Xena: Not too much happening around here. Mommy and Daddy have been super busy doing things NOT with us and it’s been a bit boring.
Lucy: We still get our after-lunch walks every day except on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they are both gone to work so that they can afford to feed us “better than they eat”. That’s what they say. And we still get our after supper walks except for the one day last week that it was so late that the sun was going down. Oh, and the one day last weekend that we ate supper early and then they left. OK, I guess it really has been a boring week or two.
We did find out something interesting, though. Mortie has a waddle, BOL. You can see it in this picture. 
Aunty Jen told us that this kind of pig is originally from New Zealand where there are lots of poisonous snakes. (Our friends from http://www.jaspersdoggyworld just let us know there are no poisonous – or other -snakes in New Zealand.)The snakes bite the waddle and the poison doesn’t spread. So now we don’t know where Mortie is from or what the waddle is for!
Xena: It’s been 87 days since I went to Freestyle class. My Big Girl time is finally over and I want to go dancing. Sometimes I sit on Mommy’s lap and watch what the other dogs are doing in their dance routines. If I like it, I try out the moves when we get home. That way, Mommy thinks I’m good at making up new dance steps. She laughs and tells me what a clever girl I am.
Our next set of classes begins this weekend, but I. Can’t. Go. My folks are going far, far away to Indiana to celebrate Daddy’s aunt’s 95th birthday and our sitter, Miss Christy, is staying with us. I think she should take me to Freestyle, and I could show her what to do.
We’re joining Rosy and the Gang for Nature Friday.
We got something called a Yard Flag. It looks a lot like me when I was a puppy.
It makes Mommy smile every time she sees it.
Lucy: What doesn’t make Mom smile is our not-a-year-old azalea bush. She took a picture of it to the garden center where she got it and asked if it should look like this. 
They said that’s what it’s supposed to do, and will bloom again in the summer and in the fall. And they gave her a one-half refund on the “organic” fertilizer she bought in March to use with the fescue grass seed in the dog lot. She found out the tiny little pebbles are made out of people poop. Ewwww! Xena and I ate a little tiny bit of it before we heard, “No!” We both had the squirts and puked on and off for three weeks. We weren’t allowed back out there for 87 days. So she figured half her money back was better than none, since she would have just thrown it away.
Xena: We’ve been watching this grow in front of the house. 
I heard that a boy named Jack might be coming to visit and we might get a golden egg or even a harp. Mommy wants to know if anyone has a guess what this plant is. I still think it is a magic beanstalk.
Do you remember Mommy’s hostages that she planted after the Hated Bush got gone? 
This time, it really wasn’t me who chewed something up. Mommy mixed up some essential oils and stuff and sprayed everything. It did seem to kill the tiny red and black bugs crawling all over the giant beanstalk.
That’s all on our news around home. Love and wiggles, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Lucy, Ace Reporter on the Groom Beat, here. Today I have a bit of a different report. You have already met Maggie the schnauzer and Dora the shih tzu. They have been coming to Mom to be groomed for six years. Their mom’s sister-in-law is an artist. Can you see the pictures she is painting? 
On the left is the picture their mom took, and on the right is the painted portrait.
Xena: Ludwig! Is it really you? Where have you been?
Xena: Everything is kinda’ tilting and I may be turning green.
My sister Lucy likes that chair also, and, strangely, her hair doesn’t stick all over it like it does on the other furniture. 
Sometimes we bark at squirrels and neighbors and delivery people; sometimes we bark and howl with the neighborhood dogs; and sometimes we just nap.
She doesn’t always want the offerings, so I take them back and offer them again another day.
But sometimes you just have to shut your eyes and hope you don’t miss any food.
At first it was a little scary. I mean, I had never ridden a horsie before. 
I thought maybe I should watch for traffic behind us like Mommy does when she is driving.
Then I said, “giddy up,” and urged horsie to go faster while I hung on tight. I rode bareback my first time out!
OK, Mommy, horsie said he’s done. You can help me off now.
We think that aliens were coming down and making shadow monsters out of Lucy and Ella. The girls ran into the house with me and the monsters disappeared.
Mommy was not amused. She stood perfectly still, looking at it like she had never before seen anything that a dog had destroyed. #poormommy. We found a few small pieces on the stairs. Other than that, we think Lucy might be protected from fleas until after her next good poop.
Now I have a duck-taped seven month flea collar. I wonder how many more months I have to go with it like this. Probably just until Lucy chews it off my neck again, he, he.
Achilles
Oh, you’ve got hair on your face now like me. I think we’re twinsies!
Ok, you can be part of our clan. You may feed me now.
I remember you now!! You just surprised me, coming in without Mom and Dad. Where’s my bestie, Ella?
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Xena and I have been thinking about what we are thankful for, so here goes.
This is from Sammy’s birthday on the fourth of July. Every year, Mom used to keep 10 dogs for that whole week, so they all helped Sammy celebrate his birthday. Freda was Mom’s first schnauzer.
The big lunk, Achilles. (We love you Achilles.)
I love you, too, Luce the Deu…I mean Lucy. XOX 
It was only $4 to go inside to see the pretty pictures because they got the “senior” discount, BOL! On the second floor they even got to visit the Goddess Athena.
There was even a diver cleaning it like Mom cleans the house.
Lucy: She will be home soon, little sister. I can’t wait for her to open the card we got her:
This is Lucy and Xena waiting for 
Overnight, my big girl time came to visit. I got some yicky blood on Mommy’s bed sheets, but she’s not mad. She said everything comes out in the wash. I feel all “off” today. I thought it might make me feel better to hug my blankie for a while.
It did help a little bit. For a little while.
Oh, that’s where my blue bone went!
Isn’t this ever going to end?
She held me and loved on me every time I asked for the rest of the day. Those were the best parts of the day – other than food time. Oh, and our walk was good, too. I sure hope this is all over by tomorrow.
Goodnight, everyone. I am Xena the Schnauzer wearing my Big Girl Panties.
Lucy: This is our first time to join in the Flower Friday blog hop. First, we want to thank Rosy from
After reading all the pee mail and leaving some, too, we went home and ran, ran, ran in the front yard. The grass is long and still wet from the dew and high humidity, so Xena’s legs got soaked.
Lucy: Hi Friends. Since I am the official reporter on the grooming beat, I get to go first. Some of you might remember 
Why so many? Because she has had two litters. The one in the top left corner is called Cow Puppy, he, he. The only one to look like his daddy is the second one on the bottom row. And you will never guess…Laila is in a delicate condition again, due on September 15. Her Mama said it happened while she was on vacation and didn’t know what was going on. My Mom suggested she get Louie “fixed” right now before this third litter of puppies are even born. I sure wouldn’t want to have that many kids! Thankfully, they did all get good homes. 
This is Louie and Laila after they got home from being groomed last weekend. Mom hates Laila’s haircut, but it’s how her Mama wants her done.
I wanted to go, but see, here’s what happened. Me and Lucy went to the dog park on Monday morning and that’s when Mommy stuck her hand in the poop bag container and got stung and her hand swelled up like a balloon and she had to take bennies and she couldn’t drive. So she called Miss Nancy who is my teacher and Miss Nancy loves me and said she already knew that I’m ready to move on to the next level so she would still give us my graduation certificate the next time she saw us. I still wish we could have gone to class…it is sooo much fun!
I
I don’t know, Mommy. Hey, what’s that on the floor? I think I’ll go check it out.
Oh! I’m glad you dated Daddy. Maybe Ludwig isn’t so bad. Let’s go talk to him.
I knew it would be terrible for Mom when I had to leave, so I hung on for two more months than the docs said I would. Then I had no choice but to go on back to my Creator. After four months I could see how sad Mom still was, so I asked the Big Guy to send someone to help her. I figured He would send her another schnauzer, maybe even let me pick out the right one. At first I didn’t understand why He sent her Lucy. When I asked, He said to wait and watch. I could tell she was still very sad, but the break in her heart seemed to be starting to heal, at least a little. As the months continued to pass, I saw stitch after stitch forming, creating a heart that could once again hold love. Lucy was accomplishing the job He sent her to do.
When the time was right Mom contacted my breeder, Becky, who understood what Mom wanted. The litter that would be ready to go in October were from a mom and dad who had puppies with temperaments more like mine, but they were all black and all males. Nope. The litter Becky expected to get in the spring would be from a mom and dad who usually had puppies that looked like me but were all cuddly love bugs with no “attitude.” Nope. So Becky told Mom about another great breeder named Toni. Toni was three hours away, and I knew that wouldn’t be a problem since Mom had driven that far to get me. When Mom went to see these 15 week old puppies, Toni had already picked out the one she thought would be the best match for Mom. You see, I had whispered in Toni’s ear which one to choose, and of course, it was the girl who would soon be named Xena. Even though Xena’s only been in the family for a little over two months, Mom’s heart is healing much faster so it can hold all the love welling up inside it. And Lucy’s new job is to help raise Xena and to be a wonderful big sister to her. She sure is acing that one, too.
Next thing I know, The Big Guy informs me that I am in charge of watching over Xena. Well, I’ll tell you, that really cut down time with my friend Spike. Puppies take a lot of watching. I made sure she didn’t chew everything up like I used to do as a puppy. Yep, checked that one off my list. Other than the potty training, everything has been going along beautifully, and she is almost there with that, too. Just as I was trying to pat myself on my back, Mom sends up a prayer to The Big Guy, asking for me to give Xena some of my bravery. It seems that every morning when Mom and Xena go to work, Xena is shaking in the car for at least half of the way there. She has other fears, too. I know, I know, she is supposed to be the Schnauzer Warrior Princess, but that’s for later. Even little princes and princesses have to grow into their titles, right? I started walking around thinking about this dilemma.
Suddenly, I knew what to do. For now, I am going to let little Xena grow and experience life and build her courage. I will keep en”courage”ing her and do my best to instill some of my extra bravery into her. Do you remember when the little warrior princess w
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 