New Year's EVE

I spent my New Year's Eve on a mountain!! Since I am not fond of the BOOM BOOM BOOM's from fireworks and am deathly afraid of firecrackers, mum and two of her friends decided to take me up to Cypress Mountain for New Year's Eve. There was a New Year's Eve bon fire and BBQ special going on up there.

Mum and I took this picture before heading up the mountain as it would've been our last picture taken in Vancouver before 2007.



We got to Cypress a little after 7:00pm, and even though it was already dark, the trails were still quite visible due to all the snow.



I am naturally more protective of mum when it's dark, so I walked relatively close to her; none of that off trail romping like I did on my X-mas romp.

(gotta cover up the evidence)

Mum got me a new set of boots, but as you can see from the first picture, she didn't put them on at first because she didn't want to lose them in the dark. However, after a little while, seeing how icy the trail was (one of her friends fell because it was so slippery), she decided to put them on me. While mum was kneeling down putting my boots on, an older couple walked by and they approached mum. They seemed nice, but they were approaching MY mum who was in a kneeling position nonetheless. You see, I get very protective of mum when she's in a vulnerable position (ie, sitting down, lying down, kneeling down, etc), and I will always step in between mum and the approacher be it a hooman or dog. So I gave out a low growl, not the mean Grinch machine growl, but just enough to let them know that I was watching over MY mum. Mum quickly stood up and said hi to the couple, and much to my surprise, the lady gave me a light pet on the head and told me I was a good girl protecting my hoomans (okay... I was only really protecting mum, but ok). As it turned out, they had an Airedale years ago, and their Airedale was protective just like me. They missed their Airedale so much and hadn't been able to get another dog since.

Anyway, after the never ending conversation regarding "Airedales", I was finally able to continue my walk.




There was a big group of Aussies, not the shepherd kind, but the hooman kind. They were walking just ahead of us.


The Aussie hooman pups were sooo excited to see snow, they even brought their own snow carpets to slide down the trail with. There was one hooman pup that made the most impression with me. His name was Austin, and he gave me the name "Flashing Dog" (due to my light). He and I first met while he was sliding down a part of the trail. He was yelling and screaming as he was coming down, and I thought he was in distress. So I had to go see, you know, stood right in the path of the speeding carpet sled. Austin rolled off his carpet just before hitting me, and ever since he did that, he started telling everybody "I saved that flashing dog's life!!!"

His dad asked him, "you mean he would've died if you hadn't done whatever you did?"

Austin said an affirmative, "YES!"

Mum and her friends thought he was a hoot, so did his parents and a lot of other people. I'm just thankful he jumped out of the sled in time, and my life wasn't cut short. Whew.....

(Sorry, no pictures, mum didn't want to be seen as a pedophile taking pictures of hooman pups.)


We continued our walk towards Hollyburn Lodge where the bon fire and BBQ was being held. At about mid way to the lodge, mum and her friends took me on a little detour to play in the snow for a bit.

I um..... kind of miscalculated the arrival of this particular snow ball.....



The following two pictures were taken for you to combine. So please combine the two when you're looking at them.



And then, guess what we found!! A little cabin!



There were people in there doing stuff that made mum and her friends back away in a crouched position. I, on the other hand, had no problem standing tall.

On our way back to the main trail, I caught a scent and started sniffing for what it seemed like ever. Mum snapped a few random shots of me sniffing while she was waiting. Look at this picture closely,



This is a close up of the foot prints you saw around me in the last picture,


Now tell me, are those foot prints of a canine?


Anyway, we finally reached Hollyburn Lodge,



Where the FOOOOOD was,



This was the bon fire, well after it was put out....


Mum thought the lighting was good enough up at the lodge, so she turned her flash off. Unfortunately, most of her pictures turned out to be big blurs (shhh.... mum's mad at herself). She snapped this photo just before we left and actually forgot to turn the flasher off LOL.

It was a lot of fun up at the lodge, I ate half of mum's burger, and a quarter from each of her friends. If I did the math correctly, I think I ate a whole burger. *self applauds*

I went to check out the hoomans inside the lodge,



Then, out of no where, I heard, "HEY, that's the flashing dog again, I saved his life!!!"

YUP, Austin, the hooman pup and his group of hoomans made it up to the lodge too. He and the other hooman pups started a snowball fight, and I joined in on the fun. (mum: self invited.)

This was me guarding my front,



Even tho Austin said I was on his team, I was sort of um... on everybody's team except the snowballs'. I just went after all the snowballs that were being thrown.



That Austin pup, I think self appointed himself as my guardian Angel because he got really upset at another hooman pup when his snowball accidentally hit my muscle butt. Austin told the other hooman pup, "He could've died!!" and ran off to tell his parents.

Mum thought he was hilarious, but she did make me leave the game because she didn't want further arguments between the hooman pups. I was tired anyway, so I napped the bench next to mum while she and her friends chatted away with strangers. How they could do that, I have no idea, I ignore strangers.

Finally, it was countdown time, I think I heard them shout 10-5-7-3-8-2-9-4-6-1 ... or maybe in a different order, I was asleep on the bench. WOW, I slept into 2007!!!

Mum took some pictures during the countdown, but they didn't turn out either without the flash.

Everybody started to head down the mountain shortly after the countdown because the lodge was closing. It was time to take the party some where else!! We did a bit more exploring in the woods,



and Mum and I took on last shot together before getting in the car

(yeah ok, I was getting pretty tired... I was on the mountain for almost 5 hours)

I wasn't the only one tired, mum's friends were planning on going to a New Years celebration after our mountain adventure, but they went home instead because they had no energy left.

On our way home mum and I drove down Robson Street, Vancouver's premier shopping and entertainment street.



What was really strange was my SunshadeMOBILE and all her buddies were talking A LOT. Usually when they talk, they are not always nice, but tonight was a little different.... I think they had a lot to say about 2006.

I wasn't too sure at first about this whole Mobile-talking thingy,



But I got used to it, and decided to join in on the fun so I stuck my head out the window to watch all the crazy hoomans go by

Now that silly guy you saw at the end of the video, he had the gut to approach MY car. Just because I didn't try to eat him while he was making weird poses from afar didn't mean I wasn't gonna if he came close. Mum had to shut my window and told him to GO AWAY!!! YOU GO MUM!!!


2006 in Review:

2006 was a SPECIAL year for me. My health was great, and I started blogging!! I am so happy to have started blogging because I have met so many GREAT friends from all over the world. I'm also glad I started blogging because, to be honest, if any of you were to meet me in person, you probably won't like me that much because I am extremely aloof to people not part of my pack. However, blogging has allowed all of you to see me through mum's eyes. What I do when I'm at home with my mummy, all the inside scoops!

I have had the bestest Birthday and X-mas so far because of all of you, and to finish my year off with the X-mas Card Exchange was just icing on the cake!!

So THANK YOU ALL for making this such a special year for me, and I look forward to having lots more happy years with all of you!!

HAPPY 2007 EVERYBODY!!!

If it's not mine, I don't want it

I know we, as Airedales are known to be greedy, selfish beings. Don't get me wrong, I am very much this way when it comes down to everything at home, in the car, in the yard, or everything that mum owns (are MINE).

However, when I'm out in the public, I am content with just what I have. I NEVER go after other dogs' toys, and I don't run after balls thrown by other hoomans. I only care about my ball-balls.


Here is a good example:

These are water toys provided by my rehab center for dogs that are in for hydrotherapy to use,



This is MY ring, and MY stick aka. MY babies



See what happens when..........

(the water was very warm today, in the 90's, that's why I was panting a lot)

I did, reluctantly went and got the frisbee thingy at the end of this video because mum really wanted me to. That's just the way I am, I really always try my best to do what mum asks of me. Even tho she can be EVIL at times, I still love her so much and I want to be a good girl for her, so I will do a lot of things against my wishes just to make her happy.

I can't tell you how many times I have been used as a "retriever" to retrieve other dogs toys for them in the ocean or lake, because they have either lost sight of it or wouldn't go. Of course, when I come back, I get lots and lots of praises from not only mum, but the owner as well. Mum always has that very "proud" face after I helped retrieve another toy, and I can tell I did GOOOOOOD!!

I once helped a stupid guy retrieved an apparently expensive toy since his dog just couldn't seem to locate the toy didn't matter how many rocks he threw and the waves was bringing the toy out further and further. I swam out about 60 ft or more and got the toy for him (I take mum's direction very well, and she's got a good rock throwing aim). When I came back, he thanked mum, and added:

"I didn't know Airedales are that smart, I thought they were dumb. *laughs* "

I had to stop mum from grabbing the toy and throwing it back out into the ocean, because she was furious, and walked away without saying anything.

YIPPEE, I'm back!!

Hey guys, I'm back!!!

First of all, thank you all for your concern regarding the Richter 7.1 earthquake in Taiwan, where my dear grandpa lives. Grandpa, fortunately is fine. He ran to stand under a door frame as that was the most he could do since he lives on the 8th floor. Other than some fallen decorative items, the building is fine. Grandpa is living, breathing and EATING fine. He and I have that in common...hehe!

Secondly, thank you all again for your get well wishes to my mum. I am sorry to say, she is feeling better. I was planning on doing more landscaping while she was ill in bed. However, that didn't happen. She stopped me from creating my Hole # 9 today as she was feeling better. Yesterday, she didn't have the strength to stop me from creating a brand new hole - Hole # 8.



Since we're at it, I might as well tell you a little about my holes. Hole # 2 is where I like to keep my soccer ball. Every attempt to get the soccer ball out, the hole gets broadened and deepened. Hole # 3 and 6 are my sleep holes, they are dug to just the right depth where my body can curl up comfortably underground, and my head can rest above ground. The puppy gate that's standing vertically against the fence around Hole # 5 is to prevent me from going through it again. You remember this incident right? Hole # 8 is brand new. It was created yesterday. If you look at the picture closely, you will see white and dark green fencings around the tree. That's because mum filled my last hole in that exact same spot and grew some grass back. She had the fence up to keep me out. Well, I took advantage of her being sick yesterday and jumped the fencing to make my Hole # 8.

Now, the disappointing result of Hole # 9..... you can't really call it a hole yet since it hasn't been deepened. I just scrape some grass up when mum came out and caught me. I put on my happy face and jumped all over her. That always gets me out of trouble, even if it meant muddy pawtographs all over mum's pj and face. Mum actually looks very sexy with muddy face you know??

Some other important news:

News 1

Mum and I are honoured to be made official members of the DWB team, with the Title of Events Co-ordinator(s). We look forward to planning lots more fun events such as the X-mas Card Exchange!!


News 2

I received another pressie today, it was from our next door neighbours. This is me and my new pressie.



I'll give you three guesses as to what it is. Hints: it's round, it's soft.

Did you get it?



Yup, another blankie!! So for all of you that's reading this, you're welcome to come to my house and snuggle up, we have enough blankies for all of you.


News 3

I received my copy of the DWB Calendar. I am Miss January, urging everybody to start your 2007 with a BIG SMILE!!



You can purchase your copy of the calendar here


News 4

Mum was feeling quite a bit better today, she only had a low fever and her head was no longer spinning (yeah... that was scaaaawie). So she took me to play in the snow again. We had lots of fun, but mum forgot the camera, no pictures. As usual, I wore my boots to keep my feet warm. I know some of you have noticed that in my last snow catching photo taken on X-mas, I was missing one boot. Well that boot just fell off to the side, out of camera range, but we didn't lose it. We had all four boots after my romp on X-mas. We also had four boots today after my romp. However, we came home today bootless.

I think mum lost too many brain cells because of her fever. She took my boots off before letting me in SunshadeMOBILE. She put the boots on top of the car when she took them off, and she drove home with boots on top of the car. Of course, she didn't realize those boots were "not here" until she got home.


MORE CARDS!!

I have continued to receive cards from the X-mas exchange, and I love it!!

Here are all the new ones I have received:





They were from: Chester, Sam I Am, Dean-O, Amber & Faith, Kingsley, C-K-C, Sid the Dog, Oscar, Fee, My Man Dudley, Pacco & Amanda, and grandpa!!

Shot of my very full livingroom,



What a success our first DWB X-mas Card Exchange has been!! Personally, I am gonna be so disappointed when I no longer see mails addressing to me in my mail box every morning.....

What do you say guys? Should we do it again next year even if it means we may have to send cards to 100+ pups??

Boxing Day Fever

Hey guys, I know I'm posting all my X-mas activities a day late. Mum has had a fever since last night. It's probably from the snow since she forgot her tuque at home and it was snowing quite a bit on the mountain. Mum's been taking some OTC medicine to help with the fever and that's left her pretty drowsy. Funny how she is all holistic minded when it comes to me, but with herself, she is SUPER conventional (not to mention she loves to eat MacDonalds). I hope mum gets better soon, that brain of hers can't afford to lose too many more brain cells.....

Anyway, I'm very sorry I haven't been reading all your blogs because I haven't had a lot of computer time, but I will definitely catch up on reading once mum is well enough. She's a grumpy lady tonight because she missed out on BOXING DAY shopping, so I think I'll leave her alone tonight.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I can't wait to read all about it!!

Thinking about you all.....

Love nibbles,
Miss Sunshade

Mum's pressie to me!

Remember I said mum didn't get my any pressies? Well, I was wrong.... kind of.

Mum told me she was at the store trying to pick out a pressie for me for X-mas. However, she realized I had more than enough toys at home, there was nothing that I need I don't already have (other than a cat that is), so she walked out the store empty handed. Mum came home and talked to me about it, and even tho I would much prefer to get a pressie from mum, I have agreed that we would donate the money mum was going to spend on my pressie to ATRA (Airedale Terrier Rescue & Adoption) to help my fellow Airedales in need. It's not a lot of money, but every little bit counts right??

So I wasn't too disappointed when I didn't see mum's pressie for me under the tree this morning. Afterall, I did get ROCKIES from Santa!!

While I was napping after my X-mas morning/pressie excitement, mum was staring at her computer screen. She had this window open all morning, (if you click on the picture, you will get a better idea)



See where it says "Weather Condition"? It was either "snowing" or "snowing heavily" all day. Finally at 2:00 pm, the status changed to "Cloudy".

Mum was sooo excited, she woke me up in excitement and said:

"Get up Sunshade, lets go get your present!!"

What? Pressie for me? I thought we talked about it? But ALRIGHT, I'm always ready for pressies!!!

Mum threw my boots, my coat, my water, my towel, my light, my leash, my goggle into her back pack and off we went. Apparently, since there was no sign of a White Christmas (only Wet Christmas) here in Vancouver,



mum thought she would take me to find my own White Christmas. Mum was praying and waiting all day for the Weather Condition to change from "snowing" to something else since she didn't trust my SunshadeMOBILE to go up the mountain in the snow. (Mum: it's a frekking FORD!). Anyway, it finally stopped snowing at 2:00 pm.

Destination: Cypress Mountain
Travel time: 40 mins from our house (30 mins from downtown Vancouver)

We began our drive from the bottom of the mountain where the road was still pretty wet.



As we got closer to the top, we started to see some snow.



And then...

WE WERE THERE!!!


MY WHITE CHRISTMAS



I was soooo excited to see snow again!!

(sorry, mum gets a little crazy when she sees me happy. It's a helpless syndrome)

I sniffed around, and made some yellow cones of my own, and peed over some other yellow cones.



Then I met some doggies, and we said howllo!




Of course, I had to pose for a few winter shots,





I did more crazy running around. I apologize ahead of time that there are so many videos, but they are real short clips. The quality of the videos got greatly reduced when I tried to combine the clips into one.

Now, mum took this next video because she thought me going up the icy/slippery hill, froggy style was cute. Then came this lady on the snow shoe who was adoring me the entire time, even after I had already walked past her. So mum said hello to her, and that got her going...hehe!

Did you guys all hear that?? She said I was LOVELY, she thought I was CUTE... oh oh oh, I'm LOVELY, and I'm CUTE!!!! (mum: yep, the head is definitely growing bigger here)

I dug a little, but the snow was proven too deep for me to get to the earth part...



I chased some snowballs



Then I got very warm..... Yes, I was warm in the snow. See my lovely tongue and my out of focused eyes (they get that way when I'm too hot)??



So I tried a few different ways to cool myself down:

First, I ate some snow, it was yummy as usual.



That cooled my tongue off, but didn't do anything to my hot ears.

So next, I tried burying my head in the snow and just stayed in that position for a minute or two. See, like this,



That cooled my head and ears down, but I was still feeling the hot flashes. Especially in my tummy area. So what better way to cool the entire me down than to lean my almost hairless belly against the snow??



Now that did the trick, and I was ready to rumble once again!!

(I required a little assistance at the end of the previous video. Gravity was prooven too tough..)

We were there for a good two hours, and I took lots of little detours on the way because I love snow THAT MUCH!!

This was me on the way back home....



Ok, I don't usually say this in public, but I'll make this one exception today...

THANK YOU so much mummy for giving me my White Christmas. I LOVE YOU so so very much, but I think you know that already even tho I sometimes call you EVIL.

Your dogter,
Sunshade


I'll leave all of you with this one last shot!