FINALLY. Megan emailed me a series of 3 photos from the visit last week. My friend DeVonn went with me to meet not only Megan, but also Stevie, since I talk so much about both. Needless to say, DeVonn got a full, undiluted dose of Stevie at her manic best. (See the Gallery)

We did go to Petsmart, and were wandering around looking for dog toys (both the neon frog and the plastic keys needed to be replaced). Megan couldn't find the frog so she walked up to one of the Petsmart associates and asked where they kept the replacement toys. Wish you could have seen her face... She said, "What kind of toys?!" Megan said, "You know, replacement toys!" It took the gal a minute to "get" it, but she finally did and we found the frog on a bottom shelf, thank goodness. The original frog was one foster mom Cathy had given to Stevie, and it remains one of her favorites. The plastic keys on the other hand, are the 4th set... she obviously likes those, too.

Megan and I will be celebrating Megan's birthday (it's actually on Tuesday) on Friday and Saturday this week and we're going to take Stevie to Dripping Springs with us while we get haircuts. We've both gone to the same stylist for over 15 years, we both need a haircut and we both don't want Stevie to have to stay home alone all that time... Saturday, we'll have a birthday lunch and maybe watch a movie and play scrabble, all of which is made infinitely more, um, interesting (or is that challenging?) by the participation of one very curious, blind, 6 pound Min Pin.

As always, I'll be sure to fill you in on all the Min Pin shenanigans. Please don't touch that dial!

Cheers,
G

It is a sad day in Stevie-dom... one of her oldest, most favorite toys has finally bitten the dust. The bad news is the "Neon Frog" (see photos way back in the Gallery) can no longer pass the all-important "Megan test" for puppy safety.

The good news, however, is that PetsMart has LOTS of neon frogs in stock.

The better news is we will all be trooping down to PetsMart tomorrow to replenish the oh, so empty Stevie toy box. (Yeah, right, poor, poor puppy has absolutely NO toys to play with.)

Photos are sure to follow!

Cheers,
G

Stevie has learned that the sound of the alarm clock means it's time to get up, time for a walk, time for SNIBLETS. Megan says that when it goes off, Stevie will make her way up from the bottom of the bed and snuzzle her on the neck, pretending all the while that she's NOT trying to eat Megan's hair. Megan says that lately she has been waking up just before the alarm goes off so she can turn it off, get up, do some of her morning routine, then slide back into bed for a little bit, resetting the alarm for later so that Stevie doesn't get quite so excited quite so early.

Like any true hound dog, Stevie loves warm and snuggly smells. She has made it a habit of trying to rub her head under Megan's arms. Megan was laughing about that and I told her, well, yeah, but dogs like to rub in deer poop and dead fish, too.

Hoping to make a visit into Austin this weekend, and of course, that means more pictures! So be sure to tune in on Saturday night or Sunday...

Cheers!
G

There's a new phrase around Megan's house, no doubt inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean movies... showed up all on its own out of the blue one day and won't go away: "Shiver me sniblets!" But you have to be very careful about saying it around Stevie. Mainly because "sniblets" at Megan and Stevie's house is the same as "treats" at any other dog's house and followed by conniption (sp?) fits and much running around in circles, with expectations of food.

This past Monday, Megan was leaving work after a particularly trying day. As she was leaving, she said, to no one in particular, "Well, I'm going home to beat my dog." Then she stopped in her tracks because there was a student standing at the door (everyone else there is used to Megan saying odd things). She looked at the woman and said, "Wait, let me explain..." and the woman said, "No, no, I know exactly what you mean. You pat your dog on the side and it makes a big thumping hollow noise." Megan laughed and said, "Yeah." The lady said, "Is it a big dog?" "Oh, no, I have a very small dog. Doesn't quite sound like a watermelon... more like a canteloupe."



Stevie will soon be 11 months old... hard to believe she's almost ready celebrate her first birthday! I'm sure she's going to need more toys, t-shirts and pictures.

Stay tuned for more Adventures of Stevie!

G

I think I know why Stevie doesn't ever get any bigger (or at least, it doesn't seem like it): She uses up too many calories being a professional Pinhead so she doesn't have enough calories left over to use for growing.


Someone at Megan's work gave her a large (I'm talking the size of a Cocker Spaniel) stuffed tiger. The tiger looks great on Megan's new couch. Of course, Stevie thinks it's a dog toy, even though it's 4 or 5 times her size.

I said, "Hey, let's get pictures of Stevie sitting or lying down next to the Tiger!" My sister just looked at me as if I was crazy and said, "Yeah, good luck with that."

You can check out the Gallery to see how successful we were(n't). She still loves my keys, camera, anything with a strap and she sure as heck knows when you're taking photos of her. She is THE biggest ham and will pose and cock her head just so, so that you get her best side every time.

She is the apple of Megan's eye, and not far from being her proud aunt's, too.

Cheers to all,
G