PASTA!!!

Shrimp, garlic, onion, lemon juice, butter, and some special kind of pasta that my Aunt Elaine gets at the Farmer's Market in Brighton. I don't know how it tasted, but Mom says it was HEAVENLY!! My nose agrees!

YUM!


PS (added 7/10/09) - Auntie Elaine sent Mom the recipe and the name of the pasta. It's Pappardelle's Lemon Garlic Linguini. If you click on the Lemon Garlic link under "Flat Pasta", the recipe for "Spicy Creamy Shrimp Over Lemon Garlic Pasta" will pop up. Mom says that Lemon Bars from Wegman's Bakery are everly so deliciious for dessert, too! I have to take her word for it. I wasn't offered any. (pout)

A New York Yorkie!!

Mary-Margaret, Tourist!!

















Aunt Elaine and my VERY good friends, Abbey Mia and Harper:


















DOWNTOWN ROCHESTER:









Downtown Rochester:











THE ERIE CANAL - ALL DUG BY HAND. IMAGINE THAT!! ALL THE WAY FROM BUFFALO TO ALBANY. THAT'S A LONG LONG WAY.






















THE KITCHEN:






THE DEN AND SUNROOM

















ABBEY MIA


HARPER








MY MOST COMFORTABLE PLACE ON EARTH:

Friends, Food, Fun!!

First off, you'll get pictures when my mom's camera starts talking to her computer again. But we have a few that the trusty old cell phone had in it, for starters, at least.

You'll see that I claimed MY spot as soon as we got to Aunt Elaine's in Rochester. She has a very comfy lap and gives everly such great back rubs.


Here's me "on the boardwalk" on the shores of Lake Ontario. There's a sandy beach with some guys playing volleyball, a pier, and looking North, some pretty nifty beach houses. All in all, it's pretty much like the ocean except no salt and teensy little waves. I like it.



And here's a picture of the shoreline just before it really started raining hard.

Here's the carousel in the park on the shore. It's a little dark because there were some really big black thunder clouds above us. The carousel was built in 1905 - over ONE HUNDRED years ago:






We'll post more pictures when we can. Mostly I would like to say that it's a five hour drive from our house to Abbey Mia and Harper's place. It goes by fast because everything is so beautiful to look at. There are so many tree covered mountains, and little valleys with post card perfect houses on them, and the roads are the best kept ones ever. Everyone is pretty polite here. No rude honking or making hand signals like they do in California. Life pretty much slows down and it's a really good feeling, you know?

Oh....I forgot to tell you. Another kitty came to visit me today. This one had colors just like mine, too. Just like a "Yorkie-Kitty", I guess. It was wearing a collar and a tag. The word must be out: "Mary-Margaret is here!!"

We'll tell you more about Auntie Elaine's place later, too. One thing Mom says is that her house is one of the "Happiest Places on Earth". Just wait until you see her kitchen. That was MY other favorite place, right up there with her lap.

Where I am and where I'm going!!

This is the FIRST time in my whole life I've seen a sign like this in a super market parking lot. There's a river that runs behind the market and all along the highway, though. Maybe there's ducks? And they can see that they're not welcome here?






Here we are crossing over the river. Mom's only got her cell phone so it's hard to see how beautiful it really is. I just LOVE Pennsylvania. Oh, did I mention that my chipmunk friend came by to see me today? Mom tried to get a picture but he sorta blends in with the rocks and dirt.






Here's the road to our house how it looks when we're driving (with one hand on the wheel and one hand on the photo button. Egads, Mom....LOOK OUT!). We were driving on a country road this afternoon hoping to find Target, going maybe 20 miles an hour. Something gray and big with a big fuzzy tail darted out in front of us and hit the side of our car. At first Mom got all upset thinking she'd squished some critter and she started to slow down to administer first aid. But then the critter got up and dashed across the road, lickety split. Didn't look like it needed any help, at least not from the lady he ran into. Thinking about it, the sound was more of a "thwonggggggggg" than a "bump", like maybe he ran into the side of the metal. He probably has a pretty big headach. We still felt a little bad about the whole thing, and a little glad we didn't end up in a ditch trying to avoid him.









This is what our house looks like on the side of the driveway. There's a really pretty flower growing there. It sort of looks like a "Bird of Paradise", but since nobody planted it, we can't find out for sure.





And here's the front of our house. We still need some steps going up to the front porch. Maybe after we get the inside painted.

Which brings me to why we're on the computer at 11:00PM at night. We were going to bed when we spotted a spider on the ceiling. Just a black spider creepy crawling along. Our walls are just primer, so squishing it is out of the question; we don't have a fly swatter, either. And spraying it with RAID would just get the primer all oily and make it hard to paint. So, given those options, we decided to do what any brave puppy would do and ignore it. Maybe it will go back to wherever it came from. I don't think it wants to socialize with us any more than we do with it.

Tomorrow, we go to see my friends, Abbey Mia and Harper. We're really excited about that. I haven't seen them for maybe 10 months, but I remember them well. It should take us about 5 hours (give or take a bit) to get there. If the drive is as pretty as we've seen so far, it should be a lot of fun. We hope to hit Williamsport by noon. I'll keep you posted.

Love,

The Happy Wanderer, Mary-Margaret O'Brien

My Pennsylvania Friend

One of the neighborhood kitties came by to welcome me home. Mom and me were still recovering from our trip so I wasn't allowed to go out and play. But maybe tomorrow? Oh, I hope so. Me and "Kitty" visited for a really long time. I explained who I was and where California was and we talked about the weather for a bit. I think it's mean that my mom won't let me outside today, don't you?

We had a really good trip mostly. Nice people every where. I have learned to use the ladies' room in the airport which makes the whole flight a lot LOT more comfortable for me. Mom's feet swell up everytime she flies. She says it's getting annoying. If her feet were painted yellow, they'd look like Daisy Duck feet.

We rented a silver Chevy-that-looks-like-a-PT-Cruiser. Cup holders are all in the wrong place and there's not enough of them (Mom says) but otherwise it's an OK car.

Tuesday we're driving to Brighton, New York to see my VERY good friends, Abbey Mia and Harper. Mom and Aunt Elaine are making plans so that us pups can spend some good quality time together without our moms looking at us all the time. Kids NEED privacy, you know?

And "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" to my cousin, Carter. He's EIGHT now. Boy, time just flies, huh? I remember him when he was only SIX and FIVE. Yup. We don't get to see that part of the family much, so we'll be a bit closer if we move to Pennsylvania. But that won't happen for a while. But they might move to South Dakota, maybe, so we'll still be way far apart. Good thing we have planes to ride on.

Keep your fingers cross that I get to play with "Kitty" tomorrow. I'd really like that.

Love, Mary-Margaret

What I learned about MACADAMIA NUTS!

They're good going down. They're yellow and chunky coming back up. Just thought I'd share that with you. I would have posted a picture but Mom grabbed the quilt too fast. (and the blanket, the sheets, etc....) She just DOESN'T understand that barf is everly so kewl in the world of puppers.

Maybe next time?

Love, Mary-Margaret

PS - My friends, Abbey Mia and Harper, from New York sent me an email telling me about Macadamia nuts being bad for dogs and that I should NOT eat them. Here's what else they said I couldn't have. Phooey palooey!

Poisonous Foods for Dogs

Print and Paste on Fridge


· Chocolate (contains Theobromineb) (RATS...like...whateverrrrrrrrrrr!!!)

· Onions & garlic

· Pear pips, the kernels of plums, Grapes and the Seeds of grapes,peaches and apricots, apple
core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide poisoning)

· Potato peelings and green looking potatoes

· Rhubarb leaves

· Moldy/spoiled foods

· Macadamia Nuts/Walnuts DARN DARN DARN DARN!!!!

· Alcohol

· Yeast dough

· Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)

· Hops (used in home brewing)

· Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)

· Broccoli (in large amounts) (not one of my favorites, anyway!)

· Raisins and grapes (damages the kidneys)

· Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars (....as if?)

· Nutmeg

· Raw Potatoes

· Turkey skin

· Voltarin (in arthritis medication)-Very Fatal

· Baby Food (can contain onion powder)

· Citrus oil

· Fat trimmings (Can cause pancreatitis).

· Human vitamins containing iron (can damage the lining of the digestive system)

· Large amounts of liver

· Mushrooms

· Raw fish

Most of this stuff I can live without. But gosh! Chocolate and macadamia nuts? The humans probably just want it all for themselves. Hmmmmph!!!

FATHER'S DAY FAMBLY BBQ!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! Yayyy. It means that our "fambly" gets together with lots of good stuff to eat. My gosh, I sure ate a lot of macadamia nuts. YUMMY!!! And then I had a hamburger (no bun). And then I burped and slept a lot. WOW! When my "fambly" has a party we yak a lot. And have hugs and kisses. I even get my own chair (unless somebody else wants it, in which case I get kicked out, but that's ok!!).



This is my cousin, Zooey. He's like FOURTEEN years old. He didn't used to like me much but I sorta grow on people (and cats). We're friends now. I can get almost right up to him now before he hisses at me. Things might have gone a bit better if Mom hadn't stepped on him when we first got there. "MEE-YOOOOOWWWEEEEE", he said, and I tell YOUUUU. He sure can move fast for an old cat.


This is the cake Aunt Janet baked especially for all the fathers. I probably would have had some if I wasn't already way to full. I licked a piece, though. I can honestly say it was VERY VERY GOOD.

My cousin, "H", brought her boyfriend Jeff. He's going to law school and he's going to be an attorney. He's everly so nice and he's got a tweaked sense of humor like the rest of us. He's as good a "punner" as my Grandpapa was back in the old days before I was born, or so I'm told. He gives great back scratches and cuddles, too. I think he's a "keeper". I hope to see him again.

Marshall and Peter just keep getting taller. Maybe 6'6 and 6'5, now. Pretty soon they're going to have to duck to get through doors, I bet. Most of my fambly is pretty tall except for me. They love me anyway.

My Grandpapa got lots of pressies. A book called "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, a brown polo shirt, some juice glasses and a new table cloth. And some chocolates and a bottle of XX beer (in case he wants to kick back a bit).

I'm mostly sleeping today. I think I'm burning calories if I snore. Works for me, anyway.

Love...

Mary-Margaret

Me 'n Justine

This is me and my VERY good friend, Justine, playing together this afternoon. I know...I know! Mom needs a new cell phone camera. Justine is saying "cheese" and I'm saying "Where? Where?", only you can't see my mouth very well.

Blurry pictures aren't nearly as fun as clear ones, are they? Mom's got a RAZR and it's maybe 2 or more years old. Time for a new one. I'd really like to get more pictures of me and my friends. Justine is just the right size of "People" for me. Yup!!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

PS: Note the dark pink bow in my hair? It matches the dark pink name tag I got on the 11th. My friend, Gina the Duck Lady (at the Bank), asked specially for me to get a bright pink bow. And you know what? Hmmmmm? Gina wore a bright pink shirt to work today. I guess you could say that we planned ahead? We...like...TOTALLY MATCHED!!

Conversations with Mom

One word. That's all I want to convey. JUST ONE WORD. "OUT!". How many ways can I say it until she comprehends? Comprendez vous? Oui!

Sheesh!

Yours truly.....

One frustrated puppy who is ready to pop!

Dylan Annemarie

This is my VERY good friend, Dylan Annemarie. She's 17 months old. We hit it off right away, and I even rummaged through my toybox to find the cleanest toy I could. It was my pink stuffie cell phone which, if I remember right, my Auntie Leslie gave me. Dylan really liked it. We played "chase" and "hide and seek" and "kiss" and all kinds of stuff. We had probably too much fun because Mom took me out for a bit, and then she said I had to stay in my private office.

When Dylan got ready to leave, Mom let me out to say good-bye. Dylan's mom said she wanted to kiss me. Oh!! (I said). I want to kiss her, too. So my mom held me down low and me and Dylan gave each other really big kisses. My mom said (rather rudely, I think), "I hope you don't mind dog spit!". Dylan's mom said "Oh, no. We have two dogs at home. Dylan is used to it!". So all is good in my world.



See how happy I am? This is a picture of me just before me and Dylan went another round of "chase". I just LOVE LOVE LOVE babies. Oh, and you know what she gets for lunch? Hmmmmmm??? Fresh cooked green beans in a baggie. I think that sounds almost as good as chicken and duck kibble. Speaking of chicken, I should also mention that Shannon brought extra chicken in her lunch for me today. I am everly so loved, dontcha think?

Happily yours,

Mary-Margaret

My new friend, Wicket

Wicket is lost. He followed some kids home and they couldn't keep him. He's not chipped and he doesn't have a collar and the grown-ups don't know who he belongs to. So they're looking for either his owners or a new home for Wicket so he doesn't have to ....you know.....?


Here's a picture of him. He's very polite and doesn't lift his leg or anything that he shouldn't. He's had a bath and smells very nice. If you would like to adopt Wicket, you should probably know that he has crooked teeth on the bottom jaw but I don't think he needs braces or anything. He likes Milkbone treats; I don't. I love Charlee Bears and Wicket doesn't. Go figure, huh?

If you want to get hold of Wicket, let me know. He's staying temporarily with the new guy across the hall from our office, but John (the new guy) already has two beagles, Clyde and Stella, so he can't adopt any more kids right now. Wicket has been coming to work with John and just sleeps under John's desk. So I can honestly tell you he's VERY well behaved.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Photon Non-Photon Stat Counter

Dear Grandpapa - Alan sent this STAT COUNTER to Mom so you could see who's looking at your webpage. It's a really neat thing. On the menu on the left hand side you can click on different things, like "Recent Visitor Map" that has something that looks like little red "raindrops", and then you can see more information about the people who are interested in little photons and their cousins, little non-photons.

Hope you have a really good time with this.

I love you, Grandpapa!

Your GrandPuppy....

Mary-Margaret

Movie Day!

Woo hoo! We watched movies today. First off it was "Benjamin Button". Cate Blanchett is really good in it. We never got tired of hearing her Southern accent, or watching her dance. We're following Thumper's Rule here. If we can't say somethin' nice, then we don't say anythin' at all! Yup, Cate Blanchett stole the show. Her and the lady that played Queenie.

Then we watched "There Will Be Blood", and something about the Plague, and then "Anabelle & Elvis", about a dead girl that comes back to life after the mortician named Elvis kisses her. It filled time for us. We started on another one about Traveling Pants but Mom decided to balance five months worth of bank statements instead. I napped while she balanced.

She folded some laundry and I went out into the backyard and barked "Hello" at our new neighbor. We haven't met them yet but, if it's up to me, they will be saying "Hi" pretty soon over the fence. Mom just says "Get in here, Mary-Margaret! It's not nice to bark at the neighbors!". Well for gosh sakes, how else do I get to meet them, hummmmmmmm????

Neither one of us remember being so tired on the weekends before. Must be the weather or something, huh?

Tomorrow it's back to work. Oh, yayy!

(yawn....stretch.....!)

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Doo Wop?

Dear Diary - Today I've been working really hard on my napping skills. I've practiced my technique in a lot of places. Like 1) On the bed; 2) on the back of Mom's comfy chair; 3) on the stairway; 4) on the landing; 5) by the window (which is the most difficult due to constant distractions); 6) on Mom's desk, and 7) on the couch. I have to admit that I'm getting the whole process down rather well. A few more practice runs and I'll be able to nap on a professional level.

This is me on June 9, 2007, when I just starting fine-tuning my "craft".

I've come a long way, baby!!

Mom and I watched the movie "Marley & Me" this morning. I tell YOUUUUU! If I did HALF the stuff that dog did, I'd be in deep DOO. Yup. Fortunately, I know the difference between "testing the waters" as opposed to "pushing the envelope". The ending made Mom cry, though.

Speaking of "doo", Mom was doing her usual playing around on the computer and she found a rather catchy song that was recorded by some girls she went to high school with who were a half-year ahead of her. I wonder what would happen if Britney, Christina and Lady GaGa tried making music like that today. You want to see what the Class of '61 was like? Hmmmmmmm??

Mom graduated in Winter '62. She says that even though those were the "good old days", she'd never want to go back, and that every day of her life now is the best day ever. It's hard to find your way when you don't even know who you are yet (is how she explains it). I guess that would be scary. It's so much less complicated when you're a pup.

Here's the link to "Sparkle and Shine" if you want to listen. It charted at #6 the same week that Del Shannon's "Runaway" hit #1 (April 21-28, 1961). I think people call this "Doo Wop", but don't ask me why. All I know about is "doo=wop", like "have accident in house = get wopped"! Just kidding. I never get "wopped". I just have guilt trips laid on me! A "Wopping" would be over quicker.

Hi, Grandpapa!!

Love ya,

Your GrandPuppy....

Mary-Margaret

But I don't WANNA go home!

I TOLD her and TOLD her. I do NOT want to go home. I'm having a really fun day meeting and greeting people. We had a bunch of folks come in for a notary while Mom was at Starbuck's getting coffee because the Edison company had to work on the power in our neighborhood and instead of starting at 8:30AM when they were supposed to, they shut the power off at 5:00AM while we were still sleeping and a "certain somebody" hadn't had any coffee yet, but I digress. She was gone for maybe a half hour and I have to admit that I did a very good job of entertaining them, with Shannon's help, of course.

So her day was pretty "sucky". Mine was pretty good, actually. Here's me in my car seat and Mom's telling me to "Get OUT of there, Mary-Margaret!!", and I'm saying "Nope...no way, Jose!". I dig my fingerettes into the netting and it's making her mad because she can't lift me out. (heheheheheheheh!!)

Eventually, I give in. But not until she mentions that I'm having turkey for supper. Yup. That'll do it every time.

Love,

Mary-Margaret "The Stinker" O'Brien

Mary-Margaret, the Explorer

Absolutely I do NOT like a leash. There are way too many exciting things to explore...sniff....roll in....! I went with Mom to serve a paper today and the people we needed to talk to were all busy. The receptionist was on a "conference call". We wait. After about 10-15 minutes, I get a bit heavy (so I'm told), so I get put on a chair and told to "stay". Oh, that goes over real well, you know?

I'm good for maybe 5 minutes of this and then, when no one is looking, I hop off my chair and go through the open door. I hear people. That means possible "belly rubs" or treats. Oops! I'm busted before I get half-way down the hall. Mom comes through the door after me and just as I'm getting to know "Bob", she gets all flustered and apologizes for my lack of manners.

"Excuse me?", I say. "But YOU are the one interrupting here!" Bob introduces himself to her and she back to him. "Hello? Hello?", I ask. "Do you not see a puppy who needs some personal attention?", but I get scooped up instead and Mom goes back down the hall glaring at ME! Like I did something wrong? I have found all kinds of yummy things to eat in break rooms and kitchens, you know.

Pretty soon, another lady comes out and she and Mom and the receptionist start yakking about how they think they know each other. Turns out they played in a Bunko group about fifteen years ago and have an old friend in common (blah blah blah). Mom tells the lady she's got some legal docs for their company, the lady goes and gets a man who isn't thrilled about being served, and the ladies still keep yakking. I'm getting fed up with this and would REALLY like to go find "Bob" again. He was everly so nice to me and I'm sure we would have become great friends. I am being literally held against my will.

Time to say "Good Bye", though. And everybody (except me) leaves on a happy note. I overheard Mom talking to my Grandpapa tonight, and I think I'm going to be back on a short leash for the next week or so. So NOT fair!! It doesn't even reach to the crawl space under our office building where the squirrels hide. That leaves only the lizards to socialize with. Unbelievably not fair.

Mary-Margaret

Cats do NOT lip-read!

The nerve! I tell YOUUUUUUU! Here I am, standing at MY window, warning off all cats and other possible intruders, when my MOTHER sneaks up on me and whacks my rear. "EEEYIPE!!" (I said) and glared at her. She glares back and says "WHEN I SAY 'STOP', I MEAN 'STOP'!".
"Oh? You mean the FIRST TIME??", I mutter quietly, not wanting to get into an argument. She still believes SHE is the alpha dog around here.

Unbelievable. And then she says I've got way to much "attitude" lately. Who? Me? (I ask) OK...maybe I do take longer to do what she says than I used to. Maybe I do think "You're not the boss of me!" in my head, but I don't SAY it. Maybe she can hear me think? Probably, knowing her!

Anyway....Fooey Pooey, Louie! So I just look out my little window and say absolutely NOTHING! Nope. Well, maybe a really quiet little "wurf" now and then when I can't see her, but that's it. How am I supposed to scare any cats or other things away now? Cats do NOT lip-read!

Silently yours,

(shhhhhh!)

Me

In Somnia

Where ever Somnia is, we're in it. We are pretty wired. Watched the finale of "Dancing with the Stars". I like Shawn Johnson. She and I have a lot in common. We're both short and square. She's amazing and I hope she wins.

Then there's Melissa Rycroft. She's really amazing, too. I bet if that Jason Mesnick knew how good she could dance and what a kewl person she is, he would have kept her. HAH! His loss. She's got a great future ahead.

And then there's that Gilles Marini. Oh Dog..he's truly incredible. I hope he wins, too. Wouldn't it be great if there was a three-way tie?

And yes, FYI, I DO watch that show. Purina is one of their sponsors, and anything with "doggies" is all right by me.

I fooled around with the elevator some more today. I have to get my nose just a tad past the place where the door closes and, like magic, it opens again. Today I waited until the door was almost closed before I stuck my nose out. Mom about had a heart attack. Me? Oh, I was totally stoked. I thought I'd get all kinds of praise for my magical powers but I just got yelled at. Like "Mary-Margaret..you STOP that! We HAVE to GET to WORK!". Fooey (I said). No fun for me.

Oh yeah. Shannon picked me up today and said, rather rudely, to me, "You STINK!!". I am not all that bad, I don't think. I have my appointment with my stylist on Friday. She'll just have to tough it out. I might get a bath tomorrow, though. Mom actually agreed with her. Well, darn. I sort of like my new-found scent. Apparently my boyfriends do, too. Zeus, the weimaraner, was really giving me the eye earlier. There's stuff in the planters downstairs that are everly so much fun to roll in. I don't know what it is but, to a small pup who likes to make an impression, I'm only too happy to roll in it.

Mom should spend more time in Somnia. She takes pretty good dictation with her eyes half shut. Don't you think so?

Love and good night...

Mary-Margaret

PS - Do you think I should get a tattoo? Shannon has some really nifty ones. Very artistic. I was thinking maybe something small...feminine...on my belly down by my hip? Something discrete? Suggestions welcomed.

FLIP - Female Legal Investigative Professionals

I'm the one in the pink shirt....in the close up? Yup. That's me. And the rest of my team. The show first aired last August on the WE Channel, and has been repeated several times. In case you missed it, here's a clip:



Starring me, Mary-Margaret O'Brien, and Vicki Siedow, Michele Dawn (my mom), Tina Elkins, Anne LaJeunesse and Lori Wilkins. Produced by Donna Kanter.

(Mom says I have a "cameo" role and that is everly more better than being a star. Sure sure sure...if she says so. Hmmmph!)

Hope you enjoy it.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Naked, with fur!

The trouble with fur is that I stick to things, or things stick to me. Like spider webs, which I don't mind but it sure makes my mom run for the paper towels. (hee hee) And twigs, grass and other stuff. I can't go ANYWHERE without Mom doing the "CSI" thing on me. She doesn't even ASK where I've been any more. She just knows.

It's really nice out tonight. Not too cool...not too warm. Nifty little breezes blowing all kinds of spiffy smells my way. A very good place to sit is on the hill, right in the middle of the gazanias. Too bad there's other stuff in the gazanias, like burrs. Little round things about the size of a pill covered with velcro.

When I came in the house tonight for the last time, I hopped up on Mom's lap thinking that might be a very comfy place to be. "YOW!!", she says, and she starts feeling my legs, arms, feet, tail, and ...well, absolutly everywhere. She doesn't even try to be polite. She just starts untangling these burrs from me.

"YOW!!" (I say), and "OW OW OW OW!, and this goes on for a while. She separates, pulls, plucks and drops them into a dish. One after the other. Tomorrow she'll count them if I really want her to, but I don't.

I don't ever want to meet up with another burr as long as I live. I think I'll steer clear of the hill until after burr season, which seems to coincide with dandelion season. Puffs of soft white cotton are a disguise for weapons of mass discomfort.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

PS to Grandpapa: I had half the left-over steak mixed with duck kibble, and Mom had the other half with potatoes and brussels sprouts. And I had my Sentinel pill two days late, but what the heck. Better late than never, huh?