Happy Labor Day

Labor Day is a bit of a big deal in this area. There is a parade and people take it pretty seriously. For the first time Dad and Mom saw people putting out chairs the afternoon before. I guess they must be expecting large crowds. Mom wrote an article for her education blog about the parade and it has been getting hits from around the state and even from surrounding states. She had no clue it would be that popular. She wrote it for family and friends, since the local paper can be hard to access online. She wanted to make the information available to people who might want it. It was also a good place to send people, instead of trying to pull out the paper to find the information again. Mama is honest enough to admit her blogs are often like extra storage units for information she hates to lose.

One of our favorite relatives is coming to visit today. She has no problem spending time giving us lots of attention and playing with us.

We hope all of you have a happy, fun, and safe Labor Day.

Happy Anniversary Katy

It all started with an email. While actually it really started when the new neighbors rescued a cute black lab and Bailey realized just how lonely he was as the only dog in the house. He so badly wanted a playmate and he was not allowed to play with the new dog next door. Mom felt so bad. She knew Bailey needed a brother or sister in his own home to play with, but she had to talk Dad into the idea of bringing home another Sheltie.

Mom agreed to not pursuing a puppy, but an adult dog. Dad thought about it and agreed. Mom sent in the paper work to the New England Sheltie Rescue. They expected a considerable wait time before a dog would be available and they were OK with that.

However, an email arrived almost immediately telling them about me and they jumped to reply. They were going to have a new dog for Labor Day. I had no idea that people were coming to take me home. I was at my foster home playing with my foster brothers. They were fun. My foster Mom was nice and gave me tons of cookies. In fact, for a long time that was the only word I responded to until I moved in with Mom and Dad.

Mom was surprised when she realized this was Labor Day weekend and thus the anniversary of my arrival. She says she cannot believe it has been a year. I can tell, though. I finally claim toys as my own. I demand attention from Dad and know I will get it. When we get in the car, I no longer think I am leaving forever. I am home.

Our Weekly Book Review: The Celery Stalks at Midnight

We warned you about veggie gardens and after listening to another of Mom's library audio books The Celery Stalks at Midnight we have even more proof of the danger of veggie gardens. Our friends from Howliday Inn are back and as usual facing danger. A Vampire bunny has been turning the family veggies into zombies and Chester and Harold must attack the veggies with toothpicks to put them to rest. Vampire hunting is not as easy as they make it in the movies. Toothpicks are not as strong or as easy to use for animals as people might think.

Chester and Harold are reassured by the end of the book. We, however still think this book supports our theory that veggie gardens are dangerous to humans and animals.

Told to Stay in School

I thought I had found my doggy career as a plumbing assistant. However, I was told to stay in school. Since I am not crazy about water, being a full time assistant would not be a good career choice. I am crushed, but Mom and Dad are trying to tell me they could not do without me being around all the time. I was so sure I had finally landed the job after my great work during this latest flood. However, they do have a point. What would Mom and Katy do if I were off riding around doing plumbing jobs while they needed me?

The plumber's own dog might also get a bit upset if she was left out of the business for an outsider. Since this house seems to have its share of issues, I guess I will have to use my talents when he visits. After all, every job needs a supervisor and who better than a Sheltie.

Zooming After the Storm

It was so wonderful to wake up to light and sun yesterday and today. Mom and Dad were busy cleaning most of the day, but Dad took time to throw the ball and in the clean up located a forgotten soccer ball.

Grandma called us to tell us that we actually did not get the worst of the storm. One family member had a tree crush a car and part of the house. Another had a bigger basement pool at 22 inches and did not yet have power or a friend with a generator and pump. Mom's Aunt across town still does not have power and reports are that it could be a while before it comes back. While Mom and Dad are still waiting on the hot water, they feel a bit better about their situation.

We hope all of you are recovering from the storm. Please stay safe.

Howliday Inn Our Weekly Book Review

As if we weren't already afraid to go to the kennel, Mom decides to bring home Howliday Inn for us to listen to as an audio book from the library. From our experiences, we knew that the kennel is a terrifying experience. We much prefer our daycare provider's house for our overnight stays. However, there have been times when Mom and Dad have had to leave us at the Vet's kennel.

We thought we had it bad until we read about Howard and Chester's adventures at Chateau Bow-Wow. Chester renames the place Howliday Inn. They believe they have discovered werewolves and dognapping.

This story even held Bailey's attention, as he wanted to know if the animals survived their experiences at the kennel.

Mom is listening to the next book in the series which we think will help us prove vegetable gardens are dangerous. We will review it next week.

Wordless Wednesday

Humans do Not Understand Routine

Mom left home this morning. Mom almost never leaves home during the week. This just got the day off to a rough start. She said she was visiting the human vet and would be back much later because she had to travel to the big city, not the small town human vet. However, she promised the upside was that Dad would work from home the rest of the day. This was disturbing enough.

However, we finally get Mom and Dad home and think we are going to have some fun family time and strangers come. They have to check on some stuff at the house. Mom is thrilled because this person may have a solution to the snake problem. I happen to believe Mama is crazy. She moves them out of their comfy zone and they will just be more open about scaring her to death. The last thing she wants is to watch snakes relocate. Can you picture Mama watching as the snakes move across the lawn looking for new homes with snake real estate agents pointing out the best locations? Get hospital room ready now, Mama will need one. We are not snake herders even if they are harmless garter snakes.

Helping Mom Crochet

We all must do our part, but helping Mom crochet is not my favorite thing to do in the world. I think I am far too important to be used as a chart holder. However, Mom insists if I am going to take up the space she is working on that we are both going to have to adjust to working in tight spaces. I must confess I thought if I made it too challenging she would stop crocheting and play with me. Mom is more stubborn than I expected. She said I made a great chart holder. I was not amused.

Dad thought it would be amusing to catch my humiliation on camera and now all of you get to share it on our blog.

Weekend Plans

Last night Dad and I went off to see a concert on the common with Grandma and Grandpa, while Katy and Mom stayed home. Dad loves the local outdoor music scene and it is a chance for Grandma and Grandpa to have some time with their son. Mama is not so crazy about the bugs in the park. She is good for about an hour and then gets uncomfortable. So, she sends Papa and I off with plenty of water and we get to enjoy the show. Katy is still not crazy about crowds and strangers that approach her without any warning. She and Mom stayed home and watched DVD's Mom had borrowed from the library.

This weekend Mama and Papa are headed off to visit the Museum of Science with Grandma, Grandpa, and one of the smaller humans. They are taking one of those loud trains. Normally I would be insulted at being left home, but this requires a long car and train ride. I am thinking Katy might be right this time. It will be more comfortable in our air conditioned home.

Katy and Bailey's Book Selection of the Week

Katy was getting a bit impatient after last week's vacation from books on CD. She likes her morning story. Bailey is very specific about the stories he finds worthy of his time. He prefers TV to audio books.

While Katy and Bailey both disliked the movie versions of Harry Potter, Katy really enjoyed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was busy working on a swap project that needed to be mailed this week, but Katy insisted on poking me every time the story stopped.

Bailey continues not to be a Harry Potter fan. Movie or audio books versions still cause him to vacate the room.

I am curious about what Katy found attractive about the story.

Wordless Wednesday: Socks the Best Recycled Toy

Mom and Dad Visit Historical Lexington and Concord

Mom and Dad were off seeing the state with Grandma and Grandpa yesterday and even forgot to send Sugar a link to his birthday greetings. Mama apologizes to everyone and promises to work on catching up her commenting, next week. With Dad on vacation, it has been rather busy.

Mom and Dad went off to visit the historic sites associated with the Battles of Lexington and Concord yesterday. Oddly, the main place was in Lincoln, not Lexington as Mom learned when she started researching the federal park system. Something else Mama learned as she had thought they were state parks, they are in fact Federal National Parks. Poor Mama, she may know her history, but she is lousy with directions and guessing at federal and state jurisdiction over parks.

When we heard the word park, we thought this was an opening. However, Mama explained there would be musket demonstrations and thus not dog friendly. Later we also heard her mention that not all the sites were dog friendly, although they did see some dogs. Perhaps a walk by the bridge at some point would be an interesting historical education for us. We do not have to visit the visitor centers. We can just soak in the history like the other dogs that were there visiting. Dogs can appreciate history, too.

Resting Tuesday

Can you believe after leaving us all day that this is what Mom and Dad think today should look like for all of us? Today is our day with Mama and Papa and we plan to make the most of it, once we can get Dad out of bed.

They have more Grandma and Grandpa trips planned for the week, but let's face it Grandma and Grandpa have more energy than Mama and Papa. Our humans need rest between relaxations. So today is resting Tuesday. The weather will determine what tomorrow brings. However, we have a special post prescheduled for tomorrow.

Mom and Dad Went to Rockport and All We Got Was

Nothing. Can you believe it????

Dad has not uploaded our new pictures so you will have to miss your Sheltie fix.

Mom said she tried to find us a treat at the dog botique store, but she has seen better selections at the dollar store. She was so disappointed. She got great deals for so many people, but nothing for us because the stuff was just not worth it. They had nothing we would have liked.

Mom did get a cool Sheltie Pewter key chain. So we know she was thinking about us. She is going to get Dad to take a picture of it later. It is formed in the shape of a Sheltie on one side and has the characteristics of a Sheltie listed on the other. The woman had no trouble selling Mama on the deal.

Mama and Papa are home tomorrow, but have plans with Grandma and Grandpa for Wednesday that depend on the weather. They will owe us big when their vacation is over.

Sleep the Final Frontier

These are the voyages of the SS Sheltie whose only mission is to find entertainment, protect the frontier, enjoy life, and to keep Mama and Papa awake while doing it.

Our latest experiment on sleep deprivation has some rather unexpected and unwelcome results. Subjects Mama and Papa have not been happy with our late night and early morning house explorations during storm situations.

This morning subject Papa actually placed Katy in the crate after she ran wild during a test of her physical agility that required her to leap in the dark on the bed. Her landing was off and subject Papa was not pleased with the outcome.

It appears our voyage here to explore the wild weather phenomena know as thunder has had unexpected side effects that we cannot seem to control. We do notice that while we seem to have no adverse effects from these night and early morning excursions, our subjects do seem to be exhibiting crankiness, a need for more sleep, and less enthusiasm for long walks. There will be more on our research to come later faithful readers. We are looking for a shady spot for a nap.

Doggy Doggy Quite Contrary How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well the flowers and the veggies are doing well.

Mom was so excited to make her first fresh eggplant parm. Dad walked in the house and was thrilled at the smells coming from the kitchen. This is unusual since Dad is the real cook in the family.

The tomatoes are starting to come in and Dad thinks it is funny that Mom thinks they taste like tomato candy.

Dad told us we have been doing a good job with critter control that is why he and Mom have such good stuff to eat. It is nice to be appreciated.

If Dad ever stops flying, we will post some updated pictures.

Hair Explosions

Mom and Dad have been pretty good about keeping up with our hair grooming. Part of the reason for their vigilance is we have been getting attacked with flower missiles and we have to be cleaned up from those unwarranted flower attacks that leave us with sticky flower weapons (Mom calls them seeds) that stick to our fur. It is rather painful having those sticky things removed. It is only because we have such a thick coat that they do not scratch us as they do Dad’s legs.

However, the last two weeks it has been hot and rainy and we have not been patrolling the hostile flower areas as much and therefore have not triggered the automatic hair brushings. Dad has been traveling and then Mom and Dad have been taking trips with Grandma and Grandpa. When Mama caught Katy rubbing the porch rails and me scratching she asked Dad how long it had been since the last brushing. She was very upset to realize it had been two weeks.

That is when Mom went to work and got out the brushes. There was something like a hair explosion when she started with the comb. White hair puffs just took flight. Dad says I have never done anything like this before. It could be I have never hidden from the hair police that long. Mom said it was like watching kids shoot off hair fireworks into the air. The hair was flying everywhere.

Katy of course being a princess did not shoot off fireworks. She tried to turn Mom into a Sheltie. Mom was covered from head to foot in Sheltie hair. Her hair does not explode into the air it drops and clings. No bursts of black and white hair for her, she just left hair covering everything in its path.

We thought we were done Saturday, but Sunday the brushes were back. There were no hair explosions this time, but lots of more of our hair gone. Katy did not have nearly the torture I did and it has been just the same amount of time. She claims it’s her princess qualities that keep her hair controlled.

We have another session scheduled for tonight. Mom says it is one of the duties of having beautiful Sheltie hair.

Doggy Rain Dances Work

Can you believe Mom and Dad were planning on an Anniversary beach trip right after Dad got home from a business trip? Really, leave us alone to go to a non-pet friendly area again? We think not and puppy prayers were answered. It is an icky day and we have Mom and Dad all to ourselves. We did hear Dad mention something about rescheduling. Not sure what that means.

Perhaps we should have been more excited when Mom was trying to find dog friendly beaches. Just because we are not excited about water does not mean should give up trying to find a place we can go.

We are still trying to figure out what Anniversary is and why Mom and Dad would plan a special day without us. What could be more special than a day with us?

Papa's Home and Mama Gets to Sleep

We have no idea why Mama thinks she can sleep while Papa is gone. It is far too stressful to sleep. Yesterday the thunder and lightning did not improve the situation and Mama brought out the Through a Dog's Ear: Music to Calm Your Canine Companion, Volume 1 and Bailey and I finally dropped off to sleep.

While Papa falls asleep to the music, Mama does not find the music all that sleep inspiring. She was up and grumpy. She seems to think that not sleeping for two days will do that.

We all were thrilled to see Papa though. Katy finally slept through the night, letting Mama get a real night’s sleep. Mama is still pretty tired this morning, but much less cranky.