Instigating

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  As you know, Maggie and I play Crazed River Otter Games quite frequently - both here in the house and while we're out on walks.  You might assume that Maggie, being the younger member of the pack, is the one who instigates the game, but I have a confession to make:  oftentimes, it's me.  Especially when we're out walking.  I was the instigator this morning and Mom caught a bit of it with her iPhone.  It goes something like this ...

It starts with a silent, sideways glance at Mags:

"What a nice w---wait.  Are you...."
"..."

See?  That's me, there on the right.  According to Mom, it looks a lot like the look Suzanna Hoffs from the Bangles does in "Walk Like An Egyptian". You know the one:

Like that. That's all it takes.  And then we launch!

"Let the Crazed River Otter Games begin!"
"Ha rooooo!"

"Gonna get you, Cam!"
"Not if I get you first!"

The key here is to act quickly and launch into the game before Mom and Dad can put space between us.

"Uh oh!"
"BOOM!"

Unfortunately, they're catching onto my Suzanna Hoffs thing and usually separate us before we can have some fun.  Not this morning, though!

"That was SO FUN!"
"I know, right?!?  ' ♩Walk like an Egyptian ♩...  "

Sorry.  That song is stuck in my head.  

And that's how I instigate the Crazed River Otter Game!  It doesn't take much.  It's so nice to have someone who understands my non-verbals like Maggie does!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

New Book!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  You may not know this, but my sisters - my litter-mate sisters - and I are from a themed litter - we are all named after "Women Warriors".  We have Polargold's The Morrigan (Morgan), Polargold's Boudica (Boo), Polargold's Journey to Colestah (Journey), and me - Polargold's Margaret Thatcher. That's right - my namesake fought the Cold War! And lots of other stuff.

Anyway, Dad got this new book in over the holidays.  Now, Cam and I don't have quite the reading history the original members of the Army of Four had, but we are fairly well-read Sibes!  I thought I should check it out - especially given the title:  Warriors, Fighting Men and Their Uniforms.

"I wonder if my litter-mates and I are in here?!?!"

It's a very colorful pocket-sized book, jam-packed with illustrations of military uniforms throughout history.  Sadly, there are no photos of me, Morgan, Boo, or Journey.  Yeah, I know.  It's totally incomplete.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Merrick Kitchen Bites Grammy's Pot Pie Grain-Free Biscuits Dog Treats

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie, here with Maggie for another review for the good folks at Chewy.com.  The title of today's post is a real mouthful, isn't it?  And so are the treats we were asked to review!  Let's take a look at how it went!

Maggie and I were relaxing in the living room when FedEx delivered our package.  Mom brought it in and ...

"Girls!  It's for you!"
"A little tied up at the moment, Mom!"
"Gotcha, Cam!"

Maybe not so much "tied up" as "Maggie had the entire scruff of my neck in her mouth".  Anyway, then Mom said it was a package from Sydney at Chewy.com -- well, why didn't she say that to begin with?!?!

"Hello.  What's that in your hand?"
"Y'ello."

We were asked to review Merrick Kitchen Bites -- the Grammy's Pot Pie flavor!

"They smell incredible!  What's in them, Mags?  Read the bag while I keep an eye on Mom."
"It says right here ... all-natural ingredients like real chicken, potatoes, peas, and carrots!"

"They sound awesome!  C'mon, Mom!"
"Yeah, Mom!  Enough suspense!"

Mom finally delivered the goods - and oh, did we like them!  Take a look at these tasty Grammy's Pot Pie treats:

Merrick Kitchen Bites Grammy's Pot Pie treats!
They look like little slices of PIE!!!

As you can see, they are approximately an inch and a quarter long; they're about a quarter of an inch thick.  They are VERY crunchy and hard, which is one of the things Mom likes in a treat for us.  She was also able to break them in half, unfortunately.  We thought the flavor was excellent!

"We should split another one ... don't you think?  How about it, Mom?"
"Yeah, Mom!  How about it?!?"

Mom was really slow thinking it over, so we decided to take matters into our own paws.  "Somehow" the bag was knocked over and Mags went in for the treats!

"Quick!  Get one for me, too, Maggie!"
"No sweat!  Good work knocking the bag over, Cam!  Oh, rats..."
"That's right, girls!  It's in an easy-seal bag!  Nice try!"

Can't blame us for trying!  We really thought they were tasty!  Mom said if we did one nice pose up on the stair landing, we could split one more!  We were on it in a flash!

"We love these treats from Merrick!"
"Thanks for the Kitchen Bites, Chewy.com!"

We give the Merrick Kitchen Bites Grammy's Pot Pie treats 5 out of 5 stars!  Many thanks to Chewy.com for allowing us to taste-test these wonderful treats!  We don't know who Grammy is, but she makes one mighty fine chicken pot pie -- we highly recommend surfing over to Chewy.com and ordering a bag for yourself!

Cammie

DISCLAIMER: We received no payment for this post, but did receive the Merrick Kitchen Bites Grammy's Pot Pie Grain-Free Biscuits Dog Treats free of charge from Chewy.com - in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. And mom's.  Hers are usually the crazy ideas about breaking perfectly-fine sized treats in half and thinking an easy-seal bag is a good idea.  Think about it -- how fun would it have been if the treats had all spilled out?!!?

Serene Sunday Scenes

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags, here with a miscellaneous bunch of photos of things we did this week that brought us a lot of serenity!  Let's cut with the chit-chat and look at the pix!  Ready?!?!

Mom still isn't 100% up to snuff, so I helped her take it easy.

"Stay here, Mom.  We should watch another episode of Dr. Who."

Not only did we get in some quality regular TV time, but there was a lot on Birdie TV this week:

"Mom?!?  There's a whole pack of little Juncos in the Ash tree!"

We got some nice all-family walks in - even though it was cold, gloomy, and drizzly out:

"Tell me this isn't great!  Isn't this great, Cam?"
"It's wonderful, Mags!"

Now, I found this next photo on Mom's iPhone.  It's weird, because the collar looks a WHOLE lot like Cammie's collar, but I have NEVER seen that super-squishy-looking piggy before!

Someone who looks like Cam and a pink piggy

Mom must have cheated on us with some other Sibe.  One with a collar that matches Cammie's.    And then took a picture of her.  Because I HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT PINK PIG BEFORE!!!  Funny, when I asked Cammie about it, she just started whistling and walked off.  Hmm.

Anyway ... here we are being super sweet on an all-family walk:

"Hello, Cammie.  How about a little ..."

"BOOM!"
"Umpf!"

Like I didn't know that was her and that pink pig!!!

Just kidding.  I was just playing with her.  I'm happy for her and her Pink Pig.

... Speaking of things I'd like to rip to shreds, here's Cam in a serene moment with our pumpkin:

Cammie, with the pumpkin, in the living room

No, I'm not really granted much access to the pumpkin, either.  Fear not, though - here I am playing ball with Mom:

"Great throw, Mom!  You want it back?  Chase me!!!"

We had tons of fun playing Siberian Rules Fetch.  We did that in the house a lot this week, since it's so super cold outside.

Mom is learning more cookie-icing skills, and gave them a go this week.  Here's what she came up with:

Mom's cookies

It made her feel serene to have a creative outlet - and it made Dad serene to eat some of Mom's "work".  We helped Mom by doing this:

"Zzz..."
"Zzz..."

Yep. Total serenity!

I hope your week was as serene as ours!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wait For It...

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam!  This morning, I had one-on-one playtime with Mom.  I decided to go for one of our Beyond Tough toys.  Maggie used to be allowed to play with these, but once her big girl teeth came in, it's best that she doesn't play with them.  Anyway, she was out taking an extended Daddy-Daughter walk, so I could just kick back and enjoy the toy!

I chewed this corner for a while:

"Mmm!  Purple AND yellow!"

Then I chewed another corner for a while:

"Ooh!  Just the yellow!  This is great!"

And then ...

"Wait.  This is getting tricky.  How do I ..."

Then I remembered.  You know it's coming, right?

" ♩You put your right foot in... ♩" 

Don't blame me for the ear worm.  Meeshka's mom made that comment on FB when Mom posted one of the pix of me playing with it.  The Hokey-Pokey song has been in Mom's head ever since!

Cammie!

Which Direction

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Before I get to today's post, I would like to thank all of you for the wonderful birthday wishes yesterday!  I had a lovely day and wish all of you could have joined us for the celebration -- we did feel you in spirit, though!

Anyway, Mags and I couldn't really decide which direction to take with today's post, so we thought we'd give you this photo from our Christmas Day walk:

Maggie and me at the Kansas Ocean

It seemed to fit somehow.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Cammie!

It's My Birthday!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cameron, and today my sisters Drew, Lucy, and I turn EIGHT!

Dad was out taking Mags for a long walk in the rain this morning; I stayed home to make sure Mom got some rest. The garage door had barely closed when Mom came in and made an announcement:

"Cam?!?  There's someone here to see you!"
"Really?  Who could it ... Oh!  Oh!  Is that ...?!?! It can't be!"
"SQUEALoink!"

But it WAS!  It was an old friend of mine I haven't seen since ... well, frankly, since we adopted Maggie, if I'm not mistaken!

The two of us went into the living room to get caught up!

"This is my old friend, Pink Pig!  Say hello to our readers, Pink."
"SQUEALoink!"

That's pretty much all she says.  Wow, have I missed her!  We got reacquainted:

"Mmm!  Pig ears!"
"SQUEEEEEALoink!"

We played for a good, long while and had such fun!

"I love playing with Pink Pig!"
"SQUEALoink!"

I do!  I love playing with her!  And I think she likes playing with me, too.  Oh.  Oh, yes.  I know what you're wondering about .

"Maggie must NEVER know about Pink Pig.  Seriously!"
"SQUEEEEEEALoink."

It's for Pink Pig's own good.  She was a friend of Davy's  and now she's my friend.  Perhaps when Maggie gets a little bit older.  Until then, Mom made Pink Pig vanish as soon as she heard the garage door open.  Just for safety's sake.

For now - and frankly as soon as she got in the door - Mags can play with what she calls her favorite toy -- ME!  Here we are, in action:

Click here to view on YouTube.

We did lots and LOTS of that this morning!  We even got to go on a short walk with Dad AND Mom after Round One!  What a great day this is shaping up to be!

Anyway - if my sisters are reading, happy birthday, Drew and Lucy! Apple slices for everyone!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Gifts From Santa

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  I wanted to turn the clock back to Christmas (actually a little before that!) and show you our newest CTC Dog Gear harnesses!  Remember we told you about them a long time ago?!?  Well, Santa brought them!  A little early, actually, but he brought them!

Here we are, trying them out on a lovely morning walk:

"I feel all jazzed in this color!"
"Me, too!  Imagine how we'll feel once Mom makes our matching leashes!"

Maggie's is that great lime green and I have hot PINK!!! I love pink.

Here we are on the Hudson Trail, approaching our friend Murphy's house!

"I wonder if he'll be outside?!?"
"I hope so!  We can show him our new harnesses!"

Once we rounded the bend ...

"Look!  There he is!"
"Murphy!  Hello, Murphy!  It's us!"

We just love seeing him!

"Oooh!  I smell squirrels, Murph!"
"Hello! I hope you had a lovely Christmas!"
"I did, Cam.  Thank you.  How about you two?"

He's such a nice, polite boy!

"Hey, Murphy!  How do you like our harnesses?!?"
"Pretty cool, girls!"
"Santa brought them!"

Anyway, it was great seeing Murphy - and he was very complimentary about our new harnesses.  One thing concerns me, though.  See Maggie's ears in that photo above?  How she's pinning them back?  Sure, it's a sign of respect, but it's also a bit of a flirtatious move.  Now that she's two years old, it might be time for me to have a talk with her about boys!

Cammie!

What's Missing Here?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Mom was playing around with PhotoShop Elements and turned me into a cartoon character.

"Ha roo!"

Who thinks I need a cape? Seriously! I could be Super Maggie!

Of course, she could just photoshop one in; I don't need to wear one or anything. Right?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie.  I ask you - what could be more serene than this:

"Mmm.... zzz...."

That's right - I found the perfect sun puddle! Just purrrrrr... fect.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher - Honorary Kit-Cat

My Pink Spaceship

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I'm just here playing with my pink spaceship.

"La la la la la..."

Well, yes. It used to be "our" pink spaceship, but ... see down near the bottom here in this next shot?

"Take a look.  Oh.  Don't mind the Sibe fluff.  Mom's washing my bed later on.  But check out the toy."

How about a closeup?

"See what I mean now?"

That was after about 5 minutes with a "certain someone".

"She's napping; please don't anyone let her know I'm playing with it!"

I don't want to hurt ... "someone's" feelings, but I DO love playing with this!  Mum's the word about my Cammie-only spaceship -- OK?

Cammie!

First Walk Of The Year!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  This morning, Mags and I took Mom and Dad on the first - and the BEST - walk of 2016!

I was using my ear-radar in this shot; we were just starting out:

"Let's go, let's go, let's GO, everybody!!!"
"I'm doing a radar check, Mags!"

Just scoping everything out. It all checked out OK.

We crossed the big road and went past a place we call Squirrel Hollow.

"Sunny and 21 degrees Fahrenheit!  Who could ask for a nicer day?"
"It's lovely, isn't it?!?"

It didn't seem like much was going on there, but then ...

"Oooh!  CRABAPPLE!!!"
"Uff!"
"Leave it, Mags!"

She can't help it.  She's getting better about not snarfing them IF Mom or Dad gives a preemptive "on by" or "leave it" ... but they're still irresistible to her!

Not much else exciting happened.  We played a short round of Crazed River Otter Games later in the walk, but Mom didn't get any photos.  Something about "just trying to stay upright and not let go of the leash".  Mom and Dad are getting better, but they still aren't quite up to par.

Anyway - it was indeed the BEST walk of 2016!  Thanks for coming with us!  Happy New Year!!!

Cammie!