Post Holiday Let Down....

Why can't it be holiday time every day? The month of December was so much fun- Mike didn't go to work for two whole weeks, the weather was warm, we got to go out and play a lot, oodles of walks, and the Humans were in great moods. This picture was taken on one of the many evenings we all sat out on the patio. And there were always a lot of people out walking and riding by in their golf carts every evening for us to bark out. We love barking at the snowbirds and acting ferocious. The very bestest thing was every evening Linda and I would roll the windows down in the Tracker and go for a ride. I love going for rides, dontcha' know? I think it's my very favorite thing in the entire world to do! (As long as I don't have to get out of the car.)

But everything changed over the past few days. First the Humans went to a big New Year's thing in Sarasota where Linda lost Mike. She wrote about it here, and you can see videos about it here. The whole thing could have been avoided if Mike had just put my Flexi lead on her. Good thing he finally found her because I don't think she's micro chipped. Are there shelters where they take lost old people? Anyway, I guess it really traumatized and wore her out because all she did the next day was lay around complaining her legs were sore from all the walking, and swearing she was never going out in public again.


Then it got really cold... I mean really, really cold for Florida. So the Humans closed the house up and turned the heat on- which means we can't run out on the patio to bark at anyone going by. Doesn't really matter, I guess, because there hasn't been anyone out and about to bark at when I've looked out the windows. It's like a ghost town around here. Actually, I find this cold weather invigorating, but all the Humans and Emmy want to do is huddle in the house. No walks or car rides for three days in a row now.



To make things even more boring, Mike went back to work today. All Emmy did all day was sleep in her little bed, and Linda cleaned the house.

I guess I'll get back to chewing up this Gingerbread man I got for Christmas and hope that it warms back up soon.

Big Wags,

A Very Bored Isabella

Another Christmas has come and gone...

I can't believe I haven't posted for a whole year! Linda and I recently sat down and visited some of my old friends blogs. Sadly some of my friends have passed away. It was a reminder to Linda of how short dogs' lives are compared to humans. Doesn't seem fair because we all know that dogs are much nicer than humans- we don't start wars, commit horrific crimes, waste the Earth's natural resources and pollute the world, lie and gossip, or purposely hurt any one's feelings. Anyway, Linda has promised me that she will let me blog more often so I can document my remarkable life. (She said there is nothing even remotely remarkable about my life, but I beg to differ.) She's been so selfish with her time this past year, spending all her time working on the house renovations, in her studio and writing on her own blog. Though she does write about and posts pictures of me on her blog, it's from her perspective, and not mine. And often my perspective of situations is much different than hers. As for the renovations - I don't think the Humans will ever be finished. They've made progress in the past year, but still have a long way to go.


I had a great Christmas- lots of good food (yes, I'm allowed to have human food as long as it's healthy stuff) and new toys. The Humans are still sticking with the Santa story, so I played along. But I noticed "Santa" got lazy this year. Last year all our gifts were wrapped, but this year "Santa" just dumped them in our stockings. That was fine with me because I don't enjoy unwrapping gifts, and always had to wait for Emmy to tear them open. But this year the Humans just dumped our stockings on the floor.

Emmy and I like different kind of toys. She likes toys she can destroy, chase, and play tug of war with Mike. I like toys that makes noises and ones I can nurse on. I got a new Little Puppy this year- my favorite toy to suck on. I get a new one every year because I suck the nose off of them. If I had thumbs I'd be a thumb sucker, but since I don't, I'm a Little Puppy nose sucker. I also got a monkey that makes monkey noises, a cow that moos, and a frog that ribbits.


By Christmas night I was worn out! Linda tried to get me to pose with my new toys, but I was pooped and just wanted to sleep. Too bad for her, she should have taken them earlier in the day when I was in the mood to play

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate.

Big Wags,

Isabella

I love Christmas!

I'm not real sure what Christmas is all about, other than it comes once a year and makes my Humans unusually merry and generous. Their merry mood means we get tidbits from their delicious holiday meals, special cookies, and lots of attention. According to the Humans, a lovable old guy named Santa sneaks into our house on Christmas Eve and leaves presents and treats for Emmy and me. I gotta tell ya, though, I have hard time believing that. Emmy and I always know if anyone or anything comes near our house, so how could a man in sleigh and eight reindeer land on our house without us knowing it? Or how could the portly man come in our house without Emmy and me hearing or smelling him? But that's the Humans' story, and considering we get lots of toys and chewies, who I am to question their truthfulness? All I know for sure is that on Christmas morning our stockings were filled with treats and chewies, and there were packages under the tree for us. How they got there, I don't really care!



The Humans carried all our packages out onto the patio, threw them on the floor and let us rip them open. Actually Emmy ripped them open, I just watched her and then picked out the toys I wanted. Like this plush toy- perfect for nursing on, dontcha' think?

This toy is really kewl- it makes a quacking noise when I shake it.

See the big red ball attached to a rope? Emmy about lost her mind over that one! That girl has a serious ball fetish. The Humans finally had to hide it because Emmy got so worked up they feared she would have a convulsion. We got lots of other toys, but these were the pictures that turned out the best.

And most of the others had Emmy in them- if Emmy wants to post pictures of herself she needs to get her own blog. I don't get that much blog time anymore, and I am sure not wasting it on her.

Not only did I get lots of presents and chewies, but a very special friend who lives all the way in France sent me a beautiful card she made just for me! Now how sweet is that? I was just tickled pink when I got her card. It looks like she used embossing powders and stamps, with lots of bright sparkly colors- isn't it just the prettiest card you have ever seen? Thank you so much, sweet Denia! I will hang it up every Christmas.

Christmas is now over for the year, but Linda told me we will have another party tomorrow night- New Year's Eve. And on New Year's Day we will have our annual good luck dinner. According to the Humans, for good luck we have to eat black eyed peas on New Year's Day. It must work because I think we are pretty darn lucky to be living in Florida, playing in the sun and napping on the patio on warm winter afternoons while most of the country is buried in snow and shivering from the cold. If you want to be lucky, too, here is Linda's recipe for:

New Year's Good Luck Beans

Ingredients:

1) Bag of 15 beans (they come with a packet of artificial smoke seasoning- throw that crap away- gawd only knows what chemically enhanced artificial stuff that is made of)

2) Small bag of black eyed peas

3) Sweet yellow onion

4) Can of chopped green chiles

5) 2 cans stewed tomatoes

6) 1 -1/2 # cubed ham

7) 1 smoked ham hock

Seasonings- your favorite spices, or just salt and pepper

Directions:

1)Soak beans over night in water and baking soda (2 tbls). Supposedly that will prevent the Humans from getting gas when they eat the beans- I hope it works, or will sleep in the living room the following night.

2)When ready to cook- drain and rinse beans.

3) Chop onion and saute in butter or olive oil until translucent.

4) In large crock pot mix all ingredients. Add enough water to barely cover beans, bring to a boil, and then simmer, stirring occasionally until beans are tender (1-2 hours, or however long you want to cook it). Remove ham hock and pick meat from it for the dogs (hey, dogs like something special to eat on New Year's, too! Linda just uses the ham hock to add a smoked flavor to the beans). We have this every New Year's Day (Linda adds hot sauce to her's but Mike's delicate stomach can't take it ) with fried potatoes and cornbread.

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate, and that your New Year is full of happiness, love, good health, lots of playtime, adventures, yummy treats, long naps in the sun, tummy rubs and ear scratches!

Big Wags,

Isabella

Eating Turkey and watching a dog show...

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! All day long the yummiest aromas were coming from my kitchen and especially the oven. Linda, Mike and his human son, Brian, all cooked. Just when I thought I would lose my mind from all the delicious smells, we finally had dinner. We had turkey, dressing, potatoes and gravy, corn casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, and pies! Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and apple pie. I got some of just about everything in my bowl- why can't we eat like this every day? Poor Emmy only got a little bit of turkey because her tummy does handle human food very well.


Even if Emmy didn't get much human food, she's had a great week. She's nuts about Brian! He gives her lots of attention and doesn't seem to mind how persistent and demanding she is when she wants to play- which is all the time. The only thing he doesn't seem to like about her is when she licks her butt. Of course I don't care for that, either, and certainly don't want her face anywhere close to mine after she has licked herself- ewww... I've told her and told her, over and over again that if she must do that kind of thing, to wait until bedtime when she is in the privacy of her own crate.

Did you all watch the dog show that was on TV Thxgiving day? We tried to watch it, but then Emmy came in from the patio and went ballistic when she saw dogs on the TV. For some reason, it really sets her off when she sees any kind of animals on a TV screen. As you can see in the following videos, I was being well behaved, but Emmy seriously interfered with my viewing enjoyment. Normally it annoys the Humans, but Brian thought she was funny, so they didn't tell her no like they usually do.

Here I am just hanging out with Linda on the couch as she watched the dog show:

And then Emmy came in from the patio- this is how she watches TV:






Big Wags,
Isabella

Friends can come in tiny packages...

Can you believe it? Linda finally is giving me some computer time. I so seldom get to blog anymore, I know most of my friends have forgotten about me and given up on my blog. I wish I could promise that I will be blogging on a regular basis again, but with my Humans, who knows if they will follow through and give me computer time. They are still spending way too much time renovating the house. Hey, we have a roof, walls and subfloors- why isn't that good enough for them? Emmy and I are fine with things the way they are.


I don't think I have ever told you all about my little buddy, Puck. He's a Pacific Parrotlet and a cute little guy, but dang, is he loud when he wants my attention! He used to have his wings clipped and spent a lot of time out of his cage. But now that Emmy lives with us, it isn't safe for Puck to be out walking around. So he spends most of his time in one of his cages. He has a smaller cage in the house, and a huge cage on the patio. Most days are nice enough for him to be able to play in his big patio cage during the day, and he always comes inside to his smaller cage to sleep at night.


When we are all out on the patio Puck will scream his head off until I go over to his cage. As soon as I walk over there, he climbs down to the bottom so we can chat eye to eye. He'll sit and whisper things to me until I get bored and walk away, and then he starts screaming for me all over again- geesh! I can't spend every minute listening to his secrets because the snow birds are back, and I must bark at them when they walk by or are riding around in their golf carts, dontcha' know? I guess Puck realizes that Emmy would eat him in a heart beat- anytime Emmy goes near his cage he screams at her. No whispering to Emmy ever goes on, it always has to be me that listens to him.


See how patient I am as he talks my ear off?

After all that listening, I needed a nap this afternoon.

Big Wags,

Isabella

Vote Obama!

Remember in my last post when I told you about the political blog people who asked me to write a post, and then after I did they rejected me and wanted one from Linda instead? Well, I decided I don't need their stuffy ol' blog to post my entry! I can post it right here on my own blog, dontcha' know?
For those of you dogs that are barking for McCain, that's okay because this is America! You all have the right to bark for anyone you want. And here is my view on the presidential candidates...



You may wonder why a dog has been invited to write a post for Bark Obama. Actually I wondered about that myself. After all, I am a dog, I can't vote, and certainly don't have the star clout of someone like Oprah. But I do know how important this upcoming election is due to my Human's obsession with political and social issues, the news, and world affairs. As dogs, we are not given a vote or a voice in the governing of America, but I do know how important this upcoming election is and that we non-human species have just as much at risk in this election as you humans. Believe me, many of the current issues facing our country have a direct impact on us, the voiceless non-humans, that share this country with the human population (which continues to grow at an alarming rate- you all seriously need a free spay and neuter program). Have you seen on the news that the shelters are over flowing with pets that have lost their homes when their humans were unable to pay the mortgage? Or were surrendered because the humans couldn't afford their own health care, let alone medical care for their animal companions. How about the companion animals of the victims of Katrina? When the Bush administration turned their backs on those people leaving them homeless and destitute, their companion animals suffered the same fate. Then there are the dogs that didn't get to go on vacation this year, or take as many trips to the dog park because gas is so expensive (while energy companies made record profits). What about the dogs that suddenly lost their favorite human when that Bush character sent so many brave people to Iraq to fight a senseless never ending war... many that never came back to their families and animal companions.



We non-human species have as much at stake in this election as you humans. For example the issue of the environment and global warming are a great concern for non-human species. You humans aren't the only ones that have to live in this rapidly changing world. Living in Florida, my Humans and I are experiencing the increase in the number and severity of tropical storms due to the warming of the ocean waters. If you think these storms don't have an impact on you because you don't live on the coast, just think about the flooding in the Midwest as Hannah made her way across the country. Or how high gas prices rise when a storm passes through the Gulf. Hotter summers, colder winters, floods, wildfires, droughts, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and severe weather doesn't just effect you humans. Every species on the planet pays dearly, many to the point of extinction. You can sneer at "tree huggers" and environmentalist, and tell yourselves all you want that these climate changes have nothing to do with the pollution from human actions, but even a dog knows better. Trust me, the green house effect has a lot more to do with humans' love affair with fossil fuels than it does with cow farts.




I know when you humans vote for leaders, you think it is all about you, but it isn't. What you decide will effect every living species in the United States of America and around the world for years to come. Just look how well your decision to elect Bush for two terms has turned out. How many years will it take to repair the damage he has done? Come on, you have to admit things are quite a mess! Bush is leaving you with a crashing economy, a foreign policy that has strained relations with much of the world including two disastrous on-going wars, a failed health care system, an under funded and unsuccessful education program, and the loss of some of your civil rights that your country's forefathers thought were very important... need I go on? So come on people, you can't possibly be thinking of voting for McCain- the man who voted with and supported almost every mistake Bush has made?




Let's face it, the man is old- I mean seriously old. I can tell you all about old people! I am surrounded by old people because I live in a 55 and over community with my aging Humans. My Humans are a bit younger than McCain, but I still wouldn't want them running a country. Let's start with the memory and confusion thing- that's a biggie. As an example, there have been a few times my dinner has been late because my Human's forgot to feed me on time. Or they came home without my treats because they forgot to write it down on the list. Do you really want someone serving as President who is so old he'd occasionally forget to feed the dog? The President has to remember a lot more complex things than feeding the dog. Old people can't remember anything unless they make a list - if it isn't on the list, it doesn't get done. Keeping lists sounds like a perfect solution to the aging short term memory problems, doesn't it? From my experience with my aging Humans, even keeping lists has its drawbacks, since they often forget where they put the list or forget to take it with them. But it explains why McCain reads his speeches word for word from a teleprompter, come on- there is no way the poor ol' guy can memorize them! If he gets elected, when he has important meetings with world leaders the discussions will have to stick to a prearranged script and McCain will have to be provided with a teleprompter so he can remember his lines.




Another thing I have learned living with old people, they get cantankerous when they get tired- and they tire easily. Perhaps that is why McCain has been airing all those negative and nasty commercials full of lies about Obama lately- he's tired and cranky! Any day now he is going to lose his temper and call some one the C word, like he did his wife. His campaign and the media tried to spin his grumpy and hateful reputation by calling him a maverick. But I think he just can't get along with anyone, even people in his own party. So instead of saying he is a cantankerous, irritable, hot headed lying old man who can't get along with anyone, they decided to call him a maverick. It's kind of like my Humans referring to my housemate's tendency to never listen, quick to anger, and reckless behavior as just being a Jack Russell Terrier. I think people refer to this as putting lipstick on a pig. Call her what you want, it doesn't change the fact that she is a nightmare to live with and the thought of her having unlimited power gives me cold chills.




I know some of you women were disappointed that Clinton didn't win the primary. For weeks, my Human moped around and pouted. She is all about the girl power thing, women's rights, and has great admiration for Hillary. She was so upset she even threatened not to vote in the upcoming election. But never did she even consider voting for McCain, even when he tried to seduce the unhappy Clinton supporters by picking Palin as his running mate. Listen people, I know all about Hillary Clinton, and Sarah Palin is no substitute for Hillary Clinton. Sure she is a woman, has nice long legs (but then, so do I), long thick hair (but not near the body and bounce as mine) and cute glasses (personally, I find them rather bland and think mine are much more stylish). And yes, I know she can see Russia from her house. And that makes her qualified to be Vice President and possibly President?!? I can see the moon and the sky but that doesn't make me an astronomer, everyday I see planes flying over us to the nearby airport but that doesn't mean I know anything about flying a plane. I see lots of things, but am still a dog who has spent most of her life in her own yard, much like Palin has spent hers- granted, her yard is bigger than mine, but both our views are pretty limited to life in our own yards. We both know a lot about our own little corner of the the universe, but not much about the rest of the world.




Before you grab that carrot McCain is waving in front of the Clinton supporters, consider Sarah and Hillary's positions on the issues. Everything Clinton stands for Palin is against. On the other hand, Obama and Clinton stand together on most issues and problems that face this nation today. I know you humans are quirky and often hard to understand, but thinking about Clinton supporters now supporting McCain/Palin, makes my head spin. Voting for McCain would be like spitting on everything Hillary stood and fought for her entire life.




We dogs are famous for being able to decide quickly, and most times accurately, if a human is trustworthy. What makes that possible is that we don't get distracted by a person's race, gender, or religious beliefs. Those things don't matter to us. We observe a person's behavior and actions ( and a good sniffing) to decide if someone is trustworthy. We watch carefully to see if a person's actions match the words coming out of their mouths. And I have to tell you, looking at the candidates through a dog's eyes, I don't find either McCain or Palin to be trustworthy. Their past actions definitely don't match the words coming out of their mouths today. And though I haven't had the opportunity to give either of them a good sniff, I know just from their body language that they wouldn't smell good.




Hmmmm.... I just realized I've really rambled on in this post. Oops- my bad, after all, I was invited to write a post, not a book. I Bark Obama with enthusiasm!
Peace-
Isabella The Dog

It's a matter of one's perspective...

Do you ever get into trouble with your humans but have no idea why? Just when you think you and the humans have lived together long enough to finally understand each other, you do something completely innocent by dog standards but it gets a strong and unexpected reaction from the humans. We had such an incident just recently...


See, Emmy and I have an understanding- when one of us is chewing a rawhide, playing with a toy or eating something, we know that treat or rawhide is off limits until we walk off and leave it. And once we walk away, then it is okay for the other one to claim the item.


Well, a week or so ago, I was in the kitchen with Linda when she was making supper. She had a pan of all beef wieners covered in cheese sitting on the counter, and they smelled so good, dontcha' know? I thought she was making our dinner, because she turned the oven on, but instead of placing the pan in the oven, she left it on the counter and went to do something else. Well, I assumed she had changed her mind and decided she didn't want the hotdogs. I mean, come on- she walked away from them and left the room. According to my and Emmy's rules of possession, the wieners were mine for the taking. So I didn't see a thing wrong with standing up on my hind legs and neatly eating the hotdogs from the pan. Please note I was careful and did not make a mess or drop anything on the floor, I do have manners for gawd's sake! So imagine my surprise when Linda walked back in the kitchen and started yelling NO! NO! NO! Even after she saw that there were three left, she was still testy. And that is where the matter of perspective comes into play- by my perspective I was following dog protocol, but from Linda's perspective I had just stolen and eaten most of the humans' supper. Frankly, I think in this situation dogs' rules made more sense than my Humans'.



The boring renovations have continued at our house. Linda bitches and whines about it, but I keep her company while she works and ignore her complaining. As you can see in the following picture I stuck close by her as she prepped the kitchen cabinet doors last week. (I ask you- isn't this kind of loyalty and devotion worth a few wieners!?!)


Are you all as tired as I am of the non-stop politics that has gone on all summer? My Human's talk about it all the time, and they seem to think this a really important election. I've decided I like Obama and would vote for him if I could. Oh- and I almost forgot.... an e-mail arrived in my Isabella e-mail account asking me to write an entry for a political blog ran by dog owners. Pretty kewl, huh? Well, I wrote and wrote, and finally got it just right, so I e-mailed it to one of the people in charge of this blog, and a person wrote back and said she didn't want a post from me, but wanted one from Linda! I was just crushed and felt totally disenfranchised from the political process. After I was rejected, Linda remained loyal to me and declined their invitation, which made me feel a lot better. So I got over it and am still supporting Obama- go Obama! (But he better keep his promise to his kids about letting them have a dog when the election is over and they are all moved into the White House!)



And on that note, it is time for me to sign off and take my place in the big chair with Emmy...

Big Wags-
Isabella