I deserve a raise!

Well, I do. I work hard and take my job very seriously. When Sonia leaves for court, I watch for clients. I bark "hello" and that lets Mom know that someone is here to see her. She comes out of her office and introduces me as "Mary-Margaret, our back-up receptionist". Whatever state of mind the clients were in when they arrived, I can tell you that they leave smiling and relaxed. That's my job. It's what I do. And I do it well.

Of course, it's not like I'd quit or anything if I didn't get one. Where else could I work and sleep all day? Hmmmm? And graze on kibbles whenever I feel like it? And get presents in the mail? And have really neat friends like Robert, the building handyman? And Pam, the UPS lady? And Linda, the building manager? I get biscuits from Robert, and lots of cuddles and snuggles from just about everyone else there.

Maybe I don't really need a raise. Heck, I'd pay Mom to let me work for her! And that's the absolute truth.

Love, Mary-Margaret

Hide and Seek, Yorkie Style

I love games. Especially when I win, which is most of the time. At night I go out and patrol the yard. Then I come in and have my dinner. Mmmmmm! I LOVE my supper. Yesssss! Oh...getting off track again. So then I go out again. I wait until Mom gets all comfy in her big leather chair, feet up. And then I say "Owwww?", which is the best I can do the way my palate is formed. "Oh, you want OUT, Mary-Margaret?", she says. And then I hop up and down like a maniac, nipping at her sleeve. She always says, "Cut it out, Mary-Margaret!", but that's half the fun.

I go out and race around a bit. Then I find a nice cozy spot right out in the open, usually up against the wall or in the gazania bushes. Mom comes out. "Where are you, Mary-Margaret?". Shhh...I don't move a muscle. She stares right at me and I don't even blink. See, the way my hair is I sort of blend in, like Army camouflage. So she says "OK, Fine! I'm going inside!", and then I run, lickety-split, as fast as I can so I can get in the door before she closes it, laughing all the time. Oh, I just love to laugh.

So we get all skwunched down into the chair and cuddle for a bit before we go upstairs. It's just what we do. I love my life.

Bedtime...g'night everybody!

Mary-Margaret

PS - Cats on vacation, I think. No one for a couple of days.

Status Update

OK...normal weekend. We unwind, then we go to work. Same-o, same-o!! Today, Sunday, Mom goes to breakfast with a friend, then comes and gets MEEE, and then we go to the office. I just head straight for my office bed and go back to sleep. Mom is working at two desks, although I don't totally understand it. She says she takes a break by doing something different. Today she got out her "1099's". One less thing to worry about.

We're both kind of excited about Pennsylvania. I'm told that I am the ONLY person she even discussed this with. I can tell she's pretty proud of herself because this is the first time ever she's bought a house without asking what anyone thought. Surprisingly, she's not heard any negatives. She says the first year will be the hardest. Then it'll all be ok.

I think I'm a good influence on her.

Love, Mary-Margaret

Penn-syl-van-ia HERE we come....!

Woo hoo! My mom is probably the only woman in the UNIVERSE who would buy a house 3000 miles away without even visiting it. But hey....I love her anyway.

This is what it looks like from the front in the middle of winter without snow. It was ZERO degrees there today, with a little bit of snow. In the summer the trees are all covered in leaves and it's so beautiful.

Back to Mom -- she says if it's a mistake it's all hers and nobody else's. I'm kind of excited about all the trees and the lake and stuff. I showed you a bunch of pictures last year when we went there. Remember? When I got my very own photo id that said "Mary-Margaret O'Brien" on it?

I'll keep you posted. It's in "escrow" which means the paperwork is happening before we get title. Another one of Mom's sayings: "What's the worst that could happen?". I agree.

Love, Mary-Margaret

Hullo, Diary! It's meeee...Mary-Margaret

I know. You probably thought I was going to skip writing again tonight. I've just been out of sorts today. Truth be known, I haven't seen ONE cat since Mom chased them out of our yard. I hate to admit it, but I'm also just a little bit jealous. How come the cat is afraid of HER and not MEEE. Doesn't seem fair. And...well, if you MUST know...I kind of miss the game of it all.

No, Mom did NOT call the animal people. She says that trap stuff is too complicated, and she's the type to make the sign of the cross and say a prayer over road kill. I can't imagine what she do if we actually caught a cat (or a gopher, skunk, squirrel, possum, whatever). She'd probably feed it and buy it clothes.

Sonia wanted to know what was wrong with me. So did Marilyn at the bank. People noticed my ears were down all day. Except when it was five o'clock, I did go in and harass my mom. That I couldn't live without. I dunno! Some days are just ear down days.

OK...time for bed. Going to watch that "Ugly Betty" first. Me and Mom like that show.

G'night everyone.

Love, Mary-Margaret

The Inner Artist Emerges or "Hello, Dali!"

Mom didn't want to post this. I'm rather proud of myself but she thought that my artwork might gross out some grown-ups. She wouldn't even take a PICTURE of it. I finally convinced her that, at the very least, my first attempt at sculpture should be memorialized. Well, also the Yorkie Ladies group was discussing the acceptable appearance and texture of pregnant doggie "poop" on their Yorkie list. So she figured maybe it would be ok.

Speaking of....er....that "stuff", Mom was rushing to finish some business at the office yesterday and suddenly got bowled over by the most AWFUL smell - so she says, anyway. She looked in the work room on my piddle pad, and sure enough...there was a nice long "poop", but it was standing on END, looking like a cobra dancing to a flute. It must have been at least 4-5 inches high. Not only am I piddle pad trained, but I'm becoming quite artistic. A new talent is born. Hurrah!

Just thought I'd share. Hope you all aren't having dinner or anything when you read this.

(singing) "Hello, Dali....well, hello, Dali. It's so nice to have you back where you beee-loooooong"

Sorry...I couldn't resist.

Love, Mary-Margaret

Busy Busy Busy!!!

Last month...make that last WEEK...Mom was crabbing about work being slow. She should have known better. Now she's working more than she'd care to, and I think Sonia is sorry SHE said anything, too. It's good for me, though. I get to meet lots of new people. And the ones who know me even call first to make sure I'm there before they bring in their papers. That's just how things are, you know!

Mom's too tired to take dictation so I guess I'll have to stop here. She's got something going in Pennsylvania again but it's not for sure. I'm not supposed to talk about it. Shhhhh!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

(UH....MOM? WHA...? OW OW OW...I CAN TOO KEEP A SECRET. LEGGO 'O MY EAR!!)

Pink cape, grey cats

Here's me in the pink cape Aunt Shelly & Peanut Daniel got me for Christmas. Isn't it just beautiful??
There were more cats in planter this morning - THREE of them. We are becoming a community litter box. These were all grey tabby types of various sizes. I barked at them through the door on my way to work. My carpool (Mom) was waiting for me or I might have had more to say.

Mom called animal control. They "catch and release" and suggested we get a trap. Bad news. There's a huge waiting list. Lots of cat problems around here. But we can rent one at Hank's Hardware and the AC people will take it away if we catch somebody. I think it's going to take a long time. Those cats just keep coming, like a big old family reunion in MY planter.

Tonight I went out. I'm still pretty cautious. OK..SCARED, if you want to know. I go to the hill and quickly check out my fort. Then I run back down until Mom comes out and I know I'll be safe. Boy, you don't catch ME dragging my feet when it's time to come in, though. Not like before. Tonight, I raced Mom up the stairs and decided to check out her closet. It was pretty interesting until the lights went out and the door shut on me. I heard her go into her office and call me. Well, sheesh! I'm right HERE in the DARK in your CLOSET, you silly woman. So I started scratching on the door from the inside until she came and got me.

That's pretty much it for today except for going to Miss Cathleen's today. She gave me a little plastic cup to play with, which was fun. A lady and her daughter came in before we left so I got to meet and play with some new people. They were really nice to me.

OK...that's it. Catch you later, gator.

Love, Mary-Margaret

Skateboards are KEWL!!

I want one. Mom went to see Isabella's video and we saw that her mom had another video with a dog riding a skateboard. I LOVE IT! That's what I want to do. Be a skateboarder. You think I'm big enough? Maybe they make a smaller one my size? Oh, golly. I'd rather be skateboarding than worrying about cats. Check it out by clicking on the link. See what I mean? Seriously, I watched that video so hard, and I never took my eyes off it. Not once!

Wow. I can see me now. Hangin' eight and making those cats wish they were nicer to me. (thinking....) If I learn to skateboard, you think I could snowboard, too?

Cheers...

Mary-Margaret

Oh, My HEART!!!

I'm absolutely HORRIFIED!!. Tonight, I went out to check the yard for the CATS. And there it was, the light orange/cream/white one from the plum tree? You know...I drew a face on it? See my blog a few days back? OHMYGAWSH! It HISSED at me. Now, I DO know to keep my distance but....(gulp)....it leaped at me and....and...it swatted at me. Mom came out and yelled at it, and it ran over the fence.

It kept LOOKING at me through the fence, and sticking out it's tongue at me, and saying nasty cat things to me. Oh dear! Oh dear! I went over to the fence and our noses were almost touching and then Mom yelled at MEEEEE! "You get in here, Mary-Margaret!". But then the cat would think I was a baby, so I kept on. Finally, Mom went to the fence and said "You go away, you NASTY cat", and it dove into the bushes. I was absolutely hysterical. I just kept running back and forth, barking, crying....I couldn't stop!

After a bit, I didn't know what to do. I kept sobbing. I wasn't hurt or anything, but that really REALLY scared me. Mom said "Sit, Mary-Margaret", so I did. Then she said "Stay!", and I did! She picked me up, hugging me tightly, and I sobbed into her shoulder. My life will NEVER EVER be the same again.

I have absolutely NO idea what my Auntie Leslie sees in these terrorists. REALLY, I don't.

(sniffle)

L...L....Love,

M...M....Mary-Margaret

They're ALL baaaaack!

Oh gosh! I guess I should know better than to worry about the CATS being ok in the cold!! This morning there was ANOTHER CAT in my fort. This one was the grey tabby. We "negotiated" for possession for a bit until Mom came out. Then the tabby left, taking it's usual route over the fence. I stood on my tippy-toes and there was the grey and white, and a dark grey, and...OHMYGOODNESS....I lost count.

I checked out my fort really well and there's like a hollow under my daisy bush now where probably they all cuddle up to sleep. There are also some places on the slope in the middle of the gazanias where it kinda looks like someone is doing some camping.

Whatever did I do to be everly so honored by the cat family? I ask you....Hmmmmmmmm?? I guess this is what it feels like to be invaded by foreign troops? I really REALLY want a baby brother or sister to help me defend my yard. I NEED HELP!!

Mary-Margaret

Happy Birthday, Auntie Em!

Today is my older sister's birthday. She's (mmmfffppwwwpph!)...? (ptooey!...blegh..thppp...thpppp!) MO-ooom? Can't I say how OLD she is? Oh! Hah...THAT OLD, huh?

Er....well, then, how about a card? From me? I'm not very good at writing. Melissa is my Aunt's name. All she has to do is write her name and this will be my card to her from MEEEE, Mary-Margaret O'Brien.

HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY, SIS! I LOVE YOU AND I MISS YOU!!

Mary-Margaret

A CAT-astrophe!!

My private little fort has been invaded. MY FORT on the side slope that me and Uncle Rudy made last Thanksgiving. The CAT has moved in. OHMYGAWSH! I barked and barked and barked until my throat was raw, but CAT didn't take kindly to my attempt to evict it. Finally, Mom went to get her camera and, as soon as the CAT saw Mom coming, it left. Mom has that effect on some people....er....you know what I mean?

CAT jumps through the iron bars and tippy-toes along the top of the block wall, making faces at MEEEEE the whole time. Oh, the RUDENESS of it all. Finally it leaps off and skitters down the hillside into the bushes along the street. I suppose I'll have to clean and disinfect my fort now. Sheesh!

Just to make sure CAT doesn't come back, I stood watch until my toes started turning blue. Then Mom calls "Mary-Margaret, you get IN here. You need to put a jacket on!" (yup....I admit it....I wear clothes. Wanna make sumthin' out of it? Hmmmm?)
Here's me on my way into the house.

I'll keep watching, though. CAT seems the type to sneak back into MY fort when he think's no one's looking. I'll keep you posted.

Mary-Margaret

Back to reality...!

This is what I absolutely LOVE doing. Racing around my back yard. It's pretty cold out now with lots of ice on the lawn, but this is a picture from last year that my Uncle Jason took. It's one of my favorites. I like how he caught me in mid-air, almost like I was flying.

This is reality to me. Running, racing, cuddling, licking and (I hate to admit it, but...) tormenting Mom when it's time to leave work. (hee hee) I stand up tall between her legs while she's sitting in her chair and start scratching her tummy with both my front paws. I use the same intensity that I do when I'm opening a manila envelope and trying to rip it open. She goes "ow ow ow" and I laugh and keep going. Eventually, she gives up and I get to go home. She thinks it's amazing that I can tell when it's five o'clock, but I just can. It's just something I do.

Have a great day, y'all.

Mary-Margaret

PS: Boo and Chiyo, sittin' in a tree.....K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!! (hee hee hee)

DogshowUSA results

I DIDN'T EVEN MAKE THE FINALS!!(sigh)

I guess it wasn't meant to be. Thank you EVERYONE for all your votes. And thank you to my campaign workers, my press agents, my managers, and most of all - my wonderful friends for their patience, love and unwaivering support. Mom has reminded me that I should be happy for the pups that made the finals. And I should remember that if I had made it, it would mean one of them would not. I suppose that should cheer me up in a convoluted sort of way, but not at the moment.


My Aunt Vicki says she'll be my manager next time and probably it was the lousy photos of me that Mom posted. Mom's prejudiced, I think. She likes ALL my photos. Aunt Shelly says I should have posted THIS one (from when I was a baby.

What are my plans? Personally? I think I've decided to concentrate on my studies, and possibly go for a post-graduate degree in feline philosophy and psychology - A CATaclysmic decision to CATapult me into my future CATagory of higher education, don't you think? After graduating puppy school and getting my diploma from Cool Dogs for successfully mastering the basic ten commandments (sit, stay, etc), I think I could go on to do more...to really make a difference in this world. I'm not just another pretty face, you know.

Love,

Mary-Margaret O'Brien, PhD*

*Pretty Happy Dog

Baby, it's COLD outside!

Here's me in my trendy pink leopard print parka with a hood. I absolutely refuse to go outside unless I'm wearing it. The bird bath was frozen again, and Mom had to use the bottled water for coffee until the pipes unfroze themselves. That's TWO mornings of frozen pipes. Can you believe it?
Here's me at my favorite place these days - in front of the little heater the blows hot air. See how my hair stands up from the oh-so-cozy-and-warm breeze? If I'm not here, I'm in my crate/ kennel/ cage/ fort (depending on why I'm there, I guess) snuggling into my soft sherpa pad.

I kinda worry about the cats. I know....I know....surprised? But all fun and games aside, I think we were getting to be friends, sort of. I hope they're ok. I'll go out later to look for them. I saw that one cat that I drew eyebrows on yesterday afternoon and gave him a friendly round of barks, but haven't seen him since.

Hope you're all warm and toasty.

Love, Mary-Margaret

Brrr-r-r-r-r-r-r! It's COLD!!!

VOTE FIVE STARS FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

When we got up this morning and tried to brush our teeth, absolutely NOTHING came out of the water pipe. Mom grumbled something or other, and then went downstairs to make coffee. Same problem. So she goes to the car to get out some bottled water and starts the coffee going. Then she tries to call the water company.

The water company's emergency line is busy-busy-busy. Finally she gets through to someone and mentions she has no water. The lady told her that NOBODY had water because everyone's pipes froze. Mom asks what she's supposed to do? The lady just tells her that even the service men don't know because this has never happened before. After all, this is SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Mom turned the faucet in the kitchen to the on position so that when the water did come back on it could flow freely.

Me? Oh, I don't mind this at all. Makes my little spot in the sun all that much more appreciated. I spent a lot of time this morning out by the block wall just soaking up the rays. It felt pretty good, too. It was maybe 30 degrees out when I was getting my sunbath and I didn't even want to wear a sweater. Woo hoo!!

Voting should be over today, I think. I hope so. Elections are so nerve wracking, don't you think?

Love,

Mary-Margaret

PUNK'D THE CAT!!

VOTE FIVE STARS FOR MARY-MARGARET!!




Hee hee hee. Sometimes it's not how BIG you are, but how well you think. Dogs, in my opinion, are infinitely more fun and smarter than those snooty cats. WE also have a sense of humor, unlike those uppity felines. There's this website PIKIPIMP that I went to and sort of rearranged the face of that little trespasser. (Thank you, Auntie Shelly, for making my day! That was FUN!)

Love, Mary-Margaret

CATS!!! (and my new friend FUFU)

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

First off, let me introduce you to my new friend FUFU the HAMSTER!! I've never known a hamster personally before. FUFU is quite engaging and very intelligent. I'm sure you'll like him a whole lot.

Secondly, I'm in the house, just minding my own business, for Lord's sake, when I look up and there is THE CAT. It's just laying there on MY grass and it's MAKING FACES at me. I bark and bark and say "Get off my grass, you hussy cat!", and it just waves it's tail at me and laughs.

So Mom opens the slider and I go flying out my little doggie door and it's a stand off. Me and the cat. I'm not stupid...I know that thing is armed and dangerous. Those darn switch blades it carries in it's paws, but from about 8 feet away, I make myself PERFECTLY clear. GET OFF MY LAWN!!

The cat slowly gets up and ambles over to the plum tree. Mom goes upstairs and gets her camera because she doesn't believe the NERVE of this cat. I can't stand it any longer. I take a flying leap at the cat, and the cat jumps back and runs away, over the fence.

Dusting myself off, I come back in the house wearing a spider attached to a web. Must have been spinning by the tree, maybe? The spider jumps off onto the kitchen floor, Mom squeals and stomps it flat dead and cleans it up with a paper towel.

Sooo....that was MY morning. How was yours??

Love, Mary-Margaret

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!! <----click here!!

What I think of campaigning!!

BRRRRTTTTTTHHHHHRRRRRP!!!

Raspberries to election hype. I just want to PAR-TAYYY!

Love ya and thank you for all your votes! I'm just happy to be part of this. (Mom made me say that last part!)

Cheers!

Mary-Margaret

Ohhhh....the suspense of it all!!

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

My apologies, Dear Diary. I've been so overly obsessed with this election thing. OK...OK....more like a "beauty contest"? Anyway....you go into this stuff with a light heart and the attitude like you're just in it for fun. But then you see you've got a respectable number of votes, and people really like you, and you've got good ratings. Next thing you know, you start to think about "what if"! You know?

But there can only be ONE winner. Just ONE. Sure I hope it's me, but if it's not, then I submit to the will of the public. And I will throw my complete support to the winner.

Time for bed. Mom just reminded me that I was starting to doze off and snore a tiny bit, so maybe it's time to hit the sack.

Five more voting days. Just click the link and remember that 5 stars is the best, 1 star....well, let's just say if I were a one star dog, I'd be seriously thinking of hiring a personal stylist.

Licks and wags to all...

Mary-Margaret

Vote for MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

I'm pretty high in the ratings and, as of this moment, I have 610 votes. Not bad for a small town Yorkie, don't you agree? Still, there are others with tons of votes. And I thought I had a lot of friends. Woo hoo. Imagine "Gus" getting way over 9000 votes. Unbelievable!



Even hard working candidates need some spa time to unwind. Here's me getting my tummy softened for anticipated belly rubs during my campaign. My official masseuse is Miss Cathleen. She's been my personal lotion applier for well over a year now. If you vote for me, I'll let YOU rub my belly. Doesn't that seem like a fair opportunity? Hmmmmmmm? Win-win??

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

Love, Mary-Margaret

Do we know who won yet?

Hmmmmmmmmm?

The suspense is killing me. I've been chewing on anything to relieve the tension. Mom even found a sticky burr in my teeth this morning. Arrrrrggghhh. How do politicians do it? I've got to keep busy....find something to do....maybe go back on the campaign trail? Just sitting here, waiting, is too much for me to handle.

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

Sincerely yours,

Mary-Margaret "The Politician" O'Brien

Campaign Update!

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET!!

As of right now, on Sunday at 7:38PM, I have 331 votes. There are 8,594 contestants, and the voting closes on 1/15 - I think. If you click on "toy breeds" and sort us by rating, I'm on page 1, number 4, as of this moment. Gus from New Hampshire has 8,863 votes. He has 3 stars. I have 2 and a smidgen...like maybe 2.25 or something. I guess you have to click on which star you rate me from one to five when you vote, too. Five is the best...the absolutely everly most top rating I could get.

Sooooo...you can vote maybe every couple of hours, if you want to, that is. Or more often if you clear your "cookies", whatever that means. I do like cookies, I know that. I have a gingerbread heart downstairs with some carob and yogurt frosting on it that I've been working on. Yum. I just love Pacific Pets bakery. They had this silver platter out with cookies on it when we went to get me a new name tag, since I lost my last one, which was chewed up anyway so it just said "Mar........-Mar.....", with no phone number except a couple of digits. When I get nervous I chew my tags. I....oh..what? I'm getting off track again, Mom says. "Focus, Mary-Margaret. FOCUS!" I get that a lot.

OK...back to voting. It would be really nice to have someone vote for me again, and rate me as "five stars". But it's ok if you don't. You DO like gingerbread dog cookies, right? Me too! MMMM-mmm, GOOD!

If I win, maybe I'll have a cookie party? To celebrate?

Your humble candidate....

Mary-Margaret O'Brien

Vote for Mary-Margaret!!

VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET "A bone in every doghouse - A chicken in every bowl". This is everly SOOO exciting. I know there's other pups with a gazillion votes and I probably won't win. But still.....oh, the fun, the parties, the campaign!! This is AMERICA!!

I'm working on a campaign slogan. So far, all I've got is the one above. If you all can think of any others, please PLEASE send them to me. Thank you to all my friends for your votes. Now we need to get out and get all YOUR friends to vote, too. And their friends. And if we have any friends left, then those too!!

We may not win, but we'll show the canines of America that us Yorkies and our pals, when all put together, have a pretty BIG voice....er...bark!

A vote for me says "Democracy"!!

Please excuse me, but I need to get out and kiss some puppies and shake some paws. Have a great day, everybody!!

Mary-Margaret

Beauty Contest Jitters

Just dropping by to let you know I haven't forgotten you. I'm just SOOOOO jittery about this beauty contest thing. All a-twitter, you might say. Please vote for me (see link in yesterday's post). Ohhhhhh.....I can't STAND it. The suspense is getting to me. Keeping paws crossed. MMOB

I'm a Beauty Contestant!!

Yayy! I AM a contestant. So are a lot of my friends. If I vote for all of them and they all vote for me, maybe we can all win? Here's the link if you want to vote for MEEEEEE: VOTE FOR MARY-MARGARET

Oh isn't this exciting? If I win, I will have such a celebration. You are all invited. Maybe even cake? I do like cake and frosting. Yes...especially cream cheese frosting. Mmmmmmm! Oh...but I digress. I do that, you know, when I get excited about something. Sorry.

Wheeeeeeeeee! Vote for MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Thank you to all my constituents. I run on a non-partisan platform. (Mom told me to say that!)

Love, Mary-Margaret

Beauty contests!!

Just minding my own business reading my email when I get this thing from Dogster to join their beauty contest. Let's see...Toy Breed? Cutest? Looks most like owner? Gosh....hard to choose. I go for "toy". I do all the entry stuff (Mom does the typing), and finally I get in. I go to check out my pictures and there are FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO PAGES, each with about 30 dogs on them, and I cannot even begin to find me. How do I know I'm even entered? HMMMMMMM?? And as if I had a snowball's chance on a barbeque? At least it didn't cost me anything. I'm still in the hole from Christmas.

Where is this contest, you ask? It's at www.dogster.com, to be precise, it's at http://contest.dogshowusa.com/portal/gallery?cat=5

Hmmmph! I think I'm going to keep my day job.

Mary-Margaret

A Day of Mourning

That's why we didn't get the mail today, and why there wasn't much traffic on the way home. I'm still a bit foggy on the subject. But we worked, and the banks were open. I know. I went to two of them, and boy, did they have LONG lines.

And Sonia worked. Remember that mouse she gave me for Christmas? The one with the sunglasses and the black top knot? Mom thought it was cute but she couldn't figure it out, so she put it back under the tree. Sonia mentioned how you "squeeze his hand" and he sings. Guess what Mom did when we got home? Seems there's a teensy tiny little label on his iddy biddy paw that says to squeeze it. So she did. It's pretty cute, I admit, but I really need to know a singing mouse better before I play with it. Really, I do.

Me and Mom took a walk in the afternoon and a lot of people said "Hi, Mary-Margaret!" to me. Mom says she gives up on trying to figure out how they know me. It's just something that IS!!

G'night for now.

Love, Mary-Margaret

The "Remote"

When I want to go to bed and Mom doesn't, I just grab the remote. Sometimes I can hit it just so that the channels change. If that doesn't work, I chomp down on it and cause strange things to happen on the TV. If I REALLY want attention, I grab it and run off.

Just a little something I thought I'd share this fine New Year's Day.

(giggle)

Mary-Margaret