More Baking!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Mom did more baking this week, but this time it was very exciting!  Why?  Well, feast your eyes on these luscious baked goods:

Yes. They look like biscotti, don't they? And if you could smell them, you'd get the full scent of peanut butter - with just a touch of cinnamon. The house was filled with the aroma of peanut butter! Mmm... peanut butter!!! And here's the kicker -- they aren't biscotti. They are Wooscotti!!!!

"You made Wooscotti?!?!"
"Tell me I'm not dreaming!"

YES!!! Some of you may remember our dear Siberian friends Kat and Steve -- and their cat Wilbur. Their mom makes Wooscotti for them (click here for her recipe) and our mom finally broke down and made this delectable treat for us!  They are like biscotti, but for pups - whole wheat, peanut butter,  cinnamon, no sweeteners or anything.  They're so peanut buttery and so YUMMY!!!  They're enough to make me do this:

"Only one thing will get me to smile while pose like this..."

"That's putting the 'woo' into the Wooscotti!"

Well, no, we don't get a whole one or anything - but that's OK.  They're mighty huge.  We're just glad Mom finally made some for us!  Thanks, Steve and Kat!!!  I hope your mom makes some for you guys this Christmas, too!!!

For the record, Dad tasted them, too (don't think we didn't see you, Dad!) and he thinks they're pretty good.  I wonder if this means I can taste the pistachio and cherry biscotti Mom made for him ...

Ho ho ho, everyone!

Cammie!

Wet Winter Walkies

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  We had a string of cold, wet, wintry days.  What better way to chase the dreary weather away than a family walk -- am I right?!?

The other day, we took Mom and Dad up the big hill and swung into the shopping center area.  I checked my furs in the windows -

"Who is tha--oh.  Right.  It's me!"

Mom wanted us to pose in the pagoda area, but ...

"Not feelin' it, Mom."
"No pictures, please."

We walked further, enjoying the day!  There was a bitterly cold wind blowing off the Kansas Ocean.

"Oh, now that's awesome!  Feel the breeze, Cam!"
"Wait... I think I see someone."

I thought someone was coming, but I was mistaken.  Apparently, we really were the only ones out enjoying the day, like Mom kept saying.  (For the record, she may have tossed in the words "crazy", "cold", and "Siberians", too, but Maggie and I aren't sure what that has to do with anything!)

"Ooooh, Mags!  That feels so good!  What a lovely, cold wind!"
"Isn't it great?!?!"

The only way it could have gotten better was if it had started snowing!  Well, no.  One thing that did make the day even better ... we got to go up my favorite hill!!!

"Awesome hill, Cam!"
"It's my very favorite!!!"

It was a great, cold, blustery walk!  When we got home, Mom said it took the edge off of us "just enough".  Unfortunately, when we asked "Just enough for what?" ...

"Right.  I should have known."
"Seriously, Mom?"

Still worth it! What a great walk! Now if Santa will only bring us some snow!!!

Cammie!

Our Vets ROCK!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  You know, registered name Polargold's Margaret Thatcher.  Right. So ... yesterday, Mom called in a refill request to our vets (the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University) for my monthly preventative stuff.  Dad stopped by to pick it up while he was out doing errands.  Why is this of note?  Well ... check out the bag:

"I love you guys, too!"

Spreading the love.  Seriously. Do our vets ROCK, or what?!?! They're the coolest.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

PS:  Beth?  I know that's your writing.  You owe me eleventy-seven cookies.  - Mags

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

In The End ...

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Let me just say, on behalf of Cam and myself, that in the end, we gave Mom what she wanted.

Please click here if vid won't play.

The big finish, for those who missed it:

Cam and me!

Isn't that what counts?  Giving Mom two HAPPY puppies in the Santa hats?!?

Yeah. We let her take another one, too.

Cam and me again!

Ho ho ho!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Outtake Monday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Mom is still trying to get "the perfect" shot of Maggie and me on the front porch by the Christmas trees.  It's something we do every year.  Knowing, knowing dear readers, how much you enjoy the outtakes, we thought we'd share one with you this morning.  It's my own favorite.

We went out there after a walk, giving it all we had to give!  Mom took shot after shot after -- well, you know.  Mags and I were getting just a WEE bit bored with the whole thing, when ...

"Mags?  What do you think?"
"Oh, yeah, Cam.  I can have this off of you lickety-splits!  AND eat that pom-pom in the process!"

Is she the best little sister EVER or what?!?  Mom said it was a wrap right after that one!

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie!  Mom has done a tiny bit of birding this week, and we thought stepping back from the hustle and bustle and wearing of Santa hats associated with the Christmas holidays and looking at birdies might help everyone find their inner serenity!  Ready?

Remember the other day when we told you we saw some Redhead Ducks at the Kansas Ocean?  There were two, hanging out with a small flock of Canada Geese!  Here's one of them:

Redhead Duck and Canada Goose!

Mom thought it was a Ring-Necked Duck at first - the females can be tough to ID!  There weren't any males around, so it was a hard call.  In fact, someone in one of Mom's bird groups was the one to tell her they are Redheads!  Here's a look at the other one:

Redhead Duck

See the white mottling in her head?  That totally threw Mom off.

We've had some Cedar Waxwings visiting the neighborhood!  Here are two in one of our Redbud Trees!

Cedar Waxwings!

The one on the left is a molting immature Cedar Waxwing -- just a baby!

Here's an adult:

Mom is really happy with how that one came out!

This Robin was busy hopping around under the trees:

American Robin - Maggie likes to stalk these, just for the record.

Mom also went out to Tuttle Creek State Park real fast with Dad one afternoon.  On their way into the park, Mom saw this hawk, perched high atop a cedar tree:

Red Tailed Hawk

Mom often hears Kingfishers and sees them fly by.  Unfortunately, that's mostly what she gets -- glimpses.  They aren't among the most cooperative birds in the world, apparently.  Anyway, she saw one fly by - then was able to see where she landed!  Mom shot from all the way across Willow Lake, but here's a look:

Female Belted Kingfisher

Isn't she pretty?  Mom was mighty happy!  And serene.  Speaking of which ...

...is anyone else feeling it?

Maggie (upside down) and me, feeling very serene!

I hope you feel as serene as we do!  Happy Sunday!

Cammie!

Told You So!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  This morning, Cam and I took Mom on a great walk!  When we got to the entrance of Hudson Trail, Mom wanted us to pose on the chunks of limestone.  Fortunately for her, she remembered the treats -- so we obliged with this:

"What kind of treats did you bring?"
"Is it Fruitables?  I love those!"

But then ...

"Umm... Mags?"
"Ooh!  Birdies!"

I couldn't help it!  I saw birdies!

"I'm still paying attention, Mom."
"No, really, Mom!  Birdies!  I'd say a small flock of Canada Geese..."

Seriously.  I'm totally getting into this birding thing!  Mom finally looked up.  She only had her iPhone, but here it is:

Small flock of Canada Geese

Yep.  Just.  Like.  I.  Said.  BOOM!

"Good grief.  Her, too?"
"Told you so, Mom!"

Do you share any hobbies with your bipeds?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

My Friends!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Last year around this time, I made some new friends!  I hadn't seen them in about a year --- until the other morning!

"Hello, friends!"

It was wonderful to see them - but what with them being friends and all, even when I don't physically SEE them, I can feel them in my heart.  That being said, I reminded them that they are always welcome in our home - and that we'd leave some lights on for them!

When we got back from our walk, Cam and I made sure they could find our house - we plugged in our outside Christmas trees.

"I think we're set, Mags!"
"Let's keep watch for them, Cammie!"

I just know they'll come see us!  We're ready!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Christmas Cookies

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie.  Cam and I have been showing you a lot of our decorations lately, but we've also been very helpful with the Christmas baking spree!  Or at least we've tried to be.  There seems to be a pattern to the whole thing, so I thought I'd address that today.

It starts out with a long walk, like the one we took this morning...

Up the hill on the big street, and cross at the light:

"Let's go, let's go, let's go, everybody!""
Hurry, Mom, the light's changing!"

Not only is there no time to dilly-dally when crossing that street, there isn't time to grab your sister by the neck and do the "shake-y-shake-shake".  You know ... in case you were wondering about that. Ahem.

After we hustled Mom across the street, we struck a pose for her at the Grand Mère Village sign:

"Hey, Mom.  Too bad you didn't bring our Santa hats, huh?"
"You ... don't have those things tucked in a pocket or anything, do you?"
"We can always come back later with the hats..."

We decided we should hurry along.

We looped behind Fire House 5:

Through the woods:

Past the Great Wall of Kansas:

Then enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells at the Kansas Ocean:

"Check out that wake!"
"It's those two Redhead Ducks we saw yesterday!"
"Why didn't I bring the camera?!?"

Mom's comment was one of those "rhetorical questions".  She knows full well if she had lugged her 87-million pound camera with us, the ducks wouldn't have been there.  Moving right along ...

It was a nice, long walk, with plenty of excitement, so that, like all the other baking days, by the time Mom gets around to doing things like this:

Mom's cut-out cookies!

All we are interested in doing is this:

"Mom?  Can you handle this without me?"
"Just lay your head down, Little One.  Mom'll be fine."

Honestly.  It's ... it's almost like Mom plans it this way!

I'm not sure what's on tap for today, but I hope Mom doesn't need to much help.  I feel a nap coming on!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wellness Protein Bars!

Greetings to all.  It's me, Maggie.  Guess what time it is?!?!  Well, yes.  It's Christmas time.  But it's also time for ...

Me and Cam - and the package we LOVE to see!

... a product review for the good people at Chewy.com!

We couldn't wait to see what our friend Sydney at Chewy.com had sent for us to try this month! Mom finally opened the package and this is what we had:

"Check these out!  Protein bars!"
"From the good people at Wellness!"

Wellness CORE Grain-Free Protein Bars -- the Chicken and Turkey with Sweet Potatoes kind.  Three things we LOVE!!!  We checked the package first and were pleased to see they are made in the US from 100% natural ingredients!  Outstanding!

Mom got one out for each of us. Here's Cammie, sizing them up:

"One square inch by about one quarter of an inch of incredible-smelling goodness!"

Here's a great feature - they're so hard and crunchy Mom can't break them into smaller pieces! I guess we'll just have to have whole ones! At 16 calories per treat, I don't really think it's a problem, do you?

Here I am, getting mine:

"Yummerz!!!"

Here's the strange part that just thrilled Mom -- we actually took our time and chewed them.

Me, actually chewing my Wellness CORE Protein Bar

That really doesn't happen very often. We wanted to take our time and savor them!

Mom wanted one more shot of us with the Wellness CORE Protein Bars bag. The big finish, you know? I decided, what with it being Christmas and all, to take it up to the next level. Umm... literally.

Cam, me, and the Wellness CORE Protein Bars

Tell me that doesn't make for a great shot! Seriously. How boring would it be if we were both on the bed in front of the ottoman?  And I don't think Santa minds me being up there. Not. One. Bit.  (Side note:  I'll bet my mentor, Teddy Westlife will LOVE this!)

Anyway - we give the Wellness CORE Protein Bars 5 out of 5 stars! That hard crunch is a great teeth-cleaner, we LOVE the chicken, turkey, and sweet potato combo, and we love the 100% natural, made in the USA!!! Thank you, Sydney at Chewy.com for letting us try another great product!

AND ... we also got a surprise package in the mail from Sydney!

Me and Cam with lots of treats from Sydney at Chewy.com!!!

Thank you, Sydney, for the thoughtful note and gift! We are so happy to be a part of the Chewy.com family!!!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

DISCLAIMER: We received no payment for this post, but did receive the Wellness CORE Protein Bars free of charge from Chewy.com - in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. And mom's.  Her only concern was not being able to break the treats up into smaller pieces (what a crying shame!) but since we actually chew these, she's thrilled!

The Last Tree!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  If you've been reading our blog since Thanksgiving, you'll know that we have three major Christmas trees in the house - plus a tiny one on the mantle.  There is the Patriotic Tree, the tree full of angels and Christmas Nativity carvings, and last, but not least, the ... other tree.  The one ... whispering ... with Sock Monkey on it.  Right.  That one. We need to come up with names for the trees.  Anyway, we thought we'd show you a few special things on that tree today!

"Let's take a look at this tree today!"
"Yeah.  Careful, though.  It's got a Maggie Motion Monitor that goes off if you get too close!"

Right.  At the top of the tree is the Chrismon Crown we showed you last week.  There are all kinds of ornaments on the tree - from Germany, Belgium, and all over the States.  They range from store-bought to hand-made, and each one has a special memory behind it.  See the pretty poinsettia cloth around the base?  Mom's grandmother embroidered that!

Look at these beautiful mittens!

Our great brothers, Zim and Dave won the blue one from Mitch and his angel sister Maggie in 2011 and the red one from Mitch and Mollie in 2012! Their mom made them - aren't they gorgeous!?!  They are very special to us!

Here's another one of our favorites - a very fun-looking husky holding a snowman down:

I'm fairly certain the husky found the snowman like that and had nothing to do with him being flat on the ground, contrary to some assertions I've heard.  Ahem.

We love this ornament:

What it's all about!

We keep it front and center, to help us remember what Christmas is all about!

There are a bunch of other ornaments on there, each one very special.  Oh.  Right.  And, as I mentioned, this is the tree Sock Monkey is on.

"That Me Motion Monitor needs new batteries or something, Mom.  It keeps going off."
"Don't worry, Mom.  I'm watching her."

At least we didn't have to wear the Santa hats today - right?  We hope you enjoyed seeing our Christmas tree!

Cammie!