Greetings to all! It's me, Mags! Today, while Mom and Dad were getting their lunch ready, I was under Dad's chair and noticed Ragnar was under Mom's chair. I thought it was time Ragnar and I stepped up our game and sent him a mind-meld message, "Double Chin Rest on 3!! 1 ... 2 ... 3!!!"
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| "We're professionals; do not try this at home." "We did it, Mags! We did it! OK ... must ... concentrate!" |
I'm so proud of Ragnar. This isn't easy.
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! Yesterday afternoon, Maggie and I were helping our mom a whole lot in her Studio ...
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| "Coming through!" "Not if I can help it!" |
... when I decided to try to hide from Mags to ask Mom if I could help drive her machine.
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| "Hi, Mom. Can I help drive the Bernina?!? By the way, don't tell Mags where I--" "HEY! There you are!" |
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| "I just step on this, right, Mom?" "Well, that one goes to the Pfaff, but you can drive that one and I'll drive the Bernina, OK?" "Ah, c'mom, Raggi! Chase me!" |
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| "I've got an important job to do here, Mags." "The Pfaff isn't even turned on, bro." |
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| "It was working a minute ago ..." "Hey. What the ... did someone just unplug my lamp?!?" "I may have tripped over some cords. Don't worry, I'm OK. Now ... chase me, Raggi! You know you want to!" |
I gave in and chased Mags for a while. It seemed to make Mom happy; she said we were really helpful! All in all, I'd say it was a very productive afternoon in the Studio!
Sköl!
Ragnar
Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. This morning was another chilly, overcast day -- just perfect for a nice, long walk! For some reason my mom refers to this weather as "unseasonably cold and gloomy", but Ragnar and I love it! I thought Mom could use some cheering up, so I did one of my famous signature moves:
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| "Boooooooooo ..." "❤️❤️ Oh, my Maggie!!! ❤️❤️" |
Works like a charm! She loves it when I boo at her. Oh. And Goldilocks -- I mean my mom -- had cookies, so I scored one each for Ragnar and myself for my efforts.
What a great day!
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie. Ragnar and I did a lot of work yesterday - took our mom and dad on a nice, long walk, supervised them while they worked in the gardens (or maybe it was more like watched them through the windows ...), helped in the Studio, were on kitchen duty -- a mighty active day. So last night while they watched a TV show that didn't interest either me or Raggi ...
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| "Zzz ..." "Zzz ..." |
Yeah. Bor-ing. We need to find a good British mystery show!
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. Since you all seem to like my stories so much (Little Red and the Handsome Wolf and Alice in Wonderland), I thought I'd tell you another one. This came to me on our walk this morning. It's called "Goldilocks and The Three Bears", and it goes like this ...
Once upon a time, three bears were walking through the forest. Well, maybe more like across a prairie, but whatever. You've got the Papa Bear, the Mama Bear, and the Baby Bear. And a photo-happy girl we'll call Goldilocks.
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| "Hey, Baby Bear and Mama Bear! Let me get a photo of you in the sunrise!" said Goldilocks. "Fine," said Baby Bear, "but I'm not looking at the camera." "I refuse to be called 'Mama Bear'. And I'm not looking, either," said the bear who made it known that she should henceforth be referred to as 'Bad A$$ Bear'. |
At that point, Baby Bear decided he should be called "Viking Bear" ... but let's get back to our story ...
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| "How about a photo up here?" asked Goldilocks. |
Viking Bear refused to look at Goldilocks, Bad A$$ Bear refused to look at Goldilocks, and Papa Bear was covered in shadows!
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| "Let's try another shot," suggested Goldilocks. "Viking Bear - good boy! But uh ... Bad A$$ Bear? Papa Bear?" |
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| "How's this, Goldilocks?" asked Viking Bear. "Whatever," said Bad A$$ Bear. "Whatcha looking at, Bad A$$ Bear?" said Papa Bear. |
Note that Viking Bear was being VERY good -- but we seem to have lost Bad A$$ Bear. Then Goldilocks had an idea!
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| "How about a treat?!?" asked Goldilocks. And she stuck her hand into the magic treat pouch. |
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| "Oh. Son of a -- I only have one!" exclaimed Old Mother Hubbard. I mean Goldilocks. "I can't even look at you, Goldilocks," said Bad A$$ Bear. "You only have ONE?!?" remarked Viking Bear, as he peered at her out of the corner of his eye. |
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| "No way," said Viking Bear. "No way," said Bad A$$ Bear. "I can't believe you forgot to bring treats!" said the Papa Bear. |
So the bears ate Goldilocks.
Just kidding.
Goldilocks swore up and down she'd make it up to everyone when they got back to Ao4 Headquarters their cottage.
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| "Heard that one before," said Bad A$$ Bear. "Really, Mo--uh, Goldilocks?" asked Viking Bear. "I promise! Treats for everyone!" said Goldilocks. |
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| "Fine," said Bad A$$ Bear. "But you owe us." "We'll hold you to it," said Viking Bear. "Let's go," said Papa Bear. "This one's JUST RIGHT!" said Goldilocks. |
So Goldilocks and the three bears walked home. Once there, Goldilocks was true to her word:
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| "The treat containers are right behind us, Goldilocks!" reminded the ever-helpful Viking Bear. "Yeah. Pay up," said Bad A$$ Bear. "Treats for everyone!" proclaimed Goldilocks. |
And sure enough, when Papa Bear got in from hanging up Viking Bear's and Bad A$$ Bear's harnesses ...
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| "Here's your treat, Papa Bear!" said Goldilocks. "Mmm, coffee!" exclaimed Papa Bear. |
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. After a hard afternoon of napping working in the Studio, it's important to get a good stretch in.
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| "Ready to go upstairs, pups?" "Strrrrrettttttcccchhh ... and hold ..." "Keep it down, you two. I'm still working." |
Then it's time to go upstairs and help make dinner. There may be cheese that needs to be taste-tested. You never know.
Sköl!
Ragnar
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. Mags and I have had a busy morning, and a busy week, and knowing that we have a busy weekend ahead of us ...
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| "Zzz..." |
... I thought I should rest up.
Sköl!
Ragnar
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! As you know, the other day Maggie suggested that I tell the story of Alice In Wonderland. Or as she put it, "Aventures d'Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles." I thought it was a challenge worth accepting, and had a go at it.
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| "OK, um ... Aventures d'Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles ..." |
Then I realized our copy of the book is in French. I'm pretty sure I don't speak much French. I was hoping there were a lot of pictures.
The book is definitely about a girl named Alice. She goes on some kind of adventure and ...
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| "Oooh! Bunny!" |
... runs across some very different-looking characters. That bun, for instance, looked like he plays trumpet in a jazz band or something. Very odd. I continued leafing through the book:
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| "GREAT DANE IN THE MORNING! Look at the size of that cat!" |
Sorry. That cat was pretty freaky, I must say. No offense to any kit-cats out there. He had this eerie grin on his face ... and his eyes follow you everywhere!
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| "That can't be right. I need a better source. Maybe an audible book!" |
The whole "audible book" thing sounded like a great idea. I listened to what I was pretty sure was like the Cliffs Notes version of Alice then reported back to Mags.
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| "OK, back me up here, Mom. Alice trips out on some whacky mushrooms or something and runs into all these weird creatures like a hookah-smoking caterpillar, a huge bunny, an even bigger cat, and a queen who's all 'off with her head!'. Right?" Mom: "Umm ... well ..." "Have you two been listening to 60s rock again? Maybe a little Jefferson Airplane?" |
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| "Maybe. Right, Mom?" Mom: "❤️❤️ Ragnar. ❤️❤️" |
I think it's close enough. And they all lived happily ever after.
Sköl!
Ragnar
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| "Hmm ... to pose or not to pose ..." "... that is the qu--OOH! The neighbors are out!" |
Yeah. We weren't really in the mood.
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! Yesterday morning, after our walk TO SEE THE HORSES, Maggie and I messed around helped Mom in the backyard for a bit. On our way back in, we stopped and did this:
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| Me and Mags |
It made Mom feel very serene. We thought it might make you feel the same way. Have a great Sunday!
Sköl!
Ragnar
Greetings to all! It's me, Mags! Ragnar and I took our mom and dad on a nice, long walk this morning! We did a loop around the Kansas State University football stadium and the Vet School, then headed back toward home. We had already hit the 6 mile mark when we smelled something incredible! Ragnar was the first to smell it - then I did. Finally, Mom and Dad saw what had us all pumped up -- there were HORSES in CiCo Park!!!
You know we love cows -- but wow, horses are even better! I knew Mom and Dad were getting tired, so I didn't think we'd be able to go over to the park to see them. Ragnar REALLY wanted to, though, and ... well ... let's just say Dad has a really hard time saying "no" to either one of us!
We crossed over the big street and headed into the park, then got a good look at our new friends!
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| "The park's FULL of horses, Ragnar!" "I told you I smelled them, Mags!" |
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| "Hi, lady! That's a beautiful horse you've got there!" |
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| "I think they're having a horse meeting down here, Mags." "Must be a show of some sort, Raggi. Let's check it out." |
We watched by the fence for a while. There were people riding, people making their horses go in circles, they were doing all kinds of cool stuff! We especially liked this guy:
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| "Hi, horse! Good luck with whatever you're doing!" "Yeah! And to your little cowboy there, too!" |
Sure, it tacked on about another 3/4 of a mile or so to an already long walk, but it was HORSES! What a great day!
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
PS: For the record, if we were the excitable sort or barked or did other things that would excite the horses, Mom and Dad wouldn't have let us go over there. We don't want to cause issues for any of the participants at the event!
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. On our walk yesterday, Mom and Dad hadn't really planned to walk up to the hills above Colbert Hills, but Mags and I really wanted to. When we got to the top, we did this:
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| "Yay, we're at the top!" "What an awesome hill!!!" "❤️❤️ Good puppies!!!! ❤️❤️ " |
Tell me that's not worth the climb!
Later in the walk, Mom asked Mags and me to pose. I was still feeling really happy so ...
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| "I'm so happy! Isn't this great?" "Raggi! Do your serious look!" |
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| "OK, sorry, Mags. Is this better?" "PERFECT!" |
Mom said she can definitely tell we're related. I wonder what she means by that?
Sköl!
Ragnar
Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. While Mom was quilting away the other day and Ragnar was working on his Pickle, I browsed around the Library a bit and found something interesting.
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| "Aventures d'Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles. Huh." |
It's Alice In Wonderland. Only en français, as they say. You know ... Ragnar did such a great job explaining Little Red Riding Hood, I think he should tackle Alice next.
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| "I think this is a great idea!" |
What do you think?
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! This morning, we took another great walk to The Top Of The World! We had a super pretty sunrise on the way out:
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| "Look at that sunrise, Ragnar!" "Stunning!" "Your coats are glowing!!!" |
Mom loves the early morning "Golden Hour" lighting! There were some awesome breezes going (probably about 20 mph), and Maggie and I kept raising our snooters to check the great smells they brought in:
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| "I think I smell Oklahoma!" "Could be Colorado!" |
It was a south-southwest wind, so it could have been either one. Or the farm near the trail. Who knows?!? But they were great smells!
When we got up top, we paused to take it all in:
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| "Let me survey my kingdom!" "This is so perfect, Mags! It's my kingdom, too, right?" |
She said it was.
We were very focused on checking out the whole park down below. Mom even shot a very short video of us:
To view on YouTube, please click here.
Apparently Mom had a hard time focusing on the mission at hand -- a video of us!
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| "I think it was a crow!" "BIRDIE! I mean, yeah. Big crow, Mags." |
But then ... maybe we get distracted easily, too.
Sköl!
Ragnar
Greetings to all! It's me, Mags! This morning, we took our mom and dad up to The Top Of The World. We hadn't been up there for a few days, so we were super happy to go that way. When we got to the top, we did this:
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| Ragnar and me |
I think that made Mom super happy! Something for everyone at The Top Of The World -- right?!?
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. Mags and I thought we'd share pix from our walk today - it was really serene and long and lots of fun. Ready to go?
First, we hit Anneberg Park. That was great. We hadn't been to Anneberg in quite a while.
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| "It's fun to be back in Anneberg!" "It is! I love the woodsy parts of the trail!" |
And we all know what else I love in Anneberg, right?!?
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| "It's the BRIDGE!!! Can we?!?" "Yeah, Mom & Dad! You can't say 'no' to Raggi!!" |
Mom and Dad couldn't refuse.
Once over the bridge, we kept going and going. We walked up that Miller Parkway Trail we've shown you a few times:
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| "This is so great!" "I love going up this hill!" |
Here's a pretty scenery shot along the trail:
When we hit the top, instead of turning around, we kept going. We stopped and did this quick pose while Mom took some landscape shots:
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| Mags and me |
Here's one of her landscapes:
You can see forever up there! We continued for quite a while, until we hit a new-ish housing area. Our side of the street was undeveloped, but there were houses on the other. In one of the yards, we noticed something REALLY odd! Mom said it was a robotic lawnmower, but we thought we should sit and stare at it for a while.
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| "Full alert, Ragnar!" "I'm not taking my eyes off that thing!!!" |
We stared until we were sure that thing posed no harm to the world and all of mankind. You can't be too careful!
We eventually headed back, but came home a different route. It's always fun to walk a different way -- more smells! Here we are along Scenic Drive, crossing back over Wildcat Creek:
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| "BRIDGE!!!" "The creek's looking good!" |
That bridge isn't as fun as some of the others, but it's still a bridge. And I do love bridges!
That was our walk today! We got 9.5 miles in. It was a record, so Maggie did zoomies to celebrate when we got home. She's kind of wild and crazy like that.
Thanks for coming with us! I hope you feel nice and serene!
Sköl!
Ragnar
