After my Mom decided that we should have a Birthday Weekend, our first activity was a nap. Naps are good. Naps with Mom are even better!
Then, after the nap, we went on a hike.
Then, after the hike, Mom told me that a box arrive. A box For Meeee!
Of course, I had to investigate it immediately! Do I look upside down to you there?!?
TaiChi and I investigated the contents, and found they met our approval.
These are Quite Yummy! Mom says that there are other 'things' for us, but she hasn't elaborated yet.
BTW, there have been some experiments with the Party Hat and the Tiara. So far? I'm not super excited about having things on my head, so Mom and Dad have had to ambush me. Very sneaky of them...
TaiChi, however, has had no issues with the Tiara (I think it's because she's been certain of her status as Queen for the last 17 years....)
And Bufus? Well, he's been Very Tolerant. He doesn't like the Party Hat, but if this isn't proof of his love for Mom and Dad, then I don't know what is!
Does that look like a Happy Cat to you? Yeah, I didn't think so, either....
More later. Mom is mentioning something about pressies!
Our day did not start out as planned (and continued to go on not-as-planned) and so the big Birthday Bash may get postponed until tomorrow. Because I'd really like Fiona to have the full go-to-the-park, hike, cake (and Frosty Paws) experience - and to do that we have to start off fairly early. With all the stuff that lasted Much Longer than it should have this morning, it is now kind of hot and she'd rather nap than hike at the moment.
In the meantime... Here's a teaser for you...
TaiChi wanted to try on her party hat last night:
Fi here! Thank you all for all the kind birthday wishes!!! I know Mom has stuff for me, because I've been sniffing at boxes, and there are some goodies. But I need to nap before I can attack the goodies. Besides, I've decided that I will have a Birthday Weekend, rather than just one day. Why celebrate for one day, when you can celebrate for many, right?!? Besides, since we are going to celebrate TaiChi's birthday, too (Mom says she doesn't really know when it is), it should be a multi-day event!
*kissey face* -Fiona the (not-so-subtle, but why should I be?) Birthday Girl
Okay. My adoring public has spoken (thank you, adoring public!), and I am making it official. Even though I am turning 1 on Friday, I will not relinquish my puppyhood until I have to. Which means that until I have to become a Role Model (perish the thought!), I will remain a puppy. And even then, I’ll probably still be a puppy. But I’ll be a Role Model Puppy!
So, I have spoken.
None of this ‘adult’ stuff for me. That speaks too much of things like ‘responsibility’ and ‘good behavior’. Bah! Bah, I tell you! Bah!
So there.
I would have a longer post but my Mom has been ‘busy’ all day today on the computer. “Doing work,” she says. Looks like she’s been taking pictures of things (not Me, BTW!!!) and making lists. I’m not sure how this qualifies as work, but she thinks it is. Real work is chewing a hole in the comforter so you can let all the poor, trapped stuffings free. Or barking at delivery men. Or even protecting the Big Dog Bed from the cat (this is a really hard task, BTW!). That stuff is work. Playing on the computer? Not so much.
Mom only got a couple of pictures of me today. Hello?!? McFly! (Sorry… I like to watch old movies!) If you are using the flashy box all day, you’d think she could get more than one or two pictures of me. But no! The nerve!
She was upstairs most of the afternoon, and so she got pictures of Mr. Bufus. (Yes, he's picked the sunniest spot in the house!
So what is a girl (or girls) to do? What else can you do? Nap.
But Mom did take me on a hike yesterday. And she got new hiking shoes (she says her old ones are falling apart - it wasn't my fault - honest!) so she's promising me a hike tomorrow.
Come ON, Mom!
We went on a new (shorter *ahem*) trail yesterday.
Here I am, contemplating the route, because that sign told me that I'd have to use my AWD mode. (Again, Mom didn't get too many pictures. She's been bad about that. She PROMISES she'll get lots of pictures of my birthday tomorrow. Or maybe Saturday, since she wants to do my party right - and I'd rather wait a day and have a GOOD party, rather than a rushed affair tomorrow.)
So I'll leave you with me as the Eternal Puppy of Doom!
*kissey face* -Fiona
Pee Ess: Thanks for all the birthday wishes - and thanks for letting me know that I don't have to give up Puppyhood! That is a relief!
Can you believe that my Mom didn’t take ANY pictures on our hike yesterday?!?What Is Up With That?!?Hello?We hike, you take pictures, you post pictures.How difficult is this to understand?How can my adoring audience adore me with No Pictures?!?
Note from Fi’s Mom:It was the same hike we’ve done the last several days, and Fi was behind me the entire time, making it rather difficult for photo ops.However, I get the hint.More pictures.Got it.
Anyhoo, since Mom didn’t get any pictures of me, I’m going to do a shameless plug, instead.
Friday is my birthday.I’ll be a whole year old.Mom says that I will stop being a puppy and become an adult dog.I don’t get how one day I’m a puppy and the next day I’m an adult.It’s sort of like telling a human, “Okay, you’re 21, you are now an adult, go act like one.”Yeah.Right.So I doubt that I’m going to transmogrify into an Adult overnight.Besides, why would I want to?!?
Anyway, I hope Mom is planning a big party for me.Well, okay, maybe a small party.I don’t really have any doggie friends here locally (the two that I know are Really Badly Behaved, and Mom and Dad think they are Bad Influences on me), so I think my party should just be Me, Mom, Dad, TaiChi and Bufus.I also think my party should have cake, and party hats and pressies.Mom, are you taking notes?I think a crown (or a tiara) would also not be amiss.I think that my day should include lots of treats, time at The Park, a hike, and possibly even a ride in a car that lets the wind blow my ears around.And, lots of pampering, of course.And maybe a chance to sneak up to the cat’s room to snarf down his lunch!And, most importantly, it should include people taking Lots Of Pictures Of Meeee!Mom!!
Yeah.So.With no pictures, I guess I’ll have Mom dig up some puppy pictures to celebrate my last days of puppyhood.
This is when Mom and Dad first picked me up (in the Corvette! Heehee! Mom had a towel on her lap so I wouldn't accidentally piddle on her or the Big Yellow Car) - we stopped at a truck stop on the way home and Dad snapped a picture with Mom's phone (which is why it is so small).
All of these pictures are from my first week at home. Being a puppy is VERY hard work!
Can you believe that I was So Little that I couldn't even get up on the couch?!?
Here I am listening very closely as TaiChi tries to teach me the ropes. Can you believe that I was smaller than TaiChi?!? She's 18lbs, and in this picture, Mom says I'm like 10lbs. (I'm about 55lbs now.) I can't believe that I was EVER smaller than TaiChi. Wow.
This is my favorite picture of my as a Very Little Puppy. I'm with my Dad, and I'm Very Happy.
And just to give you some perspective, here's a picture of me and TaiChi a couple of months ago.
I'm all folded up there, and I'm still WAY bigger than she is! I can't believe How Little I Was!!!!
Anyway, I'll post more pictures of me from the last year in the next couple of days, all to celebrate my birthday! I still can't believe that I'm going to be an 'adult'. Hah!
No hike for me today. All because Mom and Dad went off to do the car racing thing. They were supposed to be gone all day (Uncle Larry came over and let me and TaiChi outside while Mom and Dad were gone), but they came back in the early afternoon. Apparently the car they were driving broke.
Mom says that it is NOT her fault, but cars seem to Mysteriously Break around here. Lessee. She was driving two separate cars when their respective clutches had to be replaced. She drove into a ‘pot hole’ (read: the Grand Canyon) that destroyed everything in the passenger-side wheel well (struts, axle, tire/wheel, etc.,etc.). Anyhoo, if Mom says that she didn’t break the car today, I’ll believe her. *wink*wink*
Note from Fi's Mom: It really wasn't my fault - the power steering system we have in the car has, uh, issues. I just had the bad luck to be in the middle of my run group when it went. At least I didn't lose the power steering (and dump the fluid on the ground) the middle of the course!That would have made a mess, and would have sucked to get the car back to the trailer.
Apparently it shouldn't be too hard to fix the car, but it did end their day early. Which meant that they had more time to spend with Meeeee!!! So how is this bad?!?
This is the car Mom broke (the picture is from a different race last year - when the car wasn't broken!).
Anyway, Mom and Dad were kind of bummed that they didn’t get to race all day. Dad and Uncle Charlie got in 4 runs, and Mom got in 2. Mom has been grumbling and muttering something about “Stock” cars all afternoon. She’s also been fixating on this picture. I think the color would clash with my magnificent coat.
And the backseat is non-existent. How am I supposed to stick my head out of the window when there is No Real Window in the backseat?!? And yet Mom is acting like this car is a ginormous bag of Pupperoni. Humans are weird. But don't worry, I'm sure I can talk her out of it!
BTW, Mom and Dad didn’t take the House With Wheels to the race because it was close, and just a one-day event. Which is why TaiChi and I stayed at home with the air conditioning. And toys, and chewies, and the Big Dog bed all to ourselves.
And since Mom and Dad were gone, we got the teevee controllers - and watched Animal Planet rather than that silly tennis and bicycling stuff!
I did however, get to go on hikes both Friday and Saturday. And mom is promising me that we will go out on a hike tomorrow. So I guess it is okay. Even if Mom did break the car….
A hike with a view!
Hopefully I'll have some other hiking pictures tomorrow!
(Or maybe just for poodles, who, erm, sometimes need a little instruction in the fine art of chasing bouncy squeaky things. Luckily I'm only half-poodle, and my Retriever side comes out when squeaky balls are being thrown.)
Anyway, on to the fool-proof* instructions.
First, show the ball thrower that you are well-behaved (at least temporarily) and can be trusted in the park.
Second, Keep Your Eye On The Ball
Third, a good launch is important
Although there is no one 'perfect launch' Fourth, race after the ball with enthusiam
Fifth, remember to KEEP your eye on the ball
Because if you don't, well.... Sometimes you completely miss it... Which is kind of embarrassing...Especially when your Mom gets pictures of it...
If you are watching the ball, you can catch it out of the air (or at least try)!
Of course, once you've got it, it is equally important to go racing back to the ball-thrower. Ear-flappage, while not imperative, adds style points. As does using your tail as a rudder.
Because you want them to throw it again, right away!
And there you have it. Ball chasing made simple.
Did I mention that I went to The Park today? And that Dad can throw the ball a LONG way (whereas Mom tends to throw like, well, a girl...)? I really like this whole Park thing. And my Green Squeaky Ball? Best. Ball. Ever.
*I did mention that this might not work for poodles, right?!? ;-)
Ohboyohboyohboy!I have something Really Exciting to write about! Even though I didn’t get to go on a hike today.*ahem. Although I did get to go to The Park. Which is something.
Mom was “busy doing stuff” – most of which seemed to revolve around cars.I guess they need to be cleaned every once in a while?They just get dirty again, so I don’t see the point, but I guess Mom thinks it is important.
Anyway, on to the excitement.
I have my own tie!!!
As you may or may not know, Farley’s Mom is in the tie-making business.And I got to be a market-research test subject, and test-drive a tie.It was very exciting!I don’t usually wear anything but my collar (what can I say?I’m like that!), so it was really cool to wear a tie!
And guess what?!?Now I’ve got a tie name after me!!!It is The Fiona Tie.How totally cool is that?!?I’m so excited – I’ve never had anything named after me before.I’m so flattered!
And here I am, modeling it…
Cool, huh?!?
I’m very excited about being a model!!!
More later… I think dinner is ready – Mom just doesn’t realize that she’s sharing it with me!
I did get to go on a hike yesterday. In fact, we went on a really long hike yesterday. And Mom only got us lost once (well, we backtracked three times, but it was in the same section, so that only counts as getting lost once, right?!?).
Before we got lost, I got to stop and smell the flowers!
I think we didn't get lost more often (or more lost) because Mom had a map. That was mostly accurate. The section that that was marked 'Extremely difficult - caution'? They weren't kidding. This picture doesn't do it just justice, but the 'red' section was about 300 yards long, super-steep (luckily I've got all-wheel drive when needed), and over-grown.
Trust me, this doesn't EVEN give you an idea of how over-grown this trail was. Or how steep it was.
I was not excited about having these bushes whacking me in the face, but Mom plied me with treats and encouragement, and kept calling me 'Fiona The Intrepid'. Which I liked. And which I think I'll have to be if we keep hiking, because sometimes Mom gets lost. Did I mention that already? At least she carries her phone with us (and amazingly she gets service) so that if we get REALLY lost, she can call Dad to come pick us up!
But it was fun. And we were out for almost two hours.
Which left me a little tired. (I think that that was Mom's plan.... Sneaky devil that she is!) As for today? I dunno if we are going out today - Mom has been 'busy'. But I'm sure we'll go tomorrow if we don't go today.
Can we go on another HIKE?!? Like now? Pretty please? Kthnks. I'll be the one waiting at the door.
*kissey face* -Fiona, The Intrepid
PS Rocky Creek Scotties, this is my tongue-sticking-out entry for the contest. (Mom says this picture shows my Retriever side - whatever that means...)
The distinguished Mr. Farley has tagged me on the Sixth Folder, Sixth Picture thing. I have a wee bit of a problem with this because when I open up Mom's Pictures folder, it sorts the folders differently than when I open up the pictures in Blogger. So, I'm going to post both. I think this all happens in part because Mom only organizes her Pictures folders by date, and not by category or anything. So this is the real Sixth Folder, Sixth Picture, by date:
This is my older brother, Ben, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last December. He had cancer, and Mom and Dad are sad that he left this world much too soon. Mom's eyes are a little red even now. He was a big, handsome guy, and a Thinker of Deep Thoughts. Mom and Dad say that there are times, with a certain hair cut, or from a certain position where I look Very Much Like Him. They wanted to have one of his puppies, but that didn't happen, so they got me, instead. I think that the Universe wanted to make up for Ben not getting the chance to be a father, by making me look very much like I could be his daughter. Which is very cosmic, but very cool. And it sort of freaks Mom and Dad out (in a good way, I think), sometimes. Anyway, in this picture, Mom and Dad had just got the House With Wheels, and Ben testing out the couch. Clearly, he approves. And I'm glad he broke the couch in - because it is Just Perfect!
Okay. Now the second picture, which is what Blogger seems to think is the Sixth Picture from the Sixth Folder (try saying THAT five times fast!).
This is from this winter in Parker. I think it was early January, during a cold spell (hence the hat and fleece jacket on Mom). I am in my favorite spot, helping her read. Who says I'm NOT a pillow dog? In fact, I'm STILL a pillow dog. It's not my fault that the pillows are So Small. Besides, I was helping keep Mom warm. Note from Fi's Mom: this was NOT exactly the most comfortable reading position, as my 'backrest' kept squirming around on me.... But she is a good heater!
I don't know what Mom is talking about. I was comfortable, so where's the problem?!?
Anyway, those are my pictures. Some time I'm going to have to go through and pick a picture from each month and post it - because there are a lot of really cool pictures in these folders....
The weather is supposed to be nice, so I think I might convince Mom to go on a hike today. Which, of course, means treats for me!
Do I look upside down to you there?!?
These are Quite Yummy! Mom says that there are other 'things' for us, but she hasn't elaborated yet.
Very sneaky of them...
And Bufus? Well, he's been Very Tolerant. He doesn't like the Party Hat, but if this isn't proof of his love for Mom and Dad, then I don't know what is!
Does that look like a Happy Cat to you? Yeah, I didn't think so, either....
