Di un anno!

Ciao, miei amici!

Today I am ONE YEAR OLD!

That means I am officially all grown up!! (Although la mia ragazza STILL calls me her baby girl ... sheeesh ....)

My barkday celebration began a day or so ago while I was still visiting my cugina (cousin) Heidi, and mia zia (aunt) and zio (uncle) in Tennessee. Heidi and I put on party hats and had some tasty, sweet yummies to kick off the festivities, and THEN, mia zia drove back with us to mia citta (my city), so we will be celebrating again today, on my official barkday!!!! Yayyyyyyy!!! I don't know what la mia ragazza and la mia zia have in store for me today, but I, Lucia, am hoping for some torta e gelato (cake and ice cream) ... mmmmmmm torta and gelato .... because I have been paying attention to what happens to my bloggie pals on their barkdays and there always seems to be torta and gelato. Do you think I'll get some, too?????? Mmmmmmmm .... I sure hope so!!!


Just look at this bellissima (absolutely beautiful!) biglietto di compleanno (birthday card) I received today from mia cara amica (my dear friend), Asta! Thank you, Asta!!!! Muahhhhhhh!!!

Build your own Blingee

(And now that I am all grown up, I can drink that pretty pink pawtini!!! And probably one of Lacie's favuloso smoothies, too!!!! Heeeeeeeee!!!!)

By the way, la mia ragazza says she feels like it is HER barkday today, too, because she has me, her best present ever! Awwwwwww .....!!!!!! As for me, my best present is all of you, dearest bloggie pals! You make my world sweeter, brighter and happier!!!! Ti amo, everybloggie!!!!

Tanti baci!
Lucia

Vacation!

Ciao miei amici!

I, Lucia, am on a little holiday with la mia ragazza and her papa! A few days ago, we took a looonnnnnnng drive from our casa (house) to visit la mia ragazza's sorella (sister), who lives in Tennessee. La mia ragazza says I was eccellente (excellent) in the car because I didn't bark, knock her papa's hat off his head, bite at the seats or nosepoke her hair. I did, of course, create some amazing noseart on the back windows, but you-know-who washed it all off. Pllbbbbbb!!!

The BEST part of the entire trip is that I get to play with my dearest cugina (cousin), Heidi, for almost a whole week!! Plus, Heidi has a big, hooge, enorme (enormous) yardie and it's all fenced in so I, Lucia, can run free! Here are some fotografie (photographs) of the two of us enjoying the beautiful yard and beautiful weather:

La mia ragazza and I have been verrrrrrry busy going here and there these past few days, but we promise to post more fun fotografie of our trip soon. We miss all of you, bloggie pals, and will catch up as fast as we can!

Tanti baci!

Lucia

Stuffie Studies

Ciao miei amici!

I'll bet you didn't know that I, Lucia, am una studentessa di scienze (a student of science) and as such, greatly enjoy studying the tiniest informazioni (details) of whatever I can unearth in in la mia ragazza's office, bedroom closet and laundry basket as well as the numerous fossils and artifacts from archeological excavations in my yard. But I am particularly delighted by the segreti (secrets) that we can learn from the close study of stuffies and can spend endless amounts of time in complete fascination reviewing the construction of stuffie limbs, ears, noses, eyes and, of course, stuffie squeakers. In my scientific opinion, it is only when we know the intricato (intricate) details of the stuffie parts that we can truly come to understand and appreciate the stuffie whole. (Heeeeeeeee!!!! You know where this is going, don't you??????????????? Please be advised -- this is not for the stuffie faint of heart!)

Tanti baci!

Lucia

Celebrate!

Ciao miei amici!

It’s the Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day here in gli Stati Uniti (the United States)! The Fourth of July is the anniversario (anniversary) of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, which took place on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It’s also a fine settimana (weekend) when friends and families celebrate with picnics, parties and fireworks – and, of course, many delicious summertime treats! As for those fireworks, I’ve heard OF them, but because I wasn’t born until the end of Luglio (July) last year, I’ve never actually HEARD them. Should I be checking the medicine cabinet for cotone (cotton) to put in my orecchie (ears)??? Hmmmm ….

In my last post, I promised more details on my new terrier buddies and how I came to meet them. So... here’s the scoop: It all started on Father’s Day, when la mia ragazza and I, Lucia, went to see her papa -- who is my hooman nonno (grandpa). In the car with the patate in insalata (potato salad), la mia ragazza’s flippy-flops and the doggie kennel was this darling gingery-furred passenger:

As you can see, I enjoy being chauffeured in the back seat as opposed to riding shotgun, which, in our car, is simply too confining for one as physically expressive as I am. I always relish (mmmm …. relish ...) these road trips because A) I get to sniff the air of new territories as we cruise through them ; B) I get to have a cup of ghiaccio (ice) from McDonalds, which I crunch to smithereens in the backseat; and C) I always end up visiting somewhere divertente e eccitante (fun and exciting), which usually affords my sociable self the opportunity to make new friends!

Once there, I visited with Grandpa for a while – he always gives me the tastiest snackies! – and then la mia ragazza and her sorella, my Zia Concetta (aka, Auntie Conni!) went for another short ride to a nearby doggie daycare, where la mia ragazza had made arrangements for me to spend some time playing with new pals. Yayyy! Now, this is no ordinary doggie daycare, nosignorrrre … this is a doggie daycare that’s home to magnifico Airedale-boy Cache, his mama, Alyce, their Irish Terrier buddy, Mick, and three other visiting Aire-pals!!!! Santa vacca!!! For an only-doggie like me, it was a thrilling treat to be surrounded by so many terrier kin!!!

Here we are arriving … my head was out the finestrino (car window) immediately to greet everydoggie!

Look closely at this fotografie. Can you see what I see!?!?! Buddies!!!!

Um, I would appreciate it very much if someone could kindly let me out of the car.

That’s right, you need to open the door, and please be quick about it; as you can plainly see, I have friends waiting. Come on, come on, come on …

LET ME OUT!!!! Puh-leeeeeeeeze!!! What’s a girl have to do to get someone to open the car door for her!?!?! Is chivalry dead!?!?!

Here is handsome Cache. He is the very first Airedale la mia ragazza ever played with in person, and she was instantly and totally smitten with him and with his mama, Alyce. Aren’t they both adorable!?!?

Another fotografia of Cache (la mia ragazza is head-over-heels for this pupster … she took lots of pictures of him). That’s his buddy, Mick the Irish terrier, with him.

Here’s sweet Alyce again … mwahhh!

… and Mick, saying, “Hello there, Lucia!” (Ciao Mick!!!)

I had the BEST time with my terrier pals, miei amici – words can’t begin to describe the fun!!! La mia ragazza says I can go back to visit everydoggie there the next time we drive to her papa’s --- and I already can’t wait!!!!

Tanti baci!
Lucia

Questa è la mia bella lingua AND i miei nuovi amici!

Ciao miei amici!

I nostri piccoli amici (our little friends) the Rocky Creek Scotties have come up with the coooooooolest "Stick Out Your Tongue" contest and I, Lucia, am delighted to play along! I have already seen many fantastico contest entries and am suitably impressed with each and every one of them. Our bloggieverse is rich with some very grand and magnificent tongue talent!!! (But, um ... one question to the King of the Goobs: do you have tongue extensions!??!?? Santa vacca, il mio amico -- your photos are so very impressive!!)

So, without further delay, I bring you La Lingua di Lucia (Lucia's Tongue) -- a dramatic performance in seven acts:

Puppy tongue

Pllllbbbbbb!! Who-put-this-glue-on-my-ears tongue

Jailbird tongue

Joyful tongue

Bologna tongue

Blleechhhh tongue

Poppysicle tongue ... mmmmmm

And!!! I will post more about this later, but la mia ragazza and I went to visit her papa and her sorella (sister), who is la mia zia Concetta (my Auntie Conni) last week ... and I got to spend the week in doggie day care with THESE pals, who live near il mio nonno (my grandpa)!!! It was FANTASTICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is bellissimo (very beautiful!!) Cache, dolce (sweet) Mick -- a dear Irish Terrier like our amico Keeley -- and Cache's adorabile mama (adorable mom), Alyce. Cache and Alyce are the very first Airedales la mia ragazza ever saw and played with in person. Awwwwww...

But wait, there's more! La mia ragazza and I saw this in a store last week and I made her take a fotografia (photograph) for my enlightened pal, Mango. Don't you think this would help create just the right kind of ambience for his many deep and introspective meditations?? If you biggify the pic, you'll see the box even has his name on it!! How completely perfetto (perfect) is that!?!?!

Tanti baci!

Lucia

Oh Deer Me!!!!

Ciao, miei amici!

I, Lucia, am very lucky to live in an area that’s surrounded by molti splendidi parchi (many lovely parks).

This makes for eccellente (excellent) opportunities for passegiatta (daily walkies), but it also poses un interessante dilemma (an interesting dilemma) for my high-prey-drive and easily distracted self: i parchi (the parks) are full of fauna selvatica (wildlife) and said wildlife is encroaching on il mio spazio personale (my personal space)!! Santa vacca! (Holy cow!)

It’s bad enough that I have to put up with the constant denounce (complaints) of some very vocale (vocal) bluejays that live in gli alberi (the trees) along my side yard...

or the um, plentiful and icky “gifts” of the of the oh-too-generous Canada geese and mallard ducks that swoop down into the nearby pond...

or the stinky skunks and trash-stealing raccoons that roam around at night as if they own the whole town, or the bunnies that show absolutely no fear when I bark, but just keep chewing calmly on MY grass. BUT THIS! This, miei amici, this was l’ultima paglia (the last straw) for me (you may have to biggify the fotografie to see what I’m talking about)

THAT’S RIGHT! Molti grassetti cervi (many bold deer) have invaded il mio quartiere (my neighborhood) and they are afraid of nothing, not even my most robust barking! Just take a look at this Jane Doe that la mia ragazza and I saw during yesterday’s walkies. Hmmph! I stood right there in perfetto (perfect) Airedale stance and growled and yodeled on my leash (heee! I sometimes yodel when I get really wound up!), but she did not even twitch un orecchio (an ear), much less look at me! Of all the nerve! Finally, la mia ragazza clapped her hands and La Signorina Cervo (Miss Deer) turned and calmly loped away. Pllllbbbbbbbbb!! Arrivederci (goodbye)and good riddance!

After that, though, I was so distressed and so determined to sniff everywhere Her Bambi-ness had been that I could not focus on my walkies.

Instead, I just began to pull on my lead until la mia ragazza calmly issued this warning: “LuciaSTOP.” And when I kept pulling anyway, she yanked on my nosey!!!

ON MY DARLING AND CHARMING NOSEY!!

(Note from la mia ragazza: Lucia wears a Gentle Leader collar for walks; it tugs on her nose if she pulls too much. Oh, THAT never happens....)

Ok, but the GOOD part is, once I stopped, she said, “Good girrrrl, Lucia” and I got an ear scritchie and ….

… a delicious Zuke’s Chicken Treat! (Mmmm … chiiiickennnnn. I, Lucia, enjoy poultry of all kinds …)

But the wildlife problem remains and other than jump into the car and leave town...

I am at a loss as to how to resolve it. Aiuto! (Help!) Mango, can you spare a squadron of your squirrel fighters to rid my neighborhood of these white-tailed jackals!?! And Dennis, you have such skill fending off those nefarious gophers; can you send back-up help on a Majik Flying Coaster? Buster, can you bombard these cloven-hoofed invaders with your Wilsons?? Agatha, Certified Junior Earth Dog, can you root them out like the big rats they are???

Something must be done … but what!?!?! My beautiful and peaceful Lucia-verse is being threatened daily by these very assertive interlopers -- they are taunting me, taunting me, taunting me -- and I just don’t know what to do! Any ideas or solutions you may have, dearest bloggie pals, would be deeply and sincerely appreciated!

Tanti baci!
Lucia

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