuff - but something better came up!  It all started while we were out on our walk yesterday morning!

Here I am, starting out:

"♩Snowflakes ... on my shoulders make me hap-peeeeee ...♩"

That's right! Lovely, cold, wonderful snow!!! Let's see what Maggie thinks!

"Snow!  Snow!  Snow!!!  Let's go, Dad!!!"

Yep. Safe to say she thinks the snow is way more serene than Pelican pictures!

We didn't get much accumulation, but the first snowfall of the year is always a BLAST! Oh, how Maggie and I missed it! We got to go play outside on the deck this morning with Mom - that was GREAT! Here I am, down on the lower deck!

"Oh ... MAGGIE!!!!"

We had great fun running and playing and wrestling!  We even stopped to consider something ...

"Seriously, Mags.  I think we could do a container-style box garden right up here on the deck!"
"We could do that!?!?"

The mere thought of the two of us growing boxes right up here is a TOTALLY serene dream!

Anyway ... we played a bit more, taking it up onto the lookout:

"Gotcha, Peeps!"
"Urnfff!"

... then for some reason, Mom wanted to go inside.  Something about the temps in the teens and frozen feet.  Whatever!  I just know that it could not GET any more serene!  Unless there was more snow.  According to Mom, it couldn't get any colder.  

I hope you're having a lovely Sunday!  Oh.  And if you would like to see Mom's birdie pictures, please click here.

Cammie!

Two Sibes, Two Techniques

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Mags and I have a much different approach when it comes to having our teeth brushed and we thought we'd share a little comparison with you today.

Mom knows that I strongly prefer the poultry-flavored toothpaste over the mint - and that I like the big, blue toothbrush.  She loads it up, then we go to it! It goes something like this:

"Ready, Cam?"
"Ready, Mom!"

That poultry flavor is irresistible!  Mom brushes up and down and down and up ...

"Und de bunk onezzz..."

Sorry.  I meant "and the back ones".  I want to make sure Mom gets all of my teeth!  It's hard to talk with a toothbrush in your mouth!  Sorry, too, for the poor quality of the photos; Mom was brushing and shooting at the same time.

"Slurp!"

The brushing feels so good - and I just LOVE that toothpaste!  Both Mags and I come running when we hear the door open to where Mom stores our toothbrushes and toothpaste!  For Maggie, though, things go a little ... differently!

As soon as Mom shows Mags that yes, it's toothbrushing-time ...

"Time to brush my teeth?!?"
"Yep!  Ready, Mags?"

The way Maggie looks at it, if the purpose is to get the toothpaste on her teeth ...

"Let's skip the middle-man and just let me eat the toothpaste, huh, Mom?"
"Maggie?!?  The cap, Maggie!"

"Oh, I can chew right through that baby!  Let's make sure we get my molars!"

Sigh.  She eventually does use the toothbrush (hers is the rather chewed-looking one...) and they get the job done.  Oh. And she likes the mint-flavored one.

So ... that's how each of us approach toothbrushing!  We both love it - but go about it differently!  How about all of you?  Do you like having your teeth brushed?

Cammie!

Photo Finish Friday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Just getting a little quiet time in.

"Umm..."

She's ... she's right behind me, isn't she?

Cammie!

Found Another One!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with some exciting news!  Our walk the other day started out much like any other walk ...

"What a great day, huh, Cam?!?"
"Oh, it IS, Maggie!  I love the feel of the wind in my fur!"

Well ... actually it was a bit better than some walks: both Mom and Dad were with us AND we had wind-chills in the single digits. AWESOME! And it only got better! Check this out!!!

"Look everybody!  A BOX!!!"

That's right - someone else with a box garden!!!  This is definitely a new gardening trend and WOW, is it a great one!  This one looked ready for harvest.  I couldn't resist trying it out!

"Here I go!"
"Go, Maggie!"

I hopped right in and checked it out thoroughly!

"This is a GREAT box!!!"
"Is it fully ripe?" 

It looked totally ready to me - but maybe the people were saving it to harvest closer to Boxing Day or something.  Who knows?

"Wait!  Is that a squirrel?!?"
"Where?!?"

I thought there was a squirrel, but I was mistaken.  It's always a good idea to stay vigilant!

"You know, Cam, there's plenty of room in here for you, too!"
"Oh.  Yeah.  Thanks.  I ... um ... think I'll stay out here and snoof through these leaves."

Leaves!  I had forgotten all about the great LEAVES!  I love chasing leaves!

"Box or leaves?  Box or leaves?  What a dilemma!"
"Sniff, sniff, sniff!"

Anyway, what a great walk!  I hope this gardening trend continues.  Maybe when the seed catalogues start coming in, I can drop some hints and "plant a seed" of my own to get Mom and Dad to grow our very own box garden!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

*sigh*

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Veterans Day 2014

On Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, we pay respect to those men and women of the US military who have fallen in service of our great nation.

On Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May, we celebrate and thank all who have served or who are serving in our military.

And today - today is the 11th of November - Veterans Day - the day we honor those those who served or who are serving in combat.

Here at Ao4 Headquarters, we understand that freedom is not free. We thank our veterans for their selfless service, dedication to duty, and their courage. It is because of these men and women that we enjoy the great freedoms we have today. They are the strength of America.

We are proud to be a part of a family filled with many veterans!  Our two favorites are Mom's dad and our own dad!

Here is a photo of Mom's dad in Viet Nam:

Mom's dad, c. 1963, with his counterpart, a Captain in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

That photo is of him as a young Captain.  He went on to serve in the Army for 30 years.

And here is our dad in Korea:

2nd Infantry Division DISCOM Commander (our dad!) with the Korea Service Company Commander

And one of our favorite photos of him:

Dad and great brother Booter

That was after Dad returned home from the first Gulf War.  Dad served in the Army for 27 years.

We are very proud of these two combat veterans and the rest of our family members who served or who are serving!

We are so grateful to our veterans! We appreciate you, we honor you, and we love you. Especially our daddy ... our favorite soldier of all time! May God bless each and every one of you!

With respect,
Cammie and Mags

New Activity!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other day, Mom and I did something we haven't done since I got here.  It was called "going downstairs to the Studio to do some sewing".  It was odd.  Very odd.  Sure, I spend time downstairs, but it's usually playing with my toys or doing zoomies with Cammie.  This was ... different.  I'll tell you more about the whole "sewing" thing another time ... but I found something downstairs that I'd much rather spend time doing than that.

"No really, Mom.  The ball thingie AND the treadmill!"

For some reason, Mom shut the door to the workout room after that.  I have no idea why.  (Also no idea why she shut the door to Dad's office... )

Hope you all have found something interesting to get into today!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher