Mom, I had to make one last blog to let you know that
everything is just fine. Grandpa and I have found each other, and we are both
very happy and content. However, getting
here was not uneventful.
I had to make a deal with the devil in order to write this
final blog. He offered me either a starring role in a Disney movie, or a chance
to write a last blog for you in return for Uncle Steve’s soul. Uncle Steve said
take the deal because he was probably going to hell anyway. There was really no
choice for me; I had to say goodbye to you.
When I got to the Peary Gates, Saint Peter asked me if I had
been a good dog. I said, “Yes”. He asked if I had committed any of the 7 deadly
sins. I said, “No”. Then I goofed. I asked what the 7 Deadly Sins were. He
said:
Lust
Uh oh
Gluttony
Oh no
Greed
You can never have too many toys. I think Saint Peter will understand.
Sloth
Oh shit!
Wrath
I think I'm screwed!
Envy
Oh GOD!!!!
Pride
That's it. I'm going to hell!!!!
I looked down into the abyss, and I saw those damned basset hounds from a couple of years ago. They were chasing their tails and thinking they are going to torture me for eternity. Then I hear Saint Peter say, "It also says here that where ever you were people were happy, laughing, and they knew that they were loved." I was really confused. I looked at Saint Peter and said, "Well that's what dogs are for."
It got real quite. I was waiting for the door to open and I was going to slide down into hell. I looked up, and I thought I saw Saint Peter wipe a tear away from his eye and he waived his hand to motion me in. I was not going to ask anymore questions. I hot footed it through the Pearly Gates as quick as I could, although I did take time to stick my tongue out at the basset hounds.
So Grandpa and I are here just waiting for you. There is no sense of time here, so don't worry about us. I am worried about you though. You need a puppy to love you, so I expect there to be a Speck 2, Speck 3, and maybe a Speck 4. But remember, nobody will love you as much as Speck 1.
I know there are some people who think that Uncle Steve is my ghost writer for this blog, but here is proof that I do my own work. It's just that I don't feel very inspired right now. Life has settled into somewhat of a rut. I do my breakfast dance, and somebody feeds me. Then I sleep. I go outside for my noon duty. Then I sleep. Uncle Steve comes home early afternoon for a little walk, and I do my duty. Then I sleep. I do my dinner dance, and somebody feeds me. I go outside and do my duty. Then I sleep. I get my bedtime snack, go outside and do my duty. Then I sleep. Notice the pattern. Writing about sleeping just does not seem very interesting.
So last night I decided that I have done enough sleeping, and I wanted Uncle Steve to play. It seems that he thinks the night time is for sleeping. He actually got a little perturbed with me. Dad, thanks for letting him know about the bedtime snack. Maybe that will help me get back into my pattern of "Then I sleep". Although it might be kind of fun just see how ticked I can make Uncle Steve!
As you can tell by my picture, I am worried about you. Let Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve know if there is anything we can do.
Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are taking very good care of me. Aunt Kathy even called during the day, and left a message for me so I would know that they were thinking about me. I didn't hear it until Uncle Steve came home, because I spent the day sleeping on my little throne. (That was very nice of you to bring that over this morning. It really is quite a comfortable place to take a nap.)
Uncle Steve is as well trained as ever. He gives me one little treat every time I go outside, and he really piled on the peanut butter when I had to take my pill. I think he thought he was fooling me, but I know that damned thing is in there somewhere.
We walked down to the house and back for a little exercise, but Uncle Steve got the message that my "Uncle Steve Walks" days are over.
The only excitement for the day, and it wasn't much excitement, is that Uncle Steve carried me back into the house so I could see the two new dogs next door. I hate to admit it, but I'm getting so deaf I couldn't hear either one of them. When the German Shepard Aeva saw me, she wanted to come over and play. Then next thing we saw were here paws at the top of the fence, and then her head popped up. She went back down right away, but I was very impressed how high she could jump. If that had been a regular fence, she would have cleared it with room to spare. Uncle Steve told me she was barking to say hello, but I couldn't hear it, so I didn't bark back. I hope Aeva wasn't offended.
I hope you and Dad are doing OK! Everyone here is remembering you in their prayers.
As you can see, I'm having a good time. I was begging for food, but when I didn't get any, I went dumpster diving. I knew Uncle Steve was watching me, but why not go for it. You miss 100% of the dumpster dives you never take. It didn't matter. Just about when I thought I was going to find something good, Aunt Kathy scooped me up, and gave me lots of love and attention. I was a little disappointed I didn't get any food, but a smooch from Aunt Kathy was pretty nice.
I got to talk to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's grand daughters today. Ellie thinks I'm pretty special. (Well, who wouldn't!) She keeps saying "Cute Doggie, Cute Doggie" That is one very intelligent young lady.
I hear that I get to go home tomorrow morning. I'll try to wake up when you open the door. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve have been laughing at me that I don't hear anybody come into the house anymore. They told me that there were workmen in the house redoing the bathroom, but I missed out on that completely. I jumped one time when somebody smacked on the wall so hard the whole house shook, but other than that I've be oblivious to the whole thing.
I hope you are ready for some major barking. I know you left me with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve, but I saw what dad was eating on that airplane. You are going to owe me big time!
As you can see, I'm being well taken care of. Sometimes I sleep on the bed upstairs. Sometimes I sleep on the couch downstairs. Sometimes I sleep on the stairs in between. When I'm not sleeping, I'm barking at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve. Uncle Steve understands. When you get old, and everything hurts, you just need to bark at people.
Uncle Steve blocked Aunt Kathy in the garage with his car, so I got to go for a ride around the block to the front of the house. I wish it had been longer. Uncle Steve must eat a lot in the car, because I was finding all kinds of crumbs to suck down. The nice part about going deaf is that I bet he was yelling at me to stop, but I didn't hear a thing. (Like that would have mattered!)
Aunt Kathy showed me the picture of you and Dad on the jet. La-di-dah!!! Are they going to make you walk back? I am more than a little jealous. Don't they allow puppies (and I use the word loosely) on corporate jets? I'd even stop barking at people if you would have taken me!
OK, this is not big news, but he was supposed to help me with the blog on Monday, and I couldn't wake him up to do the damn blog. So it may be hard to tell, but the picture is me sleeping on Uncle Steve's lap Tuesday morning. That's the sun shining on my back, while my face is in the shade getting great z's. We slept most of the morning too, so that's why the blog is a little late.
There's not much to report here. It has been in the low 30's, so there is still ice on the sidewalks. It looks nice outside, but the wind makes a bit uncomfortable. I just spend my time lap hopping between Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve. They take turns going places so I'm not alone. Although yesterday I had to spend some time at our house because there were workmen in Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's house. They finished what they could on Monday morning, so I will not be left at the house anymore during this visit.
Your pictures on Facebook look really neat!!! I'm glad you are having a good time.
See you soon. Let Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve know if you want me dropped off at our house, or are you going to come get me?
Just a quick note to let you know that everything is back to normal. Aunt Jenna is pretty lively. When Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve picked me up, they had to wake me up from a very sound sleep. OK, they had to shake me to get me off the couch. Hey, I was tired!!!
I spent this afternoon lap hopping, and helping Aunt Kathy. I managed to work in a few naps too! Notice how politely I ate my dinner tonight. I'm getting much daintier in my old age.
Uncle Steve showed me more pictures on Facebook. Looks like you are having a good time.
OK, Uncle Steve came home and opened up a suitcase. I am not stupid. That means he's going somewhere. Aunt Kathy has clothes hanging in the kitchen. Aunt Kathy never has clothes hanging in the kitchen. Then, Uncle Steve calls Aunt Jenna. Am I being pawned off again? If you tell me I'm going to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's, I'd better be going to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's.
I know that Aunt Jenna will take good care of me, but nobody is as gullible as Uncle Steve.
I hope you are having a good time. I'm getting a little nervous.
Do you get the impression that I was not happy with Thursday? Uncle Steve was gone over 14 hours, and Aunt Kathy just swooped in and out to take care of my bare necessities. When they finally did come home, I was very suspicious that they were packing to go somewhere. This couldn't possibly be true, could it?
Anyway, I just used the day to catch some extra z's. I let the mailman know he had no business getting anywhere the house, and there were a few passerby's that had to be warned off, but other than that it was a very quite day.
When they did get home, they showed me that Mom was in the paper. Here is a link to the article:
What a difference a day makes! The snow finally stopped falling, both Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve came home to play with me, and best of all, Uncle Steve dropped some food on the floor. Of course I had to help him clean it up, and I was a quite thorough helper!!!
The rain stopped about 10:00 pm Tuesday night, and we got about 5 inches of snow. It didn't stop snowing until mid-afternoon. We are hoping since God put it there last night, that he will take away tomorrow. Uncle Steve says his shovel doesn't work anymore. It's not just his shovel that is broken. The city hasn't plowed out the alley either. Uncle Steve did have to do a little shoveling to get his car in the garage.
I also saw the new puppies next door helping their people shoveling their walk. I'm trying to decide how old I should let them get before I let them know who the boss of the neighborhood is. After I saw the puppies, I went upstairs and looked out the back window. Those damned basset hounds were out!!! I let them have it, but they seem to be so dumb they didn't even know they were being told off. Some breeds just should not be allowed to exist!
As you can see in my movie tonight, I have Uncle Steve well trained. Every time we go outside, he gives me a treat. Sometimes if I bark enough, he'll give me a treat to shut up, but Aunt Kathy tells him he can't do that all the time. Aunt Kathy is not as easy to train as Uncle Steve. However, I heard Aunt Kathy say that Uncle Steve is almost impossible to train. I may have to give her a few pointers.
Uncle Steve showed me you post on Facebook today. Looks like you are having a good time.
I'm sorry, but Tuesday's really suck around here. Both Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are gone most of the day, and when they get home you kind of wonder if they are just zombies. They walk around like they left their butts about 2 miles behind them. Aunt Kathy did play ball with me a little today, and I got to sit on her lap after dinner, but after that they were real dead beats. I have to wake them up to go to bed. OK, Uncle Steve did help me with the blog, and as usually he took a real cute picture of me (are there any other kind!).
Also, the weather has everyone in a really down mood. It can't decide if it's raining, sleeting, or snowing. It may be doing all three at the same time. We are supposed to have 5 inches of snow by morning. I heard Uncle Steve say there is no way in hell that he is shoveling any more. Aunt Kathy seemed to sense that she should not say anything after all the snow Uncle Steve had to shovel this year.
Hope you had a nice flight. Here is that cute picture of me.
Uncle Steve is having some difficulty with some of his fellow workers. They took down the old web site, put up a new one, and said, "If anything is wrong, then we'll just fix it later." A lot is wrong. He was hogging the computer last night so I couldn't write my blog. I am being fed and cared for, but Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve sure are busy.
Glad to hear that you are having a good time. I will be interested to hear more about the puppets. This confirms that New York is really a den of inequity!
Boy, do I look cute, or what. I am just getting better as I get older.
You need to send me over to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's more often. It is getting harder and harder to keep Uncle Steve trained. He thought we were going for a walk tonight. I try to show him that it is really a sniff and piss outing, but he just doesn't remember. I stop at every tree and try to get a good sniff and a quick piss, but he just keeps on walking. You would think after the 50th time that I tried to stop at a tree he would get the idea, but no. He keeps telling me "We're going for a walk, not a sniff." Well, if that were true, why would I keep stopping at every tree. Just once I wish I was one of those big dogs that could drag their owner down the street where they wanted to go. After about 3 blocks of eating sidewalk maybe then Uncle Steve would understand what we are really out here to do!!!!
Other than that, we are having a good time. Both Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy spend a lot of time sitting down, so I get to engage in some serious lap hopping. Uncle Steve dropped some kind of food in his Lazy Boy, but he won't let me go digging for it. He actually yelled at me when I started to claw into the Lazy Boy. Maybe they'll leave me alone in there for a little while so I can find out what it is. I love a mystery!
Well, here I am on a different bed. Can you believe I'm laying here and not trying to kill the bear behind me. It's Aunt Kathy's special bear, so I took pity on it.
It was a quiet day around here. I spent the morning hopping between Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Steve's lap. It was too cloudy to really enjoy any sun coming in the back windows. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve both went out for lunch, but they were back early so I could get back to my lap hopping. Life doesn't get much better.
Although, I'm really glad to hear you are coming back. It's nice at Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Steve's, but there is no place like home.
This picture pretty much sums our Saturday. Sometimes I was napping on the bed. Sometimes I was napping in Uncle Steve's lap. Sometimes I was napping on the couch with Aunt Kathy. Sometimes I was napping on the stairs between Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve. God, life is good. This house is just full of great places to nap. Given that it was raining cats and dogs outside, staying inside to nap seemed like the only logical thing to do.
Hope you're having a good time, because as you can see, I'm having a great time.
It was another quite day. It has started to rain, and the forecast is for rain all day tomorrow. It will be a hard job, but I will try to keep Uncle Steve's lap warm.
As you can see, Uncle Steve is keeping me in training for catching treats. He switched from the little Milk Bone treats to the little fishes, and it threw me off. I will have to get him to give me more training.
Your trip just sounds neater and neater with every message. Uncle Steve told me with the Mag Lev train they could send me treats faster than any other method that currently exists. Getting me more treats faster sounds like a brilliant invention. We all can't wait to hear more details about your trip.
You can't tell in this picture, but Uncle Steve is giving me a very nice tummy rub. It's been another quite day, so it is really important on those days to enjoy the little pleasures. I had some quality lap time with both Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve. I helped Aunt Kathy cook, without getting in trouble. I enjoyed begging for food at dinner, even if I didn't get any. We had a quick game of ball right before dinner. I still guard the house, particularly when I know the paper guy is coming. He knows this is one house that better treat with respect. I will make this quick so Uncle Steve and I can get in a quick nap before bedtime.
You log in and expect to see a picture of me, right? So what is Uncle Steve doing in a monkey suit on my web site? Well, they had something called a 3rd Degree at his lodge, and he wasn't home more than 15 minutes today. He got home at the same time Aunt Kathy was going to aerobics. They had a brief discussion about who was going to take me out, and then they were both off again. Aunt Kathy came home and paid some attention to me after dinner, but (as you know) it really takes two people to keep me entertained. I ready to give them both the 3rd degree!!!
I am still not sure who has trained who here. I have Uncle Steve trained that whenever we go outside, he gives me a small treat. However, when he wants me to go with him, he just shakes that treat box and I come running like a cheap whore. I try to hold back, but those treats are so good! Maybe Uncle Steve is not a dumb as I think he is!
Your trip just sounds neater and neater, and you can buy cheap coke. We also saw your post on Facebook. Maybe you should start running marathons now that you have been training on the Great Wall!!
It's been another quite day here. Uncle Steve works late, and Aunt Kathy goes to aerobics, so I've been guarding the house. When Uncle Steve got home, we played with my toys. As you can see in the movie, I was having some difficulty decided which one would have to suffer my wrath! We will play some more after I finish the blog.
I started to help Aunt Kathy make dinner again, but Uncle Steve asked me to play with my toys, so I stayed out of trouble tonight. I just don't have the timing down right with Aunt Kathy. I keep plowing into her feet, and she almost falls down. I can see where this might be considered a problem.
There are having another meeting tonight at Browndale Park about our new neighbor. Neither Aunt Kathy or Uncle Steve could go. We will let you know anything we find out. It sounds like the police are walking a fine line between making the neighbors happy, and getting sued for harrassment. It seems like no one is happy with this situation. The main things that concerns Uncle Steve was this guy was a Level III sex offender a couple of months ago, and now all of the sudden he is a Level II. Even the police chief did not seem happy about that.
After such a glorious day yesterday, today was sort of a let down. Everybody goes off to work at an ungodly hour, and leaves me at home to hold down the fort. Grante.d, all that entails is sleeping on the couch, but somebody has to do it.
Sometime in the afternoon, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve dash home, let me out, give me a treat, and then they're off again. When Uncle Steve got home, we have some quality lap time. As you can see above, I was trying to help Aunt Kathy cook, but she decided I was just too helpful. Uncle Steve led me upstairs with a treat, but he shut the door so I couldn't leave. What is he thinking! As you can see below, I let him know that this was just not acceptable. We spent the rest of the night with some more quality lap time.
The Great Wall sounds amazing. Takes lots of pictures for us.
If there is a doggie heaven, then I think I died and I'm there. As you can see, we started out the day in Uncle Steve's lap. He watches TV (although I'm not sure how he does it with his eyes closed), and I bask in the morning sunshine. The only improvement I can ask is that Uncle Steve get a bigger bladder. We had way too many interuptions so he could go to the bathroom.
They went shopping for a little bit so I could get some more resting in, and then we all went for a walk around Lake Harriet. It was a gorgeous day, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It seemed like half of Minnesota was walking around the lake, but I was still the cutest dog there! (At least it seems like it since so many people told me how cute I was.) Uncle Steve was paying attention to the young ladies in their really itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie bikinis, but he still got me back to the car.
After dinner, we had a web cam with Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy's granddaughter, Ellie. I got sort of upset. The baby would cry, and I wasn't sure where she was. Everybody started laughing at me. I was just trying to help!
After the long walk, this blog is going to have to be shorter. I am pooped, and need more beauty sleep.
It was another quite day around here. Uncle Steve went to a class all day over in St. Paul, and I stayed home and helped Aunt Kathy write lesson plans. She spends a lot of time getting prepared to help her students. I hope they appreciate how lucky they are.
When Uncle Steve got home, he asked if we went for a walk. Aunt Kathy thought it was sort of a dumb question given who just moved into the neighborhood. I told Aunt Kathy I would protect her, but she didn't seem to think that I would be much protection. She's probably right! I would bard up a storm, but unless he was laughing so hard he fell over, I would not be able to put up much of a fight. Uncle Steve is not happy that we feel like we are trapped in the house. This is not good!
Tonight, Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy are going to Orchestra Hall to hear Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. It is truly a beautiful piece of music, and I will keep the house well guarded. I can sound ferocious and scare people off, as long as they can't see how small I am.
Uncle Steve let me explore in the backyard, as you can see in my movie. I am not sure why I need to be on a leash in a fenced-in backyard. It might have something to do with my getting into flowers where Aunt Kathy does not want me to be. Maybe they just want me to be really safe!
Your trip to China sounds really neat. Shopping where you can't spend money sounded like a good idea to Uncle Steve. He is not sure how much that would help the economy, though.
I can smell that other dogs have been here, and in fact, there have been a lot of other dogs here. I am guessing that since the smell is much stronger closer to the post, that there have been lots of male dogs at this post. Those male dogs are so lucky to be able to mark the post so much more effectively than us females. I finally trained Uncle Steve to come home right from work, and take me for a walk. I was trying to let all the other dogs in the neighborhood know that I had been there, but Uncle Steve kept saying, "We are going for a walk, not a sniff and piss!" He obviously does not think like a dog.
I was a fairly nice day here. It was a little cool, and really windy. Uncle Steve just took me around Wolfe Park. There were a few other dogs there, but I gave them the cold shoulder. Just about everybody who walked by us to me how cute I was. So, it was just a normal walk.
Tonight, Uncle Steve and I have the Lazy Boy marked out. He has been so busy this week, he needs some major rest time.
Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are not letting up on their pace of activities, so I'm using this time to catch up on my sleep. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve both leave at some ungodly hour, and whenever they come home, it's quick take me out, quick give me food, quick give me love, quick take me out, and quick go on the the next activity. Uncle Steve had conferences at his school, and Aunt Kathy had a concert at her school. When Uncle Steve came home, he took this cute picture of me (well, at they all cute, but that's beside the point), helped me write the blog, and then we were off to bed. All this rest is making me sleepier than ever.
Your trip sounds really neat. Uncle Steve said that he may incorporate the flush button into on of the videos if he can figure that out. Sound effects can make videos very interesting!
It was a beautiful day today. Too bad we don't feel safe walking around the neighborhood anymore. We will have to wait until Uncle Steve gets home to protect us on a walk.
Thanks for sneaking around the Chinese security systems to keep track of me. Those guys should realize that nothing can keep you from finding out what the Speckster is up to!!!
I thought now that Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are getting older, they would be spending more time at home taking care of me. WRONG!!! Uncle Steve came home about 3:30, but stayed home just long enough to take me out, and then he was off to the dentist. Aunt Kathy got home about 4:30, but she had nothing but school work to do. Uncle Steve got back from the dentist right after Aunt Kathy got home, and he had to work on getting their income tax returns ready. Then both of them were off to a meeting about a Level II sex offender that lives over by the elementary school. Neither of them looked very happy when they came back. I overheard them talking about how this guy was a Level III sex offender, but his status was changed right before he moved here. The police chief told the crowd that meeting that he was going to look into the happened. It sounded like the crowd was pretty upset. Aunt Kathy is angry that she doesn't feel safe enough to take walks in the neighborhood.
Now you think they would stay home, but no. Right after dinner Aunt Kathy went out shopping. When she got home, Uncle Steve had her sign the tax returns. He was going to take them to the mailbox when I gave him "The Look!". It worked, because I got to go for a ride in the Prius. We went to the post office and I got to see Uncle Steve put the envelopes in the mail. Now he looked really unhappy. Apparently there is no return coming to them!
Finally at 9:00 pm everybody decided to stay home. I'm working on the blog, and Uncle Steve is sitting in our Lazy Boy. We will both be asleep soon!
As you can see in my video, I have not lost my touch at begging. Uncle Steve dropped some of his dinner on the floor tonight (They were all rushing too much!), and I helped him clean it up right away. It wasn't on the floor more than 10 seconds.
Hope you had a nice trip. I can hardly wait to hear what you are going to see!!!
Yesterday was a very special day. Uncle Steve and I did absolutely nothing yesterday. We just sat around, and did nothing. We got so tired doing nothing, that we didn't have the energy to write a blog. Uncle Steve went outside for a little bit to shovel snow, but when he came back in, we got busy doing nothing again. We did get out of the Lazyboy to eat and go to the bathroom, but that's about it.
Also, Uncle Steve was laughing at me yesterday. He dropped a couple pieces of my breakfast into the big water dish, and when I finished my breakfast I went bobbing for the pieces of dog food in my water dish. Uncle Steve said that he had never seen a dog put her whole snout into a water dish trying to get food. He should know by now that I will do anything to get at food. But that darned piece of dog food would not stay in my mouth. Every time I would try to close my mouth around that piece of food, that water would wash it out of my mouth. I was getting pretty frustrated. The more frustrated I got, the faster I tried to bite into the water, which wasn't helping a bit. Then with Uncle Steve laughing so hard he was rolling on the floor, I really got ticked off! Uncle Steve finally took pity on me, fished the dog food out of the water dish, and put it in my regular dog food dish. Today, he wanted to know if I wanted more food in the water? If I were a male dog, I would lift my leg right on his foot!
Here is a picture of how special I look, until you get home tomorrow.
Uncle Steve is getting soft! This is his idea of going for a walk around Lake Harriet; he walks, and I ride. As you will see below, I did do some walking, but it got cold, so Aunt Kathy told Uncle Steve to pick me up. I did not object. The wind was coming out of the west, so as long as we were on the west side of the lake, it was ok. When we got over to the east side of the lake, it was colder than the mammory gland of a female member of the occult! I was trouping right along, but Aunt Kathy that I could use so of Uncle Steve's body heat. He put me down once we got to the north end of the lake, but the wind picked up again at the band shell, so I got a short ride back to the car. I was fine the whole time, but Aunt Kathy likes to baby me. Again, I did not object. Here is a movie of me at the beginning of the walk. I had lots of energy then:
We had a fun morning sitting in the Lazy Boy, alternating between napping and reading. Uncle Steve had to get up to go talk to the repairman who came to fix the gargage door. I heard something about a spring breaking, and an amount of money that made both Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy pretty bummed out. The more I learn about this money stuff, the more I enjoy not having to worry about it. People who take care of your every need are really handy to have around.
You probably had not got back to the house before Uncle Steve was in his Lazyboy, and I was in his lap. We spent a wonderful afternoon alternating between supervising the backyard, and sawing logs in blissful naps. I think Uncle Steve can enjoy my peaceful snoring, compared to the god awful noise that comes out of his mouth. I don't know how he can sleep through that noise, but he does it every time. Aunt Kathy told me later that when he does that watching TV, she and Charlie would have to throw pillows at him so they could hear the show.
Can I beg or what? Usually this look will get me something off the table, but Aunt Kathy is awfully disciplined. As soon as we go outside, I have Uncle Steve trained to give me a Milk Bone treat, but that still doesn't stop me from trying to get something off the table. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve were going on and on about some chocolate cake they thought was really good, so I knew I wasn't going to get any of that! Aunt Kathy did open the dish washer, so I got a taste to the pizza they had for dinner. I have to see if I can't jump on a chair when Uncle Steve gets up to go get more food. He seems to do that a lot, so I will have ample opportunity to see if can't snatch something off the table.
Hope you are had a nice flight, and the weather warms up a little. What's the use of going to Florida if you have to be cold!!!
Wednesday are tough days around here. Both Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve work out after school, so they just made quick stops to wake me up, take me outside, and give me a snack. It was hardly worth interupting my nap for just that. Aunt Kathy finally came home and paid some attention to me. Uncle Steve was off being a Mason tonight. What's a mason? Is it important to leave me alone? I don't think so. He will need to be taught a lesson!
It rained all day here, so sleeping seemed like the only worthwhile thing to do. When I did go outside, I had my feet wiped when I came back in. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve seem pretty smart, but that just don't get that I hate having my feet wiped. I have given them pefectly clear explanations that I don't like it, but they keep doing it. I didn't bite Uncle Steve's hand, but you would think from the loud snap that just missed his fingers that he would get the idea! Apparently not! The next time he did it, I just looked at him like "How stupid are you?" He said that his students say he is really stupid. Hopefully it will stop raining by tomorrow.
Aunt Kathy has an appointment to get her hair cut around 5:00 pm, and Uncle Steve has parent conferences from 4:00 to 8:00 tomorrow night, so you can just come get me when you get home. I will be glad to see you. However, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are teaching me to eat at the kitchen table. I'm willing to eat anywhere you want me to eat!
Can you believe how cute I look. Sometimes it is just too much to take. I guess we all have our cross to bear!
Today's weather was awfully yucky! It was overcasting, and sort of a constant drizzle all day long. It never really rained, but everything is wet. No walk for Specky today. Uncle Steve made up for it with some quality lap time, and some play time on the floor. That's how he got this cute picture of me.
There are a lot of people working on the house next door. They were so noisy I could hardly get a nap in today. There were people coming and going all day long. Of course I had to let each one know they were being watched. Uncle Steve got me up early enough so I could tell the newspaper guy that he was way too loud when he dropped the paper. Aunt Kathy was still trying to sleep, so I barked a long time to let him know he needed to be much quieter. Uncle Steve tried to tell me that wasn't my best idea!
Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve said they couldn't think of anything they needed from New York. Uncle Steve would like you to put some kind of jink on the Yankees. Charlie, their son, really wants the Yankees to lose after they swept the Twins.
My days at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's are settling into a comfortable pattern. They feed me nice and early, play with me before they go to work, and then get out of the house so I can sleep. I occasionaly bark at a passerby, but most of the time is quality nap time. Aunt Kathy put the couch so I can enjoy the maximum amount of sun. Either Uncle Steve or Aunt Kathy comes home mid-afternoon, and takes me for a short walk. I think I have finally broken Uncle Steve of the idea of those insane 5 miles walks. They both go somewhere after that, and let me take another nap. They get home later to feed me, and give me some quality play time after dinner. Then its lap time in front of the TV or reading a book. Some of the books Uncle Steve look my like weights than books, but he seems to enjoy them. Then it's off to bed, and repeat again tomorrow. Rest assured that I am one content puppy, and am over the little twit that I through yesterday. The more I think about that bald eagle, the more I like the idea of staying safe and warm at home!
Glad to hear that you are having a good time in New York. It sounds like lots of fun.
Uncle Steve was trying to get me to talk to you. So I just sat there and looked cute. Doesn't he ever learn?
Just a quick note to let you know that Aunt Kathy came and rescued me. I can't believe you left with suit cases, and left me behind. I was really mad at you, until I found out where Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve had been. Can you believe they went to Bluefin Bay without me. I haven't decided how to punish them, but believe me, it is coming.
However, Uncle Steve did tell me a story that gave me second thoughts about going up there again. They were sitting in their room when the saw a Bald Eagle in the tree just outside their window. As they sat there, the eagle took off and circled around between their building and the lake. If I had been outside, they are sure that I would have been an eagle snack. It was one mean looking bird! OK, no punishment for Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve.
Aren't I being a good helper when Aunt Kathy was unpacking from their trip. If something had fallen on the floor, I would have cleaned up before she could bend over to stop me!
Hope you have a good time on your trip without me. Don't feel guilty at all about leaving me all alone, with no idea who was going to take care of me. I wasn't worried a bit. I know somebody who loves me would eventually come get me. (OK, I'm laying it on a bit thick, and I did sleep in the window the whole time you were here.)
We started out Sunday just like Saturday. I have Uncle Steve trained now to feed me at 5:00 am. Apparently, he needs to get up at that time for some other reason. We spent some more time in our Lazyboy soaking up the rays. Then Uncle Steve went for a long bike ride, and I took care of Aunt Kathy. She took me for a pedestrian expedition around the neighborhood. She and Uncle Steve think they can use big words like that, and I won't get excited. They should know better than that. I can pick up on the slighest clues, and nothing get me more excited than walks. (Well, food ranks right up there too!)
The bed upstairs is a great place to hold court. I can see out the back window, and hear everything much better from there. If one of those bassett hounds lets out the slighest sound, I can put them in their place.
I can hardly wait for you to come home. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are nice, but there is no place like home.
Can you see the sun on my back! Our Lazyboy upstairs is just the best place in the whole world to spend a Saturday morning. Uncle Steve sits and reads his paper, and I alternate between looking out the back window, checking on Aunt Kathy, and sleeping. Sometimes Uncle Steve joins me in the sleeping part! Maybe you can start dropping me off at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's on Saturday's morning. This is just the best!!!
Uncle Steve tried to teach me some new words today. I liked my breakfast at 5:00 am, so I let Uncle Steve know that. He kept saying, "Speck it's Saturday", and "Speck, it's the week-end." I had no idea what he was talking about. It seemed like he really wanted me to understand what "Saturday" and "Week-end" meant, but I was clueless. Suddenly this very deep, and very angry voice, that sounded a little like Aunt Kathy, said "GET UP AND FEED HER!!!!!" I got my breakfast right away.
The rest of the day was spent watching Aunt Kathy work on school stuff. Uncle Steve went for his run and was gone most of the afternoon.
Uncle Steve says you can stay a few extra days. We're doing just fine.
The weather here was very nice. It was in the lower 60's, with a bit of a breeze. Uncle Steve took me for a walk around Wolfe Lake. I think he figured out that I am getting to old to do marathon training with him. Plus, he just hasn't figured out why dogs go for a walk. He keeps saying things like, "We're going for a walk, not a sniff!", or "You can't possibly need to go again!" I don't want exercise; I want to leave my mark, and sniff who has left their mark behind. I thought I had trained Uncle Steve better than that. It is nice to be small and fit into peoples' lap, but just once I'd like to be big enough to haul Uncle Steve around and teach him what a walk is really for!
When we got home, the bassett hounds were barking in the back yard. As you can see, I put them in their place. Also, Uncle Steve has reported that sometimes there is a cat in the backyard. The cat is about the same size I am, but I assured him that no cat is any match for me! Uncle Steve is still keeping me on a leash in the backyard, just to protect the cat.
Uncle Steve is really jealous of your trip. London is one of his favorite cities. Both Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy have very found memories of Harrod's. They started to take pictures of some of the store, and a security guard appeared out of nowhere to let them know that they should not be doing that. Uncle Steve seems to remember that Stonehenge wasn't too far from London. He really like that.
I'll be sure to take care of Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve. They have a quiet weekend planned, so I'll give them lots of tender, loving, care.
I am not to fond of Thursday. Uncle Steve works until 6:00 and Aunt Kathy had an Open House at her school. She came home at 4:30 to let me take care of my duty, but she was off again. Uncle Steve got home at 6:30, fed me, played with me (as you can see in the video), and then we went upstairs to watch TV. A commercial had a bear in it, so I just flew off of Uncle Steve's lap to get that bear. Uncle Steve yelled really loud, and then started talking funny. The bear was gone before I could get it, and Uncle Steve recovered fairly quickly. That was the excitement for the day.
Twitter is kind of fun. When there is some quick note I want to send you, Uncle Steve let's me use his cell phone and you know just what I'm doing. That could be good, or bad!
It's been a slow day here today. As you read on my treats, Uncle Steve went for a run inspite of all my begging. Aunt Kathy came home shortly after Uncle Steve left, but then she went to Jazzercise. For old people, they sure are active.
When they were finally both home, they called their kids and talked on the phone. There was a baby crying in the background!!! I sort of made me nervous. I don't remember hearing babies cry before. I didn't like it. However, while they were on the phone I was able to get into the garbage. Uncle Steve caught me before I was able to eat anything. I keep forgetting how quick he is for such an old guy.
Uncle Steve felt guilty, so we played catch the treat for the video camera. I like this game. I tried to convince Uncle Steve I needed more practice, but he saw right through my idea.
Sounds like you are having a great time. Are you going to take any train trips. When Uncle Steve was there, he took the train to Wales, Brighton Beach, Dover, and Cantebary Cathedral. Cantebary Cathedral was Uncle Steve's favorite. He was just wandering around, and got to hear the choir practice in the Cathedral. I think Uncle Steve kind of teared up when he told me about it.
You know, you can tweet me too! See you on Twitter!!
Mom, Uncle Steve showed me how to set up a Twitter account, and now I can tweet. My user name is specksterthedog. Can you believe that there is already another speckster out there tweeting? I had only been out there tweeting for an hour, and I have 4 followers. Uncle Steve has been tweeting for 2 weeks, and he doesn't have any followers. Apparently a name like mathjarl scares people off.
Now finding my tweets is not as easy as you might think. First, you have to go to http://www.twitter.com/ and set up an account for yourself. You need to provide an email addresss, so Uncle Steve always sets up a new email account at gmail.com so his regular Email doesn't get clogged up with Twitter stuff. You can now send me Emails at specksterthedog@gmail.com. You can find gmail.com at http://www.google.com/. Once you have a twitter account, you should be able to search for "specksterthedog", but for some reason this doesn't work all the time. The method that Uncle Steve found that does work is to create a contact in your new gmail account for specksterthedog@gmail.com and mathjarl@gmail.com (that is if you want to see all the boring math stuff Uncle Steve does.) Then when Twitter searches your gmail for users it finds us. Then you can follow my exploits on your cell phone!!!
Other then learning how to tweet, we had a quiet night. Uncle Steve took me for a short walk around Wolfe Park. I was a little worried when we started out, but Uncle Steve took pity on me.
Hope you have a nice trip to London. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve really liked the Crown Jewels and Harrods! How you can understand the way they talk.
I feel like I have been desserted!!! Uncle Steve did not get home until 6:30, and we have not seen Aunt Kathy at all. I was just like a little camel, and held my water, but boy was I pissed when Uncle Steve finally did get home. He took me out, fed me, and then we walked done to our house to get the mail. Then he left again!!! What is he thinking? Well, he said he was just going to get his dinner. I said, "Why can't I come too?" He just looked at me. He figured out that I would have eaten his dinner while he was driving. Maybe Uncle Steve is not as dumb as I thought he was.
We now have a front door! Uncle Steve probably will not get home until 4:00 to 5:00, so he thinks he will take me home before he goes to work in the morning. That way I will be home to great you. See you tomorrow.
I know now why Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy haven't gotten their own dog. They are never home. Uncle Steve comes home about 3:30, then he is off to work out. Aunt Kathy comes home about 4:00, and then she is off to Jazzercise. Then get home for dinner, and then they are off to some meeting, or errand. They try to work it out so one of them is home to pay attention to me. It is no problem, because as you know, I tend to sleep alot.
When Uncle Steve got home tonight, I was in the front window waiting for him. Their big front window is really fun to look out. I sit on their couch, and I can survey almost the entire neighborhood. We still haven't found out what the police were doing across the street.
We did have a little excitement this morning at 5:15 am. Uncle Steve took me outside, and TJ, the basset hound was in his backyard. TJ had the audacity to bark at me. I let him have it right back. I not sure who made more noise, the dogs barking at each other, or the humans telling us to be quite. Those humans actually expected us to listen to them. Actually, when Uncle Steve said, "Do you want a treat?" I did listen. To hell with TJ, I'm getting a treat!!!
Uncle Steve wants to know the details for you picking me up. We still don't have a front door, so it appears that you will have to come get me. Uncle Steve is not coming home Wednesday night, and Aunt Kathy doesn't get home until about 6:45.
It is getting a little bit nicer here. The sun was out and the high was in the mid 20's, so Uncle Steve took me for a quick walk around the block. It was sure good to get out, but I am glad we didn't go very far. I'm not sure Uncle Steve could carry me very far.
At lunch Aunt Kathy thought it would be a good idea if I sat on her lap after they were done eating. Apparently, this is something they did with their dog before I showed up. She looked me square in the eye, and told me to come. She really thought I was going to listen to someone without a treat in their hand. I thought I had her better trained than that. She kept telling me to come. I got kind of tired of it, so I went to Uncle Steve. He thought that was pretty funny. However, when he saw the look on Aunt Kathy's face, he thought it would be the best for both of us if he picked me up, and put me in Aunt Kathy's lap. When I saw the look on her face, I agreed with Uncle Steve. I may have pushed Aunt Kathy too far. It would seem that not too many people ignore Aunt Kathy. I will have to keep that in mind that next time I decide to bate her.
Uncle Steve heard me telling Aunt Kathy it was time to eat, so he came down and got a video of it. It is much more tasteful then the "Moon over Minnesota" shot.
Typical Saturday at Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Steve's
Life is settling into a pretty predictable routine. Uncle Steve feeds me breakfast, takes me outside, and then leaves to go workout. I help Aunt Kathy read the paper, and then I try to convince her that I haven't had breakfast yet. However, she never falls for it. Around noon, Uncle Steve comes back, and takes Aunt Kathy to lunch and grocery shopping. They came back with more pictures of their grandchild. I have had to work double time to be as cute as the grandchild. When they come back, I keep Uncle Steve's lap warm while he reads his books. He spent a lot of time reading with his eyes closed this afternoon. I think it had something to do with all the snow this week.I beg for dinner, get to go outside again, and then settle back into Uncle Steve's lap to watch TV. I got to back at some dogs on TV tonight. There were also 5 police cars at a house across the street that I got to bark at. We can all hardly wait to figure out what that was all about.
As you can see in this video, I am quite the expert at begging for treats. It is so easy with Uncle Steve that it is like taking candy from a baby. He took me out right after I ate, and when we came back in I went to the treats and he gave me one. Aunt Kathy said, "She just ate." Uncle Steve said, "What can I say. I am well trained!"
Well, the snow finally stopped sometime during the night. Then the wind picked up, and the temperature went down, so it was a typical day after the blizzard here in Minnesota. Friday's are pretty quite around here, and I am settling into my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve routine. I scare off the newspaper guy at 6:00 am. It seems funny that Aunt Kathy never thanks me for being such a good watch dog that early in the morning. By 6:30, everyone is off to work, leaving the house in my capable hands. So I promptly go to sleep. Sometime late-afternoon, Uncle Steve comes home to let me outside and play. Normally we would take a walk, but it is too darn cold. We went to get the mail, and I was trying to levitate by the time we got back.
We do have one issue. The food bag did not have my scoop in it. Uncle Steve thinks I am fed 1/4 of a cup of dog food. I assured him that it really 3/4 of a cup. I was thinking of trying to convince him to super size my meals, but even Uncle Steve is not that gullible.
I am not sure what the plans are for tomorrow, but if there is not a lot of quality lap time in the lazyboy I will be very surprised. So far, that has been our major entertainment.
Your trip sounds like a lot of fun, as usual. Aunt Kathy can relate to being taken on "just a short hike". Whenever Uncle Steve says, "It's not very far!", Aunt Kathy just looks at him and wonders, "Does he really think I am that dumb!"
Think of me snuggled up warm and cozy in Uncle Steve's lap.
Mom, I thought you could really swear, but you need to take lessons from Uncle Steve if you want to keep up. When he came home and saw how much snow there was in the neighborhood, he let loose with a string of swear words that was unbelievable. I had heard most of them before, but he put them together in a string that I thought would never stop, and in quite a unique order. The final four letter word was snow, and the way he said it made it sound like the most vulgar of all.
However, he did go out and shovel a path for me right when he got home. Aunt Kathy got home just as I was finishing my duty, and we all got to go into the house together. That was fun. Aunt Kathy does quite the dance when she is walking on ice with a puppy running between her legs. Uncle Steve went right back outside, and shoveled the side walks, shoveled the driveway, shoveled the steps, shoveled the roof, salted the sidewalks. He is waiting for me in my lazyboy to finish the blog this so we can tap a nap before we go to bed.
Uncle Steve was trying to think of something he had not had me do for a video. Given the shity mode he was in, he thought of this video. (I turned my back so no one will know that it is me!)
I was really wondering what the heck was going on! Aunt Jenna took fine care of me, but how could both you and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve leave at the same time. I was really confused when Uncle Steve came to the door on the Friday that you left. Aunt Jenna had parked her car in front of Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's gargage because of the big snow storm. Uncle Steve came back from Byerlys, and could not park his car. When he came to the door Aunt Jenna was really surprised, because she thought everyone had left. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve didn't leave until Saturday morning. Apparently, Uncle Steve was really torked until he figured out whose car it was. Then he thought it was pretty funny.
Plus, even though I will deny this if questioned, I am not getting any younger, and training humans is hard work. I not sure if Aunt Jenna understands that every time I go outside I am supposed to get a treat! It must be a guy thing. Uncle Steve caught on right away, but I really have to remind Aunt Kathy. Even then, she doesn't always get it.
When Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve finally came back, I had to give them what for for leaving me. It wasn't hard, because Uncle Steve showed up smelling of cat! Then I heard all the stories about a cute baby. I even heard him say on the phone that I was the second cutest girl in his life now. I was pretty ticked, until I saw the pictures of the baby. OH MY GOD, IS SHE CUTE!!!! Plus, look how happy Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are in this picture:
Apparently Oma is German for Grandma and Phar-Phar is Swedish for Grandpa. Anyway, I forgave them after Uncle Steve gave me a half of box of treats (just kidding). I let Uncle Steve puts some more pictures of the baby on my blog.
Uncle Steve shoveled a path for me to do my duty in the backyard, but it has been so cold I have not taken advantage of it. It has warmed up enough that I have stopped clawing at the door, but I am not spending anymore time outside than is absolutely necessary.
Uncle Steve got home about 3:15 today, and we had some quality lap time. We sat in the chair in the guest room, so I could survey the backyard. After just a little surveying, I decided that nap time was needed. After Aunt Kathy got home, they went out to eat, but as soon as they got back I had Uncle Steve get back into the lazy boy. It didn't seem like he needed much convincing. He may have actually thought it was his idea, but I know better.
Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are going to Orchestra Hall tomorrow night. They said to just come over and get me if you arrive late. They trust me to take care of the house when they are gone. It must be the way I scare off the newspaper guy every morning.
Aunt Kathy was very surprised at my behavior today. When she got home she took me right outside. I was very, very efficient in doing my duty. This was no surprise. However, when she opened the storm door, I started scratching at the inside door. My feet were so cold I wanted in, and I wanted in now! Aunt Kathy had never seen me scratch at the door. If I thought I could have dug a hole threw that damn door, I would have bored right through it. Luckily, Aunt Kathy got the door open before I got to that point.
Other than that, it has been a quiet night. Uncle Steve left some crumbs on the floor in the guest room, so I got a little extra snack. We about to settle in for some lap time. As you can see, I helped clean up after dinner. I had done it early, so Uncle Steve thought it would make a cute video. I thought I only had to help once, so Aunt Kathy had to sort of prompt me.
I didn't want to put the four letter word "snow" in the title, but we did see some today. On public radio, they described the weather as "icky". They were right. We stayed inside and rested for your homecoming tomorrow. As you can see I was helping Aunt Kathy read her book. She is going to be really lonely after tomorrow.
Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve are curious why I am such a good helper in the kitchen. They noticed that when anyone is at the kitchen counter, that I am right there to help them clean up the floor. Uncle Steve was thinking that somebody in our household drops a lot of stuff on the floor given how persistent I am at begging for food. I told him it has only happened once or twice, but I do not want to miss out on a extra meal. I think I would make a good hobbit. Second breakfast, second lunch, and second dinner sound like really good ideas.
I wondered if Uncle Steve was ever going to get home to help me with the blog. He left for a computer class early this morning. Then Aunt Kathy went to work at a pancake breakfast for her school. When she got home, she worked outside in the yard. Uncle Steve got home and they left to go have dinner with friends from college, and then went to a marching band show. I finally just sat in the blog chair and waited until Uncle Steve could help me write something.
When they got home from their evening out, I had given up on them and went to bed. Aunt Kathy came in and picked me up to wake me up. I didn't appreciate her laughing so hard. I think someone is going to get a cold nose in the ear at 3:00 a.m.!!!
Glad to hear you are having a good time. Uncle Steve sent you an E-mail with his cell phone number. He was worried about how many phone calls he might get if he put his cell phone number on my web page. Thousands of people probably check this site out daily, and he could have that many people calling his phone. Actually just a few of his students might be a problem.
