More

We're back.
Never left, really.

Which is odd.
We've been on the go so much.

You'd think we'd be tired of salads and such by now.
But nope.

Not here.

Moma has been mixing and matching them
and spicing up the menu by adding
White Wine Sangria

(Thanks to Rocky Creek Scotties
We bet they'll share the yummy recipe)

and

Red Wine and Ice Cream
(Thanks to Bertie)

And just so you know
Moma refused to get on the scales this morning
Mumbling something about needing to take us for more walks and hikes.
We didn't discourage that idea.

Anyhow

Fergi has been busying herself with Straight Unembellished Corn
(More about that later)

While
Moma's been a bit more eclectic

Fruits and Veggies abound

She whipped up this recipe

(Some of you asked for it)

Called 

Eat a Mommy with Beans Salad

and Another Secret Ingredient

Here's how she made it.

Lightly steam about a cup of frozen shelled edamame

(hehehe ... you thought we didn't know what we were talking about)

Add to them a can of rinsed and drained cannellini 

(white kidney beans)

Add to that a bunch of halved cherry tomatoes

Some chopped red onion

And as much minced jalapeño pepper as you like

(take out the seeds and rinse, or it'll be really hot)

Then

Mix together some chopped fresh cilantro

(Moma likes a lot ... like 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

A couple of tablespoons of lime juice

A little bit less extra virgin olive oil

and some salt.

Drizzle that over the veggies.  Stir. Cover and chill.

But wait!

We didn't mention the Secret Ingredient

(She tries to slip it in without us noticing.)

•  Steamed shrimp.
• Add as much as you like.
• (We like a lot!)
• It's the best part, in our opinion.
• 

Now.

If that's not enough

We've got more.

Moma even found a recipe for a Sooper Delish Salad

We shared with Agatha and Archie and the Others

When we visited in Boston earlier this month

Mmmm.  Mmmmm. Mmmmmmm.

Oh yeah

I didn't forget

In fact

Thinking about the Arboretum and our Whole Amazing Trip 

Just reminded me.

Fergi

It's prob'ly pretty clear by now the Girl

(the four-legged Girl)

Has been making some Amazing Progress 

in her two years since being a puppy mill breeder.

We were ALL so proud of her on The Trip

And we continue to celebrate her little Achievements.

Well

Gotta give you some background.

(Sigh)

(I know.  This is already long and wordy)

(But it does relate)

We got this new camera.

Doesn't really look like a camera

It's called a Flip

And Fergi hasn't (quite yet) figured out

She's being filmed with It.

So

Today

Fergi decided to start chomping on a previously loved

Corn Cob

One that her sissie Asta shared with her last month.

And today was the same day

Moma decided to try and figure out how to use this newfangled Camera

(and all the programs that help to make the end product fancy)

And what did we get?

Video Documentation

of Miss Fergi

Learning to Gnaw and Learning to Love

a Corn Cob TOY!

Lookie See!

We are sooooooo Proud and Happy

And Hungry

And waiting for that Promised Walk.

See ya later!

Jake

It's a Miracle, With Promise for More

So.

Right before OurGirl left for College

She talked Moma into buying a wallymelon

and

Not much of it got eaten.

Moma doesn't like it.

(Or so she said)

So?

We asked,

"Can we eat it?"

"No!"
She said.
"There's too much watermelon for two little dogs."


So what did she do?
(She doesn't like to waste.  Anything.)

She made a Special Salad.
From a Summer Recipe from our Auntie Judith
in Florida.

A Watermelon and Tomato Salad

Yum!

Smelled pretty good to me.

But Moma said, "No."
"It's got onions and little dogs can't eat onions."

But we CAN eat leftover wallymelon
and we were VERY happy.


And the even better news is:
It's a Miracle!

Moma loved loved LOVED the salad
Which means promise for more.
More wallymelon.
For us.

It's truly a Miracle.
After more years than Moma wants to admit
She loves wallymelon.

At least she loves wallymelon in this recipe.

Here it is
The recipe.

Combine:
Five or so cups of seeded watermelon cubes
A whole bunch of ripe tomatoes, cubed
3 sorta big pinches of sugar
One pretty small pinch of salt

Let that stand for 15 minutes, or so.

Then add
One small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Crushed black pepper, to taste

 Cover it all and chill it for a couple of hours.
Then serve it chilled.
Or not.

(Moma drains the liquid off on the second and third days
and still enjoys it almost as much as the first.)

So.
What has this led to?

More Fruit and Veggie Shopping
At the Farmers' Market


Which has led to several more salads.
Yummy ones.

You might say Moma has become a bit obsessed with salads.

She says it takes her mind off of Nina
In a sort of healthy way.

We'll share the recipes, if ya like.
Some of them have some very Dog Friendly Ingredients.

We know.
We're the Taste Testers

(Which keeps our minds off of OurNinaGirl.
At least a little bit
For a little while.)

In My Dreams

No sooner did we get Home

Than they packed up the car again.

What's with this?

My Traveling Spot was all taken up with Stuff and more Stuff.

Crammed in tight.

No room to breathe.

There was no space for me and Fergi.

Not even in OurGirl's little Beetle Bug.

I stowed away, though.

Crammed myself in a little corner

and slept.

Quietly.

A couple of hours later

I woke up here.

Heard 'em talking about NinaGirl's "dorm"

I peeked from behind the car

and watched 'em unload and roll in furniture and boxes.

(They didn't see me.)

Trip after Trip.

All that Stuff got moved into that huge house called a Dorm.

I decided to curl up and sleep for a while longer.

Till

Eventually

I snuck in.

I did.

Right in that massive building

That "No Dogs Allowed" dorm.

And right away

I spotted my picture (Fergi's, too) on the wall.

With lots of other familiar "stuff"

and some not so familiar.

Stuff that had been stuffed in the closet for months

In big piles

Stuff that NinaGirl had been collecting

and ooo'ing and aww'ing over.

Stuff I wasn't allowed to sniff out.

So.

What's the deal?

What's with Fergs lying on this little bed?

And what's with the (rather sparse, if you ask me) living room

with no toys

and no dog beds?

Something didn't smell quite right.

And those were the exact words I heard

when Moma walked in the door so many hours later

(without NinaGirl).

Back Home.

She said

Something like ...

"What stinks?"

And that's where the Story ends.

The Readers Digest Version: Part 3 (Plus A Day to Celebrate!)

WOW!

It's a recent record!

Two blog posts in two days.

It must've been at least three months since we've managed that.
(You can read yesterday's Readers Digest Part Two of Our Trip here.)

There's a good reason for this quick turnaround.

Read on

And you'll find out why!

(Moma got motivated)

So

To continue a brief version

of our Very Special Trp.

We left off at the LeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

(With one of us a bit disconcerted

You can find out more about that someday.  

When Moma takes the time to share our observations.)

From that (rather unsettling) place we traveled to the Mountain Home

of our Prestigious and Very Respectful WFT Author Friend

Chaucer

Whom Moma and OurGirl got to snuggle up close to 

and listen to his words of sound and wise advice

(It was a very special time.)

We also got to meet his protégé

Miss Shelley

The newly rescued and adopted wire fox terrier

Author-in-Training.

And ... boy ... can she

JUMP!

(Hehehe.  The Boy taught her!)

AND

The Boy gave us lots and lots of hugs and kisses

and a few treats, too.

Before we left to head West

(That made us a bit sad ...

We knew we had more friends to visit

but it meant we were heading the direction of home)

We got directions for a couple of really cool spots

Along the back roads of New Hampshire and Vermont

Among them:

The Stonewall Farm

And Burdicks' Chocolatier

Mmm. Mmm. Mmmmmm.

Next Stop

(Next Day)

This amazing place called Niagara Falls State Park

Where I ... well ... we'll save that story for a future post.

(Moma says she can only handle telling about it once.)

So Onward!

...  to ...

The Holy Terriers

Calmly and patiently waiting on their Driveway

Quietly ready to greet us.

Seems Mumsie feared we might not be 

Shall we say ... appropriately Social

Together

Five Terriers.

Ha!

She was wrong.

We met

Nose to Nose

Stanny

Scruffy

and

of course

LacieGirlie

And we did GREAT!

(and Lacie's bottom is NOT big nor is she a lady of disrepute)

Well

We did Mostly Great.

There were a FEW minor transgressions

(Don't believe everything you may have read or will read)

Some of it may be true

And I did put myself in the Notty Corner

or

At Least

Gave MYSELF a wee bit of a time out.

(All on my own doing, I'll have you know.)

But it didn't last for long

(the time out)

and soon the three of them were showing me the wild turkeys

(no reference to any of the three of them)

trotting across their amazing back yard.

You should've seen them RUN!

(I want to learn to run like that someday)

There's more

Lots more

Some of a bit ... umm ... embarrassing

But we'll wait to tell you.

Next Morning?

A last minute plan to meet the Famous Reporter

Dewey Dewster

and his mom, Asta Marie

(and Toby ... though we never really met Tobes)

That's me.

Jake

With Dewey

Who has been teaching me the Play Bow Move

as a precursor to wiry play

(I'm not sure if he figured out that I'm more of a Meet-and-Greeter

and 

Let's-Check-Out-These-New-Surroundings

Sort of Guy

But that's OK

We had a great time

Sniffing about while the People chit chatted 

and ate a yummy yummy Breakfast.

The rest of that day was spent riding and riding

While Moma and OurGirl spent it driving and driving.

We tried to sniff out Miss Fergi's Farfel

but his scent just wasn't quite strong enough.

So

Fergi left some traces of herself for him

In hopes he'd find it someday

But understanding if he doesn't.

(Sigh)

And then MORE riding and riding

And driving and driving.

Almost all the way to Chicago Land

Where we hoped to meet up with

Amy

and

the

But alas.

Schedules didn't work out.

(Another time.)

So

More riding and riding

and driving and driving

until we found it!

Mutton Hollow!

Where I got to meet (Sweet) Scruffy

(Oh my Dogness, Moma.  How could you let me publish this with this blatant error?)

What I meant to say was: Sweet BUTCHY

(so did Fergi get to meet him, but she's a bit shy to show it quite yet)

and

YES

The precious Kkkkkatie!

Look at her greeting me with that European kiss

(There's so much more to tell)

and Mutton Hollow's where I met 

... well ... 

I'll go ahead and admit it ...

Second to Sally in London

I think I met my ...

(PLEASE DON'T TEASE ME

I'LL ADMIT TO BEING A SENSITIVE GENTLE SOUL

PERHAPS A BIT ATYPICAL FOR A WIRE.)

I met my

True Love

Ruby

The Kitty

I truly was mesmerized by her.

Truly. Truly. Truly.

And

By the Fish

As well.

All of them.

Especially those in the big pretty aquariums

We had SUCH a good time

All of us!

(Wait until you read more!)

Next Stop

Was a quick visit to see Miss Cheryl

of MidWest Fox Terrier Rescue.

She was the wonderful lady

Who first rescued me

Got me from the dog auction

and opened the doors to my new Life.

I remembered Miss Cheryl

I knew her

Right away.

And it was very special.

Just think.

I went from a Puppy Mill breeder

Just a few short years ago

to a Cross Country Traveler today.

With dozens of very very special friends

that I got to meet

Snooter to Snooter

Along the way.

Life is SO Good!

All of the Incredible Experiences

Gave us all a lot to think about

To talk about

and 

To remember 

in the car

On our long drive home.

From a lot of different perspectives.

It was a great trip

A REALLY great trip.

But there is truly nothing like

Home Sweet Home.

And our Homecoming was Fantastic.

We got HOME

To OUR Home

Our FOREVER HOME!

And it was just as we had left it

Waiting for us

Welcoming us HOME!

And we got back

Just in time

To celebrate Fergi's Second Gotcha Day!

Today!

What a great Day!

What a great Summer!

What a great two Years!

What a great Family!

What a great Extended Family!

We all feel so Lucky!!!

(And I'm so glad that Fergi is my sister.

We were meant to be a Family.)

Yep.

That's the way that it is.

Pretty dog-gonned Good!

The Reader's Digest Version: Part Two

Well.

We're Home.

But far from settled in, rested or relaxed.

You see

OurGirl heads to College this weekend

So

Well

You can imagine.

(Piles.  Piles.  Everywhere.)

It will be a while before Moma helps us write the unabridged

(well, maybe slightly abridged ...

Some things are better left unspoken, you know)

Version of our Big Trip.

But she will

She's gotta

There are way too many pawsome memories that need to be documented

and shared.

For us.

And with you.

But we CAN give you another

Short and sweet account of the second third of our trip.

So

Here goes.

We left off leaving Asta and her Family

in a Frazzled and Frenetic state of Frustration

and, honestly, Fear.

We were extra glad we were there when "The (horrible) Call" came in

and we hope that we were able to provide

just a bit of Distraction

and that we were able to leave behind

A lot of reminders of Love.

(And Trust.  And Confidence.  And Assurance.)

They've been on our minds every day

and we keep trying to remind them

that Good Things can (and will) come of Bad Situations.

We really Believe that.

(Please keep your support flowing

We know they appreciate it

And gain from it

Everyday)

After we left Asta's cozy and oh-so-comfortable home

We headed up the New Hampshire coast and met

... dah dah ta dahhhh ...

Maggie and Mitch!

(Hehehe ... wouldn't you like to know what they were thinking?)

This pic should tell it all.

Big smiles and lots of scritchies were shared.

And every single moment was full of fun and happiness.

For everyone.

We left their amazing home

and headed to Boston

To be treated like the royalty of the dog world

at the Very Dog Friendly Hotel Marlowe.

Needless to say

We soaked up the luxury.

This was a once in a lifetime experience

(or not?)

and we wanted to savor every moment.

The next morning we headed to our next stop.

Yep.

Agatha and Archie's Abode.

Right there.

For real.

With all the places we'd been wanting to see for ourselves.

(Like Aggie's bomb shelter.)

They greeted us in the car

(catch Fergi's hint of a smile)

and led us to the Amazing Arboretum

Where we got to hike and romp with our leader

(and amazing inspiration)

Norwood

(and his mom)

The three Bostonians shared their world

(or at least a huge part of it)

And all five of us tromped along

Each in a Very Happy (and Amiable) Element

Hiking

Swimming

Romping

Digging

Watching Others Dig

Sniffing

Hunting

and ... yes ... eating

Till we collapsed

(There's LOTS more to tell.

We'll save it for another post.)

Next stop?

A Market along a Massachusetts country road

(Gotta stock up on local foodables, you know)

and a visit to the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

outside of Boston

Where we saw plenty of cool stuff

and questionably-cool stuff

(with very mixed reviews, in our humble doggie opinion.)

While there, we met up with our buddy Chaucer's new sister

Wire Fox Terrier (rescue) Shelley

and Her Boy

Who led us to their lovely New Hampshire home

In the woods.

Sigh.

We'll stop here, and fill you in on that visit

and the rest of our trip

in our Next Installment!

Right now we want to remember the Quiet and Calm

on their porch that night.

Memories like that

(and so many others that we have from the past two weeks)

are what are getting Moma through 

these crazy days of commotion.

Bottom Line:

We had a GREAT time on our Trip.

We're Home

Safe and Sound

Full of Amazing Memories

Feeling doggoned Lucky to have made the trip

but a little sad that it's over.

We have a hard time believing

that All Good Things Must Come to an End.

In Fact

We refuse to believe it.

If we keep reliving our Memories

and making plans to create new ones

They don't have to end.

Right?