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