Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags, here with this week's foray into serenity!  Ready to take a look at our most serene moments?

Mom spent a lot of time in the garden again this week.  While she was in the back gardens, we supervised from the deck, like so:

"Don't work too hard, Mom!"
"BOOM!"

Sure, it's work, but it's joyful work!

Afterwards, us girls (me, Cam, and Mom) relaxed on the deck together.

"I'm Queen of the Stairs!"
"Prepare to be de-throned!"

I got to go inspect Mom's work. She spent a good deal of time planting sedum up in this area:

"Where are the new plants, Mom? ..."

"I can't ... sedum.  Ha roo roo roo!!!"

Just kidding.  Mom has been rooting some cuttings from a bunch of sedums a neighbor gave her.  She put them all over the place - and a lot of them in this special place up here.  We don't have an official name for that part of the garden (we have the Butterfly Garden, the Wildflower Garden, and the Bee Garden - Cammie named that just a couple weeks ago!). My proposal, given what Mom's been planting, is the Garden of Sedum. What do you think? Catchy?

Moving right along ...

I sat on this chunk of limestone while Mom watered the Purple Love Grasses.

"Not too much; we don't want root-rot!"

There is one by that blue flag and the rock. They are just root balls now, so Mom marked all of her new root plants with flags - that way she won't step on them by accident and she'll remember exactly where they are, come Springtime!

As for what's pretty in the gardens right now ... nothing says "Fall" or "Autumn" quite like Mums! Here is Cammie, posing by the Mums out front:

My beautiful sister Cammie!

And here I am:

Me - Maggie!

We both look serene and sweet, don't we? There is no reason to ask why Mom couldn't get a photo of the two of us in front of said Mums. Really. We're being serene here!

Did you know that one man's serenity is another man's horsing around? Just an observation, not relevant to anything at all.

To close it out, here is a shot of me and Cam after our walk this morning:

"I feel nice and serene now!"
"So do I!"

Have a great Sunday, everyone!  Find some serenity!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Walkies!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Remember a few weeks ago we told you about a new treat, Walkies! Fit Bites, by the good folks at Crazy Dog?  Since they were so kind as to send us three bags, we thought we'd share with our friend's puppies - the Border Collies who go hiking all over Tuttle Creek and other locales with Mom and Beth while they stalk birdies.  (The bipeds stalk the birdies ... Moss and Seamus work security for them.)

Anyway, Moss and Seamus put in a good many miles with their mom, so we thought Walkies! Fit Bites would be right up their alley, too!  Mom asked Beth if it was OK first, of course, and she said yes!  She has given them Crazy Dog's Train Me! treats before, so she was happy to let the boys try these.

Mom pulled the bag of beef Walkies! Fit Bites out of her HR-V at the trailhead where they met up.

"What does the lady who smells like Siberians have, Mom?"
"Wait, Moss.  I'm going to sneak a peak at her ..."

Mom had the camera (the iPhone) and the treats, but Beth had the boys' full attention.  See, they are Border Collies.  It's like their eyes never leave Beth.  They wait for her to tell them what to do, hanging on her every word and every move.  It's ... very un-Siberian!

"What do you want me to do now, Mom?"
"Lady who smells like Siberians?  Are those for us?!?"

Anyway ... like our mom, Beth likes that they are made in the USA!  She tore open the easy-open, resealable bag and got a few out.

"What's in your hand?!?!  Are those for us?!?!"
"I can't WAIT!"

"But I AM sitting!"
"I forgot!"

Seamus is over 14, so sometimes he tries to break the rules.  Way to go, handsome!!!  Embrace your inner Siberian!!!

Sorry.  On to the taste-test!

One for Moss!

And one for Seamus!

The Walkies! Fit Bites are very palatable to the pups; they love them - and so does Beth!  She said they are a great size whole - plus are easy to break.  She's semi-mean, like our mom.  Sigh.  Anyway, thanks Beth for letting Moss and Seamus try these out!  We're glad they're a hit at your house, too!  Thanks again to the wonderful folks at Crazy Dog for sending the Walkies! Fit Bites!

We took a handful on our walk this morning, speaking of crazy dog(s).  We were totally pumped up, full of energy, due to the Walkies! and the dip in temps!  Here is a little clip of us, for your viewing pleasure:

If that doesn't play, please click here to watch on YouTube.

We removed the original sound from the video.  It seemed to be overly-punctuated with calls of "Leave it, Maggie!", "On by, Mags!", and "Yep, leave that, too!"  Oh.  And quite a few "Good, Cammie!"s thrown in, too, but we can't have one without the other.  You can probably figure out where to put them all in.

We hope all of you get out and have some fun today!

Cammie!

TV Shows or a Movie?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  As you know, I love watching TV.  Correction - I love watching GOOD TV!  My favorite genre is British detective shows, but I also love a good western.

Anyway, right now, we're in the midst of a Netflix spree involving a very fun British detective show - Death In Paradise!  Imagine my delight when my very dear friend Princess Leah blogged about her mum being in a detective show filmed in Guadeloupe!  I  Googled  did extensive research to see what British detective show is filmed in Guadeloupe (or should that be "on Guadeloupe?  whatever ...) and discovered she was in Death In Paradise!!!  At about the same time that I made my discovery, Leah confirmed that her mum indeed is in the show!  How awesome!

"Oh!  Shh!  It's DI Poole!"

Detective Inspector Poole is one of the stars.  He was sent to Sainte Marie to solve another policeman's murder, then is asked to stay on.  (The show takes place on Martinique, even though it was filmed in Guadeloupe!)  He runs around the Caribbean in a suit and a tie, solving murders.  Except for being in a hot suit all the time, he's really smart; the locals try to get him to relax more and maybe not wear a suit all the time, though!  I can relate to that part - believe me, I know what it's like to be over-dressed!

"That's Camille, she's a Detective Sargent.  I like her a lot!"

We're still in the early seasons of the show, so I'm not sure if we've seen the episode (or episodes) that Princess Leah's mum is in.  If you like light-hearted, but clever detective shows, give Death in Paradise a try.  I really like it.

"Ooh!  There's a puppy in this episode!  I wonder if Leah got to meet him?"

And if westerns are more your thing ...

"Clint.  Eastwood.  Awesome!"

... there's nothing like a classic.  I got to pick what we watched the other night, and keyed on the TV when High Plains Drifter came on.  It's a great movie!

Anyone want to come over for TV night?!?  Or movie night?!?  I like both!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Pumped For Pumpkin!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  You all know what time it is, right?  Well, yes, Fall/Autumn, but also ...

"What does that say?  Did 'someone say'...  Cam!  We got a Chewy package!!!"

That's right!  A package from our friend Sydney at Chewy.com!  We were so excited!  Mom spilled the beans (or seeds, as the case may be) that this month's theme was pumpkin - and oh, how we love pumpkin!!!    We couldn't wait to see what we got!

We ran up to the landing to strike a pose:

"We are SO ready!!!"
"Seriously, Mom!  C'mon!!!"

Oh.  Wow.  We got to taste-test Blue Buffalo's Health Bars - with pumpkin and cinnamon!!!  We LOVE pumpkin and cinnamon - but had never tasted these before!

Let's take a look, shall we?

"Oh, my word, do those smell heavenly!"
"And they're a great size!  I'd say 2 and 1/8th by 1 and 3/4ths, just off the top of my head."

Mom broke one in half for us.  It was love at first bite!  Then I noticed ...

"Oh, Maggie. Don't do it!"
"Hey, Mom.  The bag's still open!"

I considered sticking my snooter in and helping myself, but Cam convinced me not to.

"Really.  We'd get in 'trouble' - whatever that is.  I don't really know.  I've never been there before."
"C'mon, Mom!  You heard my vet say you need to give me tons more snacks!"

It was something like that, anyway.  Anyway, unfortunately, despite our best efforts with cute poses, Mom sealed the bag up.

"Did the vet really say that, Mom?"
"Not exactly, Cam.  Nice try, Mags."
"Cotton-picking easy-to-seal bag!  -- Just kidding, Blue Buffalo people!  It's a lovely bag."

Mom wanted another shot, so we obliged.

"Did Dr. N say I should have tons more treats, too?"
"Come on, Mom.  Just one more."

Anyway, here's the low-down on Blue Buffalo Health Bars:  They're made in the USA!  They're nice and crunchy, easy to break into smaller pieces if you have a mean mom like ours who is obviously ignoring what my vet said (or at least my interpretation of what she said...), and contain no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors.  They're corn, soy, and wheat free - the first ingredient is oatmeal, which we just love!  They contain wholesome, healthy ingredients like pumpkin, flaxseed, and carrots.  You can read more about them on the Chewy.com page!

Our bottom line?  We loved them.  Big time.  Five stars out of five, and our mom would definitely order these for us!

"Could we at least split one more?"
"C'mon, Mom.  Be a sport."

Many thanks to Sydney and the other good folks at Chewy.com for allowing us to review another great product!  We heartily recommend the crunchy, flavorful Blue Buffalo Health Bars - with pumpkin and cinnamon!!!

That's a wrap for this month!  Oh.  And guess what?  We did get to split another one!  SCORE!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

DISCLAIMER: We received no payment for this post, but did receive the product free of charge from Chewy.com - in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. And Mom's. And maybe my vet didn't QUITE say I should get tons more snacks, but she did say I've lost a little weight and am a bit on the skinny side.  How can that not mean more snacks?!?

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cammie!

Quiet Time

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  I've got my Beyond Tough toy and am going to take it into the living room for a little quiet time.

Me, enjoying a little quiet time

Yep.  Just me and my toy.

Just ...

... me ...

... and ...

... my ...

... toy.  Getting in a little quiet time.

So very peaceful!

Cammie!

Another Modeling Gig

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  A couple days ago, Mom wanted to do another one of those crazy photo shoots inspired by my mentor Teddy Westlife's mum, Auntie Trace.  Before I begin, let me say two things:  number one, I'm sure Mr. Westlife had nothing to do with this challenge, and number two, a certain Australian man-cat is way overdue for a blog post.  Ahem.

Anyway, Mom was going for the Winter outdoorsy look, I think.  I grabbed a couple items and jumped up on my sitzbank.

"What do you think?"

I thought I rocked it. Sort of the coy, "meet me in the lodge after a day of skiing" thing.

After that, we went for the more sophisticated super model "I couldn't crack a smile with a hammer" look. Check it out:

All set for the Paris runway!

I thought it was awesome. Cammie thought I looked really cool - but more like a super spy or something. I like that even better!!!

Speaking of Cam, she took a turn, too.

"Wait ... the glasses are slipping ..."

She was going for the same super model look. Mom didn't really think that fit with Cam's personality - plus she wanted to adjust the sunglasses a bit. I decided to help Mom adjust the scarf, and before we knew it, we were doing this:

"Ha roo!!!"
"Ha roo to you!  Chase me, Mags!!!"

Yep. Our modeling gig fell prey to a round of Crazy River Otter Games. It was GREAT!

After we did that for a while, Mom tried again with Cam, while I supervised.

"I think she's good to go, Mom!"
"How do I look?"

Seriously. Check it out:

Cammie.  The All-American Girl Next Door!

Yeah.  Cam's more the smiling type!  Is that perfect, or what?!?

I can't wait to see what's next!  Wait ... did I really say that?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie - here with Maggie.  We've worked hard all week, so now that we've had our morning  walk, we're doing this:

Mags and me

Yes. Sharing our bed and a sun puddle. Mom said it doesn't get much more serene than this!

Enjoy life's many blessings today!

Cammie!

TV Worth Viewing

Greetings to all - it's me, Maggie!  As many of you know, I love watching TV or movies.  I must say, though, I have rather discriminating tastes and will not watch just anything.  Take the other night, for example ...

I was in the living room, playing with my green ball, when Dad came in and put a show on.

"Hey, Dad.  Whatcha putting on?"

I mean, I was in the middle of something important.  I didn't want to get up for just anything!

"Oh!  Wait!  A British detective show?!?  Which one?  I love those?"

I can't even remember which one it was now, but I listened for a sec or two, then ...

"Eh.  What a snoozer!"

Seriously.  I opted to keep playing ball.

"And I already know 'who dunnit', Mom."

Fortunately, we moved on to a different series.  I do love watching TV - but not all TV is worth watching!

Do you have any favorite shows?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Photo Finish Friday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  After our walk this morning, Mom did a couple things out in the gardens, and now she's back in here with us.

"Stay right here, Mom!"

I think she needs to do inside things this afternoon, don't you?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Shift Work

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  I know some of you have been worried that Mags has been working too hard, supervising Mom and Dad while they work out in the yard and gardens.  Fear not, kind readers!  Maggie and I are taking shifts.

Here are a few photos to show you we have both been hard at work!

"Oh, yes!  Keep up the good work, Mom and Dad!!!"

And then ...

"Wait.  I can't see them anymore!  I'm not going to have to get up, am I?"

And then I remembered!

"Ah!  The side window.  Whew!  Close one."

It's just exhausting!!!

"Zzz..."

I'm not sure how long I can keep this up! It's been brutal - even taking shifts! This being a Working Breed can really be a challenge!

Cammie!