I'm ba-ack! Not that I actually went anywhere...

I know, I know, I know. I should have hung the ‘out of the office’ sign up, but, well, that was a little tough for those of us with non-opposable thumbs.


Lessee. So, the weekend. As I already mention, I had (with apologies to Arlo Guthrie) a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat, and slept most of the rest of the day. I went hiking a few times, but no place spectacular – pretty, but not spectacular. And Mom didn’t bring the camera; it was just the two of us, and well, I have no idea why that is an excuse for not bringing the camera, but whatever.

The RV park was really full over the weekend, and I met a mini-Mango; she was an English Mastiff, and weighed a mere 130 lbs. Given that I weigh 55, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to meet the Relentlessly Huge in person. I mean, it would be like a row boat next to an aircraft carrier! Anyhoo, there were lots of other doggies around (and even a cat on a leash – but it was too far away for Mom to get a picture, and she only saw him/her once), but Mom didn’t get any pictures because, well, I was having a slight case of puppy-itis, and was bouncing 17 directions at once every time I’d see a doggie. So not Mom’s fault, this time. She was doing all she could just to hold on to me. And was muttering something about how my new sister will be better socialized. Uh-huh. She’ll still be a puppy, Mom.

I did, however, spend a lot of time looking out the window at (and alerting Mom and Dad to the presence of) strangers in the neighborhood.



Which took quite a bit of time and effort.


And even required the assistance of Mr. Bufus.

The window was closed for Mr. Bufus' benefit; I don't think he'll stick his head too far out of the window, but I just want to be careful!

Mom took some time to get some more stitching stuff done. She has been working diligently on Christmas presents, and might actually get all, ah, most, erm, some done in time for Christmas. So if your Christmas present shows up in July, you’ll know who to blame.

Here's here latest project for one of my cousins...


Dad has been practicing his guitar, in preparation for his March 13th birthday gig. Mark your calendars now. I expect you all to attend. It will be on Main Street in Park City. Bring your friends! He’s been practicing so much that Mom told him that he needed to take a little break. And when he ignored her, she took the next logical step:


Heehee! Although it didn't work for too long, because Dad finally got wise and tore off the tape...

And TaiChi and I have been spending lots of quality time together.
Yeah, um, I'm not sure if there is any angle that is right for that picture!


Now I’m going to try to catch up on some bloggies before I start my next great adventure.


Oh, and I have some awards, but I’ll have to get to them tomorrow, as Mom has to get her act together before I can post them. But thank you all in advance!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hopefully you have had (or will get) some tasty tidbits from your bipeds. Me? I'm spoiled. Yeah, I know, tell you something you don't know. But I'm really spoiled. The staff at the RV park host a potluck Thanksgiving lunch/dinner thing, and they even gave Mom a 'doggie plate' for me and TaiChi! Mom is doling it out in small bits so it doesn't upset our stummies - which is fine, because it means that we get turkey for a couple of days!!!

But, since it is Thanksgiving, I think it is only right that I list some of the things I am thankful for.

First, I am thankful for Mom and Dad. Not only do they take me on fantastic hikes,


But they picked ME out of all of my siblings. Me!!! Little did I know, when they brought me home in the Big Yellow Car, what a lucky puppy I was!


I'm also thankful for TaiChi, who is the best little big sister, ever!


And, of course, Mr. Bufus, who has Taught Me The Ropes.


And the House With Wheels, which lets us go EVERYWHERE with Mom and Dad!

And I'm thankful for ALL MY FRIENDS!!! (I couldn't figure out how to add a link, but you know who you are!)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

New Hike!

Warning: this post is Very Picture Intensive. Those of you with slow internet connections should just use your imaginations. For those of you with high-speed internet, these pictures are well-worth biggifying.

Okay. So, Mom and Dad took me on a new hike yesterday. Mom has this big map of all these different trails, and trail heads and things, and decided that we would 'try' a hike that was started "somewhere" off the Dalton Wash road.

For those of you who don't know Dad, "somewhere" always makes him a little nervous. He likes directions to be a little more specific than that. Especially when the road is a dirt road that seems to go up at about a 60% grade. Mom wasn't worried because she wasn't driving!

Anyhoo, after a couple of wrong turns and a glimpse of a somewhat creepy guy camping up on the mesa, Mom and Dad found a place to park that suited them, and off we went, not having any idea as to what to expect.

At the start, it was just another dirt road. Ho-hum. I won't bother to show you more dirt road pictures, as you get the idea. We went on for a while, until I decided that I needed a drink. FYI, Dad carries my water (and his), while Mom carries the backpack that has extra clothes, food, dog treats, etc., etc.

Now even if you biggify that picture, you might miss my water drinking technique.

Note the tongue curl-age. This is so I can most efficiently drink out of Dad's water bottle. (Yes, we share. I kiss him on the lips, so it's not like sharing a water bottle is that much different. I mean, I've already got Dad's cooties at this point!)

Once we got off the dirt road, we found ourselves on a very up-and-down trail with lots of slick rock. Mom says I'm a "mountain goat". Last time I checked, I was still a doggie.

Photo-op! (Neither of my grandmothers should panic at this photo - we were no where near the edge!)
Pretty cool scenery, huh?


And then back to the slickrock. I was the trail guide!

Another photo-op! This picture is well-worth biggifying; Mom and Dad seemed to be pretty impressed with the scenery. Me? I was looking for elusive jack rabbits.


See, I told you I was the trail guide! I kept my eyes peeled for this rock markers so we didn't get lost.


Wow, there's a lot of rock here, Mom! But don't worry I'll guide you safely.


This is a 'window'. It can be created by wind or water, but we're guessing wind on this one.

HI!!! Heehee!!!

More drinking. I was interested in the pool, but Dad insisted that I drink out of the bottle, instead. Spoilsport! ;-)


Me and Mom at the edge of the world! (Not really, it just looks like it!)


Me and Dad in front of more of this 'scenery' stuff.

I really don't know why Mom says I'm a mountain goat. She might be confused, though, because she's got really long legs all of a sudden. Maybe it's an 'Alice in Wonderland' sort of thing...



Oh wait, her legs are normal again! More scenery stuff. And trail markers.

There are trails that run all over this mesa, and after looking at the mesa on Google Earth, Mom and Dad want to come back and do some more exploring. Which sounds good to me, because I like walking up and down the rocks. And scoping out the occasional rabbit/lizard. So, this was actually a pretty cool hike; I'm glad Mom found it. I can't wait to go back. And I can't wait to see what other new hikes Mom finds.

Now I'm going to go take a nap with my little big sister, because looking at all of these pictures is wearing me out!

*kissey face*
-Fiona The Intrepid

As Seen Around the House With Wheels

Mom and Dad did NOT take me on a hike yesterday. Some lame excuse about having hike 20-something miles with me in the last 5 days, and how they were tired and needed a rest, and besides Dad had “business to take care of”. What-ever! But, if it makes them less whiny happier and more energetic, then I can live with it. I mean, these poor bipeds are only operating with 2 wheel drive – I guess it wears them out faster. Me? I’m like the Energizer Bunny. But much, much cuter!

So take make up for the lack of hiking photos, I’d like to give you a glimpse into some of the activities that occur in The House With Wheels.

First, as many of you may know, Mr. Bufus has his own special dining room in the bathroom under the sink.

His private dining room is to help protect him from, ah, incursions of the canine type. Don't be looking at me!!

TaiChi is the guilty party here. She has a certain taste for cat food, and can be frequently found working her way into the Cat Cupboard. In fact, pretty much anytime the Cat Cupboard doors are open, and she's not asleep, she's angling her way in....

Yes, that little white diaper-butted thing is TaiChi, hard at work on the cat food. Note from Fi's Mom: because TaiChi is older than dirt, she's got kidney issues, and to make sure that they work as best they can, she gets fluids almost every day, and being an older dog, well, sometimes she decides that she has to go Right Away. She's old; what can you do? But we've got a lot of carpet in the House With Wheels, and the diapers save us (me) from Bisselling the carpets every day, and changing out the sheets on the bed every day. And TaiChi doesn't mind wearing them - she doesn't try to get them off or anything, so diapers it is; it makes life easier for everyone.



Note the empty wet-food dish, and the complete lack of guilt on her face? Her only issue is that sometimes she gets stuck behind the plumbing and Mom has to rescue her!


While TaiChi is up to her nefarious deeds, I am generally engaged in a much more Important Task; I am The Sentinal.

I mean, someone's got to keep an eye on the neighbors, right? You Never Know what they cold be up to!

And sometimes I like to keep an eye out the back window, you know, so I am completely aware of what is going on, and can alert Mom and Dad at a moment's notice.

Very Funny, Mom.

*ahem

Note how I have my snooter and paws out the window so I can best keep track of things. Don't worry; Dad is supervising me, so I don't decide to jump out the window and go chasing an errant rabbit...

And thus is a glimpse into the day of a Hard Working Goldendoodle in her House With Wheels.

Oh, and here are a couple of extraneous pictures pulled off Mom's cell phone, Sights From Southern Utah.

First, Big Dogs with little dog:

Apparently the little dog was on a leash being walked by the back rider on the Big Dog, but Mom wasn't quick enough with the camera.

And for those of you who want to see pictures of the Little House on the Prairie Cult People polygamists, here is a grainy shot that Mom took at Wal-Mart while trying to be all sneaky-like. Hence the quality of the photo...

Spooky stuff there, kids!

Anyhoo, on that note, I'm going to take a nap until Mom and Dad decide that it is Time To Go Hiking.


*kissey face*
-Fiona

Wordy Wednesday

I may have to put Mom back on warning (we went on a hike today, and due to a little mis-communication, Mom didn't bring the camera) as I met some Really Big Dogs (note from Fi's Mom: they were horses) - I even got snooter-to-snooter with one of them, and Mom didn't get any pictures. *sheesh* But, we know where they live, and I hope I can go see them again. (Assuming that we can find a path to the horses that doesn't involve barbed wire - don't worry, no accidents - and burrs.... Otherwise, we may have to seek out other horses.)

However, I'm not ready to fire Mom yet, because she and Dad have been taking me hiking almost every day; and decent hikes, too. 4-5 miles every time, and Dad says we'll probably start going on longer hikes. I like the hikes because the scenery is great, and I feel Very Sleepy in the evenings. Which may be part of Mom and Dad's Plan. But that's okay, because any day that includes hiking and napping is a Good Day in my book.

Today Mom took Mr. Bufus to the vet for a follow-up on his bladder infection, and he has been declared "all better". Not that it was life-threatening or anything, but I know that he's glad that he doesn't have to take those icky anti-biotics any more!

Mom say that tomorrow we are going to go to a totally new place to hike, but here are some pictures from a hike we did yesterday; it was the same place as the last pictures, but we went further, and it is Really Pretty there!


I prefer the up-hill side of the trail! ;-)

Perfect water break - my servant gives me water, and we've got a great backdrop to boot!

I don't know why this picture prompts Mom to say, "You are such a Retriever!" Just because I like to pick up sticks here and there....

Livin' life on the edge!

Nappy time!

Again, we are going someplace totally new tomorrow - not that I don't like this hike, but I can't wait to see more of this scenery stuff!

BTW, Mom wants to apologize for not helping me keep up with bloggies; she has been working on Christmas presents for people, and that has cut down on my bloggie-reading time. She tries to catch up here and there, but you all type so much! ;-)

Here is one of the presents she has finished. She's got piles more to do, though!

*kissey face*
-Fiona, The Intrepid (I don't know what that means, exactly, but Mom and Dad say that whenever they take me on these hikes!)