A Special Note

When watching "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," please take particular note of Yukon Cornelius' sled team.  One might expect them to be made up of huskies or some other kind of sled dog.  That is not the case.  A Collie, a Beagle, a blue dog and a little black Poodle do the honors.  Of course, the little Poodle is in the front, leading the way.  Very fitting, we believe!

Blink an Eye, Another Holiday Goes By

It seems just like yesterday when I was dressed like a shark for Halloween.  Now it's the day after Thanksgiving and there are only 25 days to shop for Christmas!  Hanuka just began and before you know it, we will start a new year.

While Mommy and Daddy were starting their Thanksgiving prep, we were watching, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  It has been a long time tradition in our home.  This year we watched it with mixed emotions.  At one point we'd laugh, the next we'd cry.  The show reminds us a lot of our sweet Rudy.

Rudolph's personality, mannerisms and even the voice are just like Rudy.  When Rudolph leaps in the air exclaiming, "She thinks I'm cute!" during flying practice was a hard spot.  All of us immediately thought of little Rudy jumping four feet over a two inch threshold or even a small stick with great enthusiasm.  I'm sure he could fly!

Mommy and Rudy wrote a story called, "Rudy the Red-Nosed Poodle," after this Christmas favorite.  Everything is happening so fast.  I'm just a four year-old Mellow Yellow Lab and I can't keep up!

I wonder why the calendar makers decided to have so many holidays close together?  Something to ponder.  I think I will - while I nap on the couch by the window.

Fun Fair - Bye Bye Warm Weather

A rainy day did not ruin our fun at the 2013 Local Authors Fair.  40 Authors from around the Twin Cities Metro area participated in the fair, representing all genres.  Genre is a fancy word meaning types of books like children, poetry, mystery or romance.

Mommy and Daddy met several people - both children and adults.  They sold a few books and might have made a couple contacts for future speaking engagements.  Since they are established writers and presenters now, they were able to give some good advice to a couple of the rookies.

Our table looked very professional.  Mommy and Daddy always do a great job.  Daddy made a slide show of the event, so I will attach it to this blog.  I hope you have a moment to check it out.

The days have been getting shorter and the temps are slowly going down.  The weather guessers say tomorrow might be our last day in the 40's for a while.  Minnesota gets very cold and stays that way for a long time!  We may get some snow this weekend.  Optimistically, the snow could be a soft covering for my landings when I catch the Frisbee.  It's never too cold to play Frisbee!

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab

1111

1111, a very significant number as it stands for November 11th.  The date is important for numerous reasons.  first and foremost, it is Veteran's Day.  Those of us living in the United States should take a moment to thank the honorable men and women who have served our country and protected our freedoms.  Daddy is a veteran, so we always celebrate Veteran's Day.
Another important event happened on November 11, 1983.  That is the day Mommy went in for her last eye surgery to save her sight.  By noon, it was dark.  She couldn't see anymore.  We celebrate that day too because it was a turning point in Mommy's life.  (Which means it's an important point in the rest of our lives.)
In many ways, Mommy thinks losing her sight was a blessing.  It has helped her become the person she is today.  Although it changed some of the goals she had as a young person, so many better opportunities have happened that might not have occurred had she not lost her sight.  That is what she calls changing challenges into opportunities.
Who would have known, a 19 year old newly blind girl would eventually meet the man of her dreams, graduate college with honors, have 5 fabulous puppies, 3 transplants, write 5 children's books, have a comfortable house, wonderful supportive friends, give presentations on both coasts, and do at least 3 TV interviews!  Wow!
In his typical understated assessment, Daddy would say, "That's not too bad."  I think so too!
Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

Never a Dull Moment

After the Kidney Walk, Mommy and Daddy decided they needed a break.  Off to Vegas, baby, Vegas!  they really enjoy Las Vegas.  There are many places to explore, so that means a lot of walking and it doesn't cost much money.  Mommy and Daddy are really into walking now.  They find it relaxing.  They also went on a gondola ride, saw a show called "Rock of Ages" and ate fresh pasta called Gnocchi.  The show was full of music for old people (80's Hair Bands), so they liked it.  I had a staycation with my friend Jennifer and her family.  My furry friends Max and small white dog were there.  The two little ones jumped on me and off we went!  Fun time for Boomer! (That's me!)

Every day we also went on walks.  I guess you could say walking runs in the family.  Hey, that's funny!

Shortly after their return from Vegas, Mommy and Daddy went to the Apple Orchard.  Puppies are not allowed there anymore, otherwise I would have gone too.  They brought home many yummy apples.  Very tasty!

For Halloween, I dressed up like a shark.  Daddy put a fin on top of my head.  It kind of felt like a Mohawk.  Little kids walked up and down the street.  I was too busy barking all night, so I didn't get to see their costumes close up.  I had to bark because I wanted to make sure my friends Gertie and Hobey were safe.  That's kind of my thing now, "the protector!"

"Candy Gram!"

Love,
Boomer the Mellow Yellow Lab

Short and Sweet

Here it is!  Daddy made a fabulous slide show of this year's Kidney Walk.  We can't thank the walkers and donors enough for their support, encouragement and spirit.  As you will see, everyone had a great time!

Other news of note: the weather is freezing!  There were a few scattered snow flakes in the sky yesterday.

We were accepted in to a book fair taking place on November 16.  I will write more about that as we get closer to the event.  I am sending Mommy and Daddy to be our representatives.  Mommy can talk to the people and Daddy can see to count money, so I think they make a good team.

Since I said this blog would be short and sweet, I will bid a fond adieu (that's French for good bye for now).  It just dawned on me, short and sweet describes Rudy.  I guess he's never far from our minds and hearts.

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab

http://youtu.be/oyriFbZhoNY

Poodle Pride

Many thanks to Rudy's Little Walkers.  So sorry for the delay in writing this blog.  I wanted to write sooner, but Mommy and Daddy were out of town.  They didn't think I'm responsible enough to have the computer password, so I had to wait until they got home.

Saturday, October 12th was the annual Kidney Walk for the NKF.  It was a cool, windy day but no snow or rain!  The weather was quite accommodating for our activities.  We did a lot of walking, running and dancing, so the breeze kept us from overheating.

Rudy's Little Walkers were well represented with 27 people and two dogs named Barkley and Romeo.  Barkley came dressed as a biker and Romeo was a hot dog.  Very cute!  Our people representatives were of all ages.

I think our team was the best because we had the most spirit.  Everyone was very excited and energetic.  We walked in a big group and if people got separated we waved our pom poms so they could find us.

There were a bunch of the local sports team mascots that led the crowd in a warm up dance called the "Cupid Shuffle."  Mommy tried to show our group how to do it before they started.  She loves to dance.  It is a dream of hers to be part of a group dance flash mob.  She says it's on her "bucket list."

There was a great "Fun Zone" for the kids to enjoy.  Three great teens named Grace, Sophia and Kathryn painted an awesome picture what will be auctioned off at an event this spring.  Mommy and Daddy hope to bid on it.  They made a picture of dear Rudy and it was so touching.

A super young lady named Anna made bracelets to sell to raise money for the NKF.  She made 50 bracelets and sold them for 50 cents each.  She donated the $25.  What a thoughtful young lady.  I thought it was awesome!

Daddy is making a slide show, so I'll post that soon.

Our little Rudy was so proud of his team.  He was there in spirit and I know he was dancing all day!

Nobody knew this, but Mommy had a photo of Rudy she carried in the pocket of her hoodie.  She touched it from time to time all day so she definitely felt his presence.

Many thanks to our team for supporting us.

Rudy's Little Walkers raised $2045.00 for the NKF.
There were 3500 participants that raised $262,000.00!

Love,
Boomer! the Mellow Yellow Lab