Dear Grandpa..it was like you said!!

Mom found her stuff IN her wallet. I can't tell you how many times she went through it, every little pocket and place. But she did it again....and found her 2 $2.00 bills, her $1.00 silver certificate, her Kaiser card and her Medicare card. So all is well in her world. She doesn't need to get a new social security card now, so she's all happy.

Love, Mary-Margaret

PS - I do worry about her so. She's just getting sort of forgetful and can't remember stuff she should. But ask her about a case she worked on 10 years ago, and she'll remember everything there is to remember. Scary, huh?

More on Dexter!!

This is my very good friend, Dexter, and his mom Tina. They work on the second floor of our building. We have a very dog-friendly office in Old Town Temecula. When my Auntie Lynda (who calls me "PooPoo LaLa") was managing the building she'd even ask prospecive tenants if they had any problems with dogs working here. If they didn't like it, she'd tell them she had other buildings they'd probably be happier in. See why I love her?



It was pretty much of a challenge for Mom to get a picture of me and Dexter together because we are "pups on the go". We move around a lot. Well, there's so much to sniff...places to "go"....people to see. Like I said, we read our "pee mail" together. That way we can cover twice as many bushes in half the time.

Finally I think our moms got tired of chasing us, so his mom picked us up and now you have a picture of both of our faces...sort of, anyway. You can tell from the photo that I'm just a wee bit annoyed of being interrupted in the middle of such important business. And you can also see that Dexter is mapping out his next copse of bushes for his Advanced Sectional Sniffing. We work well together.

More on this partnership "sniff-a-thon" next week. I'll keep you posted.

Love and kisses,

Mary-Margaret

My new friend, Becky!

Dear Grandpa: I have a new friend. Her name is "Becky" and she's a baby miniature Chihuahua. She is about 3 months old and is smaller than my left rear hind quarter. She "yips" a lot, and makes little growly noises, but I know she's being friendly.

We went to visit one of our clients today and I ran straight back to their office. I visited politely and when it was time to go home, I walked into the hallway and that's when I met Becky. My gosh, I've never met anybody that's everly so much smaller than me. She weighs maybe 2 pounds...maybe not that much. Her humans are from Spain and they let me and Becky get to know each other.

Her main human man got her a tiny bowl of water and let her share with me. That's how you know you have made a really good friend because they share their water with you. In case you were wondering, that is. Our client came out into the hallway and they thought Becky was really cute, too. Lots of visiting and lots of "oooooohs and ahhhhhhs".

When it was time for us to leave, Mom took the papers and stuff and started walking to the elevator. I sat down near Becky's door. Mom got ALL the way to the elevator and looked back down the long LONG hallway. I was still sitting down. She called me, then she called some more. I ignored her. She said "Don't make me come get you!", and I said "Game's on!" and stayed sitting right there.

Mom gets about half-way to me and I get in "pounce" form. You know, butt in air and head down? Anyway...bottom line is I knew I was going to get scooped up so I walked back to Becky's office. The door opened and Becky and her human came out. I went into their office and so did Becky. We had some fun time, too.

Ultimately (love that word!)...ULTIMATELY we had to go, though. This time I got picked up and Becky's human picked her up. We said our good-byes and "see ya laters".

It's always nice to make a new friend and now I know who I can visit with while Mom's at her client's place. Next time maybe someone will have a camera ready so I can send you a picture of us.

This is one of me and my friend, Dexter. We're just "pee mail" buddies, though.



I'm still happily engaged to my sweet Hashimoto who is moving to California soon just to be with me.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I know I will.

Love and smoochies...

Mary-Margaret

My VERY good friend, Robert!

I talk about him a lot, I know, but he's really REALLY special to me. To ME. He's MY very good friend. I always know when he's close by. He comes to visit just ME every so often. He gives me biscuits and he knows how I like them, too. Not the whole thing, but just little pieces of the biscuit. He gives me belly rubs and I give him kisses.

Some people in our office building even make fun of us, and say stuff like "Go get a room!", and things. But I have my very favorite people and Robert is one of them. He fixes things at our building and keeps it looking nice. I just show my appreciation for all he does.

Robert and I were just leaving the building to go home and said one last "Good bye!" to each other. Mom just happened to have her "handy-dandy" little Android cell phone with a camera ready and ...bingo! We were busted.

Seriously, though. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE Robert!

Very truly yours,

Mary-Margaret

Nothing like a good massage!

That's MASSAGE...a full body massage. Mom and me went to Miss Cathleen's place so Mom could get her toes done. This lady, Cindy, was there sitting on the couch. She kept asking me to come see her but...well, to tell the truth....I'm a bit shy with strangers. Still, she didn't give up.

Finally Miss Cathleen picked me up and put me on Cindy's lap. Cindy started giving me "scratchies" along my spine. Mmmmm-mmmm! That felt good. When she stopped I wriggled back under her hand hoping she'd get the message that I wanted more. And she did. She speaks "Doglish" rather well for a human.

My shoulders, my back, my belly, my tail, my head and neck, and even my EARS got massaged. I think we did this for about a half hour or more. I was so relaxed I started to doze off. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! That's just what a puppy needs.

Later, we went to the bank and to the market. When I got to the bank our teller commented on how relaxed I was. Mom explained why. By the time we got to the market I could barely keep my eyes open. I think it was about in the "Bread" aisle that I actually fell asleep sitting up. Even in the check stand I was snoozing. Our checker and Rosie, our bagger/take out person (I've talked about her before) couldn't believe how relaxed I was.



When we got home I didn't even want to get out of my car-seat. See! I am saying "NoNoNoNoNo....you CAN'T MAKE ME....!". Like I said once before, I just love to mess with Mom's head sometimes.

Massage is the way to take away all the stress of the day and get in touch with your inner soul.

Yup!

Love you all...

Mary-Margaret

Weekly Report - 10/15/2010

Today was the very best day of all. It was Spa Day at Miss Marilyn's. I can't wait to get there. We were about three minutes early and the door was locked. I was devastated. So I went exploring. Marilyn has the absolutely biggest back yard of anyone I know who doesn't live on a farm or a ranch. Lots of nifty smells and things. So I did some snooping around while I waited. Finally she came out and I slowly...very slowly...walked into her "salon". I figure if she's not in a hurry, why should I be, right? But then I got reminded that Madison, my very best friend, was waiting for me and my feet did their stuff. Woo hoo!



This is my new friend, Gracie. She's half Silkie (her mom) and half Yorkie (her dad). Isn't she beautiful? And she's really nice, too. We got along really well. Marilyn had lots of clients today and we all played until we dropped. Mostly it was me, Madison, Gracie and Charlie (the white poodle). Charlie treats us girls pretty nice. He's a gentleman.

Here's Gracie again!
The first part of the week was "hurry hurry hurry" to the point of exhaustion. We didn't get much time to do anything except work, but it was a good week. A REALLY good week, I think.

This weekend, we do billing. For me, it's non-stop napping, which is exactly what I like to do on my days off.

Love you guys....

Mary-Margaret

Hot Rods and Reports

Dear Grandpa - Mom asked me to tell you that we had to leave the office today at 1:30PM because the Temecula Rod Run is this weekend and they block off the streets. She took home an investigative job that she got from one of her Texas clients. That kept her busy for about 3 hours.

When you called she was just polishing up the interim report and had to run the credit card, and then send the report to Dallas. She's been trying to call you back ever since but your phone just rings "busy". Did you maybe knock it off the hook by accident?

Anyway...we wanted to say we love you and hope you have a good night.

Love and kisses,

Your favorite "Grand dogger"

Mary-Margaret

PS - that black line in the picture is just our antenna. We were at a stop sign so we took a picture of one of the "hot rods" just for you!!

Cleaning Closets and Other Fun Things

There's a pile of clothes on our bedroom floor that resembles a colorful Mt. Everest (to me, anyway!). A "certain someone who shall remain anonymous" decided to go through her left hand side of one of her closets and, if she hadn't worn something for at least 5 years, toss it. Yup. Bye-bye clothes. Hello, Goodwill.

Meanwhile, since I wasn't allowed any say in what outfits of mine I got to keep, I decided to go toss pillows and make a fort. It's kind of depressing to see all my XXS, XS and S outfits get packed for the Goodwill, too. It's just a reminder that my waistline is continually expanding. Maybe I can talk my mom into donating to the Animal Shelter instead. That would be MY first choice. Remember when I gave all my baby clothes to the Hill's Pet Medical Center? That was long before the Hill's moved to Klamath Falls, when I knew that such donations would be appreciated.



There's one of those tables with long skirts over it and a glass top in the corner. I am very comfortable in there and I only come out if something more interesting is going on, like maybe....supper?



This was one successful pillow toss, if you ask me. For some reason, I prefer the sofa without pillows. I make a little nest by scratching and turning around until it's just so, then curl up for a nap. See? Doesn't that look comfy??

Happy Saturday to you all...

Love,

Mary-Margaret



PS - Here's one outfit I can still squish into - my pink camouflage hoodie with sherpa lining. Thank goodness! One never knows when they'll have to climb that Mt. Everest.

Yorkies and Garden Gnomes

We were looking a pictures of champion Yorkshire Terriers in their red bows and the first thing my ditzy mom says is "Oh, look! Garden Gnomes!".



"Huh?", I said. I squinted a bit and said, "Oh yeah...well, if you're not wearing your glasses I suppose those beautiful Yorkies with their long hair and red bows might remind you of garden gnomes!". I wasn't in the mood to argue with her.

She's been in a strange place lately. Between this and that, and having to work weekends, she's a bit stressed and I think she's numbing out. I make a point of hopping in her lap whenever I can and giving her kisses. She gives me "scratchies", which means I get a really nice back rub back. It's sort of a win-win situation.

To all my friends in the pageant industry, I think you're beautiful. Don't let the "garden gnome" thing get you. I'm sure once her eye unswells (yes, allergies probably, too!), she'll see the difference.

Meanwhile, I love you all.

Have a really nice weekend.

Mary-Margaret

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