February Challenge: Mom and Lexi

Love. That’s what this month is about. That’s what this post is about.

Nan wasn’t raised with a dog, and was a bit scared of them. I got my Mom a little dog from the shelter as her gift for retiring from nursing. She wasn’t sure about keeping her until Nan, said, “Aww, Marion, can’t we please keep her?” So they did.

I wish Nan had known Lexi. She would have loved her.

Years after Nan had passed, Mom finally moved here to Chattanooga into an apartment I had just vacated. I had bought a house only a block or so away. She was in her mid-80’s at that time, and I did not know how unsteady she was, and that dementia was setting in. She was able to hide it on my trips to western PA to visit. Mom delighted in Lexi staying with her in her apartment while I was at work. Mom was usually still in bed in the early morning when I dropped Lexi off, so I would let her in and she would stay with Mom in bed until it was time to get up. One afternoon when I stopped to pick up Lexi after work and visit a bit with Mom, she told me that she hadn’t felt good earlier. She said she was sitting on the edge of her bed when Lexi reached over and put her paw on Mom’s leg. Remember, Lexi was a therapy dog, and they know when someone is hurting or sick; they seem to know what to do. Mom said Lexi helped her feel better, and noted, “She’s a kind schnauzer.”

I noticed that Mom was going through her favorite jam that she used on her toast every morning. She admitted to me that she always made Lexi a piece of toast and jam to eat with her. Since I knew it was useless to try to persuade Mom to stop, I bought Lexi her own, inexpensive, apple jelly. A couple of weeks later I thought to ask Mom how Lexi liked the apple jelly. “Oh,” Mom replied, ” I’m eating that because Lexi likes the black raspberry jam better.” Yes, my Mom loved Lexi.

When Mom fell in the middle of the night, pulling the TV down on her, she wasn’t badly hurt, but it was time to move her to assisted living. She ended up falling there, too, and breaking her hip. She never recovered from that, and ended up in a nursing home. One day I received a call from the home that Mom had aspirated on something she was eating and was unconscious. They didn’t know if she would waken. I immediately called my son and then my husband, asking them to come quickly and bring Lexi. As we sat in chairs on each side of the bed, just waiting, my son and me crying, Lexi sat on the bottom of the bed staring at her grandma. Suddenly, Mom opened her eyes, looked down to the bottom of the bed, and with a huge smile, cried out, “Lexi!”

Today I am celebrating the joy that Lexi brought into my mother’s life, and the love they shared.

We’re All Here on Awww Monday

Chia: It’s early and Mom’s taking pictures. It’s still cold out, so I pulled down my blanket – you know the one I got for Christmas and it’s all mine – off the back of the couch and wrapped it around me.

Now I’m warm and comfy.

Xena: So, my sissie Chia is happy on the couch, and I’ve claimed her place in her bed that’s in my kennel. Mommy says this is called an “on-going feud.”

Mommy has been letting my pretty hair grow out to keep me warm this winter. I got a bath, and she said to tell you this picture was taken before she got to brush my pretty hair.

Riley: Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Lucy: Excuse me, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m trying to take a sunbath.

We all want to thank Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!

Lucy’s Thankful Thursday

Lucy: Looks like I get to lead off Thankful Thursday again this week. So let’s start by thanking Brian for hosting Thankful Thursday.

First, I’m thankful for my position as Zen Assistant when Mom grooms. To maintain the zen mode and help transfer it to the dog on the table, I allow the shaved hair to fall on me as I sit under Groomer Mom’s legs.

Sometimes I back out and shake it off, then go back in for a fresh “hairfall.”

I’m also thankful for one of our Christmas presents that we all share. It’s a giant bag of freeze-dried beef liver.

You can see that my sister Xena had her turn and grabbed a mouthful out to eat off of the floor. When it was my turn, I just stuck my head in and started eating. Now Mom doles them out one piece at a time to us all, but I still think about my first encounter with them. *sigh*

Mom Amy: I’m especially thankful this week for one of my two closest friends, Jen. You may think she’s my sister because the pups call her Auntie Jen. We couldn’t be closer if we really were sisters. She brought Ella and spent the weekend with us during Lucy’s birthday (and Jeff’s), and brought our Christmas presents and Jeff’s birthday present. She always knows what to get us that we’ll love. And in case you’re wondering, Ella coming to visit was the best present Lucy could have gotten. I took this selfie to send her to let her know I am thankful for the new scarf she gave me. See all the puppy dogs on it?

I took this picture at the temp job I’ve been working since the beginning of November. It’s as office manager at a First Lutheran Church. This is my line of work, what I’ve been doing most of my life. I’m so thankful this position came my way. They will be hiring someone, so fingers crossed I get the job.

A Peaceful Wordless Wednesday

It’s rare that Chia has nothing to say. We’re going to celebrate her quietness today on Wordless Wednesday, with a big thanks to  Comedy Plus for hosting Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!

There’s No Place Like Mommy.

Thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!

Thankful Thursday X3

Lucy: First, thank you, Brian, for hosting Thankful Thursday. We think everyone’s prayers were answered for Achilles.

Achilles got a proctoscopy (I sure hope he slept through it). The dogtor found a polyp and took most of it out. That’s what was causing the bleeding. The dogtor also sent off a culture from his foot, and he has e-coli bacteria in it. He’s on antibiotics and a special shampoo and regular dressing changes on his foot. I’m so thankfully happy it didn’t come back as the big C! And I’m triply thankful for all your prayers and good wishes.

Chia: We never got to show our friends our Christmas presents. Among other great things, I got a new stuffie. I know that’s not like dodging the Big C, but it still made me happy.

I haven’t named him – although I’m thinking about “Smiley.” Right now we’re all just calling him the squid. Riley chewed off some of the little tentacles sticking out of his funny hat, so I’m thankful that I got the squid for Christmas and that Riley didn’t deadie him! Oh, and that’s my new blanket hanging beside me on the couch. It is so, so, soft, and I love to wrap myself up in it!

Mom Amy: Every day I have more in my life to be thankful for than I can count. Today I want to say I’m thankful for my son Adam.

He’s a blessing, and I know he would do anything for me…well, except scoop dog poop. And I can forgive him for that! Every other week I drive about 45 minutes to spend some time with him, shopping, eating, visiting. Here, we were waiting on our meals at Captain D’s. He loves Xena, so if I bring her, we sit in the car and eat! I am thankful for my Adam.

Xena: I’m thankful I get to make the poem today about the picture! Do you see me there trying to decide which Teddy to grab?

Teddy Bear Car by Xena

A Teddy Bear car.
A dog trap or a present?
I’ll follow it far.

I hope you like my haiku!

Love and wags and thankfuls for you, our friends! Lucy, Chia and Xena

Lucy’s Challenging Sunday Selfie

Greetings, my friends. If you know me, you know I don’t like to have my picture taken. Even last Sunday, on my birthday, I gave the privilege away to my BFF Ella. This week, when Mom asked, “Who would like to do the Sunday selfie?”I stepped forward. Literally. You can imagine her surprise. She said, “Lucy, are you sure you want to do the Sunday selfie?” I looked at her and wagged my tail, and out came the phone camera.

Of course it was a challenge with Chia on the loose. On the first try, she photo-bombed me.

Mom suggested we try again. This time, Chia ran in and screamed in my ear.

After that disruption, Chia had to go to time out. Besides, I’m only seven years old and I don’t want to go deaf just yet.

Finally, here is my selfie. Mom wants you to know that I really can look happy and even smile, but I just get nervous about this whole picture thing. Xena says practice makes perfect, but I don’t know. I think there are just naturals. I’m a natural at calming people and helping them feel good.

With that done, I cuddled on the couch with my peeps brother, Andrew.

His hands are blurry cause he’s stroking my shiny furs. Oh dog! There’s Chia again. I’m going into zen mode now; see all y’all later.

We want to woof out a big thanks to The Cat on My Head, for hosting Sunday Selfies!

Lucy’s Prayers for Achilles on Thankful Thursday

Y’all know that my BFF Ella was here last weekend for my birthday. A coupla days after she got back home, her Mom found an area on her brother Achilles’ foot that looked like it was swollen. The next day it looked like Achilles had licked it until it burst and he cleaned it out real good. We got a picture, but it’s not for anyone with a weak tummy, so I decided not to post it. The picture shows two deep holes between two of his front foot toes. Instead, here is a nice picture of my precious boyfriend Achilles. I’m so thankful he’s my guy.

Aunty Jen and Uncle Bill took him to the dogtor the next day and he got a diagnoses: paraneo plastic syndrome. It’s cancer, with something that makes his immune system go wild. He’s had some other symptoms that something was wrong, like bleeding a lot out of his behind. No one could figure out what was wrong. None of the tests showed anything. But it’s very likely that it’s connected to what is going on with his paw.

My aunt and uncle are devastated, and so are me and Mom. The last time I saw him, I was upset with him for watching Xena get a bath. Now I feel bad and I want to go see him and give him lots of kisses. The only good thing is he isn’t in any pain.

He’s such a sweet, funny, goofy boy.

Please send up woofs, meows, prayers and good health into the universe for my Achilles. *sob* Lucy, hoping for a miracle.

And thank you, Brian, for hosting Thankful Thursday.

Grooming with Mom on Happy Tuesday

This is Lucy, with Happy Tuesday’s edition of Grooming with Mom. But first, a big shout out to Miss Sandee at  Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday.

As you will see, this seems to be White Dog Tuesday. First, we got back a pup who was here only once, in July of last year. It’s been six months, and the long hair and mats to the skin indicated that he hasn’t been anywhere else since then to get groomed. Presenting once again Teddy the seven-year-old maltese. Here he is before his groom.

Teddy looks like a fluff ball, but is actually matted clear to the skin; they’re the kind of mats that won’t just come out, not even with dematting spray and comb. So Groomer Mom had to shave him everywhere except for his head, ears and face. His Mom must have been brushing those areas. He was shaking-on-the-table nervous, so I was called to come in to be a calming presence for him.

Teddy liked me and did settle down some with me there. After all the shaving was done, he asked me to come closer so he could whisper in my ear.

“Tell that person she’s all done and I can go home now,” he quietly woofed.
I told him to just stay calm while he got his bath and finished up. At “bath” he started shaking again. Oops.

Teddy’s bath and groom was finally done, and here he is, definitely ready to go home.

Teddy, are you giving us a raspberry?

While Teddy was waiting for his person, Groomer Mom got a call from a fellow whose neighbor had given him one of Groomer Mom’s business cards. He has an 11 year old white miniature poodle named JoJo who needed groomed. Groomer Mom told him she was ready for JoJo right then and to come on. Here is JoJo before getting groomed.

JoJo has been going to get groomed every 4 to 5 weeks, so she wasn’t in too bad of shape. She’s a good girl, and it was easy to tell she is used to being on the grooming table. Strangely, she didn’t like her right leg messed with and kept trying to bite the clippers. Then she would look guilty, like she knew she wasn’t supposed to be doing that.

JoJo is on two medications from her vet for bad allergies. Can you see that black area on her chest? Under both of her front legs her skin is black too, and the hair there was matted with a gooey, stinky, tan-colored substance. Her vet said to just keep those places washed. In all her years of grooming and five years of working at a vet, Groomer Mom has never seen anything like it. She had to wash it off of her clipper blade when she was done shaving under those legs. She is requesting that this reporter ask if any of you might know what that is, and if so, please leave that information in the comments.

Anyhoo, here is JoJo after a good bath and groom.

Her Dad was pleased, so we are hoping to see this dear pup again in the near future.

This is Lucy, signing off with *wags* and *wiggles* from another episode of Grooming with Mom.

Ella on Lucy’s Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned seven years young. My BFF Ella came a long way from Nashville to visit me, and we had our usual great time together. I told her as a thank you that she could do the Sunday Selfie today. She readily agreed. Here’s my Ella.

Speaking of my birthday, I had a great day. Mom filled all our treat puzzles and we enjoyed finding and eating the treats. But mostly, I hung out with Ella. You can see us taking a break in these pictures, while Mom and Auntie Jen visited.

Here we’re resting before Ella got her nails dremeled by Mom.

And here we’re practicing synchronized sleeping.

And here we’re just holding tails.

I wish me and Ella could be together always! I guess that’s what it means to have a BFF.

Finally, I want to give a big thanks to The Cat on My Head, for hosting Sunday Selfies!

Make It a Wrap on Wordless Wednesday

We’ll take that wrapped, please.

Thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!

Xena’s Selfie Sunday

This morning Mommy asked, “Who wants to do a Sunday Selfie?” and I wagged my tail the hardest and got the job. I love to pose to get my picture made! Happy Sunday, friends!!

A big thanks to The Cat on My Head, for hosting Sunday Selfies!

Poetry by Lucy and Thankful Thursday

Hi friends. It’s finally my turn to write a poem. It might not be as good as Xena and Chia and Riley’s but I send it to you with *wags* and love. Speaking of which, I am thankful for all the love in our home, and that I never have to be afraid.

First, here’s a big thanks to Brian’s Thankful Thursday, with special thanks to Brian for hosting it! 

I hope you don’t mind that Mom helped me add myself to the picture. It has a lot more meaning like this, so I think maybe you’ll like it.

The Dish Helpers by Lucy

The folks had a party
And they sure ate hardy.
A mess in the sink,
A mess on the counter.
There’ll soon be a stink
Of the food all turned sour.

Shania, let’s help, let’s give them a present.
Sure, Lucy, let’s help while the food is still pleasant!
Wash the plates clean
With your big doggie tongue
It’s still fine cuisine
And the night is still young.

They worked hard until the sun once again shone,
Then slept like two logs ’til they woke to the phone.
Lucy, Shania,
We love you, you know.
But now in the washer
All those plates must go.

The pups felt discouraged and almost ashamed
‘Til their folks came home with a plaque that was framed.
To “The two hardest workers in all of the land.”
We love you and know your intentions were grand.

So here are your presents, your favorite treats.
Some bacon and broccoli, apples and meats.
Please leave the cleaning of dishes to us,
And just be our much loved and beautiful pups.

Lucy: I was inspired to write this poem not only by the picture, but by real-life experience. I get to lick the plates either on the floor or in the dishwasher, but it’s never good enough. No matter how clean I get them, Mom always follows up with soap and water.

Chia’s Butterflies in the Rainbow on Awww Monday

Hey folks, this is Riley. I’m gonna help Chia get started on this one; you’ll soon find out why. First we want to thank Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!

Some of you know how hard it is to cut or even dremel Chia’s nails. Mom Amy puts her in the sling and muzzles her about a half hour or so after giving her CBD oil and Valerian, and Dad Jeff holds onto her. Mom Amy still ends up getting all scratched while Dad Jeff struggles to just keep her from squirming out of the sling. OK, so I admit, I used to be a terror at nail cutting time too, but now I stand still in the slick tub and let Mom Amy use the dremel cause I know she won’t hurt me. Anyhoo, this time Chia ate the tramazone hidden in the almond butter, and swallowed the valerian that was squirted in her mouth. No CBD oil was involved in this “trip.”

Oooooo, pretty music.

Riley: Later Chia told me she heard a pretty song I have since learned was Monday, Monday by a group called the Mamas and the Papas, from back in the 60’s.

Ooo, rainbows with butterflies. I wanna catch those butterfl…zzzzzz.

Riley: No worries, folks. No butterflies were caught, and Chia chilled out the rest of the day, getting up the next morning with her usual bouncy energy.

It was nice while it lasted, but we were also glad to get our crazy dog Chia back. And we all discovered that as long as you’re not hurting anyone, it’s best to be yourself. Have a good week, my friends.

Chia: Bah dah, bad dah bah dah. Monday, Monday, so good to me…all I hoped it to be….mmm hmm, la, la la.

Sunday Selfie by Riley

Riley: Hi folks, and Happy New Year from us all. We had a good Christmas with lots of treats for gifts and no clothes. Yep, that’s a good Christmas. My Dad Andrew has been here with us too, and that makes me tail-wagging happy!

It’s my turn to do a Sunday Selfie, so first, a big thanks to The Cat on My Head, for hosting Sunday Selfies! Today I want to show off my new Benebone I got for Christmas. We all got one, and at first Chia was going around grabbing everyone’s and hiding them. Since she stopped that nonsense, we’ve all been going around picking up whichever one we come to, so I don’t think this is the one I chose, but hey, it’s still good!

Hope you’re still enjoying lots of treats and time with your folks. Love y’all! *wags* Riley

Poetry by Chia

First, a big thanks to Brian’s Thankful Thursday, with special thanks to Brian for hosting it! 

And thanks to  Angel Sammy for just the right picture for me, Chia! I hope you like my rap poem. I think it’s boss! And I dance when I sing it, too!! Did you know I can stand up on my hind feet and hop back and forth, standing straight up? Seriously! I think maybe they named hip hop after me. Anyhow, here’s my poem.

Xena and Lucy and Riley: We know Chia can be a pain in the patootie, but she can also be loads of fun and real loving. So today, in the spirit of the season, we decided to (try) to be thankful for our little sister, Chia. And as a thanks, we’re giving her the picture to write a poem. Take it away, Chia.

Chia: Hey, thanks gang! *full body wiggles and wags*
Now, here’s the best picture of the year, especially with me in it! (Sorry my hat fell off.)

Leader of the Gang-sta by Chia the Leada’

Who’s in that gangsta squad?
It’s me, Chia, *growling* wad wad wad.
Who made that huge destruction?
Li’l ole me, with no instruction!

It seemed to take forever!
I worked with a high fever
Of tearing, ripping mayhem.
When asked, I answered, “Yes ma’am!”

‘Twas me who decorated
Town square… ’twas all G-rated!
I earned my name of Leader
Woof, woof! I am the Speeder.

Footnotes:
Lucy: Maybe that’ll take care of her tearing up stuff around here for a while.
Xena: Are you kidding? That’s just gonna fuel her.
Riley: I’m hiding my stuffies.

Grooming with Mom: Molly and Dixie

This is Lucy, with Happy Tuesday’s edition of Grooming with Mom. But first, a big shout out to Miss Sandee at  Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday.

Groomer Mom was covered up with grooms all of December, and I hope you’ll forgive this Ace Reporter for being lax in reporting new grooms. Here I present you with one new groom and a second-timer. Hold onto your seats, cause here we go!

Late one evening Groomer Mom got a call from someone who apologized for the late evening call, but that he was a lawyer and had been tied up in court. Well, while some lawyers may deserve to be tied up in court, I never knew that actually happened! I wonder what he did?

Anyhow, he claimed that three folks he interacted with in his downtown condo complex and doggie group told him he had to bring his pup, Molly, to Groomer Mom to get groomed. They talked a while, and he seemed legit — except for that tied up in court part. He wanted Molly to have a teddy bear cut. Groomer Mom asked him if she had ever had one. No. And did he know what a teddy bear cut was. No. She suggested he look it up on-line. So they made an appointment for him to make the half hour drive out here in two weeks and she would see what Molly’s hair would do.

Here’s Molly pre-groom:

Molly is a one-year-old, eleven pound shih tzu/bichon frise mix, aka shih-chon. She was crazy on the table and even in her Dad’s arms while trying to get her nails cut and pretty much everything else. It finally reached a point where Groomer Mom hung her head, trying to figure out how to tell the lawyer man she couldn’t groom his dog, while he sat there chattering and anticipating a teddy bear cut, whatever that is. Finally, Groomer Mom told him that she was going to cover Molly’s eyes while he went through the door into the hallway where there were comfortable chairs. And for him to be very quiet so Molly didn’t know where he was. He did — guess he didn’t want to get tied up again — and within a minute Molly settled down and let herself be groomed. Of course, in that minute there were some meaningful finger shakings and looks from Groomer Mom, after which Molly proved herself to be a smart little shih-chon.

Her Dad had also provided Groomer Mom with a picture of another dog, saying that was the groom he would like. (It wasn’t a teddy bear cut.) Groomer Mom did the exact cut she was shown, right down to the strange cut over the eyes.

OK, so she clipped that little bit over Molly’s right eye after she took the picture. She released Mr. Lawyer Man from the hallway, and he was thrilled with the groom. He made an appointment for six weeks.

Some of you may remember Dixie, who came for her first groom in August when she was two months old. Here she is after that groom, crazy ears and all.

Groomer Mom suggested she be groomed every six weeks. Her Mom must have heard, “When she is six months old.” She came back in December for her second groom. This mini poodle/Australian shepherd mix had really grown! It had been so long that she forgot anything she had learned the first time here, and it was like a first groom all over again!

Her Mom stayed and helped hold her, and it ended up being a success. (I also assisted with my zen presence.)

That’s all for now, friends and followers. This is Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with two challenging but successful grooms.

Back from In Dee Anna

Xena: Well, folks, we’re back. Did you miss us? There was no internet where we were staying, and Mommy won’t blog from her phone, so it seemed like we were in the dark ages. She was able to help us read and comment on your posts from her phone, though it took much longer as those key things are soooo small for our pawpads.

Us pups mostly stayed in the rental house while Mommy and Daddy mostly went out to restaurants every day with Daddy’s family. While Daddy was glad to see everyone, he especially wanted to visit with his Mommy, who is 92.

Lucy: Don’t you know not to ever tell a woman’s age, Xena?

Riley: When someone gets that old, they don’t care about that anymore.

Chia: You should know.

Riley: Grrrr. *lifts lip*

Xena: As I was saying, we were at this rental house out in the country where me and Lucy stayed with our folks when we went to visit for Grandma’s 90th birthday. It was in August and we got to run all over the huge back yard and all our relatives came out and we had a great time.

This trip, it was kinda cold, so we wore our colder weather clothes when we went outside. Me and Lucy got to run around again, but Run-Away Chia had to stay on her leash.

Lucy got to go visit our grandma on Tuesday and she took a nap at Grandma’s assisted living apartment while the peeps went out to an Asian restaurant. Lucy was wearing her nice sweater and, well, she can tell you.

Lucy: Thank you, Xena. I had been wondering if there would be snow, but there wasn’t. The temps were in the 40’s, so my sweater was sufficient, even though I had also packed my heavy winter coat, as you can see in the picture. I fell asleep on Grandma’s comfy couch waiting for everyone to come back, and dreamed I was in a snowy forest.

In my dream I had a nice wooden platform to stand on so that my paws didn’t get too cold. But I was all alone, so I was glad when everyone came back and I woke up.

Xena: I think Lucy’s dream brought on the new weather forecast of below 0 temps and ice and maybe snow. Because of that, Daddy decided it would be good to leave early on Thursday morning instead of on Friday morning as originally planned. So the next day – Wednesday – Mommy suggested that Daddy take Chia to meet our Grandma in the afternoon when nothing else was happening. He liked that idea, and off they went! You won’t believe (or maybe you will) how Chia (mis)behaved with our Grandma.

Chia: Shut up, Xena. I’m warning you…

Xena: I’m not afraid of you! I’m Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess! And Mommy won’t let you hurt me!!
So, Chia walked in and growled at Grandma!! What the dog?! Daddy told us that Grandma still talked nice to her and commented on what beautiful coloring she has, and tried to make friends with her the whole time she was there, but Chia would have none of it. We were all pretty disgusted with Chia, but you know what? Grandma still was good to her and loved her. I heard of someone who was born a couple thousand years ago who is still like that. Even more reason to celebrate His birthday this Sunday!

Later that day me and Lucy went to visit while everyone set up food and ate and visited in an area reserved for us. Daddy said his family get-togethers always revolve around food! I sat on Mommy’s lap and let Grandma look at me and pet me when she wanted to.
With all the visiting and stuff, we didn’t get back to our rental house and get everything packed until late (it was at least 9:00 at night). Then, in the middle of the night — around 3 o’clock — the folks are up getting dressed and packing the car and loading us in and off we went for home. I want to tell you that Chia and I share the back seat kennel when we travel, and, believe it or not, she’s a good traveling companion.

Chia: *wags and wiggles*

Xena: Anyhoo, it was nice to get home and see Riley and brother Andrew and Jentry and everything familiar and ours. And this is where Santa Paws knows to deliver our pressies, too!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!! Lucy, Xena, Chia and Riley

Saturday Potpourri

Xena: We’ve got a bunch of odds ‘n ends to show you today. I’ll start off, cause I’ve been bored, bored, bored.

Mommy’s been working almost full-time at a church, Daddy’s been sick in bed (but he seems better now), and Mommy’s also been working from home for the place where Daddy works. Then, after supper, when everyone settles into the living room before going to bed, I have to run into my kennel to protect it from Chia taking it over. That doesn’t leave any time for cuddling or petting or playing. But I hear we’re going to In Dee Anna, so maybe things will liven up soon.

Lucy: First, in case you were worried about me, I haven’t had to wear pj’s lately, but I see them being packed for our trip to the cold, white north in a couple of days. I also saw my new sweater from last Christmas being packed.

Mom had 2 grooms yesterday and 5 today, and she had to carry them down the hallway into the downstairs kitchen to wash them in that sink. Her hose watchamacallit for her grooming sink fell apart.

She tried a coupla places around town, but no one had the parts. Lowe’s didn’t even have that type of sink hose, and the other place told her how to take hers apart and fix it. Nope. So she’s waiting on Amazon to send the two she ordered – in hopes that at least one will fit and work – but they won’t be here until next Wednesday when we’re all gone to In Dee Anna, er Indiana.

This here’s Shaggy. She belongs to one of Mom and Dad’s friends from church, and he’s also our handyman.

Shaggy’s letting Mom know what she thinks of being here and being groomed!

Riley: I can hardly wait until everyone leaves for a few days. My heart person, Andrew, will be here with me and just me!

He’ll bring in any packages and maybe he’ll even fix the sink for Mom Amy. And I’ll get tons of petting and sleep in the bed with him. I hear Andrew’s coming Sunday night. I hope that’s really soon!

Chia: Hi, it’s me, Chia! I was supposed to be the one who told you my Dad’s been sick all week, but of course Xena had to do it first. Grrrrr.

I cuddled up with him to keep him warm and help him feel better. Uh, try not to look at my hair all over the sheet, OK? Anyhoo, it worked! He was up all day yesterday and even asked Mom to play one of their word dice games last night. Today he left to go play in his big band. You’d think that as good as I was to him, he’d of at least taken me with him, right?

Oh, and since Lucy showed you a picture of her in her new sweater from last Christmas, I’m gonna show you mine!

It’s getting packed, too! Well, gotta go now and make sure Mom packs all my stuff.

Love, Xena, Riley, Lucy and Chia

Thankful and Poetic Thursday

First, we want to thank Brian for hosting Brian’s Thankful Thursday!

That always reminds us to be thankful for our blogging friends. Y’all mean so much to us!

Xena: It’s almost time to pack our food – and warm clothes – and head up to In Dee Anna where all our relatives live. Not that we like to wear clothes, mind you, but it’s better than freezing in super cold weather that we’re none of us are used to, right? I’m thankful that all our relatives love us. OK, so they seem to love Lucy most, but me and Chia, we’re working on that. It’s just that Lucy doesn’t even have to try.

And we’re all thankful for the new food Mommy’s been giving us. It’s from someone named Ollie, and they go to all the trouble of mixing up veggies and fruit and raw meat and grinding it up and packaging it in just the right size portions for a meal (but mine could be bigger!) and freeze drying it and mailing it to us! We love it, and we get our food sooner cause Mommy doesn’t have to put it all together from scratch and weigh it and all that stuff. Mommy says she’s especially thankful for the time it puts back in her day. And she says if anyone wants to try it, she’ll send you a referral link for 90% off.

Riley: Thanks, Angel Sammy of TWO Spoiled Cats, for hosting Poetic Thursday. You’re doin’ a great job, Buddy.

My Very Own Baby by Riley

Watch that baby or the elves will get ‘im.
They’ll bring him to me, and I’ll never lose ‘im.
I love babies and kids of all ages.
One look is all and my heart engages.
I’ll never have my very own kid,
So could I have yours? May I have yours? Can I have your baby?

Finally, for anyone who didn’t get our Christmas card, please know this is for you!

Have a woofin’ and meowin’ great day! And a holly jolly Christmas!