Easter Bonus

Greetings, everyone!  It's me, Maggie!  We have a handful of other photos from our Easter photoshoot that we thought we'd share with you today. Would you like to take a look?  OK, great. Now where were we ...

Right. Right about here:

"Are we done here?"
"How many treats do you have left, Mom?"

Actually, that was Part 2. Part 1 was my solo act. Check it out!

Me, doing a PERFECT snooter-hanging!

Mom was so impressed with my efforts that she didn't even ask Cam to do any snooter-hanging. Wow. Anyway, back to Part 2 -- the two of us together.

"Careful with the pysanky, Maggie!"
"Yeah, yeah, Cam. Hey, Mom ... I'll bet there's something in this basket Cam could pose with!  You know. A little Part 3!" 

That's when Cam made a run for it!

"I'm outta here!!!"
"Hey!  If I have to snooter-hang ..."

She ran into the bedroom before I could tackle her. Pup, is my sister fast when she wants to be!  Anyway, Mom said she could stay on the bed IF she was willing to pose with one of those tiny bun-buns. Cam proposed this:

"How's this, Mom?  Part 3 - all done!"

Mom said that wasn't exactly what she had in mind. They tried and tried and tried ... and then ...

"I can't believe I'm doing this!!!"

I couldn't believe she did the Bunny Balance, either.  Nor could Mom. I think our great-brother Dave taught her how.  Wowzers!!!

Me?  Oh, no way. I did help Cam by removing the bunny from her snooter every chance I got, though!

"Maggie, GIVE!"
"Here ya go, Mom!"

Hey. I got a treat every time I gave it to her, so she must not have minded -- right?  It was pretty fun. And I think we might have a new Easter tradition!

How did your Easter photo shoots go?  I hope they were as fun as ours. 

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Easter 2017

"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

Mark 16:6

«Христос Воскрес» “Christ has risen.”
«Воїстено Воскрес!» "Indeed He has risen!" 

From all of us at Ao4 Headquarters ... have a blessed Easter!

Cam, Mags, and our mom and dad

Purple Maze

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie. So... I have this   super-power  ongoing issue -- it would appear that I'm still a really fast eater.  I've blogged about it before. I always come up with a fun solution to any of the things Mom tries -- then I snarf everything down "too fast" and do a little burp/regurgitation.  She basically gave up.

She tried the "upside-down bowl in a bowl".  I showed her I could have but didn't break a small glass bowl in my bowl. When she tried it with two stainless steel bowls, I put my paw in and flipped them!   Wow, what a racket they made on the tile floor!  It was really fun!

She tried spreading my kibble out on a cookie sheet. That was awesome!  The first couple of times, I used my nose to push all the food into a pile, then snarfed it all up. Then I decided to get really creative!  You all know what catapults are, right?!?!?  Just one little paw on the edge of the sheet pan and wowzers!  The kibble went flying!!! It. Was. So cool!  Even Cammie liked that!  Mom decided not to repeat that.

Next, she got out a muffin pan and put a little bit of my kibble in each cup. I gathered it all into one cup, then snarfed it down. That wasn't as dramatic as the other attempts to slow me down, but Mom was impressed by my problem-solving skills.

She tried putting a ball in the bowl, so I'd "have to eat around it".  Right. Like I can't reach in, grab the ball, and toss it into the living room?  That was so easy, it was almost a let down. I mean, I like a good challenge!

Mom also thought about a divided tray. All she had was a crystal relish tray, but hey. She's the only one who actually breaks things (including herself) around here, so she decided to give it a try. It worked semi-well until I stepped on the edge to flip it. I mean, it wouldn't have been as dramatic as the metal catapult-sheet pan, but what the hey. Same principle. Mom caught it mid-flip and decided that wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had.  I haven't dined off crystal since, for whatever reason.

And then ... after I thought she had given up ... she decided to go ahead and buy one of those "slow feeder" bowls. She saw that Misty, over at the OP Pack, uses one effectively, sooooooo after studying all the different ones out there ...

"What the fluff is this thing supposed to be?"

Yep. It's like I'm eating out of some kind of purple maze.

Mom says I don't do the regurgitating thing as much, so she's happy. I have worked out a way to push a bunch of the kibble through the maze into a small pile, so I can do some major snarfing. And I'm getting faster and faster with it. Sort of a compromise, I guess. 

It's like that Jimi Hendrix dude sang:

"Purple maze, all in my brain

Lately things they don't seem the same

Actin' funny, but I don't know why

Excuse me while I kiss the sky..."

Or was that "Purple Haze"? Whatever.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

My Peeps

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie. A couple days ago, on our Now And Then post, some of you asked about puppy pix of me!  That was so sweet!

As you may recall, I was 5 years old when I was adopted, but I had Mom check with my peeps back in Missouri. They said we could post the photos they shared with Mom!  With thanks to my most wonderful breeders back at Polargold and D'Azul Siberians (my peeps), I give you .... ME!

Me at 9 days old!

Me at 6 weeks old!

And ...

Me at 6 months - D'Azul's Girl From Ipanema!

I know... what's cuter than a puppy (or a kitty!), right??!!??  

So, many thanks to my peeps back at Polargold and D'Azul Siberians for letting us share!  Oh... and speaking of peeps... here's one more shot of me with my Peeps!

Me, some Peeps, and my Peep!

(Though I don't often use it on the blog, one of Maggie's nicknames is the Peep!!)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Cammie!

Thankful Thursday!

Hello, everyone! Cam and Maggie here today to send out a very special THANK YOU to our friend Princess Leah for the sweet card she sent our mom!!!

"Princess Leah and her mom are so kind!!! By the way, I'm totally impressed that Mom can hold the card and two treats in her right hand."
"They sure are kind!  And yeah. Mom must be getting better!!!"

Thank you, Princess Leah (and your mom)!!!  Your thoughtfulness really means a lot to Mom -- and to us!  What a great morale boost!

Cam, Mags, and our mom

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Now And Then

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie. As most of you know, Maggie and I just love to play together!  Take the other day, for example -- it was a nice, Spring day, so we went outside with Mom to play on the deck!  It started out like this:

"Try to find me, Cam!!!!!"
"Where are you, Maggie?!?"

It hit us that we've been playing this game ever since we adopted my Maggie!  Check us out -- now:

"Hey, CamCam!"
"Maggie!  There you are!!!"

And then:

"Ha roo?!?"
"My Maggie!!!  There you are!!!"

Some things haven't changed!  I do think Maggie was a bit surprised that she doesn't quite fit under the chair as easily as she once did, though!

Here's a short video for your viewing pleasure:

To watch on YouTube, please click here.

Where did my tiny puppy go?

Cammie!

C'Mon, Cam!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with your Monday movie!  This was part of our Cam-aversary celebration!  Let's go!

To view on YouTube, please click here!

Anyone want to join us for another round?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie ...

"Ha roo!"

... here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  This week, we thought we'd share some pix from right here at Ao4 Headquarters that helped all of us feel nice and serene.

Let's start with this fellow redhead who stopped by:

Northern Cardinal

He had been staring in the door at Mom, then, when she grabbed the camera and ran out on the deck, he posed in the neighbors' tree. Nice of him to stop by, don't you think?

Rather than look through the screened-in deck and through the door, this tiny schputzie flew inside the screened-in part of the deck!

Female House Finch

It's like the birdies miss being stalked by Mom!

Some of her favorite things are blooming now! Down at the bottom of the yard are our Old Fashioned Lilacs:

Old Fashioned Lilacs

We aren't the only ones enjoying them -- check this out!

Up by the house, another variety of lilacs are blooming:

Skidmore Lilacs

They are a little paler in color, and are super fragrant!

Even paler still - actually they're white! - are our Beth Lilacs!!!!

THE BETH LILACS ARE BLOOMING!!!

Mom planted them from small cuttings a few years ago and these are the first blooms we've had. She is SUPER excited.

Probably our most fragrant flowering bush of all is in bloom, too:

Juddi Viburnum

It is right by our bottom deck, and we can smell it every time we're out there!!!

Lastly, we have another birdie who stopped by. He was actually peeking in the bedroom window at Mom while she was doing her hair.

Red-Tailed Hawk

She was thankful he stayed there while she grabbed the camera and ran out onto the deck. Even if he IS a Peeping Tom.

"I am not a Peeping Tom!"

Yeah, sure. (I think he needs to work on his innocent look!)

We hope our photos helped you feel more serene!  Have a lovely Sunday. 

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Yesterday's Festivities

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Thank you to all of you for the me-aversary wishes yesterday!  I had a lovely day and wanted to share some more of the highlights with you!

Right before lunch, I got to do one of my very favorite things:

"Mmmm... cherry vanilla!!!!!"
"Our fave, Cam!!!"

Mom and I like AE Cherry Vanilla best!!!!!  It was great!

After lunch, we got to go on an all-family walk!

"Awesome, awesome, awesome!"
"I love it when we're all together!!!"

Later in the afternoon, Mom stuffed our Pickles for us again!

"I love Pickle time!!!"

... and you know what comes after Pickle time, right?

"Ready, Cam?  Wait. What's that?"
"Where?"

Maggie tried to distract me with the old "What's That" routine, but I was on to her!

"Going to get you, Mag---holy spin cycle!!!"
"Check this out!!!"

My little sister has some CRAZY moves, doesn't she?!?

"Pretty cool, huh, Cam?!?"
"Very impressive, little one. Very impressive!!"

Mom apologizes for the blurry pix, but that's how fast we were moving. She took some video; we'll share that in a couple days!

What a great Cam-aversary it was!  Thanks for joining us!

Cammie!

It's My Cam-aversary!!!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Four years ago today, I was adopted by my family!!!  You can read all the details here and here.

So far today, we had a nice walk with Dad (and hope to take one later with Dad AND Mom!), some exploring in the garden, and some Pickle time!!!

"Oh.  Excuse me a moment. Maggie wants to ask me something." 

"Hey, Cam!  How about a little anniversary Crazed River Otter action?!!?"
"Hmm..."

Needless to say, that sounded good to me!  Sorry - no photos this time.

We also did some early celebrating last night with Greenies!!!

"I LOVE Greenies!!"
"Me, too!   After you, anniversary girl!"
"Here you go, sweet girls!!"

Oh. Right. And in case you noticed the new Kansas State Wildcats purple cast ... Mom had her check up. They took the old cast off and took X-rays this week. How does that saying go?

"If the orthopedic surgeon sees his shadow, it's at least another 3 weeks in a cast."

Oh well.  She'll go in for another evaluation then. In the meantime, Dr. Mags and I will keep an eye on her. 

Anyway, please tell your bipeds that you all deserve treats today to help me celebrate my anniversary!  Big treats!  Not broken in half. Right, Mom?!!?

Cammie!

Two-Week Checkup

Greetings to all!  It's me, Dr. Maggie, here with an update on my mom's wrist situation. Tomorrow is her 2-week checkup at Orthopedics, but I figured I should have a look first.

"Lemme see that thing, Mom.  Mm-hmm, yep, yep, yep..."
"How's it look, Dr. Mags?"

Being the trained specialist that I am, I was able to give her an immediate diagnosis.

"Have you been sticking sharp objects down into your cast?!!?"
"Who, me?  Ah, c'mon, Dr. Maggie. How could you even think such a thing?"

... Previously, at Ao4 Headquarters ...

"Just ... like ... the blunt end ... !  Hey, Cam. This is our little secret, OK?  Not a word to Dr. Mags!"
"Zzzz..."

As if I didn't know!  (Note to self - talk to Nurse Cam about snoozing on the job!)  Notice Mom didn't deny doing it when I questioned her, she just was evasive. It's a page right out of the Siberian Husky playbook, actually. Maybe all of the Siberians in Mom's life have taught her a thing or two. 

I'll let you know what the other doctor has to say. Something tells me he'll know about the letter-opener, too. 

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher,

AKA Dr. Maggie

Like Normal

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Dad has been walking us girls every day since Mom's accident, which is really wonderful -- but we like it best when the whole family is together. Between getting tons of rain (and the need to keep her cast dry) and over-doing and needing to rest, Mom hasn't come with us as often as she'd (and we'd) like. She DID come yesterday, though, and it was great!

"I wonder if we should reward her by looking at the camera?"
"Nah. She appreciates being treated like normal."

Maggie had a good point there.

"Eyes left, Cam!"
"I'm on it!"

Mom said it helped her morale a lot to be able to go with us!  We're sure that us treating her like normal helped, too!!

Cammie!

First Flowers

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  The first of our garden flowers have finally bloomed!

"Look!  It's our Grecian Windflowers!"

"Mmm, tasty!"

Just kidding.  Not that I'd try to eat them. Besides ... Mom still has quick "NoNoMaggieNo" reflexes.  

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Pamper Yourself!

Hello, everyone. It's me, Cam. Guess what?  Mom won a sample pack of lovely artisan soaps from a fellow blogger over at Raising Addie!

"Want us to help open it, Mom?"
"I could give it the ol' rippitty-rip!"

We were just trying to be helpful. With a broken wrist and sprained other wrist, it's challenging for Mom to do some things -- regardless of how much she wants to. Dad was right there, so Mom decided he might be a better choice for the task at hand. She did accept our offer to do the modeling part.

"I would have opened it carefully!"
"Look!  A note!"

There was a sweet handwritten note!

"It says to pamper yourself, Mom!"
"You should let Dad lather your sprained hand up with one of these babies!"

It will be one-handed pampering for a while yet. 

"Look at how beautiful these soaps are!"
"And they smell nice, too!"

Mom chose Sweet Orange, Lemon, and Rose.

"I like them all!"
"Oooh, I like the Rose!!!"

Mom had also just placed an order for Shady Dog Soaps and that came SUPER FAST!  She ordered the same scents, plus a little thing to go under the soap to keep it up and dry.

Texas-sized soaps from Texas!!!

How about one more pose, while the treats are flowing?

Me and Mags, who's still not allowed on the sitzbank. 

Mom loves the soaps - she's even considering taking a bar of it when she goes in to have her cast changed next week (hoping they let her scrub down!).  We thought you all might appreciate hearing about this unique hand-crafted soap. Everyone needs a little pampering from time to time -- right?!?

Cammie!