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