The Sweet Smell Of ...

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other morning, Cam and I took Mom and Dad on a lovely walk that took us past Chicago.  I mean "Old" Chicago - apparently, it's a restaurant, not a town.  Anyway, it was a great walk and we posed for some shots beside the restaurant.  It went something like this ...

"Do you smell that, Mags?"
"Oooh, yes!  That's the sweet smell of ..."

"Success?"
"No.  Calzones.  Definitely calzones."

"Mmm!  We should take a seat in the outdoor area and order one!  I don't have any money, though."
"Me, neither.  Of course one of us has a 20 tucked in her iPhone case, doesn't she ... Mom?"

"Mom?  Is that true?"
"Don't try to deny it, Mom!"

Apparently, Old Chicago doesn't serve calzones at 0830 - or so Mom and Dad would have us believe.  Maybe once it gets cold out, we can walk later in the day, then sit outside on their patio for a nice calzone!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

New Garden Tool

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Dad got Mom a cool, new gardening tool - it's for digging, cutting,  sawing, weeding, planting, measuring - all kinds of great stuff.

"Aw, c'mon, Mom!  Just for a minute?!?  What could possibly go wrong?"

She wouldn't let me try it out.  Apparently, it's one of those "NoNoMaggie" things. Sheesh.  And it didn't even come in a box or anything.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Special Serene Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with a special kind of serenity this week!  There are so many things we consider serene - the birdies and wildflowers Mom takes photos of, our wonderful walks around our little corner of the world, spending time together, just taking in all the beauty around us!  But sometimes that beauty comes in the way of a gesture - and that's what we'd love to tell you about today!

Do you know our friends Millie and Walter, over at Bird Brains and Dog Tales?  If you don't, you should check out their blog - it's awesome!  Anyway, they were asked to review a toy for Chewy.com this month - West Paw Design's Zogoflex Air Dash! They received the package twice; when they let Sydney at Chewy.com know, she said they could send the extra to anyone they wanted to -- and they chose to send it to us! Do you know how special that made us feel?!? A BEAUTIFUL gesture by Millie, Walter, and their mom!!! They knew we had recently purchased a couple other toys in the Zogoflex line and thought (rightly so!) we might like checking out the Dash!

"LOOK!  A card with my friend Walter's picture on it!"

Isn't Walter a cool guy?  He and Millie wrote us a really nice note!  Cam and I both read it before Mom broke out the toy!  We went into the living room to try it out!

"Look, Maggie!  It's from Millie and Walter!"
"Thank you, friends!!!"

"Hi, Mags!"
"Funny, Mom.  Are we here to play or take photos?"

Mom gave it a good toss and I pounced right on it!

"GOT IT!"

Our lawn had just been fertilized, so Mom didn't want me playing out there yet.  That's OK - we've got lots of maneuver room in the living room!

Here are a few things of note about the Zogoflex Air Dash:

I checked the important ones:

~Dishwasher safe, like our other Zogoflex toys - great if it gets funky!
~Unsupervised use is risky.  Mom said something about "especially for Mags", but I don't remember seeing that anywhere.  Maybe that's what "Une utilisation non supervisée est risquée" means.  I should have paid more attention in French class!
~Made in Bozeman, Montana, right here in the US of A!

All important features!

Oh.  And please don't worry about Cam!  While I played supervised with the Dash, Cam played with the Zogoflex Tux!

"I like this toy!"

She is more into relaxing with a chew toy; I'm more in the "run with it, run after it, attempt to rip it to shreds" camp.

The Dash is contoured a bit, which makes pick-up mighty easy!  Here I am, grabbing it after a throw:

Yes, we play "Fetch" in the house.  Did you know you should be really careful when throwing toys in the house?  Enough said, right, Mom?

Even though the Dash will be a "supervised only" toy, it is very sturdy!

"Let's give this baby a good test drive!"

We played actively for at least half an hour, with me getting to chomp down on the Dash between throws, and I didn't even make a mark on it!  Mom was VERY impressed!!!

"Outstanding!"
"I'll say!  I give the Zogoflex Air Dash five out of five stars!!!"

Thank you, Millie and Walter (and your mom) -- and Chewy.com -- for letting us try this toy!  It meant a lot to us that you thought of us and sent this really cool toy!  Friends are awesome and make us feel so very serene!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

In Case Anyone Was Wondering

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

"Hmm!"

... they don't taste like Candy Corn. Or if this is what Candy Corn tastes like, I just don't get it!

Cammie!

Quick Caption Friday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  So there Cammie and I were the other day ...

"Seriously.  I think Mom needs a hobby."
"We are her hobby.  Besides, you're the one who started this whole boxing thing!"

Hmm.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

This Morning's Walk

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Maggie and I took Mom on a beautiful walk this morning and we thought you all might want to come with us, via some iPhone pix.  Ready to go?  Let's head out!

We walked out to the big road, to get on Hudson Trail over there!  (It's also where yesterday's photo was taken - we love that route!)  Mom asked us to pose before we got started on the trail.

"How's this, Mom?"
"Oooh, I smell the cold front coming!!!"

"I really think we'd best get going before--"
"HEY!  You know what would really be fun?!?"

Yes.  Crazed River Otter Games - right there on the limestone chunks!  I think the smell of the cool air heading our way got to Maggie!

Anyway, we walked the first leg of the trail, then the second.  While on the second, we ran into our friend Dexter the Bichon - he's a real nice, little pup!  Maggie was still a bit whack-a-doo, I mean jazzed up by the cold front potential, so we didn't visit with him very long.  Then, Mom said we could walk the third leg of the trail, too!

"I wonder if Murphy is out?"
"I'll bet he's excited about the impending cold front, too!"

The bad news for us was that he wasn't outside; the good news was that Mom said we could walk the next part of the trail!  We hardly EVER get to do that!

It has lots of hills to it, so at the top of one, Mom asked us to stop and pose.

"OOOH!  LEAF!"
"You need to be faster on the click, Mom!"

Maggie wanted me to add there were tons of leaves blowing all over the place and she tried her best to catch each and every one of them!

Can you see the hill out there, leading to the horizon?

How about now?

There are all kinds of cool turns and hills on that part of the trail!

Mags and me

The whole trail, from where we got on to where it ends, goes through our neighborhood, between backyards.

Still Mags and me - walking very nicely, I might add!

Mom loved seeing the Blue Spruces in this next yard:

"Pretty, Mom!"

They remind her of her maternal grandmother.

When we reached the end of that part of the trail, we saw this:

"What do you think, Mom?"

The trail doesn't actually "end", but it hooks up with another trail system and would have tacked on another couple of miles.  We opted to turn left.

"Look, Mom!  Another hill to climb!"

We did some exploring in that area and tried out one of the new roads they put in.  It ended in a cul-de-sac overlooking Colbert Hills Golf Course!

"Look!  Golfers!"

Maggie was fascinated.

We re-traced, then headed up another hill.

Mags and me climbing another hill!

Mom said she was pretty sure the entire walk was uphill - but I'm not sure that's possible.

At the crest of our last hill was our water tower.  We stopped for a quick pose:

"What a GREAT walk!"
"Simply WONDERFUL!"

It was the perfect walk!  Temp at about 70, with a strong breeze trying to pull in the cold front.  We're ready for some water and a round of zoomies - how about you?  Thanks for coming along!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cammie!

How To Get Cam In A Box

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  As most of you know, I just love a good box!  (Photos of me embracing my inner kit-cat can be viewed at this link, for a review.)  BUT ... Cam just isn't a fan of boxing like I am.  So how did we get her into the box for yesterday's photo?  I'm going to show you how we did it!

First, understand that if Cammie doesn't want to do something, she isn't going to do it.  No cajoling, no bribes, it's just not going to work.  Could Mom force her?  Well, probably, but Mom doesn't do that.  She redirects, tries another way, lets Cam approach things the way she wants to.  Time and patience.  That way, Cam does it on her own and it builds her confidence.  It might take longer, but it's worth it in the long run.

So, anyway ... I noticed Mom had these really cool big pieces of cardboard.  I sat down to see what she was going to do with them and ...

"Hey!  How cool is this?!?!  We built our own box!!!"

It was really cool - but I worried about the whole "house of cards" scenario. Mom must have read my mind; shortly after all the cardboard somehow fell over, I saw her doing this:

"Duct tape?!!?  Brilliant!"

Sometimes I think Mom is almost as smart as a Siberian.  ALMOST.  Before I knew it, this is what we had:

"Awesome box, Mom!  Cam, there's PLENTY of room in here for two!"
"Umm... is Maggie getting treats?"

Mom was forthcoming with some treats - even tossed some in the box, hoping Cam would jump on in - but it was a no-go.  Even with me not in the box.  Hmm.  Time for one of those "work-arounds", Mom!

Mom didn't put duct tape hinges on one of the corners of the box, so she opened it up!  We could just walk right in that way!  Awesome!

"You want me to do what?!?"
"Want me to give her a shove, Mom?"

Mom didn't think me giving her a push was a good idea.  I have no idea why not, but Mom was holding treats, so I opted to listen to her.

"I COULD go in there, I guess ..."
"Your choice, Cam.  No pressure."
"You can do it, Cam!  It's FUN; I promise!"

We waited to see what she'd do, and before we knew it ... LOOK!!!

"Oh, great Balto.  I'm sort of in the box!"
"YAY!  Look at you, Cam!!!"

Mom gave her lots of treats for sitting in the open-sided box like that!  Once she relaxed a bit (Cam, not Mom), Mom said I could move on in.

"Hey!  Have any of those treats left, Mom?"
"Do you?"

Mom DID still have treats!  So as Cam moved in closer to have one ...

"I think I know where this is going, Mom.  Clev-er!"
"Where what is going?  The treats?"

See, by that time, Cam was nice and relaxed about the cardboard and was focused on the treats.  While we were chewing, Mom snuck around to the open side, and closed it on up!  We turned around and ...

"AWESOME!"
"Oh, my!  Look at me -- I'm boxing!!!"

And THAT is how we got Cam to box with me! Is that great or what?!!? I've been wanting her to box with me forEVER!!!!!  You'll be seeing more pix of us boxing together in future posts!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Box Seats

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Maggie and I would like to let this photo do the talking today:

"Congrats to the Kansas City Royals!!!"
"What a great team effort!"

Way to go, Royals!

Cammie!

PS:  Um... yeah.  More about the box another time.  Sigh.

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Before I get to the serene part of today's post -- was anyone else's breakfast served late this morning?  I've heard murmurings that it wasn't just mine and Maggie's; I'm wondering just how widespread this abomination is.  Let me know.

Anyway, after our rather late breakfast, we went on a lovely walk with Mom and Dad.  Mags and I thought we'd show you some shots Mom took during the walk for Serene Scenery Sunday -- and then a little bonus.

It's a beautiful, crisp Fall day here in Kansas! We walked and walked ...

"I love this route!"
"So do I!"

... and ended up going past the Kansas Ocean!

The Kansas Ocean, aka the KSO

It looks lovely this time of year, doesn't it? Oh. And can you see the Great Blue Heron that was celebrating the fact that Mom only had her iPhone and not the big bazooka camera?  Right smack in the middle there.  Maybe you can see him better in this next shot!

"Yeah, yeah.  'Birdie'.  Got it, Mom."
"Whatever.  I'm bored."

He's right between Maggie and me in that photo. How's this?

"I hear something over that way!"
"Me, too."

Anyway, Mom and Dad loved seeing him, even if Mom couldn't get a decent shot of him. We had a great rest of the walk, then were ready to chill out for a while. Dad proposed he and Mom head out to Tuttle Creek for a quick trip! We stayed here to  take a nap  guard the house.

On the way to Tuttle, they stopped by the KSO - and guess who was still there?!?

"Heeeeeere, fishie, fishie, fishie!!!"

Mom was surprised and delighted!

She has only had time to process one of her camera shots from Tuttle, but here are some landscape shots she took with her iPhone.

The Rocky Shoal area of the River Pond

The River Pond from the Rocky Ford Campground area

The Big Blue River

Doesn't it look serene out there?  Pretty soon, Mags and I will be able to go out there with Mom and Dad!!!

And finally, one of the camera shots. Look at who was fishing in Willow Lake:

Great Blue Heron

You don't think it was the same guy who was at the Kansas Ocean, do you?

I hope you have a wonderfully serene Sunday!

Cammie!