Tête à Tête

Woo. It's me, Dave. Storm and I had a tête à tête the other day.

Me and Storms, tête à tête

Something was bothering me and I confided to her, "Storms? I saw something in the garage that really scared me." She wanted to know what it was and thought maybe she could help assuage my fears. (You learn all kinds of cool words if you hang around Stormy enough!) So I told her about the discovery I'd made earlier in the garage.

"Husky" yard work bags? "Husky"?

I thought maybe this meant we were going to have to actually DO some of the big spring yard work! She assured me that even though the bags were named after "huskies", we would act in a supervisory role only. Whew. Honestly, with all I do around here, my bowl is pretty full already!

I was able to rest easy after our talk. I'm so thankful I have such a smart big sister! Woo.

Luv,
Dave

Well..... HELLO .....

Well, hello..........................OSWALD!!!

Love to some, instinctual prey drive looks to others,
Amber

Paws UP for the Tuffy!

Woo, everypup! It's Dave again! I think I definitely enjoy the Tuffy toy more than Amber, but Mom has it in her head to let Am give it another go after Am sees me playing with it. For some reason, that always generates interest in her! Anywoo, here's part two of my own Tuffy toy test!

The last time you saw me, I was chewing in the living room.

But since I do lots of work down in the Quilt Studio, we thought more testing down there would be a good idea!

As you may recall, that's where I showed you how I played with Wonky. Ol' Wonky didn't last too long; I still miss him. I loved Wonky. Woo.......

Here's a little video clip of the work I did in the Studio. Mom rattled the Tuffy for me, which was fun. (And I love it when she schnuzzles my muzzle like she did. What can I say? Take a poll with all your moms out there - I'll bet they'd love to schnuzzle my muzzle, too!) Here you go:

I had to take a break for a while - this toy testing is hard work!

Whew!

A short break, then I was right back to work!

Dig these freckles, girls! Woooo!

I have to say, I really like Tuffy! A couple hours of play and it's still in perfect condition! The only drawback is that we didn't realize it had a squeaker until we heard about that from one of our pals. It's REALLY hard to make it squeak! Mom doesn't seem to think that's a bad thing, but I LOVE making toys squeak! Woo.

I'll keep you posted on how it holds up - and whether Ammy shows interest now that I've played with it. But now ... I need a break!

It's so hard being a member of the Working Breed group!

Luv,
Dave

Are You Tuff(y) Enough?

Woo, it's me! Dave! Remember on Saturday when Amber started her test of the Tuffy toy? She wasn't too interested in it, but I really wanted to give it a go! My first trial was that very night!

Mom gave it to me and I took it into the living room. I gave it a thorough going-over ...

... and I liked it! There seemed to be something missing, though.

Hmm... something's missing from my quality chew time.

Then I figured it out. (By the way, Mom wanted me to point out how cute I look in the picture above; she especially likes the tiny tip of my tongue sticking out. Woo.)

Mom? Mind if I lay here?

That was SO much better!

I think Mom liked it, too.

I had fun chewing it, on and off, for an hour or so.

I had to take the occasional break.

Who knew product testing was such hard work!??!

I did more testing over the weekend down in the Studio. I'll post those results tomorrow! So far, it's a big paws up from me!

Luv,
Dave

Sunday Salute - Our Great Sisters Pt. II

Today, we continue our month-long Salute to our great sisters, Jesse and Lucky! While they lived in Belgium with Mom and Dad, they did a lot of traveling. Most places in Europe were very welcoming to them; they totally enjoyed the time with Mom and Dad, seeing beautiful and historic places, and the social interaction! We've already shown you how they toured Brugges, Belgium together, and now here are some more adventures - and every day life, too!

One of their favorite trips was to the Brittany and Normandy regions of France. Mom had always read about Mont St. Michel and look! Here they are!

Jesse sort of blends in with the marsh grasses, but she's right there, behind Lucky! The tide was out on their way out of Mont St. Michel, so someone (probably Mom) got this great idea to walk through where the water had been. Jesse and Lucky enjoyed it thoroughly, we're sure. Can you say, "mud, silt and stinky goop"? When they got back to where the hotel was ... well, let's just say what hadn't dried and fallen off in the car needed to dry and fall off before they went back inside.

Here are the girls and Dad, kicking back and letting the Channel silt dry.

We heard stories that the maids at that hotel fell in love with our great sisters and brought them buttered croissants every morning. Can you imagine!?!

A favorite day trip was to go to Dinant, Belgium, on the Meuse River. Sometimes they'd stop at Namur. This picture is the girls and Mom taking a break in a park in Namur. Doesn't it look peaceful?

They had more cool European adventures, but Mom hasn't scanned the pictures yet. We'll get her to work on that this week and will post more next Sunday.

One of their best "at home" adventures was their first snowfall! Here they are howling about it with Dad! Wooooooo!

They also did a lot of work, as Sibes always do. Mom took some photography classes while they were there and was working on a series of food still-lifes. As she developed the pictures, she realized Lucky was doing sort of an Alfred Hitchcock thing - she had a cameo appearance somewhere in each picture. Here's our favorite:Mom decided to go with that theme, and it worked out well for her. We're sure it was Lucky's idea!

Tune in again next Sunday as we salute our great-sisters, Jesse and Lucky!

The Army of Four

Tuffys!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Some of my very dear Siberian and Malamute friends and we were talking about a toy called "Tuffys". Some of them like the toy, some of them don't, and then we were discussing if they're really as "tuff" as the makers claim. They decided the SiberMal Society should do some product testing. After further discussion, it was agreed that the testing should fall to me! AKA... the Jaws of Steel. Hee hee hee! I hope I can do everysibeandmal proud!

My dear and beautiful friend Khyra sent me a Tuffy! I knew it was coming, so when the man with the big brown truck dropped the package off, I got to go help bring it in!

This is it! The package from Khyra!

There were actually two packages delivered, and Zim was hoping we were supposed to test what was in the other box!

Ooooh! Latte!!

Sorry, Zim. Mom and Dad said "no".

I opened the box and saw this lovely note from Khyra. I like to read notes first!

She wished me "Happy testing!" (she's so sweet!) and there were some cool coasters in there from Siberian Nights Beer. Ooooh! Is THAT what I'm supposed to try?

Storm checked things out and said these are too cool-looking to chew up and that I should try the Tuffy.

Hmm. I like the colors! And the pretty flowers.

Mom and I took it downstairs, so I could play without anysibe trying to take it away from me. I do some of my best chewing down there! Here I am, trying it out:

Here are my initial findings:

Dave was interested in it, though ...

Can I try it out?

He tried it last night and will post his findings on Monday! Stay tuned!

Love,
Ammy

Signs of Life in the Garden!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Our friends at the Forget Sit and Stay pack posted a picture of some bee-roo-tiful roses from their garden! They're just gorgeous and they picked them for Sherman's mom, which was really sweet. We don't have many flowers in our gardens yet, but there are some signs of life out there. Buds here and there, the Texas Quince is blooming, the grass is growing and ... then there's the obvious.

OSWALD!

Pretty good camo job, but I knew he was out there! Mom said something about being more than willing to send him to Sherman's mom - or to Sherman - but I'm sure she was joking. I'm pretty sure she was joking. He really hasn't eaten that much of our garden yet. Besides ... I think Oswald might really be Oswaldia and we might have a lot of tiny Oswalds hopping around here pretty soon. Oh, my, are we going to be busy!

Love,
Ammy

Oh, the Irony!

Ha roo, pups. It's me - Zim! We saw this great Overboard cartoon this morning, featuring everypup's favorite cartoon Lab - Louie! Here it is:

In case you can't read that last panel, here it is:

We thought that was pretty funny, especially in terms of how we Siberians shed our fluffy double coats. Let's just say Labs have nothing on us when it comes to shedding. Ha roo roo roo. Of course, Storm has us on a rotation schedule so that at least one of us is blowing coat at all times -- just to keep Mom on her toes. And the vacuum plugged in.

But hey, check this out:

Can you see it? It's crossing over my white stripe that runs down my head and my eye brow area. See it now? A people hair. How's THAT for a bit of irony?

Play bows and ha roo roo roo!
Zim

It's New Bag of Cookies Day!

Tail wags, pups; Storms here! It's New Bag of Cookies Day. Time to pop a bag open!

Sniff, sniff. Ah... yes. April of 08. A fine month for cookies.

We're having some Old Mother Hubbard assorted cookies.

Who wants to come over?

Tail wags,
Storms

Sew What Tuesday

Woo, everypup. It's me - Dave, Guide Dog For The Color Blind. Mom and I knocked out a big project last week - a large baby quilt and pillow. We both really like it; we hope the friend Mom made it for and her new grandson will like it, too. I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

Here's the quilt; it's about 48” x 57”.

It actually lays nice and flat, but Mom didn't want to put it on the floor to photograph it. I'm not sure why not. Anywoo, she held it up on that shelving unit with CDs or something. I would have held it for her, except for the whole "no opposable thumbs" thing. And I'm not tall enough.

The pattern is called "Yellow Brick Road". Because we chose some Noah's Ark fabs and some reds, Mom decided to call it "Noah's Brick Path". Woo.

Here's a close up:

I chose a variegated red, white and blue quilting thread for her. Can you see it?

Here's the back:

...and a close up of the back:

She also made a coordinating pillow. Here's that:

...and here's the back:

She loves how she was able to use that stripe of Noah's Ark. And she said that with all the rain we've gotten lately, we might NEED that ark. Woo, my feety-feet keep getting wet!

Anywoo, thanks for looking! Now Mom and I are hard at work on our bags!

Luv,
Dave, GDFTCB

Quiz Time

Ha roo, pups. It's me - Zim. The Z-man. It's time for a Monday morning pup quiz.

Your biped has made the bed with fresh sheets and a just-washed quilt. While she's in the shower, you make a sweet nest for yourself in the fresh bedding and rest your tired head on one of the pillows. Your biped gets out of the shower and sees that you've made yourself comfy. The question is: How well have you trained your biped?

Does she "scold" you for "trashing" the bed? Or does she admire your cute poses and handiwork? For extra credit, does she grab the camera?

Mmm, Downey fresh!
Sure, Mom. Chest scratchies sound great.

You don't want me to move, do you?

A close-up? Sure. Knock yourself out.

Yep. Right where I want her. How about you guys? Are you up to taking the pup quiz?

Play bows and zzzzzzs,
The Z-man

Sunday Salute - Our Great Sisters!

Our great sisters, Jesse and Lucky, were born 25 years ago this April, so all month long, we are going to Salute them! They were half-sisters; their bio-daddy (Gingerbread Man) was from the Karnovanda line in Michigan! In fact, go to this link and see that top photo of Ch. Karnovanda's Wolfgang? That was their grand-daddy. Or perhaps great-grand-daddy! Cool, huh?

But Gingerbread Man moved to Belgium, met two gorgeous Belgian champs (Fiesta and D'vanya), and our great-sisters were born! We've shared some pix of them before (here and here), but we tasked Mom to scan some more! They're less than 6 months old in the pix we're sharing today! In this one, they're probably 10 weeks old, at most.

Lucky on the left, Jess on the right

They were both bi-eyed, like all of us except Dave. They taught Mom and Dad a lot about Sibes and trained them very well for those of us to come. Jesse was very sweet and kind, like someone else we all know and love; Lucky was very much the smart, sassy, black and white alpha like someone else we could mention. In fact, here's Lucky, challenging our dad to a game of chess.

Excuse me, I believe that's CHECK MATE!

On Belgian Independence Day of 1983, they were invited to the home of some Belgian friends of Mom and Dad. At the tender age of about 3 months, they made a very important discovery. Seafood.

Crab leg? What is a 'crab leg'?
Yes, you may peel one for me. Je t'en prie, Sarah...

This was Lucky's reaction:

Enough with the cuddling and sweet-talk, Sarah! Where's the rest of the crab?!?

Even though Halloween isn't celebrated in Belgium like it is in the States, that didn't stop Mom from trying to dress them up. Here they are as Little Red Riding Hood and the "Big Bad Wolf".

Not only do think Jesse was type-cast as the so-called Big Bad Wolf, since her coat was registered as "wolf grey" but... shouldn't she have her jaws wrapped around "Little Red" instead of the other way around? Ha roo roo roo!

Tune in next Sunday as we once again salute our great-sisters, Jesse and Lucky.

The Army of Four

P-Update from Nikki!

Ha roo, pups! It's me - Zim. I exchanged some mighty interesting emails this week with our pal Nikki in Northern Cyprus. She said I could share her news with you. You won't believe how tough her job there has gotten!

In her first email, she told us, "Hey Everysibe! Just thought that I would let you know that on top of all my other duties in protecting the property against marauding cats and vicious dogs I now have to watch out for stray cows!" Stray cows?!?! Holy ... cow. Here's Nikki checking it out!

Can you see the cow there, just beyond the wall? (And yes, that's the Mediterranean Sea in the distance ... sigh. I'll bet that's as fun as an ocean.) (Why is Stormy 'ha roo roo rooing' at me?) Anyway, she said the cow looked much bigger in person! It looks plenty big here! Check it out:

The intruder

Nikki said it was not the only cow around, "There were lots of them and there was a lady running around with a bucket pulling at their tummies! There was also a little baby one that we saw when we went walkies. I wanted to go and 'check it out' but Mom wouldn't let me - meanie that she is!!!" Yeah, moms are like that, aren't they?

Nikki went on to say, "They make the funniest noise too!! MOOOOOOOO!! I thought it was WOOOOOOO at first and was going to play with them until I saw their size!" Yeah! The Deeve met some cows once and was totally confused by them imitating us Sibes!

That whole "lady with a bucket" thing confused me, so I asked about that. "Wowzers, Niks. Lots of them? Good thing you're on the job, or they could have invaded! I wonder what the lady was doing to their tummies? Tummy rubs, do you think? And a bucket? How odd."

She told me that her mom said something about milk, and added, "but I know that milk comes from cartons!!!" Oh, ha roo roo roo! Nikki's mom is so funny! We ALL know milk comes from cartons - what kind of joke was she trying to pull on Nikki? Then I figured maybe the lady was giving the cows tummy rubs so they'd go to the market for her and buy her some milk. Don't you think?

Nikki said that their perimeter is safe for the moment! Really, Nikki, we are so proud of you and the work you do! You totally deserve that room with the view of the Med. Stay safe, friend, keep your bipeds safe, and don't work too hard! Oh! And beware of moo cows!

Play bows,
Zim