Me and Claire

This is a picture of me and my friend Claire.
See. She really does love me.

This is how it's supposed to be when Laura hosts a party:
Laura cooks food and entertains the other guests, but I get to sit with Claire!

Sniff

Claire didn't come to my party.

I tried not to be angry because Laura said it wasn't Claire's fault.
She said it wasn't even Loretta's fault.
(Sometimes that Loretta comes to visit Laura and she doesn't bring Claire with her and then I do get mad because Loretta knows that I love Claire and she is supposed to bring her to visit me!)
But Laura said Loretta tried to bring Claire to our party, and they didn't make it because there was too much snow.

I don't really understand that.
Snow is fun.
More snow equals more fun.
Sometimes there is so much snow, the snow is taller than I am! But I still go out exploring in it.
Laura says it is different when you are driving a car though. She says snow isn't very much fun then.

Anyhow... I tried not to be angry, because you shouldn't be angry at people unless they really deserve it.
And I tried not to be sad.

But I was sad.

I really love Claire and I miss her and Laura promised Claire would come to our party and then she didn't.



It is hard to live so far away from your friends.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday Princess Kendal!
Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday!
I am eleven years old!
(Laura says that is a very good age.)

Laura is making me my very favourite cookies for my birthday because she loves me! Also today I got to play in the snow, and then when I came inside Laura played fun towel games with me and then I got to sit on her lap. And I didn't have to go to the puppy park today! Yay! I am a big girl now so I don't have to play with those ankle-biters anymore!

Tomorrow we are having a big party to celebrate my birthday.
(Well. Okay. It is Laura's Rainbow Day party. But I was born in Canada so I think that makes my birthday my Rainbow Day. So tomorrow's party is really for me too.)
My friends Alex and Jennifer are coming and my best friend Claire too! I can hardly wait!

Winter Wonderland

All month long here the snow has been coming and going, coming and going. We'll have a glorious blanket of fresh snow one day, then the next day it's gone. I have learned to go outside right away after a snowfall and play in it as much as I can before it melts.

Last weekend, Laura and I went hiking in our special place. It had snowed the day before, but only some of the snow had melted, leaving the ground pretty slippery. Laura fell splat, right on her bum. I ran back to see if she was okay, but Laura just lay on the ground laughing. I am teaching her to enjoy playing in the snow too!

I ran all over the park: down to the river, through the woods and back through the sleeping wildflower meadow -- and I didn't fall down once. Sometimes having four little legs is an advantage over two big tall ones!

Alas, a couple of days later, all of that beautiful snow had melted away again, but this Friday it came back. It snowed and it snowed and it snowed. By dinnertime, the snow in our yard was so deep, it came up to my head! I had a fun time scooting and digging and tunneling through the snow. Then I came inside and made Laura play towel games with me. I bet all of that snow won't be able to melt away in any hurry!

Yesterday, Laura and I had our Yule Party. I was a bit apprehensive about the party because Laura said my friend Claire wasn't coming -- and what is the point of having a party without Claire?

The last time Laura had a party, I didn't know any of the people who came, and they all just sat around talking about writing things all afternoon, and no one wanted to play with me. It was very boring.

Laura said this would be a good party, however, and she turned out to be correct. I made two new friends called Alex and Jennifer. They sat and talked to me all night, and I had a good time -- even though Laura wouldn't let me sit on the futon!

Before the party, Laura had taken the futon cover downstairs where there's that noisy machine. Every time Laura brings clothing and blankets and stuff back up from that machine, they smell funny. I was trying to do my part once Laura put the cover back on the futon to make it smell nice again for our guests, but Laura kicked me off. Then she put her guitar on the futon, right in the middle so it was taking up almost all of the space, and I couldn't get back on. I don't know why she did that. Her guitar didn't do anything to make the futon smell nice, and when our guests arrived, they had to sit on it with it still smelling all soapy!

No one seemed to mind, however, and I got to sit on my throne all night, with my new friends beside me, so everyone was happy. I hope Alex and Jennifer will come to our next party too!

Anyhow... Laura says it is bedtime, so I will sign off for now and say good night and happy solstice everybody! Have fun in the snow!

River Pictures

Finally. November is almost over and I get a chance to get back on the computer. (Laura is finished her 50K for NaNoWriMo already. She is supposed to be working on her term paper for class today, but instead she is making soup, so I get the computer!)

I want to show you some more pictures of the special place where Laura and I go hiking near our home. These are pictures from one of our fall trips there. (Once Laura is done her classes for this term, maybe we can go back and take some winter pictures.)

You all know how much my friend Laura loves the water. Well, look at where we can walk to, right from our home:



I like the river too, because it is a good place to have a drink. (Laura hikes very far, and that makes me thirsty!)



In some places, the river isn't so quiet.



I can do this.



I am so brave!



Hey! Don't laugh! That was a big stream for a little puppy like me to cross all by herself!



You're still laughing, aren't you. I can hear you naysayers, betting that I won't do it, that I won't cross the big river...



... well, I'll show you!



That's me in that picture. Me. Princess Kendal. Fording the rapids.

Come on in, Laura! The water's nice and cool and it tickles my feet!



That was fun!



Once you are done playing in the water, you should shake really hard to get dry. If your human was too afraid to go in the water with you, be sure to stand really close to her when you shake. That way, she will at least be able to enjoy the river's watery goodness second hand.



I think I'll lie here for a bit now and rest.

Bathroom Blessing

Here is another video from our new home Blessing Party.

Laura and my Mum and our friends Loretta and Tammy and my best friend Claire are all blessing the bathroom.



Now, if you are ever visiting us and you have occasion to use the bathroom, and you notice how great the energy is in there, you will know why!

Tee-Hee

Here is a funny video from the blessing party for Laura and my new home.

That little boy who is always coming around was at the party, and while he was here, he went poop in the toilet. Apparently, this is a big deal for humans. I'm not sure what the attraction is. Those toilet things look scary and not at all comfortable. Me, I prefer a nice piece of soft grass. Anyhow...

Using the toilet is, as I've said, a big deal for humans. This little boy was so proud of himself that he made John sing and dance to celebrate: