Griffie World Happenings » 1-Misfit McCabe

The New Summer Game

Phoenix — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:26:58 +0000

All of a sudden, summer is definitely here. Let me tell you that wearing black fur in the summertime is not fun. Fortunately for me, my fur isn’t thick like Gryphon’s or I’d be panting all the time. Elsa has thicker fur than I do too, so she gets hot pretty easily as well. Fortunately we live with Mama who gets hot before anyone else I know, so she’s always devising new ways of keeping cool.

This weekend, when the summer furnace got turned on in earnest, Gryphon and Elsa were getting pretty uncomfortable, and we needed some fresh water. Mama filled our water bowl and then brought in a chunk of ice. I like ice cubes to lick. Mama usually gives me one that’s a nice size and I keep licking it until it’s gone. Elsa had never been given ice before, but of course, she was right in there because she thought it might be food. The term food hound was made for Elsa, I swear. Gryphon wasn’t interested in ice because she drank half the bowl of water before Mama brought it in.

Once she got her tongue on the ice, Elsa decided she really liked it, and kept licking away. Well, Mama didn’t want to stand there with a chunk of ice melting in her hand, so she broke Elsa off a piece and put the rest into the water bowl. Elsa’s ears sure pricked up with that. She hopped over to the bowl and licked the ice chunk. She didn’t want the small piece Mama had given her, she wanted the big chunk. Then she tried to bite off a piece for herself. It was funny to watch her trying to curl her lips back to bite the ice without getting her nose in the water. Then, since that wasn’t working, she plunged her whole face in the bowl. When she came up, she had an ice cube between her teeth. Victory. I thought Mama might fall on the floor she was laughing so hard. Not only that, but then Elsa spied another piece she wanted and did it again. So the game of bobbing for ice cubes was born.

I will say one thing for that pup, she’s pretty smart for being so young. She even knew to blow out through her nose while it was underwater so the water didn’t get up her nose. Papa was out with Grandpuppaw when Elsa was bobbing for ice cubes, so Mama told him what he missed. He couldn’t wait until he could try it, so he grabbed a chunk of ice and put it in the water. Elsa was after it in ticks of a puppy dog’s tail. She gets absolutely soaked in the process and then shakes herself which sprays the rest of us with ice cold water…which during this heat is not a bad thing.

All for now. Until next time. Paws Up!

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix

When Is It My Turn?

Phoenix — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:05:11 +0000

I usually don’t complain about much (except for when Mama gets an idea to put a hat on my head), I go amiably along with what my family is doing. I even wrestle with Elsa from time to time to keep her happy. I sit on Papa’s lap when he’s watching TV, and keep his chair warm when he goes to get something to eat, or play with his airsoft gun. I sit beside Mama when she’s working on her books, so I can offer some suggestions to help keep the story flowing. But, now, I’ve had enough.

Mama got a Kindle 2 and she hasn’t let me even put a paw on it yet. The K2 is so cute – sleek and petite, just like me. It looks really easy to operate, but I haven’t been given a chance yet. Think how much easier it would be for me to turn the pages. I could even use my nose if necessary. She’s had it for weeks now, and has been reading story after story on the K2, but I get bupkiss. Last night, I crawled into her arms while she was reading, just so I could get a closer look at the screen. It was wonderful. Nice easy to read font, easy to turn pages, and especially nice for me, you can set the cursor next to a word you don’t know and have the definition pop up at the bottom. I was enthralled. Now, I’m really itching to get my paws on it. So the big question is, Mama, when is it my turn?

All for now. Until next time. Paws Up!

PS – If she lets Elsa touch it before me, I’m going to sit on Elsa’s head.

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:

Change in the Weather

Phoenix — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:47:13 +0000

Yesterday I thought it was time that we got our summer hair cuts. The sun was shining and the heat continued to rise to the point that it got hot. Every year, at least once during the warmer months, Mama and Papa take us to the groomers and get our hair clipped short. This is something that is definitely necessary for Gryphon because her hair is thick and wiry and she gets hot easily. Now, I’m a little different because my hair is ultra fine and silky, just as a princesses hair should be, and I stay cooler than Gryphon. Even so, I still enjoy my summer cut because it helps me to look like a young and vibrant pup (people always mistake me for being a puppy).

Well, today I’m glad that I still have every hair on my body because it is a much cooler day. I don’t know why the weather has to change so drastically in the space of one day, but really, it was warm enough to make me hot yesterday, so Gryphon and Elsa were over-hot. At least we didn’t have snow, like some areas of the country. I definitely could not be a cold weather pup. Just the thought of having to put my dainty toes into ice cold snow…brrrr!! (I just shook my whole body). I think I would absolutely have to insist upon boots for going outside, as well as a heater lamp in the area where I do my business. To all you dogs out there with owners who don’t understand what it’s like, perhaps you could convince them to put their heiny down on the cold, snow-covered ground and hover for a few moments, and then they might treat you a little nicer and get a heater or create nice indoor yard for you.

We will have to get our summer cuts soon though. After all, this is California and the weather just doesn’t get really cold here anyway (for which I am eternally thankful). It’ll be fun to listen to Elsa scream, because this will be her first cut. My prediction is that once we are through, she’ll be glued to Mama’s side and won’t leave her alone. Mama will get upset because she says she can’t type with a puppy laying on her hands. He he he – I’ll be laughing behind my paw.

All for now. Until next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2009 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon and a distracting paw from Elsa

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

Loving My Walks

Phoenix — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:21:49 +0000

Hurrah for Mama! She has finally convinced Papa to take Gryphon, Elsa, and I on a daily walk since he has more time in the mornings. We are definitely loving it. Elsa is so excited, she hops around like a deranged bunny rabbit while she is waiting for Papa to get his act together and put her harness on. Then she likes to race ahead and Gryphon tries to keep up with her. Gryph got a little tired on our walk today because she pushed herself too much. Papa ended up carrying her the rest of the way home (she only couldn’t go the last half block). Mama suggested that Papa wear the pouch and when Gryphon gets tired, he can just pop her in the pouch and continue on.

What’s a pouch? Well, it’s something that I initially didn’t like. It works kind of like a back pack, only the bag is on the front and has a mesh like top. Mama or Papa just put us in the pouch (the bag part), cinch it up, so we’re nice and snug and won’t fall out. You can even be hooked to the inside of the bag as there is a clip. I figured out the pouch was actually a good thing when Mama was working so much on Misfit McCabe and I wanted her to hold me. We compromised and I sat in the pouch and she could keep working and everyone was happy (Gryphon got to sleep on her feet and Elsa wasn’t born yet.) So, pouches are good things. Ask for a pouch – you can go more places that way too.

All for now. Until next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2009 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon and a distracting paw from Elsa

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

Paw Princess on the Move

Phoenix — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:19:35 +0000

I feel like fireworks are going off. I finally convinced Mama to integrate The Paw Princess Diary into Griffie World Happenings. Do you know how I did it? I kept asking her to post a blog entry and since with my blog on Blogger she has to log out of Gmail so I can log on to post an item, she didn’t want to do it. I was biding my time and making suggestions about the website and how she really should start integrating all of the aspects of it, so that it is seemless to anyone trying to find out information about her stuff.

Things have been moving slowly because she has been so busy with writing the sequel to Misfit McCabe. She is calling it Nowhere Feels Like Home, and I think it’s a lovely title. She finished up the creative process and is now procrastinating about completing the editing on it. I saw my moment to strike. What really helped me out was that for work she had to upgrade her laptop and wouldn’t have Microsoft Front Page anymore, so she has decided to upgrade her website (and she thinks it’s all her own idea – he he he).

She knows that she can’t do the complete revamp of the entire website until after she finishes editing, but the idea of resturcturing has been driving her crazy, and I again brought up integrating my blog, so that when she is away for a few minutes fixing dinner, or taking a little break, I can pop on and post something without having to log her out of anything.

I am happy to say that we have completed the cut over of all of my posts from Blogger to Griffie World Happenings, and although Mama won’t let me post to the main blog page, she’s set me up with my own page that will have a tab at the top. I’m tired with all of the encouraging I’ve had to do. Plus, I had to keep Elsa from laying her head on the laptop, so have had to keep that little whip entertained so Mama could get everything set up right.

Oh, for those of you who are concerned that Mama is shirking the editing, you have nothing to worry about. Mama fights against doing the editing and then will sit down and have it done before you know it. In fact, by letting her get at least a couple of integration items out of the way, she’s feeling happier about the blog, and the traveling book site (check out the WITW is MMC tab at the top of the page)

All for now. Until next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2009 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon and a distracting paw from Elsa

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

During a Break in Writing

Phoenix — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:22:07 +0000

I only have a few moments to post something because Mama is going to be back shortly and want to use the laptop again. She’s in the middle of writing the sequel to Misfit McCabe and when she’s in this mode I usually have to keep my paws off the laptop. Well, I just wanted to make a comment to all you dogs out there who have owners that are writers. I know that it can be a little troublesome when they get into that writing zone, because the ability to keep track of time ceases to exist for them. Plus, they just keep writing and forget to give us kibble or water until they come out of the writing zone. Just remember that your job is to love your owner unconditionally and if it means sitting right by their side while they are working through some sticky plot point, then so be it.

Gryphon, Elsa and I all got paw print fleece blankets for Christmas (Thank you Grammy) and so I make it my job to curl up on one of the blankets – we all share with each other, even though our names are on the blankets – and stay by Mama’s side until she takes the headphones out of her ears and quits typing. Elsa is still learning about how to behave with a writer in the house. She keeps trying to crawl up in Mama’s lap and in the process steps on the mouse or on the keyboard and Mama is scrambling to save her work.

So, all you young pups out there. . .until you know how to use a keyboard. Paws Off!

Until next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2009 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon and a distracting paw from Elsa

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

It’s Been Too Long

Phoenix — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:15:45 +0000

I can’t believe I finally got my paws on the laptop again. I’d better not waste any time, but get right into it.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. We had a good one, although, I do have to say, that I didn’t get the one thing I really wanted.

In fact, I for it with all of my heart and soul and even made puppy dog eyes.

(Something I never resort to.) And all to no avail.

What was I asking for? My own laptop with pawprint detection software. I kept telling Mama that if I had my own, I wouldn’t have to sneak in and borrow hers quite so often. But, my magnificent pleading fell on deaf ears. Mama just said that the economy was too bad and that dachshunds didn’t need laptops anyway. I was hoping that Santa would fill the void, but no such luck.

Anyway, on to more important things. Have you heard about that little girl up in Oregon who is helping to feed hungry dogs? (Ok she’s feeding hungry cats too, but we don’t have to talk about that.) When I heard about that, I started planning my ambush to steal Mama’s laptop away so I could let everyone know. The site kind of works like the free rice site that gives you questions and for every correct answer will donate 10 grains of rice to someone who is hungry. That may not sound like a lot, but it adds up, especially once you start filling up bowls.

Anyway, Free Kibble (http://www.freekibble.com) has a daily trivia question, and will donate 10 pieces of kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, whether you get the question right or not. The whole thing is you only can play once per day, so you need to play every day, and maybe learn something in the process. (Oh yeah – they have the same thing for cats). Kudos to Mimi for thinking up such a special thing. You may have noticed that I added a couple of banners for free kibble to the left on my blog, so go ahead and click and play.

Let’s give Mimi and her love and care of hungry dogs a 5 Paw Salute!

Until next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2009 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon and a distracting paw from Elsa

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

Elsa – the St. Bernard

Phoenix — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:04:57 +0000

Ok, I thought I was done with Elsa stories, but she obviously likes my writing little stories about her. Last weekend Gryphon and I noticed that Elsa was drooling a little bit. Mama noticed too, but she thought it was that Elsa was sleeping so hard she drooled a little bit on the pillow she was laying on. Well, that was only the beginning. The drooling got worse, but Papa didn’t notice it because he was busy working. Mama noticed some wet spots when she came home, but Papa thought he must have spilled some water – even though he didn’t have the water anywhere near the wet spots!

That night as we went to bed, Elsa curled up next to Mama and Gryphon and I wanted to stay dry, so we snuggled against Papa. About 11:00 Mama realized that the bed was wet and she uncovered Elsa to take a look. Elsa was lying in a pool of drool (yuck). Her ruff was soaked, her tail was soaked, in fact the tail was so wet, it could be rung out. Mama didn’t like seeing the drool pouring out of the corners of Elsa’s mouth.

She woke Papa up, which took a few minutes because he tries to pretend that he can’t hear anything so he doesn’t have to get up. Then grabbed the laptop to look up what could possibly be wrong with Elsa. It turns out, according to the internet, the most common cause of excessive drooling in dogs, other than being a St. Bernard, is that something, like a stick, is caught in the mouth. With Elsa that could be a distinct possibility, because she does like to pick up sticks and carry them around outside. I choose not to pick up anything nasty like that off the ground.

Mama checked her mouth out, but didn’t find anything, so it was time for the usual call to the vet to see what he had to say. Unfortunately, our vet had his phone on the message machine (something that occurs only a few times a year), so all patients were being referred to the Emergency Animal Hospital, and so Elsa’s first midnight vet run began.

While Mitzi was alive, midnight runs to the vet were not uncommon as she had heart problems in her later years, and Mama said she thought they were done with those for awhile. But, the kid was sick, so something had to be done. The vet couldn’t find anything in her mouth either and recommended a course of antibiotics, nausea medicine and allergy medicine, in addition to an IV to replace the fluids. Plus, he wanted to keep her overnight for observation, give her some X-rays and do some blood work.

Fortunately, Papa decided that Elsa was better off coming home to us, because Gryphon and I would have missed her. The next morning it was off to the vet again to see our regular vet. Elsa was diagnosed with an infection of the salivary glands which was causing the excessive drooling. He put her on a course of antibiotics, and she is now much, much better.

What a confused pup she is . . .first trying to be a Shar Pei, and now a St. Bernard. ‘Til next time, Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix

The Puppy in the Mirror

Phoenix — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:02:21 +0000

We are having a bit of an issue with Elsa because she keeps wanting to bark at the puppy in the mirror. While we are playing on Mama and Papa’s bed, she’ll catch sight of the puppy out of the corner of her eye and then she becomes obsessed. She runs to the edge of the bed and stares into the mirror and barks at the puppy.

Mama and Papa have both tried to show her that she is the puppy in the mirror, but she just won’t believe them. She thinks another dog has snuck into the house and is going to steal her toys and treats. Once upon a time, that puppy used to bother me too, but then I figured since the puppy never did seem to get anything that was mine and Papa never gave any treats or scraps to that puppy, that I really didn’t have to worry about it. Gryphon and I are trying to teach Elsa that too, but she won’t listen to us either.

I guess we just have to wait this one out folks. One day she’ll get tired of confronting the puppy in the mirror. ‘Til then, Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

Music soothes the Savage Beast – AKA – Elsa, the Music Snob

Phoenix — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:59:39 +0000

Elsa is a little trying when traveling in the car. She tends to get nervous and barks because she thinks that someone should be comforting her through the entire trip. Well, a couple weekends ago, we took a trip to GrandMuttMaw and GrandPupPaw’s house to visit crazy Daisy and she was yipping on the way there. Trust me, she has a piercing yip that can shatter an eardrum. So, Papa put his hand back with us (Gryphon, Elsa, and I get to share the back seat) and kept stroking her, so she piped down and was pretty quiet the rest of the way.

Now, it isn’t a long trip, only about 30 miles, so I think Elsa should be able to travel that far without requiring that type of attention, but I guess she’s still a little young yet. Gryphon and I are pros at travel, although I will say my favorite vehicle to travel in is the van because we have a big picture window to look out of. It’s nice to be able to see where we are going.

By the time we left, it was night time and therefore dark. Elsa lasted to the freeway onramp before she started barking. A distance of approximately 3 blocks. Papa tried to comfort her just like he did on the way out, but she wasn’t having any of it. Mama tried talking to her, but Elsa was too scared of the dark to listen. Even when Mama turned the overhead light on Elsa wasn’t happy, and therefore no one could be happy. Gryphon and I always like to take a little nap on the return trip because we’re tired from running around in the back yard, but with all of the yipping going on it was impossible.

Papa jokingly said, “Maybe she doesn’t like country music.” and Mama immediately started searching for the classical music station. Papa took over the station search since Mama was driving and the second that Papa locked in the station it was like someone flipped a switch. Elsa stopped barking practically mid bark.

She sat back down and started listening to the music, her ears tuning to get the best sound. Her body relaxed and she folded her paws (she gets that from me). She didn’t bark once for the remainder of the journey – a record for her.

Mama and Papa thought the whole thing was incredibly funny because she calmed down so quickly, they turned the light off and Papa didn’t even have to put his hand back with us to calm her down. She didn’t make a peep the rest of the way home and only started to whimper once we turned in our driveway.

We now have a station programmed into the radio which has been dubbed the Emergency Elsa station. I enjoyed the music too but Elsa seemed to be enthralled by it. For all you music lovers out there – Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Gardner-Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review