It's Ice Cream Social Time!

It's been so boring around here lately.  Momma's been working on a research paper this week and even though I've been trying to help her, I much prefer to nap.  So while Momma works I keep her tootsies comfortable under the desk.  It's hard work but somepug's gotta do it!

I was checking out the bloggys and my emails yesterday while Momma did her thing.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the invitation to the Sunflower Girl's Club ice cream social.  Yippee!   A party just for us girls!  Finally, something fun for me to do.

I knew Momma would be upset that she wasn't invited so I decided to take her for ice cream.  Aren't I a nice pug?  For some reason Momma wouldn't let me drive so Daddy drove while Momma and I enjoyed the ride.

It was my first time riding in Momma Mobile 2 and boy was it fun!  Daddy put the top down while I tried to stick my whole body out of the car.  The air smelled so good with the scent of freshly cut grass tickling my nostrils.

The wind was flapping my little ears all around but I loved every minute of it.  Momma was afraid I was going to fall out of the car but I was perfectly safe.

Even though I don't typically like riding in the car, this car had my name all over it.  Maybe I'm just a convertible girl!  Too bad Momma's car isn't pink or it would be perfect!

Even though I couldn't see the sign to the ice cream shop I knew we were close when I smelled it.  Momma doesn't know it but I've had ice cream before.  Yep, it's true.  I've vanilla, tutti frutti, pistachio, and sherbet.  I take my ice cream eating very seriously!

Even though it was my first time at the ice cream shop I felt really welcomed.  The line was too long for me to wait in so I pulled Momma out of line so we could explore while Daddy waited.  I gave Daddy my order and we were off!

After about 5,673 hours, Daddy arrived at the table with my ice cream.  I couldn't wait to taste it so I dove right in.  Yummy goodness, just like I remembered.

I tried to remember my manners but it's hard to do when an ice cream cone is in your face.  I licked and licked my way around the cone, savoring the vanilla goodness.

I really didn't care that I was getting ice cream all over my face because I knew it was just temporary.  Besides, no one was watching, were they Momma?  I didn't think so.  Everyone was busy with their own cones so no one noticed the mess I made.

Momma kept asking Daddy if he was going to let me eat the whole thing and if I had been able to talk through the ice cream I would have told her to zip it. 



Daddy held the cone steady while I made my way around the point.  I didn't want any to melt because that would have been a waste.  Soon enough Momma said enough was enough.  What?  I didn't even get down to the cone!  Sheesh!

I hope Momma had fun at the ice cream shop because I'm off to have fun at the Sunflower Girl's  Club ice cream social.  Thanks Wilma, for throwing this great bash. I can't wait to party with all my new friends!

Wordless Wednesday

Cruisin'?

Momma wasn't the one to get a gift on Earth Day.  Her and Daddy went out on Saturday and came home with this horrible contraption for the Momma Mobile.  I flat out refused to go in it but today I decided I had had enough of hanging out at the house so when Momma told me she needed to take some movies back to the library, I asked if I could go with. 



I'm not really fond of riding in the car.  I don't know why but it makes me kind of nervous.  You'd think I'd be used to it after traveling for 15 hours to get here from Texas but I still don't like it.  Momma thought having my very own car seat might help calm me down but who was she kidding?  This thing is terrible!

Daddy had the harness thingy hooked up the right way but Momma thought hooking it up to the angled part of the seatbelt would give me more freedom.  Oh, I got more freedom but I nearly killed myself.  Back to square one, Momma!

I told you so, Momma!  Next time please leave things alone.

The lack of freedom, despite the safety, made me very mad.  Momma didn't take any video of me while I was in the car but if she had you would have heard me crying.  It got so bad that I refused to look out the window.  Momma felt sorry for me and decided to unhook me from the harness for a few minutes and I went crazy.

I even talked Momma into rolling the window down so that I could get some fresh air.  Ahhhh!  I stretched my long body so that I could see and smell everything that was happening outside.  Momma was afraid that I might try to jump out the window if she lowered it more so I just stuck my cute little nose out.

I would calm down for a minute and then resume my action.  It's very hard to sit still when you're a pug.



 You can see here what one of the biggest problems is with this contraption - the sides are bendy.  I guess they wouldn't be bendy if I was strapped in with my harness and not standing on them but a pug's gotta do what a pug's gotta do.  Momma should've bought one with firmer sides.

I give this contraption 2 paws down.  It's the right size and the right height but it's too constricting.  And the bendy sides are very dangerous, especially when you want to stand on them.  I told Momma to take the Snoozer back and get me something better.  She remembers that one of my friends has a car seat thingy but she doesn't remember what brand it is.  Lot of good that does me.

If you have a car seat thingy please leave me a comment and let me know what brand it is.  I hate this thing and am not going to get in it again.  In fact, I would go with Momma to the store to return it but I hear they don't allow dogs in their store.  What kind of store doesn't allow dogs?  Like my hero Howie always asks "Have you ever heard of such hooey?"

Earth Day

  

Happy Earth Day!  Momma has been talking about Earth Day since I met her.  I knew I had to do something special for Momma today after Daddy told me it would be a hard day for her. When I asked him why, he answered me with one word - Stubby.

Earth Day was Stubby's favorite day of the year.  He loved how people took the whole day to celebrate their love for the Earth.  Stubby even helped his friend Puglet make an Earth Day video last year and it was a huge success.  I watched the video today and it was amazing.  I just know that Stubby is smiling down at everyone from the bridge because he's so happy at all the positive changes they've made in their lives.  Stubby and Puglet did their parts to change the world and Puglet continues the work that he and Stubby started.  So today, Earth Day 2011, I honored Stubby.

 

This was Stubby last Earth Day when he visited his magical forest preserve.  Momma showed me all the pictures from that day and I could see the love for the Earth in his eyes.  He could still walk pretty good back then but he couldn't walk very far so Momma had to carry him for a bit.  When Momma talks about this day she gets choked up because she knew it would be Stubby's last Earth Day.  When I asked her how she knew she told me it was just a feeling she had.  She wanted to make sure that Stubby's last Earth Day was his best ever.  And it was.

Momma and Stubby even spent time on the swing at the forest preserve.  Daddy pushed them as they reached for the sky, gazing up at the sun that shone down on their faces.  When they were through swinging Momma asked Daddy to take a special picture of them.  This picture is one of Momm'a favorite and even though it makes her cry to look at it, she remembers that day through the tears and she smiles.  Happy memories were made that day.  Memories that will live in Momma's heart forever.

Stubby wanted to give Momma a birthday present before he left for the bridge.  He didn't know how much time he had left so he picked out the perfect gift and sent Daddy to the store to get it.  Unfortunately, the store was out of the gift because it was right after Christmas.  Stubby was crushed but asked Daddy to buy something else for Momma.  Momma loved the gift -  a little diamond necklace - and it reminds her of Stubby every time she wears it.  Daddy told Stubby that as soon as the original gift was back in stock he would go get it but well,  you know what happened. 

When Daddy told me this story it made me cry.  Stubby wanted Momma to have this most perfect gift so I would give it to her from him.  Daddy called the store yesterday and yes, it was back in stock.  Yes!  Early this morning, Daddy and I snuck out of the house to go the store so we could make this Earth Day the second best ever.

 Momma was so surprised when we arrived back home.  She saw the little blue box and started crying.  She just knew what was in it.  She hugged me and thanked me for doing this for her.  I told her that Stubby wanted her to have it and that it was meant to be.

As Momma untied the bow, Daddy started telling the story of the peace necklace.  Stubby wanted Momma to have the necklace so that she could be at peace with what was happening with him.  He wanted Momma to find peace within her to move on with her life after he was gone.  He also wanted her to seek out peace in another dog.  And that dog is me.  Stubby knew he would soon be leaving for the bridge but he knew that if Momma wore the peace necklace she would be okay. 

So Momma put the necklace on me and looked toward the sky with a smile.  She kissed me and told me that she was at peace. 

Since the peace necklace was really from Stubby, I had to get something for Momma from me.  I think this pug print says it all, don't you think?  Even though Momma got all the gifts, I really got everything I wanted on this Earth Day and more.   Peace, a happy Daddy, and a grateful Momma.  What more could a pug ask for?

A Day Early

I got to go on a very special adventure today to celebrate Earth Day.  Even though Earth Day isn't until tomorrow, Momma said the weather is going to be icky tomorrow which I think means it's going to be yucky.  Here's tomorrow's forecast:

Occasional rain with thundery downpours possible, blustery, chilly damp and raw. East/SE winds 13 to26 and gusty. Highs in the low 50s.

Momma told me that every year she celebrates Earth Day and that last Earth Day was very special because it was Stubby's last.  He got to visit a very magical place where he talked to Mother Earth.  He talked to all the animals of the forest and all the plants, sharing what he knew about the world with them and learning from them as well.

Momma already took me to Stubby's magical place when I first arrived at my new home so she thought I should have a magical place to call my own.  She knew my place had to have lots of open space since I can't see very well, and that it had to be big because I like to explore.  So after lunch, she slipped my harness on me, put me in the car, and drove us to Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve.

Rollins Savanna covers over 1,200 acres of mostly former farmland.  Extensive restoration projects since the mid 1990s have turned this preserve into an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society.   After today, I am designating it an important pug area, too!

We came across this sign as soon as we got on the trail.  Momma said we were lucky that the trail was open at the creek because we've had so much rain lately.  She even mentioned that she's had to slosh through the trail when it was flooded before.  What?  Yuk!  There was no way I was doing any sloshing today.

One of these days I'm going to get Momma to bring a regular camera when we go out.  She only ever carries her phone so the pictures aren't very good.  A zoom lens would have been helpful here because you can't see what Momma could.  I couldn't see it either but I could hear it, I mean them.  There were lots of tree swallows flying overhead and hanging out in the birdhouses scattered throughout the preserve.  I could hear the birds zooming by and could tell they were very quick. 

This is a close-up of a tree swallow.  Momma says their feathers are iridescent. 

As the tree swallows were zooming overhead we came upon a bird kill.  Momma saw it and I smelled it.  You may have to biggify the picture to see the feathers.  Momma thinks they belonged to a robin.

Momma mostly had her eyes peeled to the sky looking for birds (which she saw) and to the trail looking for snakes (which she didn't see).  Me?  I had my nose to ground checking for pee mail.  Lots of dogs had visited the preserve today so there was lots of mail to pick up.

Momma also spent lots of time looking at the dead plants.  Don't ask me why.  I don't get it but that's my momma!  She loves milkweed and she found this milkweek pod that was open on the grass next to the trail.  She turned it over, touched its seeds, marveled at its beauty, and did everything except put it in her pocket.  She takes only memories and told me that I must do the same.

I wish I could take credit for finding this cool mushroom but I can't.  My sniffer is highly sophisticated but it's no match for Momma's eyes.  These shelf mushrooms didn't smell very good but that didn't stop me from checking them out.  Momma liked the way they looked on the fallen tree.  She wanted to sit so she could get a better look, but I had other plans.

An important bird area needs an observation deck, right?   Momma says this desk was built a couple of years ago so that people could get a better view of the waterfowl and other wading birds.  I couldn't care less what the purpose was.  It was there and it needed to be checked out.

Momma tried to look through the viewing scopes but I wasn't cooperating.  I had to finish checking things out and had no time to look for birds I couldn't see.

Momma decided we should walk on the boardwalk by some ponds but I freaked out as soon as my paws hit the wooden boards.  I walked very tentatively for a few feet until a man approached us.  The sound of his footsteps hurt my ears so I froze in place.  Momma tried to get me to move but I backed up and almost fell into the water.  The man stopped walking when Momma bent to pick me up.  She carried me on this boardwalk but then I walked on the next two.  I'm not afraid of the them anymore as long as there's no one else on them.

I really tried to obey the rules of the preserve but all the good stuff was off trail.  Who knew? 

Too soon our walk was over.  I made one last stop at the trail map to make sure I hadn't missed any mail before I jumped back in the car.  We walked the big loop on the map and covered 3 1/2 miles.  Momma was really impressed that I walked that far.  I was really impressed that she walked that far. 

I told Momma I would like to visit my magical place once a week.  I think that's reasonable, don't you?

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Not A Happy Camper

Momma wasn't happy with me this morning.  Today was my 4th Monday in my new home and I woke up to a disaster.  I refused to go outside because of what was out there.  I put my paws down, ran into Daddy's office, and climbed up on the sofa to snuggle with my fuzzy pink pillow.  I'm was comforted, temporarily, by it's softness but soon Momma came to get me.  She carried me, kicking and screaming, into the disaster.  I'm scarred for life, and it's all her fault.

Welcome to the disaster that was my backyard this morning.  I flat out refused to get my tippy toes full of this cold, white stuff.  What happened overnight?  I was just out here late last night and the weather was perfect.  My foster mom neglected to warn me about this white stuff so I'm off to write her a letter just as soon as I finish this post.

Momma told me that I had to stay out until I did my business but I couldn't find a drop spot to do it.  I searched and searched for just a teeny dry spot.  Back and forth I went, Momma standing over me calling out words of encouragement.

The safest spots were near the bushes but I still had to get my toes wet - yuk!



I finally found a spot!  It was all I could do to keep from shivering as I did what I had to do.  I don't know why Momma didn't think to put my coat or at least a sweater on me but she claims it's because it was hard enough just to get me outside.  Excuses, excuses!

There was no way I was staying out in that mess one second longer than I had to so after I did the job, I hightailed it back into the nice warm house.

I decided the best way to spend the snow day was with my pink stuffies, so that's what I did.  We had a little anti-snow party in the family room, complete with treats and music.  I wasn't going to let the snow ruin my day.  My stuffies and I decided that we are going to be snowbirds but don't tell Momma.  I need to break it to her gently that we are leaving as soon as winter arrives.  I'm hoping she'll decide to join us in a warmer climate.