Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from my heart to yours!

 Love, Tootsie

Happy Boxing Day!

Buon Natale!

A very Merry Christmas to all our friends and family around the world!

I look a little distressed, but it's only because I wish Mom

would stop shoving my head up through wreaths!

Keep on wagging,

Tootsie

Christmas Eve

For Dachshund Daddy

Tootsie and Madonna

Tootsie and Madonna Reflect on the Season

Southern Switzerland

Casa Burrow

Now that I've survived my holiday reflections and realized that I am a "thing of joy" (thank you for your helpful comments),

now that Dachshund Daddy's broken radius bone is healing, and he almost has full range of motion again,

now that we've settled after our move, it is time to reflect: about our move, about the past year, and about the changes in my life. My parental units let me name our new home!

It is tradition here in southern Switzerland to name a home. There are wire sculptures of the names on the sides of homes; for example, one home in our new neighborhood is called "Casa Bella Vista."

I hereby dub our new home: "Casa Burrow." Per my specifications, please pronounce the "r" like a "w": Casa Burrow = Casa Buwwow. It is not pronounced as if I'm a dog: "Bow wow." It is pronounced like "burrow" only with two "w's"!

My parental units say that we've moved to a better burrow! I'm a savvy dachshund, and I love to burrow. I love my new burrow. I will protect Casa Burrow!

What do you think about my name for our new home?

"No Card Credit"

Am I a Wreath?

Guest Post by Sassy

This is a photograph from my new friend Sassy as she looks out her Idaho window at a moose!

Exploring Our New Neighborhood

I've been helping Mom and Dachshund Daddy explore our new neighborhood!

If we have trouble sleeping, these sheep offer their help.

There are angels in our new neighborhood.

And neat nooks, crooks, and alleyways.

I love the holiday decorations.

And how do you like our local dragon?

My New Lake Lugano Walk

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Tootsie--sometimes referred to as Baby Jesus--

celebrates December 8th,

the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Today is a holiday in southern Switzerland.

Although it is a "Feast Day," Tootsie only ate regular kibble.

Little old ladies who forgot about the holiday are totally freaked out

because all grocery stores are closed.

And grocery stores are not open on Sundays in Switzerland!

We Moved!

Yes, we moved! I had a panic attack the day we moved and shook uncontrollably; I didn't know what was going on.

Mom cuddled me, and I felt better.

We moved two towns over from our previous town. We shut the door to our old apartment and walked our regular waterfront trail to our new apartment. Now I'm helping Mom unpack the kitchen. Mom is ecstatic. I'm wagging.

And thank you, all, for your generous, healing comments about Dad's bicycle accident and his broken radius bone. Dachshund Daddy is doing much better. His physical therapy is already progressing. He says he is exhausted, which makes a lot of sense to me and to Mom.

I have been waking up in the middle of the night to lick Dachshund Daddy's face all over, especially his nose. Do you think that helps?

Husky Looking Over Me

Billboard!

My translation goes something like this:

Wow! Every day a full snout.

One for all -- DENNER

Does anyone have other translation suggestions?

I may have German in my genes, but I used Google Translate for this.

[Denner is a Swiss discount grocery store. It's kind of a close-out store.

They sell really inexpensive but yummy pasta.]

Dachshund Daddy's Cast

This is how I feel.

Things are wonky here in Switzerland. My dad is okay, but he had a serious bicycle accident.

You're going along, wagging your tail, and suddenly your dad comes home from the ER with a cast on his arm. It's not really a cast; it's called Fractomed.

Dad was passing a right-turning vehicle, and another car was making a left turn from a road on Dad's right. Bam. Dad flew through the air.

The poor driver of the left-turning car. Freaked out. Of course. Everyone got out of their cars and rushed to Dad. Dachshund Daddy jumped up, hopping around like a bunny.

We are very lucky.

Dachshund Daddy always wears his helmet. Thank goodness, because he hit right on top of his head. He heard a "pop". Is that the foam in the helmet squishing down?

And we're moving to a new place. This week. Did I mention that part?

Swiss Panther

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Letter from Yugi: Guest Post

 

Dear Tootsie,

Did you hear the story about how I fell in at the marina? My mom and your human uncle and cousins had flown to the Wotten Waven Wyoming Wedding of 2012, but I stayed behind. I am not able to fly "in-cabin" like you, and I don't much like flying cargo.

I am not cargo! I am Yugi!

I was walking on the dock with my caregivers, minding my own paws, and suddendly: a scuba diver pops up out of the water. I saw the diver pop up. Have you ever seen such a thing? It's weird. It looked neither human nor fish nor penguin. I didn't even know the creature was called a "scuba diver."

I backed up and backed up. Splash! I fell right into the water over the back of myself, off the dock.

Very funny, right?

I swam around frantically until my caregivers, Monique and Jakob, directed me back to the dock. Another guy helped them drag me out of the water.

I was very confused.

Then the scuba diver -- looking neither human nor fish nor penguin -- waved at me.

Freaked me out.

Remember that time you told me about when you fell into Lake Lugano while you were trying to make friends with Medieval ducks? I never asked, but how did you get out of the lake? Did a scuba diver help you?

Love,
Yugi

P.s. Mom says I need a bath from all the salt water. I'm looking forward to the rub down.

Friends

Yugi, Tootsie, and Truffle at Antelope Valley Summer Camp 2012.

Rheinau

Located within a piece of Switzerland that wedges into a piece of Germany that in turn wedges into Switzerland, the town of Rheinau is a great destination for a day trip from Zurich.

Home to an abbey that turned into a major center of the Counter-Reformation, Rheinau offers lots of options for shoulder season walkies.

Madeline and Kirk, our special Idaho friends, loved the peace and quiet of this cute little town on the Rhein.

This time of year, Barbara often comes to Rheinau for her walkies.

Our trip to Rheinau finally gave me a chance to enter my ancestral home, Germany!

It was super-fun to walk over to Germany across the locks. Below, you can see the inclined plane to raise boats past the locks.

After a wotten waven hike on the German side of the Rhein, we re-entered Switzerland by way of this intriguing covered bridge.

In German, "Rheinau" is pronounced like the English "rye now". Is that why the walkies made me hungry?

Dear Madeline & Kirk: The whole schnaa of your visit was super fun. Thank you for the cuddles. Mom says she apologizes for feeding you so much Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate. Love, Tootsie

Wordless Wednesday Guest: Truffle

 

Truffle loves the lake.

Summer, 2012.

Idaho.

A Kid Cart Tale

"Mom! Let me out!"

Last summer, along the Hood Canal in Washington State,

Tootsie was placed inside an abandoned kid cart on the beach.

It was not her preference. 

Nevertheless, Tootsie was a very good dachshund.

She did not jump out until Mom said,

 "Okay, Tootsie. Good girl!"

Black and White Tootsie Paw

Dear Kindred Spirits and Gentle Readers:

A gentle memorial wag. November 11th in the United States is Veteran's Day. In Canada, it is called Remembrance Day. In Europe, Armistice Day. A very special wag out to all veterans and loved ones.

My mom's grandfather served in WWII (for Canada). Both Dachshund Daddy's grandfathers served in WWII (for Italy) and were prisoners of war (in Germany). My parent's grandfathers came home from the war. My parents remember their grandfathers with a great deal of fondness and love.

My mom also sends her very best to all her students who are veterans.

Thank you, all, for your service. Thank you, all, for your support of veterans around the world.

Let us never forget the cost of war.

Love,
Tootsie