The Trouble With New Bedding

The trouble with new bedding, according to me, is that it looks so warm and comfortable and perfect for nest making, and Mom is refusing to let us spend our days in her bed.

She closes her bedroom door every day, denying us access to the wonder that is her new quilt.

And it doesn't matter how much I scratch at her door, she remains firm.  I pace around the living room, jumping from couch to chair to Mom's lap to floor, giving her imploring looks, and she still says no.

What is the world coming to?  Mom isn't swayed by my sad puppy eyes!

Well, this morning I didn't give her a chance to say no.  I raced ahead of her, got on her bed, and dived under the covers.

Ah!  It was as wonderful as I'd imagined!  Even better, she didn't make me get out until it was time for breakfast.  I had 40 glorious minutes to revel in her new bedding.  It is very nest worthy.

I guess my sad puppy eyes do still work!

What I Hear

When we go on walks, I know Mom says lots of things to us.

Leave it.  Get out of that.
No barking.
Be nice.
Leave it. (That's a favorite of hers.) Drop it.

But the only thing I hear when we are walking is this:

Yes!  Walking!  Fun!  Walking!  Yes! Yes! Yes!

I'm not even embarrassed by the matching purple harnesses Sarah and I wear.  I'm just so happy to be out on the sidewalk, sniffing my world, not even knowing Mom is saying 'no' things to me slows me down.

I'm too busy thinking 'yes'!

Do I Know What Time It Is?

Do I know what time it is?  Mom, Dad, please.  The question is really do you know what time it is?

I'm dancing around, giving you soulful puppy eyes, sitting pretty and all you can say is, "Emma, do you know what time it is?"  A ridiculous question if I ever heard one, because we all know that I know what time it is.

It's breakfast time!  Like I've been trying to tell you for the last 10 minutes!  

I can barely contain myself as you slowly dish up my food, I sit but I don't want to, and now, 10 seconds later, I'm finished.  I'm going to go snoop around my sister's bowls to see if they forgot to eat a piece or two and count down the hours until lunch.

Oh, The Tummy Ache

Yesterday I was laid up all day with a sick tummy ache.  I know, I know, it was my fault for eating something I shouldn't have.  My Mom and Dad made guesses as to what it could be, but I remained mum on the subject.

It is sufficient to say I'd get in trouble if they knew what it was.

By evening, I was feeling better.  Hungry even.  I ate my dinner and then felt like I might need a snack as we watched the new episode of 'The Walking Dead'.

So of course, I headed for the kitchen garbage.  I still wasn't in tip top condition, though, and wasn't as stealthy and silent as usual, and Mom caught me.

She was not happy.  I was not happy.  I went to bed without my snack.  It was very sad.  Sure, it might have given me a tummy ache, but that is a risk I am always willing to take!

Ohmygosh Ohymygosh
     Oh. My. Gosh.
Did you see that?
What was that?
A cat? A bird? A threat to all civilization?
     No, a squirrel.
It was right here in this grass.
Here.  Sniff, sniff.  here.
     Sniff, here too.
It ran up this tree.
      This tree?
      This tree.
      Sniff, sniff.
      Yes, this tree.
Do you see it?
High up in the branches?
     No, me neither.
If I run over here and look up?
     No.  Still can't see it.
You run over here and look up.  Nothing?
You stay here and I will go inside and sit on the couch and stare out of the window at the tree.
     Okay.  We'll both go back inside and sit on the couch and stare out of the window at the tree.
          Might as well be comfortable while we stake out this trespassing squirrel.
                  Besides, how fast could he be?
Not faster than us leaping off the couch and running outside......

Oh.  He is that fast.

Caught!

In the mornings, I love it when my family makes their lunches.  Dad always drops a cracker or two for us, and while the other members of my family don't, I am always there waiting, hoping, wishing, for them to drop something too.

The hardest mornings are the ones like today, when my brother and his friends are literally scooping out spoonfuls of peanut butter and eating them right in front of me.  He knows I love peanut butter more than anything!

This morning he makes a mad dash into the dining room, with a spoon of peanut butter and tells Mom he can't eat it all, what should he do? And she told him to just set it on the kitchen counter, she would use it for her lunch.

He set it down and ran out the door to go to school.

Aha!  I saw my chance and I seized it!

And that is how Mom walked into the kitchen to find me with my feet on the counter, licking the peanut butter spoon.

In my defense, he did leave it right on the edge of the counter.  He either wanted me to have it or he was taunting me with it.

Either way, I win!  Peanut Butter, it's what's for after breakfast snack!

My Business Is Good

I consider myself to be in the business of sniffing.  I have side businesses in eating, napping, barking and sneaking.  Yes, I sneak.  I sneak upstairs when anyone forgets to close the dog gate.  I sneak into the kitchen to tip over the garbage can.  I sneak into Mom's room and make myself cozy on the pillows.  I sneak outside to  lie in wait for the mailman.

But my biggest business is sniffing, and since we've been on a walk shortage (Mom was sick and then her bad knee started behaving very badly) the times we do get out to walk, we are overwhelmed with things to sniff!

Sure, it's the same routes we always walk, but I can't tell you how many people have walked by!  Or other dogs!  Or cats or birds or I don't even know what that scent was, but it was awesome!

I'm in the business of sniffing, and my business is good!

I only wish Mom wouldn't rush us.  She keeps insisting on actually walking, when I just want to stand and sniff every single blade of grass to make sure I don't miss anything.  She says that isn't walking, but I insist it's all part and parcel of this wonderful thing called walks!