Oops I Ate It

Okay, everyone has been telling their stories about things that they ate, and I feel that I should jump in with a story.

First, me. My Dad is a musician (despite the video that I posted a few months ago, my Dad is a real musician; he’s studied for years, did professional gigs in LA for years and years, and then about 10 years ago quit because he had to focus on his business. Now, he’s got a band back together (and Grandpa calls him “Elwood” – did I mention that I am surrounded by geeks?) and they are looking to start playing professionally next spring. So he’s a serious musician. In case you missed it, here’s a link to his rough cuts album (his band at the time was the Manic Emotions) that was recorded right before he stopped playing 10 years ago. It was never finished, so it’s all rough stuff, but there are some pretty tunes. Mom’s favorite is Destiny Road – the vocals are totally scratch, but she loves the melody. And Mellow Drama? It’s a great song. And if you know Dad, it’s sublime!

Anyhoo. Being a musician, Dad spends A LOT of time listening to music. And to not drive Mom crazy, he listens to a lot of music on his iPhone. And he uses super high-fidelity headphones to get all the music-y bits.

Well. Let’s just say that those headphones? Erm. I believe he’s on his 5th or 6th set. Because, well, they are kinda tasty… This winter, in Arizona? One night, late at night, after Mom was asleep, Dad was listening to music, and he got up to go to the kitchen. He came back to discover his headphones in pieces. Me? I was sleeping innocently. But Dad left this note for Mom when she woke up the next morning.


And, unfortunately, the evidence, uh, came out a day later. While Mom didn’t show the remains to Dad, she verified that it was me who might have possibly destroyed a set of his headphones. But is it my fault? I don’t think so. I mean, Dad left them there for me, right? Can I help that they are tasty? And he never actually saw the evidence. So who's to say if it was me, right?!? Mom is easily bribed into silence....

Heehee.

But notice how I become Mom's dog when I allegedly eat headphones?

And in other excitement? TaiChi and I got haircuts for our trip to Nebraska. Here’s TaiChi doing her model thing. (Notice the head tilt? And the air of casual beauty? Yep, she knows how to work the camera...)



And me, being silly.

Heehee. I look like I've got a clown nose there!

Oh, wait. Here I am looking all cute. Watch out, Nebraska boys, here I come!!!


And here's a gratuitous Mr. Bufus picture. Dad likes 'Dibs' (ice cream thingys). And apparently so does Mr. Bufus. Maybe this should go in the 'Oops I ate it' section? (For the record, Dad did not actually let Mr. Bufus have any....)



*kissey face*

-Fiona

Good news, and exciting news!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!! I’ve got some exciting news!

But first, thanks so much for all the kind thoughts for my little big sister, TaiChi. I know Mom is worried about her, but I also know that Mom is doing everything she can to take care of her, so I have complete faith that TaiChi’s blood pressure will be under control in no time, and I am sure that Mom will keep close watch on her “bad eye” to make sure that it stays healthy, and she doesn’t get “secondary glaucoma”. I think TaiChi should get an eye patch and a pirate hat – and maybe a parrot for her shoulder, but Mom won’t let me go shopping for her… Sometimes Mom is No Fun. TaiChi has a doctor’s appointment on Monday to check her blood pressure, and hopefully I can report back some good news.

Apparently the “medicine” that she takes (which looks an awful lot like a blob of peanut butter to me, but Mom says the pill is Very Tiny and is hidden in the peanut butter…. ) works really quickly, so it wouldn’t be unusual to have good news this quickly. ‘Cause as much as I like to harass my little big sister (and steal her cookies – even though Mom says it’s “tacky” to steal cookies from a half-blind dog….*sigh*), I love her dearly, and want her around for a long time!

So, on to the Very Exciting News. We’re going on A Long Road Trip!!! In the House With Wheels!!!

Last year, about this time, I was a Very Little Dog. I was Smaller than TaiChi, if you can believe that! (I can’t actually.... Me? Smaller than TaiChi? Wow. But I guess photos don’t lie. Unless you are O.J. Simpson. Heehee.)

Okay, so I was a Very Little Dog. 9 weeks old, to be exact. 9 weeks. ?!? That’s like, nothing! So at 9 weeks of age, Mom and Dad (and Uncle Charlie) dragged my tender, impressionable young self halfway across the country to Topeka, Kansas. Topeka? Who goes to Topeka? It’s like Fresno, but totally different.* To go to a car race. The Solo National Championships, to be specific. (The car racing where Mom knocks down lots of cones? That’s called “Solo”, and they hold a National Championship each year. Last year it was in Topeka, and Uncle Charlie ended up winning, so he now has this jacket that says ‘National Champion’ on the back. He didn’t win any money or anything exciting (tires, but in this household, tires are sort of ho-hum), but I guess he got “serious bragging rights”. (And is finally on equal footing with his wife, as she won a National Championship several years ago.)

Here’s a few choice pictures from last year’s Nationals.

DOGZILLA!!!! Heehee! (I still can't believe I was that LITTLE!!!)

Me perfecting my 'pathetic puppy' look. You wouldn't believe how many people this sucked in to come visit me!

Mom after her best run of the event.

Dad at the start

Everyone (except me….) back home, after a very successful event.

If you want to see the whole album, click here. For an ironic aside (other than the less than stellar coverage of me), read Mom’s comments regarding the Shelby Mustangs in F Stock. She professes in her comments on the photo album that she’d NEVER want to run F Stock because the cars drive like tanks. Well… Let’s just say that Mom should watch a certain James Bond movie with Sean Connery, because now? If she could successfully rob a bank? She’d be running a Mustang Shelby GT at this year’s Nationals. I’m just sayin'...

Anyway, it was at this event that I learned to not be afraid of the sound of diesel trucks, and to love the throaty rumble of a big “horsepower” engine (however, I still haven’t seen any horses, BTW… maybe I will solve the mystery of the horse-less horsepower this year). To me, the smell of tires and high octane gasoline is the smell of victory!

This year, the Solo Nationals are being held in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is a new site so I don’t know anything about it, other than that I have looked at a map, and Nebraska is a LONG state. But I’m Very Excited to be going back! And TaiChi will be going with us this year (last year she was having kidney problems and had to stay home in the doggie hospital). Mr. Bufus will also be going with us (of course – ever since Mom and Dad got the House With Wheels, Mr. Bufus has gone EVERYWHERE with them – he is a Very Well Traveled Kitteh) . You know that I love The House With Wheels, and I love car races, so a combination of the two? I can hardly contain myself! And Mom says we will be staying "on site", so at night she'll be able to take me on walks where we can walk around and look at all the race cars and 'conveyances'. TaiChi tells me that these walks are Quite Fun, so I'm Really Excited!!!!

I have to help Mom make her lists (she’s responsible for all the pre-trip packing; once we get on the road, Dad and Uncle Charlie and responsible for everything else) so she doesn’t forget any Important Doggie Toys (or any of TaiChi or Bufus’ medicines). But I’m So Excited! And maybe Uncle Charlie will defend his title. And maybe Mom won’t be DFL** this year. Or even if she’s DFL, maybe she’ll be closer to the other people in her class than she was last year.

I will, of course, keep you posted. And I’m making sure that Mom’s got the flashy box all charged up so I can document the entire experience!!!

And in yet MORE excitement? Daisy gave me this Super Cool Award!!! Thanks, Daisy!!!

I’m supposed to tag 5 bloggies who blog at least once a week (or who I’d like to see blog once a week. Lessee…

First, has to be my buddy Farley. I think Farley was actually my first online friend, and really inspired me to take over Mom’s blog and make it my own. I consider Farley to be my Very Special Friend.

Second (and this is not in any order than what randomly bounces into my brain) is Doby and Lola. Technically, that’s two, but they are such partners in crime that I’ll count them as one. These guys are so cute. And super smart.

Third. Dory. She cute, and adventurous, and, well, did I mention cute?

Fourth. The 4 B’s. Don’t judge them. Other than to determine that they TOTALLY ROCK!!!!

Fifth. This is such a hard decision, as there’s about a zillion bloggies that I want to add to this list. But I’m going to have to go with Mollie Jo and Bobo. Because I’m a sucker for Miniature Poodles. I have looked up to TaiChi ever since I was a Very Little Dog, and as a result, I am in love with all Miniature Poodles; so even though I technically look down on them (being taller and all), I still look up to them. And these two? OMD!!! If I could pick some siblings out of my bloggie friends, I’d have ‘em move in tomorrow! (But they’re very happy with their Mom, so I won’t go kidnap them. But if you guys ever want a vacation? Come visit!! We’ve got tons of room!)

So, that’s my day. And now I’m very tired. And must help Mom with her Packing Lists.

*kissey face*
-Fiona

*Mom would like to comment that she is making a slightly obscure, super nerdy reference to the original ‘Airplane’ movie. “Fresno? No one goes to Fresno anymore.” Yeah. My Mom’s a nerd. But my uncle (Mom’s oldest brother)? Even MORE of a nerd because he once had a cat named Fresno – who was, I am led to believe, named after that quote. Clearly Mom comes from an Entire Family of Nerds! Oh… You shouldn’t even get me started about the Nerdiness of Mom’s family. I believe that she once got my other uncle (her other brother) a Holy Hand Grenade . Can you say “NERD?!?” Eesh. And to think that I am related to these people. *sigh*

** DFL = technical acronym that stands for “Dead F’ing Last” – apparently it applies to all forms of racing in generally, and frequently to Mom in particular! (I’m just KIDDING, Mom!)

Wordless Wednesday: The Girls

*snuggles*
-Fiona

The non-wordless update from Fi's Mom: I took TaiChi back to the ophthalmologist vet today to have her eyes checked, and the visit was quite a bit more complicated than I had hoped for. When the vet when to look at her eyes, she was afraid that maybe TaiChi's retina had become detached, but she couldn't actually tell because of the really bad cataracts that she has in her right eye. So, they did an ultrasound on her (at no charge, amazingly - they just wanted a way to check on the retina), and determined that, in fact, her retina is detached. Which means that she is blind in her right eye. However, her cataracts were so bad in her right eye that she was likely very close to being blind in that eye, anyway.

Because of the detached retina, and her chronic renal failure (i.e. her kidneys are failing - not unusual in a dog her age - and we've known about this for over a year - and she get subcutaneous fluids every other day to help her kidneys process toxins), the vet thought that she might have high blood pressure. So, they checked her blood pressure, and it was REALLY high. (Normal is about 100; she was at 180 - even with the stress that vet visits cause her, 180 is Way Too High). The good news is that they have really effective treatments for high blood pressure in dogs.

So. The upshot? TaiChi will be on blood pressure medicine for the rest of her life - we'll monitor her blood pressure until we get her blood pressure back down, and then we'll stabilize her dose. Luckily, it's a Really Small pill, because TaiChi isn't so thrilled about taking pills (even when hidden in peanut butter). TaiChi will also be on two sets of eye drops for the rest of her life; they are designed to prevent secondary glaucoma (which is a potential problem resulting from the detached retina). If she does develop secondary glaucoma, it can be treated, but we have to be on top of it, because she could lose the eye, and at her age, she can't handle surgery. But, that is a worst-case scenario, and we're keeping our fingers and paws crossed that this won't happen.

She's a very old dog, and these health problems are not surprising (especially given that she was a puppy mill puppy). But I'll always worry about her. And, truthfully, I'm worried about leaving her to go visit my Mom, who has also been having health problems. However, TaiChi is not in any imminent danger (at least no more so than she has always been in just from being an old dog).

*whew* Okay. So I'm worried about my little old lady. But the above picture? It makes me smile - it was taken right after TaiChi got home from the vet, and it was almost like Fi was holding TaiChi. It was so sweet. I love my kids - even when they worry me. - Dr. Liz

Undercover Dog

Heehee.

Mom says I'm "weird" because I like to sleep with my head under the blankets. I don't see it as weird. It's dark, it's warm, and I get to stick my cold nose on Mom's leg. How is that weird?

Note from Fi's Mom: I can honestly say that I have Never, Ever seen a dog who is happy with blankets over their head. Every other dog? Tries to get out as soon as possible. So yes, Fi is weird. Hey, I just calls 'em like I see 'em. *grin* I still love her, but she's weird.

Thanks A LOT, Mom. Ya know what, Mom? You smell funny when you come back from 'bye-sickle-ing'. So there. Neener. And I'm totally normal. Double so there.

*kissey face*
-Fiona the Non-Weird

Another Very Exciting Day!

Heehee. Today I had the last laugh on Mom and Dad. They went on a bye-sickle ride, like usual. And they knew that there was a pretty good chance that they'd get to see part of The Tour of Utah, a professional bike race that, well, if you can't tell from the name, goes through Utah.

What they didn't know was that as soon as they left for their ride, I was picked up by the Tour organizers (knowing Lance Armstrong comes in very handy - I've now got All Sorts of Pro Cycling connections), and got to start the race and ride in the lead car for the entire race.

Anyway, Mom and Dad stopped along their ride to watch part of the beginning of the race. (The race started on Main Street, and then the riders leave Park City for a whole bunch of mountains, and end up climbing up to Snowbird Ski Resort. 96 miles, and something like 10,000 feet in climbing!).

Here's Dad waiting to watch the racers come by.

Imagine Mom and Dad's surprise when they saw this (you have to click on it to biggify it to be able to see anything... Mom only had her phone with her):

The racers were still in the neutral zone (they do a rolling start, so they follow the referee's car for a while until I wave the flag and zoom away from them so they can start racing) at this point.

It was really Quite Cool! (And equally cool was the helicopter ride I got back home from Snowbird. Alas, I didn't get a picture of that, because we didn't have another helicopter flying beside us to take pictures of me...)

And to cap off the day? When it finally cooled down (it was REALLY HOT today - it was 90 in Park City, and 101 in Salt Lake) a bit, Mom took me on a walk.

C'mon MOM. Let's go!!!

'STOP'? Surely they don't mean ME?!? *ahem.

Very cool day, today.

Oh, and if you want to see a picture of Boring Snobby Cindy, you can see how boring and snobby she was - totally running the other direction. What a boring snob.
*ahem.

*kissey face*
-Fiona, Cycling Referee Extraordinaire

I redeemed myself

I redeemed myself at The Park today. Mostly. When we got there, there was no one there. Which was fine by me. But as soon as Dad got my leash off, a Mom showed up with her daughter, a tennis coach (or something) and Another Goldendoodle! My first encounter with another Goldendoodle since my halcyon days back at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm!!

Her name was Cindy (I think), and frankly, she wasn't super interested in playing with me. Or playing in general. We ran around a little bit, but she headed back to her Mom, and when Dad threw the football, she was interested in playing in the stream, instead. And when her human sister started hitting tennis balls? She went and stood on the side of the tennis court. She didn't even chase the spare tennis balls on the court! And she's only 4 years old! Dad called her 'mellow'. All I can say is that is that if I ever become that "mellow" I'd better be TaiChi's age!

Mom didn't get any pictures because she was "protecting" the sandbox area from me. For the record, Mango, I did NOT pee in the sandbox. I can't say the same for the itty-bitty kids who play in it - I didn't stop to check.... Anyway, I only went close to the sandbox once, and Mom pointed me back to Dad.

The only time I got slightly distracted? Well, I mentioned that there was this girl hitting tennis balls with her coach, right? Well, they left the gate to the court open. You might see where this is going.... Anyhoo... It wasn't my fault, really. I mean, if they leave the gate open, can I be blamed if I decided to go requisition one of those spare tennis balls?

I don't understand why they didn't want the ball back... Maybe they were just very nice people, and felt that I needed a tennis ball. I did notice that they shut the gate after I left the court, though... I guess I'm not ready to play tennis yet.

But after my excursion on to the tennis court? I was Very Good. I paid attention to Dad and got to chase the tennis ball a bunch of times. (Boring Cindy was still standing on the side of the tennis court. What is Up With That?!? I mean, she LOOKED like a dog, and her Mom said she was a Goldendoodle like me, and she even kinda sort of looked like me, but how could you POSSIBLY be someplace with all those tennis balls rolling around, and NOT chase them? Somebody should revoke her dog license. Sheesh.)

And I didn't attack any little kids. I only just looked at the one Very Little Kid that walked to the sandbox. I didn't go chase her, or try to eat her, or anything. So I totally redeemed myself today!

But did Mom get pictures of this? NO. And can you believe that Dad actually asked "Why do you take pictures? They all come out the same?" Is he kidding?!? DAD! They are NOT the same. Besides, you CANNOT have too many pictures of me. Using his logic, he shouldn't ever get any more pictures of him racing; but like that's going to happen....

*sigh*

So I'll leave you with some pictures of me playing with one of my toys.



Pee Ess. Mom and Dad say that sometimes I am "shifty-eyed" - hence the picture yesterday. I don't think I'm "shifty-eyed" - I think that I just have a wide range of facial expressions.

Wordless Wednesday

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Weekend update, and a little rebellion...

*Heavy sigh* I was a Bad Dog today. I'll get to it in a minute. But Mom says if I behave tomorrow I can redeem myself.

First, the weekend. Hmm.. Let’s see. On Saturday we woke up to a rainy cold day, and so Mom and Dad decided that this was the perfect morning to catch up on a little sleepy time.

Here I am, trying to curl up into A Very Little Ball. Mom says I get extra points for tucking my nose in to my paws.

Me and TaiChi, snoozling together.

In the afternoon, it stopped raining, and Mom and Dad decided to go on a bye-sickle ride. From what Mom says, it was Very Windy and Cool. Dad had a fine time, but Mom was struggling in the wind and came home Very Tired. So Tired that she made soup for dinner, and was in bed by 9:30.

Of course, Mom and Dad both went to bed early on Saturday because they had another car race on Sunday. TaiChi and Bufus and I stayed at home - it was a local race, and Dad didn't want to drive The House With Wheels down for a one-day, close-to-home event. It worked out okay because Uncle Larry came over a couple of times so TaiChi and I could go outside. And TaiChi is on some meds for her eye that makes her all sleepy (even sleepier than usual!), so she wanted to stay home and sleep on the Big Dog Bed. As an aside, I don't know what the official diagnosis is for her eye - Mom says the doctor didn't mention 'irisitis' but Mom also asked to vet to speak in English rather than vet-ese, so the vet might not have mentioned the actual disease name. Regardless of what it is called, they think they can cure it. So she will just keep her pirate hat for dress-up time. However, even when this is all better she still won't be able to drive. So I have told Mom to stock up on Frosty Paws!

So, Mom and Dad got up Super Early and drove to Salt Lake where they met Uncle Charlie and family, and everyone (well, except their daughter, who has her own little cart) drove The Big Yellow Car. Because Uncle Charlie and Aunt Linda are Very Fast drivers, the idea was that Dad would drive with Uncle Charlie and Mom would drive with Aunt Linda. And apparently Dad did Very Well, while Mom did pretty okay (but she hit a lot of cones....). We are working on getting some pictures, but this is all we have so far.

Dad in the Big Yellow Car.

Mom and Dad apparently had Lots Of Fun, and Learned A Lot, so they considered it a Very Successful Day.

So, now on to my disgrace. *sigh*

Mom and Dad took me to The Park today, and it started off fine. Much chasing of the football:

And then, well, and then I got a little, ah, distracted...

I decided that the little kid playing in the sandbox was Far More Interesting than returning the football to Dad in a timely manner. And when I went to visit the little kid a second time? Mom and Dad decided that if I couldn't do what I was told (i.e. bring the football back to Dad without running over to the sandbox) then it was time to Go Home.

*sigh*

Here Dad is telling me that I am a Bad Dog. *sigh*

So I am in disgrace until I can prove to them that I really CAN behave at The Park.

I will be a Good Dog in the future. I promise. It would just be A Lot easier if there weren't So Many Interesting Things Going On at The Park!

Note from Fi's Mom: She's still learning; we're a little disappointed because it looked like she was making good progress on running free in the park, but she's still got puppy-itis, and so we'll work with her to stop this running off thing. The good thing was that when I went over to the sandbox, and told her to go back to her father, she did go running back to him. So there is hope! ;-) And it's not like we're going to send her to bed without her supper!

*kissey face*

-Fiona the Disgraced....

UPDATE - Okay, so I am out of the dog house, so to speak. Mom and I had a good play session in the backyard (even though Mom can't through a football To Save Her Life!!! *ahem), and I was on my Very Best Behavior. And I've been sucking up to Dad all day, so I have been forgiven! ;-)

And even though we don't have any pictures of Mom in the Big Yellow Car from yesterday (we're getting some, we just don't have them yet..), here's a picture of her from last weekend in Idaho, before the car broke... Just so you don't think Mom sits on the sidelines...

And yes, I think that IS a cone under the car...

Picture-less Friday

Okay, so maybe Mom will get a REAL post up soon, but in the meantime, here's an update:

1) My Granny is out of the hospital (YAY, Granny!!!), and it sounds like she is doing much better. I am certain that all of your healing thoughts helped her immensely. She says thank you, BTW.

2) TaiChi had to go to the vet, two days in a row. A few days ago she started being all squinty-eyed, and since she didn't have her pirate hat on, I knew she wasn't playing Pirate. Our regular vet checked her eyes, and determined that she hadn't scratched the eye, but that she had more 'pressure' in her squinty eye, suggesting that maybe she had "glaw-coma". So they suggested that she get to a vet that specializes in eyes (they've got some big long name for them, but I can't spell it), and Mom was able to get her an appointment The Very Next Day. The specialty vet checked her eyes and determined three things:

a) she didn't have "glaw-coma" (Yay!)

b) she does have an inflammation in the middle and inner part of her eye, but they can give her medications for this, even though she has heart and kidney problems, and it should be all better in a couple of weeks (Yay, again! Although I want to buy her a Pirate hat in the meantime... I may have to see what Photoshop and I can do...)

c) she has "senile cataracts" (which has nothing to do with waterfalls, I found out); this means that while she can see, she can't see well enough to drive (or read, but she's more of a teevee person anyway), so Mom has finally had to take her car keys away. TaiChi's bummed about this, but since she can't see over the dashboard in the Big Yellow Car, she's not too sad. However, since I'm not old enough to drive yet, TaiChi and Bufus and I now have to rely completely on Mom and Dad for our transportation needs. I'm not sure what I think about this, as TaiChi was always up for a midnight Frosty Paws run...

3) Mom and Dad are "taking the day off" (from bye-sickle-ing) because they are Very Tired from their ride yesterday. In my experience when Mom and Dad take the day off, I either get to go on a long hike, or I get to go to The Park. And I think today is going to be another Park day!!! I hope Maggie is there! And I saw a box from Petco come in, so I bet there might be something for me to chase in there!

Anyhoo, that's the non-photographed excitement for the day. Maybe if we go to The Park (hint, hint!), Mom will get some pictures.

*kissey face*
-Fiona, the unphotographed

Another Not-Exactly Wordless Wednesday

I went back to The Park today, and much to my great joy, my new friend Maggie (not Mollie - I didn't get a chance to read her tag closely the last time we played) was there, and we played. A lot! I really like Maggie; first we got in some good bitey-face:


and then get down to the serious business of ball chasing.

(She may win in bitey-face, but I'm faster than she is!)


But I let her get the ball. Because that's what friends do, right?

But sometimes I'd get the ball...



I think we are sisters from different mothers. What do you think?

This bitey-face/ball chasing stuff is thirsty work!
But it was a great day at the park. I can't wait to see Maggie again!


Heehee! I'm a happy dog!!!!

Oh, and I wanted Mom to save this picture for Farley's Embarrassing Photo Friday, but she thought it was too funny to wait until Friday... (Biggify to get full advantage of the Embarrassing Photo part...)
heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Pee Ess: Thanks for all the well-wishing for my Granny. And she says thank you, too! She is still in the hospital, but if all goes well, she'll go home tomorrow with lots of "ant-uh-bye-otics", and be under the watchful care of Grandpa. I'll keep you posted!