STUCK!

Tama-Chan: We were expecting #1 home this morning but she is STUCK in Halifax, Nova Scotia! She says she had the day from hell yesterday, with delay after delay, finally boarding, being given a meal, and then being deplaned again after 1am! By the time they got to their hotel rooms, it was 5am. How awful is that? She is supposed to leave late tonight and get in tomorrow morning. We are all crossing our paws that this time, she will make it! Could you cross your paws for her too, please?

Waiting......

Tommy here again (actually, this is because our scribe only has a photo of me handy at the moment....). We wanted to let you know that the countdown has begun! #1 is flying out tomorrow and arriving home on Thursday morning! HURRAY!!!

Fast and Furious Friday!

Tom: It's Tommy here! I decided to rename Fridays, but it will probably be for this week only. You see, I have some great photos to share with you! As you know, Mr.S has been the most fabulous Frisbee playing partner and I have proof of the good times we have been sharing!

There she goes....

And there I go! Notice the flying ears too!

Sei-Chan: I can do it too, I can do it! Why doesn't anyone throw ME any Frisbees? I could catch them! See....

Style... I has it!!!

Tama-Chan: What's all this? It is Friday today, isn't it? FROOTBAT FRIDAY, right?

Well, at least one person around here knows how to behave with propriety...

Convention!

#1 here. This is a special post to tell you about a special event that took place here in Prince Edward Island yesterday, July 21, 2009. I had the great pleasure of hosting Ms.C of T'Abby Normal (Abby and Stygia) and the PM from Sumac Stories (Goldie, Shade and Banshee) for an afternoon of wine and stories. Ms.C had come all the way from Pennsylvania and the PM from across the Confederation Bridge in New Brunswick!



Ms.C had kindly prepared some lovely commemorative glass ornaments (in the shape of a fish!) for us to take home, in a specially designed envelope:



We thought we did very well for a first get-together, bringing together bloggers from Canada, the States and France. We are planning a repeat event for 2010. Fancy visiting Prince Edward Island in July, fellow bloggers?

Foxy Neighbours.......

Hello everyone. #1 here. I am entering the last third of my stay at the cottage in Prince Edward Island. It's a glorious day today and I wanted to share the view with you.



Of course, that photo does not show you the thousands of mosquitoes that would typically be swarming around and feasting on the hapless photographer...

I am beginning to feel pretty bad withdrawal symptoms at being away from the gang but it seems that I have some rather cute lodgers here too. These guys are living under the shed that is behind the cottage. They are very playful and not at all shy.

Frootbat Friday and Our Other News

SEI-CHAN: Hello everyone. It's been far too long! We're finally getting a chance to do a proper blog post again. I get to go first, not because I am the youngest, but because I have the Frootbat photo for today!



I have been missing my #1 but we have very nice people living with us here, and they play with us and give us cuddles and lots of yummy food. And of course, I still have my big sister to snuggle up with:



Talking of big sisters, Tama-Chan had a big adventure last week, and she wants to tell you all about it!


TAMA-CHAN: It's good to be back, and yes, I have an adventure to tell you about! As you know, I absolutely adore our cat run and have been climbing all over it. It just so happened that, one day, last week, I noticed that it wasn't as well attached as it might have been in one place and so... ESCAPISTA TAMA struck! I had been closely studying all of the advice in my friend Siena's blog and there was my opportunity at last! I was out. I was free!!!!! But then appeared out of nowhere this large floofy thing (the neighbours' very sweet cat, Manoushka) and I was terrified. You know how shy I am. So, I ran and ran, and finally ran upwards! And this is where I found myself:



Can you see me in there? I was hugging that branch! And there was a small problem. I couldn't figure out how to get down.... I stayed up there for a while until a friend, Mr. P, came home from work and brought his big ladder. I was so exhausted that I wolfed down a big meal and passed out on the sofa.



TOMMY: I have been having the most fabulous time (yes, #1, I miss you too!!!!!!) because Mr S. is just the best Frisbee partner! But I have no photographic proof, their excuse being that I never stand still long enough for them to take photos. They've obviously never heard of action shots... So, here is one of me waiting for the Frisbee to be thrown:




A word from #1: Just a quick note to say sorry about not being able to leave comments on everyone's blogs. With a dial-up connection, some graphic-heavy blogs will simply not load, and some comments windows are not clickable. I try to catch up when I go into the library but can't always do so. We still love you and try to read/comment as often as we can!

A Farewell to a Friend

#1 here again. In our last post, I told you about a visit from a springer spaniel called Murphy. Today, I would like to pay tribute to his big brother, OSCAR, a liver and white springer spaniel who went to the Bridge a few days ago. Oscar was the very first springer I met, many years ago, and he was a tiny puppy at the time, the centre of attention at a party I was giving at my cottage. He grew into a fine boy, handsome and loving and full of fun. But he started having problems with his eyesight and eventually became blind, which did not take away from his quality of life. Young Muprhy was his playmate and his "guide dog." But then, Oscar fell victim to the big C and, when nothing more could be done for him, it was with enormous sadness that his adoring mistress, Ms.K, helped him to the Bridge last week. Goodbye, sweet Oscar. Run free with all of the great friends you will be making over there!

A Message from Sei-Chan and A Visit from Murphy

Sei-Chan: Where are you #1? I have been missing you. I keep looking for you in the bed at night and at your desk where you work but you are nowhere around. Please come back soon! In the meantime, I have been been hugging your chair so it doesn't feel lonely too.



#1 here... I have also been misisng everyone. But yesterday, I had a visit from a friend. His name is Murphy and he is a black and white springer spaniel. He is smaller than Tommy but has the same passion for tennis balls!

Been Missing me?

Tommy here! have you been missing me? Go on! Admit that you have! I have been well and really enjoyed uncle U's visit this week. He stayed with me and my sisters when our Aussie friends went to Paris for a couple of days. He played with me a lot and gave me lots of cuddles, and he brought his camera along. So, if you would like to see me in action, please visit Uncle U's site at AB Sharpei (http://absharpeii.blogspot.com/)! There is even a perfect flying ears shot, and a picture of little Sei-Chan. Tama-Chan was playing hard to get and aws not caught on camera this time.

By the way, #1 says that, when she was touring Nova Scotia earlier this month, she came across a gorgeous 10 month old GoldenDoodle called Max, who worked at a garden centre. He reminded her of our friend Clive, so she took a photo of him and asked us to put it on the blog. So, here is Max:

Remembering Sen-Chan

#1 here, writing from the south shore of Prince Edward Island where she has only a dial-up connection... The news from France is good. Yesterday, Tama-Chan managed to escape from the run and ended up far up a tree and could not come done until a neighbour produced a tall ladder! Sei-Chan is busy playing and purring, and Tommy is playing, playing and playing! Hopefully, there wil be some photos soon.

But this post is to remember our SEN-CHAN who would have been 2 years old today. It is still hard to believe that he is gone. Two is still so very young. But he is so very much with us in presence every day. He was the sweetest, sweetest boy, and had a way of looking straight at people with the most trusting expression in his eyes.



He loved to explore the outdoors



And he was always VERY relaxed. His favourite sleeping position exposed every vulnerable part of him



He adored his brother Tommy



And lavished affection on Tama-Chan when she arrived



All those who met him said he had a magical quality to him, one that is well represented in this photo of him, taken the time he got up on the roof last October



Sen-Chan, we will never forget you!