So my mom says this is the last day of the year.  She seems really excited about it but I'm not exactly sure why.  She also says that folks have been asking about me, maybe even wondering as to what I've been up to for the past several months. Oh, I've pretty much just hung out at home with mom and the kitties and from the whispers I hear from my other hairy friends, that's what most of you have been up to too. We go each day either to the river to walk and play fetch or to a couple of the parks nearby. I did get to attend my first outdoor concert earlier in the summer with Mom and Auntie M.  I tried my best to be just as good as possible because that was fun and I want to be able to do that again, and again, and again.

 Mostly, I'd say I've spent a lot of time reflecting.  As I'm approaching adulthood there's just so much to consider!  For the time being I've decided to continue to live at home.  I'm afraid Mom would start ugly crying if I mentioned moving out on my own.  I had a date a couple of months ago but he turned out to be a bit deaf and blind and too old to run and have real fun with.  Mom says that sounds a lot like her dating life too.  

This is Pibb ~ he sounded better than he was IRL

I've been reviewing my options, "trying on" different occupations to see how they fit. I know some folks make a very nice living as an astronaut but what about alien spaceships?  Those sound kinda scary and I'm not real fond of heights.  That's probably a no go.

I love to eat yummy foods and Mom has all kinds of really cool kitchen stuff that you plug in...  maybe a baker or chef would be fun and taste good too.  I could just sit and dream of the concoctions I might create.

Or, perhaps I could just continue being a pup of leisure and spend my days sailing through the skies in a hot air balloon.  Oh, the choices are endless.  So tell me, what do you want to be when you grow up?  Let me know and I'll add it to my list of possibilities.

Happy New Year with Loves & Licks

Stella

In the meantime I want to wish you all the best for 2021.  I'm hoping there will be a lot of new adventures, new friends, new experiences and a chance to visit with folks a whole lot more!

So when exactly do I get my cap & gown?

Greetings from the land of the Corona Virus!  Now, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what that means.  I've put together little bits and pieces here and there,  from conversations I've overheard and the radio and television but I still have questions... so many questions.

 It sounds like a terrible thing and I don't doubt that for a minute, I've heard of folks being sick and even dying from it which is just too sad to even try to wrap my brain around but without trying to sound disrespectful, as a little black dog, I'm not really hating some of its aspects.

I've always been taught to look for the silver-lining in problems... like for instance, we don't have friends come to visit anymore at our house, but we get to go see Grandma almost every day and I love playing with her.  I especially love that she always pours me a bowl of filtered water when I get thirsty and my ball is always waiting in exactly the same spot.   She never gets tired of throwing it for me and when I'm really, really good, she has a bag of treats stashed and I know right where they are.

My Grandma!

Another benefit is that Mom has had a lot more time recently to spend  with me.  Sometimes we walk the lake, or the dike or head to the river and sometimes we take car rides to new destinations but the difference is, now we are never in a hurry! Even if it's just getting to spend more time napping on her lap, it makes me happy but... let me tell you about my very favorite new thing to do!

Up by the lake is this beautifully big building that Mom says is a high school named RA Long.  Turns out Mom went there many, many years ago and so did her grandson Easten. In fact, I've met a lot of lovely folks over the years who also went to school there. In front of the school it just so happens they have not one but two humongously big yards with luscious green grass and really tall trees.  Because of this virus thing, there aren't any kids going to school so it's become a very lonesome place.  Mom and I decided to visit it and let me tell you, that place rocks! Because it's such a large area, Mom can throw the ball really far and I get to run just as fast as I can to fetch it.  Just between you and me, Mom can't really throw worth a darn but with that green ball-throwing device, she looks like a superstar.  And then there are the squirrels, tons of them and they are so much fun to play with.  We pretend I'm chasing them, but I'm really not, it's just a game, and they run up and down the trees, teasing me, but not mean- like because remember, it's just a game.  I tried my best to run up the trees after them but for some reason I just can't seem to get a grip on the bark like they can.

There are also these really cool flowers that Mom says are called dandy-lions.  She told me all about how they are healthy and helpful to the bees but the part I like is how you can nudge them and make them blow all over.  I tried using my mouth but I just couldn't pucker my lips in the right way so I ended up just swatting them with my paw instead, same results and so cool.

Success!

I also have my very own private gardner that comes every so often and lets his very noisy horse-like monster eat the grass and make it short again.  Sometimes he kind of vacuums up all the leftovers that the monster leaves but sometimes he doesn't and that leads to one thing I'm not really crazy about... hairy balls.  Yup, my ball gets little grass hairs all over it and when I bring it back to Mom, it tickles my tongue something fierce.  Still trying to find the silver lining in that little problem.

So, I'm hoping this virus thing isn't getting you down, that you've been able to find some silver-linings too and that when this is all over and I've gone back to day-care, and you've all returned to your lives, you'll be able to look back over these past few months and realize that there were some good times too.  And... if this Corona continues much longer, my hope is that I too will be an RA Long graduate. :o)

Love & Licks, Stella

      

                    

Happy Birthday to me?

So... according to my mom, today is my birthday! I guess I'm three years old now, although I still  feel like a very young pup. If you believe the online charts and grafts, that makes me equal to about seventeen in people years.  Hummmm, that might explain a lot.  Turns out I've been a bit moody for the last few months, just kinda keeping to myself, sometimes even napping at the opposite end of the couch instead of always in moms lap.  I'm usually happy and excited to see what the day might hold but once or twice I've found myself feeling reflective, and just like time in my bed, left alone to chill.  Mom says she just chalks it up to me being a teenage girl, what the heck does she mean by that?

I'm so excited that today I share my birthday with the first day of Spring ~ how cool is that!  Spring is full of longer days for walks around the lake, dry skies to head towards Willow Grove to chase the birds or warmer weather to head to the beach.  I'm old enough now to know that following Spring is Summer, major whoop time!  I've heard whispers of some new adventures planned over the next few weeks and I can hardly wait.

My Auntie Joanski always said Spring pups were the best pups to adopt and I have no reason to disagree.  Now is like the PERFECT time to consider an addition to your family and if adoption isn't your thing, maybe fostering would be a better fit.  Thant's how I met my mom.  Either way, it can be a really wonderful experience that will make your heart swell right out of your chest ~Yes, I've watched The Grinch Stole Christmas movie too, maybe more than once.  He's kind of a scary dude!

Please help me celebrate my special day by doing one random act of kindness in my name.  Id love to hear back from you as to what your RAK ends up being.  The thought of being the reason for something nice happening just makes my heart well in a very Grinch-kinda-way.

Loves & Licks,
Stella