# Now we are One... Freddy's Diary Volume 2



## fjm

MH says now I have had a Birthday it means I am nearly grown up and am not a puppy any more. I don't feel any different, though, so perhaps she is wrong. I have learned lots of things recently, like how to hold still while she gets rid of mats and letting her put toothpaste on my teeth with her finger and waiting to have my lead put on and taken off and what parties are and loads of other stuff. Sophy says I know most of the really important dog things so now I can concentrate on learning all the different ways to make humans give you treats and do other nice stuff, but just for now I think my brain is full up and needs a rest, and my legs are bored and need more fun! There should be more walks, even if it is raining...


----------



## twyla

Humans are silly, but I don't like the wet 😕, sissy Pia does. I cry when Momo comes across a tangle but I am a big tough dog who will be 5 years old in a couple weeks. 
Tips, do not train your hooman to put food up and away mine up a latch on the bin where all the good bits go, thanks to sissy... she tattles on me. Don't they understand it tastes like more,.
Make sure you train your human well


----------



## fjm

This afternoon Sophy vanished into the hedge and came out with a rabbit leg! She swapsied it for a piece of chicken then went back and got another bit. I went with her but all the best bits had gone, although after she'd done another swapsie she hunted round and found what was left of the head. She said it didn't taste very nice so the chicken was better - rabbit is really only nice when you catch it yourself. There aren't many rabbits around these days - Sophy says there used to be lots and lots but now we hardly ever see them - but if I am very good she will teach me how to catch them by waiting outside their holes. She says some dogs chase them, but you have to be able to run very, very fast to catch them before they dive into their holes, so waiting patiently for them to come out is better, the way Tilly-cat does. Sophy knows lots about very interesting things - much more than MH does, I think. But MH is better at cooking and driving the car and things like that, so I am glad I have both of them to look after me.


----------



## Mfmst

Lord love ya, Freddy! Happy Birthday! Humans are hard to fathom, but they can be easily manipulated.
Your friend,
Buck


----------



## fjm

I want to go for a walk but MH says we need to wait a bit until it stops raining and Poppy is nearly bursting so she can get some of her pee. _What is it with humans and pees and poos? _It sometimes feels as if they never think about anything else. And that poo last night _wasn't_ on the floor - it was on a proper pad I found in the cloakroom just when I needed it. Even MH admitted that. 

I'm going to try the plaintive stare, then I shall climb onto her lap, then I shall say I want to poo... I need a walk!


----------



## fjm

Today we went to the exciting side of the river and had a lovely long walk. MH said Very Firmly that any dog that got themselves stuck would have to get themselves unstuck, and when I suggested to Sophy that we explore the very interesting place where she got stuck last time MH said NO! and called us back for chicken. But we found other places that were not so steep and we both went down and I had a drink and a paddle and Sophy had a drink and we didn't get stuck so it wasn't as exciting as last time but MH was much happier. And there was a nice dog who played with me, and Sophy did lots of running and playing with me too, and MH was very pleased with me for coming every time I was called, even when I wanted to go on playing with the nice spaniel, and she gave us lots of chicken for being good so it was a really nice walk. I did try to persuade Sophy down the exciting bit on the way back but MH said NO! again so we didn't...


----------



## fjm

Today there is lots of water falling out of the sky and MH says it is a great shame because there was going to be a party outside with lots of lovely food and people like we had a while ago and the big outside room was there already when we went out this morning and I went to see but it was all empty and flappy and soggy. and no sign of a party at all. I don't know why humans don't just turn the water off like they do in the bathroom but Sophy says they never do, no matter how often you ask them too. So MH is going to bake some more treats for us and we are going to play rainy day games, whatever they are. She doesn't want to go to the party if it is indoors in case there are nasty bugs, and we dogs wouldn't be allowed indoors anyway because it is George-the-cat's house and we have to bark at him for making faces at us, though not as much as we used to because MH always seems to find something interesting to do just as we see him. I think it would be a good rainy day game to go to his house and explore and chase him up the stairs and play hide and seek and eat party food but MH says NO! - she can be very boring, sometimes...


----------



## fjm

Yesterday I explored where the party was and I found a wonderful treasure - a lovely big chicken drumstick bone with lots of meat still on it. MH wanted me to swapsie it but I thought it was much better than anything she had, and I managed to scrunch quite a lot of it before she took it away and gave me some chicken in exchange. She said chicken bones are dangerous and can give you a very bad tummy ache but that was a whole day ago and I don't have any tummy ache at all, so I 'spect she's wrong. 

Today we are going to have an extra good walk while it is still nice and cool and this afternoon we have to stay home for a washing-machine-man, which sounds quite interesting. Lots of stuff from the cloakroom is out in the hall taking up all the space so we have to squeeze round it, and Poppy tries not to look at it because it makes her all uncomfy inside when the furniture and stuff is not where it is meant to be. But chicken makes her feel better about everything these days, and neither she nor Sophy heard the bangs this morning from people shooting at rabbits, so MH says there are some compensations to getting old if it means you worry less and can't hear stuff that used to scare you. But I think moving the furniture round is quite exciting and I don't mind bangs so I prefer being young and able to bounce!


----------



## Rose n Poos

Freddy, your views on life are marvelous


----------



## fjm

It is very wet again today but we still went down by the river for a walk. Sophy didn't want to get out of the car; she said it was going to rain and there were monsters in the river, and she was quite right - it _did_ rain and there _were_ monsters! MH says Sophy is always right, but we needed to go for a walk even if we got wet, so she put Sophy's lead on to make her feel safe until we were past the monsters and then we ran and played in the rain and I thought it was lovely even though Sophy said it wasn't. I wanted to stay and watch what the men were doing with the monsters under the bridge and maybe help them dig, and I didn't want my lead put back on to go home but MH said Wait! and found an extra biscuit and somehow I let her do it before I remembered about playing keep away. 

MH says these monsters are mending the damage the river did after the last lot of monsters rearranged it. Those are the ones Sophy remembers - she says they came right up on the path and were _huge_. I think they sound very exciting - I wish we had one at home. I am very good at digging, but just think what brilliant holes I could make with a monster to help!


----------



## fjm

Why are old people so _snoozy_? MH is drinking coffee and doing boring stuff, Sophy is asleep and doesn't want to play, Poppy is actually snoring and Tilly is busy washing her paws and getting ready to sleep too. And it is a lovely day and 8am and we could be out running across the fields and meeting dogs and people and digging holes and doing loads of things...

[Freddy is so good - he found a piece of cardboard to shred and settled down with it, but I think I really need to get the day on the go and take him for a really good run. We only had short walks yesterday as I had my cataract check up (all well, next op mid September) so he has energy to burn, unlike us oldies! fjm]


----------



## fjm

I had a lovely day yesterday. When we went to the river in the morning there was a man whose whole job seemed to be to tell the monsters not to come on the path while we walked by - they were very well trained I think because when he held up his hand and said Wait! the monster did, just as we do for MH. I wonder what monsters get for treats? We met nice dogs to run and play with on both our walks, and there was chicken for walk treats, then in the evening when MH was cooking she dropped a green bean and a whole kale stem, and I had the bean to eat and the stem to chew - you can make lots and lots of bits out of one stem. MH says it's just as well she has kept her huge and ancient shop Vax vacuum cleaner that can eat anything (I don't like it because I suspect it could even eat Freddies if it tried).

This morning the monsters were asleep when we got to the river so MH let us off our leads as soon as we were on the path and we explored the big heap of rocks and earth they had made and I peed on it and Poppy pood on it, so we made it even bigger. And I sniffed the monsters' wheels which were very interesting. Just after we got past the men in yellow jackets and hats came with a truck and woke the big grabby monster up and I started to run back to see what they were doing but MH called Freddy Come! and she had chicken so I did and she said I was very good indeed. And on the way back I let her put my lead on before we got near the monsters, which is also being Good, and I didn't pull much on the way back to the car even though we had to walk very slowly because of Poppy, so that is three Goods and I think I can be just a tiny bit Not Good for a bit, once I have had a snooze.


----------



## BennieJets

fjm said:


> I had a lovely day yesterday. When we went to the river in the morning there was a man whose whole job seemed to be to tell the monsters not to come on the path while we walked by - they were very well trained I think because when he held up his hand and said Wait! the monster did, just as we do for MH. I wonder what monsters get for treats? We met nice dogs to run and play with on both our walks, and there was chicken for walk treats, then in the evening when MH was cooking she dropped a green bean and a whole kale stem, and I had the bean to eat and the stem to chew - you can make lots and lots of bits out of one stem. MH says it's just as well she has kept her huge and ancient shop Vax vacuum cleaner that can eat anything (I don't like it because I suspect it could even eat Freddies if it tried).
> 
> This morning the monsters were asleep when we got to the river so MH let us off our leads as soon as we were on the path and we explored the big heap of rocks and earth they had made and I peed on it and Poppy pood on it, so we made it even bigger. And I sniffed the monsters' wheels which were very interesting. Just after we got past the men in yellow jackets and hats came with a truck and woke the big grabby monster up and I started to run back to see what they were doing but MH called Freddy Come! and she had chicken so I did and she said I was very good indeed. And on the way back I let her put my lead on before we got near the monsters, which is also being Good, and I didn't pull much on the way back to the car even though we had to walk very slowly because of Poppy, so that is three Goods and I think I can be just a tiny bit Not Good for a bit, once I have had a snooze.


Three Goods makes one VERY Good, Freddy. I think. I’m not quite a year old yet so maybe my math is off. But I think I’m right. And one Very Good means you definitely can be a bit Not Good. I hear my human talk about something called balance a lot. She’s always looking for it. I don’t know what she means but maybe a bit of Not Good makes the magical thing Balance. 

From, Bennie


----------



## fjm

MH says that the little back garden is a Good Place for pees and poos and that if she leaves the door open I can go out by myself while she gets on with other stuff. But that is silly - the whole point of going out for pees and poos is to go all over everywhere, looking to see who else is out in their gardens and checking all the pee-mails and leaving catch up messages for all the other dogs and generally doing loads of things that you can't do in a tiny garden with a gate I can't get through and where no other dogs ever go. It is OK for listening and barking and finding sticks to bring in and chew but that is about it. 

[This one may take some time... fjm]


----------



## Mfmst

Hey, Fred, an important role for you is to check things out in the garden and alert YH if something has changed, tree limb down, stranger danger. My human says “patrol” and I can usually find something that isn’t boring. I love patrol and can find every change, even if it’s only as small branch that fell. Pee on it! I love my yard, of course in Texas it’s bigger. (MH says Texas has nothing to brag about, but I have no compare.)
Your pal,
Buck


----------



## fjm

Hi Buck - our back garden is tiny - only as big as the sitting room - and it has lots of stuff in it that MH says Off! like plants with beans on and strawberries so it really isn't very interesting. I can talk to Jethro and Hercule in their houses but MH says that is not a good idea either, and there are hardly ever strangers, just neighbours and I get told to be polite to them - you can see why it is boring! This morning we went out of the other door and I went all round the courtyard then round by Albie's house and caught up with his messages then I did a big poo on the road near Gus and Elton's house and while MH was finding a bag went and checked out the corner of Jethro's house and left him a message. Then we came home for breakfast and I ran all the way. It is much more interesting out of that door!

[I live in a converted Victorian workhouse - a private estate of 15 houses with several acres of shared grounds as well as my own tiny garden. It is safe for the dogs to roam, but only if closely supervised... fjm]


----------



## fjm

It is hot here again so we are going for walks very early in the morning when we should be snoozing and then everyone else snoozes when we are meant to be walking. I feel all muddled inside - I think walking _both_ times would be much better. After the early walk yesterday we just went out for pees and poos, and we had chicken ice cubes which were so nice I tried to steal Sophy's and Sophy and Poppy tried to steal mine and MH got Very Firm about not squabbling. Then last night MH took us to the big shady bit where it was not quite so warm and we played with Pink Piggy for ages. I wanted to go on playing but she said I was getting too hot, and I have to say it was quite nice to come back into the house where it is cooler. But we were all too hot during the night and Poppy needed lots of pees after being so thirsty all day and MH said the problem was that by the time it was cool enough to sleep properly it was time to get up before it got too hot to walk!

This morning we went down by the river so early that Elton and Gus were just arriving when we got back to the gate, and we usually see them get in their car to go for a walk when we are out for the second pee of the morning, with MH still in her dressing gown! It is all very muddling. But MH says that in a few days it will all be back to normal for a bit and we can go for walks at the proper time and be outside more - a few days seems a very long time...


----------



## 94Magna_Tom

Poor Freddy😞. A couple of days isn't that long. You'll be fine.


----------



## fjm

Sophy is asking MH to turn the heating off. Most of Poppy's fluff is in the bin and MH has made her ears wet to cool her down. I found Gus's toy and ran away with it, but nobody wanted to chase me, not even Gus. I think I prefer it when water falls out of the sky... MH says that tomorrow it will probably be hot _and_ there will be water falling out of the sky, with flashes and bangs as well! That sounds quite exciting, but I bet everyone will be too hot to care.


----------



## twyla

Dear Freddy,
It was so very hot here too so hot Momo would let us walk on the black hard ground with shoes on and it is still hot, the lovely grass is gone its brown and prickly. I miss the water falling from the sky too.
It finally got cool, then it was soo cold Momo brought out the blanket Sissy and I burrowed into that this morning, I hate the cold maybe I can send it to you
Lenny


----------



## fjm

I think we need some of your cold, Lenny. We went out this evening and I played with Pink Piggy just a tiny bit and I got so hot I felt all wobbly and MH picked me up and carried me indoors and stood me in the sink full of cool water, splashing it all over my tummy and ears until I stopped panting. And she said Lesson Learned and No Running Around When It Is Hot. And now I am Bored _and_ Damp...

[Not even that hot out, but he was definitely on the way to overheating after 10 minutes not very strenuous play. The older dogs self handicap but Fred gallops on regardless, and the heat has come on too suddenly for him to be acclimatised to it. fjm]


----------



## fjm

We've got a new game and it is brilliant! It is called Splash! - there is a huge bowl of water on the grass at the front and I stand with my feet on the edge and MH flicks water into the air for me to catch. Sometimes I catch it, sometimes it lands on my ears and sometimes it lands on the grass and I try to grab it before it vanishes. It is lovely, and MH says it is a good game to play when it is too hot to run around a lot. She says I am jolly good about it because although I love playing I come in again when her back gets tired of bending over, which is very kind, it seems. Being kind is Good - Sophy is often kind to MH and I am trying to learn it. It is not the same as doing what you are told but I think it might be easier - you sometimes have to do lots of doing as you are told before humans say you are Good, but just a teeny little thing can be Kind.


----------



## fjm

The big pool thing vanished from the grass at the front but MH has made me my own Splash! game right by the front door so we can play every time we go out. It is not as big, but she says that is a Good Thing because it won't take long to fill up if it all gets splashed out. And if it gets hot again we won't have so far to go to play, so that is good too. It's quite a tiring game though because you have to really concentrate to see where the water is going to splash next then move very fast to try and catch it, and MH says it is quite tiring for her too because of the bending, so we play it for just a little while but lots of times during the day.

[Fred is having just as much fun with an old washing up bowl half full of water as he did with the posh clamshell paddling pool! I considered investing in a solar fountain but I think half the pleasure is that I play it with him and as the other dogs aren't interested it is a game for just the two of us. fjm]


----------



## fjm

Today I had an adventure! MH went to hang some washing out and we went with her then I thought I would go and see if Amber was out because she came home from her holidays today and she wasn't, but I saw something interesting and went to investigate, right out of the gate onto the road. And a car that was coming stopped and a nice young woman got out and came to talk to me, so I let her pick me up and read my tag. And she was carrying me home when we heard MH calling and the lady called back and we met just outside our house and MH said I should be very, very grateful to the young woman for being so careful and so kind, and I am grounded for weeks, whatever that means. It seems the road is very, very dangerous and some of the people who drive along it may not be nice or careful, although I don't know what she means by that either, as all the people I meet are nice. But it was an adventure, and quite interesting.

[My heart rate may be back to normal by tomorrow - it all happened in minutes and I had not started to worry before she had already brought him back. Then, of course, I started thinking of everything that _could_ have happened. Hugely grateful for the kindness of strangers, and Fred will be on a lead again until he forgets about the gate... fjm]


----------



## cowpony

Ooh naughty Freddy for scaring everyone like that


----------



## reraven123

You see, Freddy, sometimes the car does not stop and then you would get hurt very badly. That is why your Mum got so upset. Roads are very bad places for little dogs (or big dogs) to be.


----------



## 94Magna_Tom

Glad he ran into a "friendly"! Oh Freddy 😲🤯!


----------



## Mfmst

Freddy, you have to respect those big machines. I had a near miss on our long driveway with my male. The female is so tiny she can’t be seen over the hedges and I jumped out when the male was driving in. Surprise! Luckily, the male is aces on reflexes. Not everyone is, so be careful!


----------



## Rose n Poos

Oh, too close, too close! Freddy, please, don't scare us all like this, ever again! You must always tell your MH where you are going - before you go.


----------



## Streetcar

My last dog ultimately was safe off leash walking in our neighborhood, which actually has a major thoroughfare right in front of our place. But Oliver has never become safe off leash, and that's just how we live :/. I can connect two leashes to give him more freedom, but he can't go off leash at all away from our apartment, unless we are in a securely fenced area. We do okay.


----------



## fjm

I've been thinking more about what Kind means. I think Sophy is often kind - she plays with me even when she is sleepy and would prefer not to, and she shows me interesting places and tells dogs off if they get too bouncy around me. And Kind means slowing down to let Poppy catch up, too. It seems to mean lots of things...

I like being grown up and able to do things like exploring and going down to the river for a paddle when it is hot and finding really good sticks that MH will throw (she is very picky about sticks - they have to be just the right size and not hard or splintery), and other things like that. But sometimes it is nice to pretend I am a tiny baby puppy again, especially when MH gets up in the night and then gets back into bed and I can snuggle under the duvet with her like I did when we first knew each other and give her just one or two licks to show I have not forgotten. She likes it too - she says Poppy always used to snuggle but now she gets too hot and prefers her own space on the bed, and MH has missed having a dog to cuddle. I know what Poppy means though - it does get too hot quite quickly and then I wriggle out and find a good place on the outside of the bed or in my pen, but it is lovely to have a snuggle first.


----------



## Mfmst

Freddy, you have to be so careful when you are near any cars. Be afraid, be very afraid. Buck leaps out of our tall boxwood hedges along our driveway and we have have had a few near misses. I’m so short no one sees me or Buck for that matter, until he leaps over the hedges…. Usually, I know when anyone is coming in or out, but life is full of surprises and your human doesn’t need the anxiety. He thinks he’s guarding me, but it feels like a heart attack waiting to happen. Be kind. Love ya!


----------



## fjm

MH is always watching me when we are out now and I don't get too far away from her because she keeps finding interesting things to show me, or offers to play splash or something else nice. She says cars are dangerous too, and if one comes anywhere near we wait with her on the path till it goes by, just like we do for bicycles when we are out walking. Little Amber tries to chase them away but Sophy says that is because she is very silly, and to listen to MH not Amber, and Sophy is Always Right - even MH doesn't bother to argue with her.

It's been lovely and cool here so we have been having two proper walks a day at the right sort of time and we all feel much better for it. Yesterday we went out in the car but it started to rain lots before we could walk so we came home and had a peritif instead and played onefor games and other nice things. It is very strange though - we don't go to bed until it is dark now so last pees are on a lead but I don't feel any sleepier at bedtime. MH says it will get dark earlier and earlier until it is dark all the way from teatime till after breakfast! Why would humans let that happen? It's much better when it is light all the way from waking up time to bedtime!


----------



## fjm

I climbed up onto MH's lap for a cuddle and we were talking about things and she said that in all the world there is only one of Me and only one of Her, and isn't it extraordinary and lucky that we found each other? And I think that is very, very true. 

I shall remind her about it next time she moans about me pooing on the kitchen floor.


----------



## Rose n Poos

Oh, Freddy!


----------



## fjm

My tummy feels funny, but it is all right because it means I get special food and that makes a nice change. Poppy's is funny too, but she wakes MH up when she needs to go out in the night. I went on the kitchen floor and I _know_ we had just been outside a minute before but I didn't need to go then. And when I woke up in the night I went to the pad in the bathroom and most of it went on the pad, and MH said that was quite sensible. I quite liked the medicine at first but it is a bit sticky and strange and I've gone off it - MH says she has got a different one for me to try. She says if the tummy trouble carries on I can have more medicine in chicken, but for now we will see if the special food and paste do the trick. 

I am _starving_ - we haven't had anything like as many treats as we usually do and I'm sure she is being stingy with the special food. And we haven't done nearly enough running around and playing today, either, because she says that dogs that are up three times in the night need to conserve their energies, and even if they don't the humans that have to get up with them definitely do. Humans are weird - what has last night got to do with playing today?!


----------



## fjm

My tummy is much better but Poppy's isn't and she says her bum is sore and life is unfair and she needs more chicken. MH was on the phone early this morning and says we will go and see the lovely vets this afternoon but I can stay in the car with Sophy. We are not telling Poppy because she is quite fed up enough without having another reason.


----------



## Getting ready

Aw, be gentle with poor Poppy. She may need some extra love (perhaps from afar when you’re concerned darling Freddy)


----------



## fjm

I am very good about not teasing Poppy. She can be very _sudden,_ if you know what I mean. All snoozy sleepy ignoring me one moment, then chasing me across the room with bared teeth the next. I have learned that it is best to leave her alone!


----------



## The Popster

You are right about one thing, and I'm sure our Poppy would agree - Ooomans are funny!!


----------



## fjm

I'll let Poppy tell you about what happened at the vets - Ooomans are seriously weird...


----------



## The Popster

fjm said:


> I'll let Poppy tell you about what happened at the vets - Ooomans are seriously weird...


I'm all ears.... floppy ears, but slighly raised, head tilted, eyes round clear and full of interest.


----------



## fjm

It's here:Possibly the unfairest thing yet! Poppy I don't think humans should be allowed to do things like that. From what Poppy says it is Not Nice, even if they _are_ careful!


----------



## fjm

We had a very exciting night. We went out for pees and poos on leads because it was dark then all went to bed as usual, then a few hours later Poppy woke up and said she needed to go out again so I went too and we had a lovely wander round looking for the right spots while MH followed us holding onto our leads and a torch. A few hours later Poppy woke up again and this time when we got downstairs we found Tilly-cat had very kindly knocked her food bowl down onto the floor for us. We managed to get a few bites before MH saw us and said "Out, Out, OUT!" and shut the door on the lovely cat food - I did go and say thank you to Tilly, though. Then we went out again on our leads and wandered round again with MH and the torch and when we came back Sophy had come down and decided she might as well have a pee while the door was open and nearly got shut outside. 

Then there was an interesting bit when MH tried to give Poppy some tummy paste but couldn't get it to come out of the tube and I learned some new words before she discovered she hadn't taken the cap off. We wanted to help by cleaning up the cat food on the floor but she went in there with a dustpan and brush and shut the door and when she came out it was all gone so perhaps she ate it. By then it was sort of nearly 5am and we said perhaps we should have breakfast and start the day but MH said No and Bed, so that's what we did.

She was very grumpy when we told her it was after 6.30am and getting properly light, even though that is time to start the morning and have breakfast. She muttered about back to bed after we'd been out but then decided what she needed most was coffee, so we got our breakfast after all. Sophy says wandering around in the dark at night does something to human brains and too much of it always seems to make them grumpy. She gets grumpy herself if people jump on her in the night, so I expect she knows how it feels. We are all having a lovely snooze now. MH says she needs more coffee...


----------



## fjm

Last night was quite scary. After we went to bed there were loud rumbly noises and flashes of light but Sophy and Poppy stayed asleep so I didn't worry too much. Then there was really roaring rain and it came in through the window and it sounded like hundreds of monsters and I barked at it to make it go away but it wouldn't. So MH said to get under the duvet while she shut the window and we had a cuddle until it all felt safe again and I forgot about it. I don't mind ordinary rain but it shouldn't come roaring through the windows!


----------



## fjm

Our car is gone! I ran out yesterday morning all ready to get into it to go for a walk and it wasn't there! So we played games in the big garden at the back instead of going for walks, and practiced walking on a lead and other stuff, which is OK but a bit boring. It was raining when we went out for a last pee but MH insisted on staying out until we all had one and Sophy took _ages_ so we all got wet. Then we went to bed and Poppy decided she needed a snuggle under the duvet with MH to get warm and dry just as I had the same idea. I was polite and let her go first and it didn't really matter because I was still very wet when she decided she was warm enough and wriggled out, so I still needed a cuddle. MH said that next time she will remember to towel us down before we go to bed - can't think why as we dried ourselves quite easily on the bedclothes once she made room for us under the duvet.


----------



## fjm

This morning MH went away and left us! She hardly ever does that and I hate it. Her sister is here (which is lovely because she is very good at cuddling and playing) and they went away early before we had even had a walk and didn't come back till it was after lunchtime. MH has a patch over her eye again and is being careful, but she says we can go out and play with Pink Piggy later on when her eye is less dazzly and tomorrow her sister will drive us all to go for a walk. And the day after that we may have our own car back and her eye might be working properly and everything will be ordinary again, the way it should be. But today she is feeling just a little bit fragile so we are all being good and settling down and Not Hassling Her and Being Kind. 

[Second cataract done this morning - too soon to say if it is as good as the first but I am hoping so. fjm]


----------



## fjm

I was _stolen!_ MH's sister put my lead on and took me to her car and _stole me away!_ I sort of went for a walk with her but it felt all wrong without MH and Sophy and Poppy and I didn't like it much. But she did bring me home again, and she is still nice to cuddle with and play with, so I might let her do it again now I know she will bring me home again afterwards. But I think MH should just hurry up and get better - it is more comfortable when she comes too.


----------



## reraven123

I'm sure she feels the same way!


----------



## Streetcar

Heal quickly and successfully, @fjm 🙏.


----------



## fjm

[Bit sore and achey this morning but it is easy to ignore the mild discomfort in the amazement at being able to see well without lenses or glasses. Even with contact lenses my sight has been like wearing scratched and scuffed sunglasses all the time - suddenly everything is clearer, sharper and much, much brighter. I have had to turn my screen brightness down several more notches now the second eye is done after running it at maximum for the last few years. I am looking forward to being able to see the stars again! fjm]


----------



## Rose n Poos

How wonderful for you! Wishing you a swift recovery .


----------



## 94Magna_Tom

Hope you're back at it in no time! Amazing how much "fog" you live with for years. The instant change has got to be sensational! 
I wonder if they do dogs eyes? I hear they get it too.


----------



## fjm

[Yes, I know a Westie who had a very successful double cataract op. He went from nearly blind to normal vision within 24 hours.]


----------



## Streetcar

Absolutely wonderful - so happy for you 🌃🍾.


----------



## fjm

We still haven't got a car. I don't think MH has planned it very well - it gets very boring just going round the big back garden, even with a ball to chase. I think she should have two cars, then one would always be here. But I have found my new Green Frog that got lost - I had put it in the car crate while it was in the hall and forgot about it, then MH put the crate in her sister's car and we both wondered why Green Frog was nowhere in the house until she brought the crate back into the house and there it was. He is like Pink Piggy and goes boing! in all directions and doesn't fall apart when you chew him, so it is nice to have found him. But I am still _bored_ ...


----------



## fjm

The car is back! MH is muttering about "very expensive bits of plastic" and "cheaper to have kept on using gaffer tape" but it is back. And then just when we thought we might go for a walk at last she insisted on cleaning all its windows - she says now her eyes are working properly she realises she could hardly see through them, which is silly because they are made of glass so of course you can see through them. We are having a snooze while she drips stuff into her eyes - she has lots of interesting little plastic bottles in silver bags that are good to chew up, but I have to wait for her to put them in the waste paper basket first. Then we are going for a Proper Walk, and then it will be Peritif Time and then Tea Time, so lots of nice things happening.


----------



## cowpony

Do you get a pertif, Freddie?


----------



## fjm

We get the biscuit bit of a Peritif, and MH gets the fizzy drink and salty nibbles bit. And sometimes we get just a taste of the salty nibbles, too, if we stare at her very, very hard.


----------



## cowpony

Galen wants to know if you ever get cheese or goldfish crackers. These are his favorite salty snacks.


----------



## fjm

We usually have breadsticks and chicken biscuits and sometimes just a little bit of the cheese nibble biscuits. MH says too much salty fatty stuff is Not Good For Dogs - I bet it is Not Good For Humans either but that doesn't stop her munching away on it!

Are goldfish crackers made of goldfish, if cheese ones are made of cheese?


----------



## fjm

MH has a very nice lap that is just the right size for snoozing on and now that it is getting colder she has a lovely special blanket thing that gets hot and makes it even better. The only problem is that Tilly-cat likes it too, and Poppy, so I have to be very quick and get there first and then sit very tight and even then Tilly usually wins. MH says things like Settle Down and Room For Everyone but I think she needs a bigger lap. Tilly has just squeezed me off but I am now in her special place on the sofa, so Nur Nur Tilly!


----------



## reraven123

Give her lots and lots of treats every day and her lap will just get bigger and bigger until there is room for everybody! Try it and see.


----------



## fjm

MH has got us a new brush and it's lovely! It doesn't tug and hurt like the other one does sometime and it feels a bit like when my dog Mum used to lick me all over so it is all nice and comforting. Sophy thinks it's better than the old one too, but it doesn't seem to work very well on Poppy. MH says now that she can see just how much of our hair there is on the carpet she needs to brush us more often and her niece said that all the small children she knows like this kind of brush so she got one to try. And it is very good at collecting loose hair from papillons, as well as being so much less tuggy, so she is pleased too. 

[Human Tangle Teezer - excellent on a drop coat but doesn't really get through poodle wool. It might be OK on soft, short puppy coat though, and would be a good, gentle way of acclimatising a pup to brushing. fjm]


----------



## fjm

I am a hunter! Today I hunted a pigeon in the hedge for ages and I nearly, nearly caught it but MH saw me and picked it up before I could grab it and put it over the wall. I wanted to go after it but MH said we would go back to the house for chicken, so we did. But I could have caught it and eaten it if I had had just a few minutes more, so I am a mighty hunter like Sophy and can feed myself. Although I won't just yet because MH made lots of lovely pancakes and I don't think you can catch pancakes like you can pigeons.


----------



## fjm

I have been here a whole year, whatever that is. MH says it is lots and lots of days, and something to celebrate. Yesterday she was a bit boring because she has a new shiny thing to play with and it kept arguing with her and she got cross, and today she had something called a Covid Jab and Shopping to do, but after that we went for my absolutely best place for a walk, all along the shore with grass and splashy muddy bits and other dogs to play with and it was lovely. Sophy likes it too and ran and played with me lots, and even Poppy was happy. We are all tired and feeling snoozy now, but she has promised us another walk later on. I think we should always go to muddy splashy places - they are so much more fun!


----------



## fjm

It's started to be wet a lot - nearly every day. I don't mind that much but Sophy, Poppy and MH don't like being out for long when water falls from the sky so they won't go for proper long walks, just grumble along on little short ones. If MH hates the wet that much why doesn't she turn it off?

Yesterday was lovely though. We went to Holstery, and some of it is boring - lots of snoozing in the crate in the car - but in between there are really good bits, like meeting all the nice ladies and having some human biscuit when they had their coffee. Best of all was going for a walk across _huge_ fields where the grass was short enough to run and run. It was sunny and very windy and Sophy and I ran for _miles_ in big circles away from Poppy and MH than ran back very fast for chicken - Sophy can run nearly as fast as me when she wants to even if she is an Old Lady, as MH keeps reminding me. It was the best running we have had for ages - much better than on hard paths or in long grass. Usually there are sheep where the grass is short and MH won't let us run in case we frighten them (although after one tried to sniff my bum last time we met some I think it is the other way round), so it was lovely to find a field without sheep or cows and be able to really zoom! I think MH should just do coffee with biscuits to share and walks on Holstery days, and skip the bit where we stay in the car while she is Busy-Busy-Boring - it would be much better.


----------



## Streetcar

This sounds like an absolutely lovely day for all of you.

With a very red face, and after numerous online searches over the months, I cannot yet understand what or where is Holstery, even when searching it as a proper noun. Chalk it up to my poor search abilities.

Would it be okay to ask what this is? It does seem something you really enjoy. If not okay, I apologize for prying!


----------



## fjm

[The dogs miss the Up bit at the beginning which would make sense of the word. Sorry - you probably had something much more interesting and secretive in mind! fjm]


----------



## Streetcar

Thank you so much. I had wondered if you take a class in upholstery or do it as a hobby... Makes sense the dogs would drop the up 😊.


----------



## fjm

[It is a class, which rather drives the hobby. A really nice group with an outstanding tutor, who makes the class so enjoyable that, having reupholstered everything in the house and squeezed in as many additional chairs and stools as I can I am now making dolls' furniture so that I can keep on going! fjm]


----------



## fjm

It is getting chilly here and MH has got a special blanket thing that makes her lap lovely and warm - Poppy usually gets there first and MH says that Poppy is an old lady and not very well so I don't try to push her off because I am Kind (and because Poppy roars at me and chases me if I tease her, so she can't be _that_ old). But when Poppy is warm enough she budges over and then I have a turn and it is lovely. Sophy does not much like being too warm and prefers her bed so that she can dig the blankets around and find a warm bit or a cool bit - she showed me how to do it. And Tilly just sits wherever she likes, even on top of us on MH's lap if she wants to. And she gets lovely food we are not allowed, and has her own door so she can go out whenever she likes. I think cats deserve to be chased just a little bit just for getting their own way so much of the time...


----------



## fjm

We've been having a very strange week. First there was a day when Poppy didn't get any breakfast which meant she kept trying to get into my bowl which is Not Allowed. Instead of going for our usual walk that day we went somewhere I have never been before and left Poppy there while MH, Sophy and I went for a walk in a little park by the river. There were interesting smells and dogs but we had to be on leads because of the road and lead walks are never much fun. Then we went back and MH got Poppy and we all sat in the car for ages and ages before we went home. MH said the vet was taking pictures of Poppy's insides which sounds _horrible_ but Poppy says it was OK except they spread sticky jelly all over her tummy and it was cold. They did give her breakfast, though. 

Then next day we went to the usual vets and waited in the car for ages again, until Poppy started squealing that she was _bursting_ and MH took her inside. Poppy was so desperate she peed on the floor, then the vet did something with a big needle which she says was a bit uncomfortable but didn't really hurt and then we could all go for a walk at last. So that was another weird day.

Then there was a really lovely sunny day, and we were just thinking it was time for a really good afternoon walk when MH went out and left us instead! For hours and hours and _hours - _she didn't come back till it was so far past teatime that it was nearly suppertime. Poppy sat up on the sofa in the bathroom watching for her, and yipped to tell us when she was coming so we could all be at the door to tell her what a terribly long time it had been. So we went out for pees and then had tea, and a peritif, and then supper one after the other, but I'm sure supper was a bit later than usual and we never did get that afternoon walk.

And now MH has lots of little bottles of stuff to put in her eyes and she keeps saying "Ooops, I forgot again!" and jumping up to look for them and Poppy says it is very bothering for anyone asleep on her lap. And Sophy has been watching MH and says she thinks we may be going on a visit because there are heaps and bags and things which mean going a long way. So it is all a bit muddly, what with all the unusual things going on.

[First two goes at getting a urine sample from Poppy by cystocentesis, then the final check up on my cataract op. They found a little residual inflammation so I am back on eye drops for a few weeks - 6 times a day for the first 6 days! What with 6 lots of eyedrops, 4 meals a day for Poppy, 2 walks for everyone, and getting Poppy in particular out regularly for pees there's not much time for anything else. We are off to a family get together this weekend - I am sure Fred will tell you all about it. fjm]


----------



## Rose n Poos

That's a lot of busy!


----------



## fjm

We are visiting MH's sister and there are lots of humans and one very small thing that I think is a human, although she runs around on four legs not two. I wasn't very sure about her at first, but MH just said to be polite as I would be meeting a dog I didn't know so I sniffed her nose and it was all right. Sophy decided to stay away from her, and Poppy just went to sleep. But when the humans began to eat the very small one sat up very high and she _dropped_ things - chicken and carrot and lots of other lovely stuff! I couldn't believe it at first, because MH says no begging at meal times and humans are usually really mean about sharing their food, but it seems the rules are different with very small ones and they don't mind if you tidy up after them.

Then when the humans had all finished Poppy and I went into the kitchen and we found a jar of breadsticks on the table and Poppy sort of accidentally climbed up to check if they were really breadsticks and had to nibble on one to be really certain and somehow they ended up all over the floor so of course we had to tidy them up and we did quite a lot of tidying before MH's sister came in. So then Poppy was very thirsty and drank lots of water so she needed a pee in the middle of the night, but MH made me and Sophy stay in bed. And we were very, very good then and when it was time to get up for pees and poos and breakfast and didn't bark at all because of something called Don't-Wake-The-Baby, which MH says is very important. I did put a pee-mail on a wheely thing in the hall that smelled of dogs and outside, but MH cleaned it up quickly and just said not to do it again, and we went to the park across the road for pees and poos after breakfast which was lovely, even though MH would not go far because she was still in her dressing gown. It was very dark and no one else was there, so I can't see why that made a difference.

One of the humans has a very hairy face just like a dog's, and it smells very interestingly of bacon and other nice things. He won't let me lick it, though. And one of my favourite humans is here - the one I met when I first came home to MH's house. It is always special when I see her again. It is very interesting learning about all the different kinds of humans, especially as we only have one at home. I think perhaps we should get a small one that drops food but Poppy and Sophy say they make lots of noise and chase you around and won't let you sleep, and it's not worth putting up with all that just for a bit of chicken. _I _think it sounds like fun...


----------



## fjm

We had a very nice day yesterday, even though it took all morning for MH to get going properly. We went to pick up Poppy’s medicines and then for a walk by the river near the vets. Just when we were too far from the car to go back MH said "Ooops - I've forgotten the treats!" and she knows I really expect a treat for having my lead put on so we stopped at a caravan thing and she got an _enormous_ sausage. Then we wandered round a big field, meeting dogs and people and sharing sausage and it was lovely. 

Then we drove a bit more and MH left us to have a snooze in the car while she did busy-busy-boring human stuff, and _then_ we went to the park and she drove all the way into the middle so Poppy wouldn't have as far to walk and we went to the wild bit which is _wonderful_. It is all full of trees and smells and a little stream to jump over and dry leaves to scuffle through and muddy puddles and bits to explore and Sophy and I went all over. Even Poppy managed to get all the way round without getting lost too much - she gets lost very easily these days so we all have to watch out for her, MH says. It was the very best kind of day - not too hot and not too cold and all bright and dappled with sunshine, and MH still had just enough sausage to make it an extra special walk.


----------



## Rose n Poos

Dear Freddy, 

You describe your days so beautifully; I sometimes see them in my dreams ⭐🌙


----------



## Mfmst

I see them in a book, which I would buy. A Wind in the Willows, with lovely dogs instead of rats, moles and toads.


----------



## BennieJets

Oh now THAT is an idea. A book, written by Freddie, Poppy, and Sophy, with fjm as ghostwriter. I’d buy that too!


----------



## fjm

Today was a Holstery day and we got a teeny tiny walk on the way and then it rained and rained and RAINED. I did get to go for a biscuit at coffee time but when it was lunchtime and MH let us out of the car I thought we should go for a lovely run around the fields and Poppy and Sophy thought we should have a quick pee and get back in the warm dry car, and MH said she was going with the 'jority decision so they won. And she asked Sophy if she would like to be Prime Minister because it seems the humans need a new one of them whatever they are, but Sophy said not if it meant going out in the rain and MH said she was probably over qualified in any case. MH says very strange things sometimes. We came home in time for tea, which was nice, but I still think we should have had a proper walk.


----------



## reraven123

I nominate fjm for the position--biscuits and a cozy warm nap for everyone!


----------



## fjm

[I do wonder what Sophy's manifesto would look like if she stood for the post - on the one hand she very definitely believes in fair shares for all, on the other any attempt to take a tax from her food bowl until she has eaten as much as she wants is an equally definite no-no. Bit like humans, I suppose... fjm]


----------



## fjm

Today it rained again for ages but MH made _loads_ of pancakes and then we played Follow the Leader and One-For which are good fun. And when it wasn't raining too much she threw my ball for me, but she wouldn't do it for long because she said it was very soggy - balls are _better_ when they are soggy! Then it stopped raining just long enough for us to go down by the river and just as we got to the turn around point Sophy and I saw a dog and human we know and we went off to say hello but MH didn't notice and when she turned round to look for us we were right at the other end of the field. She called "Freddy come!" and waved her arms and when I heard her I ran faster than the wind to get to her, and she said that was jolly good and deserved a big piece of pancake. Sophy came when she was called, too, but not as fast as I did!


----------



## fjm

MH says I am A Toad and A Pest and lots of other naughty things, but I think it is her fault for not letting me run around enough! This morning we went for quite a long walk but there were bicycles and dogs that didn't want to play and lots of Freddy Come! and Freddy Wait! and I got bored and didn't want to have my lead on to go home until there had been some fun and that was when I was A Pest. Then this afternoon we went for another boring walk by the river and it started to rain so everyone except me wanted to go back to the car and while we were on the way a huge tanker thing came rumbling up the path so MH called us onto the grass to wait for it to go by and we did, but then the boredom sort of bubbled over and I chased it! And MH called me so I ran back to her but I could still see the tanker so I chased it some more! And she wanted to put my lead on but I was having fun at last, and then it really poured and she got crosser and wetter and the more she got cross the less I would let her catch me. So she put Sophy and Poppy in the car and we went back along the path to talk to a lady and her dogs but I wouldn't let the lady touch me either because I was getting just a bit wet and frazzled myself by then. And we all walked back to the stile, which is steps and a narrow gap in the wall, and I was beginning to think it might be quite nice to get warm and dry in the car so I went through the gap with MH and let her pick me up. That's when she said I was A Toad, but she gave me a snuggle and put me in the car so I don't think she was very cross. She was in a rush because she had to go to something called The Dentist, and Sophy says that always makes her ratty.

[Back to trailing a line for a bit, methinks - and more exercise, if the rain ever eases off enough. We walk in a field with a rarely used access road to the local sewage processing station - it was bad luck that we coincided with a tanker but Freddy is usually very good about ignoring vehicles there. More work needed... fjm]


----------



## fjm

Yesterday, as well as chasing things and having a lovely game of Keep-Away in the rain, I found a really interesting chew toy on MH's chair. The outside was soft and hard at the same time and tasted sort of salty, and when I shook it I found it was full of different plastic things perfect to nibble on. MH said it was hers and hunted for all the plastic things and said it was a good job I hadn't nibbled the most important ones because she can manage with a slightly tatty Bus Pass but credit cards stop working if they are chewed.

Then she said something weird about the devil and idle paws and brains and today we played a new game called Clicky. She has a big handful of treats and a clicky thing and every time it makes a click a treat falls on the floor. At least I think that is how it works, but we've only played it once so far and I am still thinking about it. Thinking is very sleepy making...


----------



## Liz

Oh dear, fjm, what a reminder that he's _still_ a puppy


----------



## fjm

Today I had three Jolly Goods for little bits of time (coming away from dogs that didn't want to play when MH called) and one Stop Being a Toad for quite a long time (there is a field next to where we walk and a nice spaniel told me that if you go into the long grass there you can hide for ages, and there are lots of lovely smells. It was so interesting I decided not to have my lead on to go home and MH had forgotten to leave one trailing...). So do three little Goods make up for one big Not Good?


----------



## 94Magna_Tom

fjm said:


> Today I had three Jolly Goods for little bits of time (coming away from dogs that didn't want to play when MH called) and one Stop Being a Toad for quite a long time (there is a field next to where we walk and a nice spaniel told me that if you go into the long grass there you can hide for ages, and there are lots of lovely smells. It was so interesting I decided not to have my lead on to go home and MH had forgotten to leave one trailing...). So do three little Goods make up for one big Not Good?


When I was working, 1 "Awe S&#t" canceled 10 "Atta Boys", so probably need a few more "Jolly Goods"!


----------



## fjm

We played Clicky again this morning but this time it only clicked when I sat. I thought it might be jumping up on MH and then sitting, but just sitting seemed to work. Lots to think about...

Poppy is getting a bit muddled I think. Yesterday MH was doing some boring stuff outside and she went out of the front door and carried stuff round to the back, but she made Poppy stay inside. And Sophy and I could hear her in the back garden so we knew where she was but Poppy waited by the front door for ages and ages for her to come back in, and didn't even hear her when she came back in the back way and called "Poppy!" from just behind her. MH says most of the muddle is because Poppy can't hear and we will all have to take care of her and make sure she doesn't wander off.


----------



## fjm

Today is all wet and soggy so we are just going out for pees and poos and playing Clicky and Rainy Day Games. The Games are good fun but quite difficult - Sophy and Poppy know how the toys work so I have to be really quick and think hard to get any of the treats. Clicky is being strange too - it won't click for sitting any more but does for other stuff. I shall have to think about it some more...


----------



## fjm

We have been having interesting walks in lovely places but today MH tried to take us somewhere exciting and we couldn't go that way because a house might be going to fall down on the road so we had to go on the same-old same-old walk by the river. But it turned out to be really good fun because I made up a new game called Digging in the River (MH says it should be called How to Get Very Very Muddy Very Very Quickly). I played it lots of times - you go just over the edge of the bank where there are leaves washed up and dig and dig in the water until it is all stirred up and sloshy, and then you gallop up the bank and run as fast as possible after the others and play with Sophy for a bit and then dash down to the river and start all over again! When we got back in the car it was all warm and snuggly because MH put lovely clean blankets in just before we left home and she said Perfect Timing! but I don't think she really meant it. And when we got home MH filled the sink with water and washed my legs and tummy, even though we did Nice Clean Tummy this morning and twice in one day is a bit much.

(I think I am beginning to understand the Clicky game. You just have to touch whatever the new thing on the floor is and it clicks and there are treats. Or something like that, anyway.)


----------



## Mfmst

I am imagining digging in a wet river bank. What fun for Freddy, what a cleanup for his human. Diggity dog…


----------



## fjm

Yesterday we did something different and went Shopping. At least it was meant to be Shopping but MH got cross because none of the human stuff shops had what she wanted and when we all went into a huge place full of stuff for dogs they didn't have any Pink Piggies which she wanted to get for me. They did have interesting biscuits hidden underneath shelves on the floor, though, and Poppy showed me how to find them. And there were very, very interesting smells everywhere so it is quite a good place to visit, although it seems you are not meant to add to the interesting smells... And when MH couldn't find anything of the things we needed we went for a walk instead, and that is always good.

Today is another Dentist day - I must remember that makes MH a bit ratty...


----------



## fjm

I am having a snooze on the sofa. It's nice snoozing here because I can lie and gaze at My Human and she goes all gooey and smiles back and sometimes she gets up and does something exciting. This afternoon she did something very weird on her hands and knees with a bowl of water and a cloth and a teaspoon - she said she was cleaning the mucky crack along the edge of the wall and round the doors but we think perhaps she is just weird... She didn't want us to help although we did offer.


----------



## fjm

This morning it was raining _again_ and I needed a pee but I didn't really want to get wet _again_ and when I slipped off to the bathroom the nice bath mats weren't there, just a pee mat which isn't nearly as good. But when I came down I found Sophy's empty breakfast bowl on a mat on the floor so I peed in that. I thought MH would be _pleased - _it's jolly hard peeing in a bowl and I got most of it in first time! And _humans_ pee in bowls, although those are huge so it must be much easier. She seems to think that taking me out in the rain every hour should be enough...

[Utter bemusement at going to pick up Sophy's bowl and finding yellow liquid in it - heaven knows how he thought of that! fjm]


----------



## reraven123

Well, you wouldn't want life to be boring.


----------



## fjm

It's been raining lots and Sophy won't go for walks in the rain and Poppy just plods along getting wetter and wetter and miserabler and miserabler so we go for quick walks whenever it stops for a bit and play games or snooze or watch MH do weird stuff the rest of the time - yesterday she scrubbed the landing carpet and made it smell strange instead of nicely of pee from where Poppy didn't make it downstairs in time. 

The clicky game keeps changing but I can usually make it give me a treat. Yesterday it was putting a paw on the can on the floor for bits of breadstick - that one was easy peasy. I wonder what it will be today...


----------



## Liz

May breadsticks rain from the sky, Freddy.


----------



## fjm

We had a _lovely_ walk by the river this afternoon - I ran and ran and then I played the digging-in-the-river-and-running game. The last time I paddled out quite a long way and washed off all the mud but MH was making lots of noise up on the bank because she said there was too much water in the river, which is a silly thing to say - where else would it be?! But I came up onto the path and played with Sophy instead and then we came home for a peritif.

Today's clicky game was a wobbly thing that crashes a bit if you hit it hard - the clicky only worked if I made it wobble and I didn't really like it when it crashed so I had to think quite a lot to make it wobble just enough but not too much.


----------



## Getting ready

Did the wobbly thing spit out snackies?


----------



## fjm

No it just wobbled and a thing in the middle rattled round and round. MH says she got it to stand on because it would "improve her balance" but it wobbled so much it nearly made her fall over instead, so we are playing clicky with it because it is quite a difficult thing to get used to - all wobbly and rattly and bangy and a bit surprising. The clicky always means good stuff coming though!


----------



## fjm

We had a very exciting thing happen on our walk this afternoon. We were on a path we go to a lot and two very small horses with very small humans on top of them and bigger humans running beside them came along. MH had hold of my lead so I couldn't go and play with them, or find out why one of the small humans was going bumpitty bumpitty and wailing that she didn't _like_ it and wanted to get off. They went on ahead of us and I thought MH should let go so I could chase them but she said we should play the one-for game instead and by the time we'd finished they were out of sight. There were some cows in a field and I thought about wriggling under the gate and herding them for a bit but MH called me and she had chicken so I didn't. But it was all very bouncy-making somehow.

MH did lots of boring stuff today, with clothes and sponges and fixing loo seats and moving things round and generally making life uncomfortable, so we needed an interesting walk to make up for it.


----------



## reraven123

Of course Thelwell comes to mind...


----------



## fjm

[Remarkably accurate, particularly the poor infant unhappily bouncing all over the place! fjm]


----------



## fjm

We are having a very interesting time with a human visitor and a dog visitor. They are both very nice and good to play with, especially Snoopy the dog who is showing me how to dig up molehills and play with throw toys on a walk. He likes teddies and carries one around to make him feel comfy. We had a lovely walk in the rain - or at least Snoopy and I thought it was lovely but the others said it was all wet and horrible.

When we got home MH wanted to put the heating on to dry us all off but it wouldn't and she started getting all cross and moving stuff and climbing up and pressing buttons and finding lots more stuff that wasn't working. Then Ian from next door came round and they all pressed switches and fiddled buttons and all the lights came on and the heating came on and the cooker started working and MH stopped being cross and we could all have lunch. 

We are all having a snooze now ready to go out in the rain again this afternoon. MH says at least she now knows what to do if everything stops working when we have lots of visitors at Christmas.


----------



## fjm

We went to 'Holstery and when we came home Snoopy and his human weren't here. I looked for him again after last pees and poos but he had not come back. I hope we see him again soon - he has good ideas about digging and paddling and things.

This morning when we got back from our walk MH let Sophy and Poppy out of the car and then started talking to Albie's human, and went on for ages and ages. And then she called me over and over again, in the Come-Quickly voice, but of course I was still in the car so I couldn't. Her voice was just beginning to sound funny when she remembered and let me out - humans are very strange sometimes.


----------



## fjm

MH is doing lots of busy-busy-boring stuff, building walls of things we have never seen before in the hall. Today she made such a big wall she could hardly climb over it! The good part is that when she has made a big enough wall she puts lots of it in the car and we all go to a place that is near our favourite walk, where it is all lovely and splishy splashy muddy - Sophy and Poppy and MH prefer the dry bits but it is easy to get lots of splashing in running rings round them. And she doesn't get nearly as absorbed by this kind of busy-busy-boring as she does by the making-things kind, so she doesn't forget to take us for walks in between. Today she got right to the back of the cupboard and muttered things about damp and bleach and it does smell a bit funny. I'm pretty sure I haven't peed there, though...


----------



## fjm

The other night when we went out for last pees I told MH there was something really strange round by Albie's house so we went to look. There were bright lights making peculiar shapes all over the grass. They were so sudden they made me jump but MH said she didn't think they were dangerous and when I sniffed them they seemed OK. But MH says it is probably best not to pee on them Just In Case. They are a bit boring once you know they are Safe - they just sit there shining like other lights and being just another of the weird thing humans do...


----------



## fjm

MH is still doing busy-busy-boring stuff - today it involved climbing up and down a sort of stool thing and she kept telling Poppy to get out of the kitchen before she got trodden on and Poppy kept wandering back in - she doesn't remember things very well. In the end MH settled her in her bed in the sitting room and went back to being BBB, and Sophy and I were just wondering if we should go and see if it was interesting (sometimes she drops nice things to eat) when there was a sort of little crash and a very cross yell. Sophy said it was not the sort of yell that meant "come and help me clear up this lovely food all over the floor" but the sort that meant it would be a good idea to all lie down on our beds and be very polite for a bit, and when MH saw us she said it was very good of us and very polite - Sophy is usually right about these things.

[Final stages of clearing out a cupboard and I dropped a whole box of pasta all over the floor! It was in the very back of the cupboard and probably past it's use-by date, but a nuisance to clean up. fjm]


----------



## Mfmst

Thrilled to find a good home for a lot of pricey poodle grooming equipment, including a dryer. DH’s table tennis coach and his wife got a mostly poodle cross and I am very happy to give them this stuff. Their GSD died last year, so this holiday puppy is so welcome. Hope they have better luck with all those CC slicker brushes and combs, than I. The dryer, unopened, is a nice Christmas gift. Going to see if they’re interested in Buck’s first crate, too. It’s fantastic when you can find worthy recipients for your “clutter”. I’m researching Middle Eastern refugee organizations that would find happy homes for serving pieces and glassware. If it’s not going to my family, I want to target folks who will appreciate it and need it. I can dump stuff with Goodwill or the Salvation Army, but am pursuing a targeted approach. 

Freddy you are being so good during this boring time. Good job, not stirring up the spoiled pasta!


----------



## Mfmst

Sorry for the double post. Probably more appropriate in fjm’s downsizing thread. I’m so extra, lol.


----------



## fjm

[I'll see if I can quote it there - fjm]


----------



## fjm

Today we went to the lovely muddy splashy place again and I was playing chase with another little dog and he went round in a big curve and I thought if I went straight I could catch him. I didn't see the deep, muddy ditch till too late, and it was just too wide to jump, although I did try... I did manage to scramble out by myself, though, which MH says was a good thing as she could not have reached.









I have had two baths and she says I still whiff of yucky stuff.


----------



## Liz

Oh fjm, Freddy is so lucky he's cute!


----------



## fjm

I have made up a new game for early in the morning. It can be a bit boring when we have been out for pees and had breakfast and been out again for poos - Sophy and Poppy just want to snooze and MH drinks coffee and plays with her shiny tip tap box. My game is to find Green Froggy and get MH to throw him, which is more difficult than it sounds. First I have to find him, which means a long hunt with lots of sniffing, and then get him to MH without disturbing Sophy who snoozes right by her feet or waking Poppy who is asleep on her lap - the best way is to jump right over Sophy and land in the little bit of space Poppy is not using. Then I have to wait for a moment when she is not tip tapping - she doesn't like it if I drop Froggy on the letters. And _then_ I have to look at her just right to make her throw him, so we can do it all over again. Sophy grumbles, which makes it more exciting, and if Poppy gets woken up she ROARS! which is very exciting indeed, so it is really quite an interesting game. MH says it can sometimes get a bit too interesting for 7 o'clock in the morning...


----------



## fjm

I was playing the Froggy game with MH yesterday and she threw him but not very well and he bounced on the table and knocked off a glass which broke into lots of interesting pieces. And MH said to Leave It! while she got a broom and all the other tidy up stuff but it really was very interesting... It seems dogs aren't meant to play with bits of glass though, so I let her take it and helped her find the rest of the pieces and she mopped up the water and wrapped up the sharp bits and found me a safe toy to chew and now we can only play Froggy when she has made sure nothing will get broken. So many rules...


----------



## Rose n Poos

Glad no one got hurt and while I know your MH is doing many Busy Busy things to make more room and fewer things, I don't think she'll make a habit of this method!

Bits of glass are like being stung or bit, so she was wise to keep you clear, dear Freddy .


----------



## fjm

I have had a lovely day! It was very cold early on so I snuggled under the duvet with MH then when we managed to persuade her out everything was hard and white and interesting under a big bright moon - it is called frost and it lasted all day. We went to 'Holstery and had a bit of a wander round then MH put this nice warm thing between our crates in the car so we could snuggle. I went in and met the nice ladies and had biscuits at coffee time then at lunchtime we all had chicken and went for a wonderful walk right across the fields, all white and sparkly and sunshiny with lots of space to run with Sophy and lovely smelly bits to roll in. We came home a bit earlier than usual because MH didn't want to drive in the dark and I had a bit of a bath because of the smelly rolling (_another _bath!!), but MH made some scrunchy chicken biscuits which are so good they even make up for having baths. 

[Hard frost = muck spreading, much to Freddy's joy! fjm]


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
Is muck like deer and bird poo? Because deer and bird poo is lovely to roll in.
Your friend Pia


----------



## fjm

MH says it is very old cow pee and poo that humans spray all over the fields to make the grass grow. It smells even better than fresh poo, and the smell lasts longer too, even after a bath. Poppy says it is nearly as good as fox poo, and she has tried nearly everything when it comes to rolling.

MH woke up very early this morning - so early I hadn't got round to suggesting it was morning. I think she is getting quite well trained at last


----------



## fjm

When we went out for pees and poos this morning everything was covered with white fluffy stuff! Poppy and Sophy don't like it (and Sophy says she is feeling yucky this morning so doesn't want to play anyway) but I thought it was very interesting and MH let me run around for a while. MH put her big boots on - the ones she puts on when we are going for a proper walk - instead of the ones she usually wears when it is just out in the garden - which was very muddling. I wonder if it will still be there when we go for a proper walk later...

Oooh! MH says there will be lots more fluffy stuff falling out of the sky this morning! Can't wait!

[At least one of us will be happy! First snow of the year, with a slight thaw followed by hard freeze forecast which probably means slippery roads and paths for the next week at least... fjm]


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
Is the white fluffy stuff like the white crunchy grass which is gone by lunch time, Len and Pia say not and they hate both and rather stay in, I love to run on the grass when it's soft and green and when it's white and crunchy.
So what's with my brudder and my sissy, why don't they like it
Your friend Nellie


----------



## fjm

Don't know, Nellie, but Poppy and Sophy are just the same - all old and boring. We have had crispy white stuff that lasts all day and all night and all the next day, but the fluffy stuff is going soggy already. MH says it will be all horrible and slippery tomorrow, but I don't mind slippery as much as the rest of them seem to. Four legs are jolly useful!

PS the white fluffy stuff falls out of the sky and gets behind your ears and into your tail - very odd feeling!


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
Thank you for answering my question, I love having four legs to bounce around on, I will wait for the white fluffy stuff to fall it is cold and Momo says it will snow soon enough..
I can't wait
Your friend Nellie


----------



## fjm

MH was right, it has all gone hard and crunchy and slippery. When we went out for the after breakfast poo walk she put her big boots on but still only went as far as the car, which isn't nearly far enough to be ready to poo. Usually we go all the way up to the top of the big garden at the back and then I feel ready on the way back, but MH said it counted as an Emergency and I could use the pad in the bathroom when I needed to because she didn't want to slip and break something, so that is what I've done. Poppy and Sophy wouldn't go out at all - they said once for a pee was quite enough, thank you.

Sophy is still feeling achey and not wanting to play and Poppy never wants to play - I wish Nellie lived next door and then we could bounce around in the snow and play chase and it would be lovely!

[Hard freeze as I expected - it's been dropping to around -9C/16F at night and barely getting above freezing during the day. Fortunately my fuel account is massively in credit after a very careful summer and autumn so I can keep the heating on without worrying too much about bills, but walks on ice are Not Going to Happen - a bad fall some years ago has taught me to be careful! fjm]


----------



## Streetcar

Above all, Freddy, keep your lovely MH from falling, sweet boy ❤!!!


----------



## twyla

Freddy, 
I wish I lived near too my Momo will not let me out to play in the white fluffy stuff falling from the skies, I can't even see the ground. 
I need help
Your friend Nellie

(twyla here Miss Nellie get her chance soon enough, I am paranoid about letting Nellie walk around the complex since my fellow humans aren't always doing what they ought vaccine wise)


----------



## fjm

It would be better here Nellie - all the dogs that live here are nice and their humans make sure they don't get poorly and pass on nasty bugs (except the upset tummy sort sometimes) and we have really interesting gardens to explore and play in. This morning I went off on a big explore by myself in the big gardens and later on MH played Fetch with me in our tiny garden with a gate - I thought it would be a bit boring but there are interesting corners and good places to dig so it was actually quite interesting. MH likes it because it is not slippery and when she gets cold she can go inside and watch me from the window till I'm ready to come in. 

[And because it is enclosed and he can't go walk about! fjm]


----------



## fjm

I went round the front today and there was something so very weird I barked to MH to come and see. It was quite big and very cold and very strange. MH says it is a Snow Man and the children made it out of the white fluffy stuff. I don't think the children know what humans look like. The ones I know certainly don't look like a heap of squashy blobs with two sticks poked in.


----------



## fjm

We have had a funny sort of morning. MH pootled around for ages and then at last we all went up to the bathroom to start the day, but instead of just cleaning everyone's teeth, or even having a bath and then washing my tummy, she said it was baths and hair wash for _everyone_! First her, then Sophy, then Poppy, then me. Sophy and Poppy don't mind much as long as the water is warm but I am used to just having water on my tummy, not all over my back and my tail and my _ears_! I didn't like it splashing on my face so MH did that bit with a flannel and sang the Snuggle Freddy song so that was much better. Then she sat at the top of the stairs and blew hot air out of a nasty noisy machine first at Poppy and then at Sophy - when she wanted to blow it at me I said NO, it was too scary, so she wrapped me up in a nice dry towel and we had a snuggle instead, which was much, _much_ better.

Then we came downstairs and Poppy had done a sloppy poo on the mat by the door and I got all excited because I thought we might be going outside and bounced around by the door and paddled it all over so I had to have my feet washed and dried again. And MH cleaned everything up and put the mat in the washing machine and got dressed and we all went out for a very short wander around. Then she got the nasty buzzy thing out to trim Poppy's face and toes but she had hardly started when it got v-e-r-y s-l-o-w and needed feeding before it would go on, so Poppy's face is half short and half long. I want to play Fetch! but for some reason MH just wants to sit down with another cup of coffee...


----------



## Mfmst

Check out the Shirelles - “Mama Said” on YouTube. Soundtrack for this post.


----------



## fjm

This morning it was sort of raining with bits of ice in it when we first got up but not nearly as cold as it has been for the last few days. MH said we could go out for pees but 5am was Too Early to start the day so we went back to bed for an hour or so before breakfast. There is still quite a lot of slushy ice around and Sophy and Poppy didn't want to go far from the house or stay out for long but MH says it should all be gone soon and we can go for proper walks again. I like the snow and playing Fetch and other games but I really need some good long runs and MH says we can still play Fetch even when the ice has gone. Yesterday we played it up and down the stairs which made it very interesting as it is hard to know where the toy will end up to be there ahead of it. 

[Just above freezing today after what has felt like weeks of snow and ice - hard to believe it has only been 7 days. It feels positively warm, despite the sleety rain. fjm]


----------



## fjm

MH says from now on Morning does not start till 5.30am at the very, very earliest - anything before that is The Middle of the Night and means we can go out for a pee but then all go back to bed. So what if it was 4.55am? I was _starving..._


----------



## Rose n Poos

Oh my, Freddy! Your MH is quite right. Morning very definitely does not start at 4:55am and in fact, 5:30am is also too early. In full fact, any time before dawn is still night. 

Still, what's a starving Freddy to do? Did your MH offer you a biscuit after explaining the difference?


----------



## fjm

No she didn't - she says Biscuits at 5am are a Bad Habit and Not To Be Encouraged. She made me go back to bed and I had to wait nearly a whole hour for breakfast! But she does agree that waiting for it to get properly light at this time of year would be hard to bear - that would be at least 8.30 which is nearly lunchtime. But I don't understand why humans need clocks to tell them when it is time for meals and walks and doing things - dogs just Know.


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
Momo feeds us at 4 a.m. , but she says that is at least 10a.m. your time, but I do not even know what that means, it is dark though

Your friend Lenny


----------



## fjm

I don't understand human time Lennie. Sometimes it is dark when it is time to get up and other times it is still light when it is time to go to bed, then just when you are beginning to get used to it humans change it all again and say what was breakfast time yesterday isn't today because the clocks have changed! 4am sounds like a good time for breakfast though... (Oh, MH says NO WAY and don't even think about it. 4am is very definitely the middle of the night, it seems.)


----------



## fjm

I got a 5am biscuit! MH let us out for a pee and called Freddy Breakfast! to bring me back in again and then said we would go back to bed instead of having breakfast but I could have a biscuit to keep things fair. It would not be fair at all to promise breakfast and then not give me anything.

MH was all stressed and ratty yesterday - something to do with cards not working and nobody being around to help and things piling up. She got crosser and crosser, especially when I jumped on her lap to help - how was I to know putting my foot just there would turn the screen off? And she spent ages on the phone which is really boring. She has promised to be nicer today, though.

[Attempting to pay my Audible subscription turned into a mammoth session of trying to contact credit card issuer, where first the phone menus then the chat bot sent me round and round in closed loops of questions and responses until I eventually managed to find the magic words that got me through to a real human, then a similar experience trying to sort out with Audible why their payment system is unable to cope with the additional security layer that has been mandatory in the UK since last March! Charming lass in India was trying hard to be helpful but much essential detail was lost in translation and I balked when the proffered solution was to cancel my subscription and give me a month's free trial one while they sorted it out! Visions of losing access to my very extensive library on there... Then the supermarket loyalty card was not recognised, losing me 10% of my bill. One way and another a thoroughly frustrating day, not helped by Freddy's efforts to join in! fjm]


----------



## The Popster

fjm said:


> I got a 5am biscuit! MH let us out for a pee and called Freddy Breakfast! to bring me back in again and then said we would go back to bed instead of having breakfast but I could have a biscuit to keep things fair. It would not be fair at all to promise breakfast and then not give me anything.
> 
> MH was all stressed and ratty yesterday - something to do with cards not working and nobody being around to help and things piling up. She got crosser and crosser, especially when I jumped on her lap to help - how was I to know putting my foot just there would turn the screen off? And she spent ages on the phone which is really boring. She has promised to be nicer today, though.
> 
> [Attempting to pay my Audible subscription turned into a mammoth session of trying to contact credit card issuer, where first the phone menus then the chat bot sent me round and round in closed loops of questions and responses until I eventually managed to find the magic words that got me through to a real human, then a similar experience trying to sort out with Audible why their payment system is unable to cope with the additional security layer that has been mandatory in the UK since last March! Charming lass in India was trying hard to be helpful but much essential detail was lost in translation and I balked when the proffered solution was to cancel my subscription and give me a month's free trial one while they sorted it out! Visions of losing access to my very extensive library on there... Then the supermarket loyalty card was not recognised, losing me 10% of my bill. One way and another a thoroughly frustrating day, not helped by Freddy's efforts to join in! fjm]


Drives me absolutely potty at times trying to deal with similar stuff to you, same kind of issues.
Turns me into a full on Ludite at times.
I remember watching the likes of Burke on Tomorrow's World telling us how labour saving, time saving, technology was going to be, giving us far more leisure time.
S'cuse my French .... Bollocks !!!
Just about the complete opposite seems to be the case, slaves to tech.


----------



## Rose n Poos

If I wasn't retired I don't know how I'd find the time to deal with the feels-like-perpetual customer service issues that crop up regularly .

And I've more than once been concerned that an errant toe tap would disconnect me from the hard-won live CS rep, or possibly sign me up for something.

Freddy, it was good of your MH to give you that biscuit .


----------



## fjm

[Had either of them had a functioning email address it would have been simple - the issue wasn't particularly urgent but did require the sort of clarity that comes from written rather than spoken words. But Customer Service has, like so many things, been outsourced to customers, with layers of "help" and "FAQs" and "go and solve it yourself" before you can actually talk to someone - who even then rarely has the authority to DO anything! Rant over... fjm]


----------



## fjm

Hi Lennie
Today I tried for 4am breakfast. I got let out for a pee and chivvied straight back to bed - not even a biscuit. What am I doing wrong?
Freddy x


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
Hoomans don't want to wake up earlier or stay up later, Momo is up at 3:30 to 4 :00 a.m. but hates being up late but she want to go nigh nigh at 9 p.m. but sometimes it's 8 p.m. keep her up past these times she gets very grumpy.. telling us it's nigh nigh, which means to bed.
It is hard to figure them out, I like to sneak moo juice but Momo gets mad, go figure, sure it's in a mug on the kitchen table and Momo is off tending to Nellie, but it is so good. 
Hoomans

Your friend Lenny


----------



## fjm

They really are weird, Lennie. Sophy has been telling MH for _years _that we might as well go and sleep comfortably in bed as soon as Poppy has had her supper at 8pm but she won't. If she did we could have breakfast really early like you and everyone would be happy.

MH is being very mean and making me have a lead on every time we go out of the house, except in the tiny back garden. Amber next door made everywhere smell really interesting so I had to check all over everywhere even when it was time to come in for breakfast, and then Amber was outside with one of her humans and she smelled even _more_ interesting, and she wanted to play the humpy game that no one else will ever let me play. But MH stopped me before we'd played hardly at all and says if Amber is not on a lead I will have to be, especially as I still want to check every corner for those interesting smells, even the bit that is close to the road. Sometimes she forgets, but I have been very good about coming back for chicken so she says I am extremely good and sensible and she won't have to Consider Drastic Action yet awhile.


----------



## Miki

Dear Freddie - Hello. I'm Hugo, and I live with MH in Minnesota. I love my MH's BFF but don't see her enough because of Winter and something that's 'Demic but MH and our BFF send pics of me and her beautiful curly boy that would for sure love to play with me in the snow. 

Snow is beautiful, even if MH doesn't agree. Our fur coats keep us warm, as you well know. I think you would love to sit in the snow with me.

Please tell your MH that our house is very toasty (especially when MH bakes bread). You can bring everyone when you come. 

Love, 

Hugo.


----------



## fjm

That's a _lot_ of snow, Hugo! It would be lovely if we all came to your house. I asked MH if we could do it today but she said it is a very long way - even further than to the-house-up-a-mountain-in-Wales, and even more complicated to get there so probably not. But dogs can dream...

It's actually better here now the snow has gone. MH isn't worried about slipping on ice and nor is Sophy so we can go for proper walks and Poppy likes it now it is not so very cold. But if we came to see you we could play in the snow and then come home for tea and have a long walk on the way and that would be the best of everything, I think.


----------



## fjm

I am having a lovely evening! MH has spent hours and hours being Busy-Busy-Boring this week, playing with the horrible noisy cleaner thing and standing on stools to put sparkly lights up and generally doing weird human things, and this afternoon she said she had just about finished and then her sister and niece came, and her niece is my Favourite Other Person in the World, so it is very exciting! She knows lots of games and plays with me and is fun - at least she was until she said she had work to do and became Busy-Busy-Boring too. But I am quite sleepy because we had quite a long walk today and met lots of dogs and humans we know and the humans had biscuits and everyone was cheerful and it was all fun and happy. I think perhaps it is Krismas again, if Krismas can happen in different places. I didn't know you could get it at home, as well as at MH's sister's house.


----------



## fjm

It _is_ Krismas! There are lots of shiny things and sparkly lights and lots of people and lots of parcels and MFOP is playing with me lots. I love her so much that when the door was open this morning and I went to look for Amber I came dashing back in when MH reminded me MFOP was awake. And we are going for a long walk later to one of our favourite places and there will be a special tea with chicken and lots of humans to play with and snuggle with.

Some of the other humans are in our bed and we are in a smaller one that is too high to jump on easily. MH lifted me up last night but there was not much room so I went and slept in my pen instead. And when we woke her up for morning pees she took us out and then said it was Too Early and went back to bed I didn't and had a nice time with the whole house to myself. And MH said it was very sensible to use the pad in the bathroom when I needed a poo but a Good Thing she was up before anyone else.

She says lots of people have Krismas or something else nice today - I hope everyone is having a lovely time like me.


----------



## Streetcar

Merry Krismas, Freddy! My mum says we are not quite there yet, but soon. We are still settling in for our "long winter's nap", and Mums is watching too much youtube. That's something showing moving pichers of people traveling abroad and exploring eating while learning cultures. I guess it's like yogurt since the cultures part, right?

Santa Claus might fly to California soon, so I'm off to try and sleep.

Lots of love,
Oliver


----------



## fjm

I am very, very tired - there are so many people here talking and laughing and playing games and doing things and we went for a walk but everyone went different ways and we couldn't find them and there is lots of food we aren't allowed and things happening and it is so much busier than usual and I think perhaps we should have supper and go to bed. MH says it will all be lovely and peaceful tomorrow because everyone will go home except for MFOP, and MFOP wants a nice quiet time getting some work done and playing with me and sleeping and eating nice food, which sounds _perfect_.


----------



## fjm

I'm still a bit tired. We went to bed at the usualish time but next door had lots of lights on outside so it didn't get properly dark and Sophy woke up really, really needing a poo and when we went out there were lots of people getting into cars and so of course I had to bark to warn MH there were strangers about. And then we woke up at the usualish time but after going out for pees MH said it was Too Early and we went back to bed again, and again when Poppy needed a poo a bit later so we didn't have breakfast till quite late. MH says tonight we will be in our own bed again and we will have a few days of getting back to normal and being peaceful. I will miss having so many people to play Fetch with though - it is really good with lots of people because there is always one who can be persuaded to play.


----------



## twyla

Dear Freddy,
Momo left me, something about being tooo cold 🥶 so I stayed home with sissy P and Lenny, it was boring but Momo left the big light box on and it had people talking and moving which I find fascinating. Then she was back with small delicious cookies.
I miss all the people but this was good too.

Your friend
Nellie
_twyla here far to cold to bring the dogs with to my brother's and it's been so busy and tiring at work I did not stay long._


----------



## fjm

It is very rainy here but not very cold and we went for a lovely long walk along the canal and MFOP came too, although she likes to walk fast so she went on ahead. It is lovely having her here to play with - I wish she would stay forever and be here always. She says I would first have to learn not to bark every time I hear her moving around in case it means something exciting is going to happen, and never, ever, ever poo on the floor again...


----------



## fjm

We went out for pees and poos when we woke up and after breakfast and nearly blew away! The after breakfast one was worst because MH took us right up the back on leads to be really sure we had pooed, and it was blowing so hard up there she didn't want to wait while we sniffed and explored. And when we turned round the wind blew all my hair the wrong way and made my tail feel funny. So we pooed very quickly and came home a lot faster than we went. MH says it was very nearly A Gale, although not as windy as some of you get, and it is because of the very horrible icy storms where some of you live. I think this is quite blowy enough - any more and it might blow us over!


----------



## fjm

I've suddenly realised what is wrong - MFOP isn't here any more. We got back from our walk and had tea and a bit of a snooze and then I went upstairs to find her and she wasn't there and I've looked downstairs and she isn't there either. I _need_ her - she is bendy enough to get down on the floor to play which MH hardly ever does and is very, very good at snuggles as well as Fetch. It's very sad-making when you can't find special people ...


----------



## fjm

We went to bed at the usual time last night and were all comfy and fast asleep when suddenly there was an enormous BANG and FLASH! MH woke up with a jump and I woke up and started shouting at whatever it was to go away and it FLASHED and BANGED again, so I shouted even louder. And then MH was awake enough to know what it was and she said it was fireworks which are a nuisance but not dangerous as long as they are outside and we are inside, and we snuggled under the duvet while the bangs carried on. Sophy and Poppy hardly woke up and said "What bangs?" when I shouted about them, and MH said sometimes being a bit deaf can be a Good Thing.

The bangs stopped at last and we'd all gone back to sleep when they started again, just one or two this time, and I shouted again, and MH snuggled me again, and they went on banging every time we were nearly asleep for hours and hours, which MH said was more than a bit mean. Poppy wanted a pee at 5am and MH said perhaps we should go round and let me have a good shout at the windows of the house the bangs came from just to make sure there weren't any more, but it was raining so we went back to bed instead and all slept for ages - after 8am which is nearly lunch time. 

After breakfast I hunted all over for MFOP but I can't find her - I wonder if she is still in bed? It didn't smell as if she was, but perhaps she hid right under the duvet because of the bangs and needed to sleep late, too. I shall ask MH to check when we go up to clean teeth later on.

PS MH says there is something called a New Year and it is polite to hope it is Happy for everyone. I can't see anything new anywhere, so perhaps you've got it already. I hope it's making you Happy.


----------



## Getting ready

Happy New Year, Freddy and family. We are having a Very Happy one so far. Our humans ABANDONED us to go the a place called Skiing. We had to fend for ourselves, all alone and sad. … well okay actually we went to the house of Our Favorite Other Person and Family. And they had ham which we like but our mom does not. StiIl, our humans were very negligent and terrible to abandon us like that. We didn’t see them for one hundred years. 

Last night, we also had flash bangs. And there was a party with dancing. And lots of yummy crumbling things getting dropped on the floor. We did a great job of helping OFOP clean up. We cleaned the floor, a little bit of the table, and even chewed up a plastic rectangle. OFOP said that was a very unique way to help her spend less.

After all that work, we were tired. But OFOP woke us up early. We left New Years messages for all the animals that visit the yard and then we got in the car. We finished our sleeping there and when we woke up, we were home and our humans were back too! We are so happy and we are keeping a very close eye on them in case they disappear like your FOP. 

Mom says they will always come back. I don’t know why they have to leave at all. But, I hope your FOP knows the always come back rule. Maybe your person can give her chicken pancakes. We think they sound delicious and am quite sure no one could resist them.


----------



## fjm

I don't think MFOP likes chicken, but I do hope she knows the Always Come Back rule. And I am very glad MH didn't leave us alone with the bangs last night - that would have been very, very scary!


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
We did not have bang bangs here but Momo's work building started shrieking, it was a little exciting because people in big bulky clothes came in a noisy big truck, I wasn't worried because I was happy to see more peoples.
These peoples made the shrieking stop.

More fun than the liooong ride home I slept through.

Your friend Nellie9

(Fire alarm went off at work, not sure why all was well)


----------



## fjm

That sounds _very_ exciting, Nellie! I didn't know houses could shriek but Poppy and Sophy say they have known it happen when there is also a burny smell. Poppy says that the first time was so awful she went and hid under the car and when she realised it was because of the burny smell she hid as soon as she smelled it before the shrieking started. But I don't think we ever had big bulky people come round - I'm sure she would remember that.

MH says it is going to be a bright day and she has done everything that absolutely has to be done and we are going to go on a Nadventure somewhere different. I think we should go at once, but she says it is still dark and she needs more coffee first...


----------



## twyla

Freddy,
Nventure sounds wonderful. Momo has made the burny smell and shrieky noisy at home, no one hides though.
Wish Sissy P, Brudder Len and I were going on a venture, momo is 'ckeaning', she says we have company coming, Sissy P says it is Friend, and she loves Friend cause Friend is nice and warm and gives good pets and snuggles nice. I am confused that sounds like Cousin, but Sissy says that is not the same person, very confusing I have Aunts and Uncles at works but they are not related to Momo, she says I will understand soon enough.

Your friend Nellis


----------



## fjm

Our Nadventure didn't really happen. MH took us out to the car but the doors wouldn't open and so we had to leave it to warm up, and by the time everything was working there was just time for a quick walk by the river before it was time for Poppy's lunch. It was a very nice walk, though, as there were lots of my friends there and Bello and I had a lovely game of chase.

Then in the afternoon we drove somewhere different but people were digging the road up and there was nowhere to leave the car, so we headed back for the walk by the river but the field was full of sheep so we couldn't walk there either! So we went to one of the other places we often walk and it was lovely with lots of dogs and small humans and nice people, so it didn't really matter that it wasn't a proper Nadventure.


----------



## twyla

Freddy
Still a Nventure, Momo made me bap and Friend still isn't here Momo says it us still before noon and friend will be here after. Why are hoomans are so interested in o'clock?
What are sheep?
Your friend 
Nellie


----------



## fjm

Sheep are big wooly things that you are Very Much Not Allowed to Chase. Very, Very Definitely No Chasing. Which is a pity, as they are not quite as big as cows, and look as if it would be really good fun to make them run away.


----------



## fjm

You know those noises humans make, all round the bits that mean something, like "Freddy" and "walk" and "breakfast"? I think I may have worked out that some of those mean something too! Today MH said Freddy blah blah Froggy Fetch blah blah Garden, which I know means that if I can find Froggy she will play Fetch with me in the garden. And we did and it was really good fun, especially when I invented a new bit where I hid with Froggy and waited for her to call "Freddy, Fetch!" and then ran to her with him very fast. But when we came in I went upstairs just in case MFOP had come back and when I asked MH to go on playing Fetch I couldn't find Froggy. And MH Said "Freddy Froggy Fetch Upstairs" and the last bit is the noise she makes when we go up to bed and when I went up there to look there was Froggy! I think it was very clever of her to know he was there, and tell me how to find him.

This morning I managed to pick up Elephant _and_ a ball at the same time and jumped up on MH's lap to show her and so that she could throw the ball. And she agreed it was _amazing_, and threw the ball. Unfortunately I jumped after it and landed on top of Sophy and Sophy was really cross and we had a bit of a shout about it and by the time MH had sorted it out I'd forgotten how to hold Elephant and still be able to pick up the ball...


----------



## Mfmst

Love the expression ‘we had a bit of a shout about it’. Hope you apologized, Freddy.


----------



## fjm

MH made me apologise... 'Snot fair - just because I'm the youngest I always have to apologise first.

[Not because you are youngest, Freddy - it's because you drop toys on Sophy, try to grab all the treats in the Wheee! game, and shout at Sophy because you think she may take the biscuit you are already swallowing. Amongst other things! fjm]


----------



## fjm

I'm learning more about noises. When MH says Freddy Fetch Froggy she gets much more excited about playing with me if I find Froggy and not one of the other toys. Ball means one of the round toys. And I found a really good thing in the toy box with little squeaky toys stuffed into a bigger one and got it out to play with, and yesterday we played Tug and Fetch with one and she said Squirrel, and later on when she said Freddy Fetch Squirrel I went and found the squeaky thing and she was very excited indeed. 

MH says it is going to rain and _rain _and RAIN today, so we can practice sounds and play Clicky and other rainy day games. But first she will have to move all the boxes of books and clear up the cardboard I have been playing with - if you tear it small enough it makes lovely patterns on the floor. And I don't know why she is putting books in boxes on the floor where they get in the way instead of leaving them on the shelves where we didn't trip over them. Humans do weird things...

[The Great Sort Out is under way - step one is reducing my massive accumulation of books by at least 50%. Boxing up takes little time, dipping into each one to decide whether to keep it or not takes forever! fjm]


----------

