Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Vacation Company

Oh my goodness, where do I begin.... Last week I had a surprise... Vacation Company, my Arnie & Gracie. Apparently this has been in the works for a while, but it was an awesome surprise. They arrived past my bedtime, I was trying to stay up to see what all Mom's excitement was about & who walks thru my door?!... My Arnie, Gracie and their parents! I couldn't believe my brown eyes. Forget being sleepy, it to activate my after burners and start a game of chase.

Arnie and Gracie were here on vacation while their parents went on vacation. Whoo Hoo! They stayed here a whole week!

The next morning Arnie was up to his tricks. He believes my toys do NOT need to be in the toy basket. This picture is just a fragment of the toys he has strategically arranged around the living room. Hehee, snort. Arnie was so proud of his work... He would look at the toys, look at my Mom, wag his tail, butt wiggle, then she would just smile and laugh.

One morning, we got up really early before the pug melting weather set it. Mom loaded us up (me in my sherpa, Arnie & Gracie in my Noz2Noz, all buckled in). Destination - Dog Park. As we were driving over, Mom named us the Three Pugateers. We ran around & I showed them the dog walk I discovered on previous trips to the park.

That afternoon, Mom was hungry for her Grandma's home made chicken & dumplings recipe. Gracie was a great sous chef. Hopefully she will be like Duke in the bean tv commercial & not give away the family secret.

The next morning we were going to the dog park again, but it had poured rain the evening before, some areas even still had flash flooding the next morning. So we stayed home, slept in the human bed & were bed pugs.

Once we got up, gobbled down breakfast (we should be in a food eating contest, we would win paws down.) We headed to the backyard to catch a few rays of sunshine.




The week was going by to fast & the weather has to hot for adventures. Gracie was lounging & Mom caught her expression of what she thought about the hot weather. We hibernated some but played a lot of games of chase.

At the end of the week, I was glad to see their parents again, but I knew this would mean part of the Pugateers would be going home (No, it was to soon for them to leave). Gracie wanted a longer vacation, she even whined & howled when they were getting ready to leave. I reassured her that our parents were already planning another adventure.

After they left, I looked around the house for besties, no where to be found. I was sad and realized my batteries were running low after going full strength all week. Time for a long nap.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

My New Camera

The weather is broken again, summer hibernation began a few weeks ago. Woke up at the crack of dawn before the temperatures reached Pug melting degrees. Gobbled down breakfast in my unladylike style, it was time to head out to my favorite Austin destination, The Garden.

The Garden is so peaceful in the mornings, birds singing, squirrels barking, the sound of the water cascading down the waterfall, what a way to start the morning.

Then all the peacefulness changed in the blink on an eye. Mom spotted a snake in the koi pond & thought she was going to crawl up the closest tree, then we would have to head home so she could change her pants. I'm surprised she even got this shot. (Thank goodness no one was around, her reaction was so embarrassing.)

Finally after Mom calmed down we continued on exploring the Garden. As I posed by the blacksmith shop, I noticed something different... the Canon was not making it's normal noise & wasn't breaking for a treat when the shutter closed. Then I realized, Mom has a new Camera. No wait...! I got a new Canon Camera. This camera is awesome! Little did I know, with the help of Arnie & Gracie's Mom, and Rupert's Mom advise, I have a new member of our family.

Side note: Come to find out it was an ordeal to get the new camera, long story short, Mom knew what she wanted, called local (buying local is the first choice), talked with Ron at Precision Camera, he was very nice & great customer service. The camera body was in stock & quoted a price, he would hold the camera at that price & Mom would pick it up the next day. Mom was so excited! When she gets to the store, dealing with Ron, it was a typical bait & switch. Now the camera is $79 more than quoted price. Mom reminded him of their conversation, he would not honor what he quoted, Mom was mad! Not the way to do business. Their loss & Mom won't be back. Thanks to Rupert's Mom recommendations, Mom found a better source for my new Canon that had awesome customer service and a cheaper price. Thank you my friends for giving great advice!

Now back to the rest of the Garden adventure.... This unique flowering plant is Pride of Barbados and is also called Mexican Bird of Paradise.

Timing it just right, to see the hot pink water lily in bloom enjoying the morning light. Then I remembered, what about the dinosaur?! I haven't seen it since Aunt Christy was here, wonder if I can find it on my own?

Tried the camouflage of the ferns to disguise all my cuteness.

Still no luck, but I had the feeling the dino was close. Maybe next time Arnie & Gracie can help on the search.

As we were leaving the Garden, Mom stopped in her tracks. So glad it wasn't another snake! This time she was whispering and told me we had to be very, very quiet. Years of going to the Garden, this is the first time of a rabbit sighting.

But wait, there is till one more surprise left... Hmm my only clue, Mom has been cleaning the house. Could it be company's coming to visit?

Friday, July 6, 2012

The Urban Water Garden

Flash back Friday...

Catching up on my last adventure with my Arnie & Gracie in Fort Worth....

I'm an urban girl & a country girl at the same time. Adventuring with Arnie & Gracie, destination downtown Fort Worth, we were urban pugs for the day.

The sign was so apropos! Could it be a dream? No, it was another real, in the fur adventure with The Agility wonders Gracie & sigh, Arnie.

After agility running with Gracie in the morning, we headed to downtown. Destination Forth Worth Water Gardens that were built in 1974.

The active Pool was so impressive, with the noise of the cascading water, it blocked out the noise of the hustle & bustle of the city. You may have to squint but look closely in the middle of the picture to find Gracie. She was not a happy camper in the the Active pool, cooling terraced knoll but don't tell, she was braver than my Mom. Someone wimped out and only took me down two levels.

Then it was time to visit the Cypress lined, quiet meditation pool. Did you know the Cypress had knees?.... I had no idea trees had knees. The sound of the water cascading down the walls was so relaxing. Just wish there would have been a hammock between the trees to take a nap.


Where's Gracie?

The Three Pugateers. We can take on anything, especially when it comes to adventuring together. Priceless moment.

One of my favorite things about Brandy, was that I got to use my bionic abilities to run & run. Now I have Gracie & Arnie's sister, Snap to run with, bionic knees & after burners activated. Hehee, snort.


Mom keeps hinting at an upcoming surprises. I know of one that she hasn't posted yet, hopefully she will post it Sunday. The other, I only get is a smile & Mom says I will be surprised.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Happy 4th of July!

Wow, I can't believe Short Tails of Suki is two year old today! Celebrating Freedom was my very first post. Being something new and never blogged before, it was a must to include my best friend, (aka, my bestie), Brandy. My first post only had one comment, guess who it was from? The one and only Puglet!

This picture makes me smile & sad at the same time. Mom's eyes leak, but she smiles at the same time too. Just last July, I lost my bestie to the stupid "C" word. Brandy had bad, bad heart cancer (Hemangiosarcoma).

What makes us smile is that she is no longer in pain and frolicking in heaven with my friend Payton teaching her to swim, just like she taught me. One day, we will all meet again. Brandy & I had awesome adventures that are priceless & will always have a special place in our hearts.

Enough with the leaking eyes, time to put my big girl panties on and celebrate the 4th of July! Puggies, don't melt in the heat, humans stay safe, buckle up when traveling.

To all the military men, women and military doggies, as well as their supporting families, Mom & I send a very sincere THANK YOU for all you do!

Happy 4th of July!