Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas

Greetings family and friends.... my apologies once again for my absence...... my Mom promises a "New Year's resolution" to do better in 2012. In her defense, we have had a lot of stuff going on at our house which has not left Mom much time to blog. My Mom and Dad did something called "remodeling" to our kitchen.....I don't know what that means, but to me it meant a nice man name Mike who came to my house every day and brought me cookies....he made all our cupboards in the kitchen look real nice and then he had some other men come and put in new kitchen floor and carpet in the family room and then a guy put in something called molding and then there was a painter.... I know him from a couple of years ago... his Mom had a Golden. Anyway, what was supposed to take about 2 weeks, turned into nearly a 2 plus month project.

My Dad had a birthday while I was on a blogging leave of absence and then there was Thanksgiving. And I went back to my Dr. Jeff and received an excellent report on my health -- my liver issues are stable and my weight is good and compared to a year ago at this time, all is absolutely right with the world.

Which brings us to Christmas......I received several gifts for which I am very grateful.... let me address them one at a time...

First, a few weeks before Christmas, I got a package in the mail for my pals, Augie and Ti......I know it was mine because I saw my name on the package.....Mom opened it and promptly whisked it away to a Christmas stocking that was not mine.... did she think she was tricking me?!? I know that is not my stocking -- mine is the one that says, "I love my Dog".....and there my present remained until Christmas morning...... some nonsense about I would "rip it to shreds" ...... SHEESH!  A guy can't even have his own gift....

 

See, there is my present from Augie and Ti in some "no-name" sock.....Thanks very much guys... when I finally got your present, it was awesome.

Let me just give you a quick run through of what else this lucky Golden Boy received for Christmas...here are my gifts from my bestest pal Farley......

I got a mini-lunch box with peanut butter cookies inside and a 35 lb. box of round peanut butter treats.... wait, what Mom??? Oh, sorry, it is a 3.5 lb. box....35 lbs..... ha ha ha... in my dreams... THANKS FARLEY, YOU'RE THE BEST!

And then on Christmas Eve, we had a some what altered tradition. My older brother's girlfriend Sophie always used to come over on Christmas Eve with her humans. Perhaps you will recall that Sophie crossed the "Rainbow Bridge" in January. We still miss her everyday. But, to my surprise, her humans kept the tradition going and came to visit me anyway. They brought me a "Hickory Farms" gift box.....

It's really dog toys made to look like "Hickory Farm" stuff, but I loved it and they also brought me a few packages of  "Milo Kitchen" treats. If you haven't tried them, I give them 2 paws up -- delicious!!! Thanks Sophie's humans.... you are so special to me.

And then came Christmas morning......look what Santa brought this "good" boy...

I got a new bed....  the striped thing on the bottom.... a treat puzzle (on your right) and a new stuffie that my Mom laid carefully on my new bed so that no one would know that I totally destroyed it already.

I am truly a lucky boy. I hope all my friends had a wonderful holiday too. The holidays make a guy really tired so I am just going to lie by the tree and the fireplace and count my blessings.....God bless us every one!!

Quanantined!!

Have you seen this man?!? If so, proceed with extreme caution or better yet, DO NOT approach at all. You must consider this innocent looking face as ...... Coughing and extremely CONTAGIOUS!!

Yes, friends, it is true I am dangerous.... I have some how been stricken with the highly contagious "Kennel Cough". Strangely enough, it seems that I managed to succumb to this situation at, of all places, my doctor's office..... what is wrong with this picture.

I am quarantined for at least 10 days.... had to alert all my neighbor friends -- three sides of my house -- I can go for a walk, but can't meet any new friends or say "Hi" to any old friends.... I am a coughing prisoner in my own home. Since I cough all night, here is what I do all day....

I can sleep all day, but my Mom and Dad are not so lucky.... I keep them up all night with my coughing and they don't have the luxury of napping all day. So, we will send you this message....... If you haven't been vaccinated against "Kennel Cough".... have the humans take you right now, or tomorrow morning at the very latest. Trust me friends, this is not something you want to get. You feel like something is stuck in your throat and you can't get it out. AND, worst of all, the noise that comes out of your mouth makes you sound like a Canadian Goose...... wait, there is also the whole 4 MORE PILLS a day for me ..... you will recall I have those ongoing liver issues which require 4 other pills a day..... my insides are a mini-pharmacy..... GET VACCINATED against Kennel Cough -- trust me on this one.

In will report back in a few days as to where I have been for the last month or so.... although my Mom is a slacker, it's not all her fault. Hope you all had a better weekend than I did.

I wish I had my very own boy......

A young human boy my Mom and Dad call a "grandson" came to visit me on Saturday.... what a great way to spend the unofficial last Saturday of Summer.........

 We played in the yard and I got lots of hugs on the floor......I slept with my monkey stuffie (well, not so stuffed anymore) on my back while the humans ate dinner.......

And  then suddenly, "my boy" had to go home.........

 

One last hug and off they went...... my Mom and Dad give me endless love, but sometimes a guy just has to play with a boy of his own. Come back soon human boy, I had great fun.

Hey.... can I run in that sprinkler too?..................

Howdy friends....  in my five years, I have discovered that summer brings out my favorite things (other than the extreme heat)..... stuff like my pool, my humans sitting outside with me... and those beloved little people who want to endlessly pet me.....

These two little people were playing in their Grandma and Grandpa's sprinkler when suddenly, they preferred to play with me..... obviously gifted children. :o) I soaked up the attention ....

That one little person is running back to the sprinkler.... hey wait...what about me .... couldn't I go in the sprinkler.... I love water.... wait, wait for me........Oh well, I love the attention more than the sprinkler :o) Hope all my friends had a good weekend :o)

Definition of "The Dog Days of Summer"

Greetings friends.....Please view the formal definition of "The Dog Days of Summer".....

Find a Summer sunbeam, lie down so it shines on your face, and be a dog = "Dog Days of Summer"

Summer time..........and the living is easy.......

MEGA heat has descended on my Michigan home...... but I made the best of it hanging out at the beach (OK, it was my swimming pool, but I pretended it was the beach).......

Swimming can make a guy really tired so I decided to take a nap -- nearly everything makes me decide to take a nap.

 

Hope all my friends had a nice, lazy weekend.

A Wonderful Day at Farley's House.....

Greetings to everyone and Happy Fourth of July. I had a big weekend. I got to take a road trip to my bestest pal Farley's house. We had a blast despite the extreme heat..... oh and then there was that whole giant storm thing.

Here' s Farley and I being good boys. I will refer you now to Farley's blog (1000goldens.com) for all the highlights of the day. Farley's Mom has a better camera and took many more pictures. You'll see all the fun we had.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

I hope all the Dads had a very special day.... I know my Dad did. My humans had some yummy smelling dinner ... I think they called it Prime Rib. All I know is that it not only smelled good, but the few little morsels they gave me, tasted fabulous. But of course like all fabulous tasting things, I was not allowed to have much of it.  Oh well, I am not the Dad.

Shadow (he's the little one that sleeps all the time) and I got Dad a bunch of presents .... OK....Mom got them, but it was me and Shadow's allowance that paid for them.

 I helped Dad open stuff....

I made a mess....

I LOVE MY DAD!!!!

From 59 degrees to FABULOUS!!

All the humans I know were complaining this past Friday, that the temperature was only in the 50's -- May 27th and only in the 50's. Then on Saturday it climbed into the low 70's but it was kind of cloudy. Sunday got even warmer -- in the 80's, but the early evening brought some pretty nasty weather here in lower Michigan. But then there was today!!!!! We graciously accepted a considerable amount of humidity because it came along with bright sunshine and nearly NINETY degrees............Check out my pictorial of how I spent my afternoon....

My wonderful swimming pool -- life is good!

Please note how I have naturally "crimped" hair on my ears !

All cooled down and surveying my domain.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Memorial Day weekend and that we all took a moment to remember those who paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy days like this and our freedom. God Bless America!!!!

Wait, I remember this....it's WARM!!

At last, we have warm weather and no rain.......I spent my weekend enjoying the great outdoors....

 I think I will just roll over and snooze for awhile;.............................

Excuse me, I was sleeping if you don't mind...................

It was a wonderful weekend -- hope yours was too. Oh and did I mention it was my Mom's birthday?!? And if he didn't speak up, this weekend also included my best pal Farley's Dad's birthday too. Hope his birthday was as good as my Mom's........wait, they have me and Farley.... what's not good about that?!?

Rain, Rain, go away.....

It was a wet and ugly weekend....no walks, no time on the deck or in the yard.... no joy in mudville. Look at the rain.....It's in the front yard.....

                           It's in the back yard and on my deck.....

 

There's a big piece of broken tree in my yard...

 

It's pouring, I'm  coming in.....

                     I think I'll take a nap until it dries up out there....

                               I hope next weekend is dry!

I love my Mom.....

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all of my friend's Moms. I made Dad give me some extra "allowance" so that I could buy her some of her favorite perfume. But the best part of Mother's Day is hugging my Mom.....

 

Wordless Wednesday

Clean Me.....

We had a very nice weekend despite a lot of rain ..... my humans talked about building an "ark". I don't know what that means, but Mom said something about rain for 40 days and 40 nights and a whole bunch of animals?? Instead of just putting me out in the rain to get clean, Mom insisted we go to "Shampooch" so that I could have a proper bath. I pretend to be a brat, but I actually kind of like the place. Mom gives me a bath, all the employees pet me, Mom cuts my toe nails and I come out looking ever so handsome..... see for yourself....please note the fluffy fur and my creamy colored hair looking quite "UN-dirty"

I love a good bath, but it does take it's toll on my energy level so I decided to take a nap on the birthday prize that Augie and Ti gave me.....

Life is good......and now it is clean too. Hope everyone else had a good weekend too. Oh and I almost forgot.. Mom and Dad got me a membership at my city's new Dog Park ... it opens in a few weeks, I am very excited to meet all kinds of new friends.... Augie and Ti live in my city, I hope they join the park too.

Happy Easter from me and "Shadow"

Here's me and "Shadow" with our Easter Bunnies......who is "Shadow" you ask?!? Shadow is a stuffed Golden puppy --- please humor her, my Mom thinks he is real but I know that Dad bought him at the Hallmark store -- he is a "Purrfect Pet" and is actually pretty cool. He breathes like a real dog, but it is a battery, trust me...... I must admit though, I check on him every morning to make sure he is still breathing. We each have an Easter Bunny and enjoyed a very nice weekend. Hope you did too.
                                   HAPPY EASTER to all!!

He's not coming... REALLY?!?

I can't believe it. I was so looking forward to my best pal Farley coming to my house for our annual Thanksgiving in April dinner and suddenly, I still can't believe it..... there are Farley's humans coming through my front door and I kept looking out and ..... could this be true?!? NO FARLEY?!? What on earth has gone wrong here, why didn't anyone tell me Farley has a sore hip --- a guy gets his hopes up and then the humans trick you -- it's just not right. I was soooooooooooo depressed that my buddy could not come, I sulked on the floor....

 

Then the humans broke out the turkey and the "works"........ Sorry Farley -- I pigged out on your humans attention and ate some tasty turkey. But I made my Mom send some food home with your Mom... did she share it with you?? I hope you at least got a little piece of turkey. I wish you could have been here buddy -- I totally missed you. Mom says we can come to your house in the Summer though..... How long till Summer is it?????

Hooray -- It's finally my BIRTHDAY!

Greetings Friends and Family -- FINALLY it is my real Birthday and I can have my "prizes"  -- I have waited so long for my day to arrive -- I am FIVE you know.... my humans are more excited about my Birthday than me. -- something about me being sick a while ago..... I made it -- I am invincible (I hope) and it is my Birthday!! I want to thank Augie & Ti for their wonderful stuffie gift and my best friend Farley for the "amazin" ball and awesome treats -- I have been playing with my new treats and toys non-stop. Oh and of course my humans -- they gave me a lizard, treats, FROSTY PAWS and Angel Food cake......enough words, I will just share the Birthday magic in pictures.........

 

What a wonderful Birthday! Thanks Farley, Augie & Ti and my Humans for all my prizes. And thanks for everyone who held good thoughts and prayed for me to get better.

It's my Birthday and I am doing well !!!  Life is good!