Snow and Stuff

Yay!!! We are finally getting some snow!!!

The Little Monster My dear little sister Abby is even starting to get the snow thing down.


(Obligatory cute puppy picture.)

Now, on to some less exciting news.

Mom’s been having a hard time posting about this, so I’ll try for her. After several days of eating quite well on her steak-added diet, TaiChi’s appetite dropped off to one meal a day, and then went down to just being hand-fed yummies, and then yesterday and today she hasn’t wanted to eat anything, so Mom has been sticking peanut butter in her mouth, so that she’ll eat something. In all other aspects, TaiChi is comfortable, she’s going outside (well, on the porch) when she needs to, she drinks water, she takes on fluids, she’s not throwing up, but she’s just not interested in food. Needless to say, the long-term prognosis for this isn’t good, but for the moment, TaiChi sleeps comfortably, and seems to be happy being next to Mom. We’ll keep you posted on things, and as Mom keeps reminding herself, TaiChi has had a very long life (she could be 19 or older – her age is a bit of a question; she’s 18 at the minimum), and has had kidney problems for several years; it’s Mom’s good care of her that has kept her as healthy as she has been for so long. I know that Mom feels very lucky for having known TaiChi for as long as she has, and I agree with her; Abby and I are very lucky to have TaiChi as a big sister.

Sometimes TaiChi uses me as a pillow! :-)

*kissey face*
-Fiona

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

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.