I guess I can put away my Ark plans. For now.

I don’t know WHY Mom wouldn’t post for me this weekend (I’d do it myself but the keyboard doesn’t seem to work well with my fingers/toes). I mean, it’s not like she DID anything this weekend other than grumble about the rain (I started to build my Ark, but then I saw that the weather was supposed to get better starting today, so the Ark is on hold at the moment – luckily I was still drawing up plans, and hadn’t gone to Home Depot to get the materials yet) and watch some silly program on teevee where people in funny looking pants beat this poor innocent white ball with sticks. Sounds rather inhumane to me, but Mom and Dad seemed to like it. They watched enough of it. And they’re still watching it today. *sheesh*

At least the sun is out. Again. Finally. I know it gets hot in Arizona, but one thing I have to say – there was plenty of sun. No weeks and weeks of grey, gloomy, wet weather. And I don’t really like being out in the rain – I’m not so keen on the feeling of mud squishing between my toes. So, Mom has promised me that we will go to the park, or possibly even go on a walk. FINALLY. I have been Stuck Inside For So Long. I need to go stretch my long leggies.

Like this:




At least in the breaks in the rain, I did go on patrol for Operation Whack a Squirrel. Gotta say, those little buggers are FAST. Sneaky, too.



I was trying to find their secret lair.



But Mom did get me some ‘training tools’ so I could practice inside.


Now I’ve got to get Mom some food so she’s ready for an ‘endurance walk’. Kibble, anyone?

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Fiona's Travels, Part 1

The weather here has been very sketchy – rain and then no rain, and then tons of rain. Which makes it very tough for me to get in my daily romps with Mom. So, I decided to travel a little bit.

I got to test out my latest method of transportation: Air Fiona.

Admittedly, it is a little no-frills (They didn’t even offer me peanuts on the flight! But at least I had a window seat…), but it seems to work. Kind of.

I had been searching for beaches and sunshine and palm trees and umbrella drinks.

But the next thing I knew, I was in the Land of The Rising Sun. Maybe Starbucks serves umbrella drinks?

I had resigned myself to eating sushi when I heard high tension wires being pulled down. If you haven’t heard it before, it sort of sounds like a guitar, but maybe that’s just me. I immediately looked at my handy map provided by the Tokyo Tourism Board to see if it could provide a little insight.

Oops.

I guess Air Fiona had brought me here for a reason!

But that pesky Japanese lizard was no match for me.

C’mon, in the Dogzilla vs. Godzilla match, did ANYONE think that Dogzilla could lose? I thought not.

But I’m still in search of beaches, sun and umbrella drinks. I’ll update you on my travels. Although it might take a while, as Air Fiona seems to need some repairs - it didn't fare quite as well with Godzilla as I did….

*kissey face!*

-Fiona, aka Dogzilla

Wordless Wednesday

Biggify for best impact.

A preview

When it was raining yesterday (All Day), I played tug-of-war with Dad. Mom got a whole bunch of pictures (which, of course, she doesn't have time to post right now because she's "Busy" - she promises that she'll get a sequence posted soon - I'll believe that when I see it!).

In the meantime, I got weighed today. Can you believe that I am a paltry 50 lbs? I thought I was at least 60 or so. I feel so diminutive. At least I've got pretty white bitey teeth. And great eyelashes! Biggify the picture to get a True Sense of my pretty eyelashes and white teeth!

More later!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Weather, and a Weird Cat and an Award

Well, Mom and Dad ended up not going car racing this weekend; the weather forecast didn’t look too good, Dad wasn’t feeling well, and Uncle Charlie (who was going to help with the ‘heavy work’ like changing tires and unloading the Big Yellow Car and stuff) wasn’t feeling well either, so they decided to not go. Which means that the ‘horse power’ mystery remains unsolved. However, there is supposed to be another race next weekend (and it is closer to home), so maybe I’ll get some answers then. Because I still don’t see any horses around here!

Speaking of weather forecast. Eeesh. It rained All Day (well, mostly) yesterday. Today Mom was crafty and took me on my walk before the storms started. Because, apparently, I was a little crazy yesterday afternoon. Me? I don’t think so. It had to have been some other dog. Either that, or it was TaiChi’s fault. She was probably baiting me. If I was acting crazy at all. Which I don’t think I was.

But it was a good thing that Mom got me out today (actually, TaiChi went on a walk, too, but because she’s so Old And Venerable, she goes on a shorter walk than me – her little legs can’t keep up with me, and she likes to take her time) because it started thundering and lightning and hailing. Eeesh.



But enough of the weather. Other than that it means that there is lots of sleepy time with Mom and Dad when the weather is bad. Which is good. If you follow my logic there.

On to other things.

Mr. Bufus.

Mr. Bufus is One Strange Dude. Don’t get me wrong – I have complete and utter respect for him. But he’s a little odd. Get this. He’s a cat, right? Well, there is some debate about whether he’s actually a cat or a very small person in a cat suit, but I haven’t ever been close enough to look for zippers, so I’ll stick with the theory that he’s a cat. And from what I’ve seen on tee-vee, cats don’t like water.

So can you explain this to me?!?



Yes. He is in the shower. With The Water Running!!!!! He will actually go to the shower door and stand there and meow Really Loudly until Mom or Dad will come and open the door and turn the shower on for him so he can get in. As an aside, at 18 years old, he has Clearly got Mom and Dad Trained Very Well. I’ve got to talk to him about his training techniques and see if he’ll teach me some of his Magic. Because I can see how his Skills would be Very Handy.

Very odd indeed.

Oh, and I got an award from Twix!

It means that my bloggy deserves to be shot. I’m not sure if that is good or bad! *grin*

Anyhoo, the rules are that you have to post it to the blog and link to who gave it to you;
choose 5 life situations that could be repeated in slow motion and explain why, and finally list twelve blogs and let them know you've given them the award.

Okay, I got the first part done.

Second: five life situations that could be repeated in slow motion. Hmm…

1. Dinner time. Definitely dinner time. Mom leaves kibble out all day (so that we can nosh if we are hungry – and because Bufus is diabetic and TaiChi is old, it is good to have food out for them in case they get the random hungries) – I only eat until I’m full, so she doesn’t worry about me eating too much. But dinner time? Canned (well…. Plastic-ed) food!!!! And usually it’s pretty tasty.

2. Playing bitey face with TaiChi. I think if it went in slow motion, we could both plan our attacks better!

3. Snoozle time with Mom and Dad. Oh. Wait. That pretty much is slow-to-no motion as it is. Oh well. It still counts.

4. Sneaking up to eat the cat food when Bufus is out of his room. Although maybe I’d get caught more if it was in slow motion. So I guess just the eating the cat food part should be in slow motion. The sneaking part should be in Super Fast Motion.

5. Eating Dingos. They just don’t last long enough. Except when Mom buys the Ginormous Dingos. But she doesn’t do that very often. I usually end up stealing TaiChi’s Dingo, instead to make it seem like it is in slow motion.

As for 12 bloggys? I think everyone I know already has this, because like Twix, I’m pretty new on the block and don’t know too many doggies yet. I’ll have to look around and get back to you on that one.

Time for some snoozling time with Mom and Dad.

Oh, but I can’t leave you without a picture of me. So here I am with my Pearly Whites!



*toothy kissey face!*
-Fiona

Quick post

I don't have much time to post right now as Mom and Dad are currently planning to go car racing this weekend and they have to get The House With Wheels ready. Although if the weather forecast "deteriorates" they may not go. Because apparently driving large horsepower cars in the rain is No Fun. As you can see, we're back to that "horse power" thing again. The only horses I have seen around here were in the groomer's backyard the other day. Maybe Mom and Dad are going to borrow some of their horses. If they go racing, I'll be going with them, and I can report back on the horses, or lack thereof.

Congratulations to those of you who recognized the squirrel on my back in the Wordless Wednesday photo!!! I had spent hours training and then on patrol on the front porch for Operation Whack-a-Squirrel, and came into the barracks for a much deserved nap, and Mom decided to be a smart-pantys and stick my toy squirrel on my back while I was napping. Note to Chloe and LadyBug - yes it is that toy with the tree and the squirrels- I love it So Much that I also have the bird house and the beehive. I think Tank should consider using it as a training device. For those of you who haven't seen it, here it is:



Another point of interest; TaiChi and I went to the groomer's on Wednesday. Our regular groomer is sick, so we went to a new place. And Mom got lost driving us there.... It was a little tiny trailer that had crates for the little dogs, and because I'm a Big Dog, I got to sit on the couch while TaiChi was beautified. Heh. When we first got there, the lady asked Mom if I was allowed on the couch and Mom just laughed and muttered something uncharitable about me being a bed hog. Me? A bed hog? I Don't. Think. So. I just like to stretch out. That's why we have a king size bed, right?!?

Anyway, here we are, tired out from being made beautiful. I know TaiChi can get a little scruffy looking at times, but WOW, she cleans up NICELY. She is such a beautiful, regal old lady.



Yes, Mom and Dad have me cut like a poodle. Which is cool. Literally. Because I can get pretty woolly. But I also like it because I think it shows off my lovely eyes and nose.

More pictures if Mom and Dad decide not to go racing this weekend.

*kissey face*
-Fiona

Wordless Wednesday

Raining Cats and Dogs

It has been raining So Much that I am beginning to explore alternate forms of transportation.

I’ve got it narrowed down to a couple of choices:


This one is good, but I’m not sure where I would park it when the floods finally subside.



I’m not so sure about this one, either, as it makes me look a little goofy. OhshutUP!

But I’m going to have to make a choice here soon, as it is supposed to rain for at least another 40 days and nights. *sigh*

At least it keeps the squirrels hidden away!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

A Busy Day

Today was a Very Exciting Day. Well, it was only kind of exciting, but it was Very Tiring, so it’s all the same in the end.

The excitement of the day? We all got a new bed today. What’s Mom and Dad’s is mine. And TaiChi’s, and Bufus’. So we got a really big dog bed. Heehee.

See, Dad is a wreck. He broke his neck a bunch of years ago, and had done Bad Things to his back throughout all of his life, and the bed that we had was starting exacerbate his problems. So, new bed for us all.

And it arrived today. Which meant that there was much barking (even though Mom put me in the Back Bedroom so that I wouldn’t supervise the bed installation people too closely) on my part. I can’t believe that she allowed these people to put the bed together without having me Closely Watch their work. Because they could have done it All Wrong. I don’t know What she is thinking sometimes.

So, once the Bed People were gone, TaiChi and Bufus and I had to inspect the work.

It passed. And for the record, that is The First Time EVER that Mr. Bufus has slept next to me like that. Which is a sign that the bed is a Very Good Cat Bed, too.

And after Bufus left to have lunch, TaiChi and I continued with some more extensive testing.

So far so good. I guess we’ll let Mom and Dad use it. If they don’t disturb us, that is.

But, if I am to maintain my girlish figure, I can’t sleep All Day.

So, I zoomed around the yard for a while.

And I was able to get some Serious Ear Flappage going.

So if you ask me, it was a pretty successful day.

Note from Mom: I actually have no idea what Fi was doing in the Wordless Wednesday photo – but I got several pictures of her like that – she was definitely holding some pose – she just wouldn’t tell me what it was! ;-)

Wordless Wednesday

A new main picture.

You may have noticed that Mom changed the picture at the top of the bloggy. I think it is a much needed improvement. Because, frankly, anything that includes a picture of ME is a good improvement. But me and a car? Now everyone is happy!

And I AM an autocross dog. When I was 9 weeks old, Mom and Dad packed me up in the House With Wheels and we went to Topeka, Kansas for the Solo Nationals. Solo is the same thing as autocross. Which is where people drive around in a big parking lot on a path marked by cones. By you aren’t supposed to hit the cones. The fastest person wins. It’s basically agility training for humans in cars.

But if you want to see more about it, you can look at the pictures below. There are lots of pictures of cars, and only a few pictures of me, though. But you can see me being introduced to car racing at a Very Young Age.

Topeka Nights - 2008 Solo Nationals - CLiff Notes Version

If you don’t see the imbedded photos, here’s the link.

There just aren’t enough pictures of me, in my opinion. And they don’t let dogs ride as passengers (good thing, too, as I’ve seen Mom drive!), because you aren’t allowed to stick your head out the window.

But Mom and Dad seem to like it. And I like walking around and sniffing things. Sniffing people. Sniffing other dogs. Sniffing tires. And watching people. Especially when they are zooming around in their cars. When Mom and Dad take the House With Wheels to local events, I have a big window where I can watch the cars zoom. It’s pretty cool, actually.

Especially now that Mom has changed the picture to one that looks Much Better than just her in the Big Yellow Car.

Mom took a bunch of pictures of me (Me!!!) and Taichi today, so I think she’ll get them posted sometime. Sometime this century that is….

Actually, she’s promising to post them soon. I’ll nibble on her toes to motivate her if she slacks off. So you can see more pictures of Me(!!!) in the near future.

*kissey face*

-Fiona

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!