I'm Hearing Rumors...

That this sheltering-in order is coming to an end.  It seems like it is happening in some places but not others.   I understand people need to get back to work and I certainly don't want this to impact everyone's livelihood.  However, I don't want it to come to an end.  I've enjoyed having mama around all day.   I love the extra snuggles and attention!   I don't want to go back to being home alone for extended periods of time and only getting sleep ins on the weekend. 

Sheltering In - Day, Who Knows?

We hounds are used to the days all running together, but we often have the weekend to help us keep track.   We typically have those two days where you're suddenly around a lot so we use those to track time.   However, everyday is like a Saturday now and you're here all the time.  Don't get me wrong, we're not complaining, we are just losing track of what day it is.

We woke up as usual just after 6am, went outside to do our "just woke up" business and then came back in for our breakfast.   After breakfast, we did our post breakfast business and then crawled into bed and went back to sleep.  We woke up in time to stare down mama while she at her lunch, in the hopes she'd share a bite or two with us.   Of course, she couldn't resist our sweet faces so we did get a few bites.  Then it was back to sleep.  Bella is still snoozing as I write this post, which is what I plan to do as soon as I finish here.  I need to get another quick nap in and rest up before dinner.

What are you all up to?   How have you been passing the time?

A Scary Easter!

Hi!  Hope y'all are being safe!

Dear Diary,

Yesterday was Easter but it wasn't my favorite Easter!  It rained all day and then we had a very scary storm last night.   It rained hard and there was a lot of lightening.   Now I don't like thunder.  Being a Southern California pup, I didn't grow up with thunderstorms so I'm not used to those loud claps of thunder.   But we're not in LA right now and we had quite a storm.  Luckily the thunder wasn't too bad, but the rain was loud and the wind was strong and they kept talking about tornadoes on the news and I could sense mama was nervous.   I'm not sure what a tornado is, but mama didn't seem to like the idea of one being in the area.  At one point, she even mentioned we might have to go get in the bathtub!   Now I don't want to criticize, but with a big storm and all the lightening, why on earth was she even thinking of giving us a bath?!   I just don't get it.   Well luckily, she never did make us get in the tub, but we didn't get much sleep last night.   So on this umpteenth day of quarantine, we are basically catching up on our sleep. 

We should have known it was going to be a bad day when one of the Easter Bunny's helpers hopped across the street right in front of mamas car.   Luckily mama was able to stop in time to avoid hitting hit.  It would have been awful if she's hurt the bunny on Easter Sunday!

Did the Easter Bunny come visit you?   If so, what did he bring?

Hope you're all staying safe. 

Princess Abby

P.S.  Shout out to Aunt Pickle, it's her birthday today!

A Little Advice to the Humans on How To Survive This Quarantine!

I'm sure most of you are new to this quarantine situation and aren't used to spending so much time at home.  You may be having a tough time adapting to this new world.  Well, as someone who's "worked" from home for years, I have some wisdom to pass along to you.

First, you should still get up at your normal time for your coffee, breakfast, workout, or whatever it is you do to wake up in the morning.   Routine is good.  Also, us dogs still need our breakfast on time!  An occasional sleep in is okay, just don't make it a habit to not feed us until 10am.

Second, a post breakfast nap or a mid-afternoon nap is okay.  We do it all the time and look how happy we are!

Third, snacks are good.   Life is hard right now, so a little treat for yourself is totally acceptable.While your helping yourself to a snack, feel free to toss one our way too!

Fourth, exercise is good, especially if you're following my snack advice! So go for a walk and get some fresh air whenever possible.    Fresh air and walking are good for you.  Since you're walking anyway, why not take us with you?   We'll never complain about having too many walks.

Fifth, wander around the house ever so often.  Relocating or changing positions is key. It's easy to sit at the dining room table to check a few emails, but suddenly three hours have gone by and you haven't moved.   This is not good for you.  While we hounds do quite a bit of snoozing, we often move from the floor, to the couch to the bed.  Often we just turn around and lay back down in the same spot many times throughout the day.   You don't want those muscles to get stiff!

Sixth, be on the lookout for suspicious activity!   You never know what your neighbors may be up to, so be sure to look out the windows throughout the day to see what's happening.  You want to make sure the mailman isn't getting too close or the squirrels aren't teasing you.

Seventh, take advantage of this situation and spend more quality time with us!  While we understand some of you are working from home and may need to get some work done, check emails, or hop on a conference call, surely you can squeeze some snuggle time with us in.   Don't forget there is nothing we love more than spending time with you.  If you're home, we want your attention.  So put that phone or computer down and just be with us!

I'm sure a lot of my other four-legged followers out there have some advice as well.  Please feel free to share your words of wisdom.  These humans need all the help they can get right now!

I've Never Been so Exhausted and so Happy!

The human decided to take an actual summer vacation and we hounds are getting to go along!!!!  After what seemed like a year in the car, we got to what is quickly becoming my favorite place.  I don't really know where it is, I just know that when we come to this particular house, we get to spend almost 24/7 with the human!   We get to go bye-bye in the car almost everyday.  We get lots of walks and plenty of snuggle and play time.  We hounds just love it here and are always sad when we have to leave.   But this time, it seems like we are staying for a while.

We've been going on walks or I'd say more like hikes everyday.   We get to go into the forest where there are so many amazing smells and sounds.  We walk for a really long time.  I've heard the human say something about walking for miles.  I just know it's longer than we usually walk back home.   We've also seen these really large dogs, I think the human calls them deer but they just look like tall dogs to me.   They look cute, but their sheer size intimidates me.   Plus they move really fast.  With those tall legs, they run way faster than me!  Here's a picture of one...

The best thing about all these walks is they actually wear the crazy terrorist out.  So she comes home and naps and doesn't bug me nearly as much.  I'm actually getting some peace and quiet for a change! Plus, I get to nap in the sun on the deck, or on the couch or on the bed.  I get to nap pretty much wherever I want.  Not that I don't get to do that at home too, I just seem to have more options here.  I hope we stay in this place for a long, long time.   I know I'm not ready to leave.

We've already had one visitor and rumor has it, we have another visitor coming soon!  I think that just means more walks, more new places to discover and another person to give me attention!

One happy hound

The human had been telling us for over a week that we were going on vacation.   Then it suddenly got postponed for a week.  To say I was disappointed is an understatement!   How dare get our hopes up like that just to disappoint us?   But the human promised we were still going to go. 

Well, we finally made it.  We are up in the mountains in New Mexico and I have to say I just LOVE it here.    It's not really a vacation for the human.   Seems to be a lot of running around and keeping really busy.  But we get to go in the car too!  So that's a treat for us.  We get our heads out the window and breathe in all that fresh air.  I mean we get to be with the human pretty much all day everyday.   

We get to go for a walk every morning and it's not like walking in our neighborhood.  Here we go walking in the woods.   There are so many new smells, so many trees to mark and we've even seen some really big dogs.  The human calls them deer, but they just look like giant dogs to me! 

Taking a nap after a long hike in the woods!

Poor little Bella wants to play with them.  But they are fast!  I mean I thought Bella was fast, but these things can really go.  

I'm even having fun with that little stinker Bella.   She's much more tolerable here on vacation than she usually is at home.   It doesn't hurt that she runs around while  a wild child and actually wears herself out.  

I don't want to ever leave here.  I love it so much.   I hope we are staying for a long time but I'm sure we'll have to go back home soon.   Although the human has been talking about staying here for the summer and I really hope that comes to be.  I'm already dreaming about what that would be like!

Snuggle Weather!!

This is my favorite time of year.   It's the holidays, which means it's chilly outside and  my human is home more.  These two things combined mean more snuggle time!!!!

The Holidays Are Here!

We woke up to a beautiful rainy Sunday.  It's cold and it's wet outside and it's finally starting to feel like the holidays.   Yes it means I can't go to on my usual daily walks and I hate that, but I love the holidays.  It usually means lots more time with my human, and lots of other humans coming by to visit.  There's just no end to the attention a hound gets this time of year.    I think it's almost time to put up the tree!

I hate 4th of July

I know it's a great holiday and has a lot of meaning to Americans but all that loud noise,  smoke and  big booms just scare me.   Most of my hound friends agree.  Can't we find a better way to celebrate than causing such a ruckus? 

And isn't called Independence Day?  So why are fireworks going off every night for more than a week? I just don't understand humans sometimes. 

Is it safe to come out from under the bed yet?   

Loving this vacation

So it's day three of our "vacation" and so far I' loving it!   Mom and has been taking us for a long walk every morning and there are sooooooooo many smells.   I think Mom gets a little frustrated because between me and Bella, we stop every few seconds.   But she needs to understand, we are hounds and our sniffers are in over-drive here.  We've seen lots of other dogs and even some deer.   I hear there are bears here too.  I really hope we don't run into one of those.  Knowing Bella, she'd try and play with it! 

Now I think we were supposed to be staying at this house that we keep going to.  But it's such a mess and there's no couch or bed for us to snooze on so I'm glad we aren't staying there.  Being there seems to make Mom angry, but we like running around there and seeing what all we can get into. 

Now the place we are staying at has a really nice comfy couch and a cozy bed.  And when we aren't snoozing on one of those, we are going bye bye in the car.   Mom takes us everywhere!  I'm not sure how long we will be here, but I hope a long time.   I mean, lots of quality time with Mom, warm cozy places to snooze and ride-a-longs in the car?   What more could a couple of lazy hounds ask for?  

Road Trip!

So mom was planning on leaving us for the weekend, but there was a sudden change in plans.   Not sure what happened but her weekend trip turned into a a longer journey and she decided to make it a road trip and let us tag along!  You all know how much I love a good road trip.   I was kind of hoping it would just be me and mom, but she decided to bring the terrorist along too.   Now Mom knows my place is right up front snuggled in the passenger seat where I can keep an eye on her while she drives.  So she put the seats down in the back and put a dog bed back there so crazy Bella had plenty of room.   However, that crazy dog decided she wanted to be in the passenger seat too and just climbed right in next to/on top of me!   I know I'm fabulous, but that dog is just obsessed with me!   Mom seems to think it's cute.  I think it's annoying!

Living the Life of Luxury!

So after a good nights sleep at the Four Seasons, it was time to go.  I was bummed we were leaving already.  The trip was just too short, but at least I got away from that crazy little thing for a night. 

But boy was I in for a wonderful surprise.   After we got everything loaded in to the car, Mom told me we were heading to Ojai!    Now I don't know if you all remember this, but Mom and I did a girl's weekend in Ojai after Chadwick passed away.     I loved Ojai.  I got to go on long walks, I saw deer every morning and I met lots of people.   I was so excited to hear we were heading there again.  I knew I would get some good rest and relaxation there and hoped Mom would too.   This is where we stayed...

Mom and I went for at least two long walks everyday.  We would go for a long walk first thing in the morning before it got too hot and then again in the evening when it would start to cool down.   I also got a short mid-afternoon walk too! 

After our morning walk. Mom would order in room service breakfast.  I got a nice hot burger patty every morning!   They also brought me fresh bottled water every day.  While the bed they provided me was not nearly as nice as the one at the Four Seasons, I  had two cozy chairs to choose from when I wanted to take a nap.  

I got to snuggle in the bed with Mom every night without the Terrorist trying to squeeze in.   Now I know Mom felt guilty about leaving the Terrorist back in LA, but I didn't!  I enjoyed having Mom all to myself.   Well maybe I missed that little peanut just a little, but I won't ever tell her or Mom that!

I also got to meet a new friend, Casper.   Casper is a cockatoo and he was pretty cool.  He would come over and say hello to me whenever I stopped by.  He liked to show off by spreading his feathers!  He was quite the character and at first I was kind of fascinated by him, but after a couple of days, it was like, OK, hi Casper.

Then it was time to move on because there were plenty of other places to go, so many things to sniff and lots of people to say hi to!   You all know by now, how much I love attention and I had a lot of people wanting to say hi to me.  Once again, I was quite popular at the Inn. 

Mom and I stayed from Sunday to Friday!  It was so nice to get away for so many days!  When Friday came though, I didn't want to leave.  I could get used to this kind of life.   I think Mom could too.    Who wouldn't be able to relax at a place like this?

Another Quick Get Away?

Mom has been in need of a little R&R for a while now, and I mean more than just a weekend away.   And quite frankly, so have I.   Ever since our little weekend away, I've been hoping for another weekend trip away for The Terrorist!   Now Mom must have sensed my need because we loaded up the car late Saturday afternoon, dropped the peanut off at the kennel and then Mom and I were on our way. 

First stop, was this fancy hotel called the Four Seasons.   We checked in and dropped our stuff off at the room.   They already had a nice cozy bed and some bottled water waiting for me.   Lucky for me, Mom wasn't allowed to leave me alone in the room, so we headed off to have dinner with some of mom's friends.   Imagine my surprise, when we arrived at her friends' house and my old buddy Norton was there!   I used to play with Norton all the time and it was so good to see my old friend again.   I hated to leave but I have to admit I was looking forward to getting back to my nice cozy hotel room for some quiet time, just me and mom.

Yep, that's me, snuggled in my bed, shortly before I got in the big bed and snuggled with Mom.  Sweet dreams!

A Weekend Away from the Terrorist....Pure Bliss!

So the suitcase came out again and I was like, how can you be leaving again Mom?  You just got back home.  No you see, the terrorist and I have spent more time at the kennel lately than we have at home.   I couldn't believe she was leaving us again!   Well I was in for a very big surprise.   It turns out mom was going away for the weekend, but she was taking me with her.   And know what was even better?   The little one, wasn't going with us!   I got to go in the car with mom and her friend for a nice long drive, spent a couple of nights in a cozy hotel room and got to walk around this quaint little town.  I got lots of attention, as it should be.  I even got to go out to dinner with mom and her friend!  I wasn't the only hound on the patio at dinner, but I was definitely the cutest, everyone thought so!    I'm not trying to brag and I know I should be more modest, but I'm just speaking the truth.   I hope mom takes me away again next weekend.  I'm ready!

Oh My Aching Heart...

My momma just lost her momma.  I can't imagine how tough that must be.  My heart aches for momma because I know her heart is aching. I know I can help her heart heal if she just comes home to me.   I know she has to be away right now but I miss her! 

How cute are we?

She just can't stay away from me.

Cheek to Cheek or Snout to Snout?

The terrorist just can't get enough of me.   That little thing follows me everywhere!  And I mean everywhere!  I can never get any rest.   Just look at her.   Here I was just trying to snooze and not only did she have to snuggle next to me, she had to actually put her head on top of mine!  I mean what am I a pillow???   I think not! Sometimes I try to crawl under the covers or blanket to hide from her, but she always finds me.   I just can't seem to shake her.   It's so hard being irresistible!

 

I know my Mommy loves me....

I know my momma has been gone a lot lately and I miss her.   I hate that she leaves me alone with that crazy dog Bella.  I mean that dog is absolutely NUTS!   And yes, I get upset and mad at my mom for leaving me and sometimes even pout for a bit when she finally comes home.   However deep down, I know she misses me just as much as I miss her.   I know she hates leaving me and her heart aches every moment she's away from me.   I just can't be mad today.   She got home earlier today than expected and the first thing she did was come pick us up.  I know she just couldn't wait to see me.  Now here I sit on the couch, with a well fed belly and happy to be snuggling next to my momma!  I think she might have even missed Bella.   Well maybe not, but maybe just a little.  :)

Bonding with Mom!

So mom came home for a few days and then left again and then again!  But for the last few weeks, Mom has been home with us everyday!   We've gone for a few walks, we've snuggled on the couch and snoozed in the bed.  We've had lots of mommy puppy quality time!  All in all, it's been great spending time with her again.   It's been so nice having mom home again.  Don't get me wrong, she's working a lot, but at least she's home every night to snuggle with us.  So just when I was getting used to having her around, bam, she's gone again.  I think she just lulled me in to a false sense of security, only to pull the rug out from under me again.   I'm mad, but I miss her.  It's me and Bella back at the kennel again.  Boo hoo for us!

Is She Ever Coming Back for Us?

Am I really going to have to spend New Year's Eve with the just the terrorist?   Surely Mom will be home soon.  She can't not be home to kick off 2014 with us!   I am really starting to think she completely forgot about us.    It breaks my little puppy heart.   I will tell you this, if she ever does come back for us, I'm going to give her the cold shoulder for days!    I'm going to let her know how mad I am at her for leaving us for so long.  This is just beyond ridiculous.  She should have come to get us days ago.  She better not ever leave us again.   

I'm sorry all your hounddoggers out there.  I know all I've done is complain lately.  I'm not my usual witty self, but I just can't think right now.  I'm just too sad.