Xena: How could she do this? How could Mommy go away and leave me all alone all day and all night and all day again when I am in this condition?
Lucy: You aren’t alone, Xexe. I’m here and Dad’s here with you. And you’re not in a “condition.” You’re just having your big girl time. Stop being such a baby.
Xena: I’m NOT a baby. I’m a big girl. And it’s just not the same with Mommy gone. She knows I feel miserable and she deserted us. I need baby-held.
Lucy: I saw Dad baby-hold you like Mom showed him to do. And like I said…oh forget it. Mom went to Nashville to spend time with her BFF from PA. Come look at the pictures she sent. First they went to a Greek restaurant called Taziki’s, then to an art museum in Centennial Park called the Parthenon, just like in Greece. 
It was only $4 to go inside to see the pretty pictures because they got the “senior” discount, BOL! On the second floor they even got to visit the Goddess Athena.
Xena: Is that a snake next to her?!
Lucy: Good eye, Xena. In folklore snakes are usually depicted to be cunning creatures and, among other things, Athena was the goddess of intelligent activity and battle strategy. You might take some lessons from her.
Xena: Phthh
Lucy: Saturday night Mom and her friend went downtown to Music Row on Broadway Street. Mom wrote that the crowds on the sidewalks were so thick that you could hardly walk. There were street musicians and performers everywhere. They went into a restaurant called Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville for supper and entertainment…and, of course, margarita’s. Her friend even treated her to dinner for her birthday.
Xena: Was Ruby the Airedale there? I hear it’s Margaritaville wherever she goes. If Ruby was there, why didn’t Mommy take me?
Lucy: Umm, I don’t think so, Xe.
On Sunday they went to the Opry Mills Mall. There was a new restaurant called the Aquarium that had a huge fish tank wrapped all around the inside of the restaurant.
There was even a diver cleaning it like Mom cleans the house.
Xena: I wish she was here cleaning the house now. And holding me.
Lucy: Dad already cleaned the house as a birthday surprise for Mom. And she can’t hold you while she cleans, Xexe, you know that. Back to what I was saying. Hmm, where was I? Oh yes, restaurants. They didn’t eat there, ’cause Mom wanted her PA friend to experience real southern pulled pork with all the trimmings. So they walked through the mall to a real Southern BBQ joint and chowed down.
Xena: Now I’m hungry. When are we going to eat?
Lucy: Dad already gave us our supper. And it was more than even Mom gives us.
Xena: Yeah, well, I just hope she comes home soon. 
Lucy: She will be home soon, little sister. I can’t wait for her to open the card we got her:
Like I said, Dad’s fed us our supper and I am just going to take a little nap and wait.
This is Lucy and Xena waiting for the deserter Mom.
PeeS: I’m thinkin’ about getting me a snake so I can be just like Athena. ~Xena Schnauzer Goddess Princess
Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest
The mate was fixed by the bos’n’s pike
Presented to you by Lucy the Pirate Dog, Xena the Pirate Warrior Princess and Pirate Pete
Mommy decided I needed more “socializing,’ so she took me to run errands with her. First stop was to pick up her car at the body shop, where it had been repaired from her running into the corner of the garage with it. From there we went to the Home Depot store. Mommy asked me to sit pretty while she took my picture.
So, I was sitting there, wishing she would hurry up, when suddenly, outof the corner of my eye, I saw…
MONSTERS behind me!
Please Mommy, enough of the picture-taking. 
I think I hear them coming!
Overnight, my big girl time came to visit. I got some yicky blood on Mommy’s bed sheets, but she’s not mad. She said everything comes out in the wash. I feel all “off” today. I thought it might make me feel better to hug my blankie for a while.
It did help a little bit. For a little while.
Oh, that’s where my blue bone went!
Isn’t this ever going to end?
She held me and loved on me every time I asked for the rest of the day. Those were the best parts of the day – other than food time. Oh, and our walk was good, too. I sure hope this is all over by tomorrow.
Goodnight, everyone. I am Xena the Schnauzer wearing my Big Girl Panties.
Lucy: This is our first time to join in the Flower Friday blog hop. First, we want to thank Rosy from
After reading all the pee mail and leaving some, too, we went home and ran, ran, ran in the front yard. The grass is long and still wet from the dew and high humidity, so Xena’s legs got soaked.
Hi friends, and welcome to today’s edition of Grooming with Mom. Today I want to introduce Max the bishon frise. Here’ an 
Mom forgot to take a “before” picture, so here are two “after” pics. Mom spent the first 40 minutes of this groom working mats out of Max’s ears, and from under his ears and his head. I guess she could have just shaved them *shrug* but she’s smarter than that. She just did the work and charged more, BOL! His dad didn’t mind paying more, and even gave her a tip. It’s going to take time to grow out his face and tail to how they should look, but he’s only 8 years old…there’s time.
You groomed my dog how?!
Lucy: Hi Friends. Since I am the official reporter on the grooming beat, I get to go first. Some of you might remember 
Why so many? Because she has had two litters. The one in the top left corner is called Cow Puppy, he, he. The only one to look like his daddy is the second one on the bottom row. And you will never guess…Laila is in a delicate condition again, due on September 15. Her Mama said it happened while she was on vacation and didn’t know what was going on. My Mom suggested she get Louie “fixed” right now before this third litter of puppies are even born. I sure wouldn’t want to have that many kids! Thankfully, they did all get good homes. 
This is Louie and Laila after they got home from being groomed last weekend. Mom hates Laila’s haircut, but it’s how her Mama wants her done.
I wanted to go, but see, here’s what happened. Me and Lucy went to the dog park on Monday morning and that’s when Mommy stuck her hand in the poop bag container and got stung and her hand swelled up like a balloon and she had to take bennies and she couldn’t drive. So she called Miss Nancy who is my teacher and Miss Nancy loves me and said she already knew that I’m ready to move on to the next level so she would still give us my graduation certificate the next time she saw us. I still wish we could have gone to class…it is sooo much fun!
Hi there! Lucy here with another episode of grooming with Mom. Today we feature Sophie, the 11-year-old salt-and-pepper Miniature Schnauzer, and her brother Dexter, the 4-year-old white miniature schnauzer. They are both bigger than Xena; Mom says they are the same size as Angel Lexi. They are good pups, except when it comes to shaving around Dexter’s nards. Dad had to hold him for that, while reassuring him that his prized possessions would still be there when Mom got done, BOL!
and “after.”.Sophie thanked Mom with nose kisses.
Cray-cray, right? Here he is all groomed and bathed. 
Nothing else in this picture sold at all today, but lots of other stuff we don’t have pictures for did. I laid sweetly in Mommy’s lap and let everyone pet me. I was what is called the PR Dog. I even helped Mommy get a new dog to groom, a Bishon Frise. The nice man is going to make an appointment because the last place he took Max – Max is his dog’s name – they cut all the hair off his tail. I don’t see the problem, but if it gets Mommy a new dog to groom, that’s good.
Mommy said I had to do a little more work for pay, so we worked on my newest Agility Won exercises. I had to sit still and not get up or scoot while Mommy walked away from me (with the blueberries), then walked back right past me, circling around my tail end, and then around to my front. I moved my head to follow her, but that’s all, just like I was supposed to do. Mommy said I was a very good girl and I got more blueberries. Not too many, though, ’cause too many gives me the squirts…blue squirts.
Xena: Yep, he knew not to mess with me. It was a lot of fun to run with you and the other big dogs, though. And today I got to rule over Gracy, the Pyrenees mix.
stay on the porch – or the little dog side of the park.
She’s my new BFF. Sometimes I hear noises so I look out in the yard to see if she has come to visit, but it is always a bird or a squirrel or a rabbit. Occasionally, a cat has the nerve to cross through my property without permission! I always let Mom know when that happens.
Mom hasn’t been going to work at all, so Xena and I have been getting more walks around the neighbor-hood. Sometimes we see people on our walks and I start to wiggle all over. Mom explains that I love people and asks them if they would pet me. They always say yes, and I get to make new friends. When the X dog stops barking her fool head off, they sometimes pet her too. Back home, Mom takes off our leashes and let us run zoomies in the front yard. I guess we aren’t grounded anymore. (So does that mean h-e-double hockey sticks froze over?)
We are not engaged. He is not even my boyfriend.
He didn’t look so big from up here in my Daddy’s arms. Really, all I could think about was why my dinner was so late.
Did Lucy bribe you to keep my cornered here? You’d better move along before me and my shadow go all schnauzer warrior princess on you.
Yes, it’s me, Xena the Schnauzer Warrior Princess, and I’ll warrior all over you if you don’t get your nose out of my bee hind.
Now what do you want, big dog? No, I won’t be your girlfriend.
You promise to stop bugging me if I what?! Well, OK, maybe just one quick kiss.
That was a mistake, ’cause then what I think I overheard Achilles say to my Daddy was, “Mr. Jeff, can I marry your daughter, the little one, the pretty one?” 
After Daddy said no, Achilles settled for a taste of Daddy’s coffee.
Mommy, do we really have to leave now? When can we come back and visit our new cousins?
Dad and Mom packed me and Xena in the backseat of the car like so much luggage and took off down the road. Uh oh, Mom’s giving me the stink-eye. Well, it’s true. We didn’t get any snacks or Netflix to watch or toys to play with. So. Luggage, right?
By Saturday the peeps were all more comfortable letting us play together with minimal supervision. Ella and I remembered each other and played together.
Here we are smiling and getting ready to play .
Ella is a good player and I don’t have to be gentle with her like with my little sister. In the meantime, Achilles was still busy trying to 
When they went out on Saturday Ella and I had the house to ourselves. 
I don’t know why…I could have given them some good whines for free, he,he! In the front is my Auntie Jen, then Uncle Bill, then Dad and Mom.
Here, Dad is waving the smells from the pan into his nose. How silly! I could smell it from across the room and knew it was just right! Needless to say, I didn’t get any.
He is a big boy, though – 70 pounds to my 50 – so sometimes his Dad had to hold him and let Xena play with me and Ella. (You can just ignore the peep’s talking – if you want.) 
I told her about playing with the toys. And guarding the house, and playing with Ella.
I think I’m winning my new family over!
Mommy and me, we aren’t working at the St. Luke church anymore. We went from 3 days to 2 days to 0 days. You can see I was always busy there; never a boring minute. We took my ‘puter home with us (you can see a little of it just behind my bed) and I am still waiting on the IT people to set it up for me at home. 
Me busy at work
So here I am without a job. Sometimes I get so bored I count the flowers on the blanket. Yep, my Guardian Angel Lexi is teaching me how to count. So far I can count one plus one plus one. I think that comes to one.
Sometimes we watch Netflix shows together. Last week I saw this huge animal on the TV and I barked and barked at it. I found out it is called a horse. The rest of the afternoon, I barked at the TV every time I walked past it, just in case that horse was still there. I wanted it to know I am a brave Schnauzer Princess Warrior. I think I scared it away, too.
Sometime I play with my bones and bully horn. I chew them and I throw them and push them all over the house. It makes tons of wonderful noise. The only problem is I won’t be able to hear the horse coming because of all the noise. Mommy says that’s ok, she can’t hear anything, either, when I am doing that.
Will someone please find Xena a job? ~Lucy
I am Xena the *yawn* Bored Schnauzer Princess Warrior
