Hi, Thanks, and Some Notes About Napping

Thanks for all the kind notes about My Song. For the record, my Dad did it extemporaneously (hey, I’m half poodle – I know big words like that). All his ‘Poodle Blues’ songs are done ‘in the moment’ – and they are never the same. Ever. So you actually got a piece of history there. That music will never happen like that again. And don’t worry – he doesn’t usually play in public in his underwear – this was all very impromptu. But he has taken the clothing comments to heart. Not that that doesn’t mean that he won’t play in his underwear again. Mom probably just won’t film it. Or at least she probably won’t post it.

Anyway, he promises that in 2 years he’ll be back to his professional level of playing. (Dad wants me to add the link to his real music: Gary Dranow and the Manic Emotions so that you know that he does more than just play poorly recorded songs in his underwear (my favorite song is ‘Mellow Drama’ – it really fits Dad to a ‘t’).

And he wants me to add that he didn’t authorize the publication of the video! I guess that means Mom’s in the dog house. If we had a dog house, that is.)

Anyhoo, enough about Dad. I like his playing. Especially when he sings songs about me. Or TaiChi. Or even Bufus. (Those are the Bufus Blues, BTW.)

It’s been raining here the last couple of afternoon, and I gotta tell ya. I’m not super excited about thunder. Lighting is okay.

But thunder? Not so much. I don’t go hide under the covers or anything, but I bark. Because if Mother Nature is going to make noise, I get to make noise, too, right?

Yeah, I though so, too.

So I’ve been barking a lot lately.

Which makes me tired.

So yesterday afternoon, I had serious nap-time with TaiChi.

She’s my napping buddy! At 17 years old, she’s had A LOT of experience in napping, and I’m learning a lot from her! And see how well we fit together?

The other person I’m studying to learn how to be a Grade A napper? Mr. Bufus. He is a professional level napper, with over 19 years of experience, and I can only HOPE to be as good a napper as he is.

C’mon. Is that not impressive? I am in awe. Total awe.

And now, I’m tired.

TaiChi makes the best pillow, really.

*kissey face* *yawn*

-Fi

PS. Hi to all my new friends!!! I went to Mango’s bloggy to meet some other blogging beasties, and have met some really cool people. I can’t wait to read more about all of you!

More about ME!!! I'm a movie star!!!

I think that Mango laid the guilt-trip pretty heavily on my Mom, because here is a Second Post In One Day. This is a new world record for my Mom, who is also known as The Person Who Takes The Longest Time EVER To Post A Blog.

*ahem.

For those of you who don't know, Dad is a musician. Because of 'work' he hasn't played in front of real, live audiences in something like 15 years (I don't count Mom, TaiChi, and Bufus as an audience - you need like 50 people to be a real audience. You also need, oh, I dunno, all sorts of things that professional musicians have, like roadies and stuff. I know all this stuff because I watch TeeVee, BTW.) But, Dad has decided to 'get back into' his music.

Mom refers to this as his 'Mission From Gawd' and says something about how Dad should be driving around in an old black and white Crown Vic, and saying that "he's getting the band back together".

Did I ever mention that my Mom might possibly be losing it? Of course, my grandparents (Mom's parents) keep referring to Dad as 'Elwood', so maybe it's genetic.

So Dad's been studying and practicing, and on occasions like tonight, composing. Because I am Daddy's Little Girl, he performed a song in my honor. (Yep, that's right. A song about ME!!!!) Mom filmed it on her little camera, so it's kinda hard to hear, so I have provided the lyrics for you:

I got a dog named Fi
I paid money for her
I got her from a place
They said they were a breeder

I got a dog
Lord knows her name is Fi

Yeah, she said she's a poodle
The rest really confuses me

(Thank you, thank you very much, uh-huh!)



Don't worry - I'll explain the P-Mod thing later.

But lookit me! I'm a Movie Star!!!

The Park!!!

Mom and Dad took me to The Park today. (For the first time, I might add. I don’t know what takes these people So Long To Do Fun Things… Anyhoo. Enough harassing Mom and Dad for the moment.)

The Park is So Cool!!! It gives me so much more room to run, and gave Dad So Much More Room to throw the ball. It is really cool to run so far - it's great that Dad can throw so far (and I have the room to Really Run!)!

First, Dad took me on a walk around The Park, so I would know where I could go, and where I couldn’t go. The stream is Off Limits. And the little kid in the swing is Not Lunch. Got it.

Then we got down to business.

First Dad made sure that I hadn’t forgotten ALL of my obedience training.


Then it was time for me to get ready to Chase the Green Ball.


And chase I did!





And here I am, FINALLY getting to stretch my legs out. Sorry, Mom and Dad. The Yard is nice, but I can't do This:

Check out how streamlined I am! I love my rudder, erm, ah, tail. It helps me flatten out and run Really Fast!!!




I REALLY like The Park!!! I can’t wait to go back again!!!

Also of note, Mango gave me an award. Me?!? An award? How cool! Although I think it is his way of saying that I should post most often! THANKS MANGO!!!



I promise that I’ll post more often. (Or at least as often as I can steal Mom’s computer!)

I’m hot and tired now, and have to go drink lots of water.

*kissey face*- Fiona

I love my little big sister! Really!

Here's some very blurry footage of me playing with my sister TaiChi. Mom was using her phone (hello?!?) so the video isn't very good. But the sound came out pretty well! ;-)



BTW, thank you, Mango!!!! I'll be over to pick up my award when I'm done with my wrestling for the day!

Finally, some pictures.... *sheesh*

Thanks to you guys for harassing my Mom about pictures. Because I don’t think she would have ever posted pictures of my hike. (Don’t worry Mango – I had fun! And Mom says I’m a ‘natural hiker’ – whatever that means!)

Here I am, not sure about this whole hiking thing – I mean, we had only ever gone for walks on hard surfaces. This was soft and dirty and full of pine needles. And I wasn’t really sure about the whole dirt thing.


But then I got all into it, and was wondering why Mom was So Slow.

C’mon Mom. Let’s Go!!!!

Because there were lots of really cool things to smell.


I can’t wait to go again. But Mom has been Busy the last couple of days, and then yesterday after they got back from doing their silly thing on two-wheels, she had to get ready for a car race today.

In. The. Rain.

I swear, sometimes I really think my Mom is losing it.

Everyone knows that on rainy days, the best possible thing to do is stay in bed all day and watch movies with your very warm and cuddly children.

But my Mom and Dad? They somehow think it is a better idea to get up at 6am and drive to someplace so they can go stand around and occasionally drive cars in the rain.on a Sunday, I might add – which really doesn’t mean anything to me, because everyday is a weekend, but I watch TV so I know humans – you are supposed to Sleep In on Sundays. And I’ve been to enough of these car races to see that Mom and Dad spent like half the time standing around, or sitting in a little trailer. I’m tellin’ ya – I think they are losing it.

And because today was just a one day event, and it was raining (did I mention already that it was raining?) they left us kids home, and just drove down to the race. At least they made sure that Uncle Larry came over to let Taichi and me go run around the yard. And I impressed Uncle Larry with my zooms – he had never seen me zoom before, so I got to show off for him!

And, of course, Mom doesn’t have any pictures of the car race. Because it was raining. But I’ve heard Mom and Dad talking, and apparently Dad drove very well, and Mom spent a lot of time “going sideways”. From my TV experience, and from watching car races, I don’t think you are supposed to go sideways. But apparently it was a combination of the rain and “a lot of horse power” (Mom’s words). Again, I think she’s losing it, because We Don’t Have Any Horses. How could she have a lot of horse power, when we have no horses?

I don’t get it. I know The House Without Wheels is pretty big, but trust me, I’d know if there was a horse or two here. And there are no horses. So maybe she meant dog power? But how could that be? TaiChi and I were at home. All the dog power was here, not down with them.

Seriously, I think Mom is losing it.

But she seemed happy, despite ‘spinning’ the car a few times. How do you spin a car? I thought they were big heavy things that have wheels and they go where you steer them. I’ve got to ask Mom for more information on this. Maybe she has pictures. Heh. Like she’ll ever post them… But Mom seems very happy – which means that we might be going on a road trip to, erm, ah, someplace where they race cars in a few weeks. Which means that we will get back in The House With Wheels!!!!

Ooops. Mom is calling me for dinner. Gotta go!

*kissey face!* - Fiona!

Mom's Slow on the Pictures.... Again

I honestly don't know what keeps Mom so busy that she can't post pictures.

Lemme look at her calendar for the last week.... The only thing I see is a doctor's appointment for Dad, and an aborted attempt for me and TaiChi to go to the groomer - Mom took us there, but they were closed. It is a husband-wife team (with a very handsome poodle who helps run the show), and I think the wife has been sick as of late - at least that is what Mom told me - at least I got a car ride. Which was kind of fun. TaiChi wasn't so excited about the car ride, but she only seems to like the truck and the House With Wheels.

Oh, and she had a bunch of 'errands'. Frankly, any 'errand' that doesn't allow me to ride in the car with a toy (to keep me occupied while she's doing whatever things it is she does) doesn't count. And Mom didn't take me on any of the errands she ran this week because she was worried about me sitting in a hot car. Which is fine by me - I don't like hot cars. Besides, I like staying home and sleeping with TaiChi, too.

And Mom and Dad have been doing that two-wheeled ride-y thingy again.

But I haven't been completely neglected. Mom has started taking me on hikes. Mom has been talking about a ‘hike’ forever. Actually, she calls it a ‘H-I-K-E’, as if I don’t know how to spell. Mom: I’ve got my own blog. Even if I use SpellCheck from time to time, I can spell basic words like ‘hike’ and ‘walk’ (even when you spell it backwards, in an attempt to be sneaky – as if! Don’t forget that I’ve got Poodle brains.)

We did our first one a few days ago, and I must say, there is something to this whole living in the mountains thing. I liked the trees, and the dirt, and the patches of the white cold stuff (Mom says it's snow). And I know Mom got some pictures, but, of course she "hasn't had time" to download the pictures.

Sheesh. C'mon Mom. I am growing more beautiful by the day, and I think my reading public deserves to see me in all my beautifulness. So I'm going to get on her about the pictures. Especially since if she gets too far behind in the picture thing, she'll forget, because they've got another car race thingy on Sunday.

TaiChi and Bufus and I are not going to this car race; it is fairly close to home, and it might rain, so Mom and Dad want us to stay home, and have Uncle Larry come over and let us run around in the yard so we aren't cooped up all day. I'd be fine, but I'm a little worried about TaiChi - I don't think her old lady bladder could hold up all day, so having Uncle Larry come over will be good.

I'll push Mom on the pictures, because a post without pictures is like a car without race tires!

A Wolf! In. My. Yard!!!

My parents are crazy. For those of you who know them, you already know this. And for those of you who don’t know them? Oy veh. The stories I could tell you. But I don’t have time for that today. Or probably in the rest of my life. Trust me. These people are crazy. I love them, but Mom and Dad are Cray-Zee.

But today?!? Today takes the cake.

There. Was. A. Wolf. In. Our. Yard.

Seriously. A wolf. In our yard.

And Mom’s out taking pictures. Sheesh. I swear that ‘Ph.D.’ stands for ‘Pretty Heinously Dumb’, because lemme tell ya, I don’t care if the wolf is my distant cousin. He can stay Very Distant, thankyouverymuch.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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Okay. So he is really only half-wolf, and half German shepherd.

And a very stately, low-key, mellow guy.

And actually sort of cute in that older-wolf-dog sort of way.

I like him, though. And I hope he comes and visits again. Because I’ve noticed that some dogs don’t want to play with me because they think I’m ‘energetic’. Me? Energetic? Naw. Not at all!!! I’m just full of youthful exuberance. But Mokie didn’t seem to mind at all. And actually chased me a little bit (but because Mom took these pictures using her phone – which still doesn’t make sense to me, but what do I know? – she didn’t get any action shots…. Maybe next time Mom’ll get better shots.

But dontcha think he’s handsome? I’d really like him to be my friend.

But I still think Mom and Dad are crazy.

Finally, some PICTURES!!!

We've got some pictures of Mom driving, but I think this is the BEST picture. Because it is of ME!!!! Seriously, this shows what was so cool about the car race - I got to sit on the couch and look at the window (Mom and Dad call it my TV, which, I guess it is - because I get live action views of whatever is going on outside my window. It lets me keep an eye on the neighborhood.) And it is kind of hard to see from this size picture, but I had a view of ALL of the course, so I could watch all of the cars, and the people, and keep an eye on the other doggies (which was a VERY IMPORTANT TASK as some of those other doggies were a little wild, and I know that there are rules about doggies and car races - so I was helping Mom and Dad doing their job as Safety people).


Here's Mom in the Big Yellow Car trying to get it around a tight turn.


And here she is getting ready for the last turn before the finish.


Here's Mom right at the finish. I like this one because you can (almost) see that it is her.

This particular photographer didn't get any pictures of Dad or Uncle Larry, so I don't have any to post. But Mom is so thrilled that there are pictures of her in The Big Yellow Car. Because apparently she has a lot of fun, even if she is a little wild at times. (I'm just saying.... I was looking out the window, ya know!)

Got to go - Mom is saying something about a 'K-L-A-W'. Like she thinks that I don't know how to spell backwards. Sheesh. Give me some credit, Mom.... I'll just pretend that I don't know what she means, but if she stalls too long, I'll start bouncing around until I drive her crazy!

Back in the House Without Wheels, and Still No Pictures

We're back in the House Without Wheels. Yesterday afternoon Mom and Dad and TaiChi and Mr. Bufus and I got back in the House With Wheels and went to Miller Motorsports Park. I have been to this particular place before, but it was back when I was Very Little.


This is me when I was very little. In the House With Wheels, out at Miller Motorsports Park. When we were out there then, Mom and Dad and Uncle Charlie were racing in the snow and rain.



Mom and Dad had to be at today's race early because they were Officials, and had Official Things to do. They didn't want to leave us all at home all day Thankyouverymuch, Mom and Dad! I know you wouldn't REALLY leave us at home all day, but I'm glad that you thought of use first! so they decided to take the House With Wheels out the night before so that we could go with them, they could get a good night's sleep and still wake up early, and be able to see us (us meaning ME!!!) throughout the day.

If you ask me, the motorhome was the best decision they ever made - now they have no excuse to ever go anywhere without us. And if you can't travel with your children, how can you possibly enjoy yourself? Yep. I don't think it is possible.

So. We got there last night about 8pm (and even then there were there were still people making zooming noises on the track until the sun set), we all had dinner, and settled down and got up early this morning. 6am, if you must know. I didn't know that Mom even knew there was such a time of day, but apparently, you must sacrifice if you want to have fun.

Anyhoo.... We got up bright and early, and walked around alot until I find a satisfactory place to do my business - there are so many smells, noises, and people that it is Really Hard to find a nice quiet place for a girl to do what she needs to do. That said, I think I like the smell of tires. I got to sniff a lot of tires, and it was Quite Fun.

Mom didn't get any pictures of me What Is Up With That?!? Just because she was 'working'...., but apparently she had fun anyway.

Mom and Dad and my Uncle Larry (he is at our house almost every day, and is a very nice guy, even if he is the parent of two slightly-psychotic Australian Shepherds.... Eeesh. Talk about goofy doggies....) drove the Big Yellow Car (see the picture at the top of the blog) today. Dad and Uncle Larry drove together, and Mom drove by herself (mostly; Dad found her someone who offered to ride with her, and then the guy drove the Big Yellow Car with her in it once, so she could see how it was Really Supposed To Be Done (in her words); then she was left to drive on her own).

They all seemed to have a Really Good Time, if the smiles, laughs, and pats on the back mean anything to you. I know Dad wasn't feeling very good, but I think he was very happy. And Mom was happy because she was only 2.2 seconds behind Dad (which, apparently, is Very Good for her).

And I had a good time, too. There were other dogs there, and while I was a little nervous at first about meeting them, Dad helped me so that I was Better Behaved than the other dogs - I was around 2 people with 4 dogs (total), and when Dad told me to lie down and stay, I did, even when the other dogs were being all barky and noisy. (Mom's still a bit of a pushover - Dad's got to teach her how to make me feel good enough that I can ignore all it when All The Other Dogs Go Crazy) But I was Very Proud of Myself for being a Very Cute, Well Behaved Dog. And yes, I love hearing people tell me how Cute I am. And how Well Behaved I am. And how Nice I am. Because I am absolutely all of the above.

Of course, Mom didn't get any pictures of me being Very Well Behaved. But in all fairness, I didn't get any pictures of her driving the Big Yellow Car fast. Although I think that if I can find pictures posted of Mom and Dad driving, I will post some; because it is a Pretty Car, and I think Mom and Dad both upheld the Family Name. Which is good. Because a girl's standing is at least partially based on how well your parents drive. Of course, the rest is based on how cute you are, so I'm pretty much in a win-win situation.

*kissey face* Hopefully I'll have some pictures later.

BTW, my little big sister TaiChi, and Mr. Bufus the Cat and I ALL had fun in the House With Wheels - there is always so much to see and smell and bark (or meow, if you prefer) at.

Oh boy!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I get to go back in The House With Wheels!!!

Mom and Dad have a car race tomorrow morning, and because they are doing something Official at the race, they have to be there Super Early. (And for Dad, anything before 10am is super early. Teehee!) Like 7am, and since it takes an hour to get to the place where they are going to race, they would have to leave at 6am. And would have had to leave me (leave me? NEVER!), TaiChi and Mr. Bufus at home for Far Too Many Hours. So they decided that they will go out the night before (tonight) in The House With Wheels, so they will be there for their Super Early Official Stuff.

And, of course, we are all going with them, because that's the whole point of taking The House With Wheels.

And I get to go back to a car race! Mom and Dad do this car thing where they drive cars around these orange cones. (Mom seems to hit a lot of cones, BTW. I'm not sure if the goal of the sport is to hit as many of those cones as possible - if so, she must be Really Good.) I remember these races from when I was Really Little, and I had fun - lots of noise, and lots of people (and lots of people who want to say hi to me!). And the weather is supposed to be nice, so it should be fun.

And I'll be in The House With Wheels!!! I'm so excited!!! Even if it is only for a day!

Alas, NO PICTURES *sigh

No pictures here because Mom has been "busy". Actually, she has been so "busy" that she was gone All Day; she left at 8am and didn't get home until 5pm. It's almost like she has a job or something. But this should only last for another day, so I guess it's okay. Especially since Mom took me out on a walk this morning before she left. But no walk when she got home. She was "tired". What's up with that?!? Apparently she's got Important Meetings in Salt Lake City, but those should be over (sort of) after tomorrow, and she can get back to the Even More Important Time with ME!!!!

So today I spent napping with Dad and playing with my little big sister, TaiChi. TaiChi doesn't like to play on the tile floors because she slips around a lot, but when we get on the bed, she's all in my face. She's pretty feisty, too, especially for an old lady. Tonight when she got up on the bed, I started to attack her, and she went on the offensive, and had me on my back, her snaggly teeth snapping at my nose. She's tough. And she's my hero.

Oh, but I did get to get some Zooms in today. When Mom got home, we went into the Yard (a Very Cool Place, I might add), and while TaiChi was just sort of walking around, I got to race around the Yard in circles. It was REALLY cool. And what was most fun of all was racing around, and then zooming up to TaiChi and swerving at the last possible second. It's fun to see how close I can get to her at high speed before I make a high speed turn. (Mom and Dad tell me that I 'throttle steer' - which is apparently some car racing term that applies to rear wheel drive cars with big engines. Which sort of describes me, actually.) So, Zooms today were Fun.

If Mom ever gets done with her Important Meetings, maybe she'll get some pictures of me Zooming. And TaiChi bouncing - because she bounces around like a bunny in the Yard. Mom and Dad find it 'cute' - I see it as an invitation to go racing after her at high speed.

Mom says it's bedtime, so bye for now. Kissey faces to all!

Some pictures - but not as many of me as there should be!

Okay, I finally have the packing pictures. It’s pretty funny how many humans it takes to do simple tasks. (And how many beers it takes to get said simple task done…). Now keep in mind, with these pictures, that my uncle Charlie is a former Marine. He’s not really my uncle, because Mom says he’s not actually related to any of us. But since I’ve now done Two Big Trips in The House With Wheels with him, I have formally adopted him as my uncle Charlie. My first trip with him was to Topeka in September of 2008, when I was a little fluffball – we went over 1,000 miles each way, and I got to nap with him even though I wasn’t totally house-trained, so I adopted him immediately – anyone who shows that much trust is well worth having in the family. My brother Matt isn’t really my brother, but for reasons that Mom and Dad have never quite explained to me, they adopted Matt early on when they were car racing (Matt also raced a Mini Cooper, but he’s had to sell it because he’s got a human baby on the way, and needed a little more room).

The first task Matt and Charlie had when they arrived (they drove all the way down from Utah in one day, and got there early enough to be put to work), was to get Mom and Dad’s kayaks on the pickup truck.

How many beers does it take uncle Charlie to figure out the instructions? Heehee!

Well, it clearly takes 3 humans and me, with the camera, giving directions to all of them to get it figured out.

Mom says it’s because none of them really read the instructions – Charlie was just faking, earlier.

Uncle Charlie put all of his Marine skills to work in tying down the kayaks. Those are some impressive knots!


But when they were done, they had a few pieces left over.

Apparently the boys decided that they were ‘extra parts’ and just tossed them inside the truck.

Then they hooked the truck up to the trailer. Matt and Charlie are both long-time car racers and old pros at this, and got it handled in one try. Even I was impressed!


And all the vehicles were lined up so that in the morning, all that they’d have to do is hook up the Saturn to the motorhome, and we’d be ready to go.


And then I got to spend quality time with Uncle Charlie.

HI!!!!!


And here’s an action photo of me playing kissey face with Mom!


Okay, so after all that up there, we made it home.

And I got to play in the yard.

And Mom says that I got muddy feet out there. (She thinks she's being all clever with this picture; c'mon Mom - what's the point of furry feet if you can't get them muddy?!?)


Mud? What is she talking about?!?



That’s NOT me. That was someone else! I swear!

But now that I’ve had 2 full days (basically) in The House Without Wheels, I am beginning to like it more and more – there are LOTS of rooms to explore. And Mom takes me on a walk at least once a day, and gets me in the yard so I can get muddy feet and chase things a bunch of times during the day. It rained this morning, and I didn’t really like the rain so much, but when it stopped raining and was just muddy? Too Much Fun!

And so you don’t forget about her, TaiChi is really happy to be home – she walks around the yard a lot, and even runs a little bit. She also likes walking around the house and making sure that she adds her own quantity of mud to the floor. (And the bed.) She also 'dances' in circles, but sometimes the tile floor (which is a little slippery - even I've noticed that) tricks her and she ends up sitting on the floor. But I know she's happy to be in The House Without Wheels. So is Bufus; right now he's curled up next to the heater in the bathroom. Because it's 43 degrees out, and damp - that was Mom grumbling there, BTW.

I’ll make Mom bring the camera outside when it’s not raining so you can see the yard and the Glorious Mud!!!

*kissey face!*

We're back....

We're back. We got back last night about 8pm. I'll have a whole bunch of pictures and things to post, but Mom hasn't taken them off the camera yet. Since I lack opposable thumbs, I haven't figured out how to take them off the camera myself. So you'll have to wait another day for the pictures.

Anyway, on Wednesday, my uncle Charlie and my brother Matt (it's a long story - I'll explain about that sometime) showed up, and they got Mom and Dad's kayaks on the truck, they hooked up the trailer, and basically helped Mom and Dad finish packing. (I got some great pictures of this 'military operation' - uncle Charlie is an ex-Marine, and was a bit befuddled by the instructions for the kayak racks, while my brother Matt is all muscle, and Lifts Lots Of Heavy Things Easily. As an aside, my brother Matt has a mastiff son named Dudley - so I guess that makes me an aunt - to a mastiff! I'm so proud!)

Again, pictures to come. MOM!!!! Stop SLEEPING!!!

The drive home was really exciting!!! Sometimes I slept, but I spent a LOT of time looking out the big window at the front. Because while sometimes there are some exciting things out there. There were lots of big orange cones, and people in bright yellow suits holdings signs - that was fun, because I got to bark at them. But they didn't even wave. What is up with that? Maybe they were worried that if they waved, uncle Charlie might lost focus and drive the House With Wheels into them. (He didn't.)

But the best part?!? I GOT TO SIT IN MOM'S LAP for a couple of hours!!!! Uncle Charlie even got a picture (while he was driving - can you imagine that?!? He used his phone, and he hasn't emailed it to Mom yet, so I can't post that one, either. These humans..... Sheesh....)

Bufus sat in Mom's lap for a while (no pictures of that, sorry), which took away from some of MY time sitting in Mom's lap, but I guess since he's old and venerable, too, it's okay. And apparently uncle Charlie had never actually spent much time with Mr. Bufus before, so he was kind of excited that Mr. Bufus graced him with his presence.

So, uncle Charlie drove while Dad stayed pretty much in the bedroom and watched TV and slept while TaiChi and Bufus and I stayed up with Mom to keep her company. Uncle Charlie talks alot. Mom says that I should mention that he probably does this to stay alert, so it shouldn't be be taken the wrong way. Uncle Charlie has as story for pretty much every freeway exit from Meqsuite, NV to his house. And the best part about his stories? Uncle Charlie is a car guy (you knew that already, though), so ever story starts with "I was driving a 1955 pickup truck with a small block engine that I had just bought from a guy for $300, so that must have been, uh, 1974" - he always starts with the car first, and then identifies the year from the car. Humans are REALLY weird. If he was really cool, he'd say, "I had an 8 month old Goldendoodle, so it must have been 2009". But I'll work on him with that. He just needs a little training.

But anyway, we made it home. We got to uncle Charlie's house, and then Dad drove us up to Park City. We parked in our spot, Dad went to the house, and brought down the Pacifica so that we could all go to The House Without Wheels.

Wow. What. A. Strange. Place. I don't remember it At. All.

And truth be told, I was a little confused. Anda little scared. I mean, the house is REALLY BIG. And all I remember from this house is a big dog barking at me. Mom's input here: Fiona only lived in the house for a few weeks, and Ben had cancer, and didn't suffer enegetic puppies lightly. I'm not sure if Fiona remembers this or not. In hindsight, I don't think so - but I'l let Fi talk.

So after walking around the house, I spent a bunch of time hanging out in the doorway of the back bedroom. I could see what was going on in the kitchen, but I was comfortable in the backroom.

And frankly, I wasn't so sure about the whole back yard thing. Of course, it was kind of dark, so I didn't get to run around. But when Mom let me out on the porch, I didn't feel comfortable - it was still a wood floor. I'm not supposed to pee on a wood floor, am I? Even if it is outside... Good thing that I have a bladder than can let Mom sleep through most of the night.

But today?!? WOW. Today was REALLY COOL. Mom was worried about me, so she took me on a walk, like first thing. And that was fun. LOTS of New Smells. And some dogs. It was TOTALLY FUN!!! And Mom showed me where we are going to go hiking when all the snow melts.

Because Mom has this thing about mud.

OMG!!! MUD!!! Awesome. I just came back from outside. TaiChi had to piddle, and Mom wanted me to get more comfortable outside. So she took a toy, and I got to chase the toy. But then I got to Zoom around the yard. Mom is still a little worried about me seeing a bird and getting distracted, so she kept me in a kind of a small area (the yard has two levels with a big hill, and while I got to bound up the hill Once, it was with Mom at my side - she doesn't want me dashing off after those lovely birds...). But I still got to ZOOM. And OMG!!! That was So Much Fun.

Mom says I tracked Mud into the house. Apparently she has pictures of this, too, but she hasn't got them off the camera yet, so there is No Evidence at this time... But wow, it was fun!!!

So, maybe, just maybe, this House Without Wheels will be okay. We'll see. But I did like the walk. And the Zooms in the yard. So maybe this will all be okay. And I do like the yard. And the walks. And the Zooms.

Pictures later. *kissey face!*

-Fiona