Tagged!

Sisterfilms stopped by and asked me to play the meme where you tell seven things about yourself. I think I've done something like this, but I will give it a try because I hear she is a nice gal. Her mama met my mama.

Here are seven facts about me, Molly!

1. I have three colors: black, white and rust. Those are the colors all Bernese Mountain Dogs are supposed to have, although every now and then, one is born that is only rust and white. Here is a picture of a famous one named Copper.

2. I am particularly fond of cheeseburgers. I like them so much that when I was a puppy I took one right away from my human sister, Light Princess. Ever since then, my people call cheeseburgers "Molly burgers." (Except on Sam's birthday; then we all call them "Samburgers.")

3. I was born in Vermont.

4. But my breed came from Switzerland originally.

5. On Thursdays, Sam and I go to the dog park with our friend, Louise, in her magic van. It is magic because when she opens the door, our dog friends are in it!

6. When there is funder, I feel upset.

7. My mama usually tells my Papa Bear to let me get on the bed if the funder comes at night. Last night I got scared and got on the bed, but then the funder stopped and I had a very cozy sleep between them.

I think most everyone has played this, but you may play, too, if you like. Even Fish, but please share with Whistle and Dubby, okay?

Love,
Molly

All About Me-me-me!!!

Tiria tagged me!

Ten years ago:
I was not born yet! I am only 6.

Five things on today's "to do" list (it's nighttime, so this is my "been done" list):
1. Eat a good breakfast
2. Ask my mama where Louise is?
3. Get excited because Louise is here to take Sam and me to the dog park with our friend, Bryce!!!!
4. Beauty nap
5. Enjoy the breeze until it's time for dinner

Three bad habits:
1. I've been told it's wrong to counter-surf, but I just don't see it that way.
2. Same thing with rolling in the grass where it smells most interesting...
3. Lying down during leash walks; I'm just looking for cookies, okay?

Five places I've lived:
1. I've only lived in two places.
2. One was in Vermont, where I was born
3. The rest of my life has been lived at this house
4. I hope I never live anywhere else
5. We are happy here.

Things I'd do if I was a billionaire:
If I were a billionaire, I would give a lot of money to the people at BARC, who save dogs like me from puppy mills, and another lot of money to my animal friends being helped by the Humane Society of South Mississippi, not because there aren't other places to give money, but because those are my special interests and those animals are in my heart.

Five jobs I've had:
1. Pastoral Visitor (I like visiting church people.)
2. Guest Preacher (my mom uses my help with the children sometimes)
3. Soloist (I sing when I go to church, Wroo wroo! And I am always in the right key; it's amazing.)
4. Actress (I played the one sheep in a play about the 99 sheep. I've also played myself.)
5. Ambassador Plenipotentiary--I make friends wherever I go!

Have you played this one? If you want to, please do, and let me know in the comments!

My Day at the Specialty

Dear friends,

Today I took a long ride with my mama and my human sister to a place where lots and lots of Bernese Mountain Dogs have gathered together.

Some were doing Agility, going up and down ramps and jumping through hoops.

Some were pulling carts, which I hear is what we did in the Olde Country.

Some were showing how obedient they are.

Some got to go around in a ring just for being more than seven years old!! And some got admired just for being puppies.

Some are competing in Con-for-ma-tion, to see which dogs look and move the most like our breed is supposed to, or so I'm told. I saw some of those dogs. Their people got more dressed up than the rest, and those dogs looked extremely clean and tidy.

So did I!! My mama took me on this long car trip to meet a lady named Pat, who takes pictures of dogs like me, with her friend, Joye. They go to big gatherings and take lots of pictures, but they don't do it as a job. They do it as a gift. My mama wrote down a name on a piece of paper along with numbers, and that was a donation to the people who rescue Bernese Mountain Dogs from auctions.

I asked my mama what an auction is and she said to tell you it's a place that's okay for lamps and sofas and silver candlesticks, but not for animals. Our friend, Toby, who lives with Revsweet, got rescued by those nice people and so we gave our money to that group, BARC. (Get it?)

After all my pretty pictures were taken, Pat and Joye wanted to eat their lunches. We were still waiting for a round silver thing from the computer that had my pictures, so my mom stayed and talked with them. When I saw them eating delicious sandwiches, I realized they had forgotten ALL about my long ride in the car and how hungry I must be, so I told them.

"Wroo wroo!" I said, and I raised up and told them.

Pat said she wanted a picture of that, too, so I had to pose some more.

I hope you enjoy my pictures. My mama says there are more over at her Flickr page.

Also, my Papa Bear showed up and petted me for a while, but he had to go back to work. He said he'll be home soon. (Don't tell Sam I saw him, okay? He stayed home and spent the day with Louise, who takes us for walks. He had a good day, too, and our mama brought him turkey hearts that were dried up into treats. Yum!)

Let me know if you like my pictures,

Love,
Your friend,
Molly

P.S. Here's how I look at my mama.

A Few Thoughts From the Sofa

Dear friends,

Tonight I am on the sofa thinking about some things and want to tell you about them.

First, I want to tell you a very sad thing. My friend, Cub Poppy, could not get well in her body, and she died. My mama gets tears in her eyes when she talks about it. I know Cub's family misses her very much, because they had a lot of love together, all of them, and they still do.

One of my mama's friends says, "If dogs don't go to heaven, I want to go where they go when I die." I think it's a silly thing to worry about. Where else would dogs go? My mama always says the way to salvation is to become exactly the person God made you to be, and since dogs have a lot less trouble doing that than people do, we must be going to heaven. We don't know how to pretend the way you do, and we don't want to, anyway. We just love and get hungry and have a drink of water and tell you when it's time for a cookie; we keep it simple. We run when we see the ducks in the park, just to tell them how pretty they are. We roll in piles of dry moss that the neighbors raked, and then we shake the moss out of our coats. We enjoy ourselves. We enjoy the world. That's being real.

I've been going to see a nice vet named Dr. Karen. I've known her since I was a baby puppy. She taught my mama and my Papa Bear how to take care of a puppy. I trust Dr. Karen, so even though she is sticking little poking things into me, I stand still, mostly, and I lie down until it's time to have the little poking things come out again. Dr. Karen pats me over and over again to be sure there are none left behind, but maybe she pets me a little extra because I am so soft. Petting a soft dog makes a person feel better. I hope Cub's people are petting The Boy dog at their house, and I hope they all make each other feel as better as they can feel while they are getting used to Cub being gone.

Here is my dream for Cub: Cub feels as light as a puppy but as wise as she was on earth, and she is meeting other dogs waiting for their humans to come some day, and she is not lonely, and she is wearing a sky-blue bandanna with fluffy clouds printed on it, because she is an angel dog now.

We will all miss her, until the day we meet again.

Love,
Your friend,
Molly

Saints of the Church

Dear Everyone,

Today I went with my mama to work, because my elbow hurt too much for regular walks and my Papa Bear thought I would be bored at home. I got to go to two different churches!

First we went to our church, and we went to the office. It was very disappointing because my friend, Angela, took the day off today. We had visitors, but only Angela gives me lots and lots of cookies. Other people just give me one. I think Angela is one of the Saints of the Church, because she knows how to show love to one of God's creatures: me!

Mama says when Angela answers the phone and greets visitors, she is doing Ministry of Hospitality. I am good at that, too.

Later we went to a lunch meeting at another church, with a bunch of minister types. There was soup, but I only had a piece of cheese after the cheese had been sitting out and was getting a little hard around the edges. While they were all talk-talk-talking, I got sleepy. Sometimes ministers are boring.

However, there were several people who petted me and told me I was pretty, and my mama's friend Country Pastor sat on the floor to pet me. I slept with my paws under his chair. He is a Saint of the Church, too.

Do you have Saints in your church?

Tell me about them if you want to!

Love,
Your friend,
Molly

My Day

Here is my plan for today:

Go to church.

Last week I went to church with my mama on Wednesday. First we went to see the Women's Fellowship. How can women be fellows? My mama says maybe they should be the Women's Galship. One of them gave me carrot cake. She is nice.

Then we got back in the car and drove to a different church. All the people there were ministers. They told my mama some stories about their dogs, and then they sat around a table and my mama talked for a very long time. But it was okay because she was talking about ME!!!

Then I went back to the usual church. It was dull. We stayed in the office a crazy long time. It was okay while my friend, Angela, was there, but after she left, I was bored, because my mama was "working," or that's what she said.

Finally some ladies came, some of the same ladies from the morning. They went all over the church, and they took me with them! Then they packed boxes to send to service gals and guys far away in Iraq. I made sure they did a good job packing up facecloths and chapstick and microwave popcorn and other good stuff.

After that, I had a snooze in the hall while I waited for my mama's meeting with them to be over.

It was a long day at church. Today won't be. Mama promised. Today I hope to see my Wednesday Wizards, especially George. He used to breed poodles, and he groomed me once. He is my Best.Person.at.Church.

What are you doing today? If you're not too busy, I hope you'll remember to pray for sick animals and their mamas and papas who worry about them, especially Amie who is having tests and Cub and The Boy, who are hoping to stay calm today.

Love,
Your friend,
Molly