My "Happy" Dress from Hashi!

Today, it rained. Finally! And thunder and lightening and really BIG drops of rain. It was our favorite kind of storm like the one we wanted to get back East. I love those kinds of storms.



So..you ask...what does that have to do with me wearing my beautiful Western style mini-dress with fringe and "beading"?? EVERYTHING! I woke up happy. I was overjoyed to go to work in the rain, and I wanted to share my happy with all my good friends by wearing one of my most favorite dresses that my sweet Hashimoto (my honey babe in New Jersey) gave to me when I met up with him at the Crown Hotel in Reading. No no...not THAT kind of meet up. It was at the Delaware Valley Yorkshire Terrier Club's beauty pageant. Remember? I told you all about it a couple of weeks ago? With pictures except that all you could see was a glimpse of fringe.



Today, I wore my Happy Dress and even Shannon (who usually gives me a hard time for my fashion choices) thought I looked pretty cute and took a couple of pictures of me. So I wanted to share my "happy" with all of you, too.

Thinking about Hashimoto, my fiance who gave me this dress, makes me happy, too.

Happy thoughts and Happy Days to everyone.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Mom's Dentist Visit

Dear Grandpa - I got left home again while Mom went to the dentist. I was miffed and I told her so, too! But this is about her dentist appointment and not about me.

To anybody else who's reading this, my mom is explaining to her dad (who is almost 90 and doesn't hear well and doesn't do emails but he can click on the icon to my blog on his desk top) that she has an achy jaw tonight. The dentist was drilling out her old broken tooth for her new crown and he kept saying "Do you feel that?" to her. She said she didn't and wasn't that a good thing? "No", he said. "It means you have a dead nerve!".

"And is that a bad thing?", she asked, all happy to NOT be feeling anything!

"Yes!", he replied, and said that if she didn't get a root canal done her jaw would be all swollen and really sore tomorrow. Tsk...what's a mother to do, I ask? So she got a root canal, one filling (I think), and half her mouth "deep scaled". Next Monday, they finish the job.

Something to look forward to, huh? Good thing she has credit cards, huh?

Good thing I brush regularly and see my Dr. Dan, the Doggie Hygienist for my yearly cleaning.

"You're never fully dressed without a SMILE!!!"



Love and kisses...

Mary-Margaret

Happy Birthday, C&C!!

This is ME and my cousin, Cailin, laughing and singing camp songs while driving along in Pennsylvania. We sure had a good time.

Pennsylvania people are so nice and we never saw any graffiti. The land is green and there are lots of lakes and rivers. Just make sure you don't step on any chipmunks or squirrels while you're there. They have a pretty powerful union and word gets out fast. The day we left there was a whole battalion of chipmunks on our back step. I think they were organizing a protest march. See AFL-CIO (American Furbabies League - Chipmunk Interstate Operations)

Today is Cailin and Clancy's 13th birthday. Hard to believe, huh? In dog years, that makes them....just a sec...[hmmmm...13 times 7, press the "=" sign and...aha..there it is!)....that makes them ...WOW! NINETY-ONE in DOG YEARS!!! That's really OLD!!

Happy Birthday!!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Mary-Margaret, Super Model!!

I got a box in the mail today. Mom tossed it on the floor and said "It's for YOU, Mary-Margaret!". I started working on it but wore myself out. It was wrapped really good. Shannon helped me open it. She's really thoughtful that way. OhMYGAWSH! MaryElizabeth and Corinne sent me a CHRISTMAS DRESS! For me? (I said), and Mom read the note. Yup! It's for me, and all I have to do is model it for the Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue Angel Boutique. Is that all? Well, heck. I can do that.



Mom scooped me up and took our my yellow hair ribbon, reason being that it didn't match my dress. Between you and me, I didn't mind that the hair ribbon came out. Then she got me all dressed up and we went downstairs to the "Old Towne Mercantile Christmas Shoppe". It's gorgeous and full of Christmas stuff. I felt like a fairy princess. At first I was put on the glass counter and told to "smile". A group quickly gathered around me and started taking my picture before Mom even got her camera ready. Gosh...I seem to be drawing a crowd.



Debbie, the owner of the shop, suggested that I sit on one of her chairs. She found a really nice little antique looking thing with a Christmassy looking seat.




After a few shots that I moved around in, we got some decent photos to send back to MaryElizabeth and Corinne for the October issue of "The Yorkie Times". I really like this modeling thing. Mom says I'm a born "ham"!



Good night for now, dahlinks. I am having a late supper tonight and it's getting sort of dark out already.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

PS - See my red petticoats? I just LOVE petticoats.

Leftovers - Even better the 2nd Night

For me? Oh my goodness...I got the LAST of the prime rib. About 1/3 pound, plus kibble. My tummy looked like it might pop again, but no. It's pretty elastic, I think.

After supper I "oofed" my way up onto Mom's chair and climbed the human stairway to the puffy, comfortable back. "Ahhhhh!", I said as I settled in for a post-dinner nap and "OOOPS!!", I said, as I fell off the back of the chair. Checking all extremities and my head I don't think anything is broken or damaged. My mom even counted my teeth and they're all there.

I think I'll stick to the floor for a while. It's safer down there.

Love you,

Mary-Margaret



PS: Sometimes when I get home I like to mess with Mom's head and not get out of my car seat. I hang on tight with my fingerettes and she practically has to peel me out of it. See me hanging on with both "hands"?? Oh, I love messing with her. I do!!

MY "FIVE" BIRTHDAY!

Best birthday I ever had. Mom sang to me this morning then we went to work. After work she took me to Black Angus and we got PRIME RIB to go. Everly better than steak, I tell you, and I would have been happy just to have steak. I got the au jus all for myself!! What a great day - good friends, good food and good fun. I can't wait until I'm SIX!!!

Thank you, everybody, for your eCards, emails and phone calls. You all mean the world to me.

Gratefully yours, with love....

Mary-Margaret "FIVE" O'Brien

PS - My Grandpa called tonight and played "Happy Birthday" on his harmonica for me. I truly feel like a real member of the fambly now. Thank you, Grandpa.

Birthday Eve!

Tomorrow, I am FIVE years old. Can't believe it myself. We started our celebration today by .....doing nothing special. That's right, folks. Absolutely NOTHING! We went to the post office and picked up some mail. Then we paid bills and did some pre-billing work up. About 4:15PM me and Mom looked at each other and came to a mutual decision: GO HOME! Yup. We figured we can do the rest tomorrow...ON MY BIRTHDAY (for those of you who missed that the first time around).

Steak is still more than a possibility, though. Like I said before, I'll do just about anything for steak.

Oh....and I haven't met him yet but a new pup is moving in next door. He's a Spaniel of some type and his name is "Hollywood". So I'll have "Hollywood" on my right side and "Pooka" on my left. At least there'll be somebody to talk to in case I get lonesome.

I love you, Grandpa.

Mary-Margaret "Almost FIVE" O'Brien

What's wrong with this picture?

Last week, my Auntie Lynda (the one that calls me her "PooPoo LaLa") invited me out to lunch for today to celebrate my birthday which is actually on Sunday. I'll be five years old but most people think I don't look a day over three. (It pays to take care of your complexion!) So I went to Miss Marilyn's Puppy Day Spa in Temecula and got the works. See?



We meet Lynda at Baily's in Old Town at 1:00PM. I know this place. My wrap party was here a couple of years ago. I am everly so stoked. I already know what I want. Cheeeeeeeeseburger!!!



Uh...hello? It's MY birthday lunch....MY day! And I don't even get a menu. Auntie Lynda and Mom get me all excited and for what, I ask? Hmmmmmm??? I was told to get "down" (which I did, of course! I'm a good puppy!) and then I was pretty much ignored the whole lunch hour. Oh, sure. Natalie (our server) brought me a very nice silver bowl of water which I did enjoy, actually. But do you think the ladies would share their sandwiches with me? Not a chance! And they shared Creme Brulee with each other but not me. I am officially MIFFED!!

I don't forget these little personal slights easily. Meanwhile, I'm sure Mom's planning something special for my big day. We did agree on no cake this year. Honestly, neither one of us need the extra calories. But maybe she'll make steak on Sunday night for us? That would make me happy. I could forgive almost anything for steak!

Love you, Grandpa!!

Your "grand dogger", Mary-Margaret

First Class - The ONLY Way to Fly!

Ahhhh....! Room to stretch out. Freshly baked chicken breast. My own bowl of water. What more could a pup ask for??

There was another pup on the flight named "Yaeger". He was a reddish brown dachshund who, I was told, was a seasoned flyer. Let me tell you, he whined, cried and howled for the first maybe 1/2 hour on the plane and we hadn't even left the ground yet. I was trying to nap but finally I got up on Mom's lap and kept looking over to where he was. Truly, I wanted to go talk to him and explain all about flying, but I don't think the flight attendants would have let me.

He finally stopped crying when his mom picked him up. He was happy just looking out the window for a couple of hours. He got a glass of water (his nose was long and pointy) and he stuck his whole schnozz into it. I was able to send him some comfort from where I sat and I think he probably felt sort of embarassed by his lack of....shall we say....manners? So he was good for the rest of the flight.

Meanwhile, all the attendants kept telling me what a good girl I was and how they wished all the pups (and kids) were as well behaved as I was. What can I say? I've been through this so many times I know all about flying and flight etiquette.

My favorite part of the flight was snuggling with Cailin under the blankets and taking a snooze.

We're home now, and I'm sure glad to be. I ran outside last night about 10:30PM and told all my neighbors that "Mary-Margaret is BAAA-AAAACK!!"

Love you,

Mary-Margaret O'Brien

My side of the story!

Here's what happened. Mom took Cailin and Alex (our next door neighbor who's into cat rescue) out to dinner tonight. Hey....me too (I said). No (Mom said). "Mary-Margaret has to stay home and guard the house!" Um....noooo (I said). I want to go, too.


Alex Young and Cailin at Friendly's, having fried clams and waffle cut fries and ICE CREAM!!

I got left behind...my heart is broken....I am devastated by this. I'm thinking....how can I show her how sad I am. Hmmmmmm! So, about 2 hours later I hear the garage door open. I quickly run into the front bedroom and leave a puddle of medium size. Then I leave one in the living room as I race into the laundry room to greet them. Darn carpet is too tightly woven and my messages are quickly seen and blotted. BLOTTED! That's all? No...not all, actually. I get lectured, too.

"DARN YOU!", she says to me. "Bad bad BAD doggie!". Ow, that really hurts. Doggie? Me? She grabs the Resolve, some paper towels and some clean rags. I guess I overdid it a little. She snarls at me, and calls me a "little troublemaker".

And what, exactly, did you expect me to do? Throw you a "Welcome Home" party? I think not. And now you know what to expect from me if you EVER do that again (I say).

We are not speaking at the moment, but I'm sure she'll get over it. She doesn't hold grudges.

My point has been made.

Love and kisses...

Mary-Margaret

Lazy Days of Loafing!

Dear Grandpa....no pictures today. We didn't DO anything, which was actually ok with me. Mom's computer crashed totally, so she said a few "magic" words and then spent the next 3 hours doing a full system recovery. I don't know which worked better...the magic words or the fact that she had another old lap top here that she managed to get on the internet with, and she found out that her lenovo (brand name, little "l" at the beginning) had a full system recovery option. Once she figured out which key was the "lenovo care" key, it only took maybe another hour to reinstall windows.

Hint: If your screen ever comes up completely black, your computer has bit the dust and if you don't have a lenovo (or a recovery disk) you're in big trouble.

Sooo...then she spent the NEXT three hours cleaning the hard drive and defragging her Toshiba. So now both she and Cailin are sitting across the kitchen counter from each other, both working on their respective computers and not talking to ME. The nerve!

I'm going to go into the living room and grab the remote control and see what I get. I sort of like "Bachelor Pad" for some goofy reason.

Thinking of you...

Love,

Mary-Margaret

My first lake swim! Woo hoo!

But I didn't bring my bathing suit!! And I've never been swimming before...not EVER!!



Hmmmmmm! That DOES look inviting!!











































I'll just dip my toes in....see how it feels!




Ohhhh....baby! That feels everly so nice. What took me so long?? Cailin says there's nothing to be afraid of.

Ye GADS and Aaaack....no water wings!
















Stroke, stroke ...breathe! Stroke, stroke ....breathe! (almost there)!

















Mmmmm....AHHHHHHHHHHH! Refreshing!!!

I may do this again tomorrow. How come vacation gets the most fun just before we have to go home? So not fair!!



Mary-"Mark Spitzeret" O'Brien

Gettysburg Today!

Today we all met up with Martha VanLandingham, a friend of Mom's from way back. I'm talking WAAAAY back like from when my Auntie "C" was only 3. We all went to the Dobbin House Tavern. (Click on the pink link, Grandpa, to read all about it's history.) It was founded in 1776. We had to go down some stairs to get to the eating part. It was nice and cool, probably because it was underground like a cellar would be.

I napped under the table (as usual), and the ladies had lunch. From what I could hear, it was all pretty good and worth the visit. The Tavern makes their own desserts. Mom had cheesecake with cherry topping, Martha had pecan pie, and Cailin had mint chocolate chip ice cream.

After lunch we went down the road to see the Battlefields at Gettysburg. There are arrows that tell people where to drive and see the memorials to all the men who died, were wounded or went missing. Mississippi, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania....and more. I can't remember them all. All in all, maybe 450,000 men died in the Civil War.

Seeing the battlefields, and reading the progress of that battle which started July 2, 1863 (on roadside signs that tracked the timeline of the battle) made it seem very real. A little ways into the tour both Mom and Martha got sort of teary and choked up. And they got goosebumps. It was a very somber experience (Mom said). Probably everyone in the country would benefit by visiting Gettysburg and feeling the spirit of the Civil War and how it affected our country forever. Not one family was spared ... fathers, sons, husbands, uncles, neighbors....all fought for the rights and the freedoms we have today (Mom also says).

Personally, I know the experience was very personal for Martha,Mom and Cailin, and it was for me, too. I just kept looking out on all those fields and all those trees and thinking what a great place to go for a run. Yesssssssss!! (But that's just what I say!)

Love,

Mary-Margaret "The Tourist" O'Brien

Squirrel = 1; Cailin = 0 (Referee = MMOB)

Yesterday afternoon when we got home from Target, after we put the groceries away (I supervised), Cailin took me for a before-dinner walk. We go out our back slider and go west across our back yard and then north toward the street. About half-way down our side yard (which is a grassy slope) there's a retaining "wall" made out of boulders and rocks. I'm intrigued. There always sounds like there's a party going on in there and I would like to see what's happening.

We get closer to the rocks and I hear a little scream. Aaaack. There's a baby squirrel in the grass and Cailin accidently stepped on him. I try to talk to the little thing and it's pretty darn mad. As it's telling me exactly how it feels about the situation, Cailin thinks I'm in danger and tries to shoo the squirrel away. The squirrel is highly offended at her gesture and, instead of backing off like a good squirrel, it charges at me.

What the heck? (I say) I back up a bit and Cailin waves her hand at it again for it to back up and leave ME alone. That did it for the squirrel. It said "You are NOT the boss of me!" and nipped Cailin on the pointer finger. "YOW!", she said and we walked quickly back to the house.

We got my mom (Cailin's grandma) and went back to see if the squirrel was still there but it was gone. Then my mom starts trying to find an Urgent Care around here and I guess people don't get hurt a whole lot in this county, or if they do they can take a 30 mile drive to Reading for treatment. Then my mom calls Cailin's mom, my Auntie "C", and she calls Cailin's "primary care provider". Remember when they used to be called "doctors"?? Anyway, he says to wash it really good with soap and water, and put a band-aid on it. Mom added some Neo-sporin, too. He says to watch it for redness or swelling for the next couple of days.

By bedtime last night it had stopped hurting and Cailin even sort of forgot about her brief encounter with nature. On the bright side, I suppose we should be grateful that it was only a small squirrel and not the bear that Matt saw in his yard a few days ago.

Today I'm staying home by myself for a few hours while Mom and Cailin go down into a coal mine in Ashland, PA. I was hoping I might go but some places are definitely not for me. Doesn't this look fun?



Later, gator!

Love ya...

MMOB

"Qoccle's DimmiDiSi's Isabella Meant to Be"

This is my new BFF and future sister in law, but I just call her "Isabella" or "Your Highness". She is a princess for real, you know. Her father is a Multi-International champion of professional Yorkiedom. He wins all the prizes in Europe. She was born in Italy and then was adopted by my future mother in law, Connie. That's Cailin holding Isabella.

This is Princess Isabella's father. Isn't he absolutely the most regal looking Yorkie you've ever seen? So handsome. If I weren't already in a committed relationship, I'd......oh, never mind. Hashi is my heart forever.

Hashi's brother and sister, Rhett and Scarlett, both passed away very suddenly this year. Scarlett got sick and died on February 2nd, and Rhett died 65 days after Scarlett on April 6 and Scarlett's birthday was April 11th, and Isabella was born on 3/6/10, 30 days before Rhett died....so this made her "Meant to Be". See the connection? I hope I have it down right, and if not that Hashi will let me know, but isn't it amazing how some things are just "meant to be"??

Yup! And I just LOVE her.

Happy Monday!

Mary-Margaret

The Delaware Valley Yorkshire Terrier Club Pageant

Wow...what a blast. So many Yorks and Yorkettes. I've never seen such a crowd of my kind in one place. They were all so beautiful, too. All dressed up for the beauty pagent, with long silky hair and bright red bows. It was fun to watch such "professional" Yorkies strut their stuff.

First thing I did when I got there was look for my sweet Hashimoto. "Well, Hello!" I said, and he winked at me and went into his room, expecting ME to follow.



"Uh...excuse me?" (I said) "No dinner, no flowers, no candy...?". I was bummed. It had been a year or more since I'd seen him in person and I guess my expectations were too high.

I was a bit mollified, though, when Connie handed me a dress (made by DeeDee) that Hashi picked out for me about a year ago. Oh my gosh!! It was EXACTLY me!! Western style in a buckskin type of material that feels like suede, with fringe and turquoise "beading" and ....oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

I got put back into the x-pen and immediately walked directly under Hashi's tail, between his back legs, to tell him all was well in our relationship. He's so non-fluffable in his demeanor. That's probably one of the reasons I love him so. He just lifted up his back right leg to make room for me and we stood like that for a while....me and him together, with his leg across my back, just feeling the closeness of each other. It was everly so romantic...for a moment, anyway. Then my mom notices what's going on and sort of freaks and says to Connie "Is she wet? Did he pee on her?". Oh DOG, I thought I would die of embarassment. How could she even think such a thing. She's so NOT with the program. I hope nobody was offended by her comment. I just glared at her.

Being quite embarassed by it all, I decided to mingle for a while, leaving Hashi in our pen alone so he could meditate for a moment or two. I think he might have been a bit insulted, too. Being leashless and wearing my new outfit, I was an immediate friend to many new acquaintances, both Yorkie and human. I walked the walk, sniffing and kissing, up and down the hallway outside the pageant room. Then we went inside and I "sat like a big girl", and watched all the pups do their thing.



(You can see my fringe in this picture)


It was a great day. I met Dave and Diane Ross, met a lot of other great folks, got to see my sweetheart and my future mother-in-law again, was gifted with a beautiful new dress AND....ta daaaaa...got to pick out my very own silk bed by Stow Creek Designs (Connie's company). I picked purple and blue. It's absolutely gorgeous. I'm told I won it as a prize in a contest. I'm not sure exactly what I did, but I'm sure glad I won. I'm in heaven.

We love you, Grandpa!! Wish you were here!

Kisses...

Mary-Margaret

PS - There was a chipmunk on my back step when I got up this morning, and later Cailin saw a little red fox walk through our backyard. Matt (who helps us at the house) saw a bear in his backyard yesterday. This is everly so much fun.

Lake Wynonah, PA

Philadelphia just before sunrise. Cailin took this out her window on the plane.






The biggest spiderweb that anybody has ever seen. Cailin even tossed a couple of branches maybe 3-4 feet long at it, and they stuck like velcro. Doesn't that look like maybe a rabbit or a squirrel inside? The whole thing was maybe over 10 feet long.








The skies around here are very definitely blue. No smog. Even the clouds look happy.





The lake - the woods - the sky......! So peaceful!




Cailin takes the most amazing photographs. She's so artistic, and knows exactly how to balance her subject so that the viewer not only sees, but feels the moment as well.






We're all enjoying ourselves here in the Blue Mountains. Even though we've only been here for two days, it feels like two weeks. No stress....and Shannon is taking care of the office absolutely perfectly. We are very lucky to have her and the rest of our team to keep our much appreciated clients from missing me and Mom very much.

Ahhhhhhh....! This is the life!

Even my chipmunk friends dropped by to say hello this morning. One for me and one for Cailin. We haven't seen our resident ground hog yet, but I'm sure he'll show up. We see where he's been digging under our front porch.

We love you, Grandpa. Maybe we can talk tomorrow. We should probably call you around 10PM our time which will be 7PM your time. We'll check in and, if you're not home, we can leave you a message.

Mary-Margaret "Having fun..wish you were here!" O'Brien

Russia in color, 100 years ago

Dear Grandpa. Jackie sent this link Russia in Pictures which is photographs taken in COLOR from back in 1909-1910. That was way before the Russian Revolution and World War I, and even before YOU were born.

If you click on the pink link and scroll down the page you'll see some amazing photos from the time your mom was a young lady, before she even got married to your dad.

Sorry we don't have a lot of time to write more but you know how Mom gets when she's stressed. So I decided to share this with you. I'm that kind of puppy, you know!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

EGGSactly speaking...!

Dear Grandpa, I'm writing to tell you that about a gazillion eggs have been recalled because of salmonella poisoning. Since I can't email you, and you don't always hear what Mom says, I'm giving you the information here I got it off another site on the internet just because I LOVE you so very much and I don't want you to get sick.

BRAND NAMES:

Albertson
Boomsma's
Dutch Farms
Farm Fresh
Hillandale
Kemps
Lucerne
Lund
Mountain Dairy
Ralph's
Shoreland
Sunshine
Trafficanda

DIRECTIONS:

Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946.

Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223. Hmmm...I always wondered about that Julian date thing. Now I know.

So...DO NOT EAT EGGS WITH THOSE NUMBERS...1026, 1413 or 1946. This is not a "yoke"..it's SERIOUS!!!

I love you...

Your Grand-Puppy,

Mary-Margaret "The Egghead" O'Brien

The Yorkie Times

Dear Grandpa - Click on the pink link of The Yorkie Times to see all about stuff that happens in my circle of friends.

There's some sad stuff about Petie passing away, kewl stuff about Jilli Dog (who plays poker world wide), my column for this issue about "The 'ARF' Word", and....well, I say this to you in all humbleness and modesty.....the introduction of "Frock the War!" designs, for whom I was lucky enough to be selected as the "spokespuppy". Yup! That's me in the article. Us pups are supporting our troops and showing it by wearing a "Frock the War" dress or vest (for boys).

The Yorkie Times is the monthly newsletter put out by the Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue, Inc. in Chapmansboro, TN. My very good friends, Corrine and MaryElizabeth, are responsible for it's success, and also for raising the money necessary to provide life-saving medical treatment and surgery for some less fortunate Yorks and Yorkettes.

If you or anyone else reading this post would like to find out more about this legitimate charitable organization (503(c)), please go to Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue. If you'd like to help even a little bit....even send the loose change you find in your sofa or chair....I promise you it will be put to good use.

Love and kisses and schlurps....

Mary-Margaret "Spokespuppy" O'Brien

PS - Only nine more days until I see my fiance, Hashimoto of Bridgeton. I know his mom was concerned about who would sign off for us to get married because we are underage, but if you are counting in DOG years, we're both quite old enough to make our own decisions about this personal stuff. We do need a designated driver, though. Neither one of us have legs long enough to reach the pedals on a limousine, let alone on a tricycle. Hmmm....motor powered skateboard, maybe? I'll discuss that with my sweet Hashi when I see him. Mmmmmmwaaaah!!, my love. Until we meet again!!