Friends, Dirt, and Chocolate Chips

Things have been very busy with my family lately.  Mister Guy and The Lady have made many trips to Delaware because a sad thing happened; The Captain, The Lady’s father died in October.  I was glad that I got to meet him.  He liked me though I think he thought it a little silly that Mister Guy and the Lady took me lots of places with them.   

I have not been able to come on all of the trips.  I understood.  I stayed in Texas with Offspring No. 1 and the other furry members of my family.  I missed Mister Guy and The Lady when they were gone, but I knew that they had lots to do and didn't have time to pay a lot of attention to a furry blue and orange monster.

I am happy that I got to come with them this week for Thanksgiving.  The Lady and Mister Guy had some business stuff to take care of, but they also had time for some fun things.  I was excited when they told me that we were going to take a trip to Dover and I was going to get to meet Ms. Michele and Ms. Peggy.  I wrote about them earlier.  They are The Lady’s picture-taking friends.  Ms. Michele is my friend too.  She sent me a special package in the mail.  I have wanted to meet her in person for a long time!

Dover is the capital of Delaware so there are lots of important buildings there.  We met them at the library.  (Offspring No. 1 told me that the library is the most important building in any city.  I don’t know if I believe her.  I think maybe she just says that because she is a librarian.)  I didn't care where we met; I just wanted to meet them.  And I did!  Ms. Michele and Ms. Peggy recognized me.  I felt so important.  They weren't even embarrassed to walk around the state capital with me.  

We saw lots of old buildings and a nice lady walked around with us and told us about lots of stories about the early history of Delaware.  I learned a lot about the state from which I come.

We all had lunch together, walked around a little more to see the governor’s house, and then we went to have some dessert.  The picture takers were supposed to photograph dessert that day so they were all excited about pie and cookies and scones.

The only bad part of the whole day was that something was wrong with The Lady’s camera that day and none of her pictures came out.  She said that they were all fuzzy like me, but not blue and orange.  It makes me sad to not have any pictures from my day in Dover, but I have lots of happy memories.  Mister Guy and The Lady said that they will take me to see Ms. Michele and Ms. Peggy again and The Lady will do a better job with her camera.   

Fortunately, Ms. Michele sent The Lady a couple pictures from our day.  

The other thing that Ms. Michele did was bring me a new T-shirt!!!  She read my post about going to the playground and brought me a special playground shirt.  I love my new shirt!!!!  And, I am so happy that The Lady and Ms. Michele are friends because that makes it possible for Ms. Michele to be my friend too!

I haven’t had a chance to go to the playground in Lewes yet because yesterday it was cold and rainy and yucky.  I stayed inside where it was warm.  The rain makes my fur feel funny and I don't have a raincoat.  

I did get to play in the yard today.  

There is a little building in the back yard that The Lady said used to be her playhouse.  She would play inside it when she was here visiting her grandparents.  

There isn't much in there now, but I bet it was fun when she had toys in there. 

I discovered something new to play with - leaves!  We don't have a lot of leaves in our yard in Texas, but here you can rake them into a big pile and jump and hide and play in them.  

It was so much fun!  And, I wore my special dirt shirt so The Lady couldn't get mad at me for getting my shirt dirty.  It hides all the dirt!

It was still a little cold outside so we didn't stay outside too long.  Plus, The Lady needed to go inside and make something called pie to take to The Aunt’s house for the Thanksgiving meal.  The Lady told me that most people have pumpkin pie with their Thanksgiving meal.  That sounded like a good idea to me because pumpkins are orange and I like anything that is orange.  Then she said that she wasn't making pumpkin pie.  That made me a little sad until she said that The Cousin was making pumpkin pie so she was going to make a different kind, pecan chocolate chip.  That sounded interesting, but not orange.  I asked if I could help and the Lady said yes.  She told me that I could measure out the chocolate chips.  I have never had chocolate chips before so I didn't know if I would like to measure them or eat them.  

Chocolate chips are kind of funny looking.  They look more like drips than chips to me and they are not the right color for food.  I decided to brave and try one anyway.  Much to my surprise, they tasted pretty good.  I tried another one.  And another one.  As I held them in my furry paws, the chocolate chips went from chips, to drips, to…mush.  I had a mess on my paws.  I looked for something to wipe them on.  Then I noticed…my dirt shirt was also chocolate colored!  I could wipe my paws on my shirt and The Lady wouldn’t even notice.  I found a perfect solution to my chocolate covered paw problem!

The Lady let me help her take the pie out of the oven.  

I have not had any yet because I was too full after eating my dinner.  I liked the sweet potatoes best because they were orange, but the turkey, dressing, green beans, and dumplings were really good too.  I will try a piece of pie tomorrow.

This week I have learned what it means to be thankful.  I am thankful for The Lady and Mister Guy, for my friends Ms. Michele and Ms. Peggy, and for my extended family.  I missed being in Texas with Offspring No. 1 and Offspring No. 2, but I will get to spend Christmas with them.  

I am one lucky furry blue and orange monster.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Saturday In The Park

Today Mister Guy and the Lady took me to the park. They said it is officially the last day of summer, but that it will not turn cold here for a long time. They wanted to go to the park today because they have been very busy at school and have not been outside much.  I am too little to go outside by myself, so I haven't been outside very much either.

By the time we headed out, it already was starting to get dark. The Lady said that it would get dark earlier and earlier now. So, we will have to get out to take pictures sooner each day. Mister Guy said that the change from summer to fall comes between today and tomorrow. He called it the Equinox. I had to ask him how to spell that big word. He told me it means ‘equal night’ because the day and the night are exactly the same length today. Mister Guys says this happens again when winter turns to spring. 

While we were at the park I saw some ducks. I had seen birds before, but they were always flying or standing. But these ducks were on the water. They floated!! It was very cool. 

The ducks started to come closer to us, but when they realized that we did not have any food, they moved in the opposite direction. The Lady told me that the water in the park is called a lake. That is where the ducks swim. 

I had seen water before; that was a big ocean in Delaware. The Lady said lakes are not as big as oceans. She said that not only do lakes have ducks, but they can have lots of fish and turtles in them. I have never seen a fish or a turtle. Maybe someday.

We went up to the playground. There were lots of fun things to do. 

I like that there is a playground close to our home. There were not too many people in the park tonight. The  library nearby was showing a movie outside on a big screen so people seemed to be there instead of in the park. That’s ok. I like to meet new people, but I also like being able to do things with just Mister Guy and The Lady.

I tried to ride a thing that looked like a great big grasshopper; I was too little and my arms would not reach. 

The grasshopper was too small for The Lady or Mister Guy to get on so they could not ride with me, but there was a smaller thing that I could ride all by myself!. It looked like a horse. I could stay on it if I hugged it’s neck! 

I had fun riding the horse. It really did not go anywhere. It just rocked back and forth, but it was fun to pretend that I was riding off into the sunset!  It really was sunset, at least.

I also got to go on two different slides. One was just a straight line and the other was all curvy. They were fun, but the curvy one made me a little bit dizzy. These slides were just the right size for a furry blue and orange monster. Mr Guy took me to the top and The Lady caught me at the bottom. 

I was glad she did!  I didn't want to fly off onto the ground and get sand all in my fur.

I went inside a thing that Mister Guy said is called a teepee. I was confused because I thought he meant TP like toilet paper and I didn't think I wanted to go inside that.  Mister Guy laughed and said that it was spelled t-e-e-p-e-e.  A teepee is a place wear Indians lived.  He said it was not a real teepee, but one made so little folks like me could play cowboys and Indians. 

He said long ago, the Native Americans, who many people call Indians lived right here in teepees. He said they had to fight for their homes because some people wanted to take their land. The people who wanted the Native Peoples’ lands would sometimes kill them for it. So there was fighting.  Why is there so much fighting?

I don’t understand things sometimes. It looks to me that everywhere I go there is lots of room for everyone. People should be able to get along. They should not try to take other people’s things. Blue and orange furry monsters are always happy to share. If I can be a friend and help someone by giving them something that I have, I will gladly share. But I would never just take something that did not belong to me.

There was also a make believe train in the park. It didn't look much like the real train that I rode on before. That’s OK. 

 It was fun to pretend that I was the engineer who gets drive the train. 

I like trains. I hope I get to ride the real one again sometime soon.  The Lady said that we would probably go to the Texas State Fair in a few weeks.  When we do, I will get to ride the DART train again!

So that was my day in the park! I had fun. I like going places with The Lady and Mister Guy. They seem to like being with me too. 

I've Got Friends...and Mail!

Today was a fantastic day for this furry blue and orange monster.  Something happened that has never happened to me before.  I know, I am little and lots of things have never happened to me before.  I like to have new experiences!

I learned about friends!  Mister Guy and the Lady told me that friends are people who are not part of your family but are special people in your life.  They said that friends are people who do things for you and with you because they really like you and care about you.  I asked how I could get some friends.  They told me that I already had lots of friends.  I was surprised when the Lady and Mister Guy told me that.  How did I get friends?

The Lady and Mister Guy said that there are people who read my blog and though I have not actually met them, they are still my friends.  I learned that people can decide to be your friend based just on what you write in a blog or on your Facebook page.  That is kind of scary and kind of cool at the same time.  The lady and Mister Guy have some friends that they have met on Facebook and through Capture Your 365, the community of people who like to take pictures like the Lady.  Some of these people they have just met online and some they have met in person.

One of the picture taking people that Mister Guy and the Lady have met in person but I have not is Ms. Michele. I have seen her photographs and I have read about her on Facebook. She also sent me some messages on my Facebook page. While we were in Delaware in August, Mr. Guy and the Lady met Ms. Michele and another picture taking friend, Ms. Peggy at Fort Delaware. I did not go tthat day because it was threatening to rain. Blue and Orange furry monsters should not get wet.

Last week Ms. Michele posted on my Facebook page that she was going to send me a package. I wasnt sure what that meant, but Mr. Guy said that was a good thing, something that friends do.  Ms. Michele told Mister Guy and the Lady what she was sending, but they did not tell me.  They wanted me to be surprised.

The Lady and Mister Guy knew the package was supposed to come today. So when they went out to get the mail, they took me along. They told me to look in the mailbox.  Mailbox?

They explained to me that when people send you things, this person called the  mail carrier leaves the sent things in this box on the curb.  The whole thing seems very mysterious to me, but I did what Mister Guy told me to do;

I looked in the mailbox and saw that there was a white package with my name on it!  To Blueper B.  That's me!

 I wasnt sure what to do with this white rectangle.  Mr. Guy said that there was a gift on the inside.  I secretly hoped that it might be a T-shirt, but it seemed an odd shape for a shirt. The  Lady explained that the enevelope was just to protect the special present that Ms. Michele sent me.  I felt better.   It could still be a shirt.

By this time, I was getting very excited!   I had never opened a package with something special for me inside.  Well, really I had never opened any kind of package.

I was so surprised!. Ms. Michele send me a t-shirt from the University of Delaware.

That is where her sons go to school. (There is that school thing again. I need to get to school.) But there was more!   She sent a card...

...with lots of happy faces on it and wrote a note especially for me!!

Ms. Michele said she is looking forward to meeting me next time my family and I are in Delaware. She also said she hoped I liked the t-shirt and the other things.

Other things??? Oh yes, she also sent me a University of Delaware button. They have the Blue Hens for a mascot. I think that is great.  Mr Guy said that people who are my friends know that I like blue.

Yep, blue and orange are my favorite colors. And guess what!! Ms. Michele sent me some stickers with orange and blue (and a few other colored) monsters on them. They are very cool.  The Lady said that now that I know about the mail carrier and the mailbox and packages and cards that maybe I can send a card or a package to a friend.  She told me that I could decorate the letter or package with my new monster stickers that way my friends will know that they are getting something from me.  Getting a package today from Ms. Michele made me so happy.  She sent things that she knew I would like.  Now I understand a little more about friends and what they do for each other.  I would like to send some packagaes to people and make them as happy as Ms. Michele made me today.

I am one excited blue and orange furry monster. Here are pictures of me in my new t-shirt and button, with my new stickers, and my card.

 I am going to wear my new t-shirt tonight to sleep in. But not the button, I might get stuck with the pin if I roll over.

Thank you Ms. Michelle. You are a really good friend!

Green Line Train to Dallas

Mister Guy and The Lady have been really busy that last two weeks getting ready to go back to school. They are teachers and have to be prepared to share what they know with all of their students, so they have not been able to help me work on my blog post.

Mister Guy started back to school two weeks ago and The Lady started this past week.  I have never gone to school, but when I listen to them talk about it, I think school might be fun. They told me I would be the only blue and orange furry monster at school if I went. Maybe someday they will take me.  While they have been gone, I’ve been at home thinking about all I have seen since they adopted me.

In July I wrote about trains, planes and automobiles. Well, I hadn't really seen any trains back then. But, now I have! Just before school started, we all went to downtown Dallas on the train.

Mister Guy needed to go to take some papers to the County offices. The Lady wanted to go to a place called Thanksgiving Square. They said it is a really pretty chapel. I wanted to go because I am always full of thanksgiving because they adopted me. They told me that having me makes them always thankful too. 

To get downtown we rode something called the DART train!  We went to a special place called the Farmers Branch Station, bought tickets and got on the long yellow and white train. It is called the "green line" so I don't know why the train is yellow.  Mister Guy and The Lady said blue and orange furry monsters get to ride free. So away we went! 

The train was fun. And very interesting. We passed a lot of places and saw a lot of different people.  

I had never seen so many buildings, not in Delaware or anywhere else that I have been. At one point while we still riding on the train, two people came by and Mister Guy had to show them the tickets he had for himself and The Lady. The two people looked at me, but the Lady told them that she thought that blue and orange furry monsters did not have to have a ticket. They said that was true and moved on.

When we go to the stop closest to the county offices, we got off. The Lady, who likes to take pictures, wanted a picture of me at the station. 

In the background is a DART guy smiling at all of us, or maybe he is surprised to see a furry blue and orange monster riding on the train. He must not see very many blue and orange furry monsters. 

We went into the records building, The Lady and Mister Guy told me this was where lots of papers were kept to show who owns things. Mister Guy needed to give them some papers. We could not take pictures inside.  The Lady and Mister Guy showed me a water fountain that had a sign that said “Whites Only”. They told me that once upon a time people who did not have light colored skin were not allowed to use that water fountain. They said that anyone could use it now. The sign was still there too remind people of that awful time. I just cannot imagine why people would be like that to other people, That is wrong.  Everyone should be allowed to get a drink when they are thirsty, especially here in Texas where it is SO hot. I don’t understand what drinking water has to do with your color.  I wonder if I would have been allowed to use that water fountain. Does blue and orange fur count as light skin?

After Mister Guy finished the business part of our trip, we all went outside to look around. 

Mister Guy had not been to downtown Dallas in a long time and The Lady had not ever looked around in this area. In the background was a great big tower called Reunion Tower. 

Mister Guy said when he was a boy that was where all the trains came into Dallas. But that train depot and a lot of the tracks are now gone. I would have liked to have seen all those trains. Oh well, I got a good look at the tower. The Lady said that at night is is all covered in lights that turn on and off like they are dancing. I want to see that some day too!

We also saw a monument to John F. Kennedy. Mister Guy said that JFK was once President of the United States but that he was killed here in Dallas, very close to where we were standing. 

This monument was built in Dallas to help us remember JFK. Mister Guy said JFK was young and well loved by people in this country. Mister Guy could not explain why someone would kill JFK. The Lady and Mister Guy both said they did not understand how anyone could kill another person. I do not understand that either. 

We then walked a few blocks to Thanksgiving. Square. 

When we got there we discovered that the chapel was closed! The sign said there were problems with the water inside. Water seems to cause a lot of problems for people in many different ways. The Lady was especially disappointed because it is supposed to be very beautiful inside the chapel and she loves to take pictures of beautiful things like me and Mister Guy… 

I was disappointed too that we could not go inside the chapel at Thanksgiving Square. The Lady said we could come back on another day. That made me happy because it would mean another train ride! The Lady did get this picture of me outside the chapel.   

Don't tell her that I said this, but from the outside it looks like a great big cupcake.

The Lady and Mister Guy were hungry. They decided to go to a small restaurant that had Mexican food. It is called Miguel’s Cantina. The Lady and Mister Guy said the food was very good. Blue and orange furry monsters don’t eat Mexican food, though it smelled good to me. The folks that worked there smiled when The Lady took this picture of me inside. 

I like the colors that they used to decorate!

Here I am on the outside. 

 I think The Lady wanted this picture so they could remember the name of the restaurant in case they want to come back again.

Mister Guy remembered another chapel that he used to visit when he was in high school. Mister Guy had a friend back then by the name of Bill Joseph.  His parents owned a cleaners downtown. Mister Guy told me that he used to go downtown in the summer and meet his friend and they would visit this chapel. 

Mr Guy seemed sad and the Lady told me his friend had died a year ago and Mister Guy had not spoken to him in a long time. We went inside the chapel, called St. Jude’s Chapel. It was a really great place, quiet and peaceful. 

Outside in downtown Dallas it was hot and loud with all the cars and people. Inside the Chapel, it was almost cold. Blue and orange furry monsters like the cold.

So that was our day in Dallas!  It was fun to see a big city! I hope we get to go again sometime soon so the Lady can take pictures of the chapel at Thanksgiving Square. Maybe we can get all the way over to Reunion Tower, too. The Lady said there is also a very nice place with lots of art in downtown Dallas that we should visit sometime. All of these things sound like fun to me.

I think I am going to have lots of grand adventures with my family here is Dallas!  I am looking forward to sharing them with you.

To Philadelphia and Beyond

So today was adventure day.  We got up early so that I could pack all of my T-shirts.  Well, the Lady packed them in her camera bag.  She said she is going to have to get a new camera bag for all of my shirts.  I think that is just her excuse to get a new bag.

I slept in the car on the way to the airport.  There wasn't much to see but corn fields, a chicken processing plant, and a few old buildings.  I wanted to be wide awake when it came time for the ride on the airplane.

The one thing I don't like about airports is going through security.  That is scary for a little blue and orange monster because they won't let Mister Guy or the Lady carry me.  I have to go through the scanner tunnel.  Today was different.  The TSA people in Salisbury were the nicest agents I have ever met.  They smiled and talked to me.  They knew I was scared so they made sure I was nice and safe in my bin.  

See...I told you they were super nice.

When it was time to board the plane, Mister Guy carried me.  I was still a little tired.  

Sometimes I wonder what people think when they see him carrying me around.  I don't warn people to laugh at him or make fun of him. Mister Guy told me not to worry about that.  People can say whatever they want.  It won't change how he feels about me.

On the little plane from Salisbury to Philadelphia, we sat in the Exit row.  The airplane lady said that that was a very important place to be seated because we might have to help in an emergency.  She asked each of us if we were willing to perform such duties.  I said, "Yes!" And offered to show her that I could pull the levers and through the window out.  

She assured me that that was not necessary. So, I just looked out the window.

We had a long wait in Philadelphia before our flight to Dallas so we had lunch.  Then I asked the question.  "Can I have a new T-shirt?"  The Mister a guy wasn't sure because I didn't really visit Philadelphia; the airport didn't really count, but the Lady said she thought getting a shirt would be OK.  I stayed with Mister Guy and the bags because I could not be left unattended.  The voice in the airport sky said that.  The Lady got me a special T-shirt.

While we were in Delaware, Mister Guy and the Captain, the Lady's dad, watched a lot of something that they called baseball. That explains the special shirt I  got. The Captain is a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies. I could tell by the way The Captain and Mister Guy talked, that the Phillies are not too good at this baseball, but sometimes they seemed to do it right.  Last night they had to play a really long time to beat another team called the Youstin Astros, or something like that.  The Astros live in Texas, but I like the Captain's team best because I got to watch the Phillies with him.

When it was time for us to leave Philadelphia, the plane had too many people on it so we had to wait for the next one.  Mister Guy said that was OK because we got to fly first class.  I didn't know what that meant.  He said that I would have my own place to sit and we would get food.  That sounded good to me.  It also meant that we would get home to Dallas very late, way past a little blue and orange monster's bedtime.

Because I was so excited to tell the story of my airplane adventures, Mister Guy and the Lady helped me write this post on the airplane. 

 I kept getting distracted because I wanted to look out the window at all the pretty clouds.  

When it got dark, I finished writing and now am going to go to sleep in Mister's lap.  Goodnight!