A Prayer for Valerie

Dear Lord:

Please help our new friend, Valerie, through her grief in losing her father, Leroy Burt Poulin. We also hope that you will help the family of Francisco Javier Arteaga, and that you will take really good care of both Leroy and Francisco.

Please watch over them. Hold their families in your loving hands, and give them the courage to cope, and then the courage to fulfill their life's dreams as Leroy and Francisco did.

6/1/08: The newspaper from June 1 said that the passenger was Francisco Javier Arteaga, only 37 years old. We are so very sad.
6/2/08: Our prayers go out to all of Mr. Poulin's children in addition to Valerie: Leanna (who has commented and corrected us in in our misperception of some information obtained from FAA records), Christine, Marsha and Marshall. Bless you all.

Thank you, Lord, for your love and your guidance.

Amen

Mary-Margaret

The Plane Crash

We were out on the road between Temecula and Hemet, just coming out of the town of Winchester heading west. We saw a little plane flying alongside of us about 60 feet away for a teeny bit but then it hit the ground at a 45 degree angle. There was no sound, really. Just a big "poof" and the little off-white Lancair Legacy (per the FAA) disintegrated into nothingness. We first thought it was a remote-controlled airplane, but when the cloud of dust disappeared the ground and the grass were all black and there was nothing there except tiny pieces of plane. That was at 11:48AM exactly this morning.

We called 911 but got caught in a "press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish" loop. Then if was "All lines are busy, please hold!" for a couple of minutes. At 11:51AM, Mom hung up and called the Temecula sheriffs. They have voice mail, too, and finally she pressed "1" for "front desk". They checked it out while she held and then told her there was help at the scene now, and thank you for calling.

At 12:30PM, the news said that "two people died in a small plane crash near Temecula", and we got chills. Mom says she feels stunned, numb....except maybe some tears well up in her eyes and her heart is heavy, and then she just keeps on working, like the Energizer Bunny. And she feels cold, with goosebumps all over, maybe like she's been shocked? We have never seen anything like that. And we wonder what we're supposed to feel? We keep saying "Dear God, please take care of them and watch over their families.

I am barking a little more than usual, but I don't know what to feel, either. It's so unreal, and we would start to wonder if it really happened had it not been on the news. Here's the news video. It came in upside down which is why it looked so strange to us. It must have flipped over. The Plane

Please pray with us for the people on that plane, and their families, and remember to tell your people and pets that you love them.

We love you all!

Mary-Margaret O'Brien

I put in my application!

After getting feedback from some of the Yorkettes on Mom's group, I've discovered that I am 1.4 pounds too heavy to be a Yorkshire Terrier (3.5 to 7 pounds is standard - I am 8.4 pounds). Therefore, be of notice that I've applied to become an honorary Siberian Husky. I have friends there, and no one mentions weight. Hey...my feeling is, if you can't fit in one group, join another.

Whaddya think?

MMOB

Memorial Day and Remembering!

Here's me in my private home office keeping Mom company while she balances check books. See my name? Those Virginia license plates are from my Aunt Joan, Sugar Princess', Baby Sweet Pea, and Nicholas' mom who drives the "Heartbreaker" all through Canada and America bringing stuff like French fries, and veggies and whatever needs to be transported and kept cold. She sent me these as a present when she stopped over in Virginia. She got me other stuff, too, which I put on my blog a couple of months ago.



This is what I did to celebrate Memorial Day. And my mom sang the Star Spangled Banner to me a few times. I think I know it by heart now. And she chatted with some of her friends and went out to breakfast with my Aunt Margie. I made sure she knew exactly how I felt about being left home. She came in the house and looked at me right away. Er...maybe I had guilt written all over my face? Anyway, she says "Oh, let's see what you left for me THIS time, Mary-Margaret!", and she walked right over to it. Sheesh. Am I really THAT predictable??

Hope you all had a safe and happy holiday.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Catching up!!

Oh gosh. Last time I wrote I was kinda sick. Mom cut back my hours at the office, and I take a longer lunch and longer naps. I'm a pup. I'm not supposed to get stressed, and last time I checked my benefits package, I didn't HAVE any.

Last Monday, the 19th, we got the car washed FINALLY. It was getting sorta embarassing to ride around in and we were going to GrandPapa's on the 20th. We couldn't expect him to be seen in our dirty old car. I really like going to the car wash. It's so fun riding through and watching all the suds and bubbles and water spray on. Mom opens the inside slider on the sun roof so I can see through the top of the car. Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Love, Mary-Margaret

And $348.63 later.....!

"Brownie"











"Lola"

















"Esperanza"



















"Mitsuko" and MEEEE





General Health Profile (blood work)...........$141.55
Fluid Therapy SQ.....................................$ 45.60
Medicine.................................................$161.48

Making new friends.............................PRICELESS

Feeling "punk"!

Sorry for not writing. I had a case of the .... er..... trots? Musta been something I ate. Ugh. I made it a point of using my piddle pads out of consideration for my mom. And I made it 100% of the time, too.

Yesterday my mom bought some generic unflavored Pedialyte and used that in my supper recipe instead of water, maybe about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. It was actually pretty good and I enjoyed the whole thing AND it stayed with me. This morning I had a rash on my tummy when I woke up but it's gone now. Probably just hives from stress, which I get fairly frequently. Grandpapa says I'm very sensitive just like a little person. (News flash: I AM a little person in a dog suit!)

I'll be back to normal probably this afternoon. Nothing to take pictures of that I'd care to share, if you know what I mean.

Love and tail wags....

Mary-Margaret

School Daze & Dr. McFleamy

Finally! I got to wear my new blouse and jumper today. I REALLY need to go on a diet. I was sucking my tummy in all day but it was worth it. I got lots of compliments for my new outfit by Yvonne Tolley. Everyone really appreciated all the detail that went into her handiwork. I'm pleased and proud that she'd let me wear her designs.

She posted one today that she made for a Pomeranian friend of hers. Scrubs!! Perfect duplicate of "Grey's Anatomy" Scrubs, that could be worn by McDreamy, McSteamy, or in this case, McFleamy. I asked Auntie Yvonne if I could share and she said "Yes!". Oh boy...you're gonna LOVE this.

Even a little stethoscope. Too cute.

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Saturday Nappy Day

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...snork...zzzz!
Huh? Whaaaa.....???
Oh, GO AWAY!! (Sheesh!)

Ankles A-weigh!

I just got my new sailor dress and already I have to have it let out. Why can't dieting be just as much fun as eating, I ask you? Hmmmmmm???? There should be a "Jenny Craig" for us pups. We like to nibble, too, you know. Anyway, I had to show you my new sailor dress, and tell you I love it, but truth is......I had to really suck it in to get the belt fastened.

You know how embarrassing it is to be meeting with clients and to have them say something to Mom like...oh, I don't know.....like maybe "Her dress is coming off?" or "It's hanging sideways from her neck?". Hmmmmmm? I was blushing from head to toe (but fortunately, I'm covered in hair so no one noticed).

Here's me and my "pawdicurist", Miss Cathleen. Right after Mom took this picture, Miss Cathleen kindly removed my dress and gave me my massage with lotion, belly, back, fingerettes and toelets. Ahhhhh.....I truly enjoyed it to the max. She knows what a pup likes. Definitely a massage is what you need to decompress at the end of the day. Yup!

Love,

Mary-Margaret "Sailor Girl" O'Brien

My new uniforms & my "Nana" & stuff

We got these from Yvonne Tolley and they should be here any day now. First off, please check out my new sailor dress. Dontcha just love the pleats? Really shows off my hiney, too. Woo hoo.
And here's my new jumper....with pleats, too, of course. What's neat about Yvonne Tolley is that she made this JUST for me and says she'll not make it for any other pup, no matter what. So it's like a designer outfit, like you'd see in "Dogue" or "Dogsmopolitan".

Life is good. Turns out Uncle Rudy's former foster mom, Aunt Allie, is my "Nana", too. Oh, I DO love her. She's the one that FINALLY told my mom that us pups like cinnamon. YUM! And she shared her cinnamon bun with me. We also shared lots of snuggles and kisses.

Her hubby, Bill, is my "Poppa". He's really nice, too. His back hurt pretty bad so I was very gentle with him. I did NOT use his stomach for a trampoline (like I do with my mom). But I bet I could get a pretty good bounce out of him on a good day. Yup. I think so.

So, we've been busy with work, out-of-town guests that are more like family than guests, and also Mom had been busy fixing up the guest room for Allie and Bill. She's so happy to have company for a couple of reasons. One, it makes her get her act together and actually clean, and TWO, she likes to have her friends and family around her. I think I do a pretty good job keeping her company, but I know she loves her skin kids and relatives, too. And her Dad, my GrandPapa, who gives me ice cream and cuddles, is one of my favorites. He sits stiller than the rest of them so tummy rubs aren't so rushed.

I'll try harder to keep things up to date. Oh yes....WOW! Sonia came by to visit us today and brought Mom a little present from Jamaica, from her cruise. We sure miss her, but we're happy she's got another job she likes so well at the court. She's been gone for 3 months now.

That's all for now..

Love and smoochies....

Mary-Margaret O'Brien

PS - Dear Ben - I've been thinking about what my mom said about me being way too young for a boyfriend, so let's just be friends, ok? Besides, I don't want to end up in a love triangle and I think Abby is a very fine lady, and that you should be true to her. MMOB