I've got that fresh, minty smile!

I had my dental done today. Dr. V pronounced me in EXCELLENT health, tooth-wise. None were removed; none were loose. No cavities and I don't need braces. And they are all polished to a high gloss. See?



Mom picked me up about 1:30PM and we took the rest of the day off doing errands, like getting the tires rotated, a smog-check (?) and the oil changed. There's an absolutely bee-yoo-ti-full lawn in front of the place and I made sure I left my scent. Good thing, too. A black lab came by after I left and I watched him through the window. I could tell he was VERY impressed with me. He even came back for a second whiff. Woo hoo!

Grinningly yours,

Mary-Margaret

No such thing as "Crunchy" Cream Cheese

My very first "dental" is tomorrow. I go see my Dr. V and she'll get all the plaque off my teeth so I can keep my sparkly smile. I have to take Clavamox for a couple of days before I go in just in case I have any bad germs in my otherwise squeaky clean little body. Dr. V says that Clavamox will knock the little buggers right out, so no bacteria will get into my blood and cause a serious infection. Then after the cleaning, I take it a few more days.

I'm not particularly big on pills which is a well known fact in my house. Mom tries to disguise them with yummy bits of this and that. Most recently, she tried cream cheese. Silly woman! There is NO SUCH THING as crunchy cream cheese. I sucked the cream cheese right off the pill and then "spitooeyed" it out, figuring she'd never notice. HAH! Boy, was I wrong.

"Hello...what's this?", she says as she plucks the pill, now sticky, from my right foot. Uh oh! She sits me on the tile counter top, pries open my schnozz and puts the sticky pill on the back of my tongue. Then she clamps my jaws shut and starts rubbing my throat until I swallow. Eeeyewww and blegh!! I have been officially PILLED!!

One of Mom's lady friends suggested crunchy peanut butter. That way I won't know until it's too late if that is a peanut or a pill, and by then it'll all be stuck to the roof of my mouth, and I'm going to get my pill whether I want it or not. I'm not a major peanut butter fan, but it's got to taste better than Clavamox. Why can't the pharmaceutical companies make peanut butter or chicken or cheese tasting pills, for goodness sake? Hmmmmmm????? I think I shall write them with my suggestions.

Love,

Mary-Margaret "The Pill" O'Brien

B H Chi Review & Long Term Kona Rentals

(Kona info at the bottom after the "PS")


After a few minutes of "no valid disc" notices flashing on the DVD player, Mom unplugged the cables and counted to ten. Then she plugged them back in again and the DVD player actually worked. Woo hoo. At long last!! The movie I've been waiting for finally started.

I actually stayed awake for the first half hour, too. Mom seemed to like it. The only thing that she really said, though, was that MY snoring was louder than the movie. Grumbled something about the audio was drowned out. Well, hello? Get a movie that actually makes sense? Silly woman. I go for the plot. At least "Firehouse Dog" kept one on the edge of their seat. Even "Winn-Dixie" provided a few surprises. But "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was everly too predictable. Us pups deserve a bit more credit. We're not stupid.


Oh, sure. Given the material they had to work with, Chloe, Popi and Delgado gave pretty good performances. I can't say much for the Rat or the Iguana, though. Stereotypical casting for both of them. If either species has a union or national association, I think they should complain and receive a public apology for their portrayal as con artists and thieves. Hmmmm....thinking about it even more, I think the all of Dogdom deserves an apology, too, for being made to look either like a group of South Central LA gang members or a bunch of air headed, blinged-up frou frous.

Bottom line: If you want "more for your snore", go rent it when it goes on sale. Disney "doze" it again.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Mary-Margaret "The Critic" O'Brien

PS: My Aunt Allie who lives in Kona with my very good friends, Franklin and Lola, is in REAL ESTATE. As opposed to UNREAL Estate, I guess. She just made up her very own website about "Rentals in Kona", appropriately called "Rentals in Kona". She rents houses in Kona (on the "Big Island") and condos in Kona. If you want to rent something on the Kona side of the Big Island, call my Auntie Allie at 808-329-7000. Her broker is "C J Kimberly" and they can help you with short term and long term residential rentals in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

"ziplining on Big Island" "zip-lining on Big Island" "swimming with turtles" "rental homes in Kona"

Pupples have feelings, too!

(sigh) Granted, I haven't been to my day spa lately. I'm going tomorrow, and was really looking forward to the bubble bath, massage, pawdicure....you know. The whole shebang. I was just minding my business at the office and my personal assistant, Shannon, says to me, "You STINK!". Excuuuuuuuuuuuse me? (I said) I might be somewhat aromatic, and perhaps even a bit fragrant, but stink? Moi? I think not.

She took me for a walk and I made sure I kept at least 6 feet away, the length of my leash, to keep from offending her nose. Mom can't smell me, but then she's used to me. Even Mary-Ann from down the hall said I looked pretty cute today, and didn't even mention the word "Stink".

I am deeply offended. But I'll smell pretty nice tomorrow after my personal stylist, Miss Marilyn, is through with me. Maybe I just won't let Shannon sniff me right away. I say, let her suffer. Stink, indeed! Hmmmmph. You know what Thumper said, don't you? "If you can't say sumthin' nice, don't say anythin' at all!". Good advice from a very wise rabbit.

With fragrant regards,

Yours truly,

Mary-Margaret "Flower" O'Brien

Post Card Collection Explosion

Dear Diary - You know I collect post cards. My friends, Abbey Mia and Harper, or their mom, Elaine, always send me a post card when they go on vacation. They write me a note and sign it, and then they mail the picture post card to me at my office. I keep all my post cards on the bookcase so everyone can see. All of my post cards have personal notes, and stamps and postmarks on them.

Yesterday, I got an envelope from my Aunt Shelly and my very good friend, P'Nut Daniel. It had a really nice card inside with a personal note(which I tasted a corner of), and a whole bunch of picture postcards from Washington State. Wow. I couldn't even count them all. They're all really nice pictures but they're not signed, or stamped, or....well, it's not like I don't appreciate that they thought of me because I do. But post cards for my collection are more about the message from the heart. Like when you go on vacation and you're having so much fun you forget mostly everything, except your very good friends back home, and then you write them a personal note and mail the card. And then everyone, even all the postal carriers, can see where your friends are and that they are thinking of you and that they miss you.

So here is what I got from my Aunt Shelly and P'Nut:



Thank you for thinking of me, but next time please send me just one card with your thoughts on it and a stamp and a postmark. That way I can put it into my collection.

I just love you guys!

Mary-Margaret "Gone Postal" O'Brien

Friday the 13th

Today we're only working a half day. Old Town Temecula is hosting a "Rod Run". That means that people from all over the country will be bringing their spiffed-up old cars to show off and maybe even sell. We have to be out of our parking lot by 1:30PM or else. So we're going to take work home and hang out there.

I know my GrandPapa reads my diary every day. I just want him to know that I really miss him and love him and wish that we could come and see him. Really I do. We look forward to talking to him every day but I miss his hugs, and I miss keeping him company, and I miss him fixing my chicken for dinner. It always tastes better when GrandPapa fixes it. Mom can't drive so far in one day, or at all at night anymore. Maybe when she gets her new glasses it will be easier? Oh, I DO hope so.

Hugs and schlurpees to you, GrandPapa.

Until we meet again....

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Jami's BAAAAACK!!

Here's my VERY good friend, Jami Ramsey. This is her first day out after having FOUR pups in my Uncle Fidel's bed. She's not quite gotten her figure back as you can tell from her maternity dress. It's really huge, but....wow.....you should see what's UNDER it. I'm sure glad I don't have to worry about losing MY figure like that.

A few trips up and down those stairs should get her back into shape again, dontcha think?

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Getting a "tan"!!

What a gorgeous, most beautiful day. Yup. I went out in my personal sandbox and stretched out. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!








The paparazzi are hiding in the wings. They slowly sneak up on me and "BLAM"..... Here I am.

So much for privacy.

MMOB

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua"

Every time the commercial comes on TV I get all excited and dance in front of the screen. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE movies about pups. I've never gotten to go to a real live movie theater but that's ok. I can watch videos when they come out.

I've been very good and haven't asked for very much at all lately. Maybe a bite of cookie (without the chocolate chip) or a taste of cake (with no frosting), but that's it. I'm very mindful of the current economy, and I do my part to help out. Being good really pays off.

Yesterday, we were at the market. At Von's, actually, where I'm very good friends with the Deli people, and I get samples of turkey or chicken or ham....oh! Sorry. I am digressing again. So many thoughts in my head, so little time to spit them out.

Back to the market. We're in the check-out line and WHOA! There is "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", just like I see it on TV, right there on a shelf, in the stand. The very LAST one on display. I tell my mom "Oh, LOOK!!", (without asking, of course!) and next thing you know, it's right there next to me in the kiddie seat of our cart. Right in front of my nose!! OHMYGAWSH! I think we're having a family day on Saturday, and we will watch my most favorite movie ever. I'll give you a complete review after I've seen it.

Oh, my heart be still. I am SOOOOO excited. Yup!

Later, dahlinks....

Mary-Margaret "Gone Hollywood" O'Brien

What's more better than ONE MM?

TWO MMs is what. This is me and my very good friend, Mimi. She first met me when we were both babies. I guess you could say we're lifelong friends. Her mom was visiting the attorney across the hall and we both saw each other through our open doors.

She got on all fours and so did I. We both hunkered down and v-e-e-e-r-r-r-y stealthily (I think that's a word) we started stalking each other. And then, when we got really close, we both started laughing and hugging and tickling each other. We probably spent a whole hour in human time playing and visiting and just laying back breathing at each other.

That's one thing about being with a really good friend. You can be together and not even have to talk at all and you are still together, you know? I like that feeling. Sort of like we have one heart.

When it was time to go home we both got pretty sad. I walked across the hall to give Mimi a kiss good-bye. Then her mom wanted one, too. Well, of COURSE, I will kiss Mimi's mom. I just love that whole family. It was hard to leave, but it was harder to keep track of my mom. She kept forgetting stuff and if I turned my back she'd disappear back into the office. Now you see her...now you don't. Over and over. So I gave Mimi a really nice kiss, and she gave me a hug and I walked Mom down to the car.

She forgot to put my leash on me but I didn't give her too much grief. I did sit down behind a bush just to rattle her. She said "You COME RIGHT NOW!" rather loudly, which embarrassed me, so I got up and very slowly walked over to her. She scooped me up and we got in the car to drive home. Like where am I going to go, hummmm?? There's a space under the building that squirrels go into, but I think I'm too big. If she keeps this up, we'll find out for sure. I'll bet that would be pretty interesting, don't you?

Oh...PS. Mom's getting new glasses again. She was supposed to have blended bifocals and she only got reading glasses. The problem with that is she can only see 16-18" from her face but not farther or closer. So she won't wear them at all and says she can see better without them anyway. She saw the Optician again and they're fixing things for her. People sure mess up a lot, huh? Tsk tsk. Such a shame.

Only 13 more days to St. Paddy's day. I'm hoping for corned beef, or at least some kind of brisket. I just LOVE roast beef.

Kisses.....

Mary-Margaret O'Brien

My Fitness Training Pays Off!!

I tell YOUUUUU!! It's always something with the "help" these days. It's been like a WEEK since I wrote you, Dear Diary. Not MY fault, though. Good help is hard to find.

What's new, you ask? Oh....well, at work we're pretty busy. Serving lots of papers, like Small Claims and evictions in Temecula and Murrieta. That's what we do mostly. And we find people. Yesterday we found the contents of a lady's safe deposit box. And later this week we're going to try to help her find a couple of missing bank accounts. That's what we do. Find people or their "stuff" and serve papers.

Oh yes. And yesterday when we went into our bank Jessica (our teller) looks at us and says "You're losing weight!".
Mom smiled and said "Me? You mean me?".
"No! I meant Mary-Margaret!", she says. And then she tells Mom that I'm getting my waistline back. Mom gets all funky and pouts, because ...well, she's been getting a little more....er....padded. But me? Oh, ever since I got my new assistant, Shannon, who's really into physical fitness, I get a work out every day.

We're on the third floor of our building and usually I take the elevator. But Shannon says I should take the stairs and burn those calories. Going up and down from the third floor to the parking lot and back is really firming me up. I'm everly so lucky to have someone like Shannon as a trainer. Yup. Now I suppose I should get some spandex shorts and a tank top and really LOOK the part. I think I have a tank top............hmmmmmmm!!!!

Mom says that if Shannon starts teaching Yoga again, that she'll take her class. I wonder if I can go, too??

Love,

Mary-Margaret

Friends and Flowers

Banks are full of friendly people. We have several, but my most often favorites are two where all the tellers know my name. We went to both today. At my second bank, me and a little girl about my age ...maybe 3 1/2?...were in line and we were making eyes at each other. Little children and puppies have a thing, you know. We can talk to each other with our eyeballs, and that's absolutely true. The little girl had two yellow daisies in her hand. After we "googled" and "goggled" at each other for a bit, she very shyly came up to me and offered me one of her flowers.

Oh my goodness! I was everly so flattered. I said "Thank you!" as best I could without getting cross-eyed, and then Mom tucked it into my collar. Somehow that didn't feel right, though. So when we got back to the car, I asked very nicely if I could wear it in my hair. Mom put the stem through my top-knot (that's what she calls it) and here's what I look like. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE flowers, don't you?



Back at the office we had surprise company. Yup. Shannon came back with her daughter, Marli, and her two pupsters, Cody and Candy. She's the darker tan pup on the right. They both very thoughtfully left their scent for me so I wouldn't forget them. Shannon was a little embarassed, but she knows where the paper towels are and that's what counts. I don't mind a bit. People Graffiti...Pups GraPeePee. It's our way of being memorialized forever.

I hope you all had a "Friends and Flowers" Day, too!

Love, Mary-Margaret

My Eyelashes got Whacked!

I don't know what happened. It's not like there's a mirror at my stylist's place or anything. But I've been working really hard on my eyelashes. They were maybe 3" long and curled up on the ends. It made me look very feminine, which mattered a lot to me since ...well, quite honestly? From the top, us Yorks look the same whether we're boys or girls. Even boys wear bows, did you know that? But it was my eyelashes that set me apart. A flutter here, a flutter there....and the world was mine.

Mom picked me up on Friday and the very first thing she says is "WHERE are your EYELASHES?". Er....you're asking MEEEE (I said)? Oh, yup. After checking myself out I see that my eyelashes are exactly the same length as my eyebrows and blend in perfectly. Egads!! Those took me months to grow, too. Rats! That explains why the guy in the market kept telling me I was a "good little boy" and saying, "He's such a good doggy". Oh, well. They'll grow again, I guess. Next time, I will wear a sticker saying DONT TRIM THE EYELASHES, or something like that.

My mom still can't talk. It's going on four days now. She says she (quote) "Feels like crap!", and I can vouch for that. Starting about 3:30 this morning she couldn't stop coughing. From my observations, when people have laryngitis the following happens:

1) Some people start whispering to them, like maybe they should turn down their volume, too;
2) Some folks, despite knowing that Mom can't talk without pain, say "Would you repeat that? I didn't understand you".
3) Other people say stuff like "I didn't mean to upset you", interpreting Mom's struggle to be understood as barking, yelling, and being mad. The only thing that's upsetting to her is that she CAN'T TALK!
4) Some folks and pups might take advantage at her inability to talk. I did, for one day, but after that it wasn't fun any more. Nope! No challenge there whatsoever.

God made humans special in that they can think, reason, have feelings AND communicate. (Ok...and some pups can do that, too, but not as many are given credit for those abilities as should be, in my opinion. Anyway, back to the subject.. ahem....sorry....I have opinions, you know.) When you drop "communication" ....make that "HONEST communication"... from that equation, the rest is moot. (I like that word "moot"...hee hee hee...MOOT MOOT MOOT!!... Sorta like "SQUAB SQUAB SQUAB" from "Two and a Half Men", but I digress again here.)

She says that she appreciates her friends and her family for understanding and caring, and for being honest with her in their communications with her and about her. And for the record, I appreciate that, too!

Love you guys (smooooooch!)...

Mary-Margaret "The Interpreter" O'Brien

From Parakeet to Pomeranian

Yesterday I was telling you all about how all my mom could do was squeak at me. She sounded like a parakeet chirping, I thought. Today, she is barking like a Pomeranian. Her laryngitis (thank you, Aunt Elaine) seems to be getting better. Didn't matter much to me, though, I spent all day at my spa, relaxing and having a bubble bath, massage, getting my nails done and my hair styled. It was "Yorkie" Day, I think.

My goodness, Miss Marilyn adopted the sweetest little Yorkie girl named Madison. Sadie was there, and Lexie and Beamer and MEEEEE! We had the very best time ever.
This is Madison and Sadie. Sadie was getting blow-dried which is how come she looks so fluffy.



This is Sadie on top and Madison on the bottom. I just LOVE Yorkie Day. We have so much to catch up on, you know?




After work we went to the bank and Miss Gina, my very good friend there, gave me some duck jerky. She even cut it in little pieces and handed it to Miss Xochitl (pronounced "Soshi"), who let me inhale it all. Oh YUM!! I do LOVE duck jerky. Gina kept watching to make sure I didn't upchuck the whole thing like last time. Well, thinking about it, it wasn't MY fault that she gave me a whole really long piece without cutting it up for me. No harm done, though. The counter top at the bank wipes clean like "spiff!!". Yup. Just like that.

Then we went to the market. I was pretty tuckered out, actually, and just sat quietly in my seat like I was asleep with my eyes open. People talked to me but I don't remember what they said. All I could think about was getting home. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my home. Good things are there like dinner, TV, and sleeping. And especially my feather pillow. Comfy!

Did I mention that my Aunt Elaine sent me a postcard from Washington, D.C.? Wow...I am very impressed. She got to go to The Inaugeration. I hope I spelled that right. Us pups don't "inaugerate" much unless we are visiting a fire hydrant. I would have been happy to help "inaugerate" our new President, too. Here's me reading my postcard.



Love,

Mary-Margaret

Dear GrandPapa and other friends....

Hi. It's me, Mary-Margaret. Mom's got something I can't spell but it means she can't talk. Oh, the possibilities are racing through my head. Thinking...if she can't talk, she can't yell. If she can't yell, I can do pretty much what I want to in peace and quiet.

She squeaks ok, though. She gets my attention by going "Squeak...squeak!", and I look at her and then she mouthes words and uses sign language. If I don't look at her she can't gripe at me, and I'm home free. You know?

Writing is out of the question. Everybody knows I can't read. Have a great day, you guys. Gotta go enjoy the moment while I can.

Love and schlurps...

Mary-Margaret

Happy Valentine's Day to MEEEEEE!!

Wow. Look at whay my Auntie Leslie sent me. It looks just like me except it doesn't have a head, legs, or tail. And it SQUEAKS!!! Mom just makes fun of me and says "Oh Goody! A Toupee!! Just what you need!!", but I know better. It's my Auntie Leslie sending me a furry piece of her heart. I called her back to tell her how much I appreciated it and sent her a furry piece of mine. We are everly such good friends.

Love and belated kisses to my Auntie Leslie and all my friends.

Mary-Margaret

(Hmmmph. Toupee, indeed!!)

Happy Valentine's Eve!!

My very good friend, Gina, at the bank is who I picked to give a Valentine's Day pressie to. Well, good gosh, it's not like I can go shopping by myself or anything, and it's really hard to get the money out of my piggy bank anyway. I saw my mom on the computer with K9Cuisine.com and noticed that she got me a bag of duck jerky, probably for a surprise. Well, HAH! I surprised her by changing the "1" to a "2" and my order arrived today. Hallelujah!

I figure if I go bonkers over a treat, my very good friend Gina will love it, too. So when we went into the bank tonight, I got my mom to hide Gina's present inside her jacket. Oh, I was SOOOO excited. I was beside myself with JOY. Finally, we got to see Gina and I just couldn't wait to give her my present. Gina is the one who first introduced me to the everly so delicious Duck Jerky.

"Oh, Mary-Margaret! How NICE of you!", she said. I skootched across the counter and pointed at the Duck Jerky. I wanted to make sure she knew that I loved it, too. In case she wanted to share, you know. After what seemed to me to be a dog year, she finally opened the baggie and gave me one whole long strip. Oh, boy!, I thought. Usually I just get a teensy little piece and here I have the WHOLE thing. My mom asked Gina if she broke off a tiny piece and ...well, I knew what was coming next.

Mom pries my mouth open and fishes around for the jerky and it's not there. Well, of course not, silly woman (I say), I saw you coming. She lets go of my mouth, and I hack it up and start chewing again. Then she grabs my schnozz and makes me say "Ah!" again. Nope. Mine mine MINE...and I'm NOT sharing (I say), and I make it disappear. Aaaaaaack, I start to gag and hack and ...kablooey! Urp! Blegh! And there it is, all soggy and wet about 2 inches from Gina's keyboard along with a bunch of spit and stuff. I try to grab it back and Gina snatches it away, wraps it neatly in a napkin and tosses it in the trash.

I glare. How RUDE!! This is not what friends do. Apparently, they both had second thoughts about the injustice of it all, too. Gina got out another piece and cut me a really small bite. I'll take what I can get, I told her, and I swallowed it whole. Same thing with another piece. I'll bet if they hadn't gotten me to hack up the first strip, I'd still be enjoying it. Just because I started choking and couldn't breathe or anything, I don't suppose they thought it might be their fault in the first place?

I think next year I'll just pass on the holiday.

Happy Valentines Day to EVERYBODY!!

Love, Mary-Margaret

Me and Dr. "V"

This is my most favorite Doctor in the whole world that I've known ever since I was a baby. Her name is Melanie Verreault and I call her "Dr. V".

Yesterday, I had a runny nose and I coughed maybe three times. Mom said I sounded like I was yucking up a hairball. I didn't barf or anything but you know Mom. Off we went to the vet's in Temecula (NOT Dr. V, though). No x-rays, didn't even ask me to take a deep breath. And $73.00 plus some later for antibiotics, I'm outta there.

My mom, the investigator, just wasn't comfy with the diagnosis so she started checking stuff out on the internet. Pills she was charged $1.00 for could be bought for $0.33; pills she paid over $3.00 each for were $1.32. Even that she could have handled, but when she asked if one of the girls could cut a pill into 4 pieces for me, they wanted to charge us a "pill cutting" fee. That pushed her over the edge. So she tracked down my very good friend, Dr. V, and made an appointment for me.

Dr. V answers questions and gives my mom options, and she doesn't have a "pill cutting fee". And she gives me loves and kisses and I know I'm going to be very safe with her no matter what. I'm fine, healthy, maybe a little overweight (but aren't we all?), my teeth need cleaning but that's no biggie. Maybe that'll get rid of my morning breath?

We took back some of the pills to the first vet and said thank you, but we couldn't afford them, and Mom's ordering some from 800petmeds.com, with Dr. V's prescription. We all have to watch our wallets and our piggy banks these days. And it's not just about the money, it's about common sense health care. Veterinarians and doctors are in the health care business, not the retail pharmaceutical business. If a patient's mother says they can't afford something, they should be given options to make decisions according to their own ability and conscience.

(Hi..this is MEEEE.....Mom got on her soap box toward the end there. Let's just call that a "technical difficulty beyond my control". Mostly I just wanted to share my beautiful, wonderful Dr. V with you all. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE her sooooooooooo much!)

Kisses and schlurpies...

Mary-Margaret

Baby, It's COLD Outside

You all probably already know that me and my mom share a bed. She gets the left side; I get the right. I have a down feather pillow that, once properly fluffed and rearranged by MEEEEE, is very comfortable. That's where I fall asleep.

Sometimes, maybe about 4 or 5 AM (we have a digital clock, so I KNOW what time it is) I get a little chilly and skootch under the covers to nestle against something warm. Yup. That would be my mom. She radiates heat and doesn't wiggle much at that time in the morning. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Warm and cozy. Mmmmmmmm! Zzzzzznnnooooorrrrkk!

She wakes up about 7:30AM and lays there for a bit thinking about her day. Then she starts talking to me. Like "Hello? I'm still sleeping?", I say, but that never stops her. I stay still, hoping maybe she'll fall back to sleep, but no.

Pretty soon I hear "Good MORNING, Mary-Margaret!", and she nuzzles me. I kiss her nose and flip on my back. She gives me raspberries on my tummy (she says it's on my belly button, but honestly, I have NO idea what or where that might be!), and then she puts on her bathrobe. I get scooped up and stuffed inside her bathrobe and we walk downstairs. She says she doesn't want me to get chilled right away, and I should warm up gradually.

"Gradually", to her, is until we get downstairs and she opens the slider for me to go out. EGADS! There's ICE on the lawn. OHMYGAWSHALLMIGHTY! I dash outside, looking for either a spot in the sun where the ice has started to melt, OR a spot really close to the patio, and I take care of my morning business. Then I absolutely race back to my little doggie door and hop back inside.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! I don't mind the cold much, but when our thermostat inside says 51• after we've put the heat on, I question my mother's sanity. This morning, I just ran up the stairs and hopped back into bed. The newsman on the TV said it was 35•, and that was about 8:00AM (according to the digital). Mom just takes a deep breath and smiles. I think she was a polar bear in a former life.

Love and fuzzies...

Mary-Margaret "Ice Princess" O'Brien

My "Ghetto Leash"

Last month, Mom lost her eyeglasses the day after her eye surgery. She probably couldn't have seen with them anyway, but she says it's the principle of the thing. This month, we are SOOOO busy that yesterday, my mom couldn't find the top of her desk. She also has lost my leash, and now she says she thinks she's lost her mind. If you find it, best you leave it where it is or risk the consequences, I tell you.

I can live with most of that, but the leash thing has to get resolved. I mean, I had to go O-U-T yesterday afternoon. Mom and Shannon (my new assistant) looked everywhere for my leash and couldn't find it. Personally, I think maybe someone filed it under "L" for "lost", but ...you know....when you have to "go", you have to "GO", right?

The ladies finally found a spool of bright orange curly ribbon. "Noooooooooo.... please.... not that", I said. But that was all they had. So here's me on the end of a RIBBON. I took care of business pretty quick and raced back to the office. Shannon knew right away how embarrassed I was. First thing when we skidded back in the door was finding the scissors and cutting off what Shannon calls my "Ghetto Leash".

We are going to work all this weekend to get caught up. I'm betting we find my leash just as soon as we find Mom's desk top. Ohhhhhh, the humiliation of it all.

Love,

Mary-Margaret