Of Quilts and Class and Haircuts and Things

We've had quite the busy weekend.  First, it started off with a box from our Granny and Grandpa.  Technically the box was for Mom and Dad, but since the gift inside starred US, it is totally relevant to this bloggie.  Granny and Grandpa had been talking about making a quilt for Mom and Dad for Christmas, and Mom was happy when it arrived (Christmas is fluid when it comes to hand-made gifts).  But she was totally blow away when she opened the box and saw the quilt.

That's not exactly the best picture, but we wanted to give you an idea of the size of it.  Because it turns out that the quilt has pictures of us!  (And TaiChi and Ben and Billy and Bufus, because they are always with us.)  Grandpa got pictures from our bloggie and printed them on fabric and they were included in the quilt, along with pithy comments.  Check out some of them!

Me as a wee pup, hanging out with TaiChi the Wise

The upper left picture is me checking out Abby on her first day home.

MangoMinster immortalized forever in our quilt!

More pawsome pictures and stitching

We were all totally blown away by this - how cool is it?  And for Granny and Grandpa to put all that work into finding meaningful pictures and putting them in a quilt is beyond thoughtful.    I'll tell ya, we were all deeply touched by Granny and Grandpa's Very Cool quilt!  Thank you so much!!!  We'll treasure this always!

The next excitement was doggie class.  It turns out Jessi (the Turkey Hotdog Lady) is training a dog trainer for another Petco, and we were to be some of the trainer-in-training's first actual doggies.  Poor kid!  Apparently we are 'tough' because while we are very well-behaved, we're also totally spoiled; we get tons of attention at home, so we aren't actively seeking out human affection, we are free-fed (we always have kibble in our dish, to eat when we are hungry), so we aren't used to 'working for food' (we leave that to Mom!  Heehee!), and we have tons of toys, so we don't get super excited about new toys.  Jessi knows how to stimulate our mentals, but Riley the trainee was in for a bit of a challenge with us.

Hi.  Um, so you want us to do what today?

Dangling treat ball?  Okay, we'll pretend to be interested.

We actually had a good time with the trainee - we played hide-and-seek, we demonstrated our loose-leash walking skills, and we gave the trainee a chance to try to engage two doggies who are not easily amused.  (We actually ARE easily amused, but in a 'bitey-face on the bed on top of the humans' way, not in a 'here's  new toy' sort of way.)

Of course, after class, we spent time amusing ourselves in the manner we know best - frisbee and bitey-face in snow!

And then today, after some more frisbee time

Mom decided it was time for Abby's haircut.  All because Abby had taken to flopping down in the snow every few minutes when she got hot!

So, Abby got the same 87 hours of torture, ah, treatment I got last week - brushing, bathing, drying, brushing and grooming.

Here is her 'before' picture.

Cute, but furry.

Here are some 'action' photos...  Apparently Abby is Not Took Keen on having her face, feet, or front legs groomed.  However, Mom just cranked up the music and kept the HBO words to a minimum.

Abby not looking like a happy camper

Note Mom's grim determination!

And then the finished product...

Not perfect, but as our Granny would say, a man on a fast horse wouldn't notice the imperfections.

For those of you who are worried that Abby might be cold now that she is nekkid again, I can assure you she is very comfortable without all those extra hairs.

And I had to make sure she was still bitey-able.

Yep.  Still bitey-able.

And finally, in case you were worried about the paucity of photos of my pretty face, I won't leave you disappointed.

Heehee!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the (newly shorn) Hippobottomus

Abby's First Hair Cut

Heehee! Abby got her first haircut over the course of yesterday and today. It took two days because her little puppy brain couldn't handle the excitement of having her entire body washed and trimmed at once, and when they got to her face, her brain exploded. Or something. So they called Mom to take her away and bring her back again today. Hah! She is Such. A. Spaz!

Anyhoo, here's her picture from yesterday, before they cleaned up her face.

And now?

Hahahahah!!!! Look at that snooter!!!

Here's a side-view, so you can get the full impact of her haircut.

Teehee!

Um, Fi, my dear? She looks an awful lot like a little you.

Me? Nope. No way, Mom. There is No. Way that Abby looks like me.

Yes, you do.

Oh crap. You're right, Mom. I've got a mini-me! Good thing she's cute.

And maybe she does kinda look like me.

Yes, she does, dear. She looks like your, erm, how can I say this? She looks like your sister!

Good grief. She does. All I can say is that it's a good thing I'm so good looking! Teehee!

Hmmm. Sisters from the same mother?


Oh wow. This is just Too Weird. I've got a sister. That looks like me. Wow.

She even is starting to do snow zoomies like me....


Seriously. This is just too weird.

Now, speaking of haircuts, I know that I mentioned that TaiChi is pretty much bald after her haircut. Well, lemme tell ya'. This girl has the life! Because she doesn't have much (read: any) hair, she gets to wear a sweater all the time, and (and this is the best part!) Mom set up the heating pad on the bed and covered it with a towel, and turned it on low, so TaiChi has a nice warm spot to get all snuggie in. Being 5,000 years old clearly has its benefits.

A happy, snoozling TaiChi!

On a final note, here's a picture from the "It Should Be in National Geographic" files.... (My little sister is becoming not so little...)



*kissey face*
-Fiona

Wordless Wednesday, Part Deux, sort of

It's only 'sort of' because it's not wordless. See, today, TaiChi and Abby had hair appointments (me? I'm still pretty short from my experience at the grooming salon that had never seen a poodle or poodle mix before), and Mom was planning on doing a wordless "before and after" photo session. But, well, there were a few spanners thrown in the works. First, it has been snowing All Day, and so getting before and after pictures has been a bit of a challenge. And then Abby's hair appointment isn't 100% finished. Her little puppy brain was about ready to explode before they got to her face, so while she is groomed from the neck down, her face is still long and hairy. (I know that some people like that look, but Mom and Dad wanted Abby to have a clean face, so they could see what they were getting under that fluffy puppy suit of hers.) Abby has got to go back tomorrow to be "finished". And. Well, TaiChi is not sure that she's ready for photos yet, as she's buried under blankets. She's been going bald for a while, and where she wasn't bald she was fairly matted. So.... Her hair cut pretty much consisted of shaving her bald (Mom hopes that she'll grow some hair back), and since it has been snowing all day, it's pretty cold, and even with a sweater on, TaiChi gets cold pretty easily (because she's basically skin and bones). Hence the being buried under blankets since she got home.

Soo.... You'll have to wait for some photos of their new looks.

However, as I mentioned earlier, it has been dumping snow All Day. Which means that there is an open invitation for all of you snow lovers - come visit and get your snow fix; it is supposed to snow through Friday morning. And for those of you who don't like snow? Be happy you don't live here! ;-)

Actually in that photo you can kind of see Abby's new 'do.

Deep-snow zoomies.



Of course, for Abby, the snow is much deeper...

Happy winter, spring!

*kissey face*
-Fiona, the Queen of the Snow Zoomies