The Middle Name Game

I got tagged by my Aire-buddy Bogart!

There’s a new game in town, the Middle Name Game:

Here's how it goes:

1. Post the rules before you give the facts.

2. List one fact that is somehow relevant to you and your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your post using your middle name and facts about it.

4. At the end of your post choose one dog to tag for each letter of your middle name. Be sure to let each puppy know she/he has been tagged-

(And seeing as we've been on vacation, I'm sure everyone has been tagged already!)

My official name is Magapee BriddleBritt! It's dad concocted name and it's special, just like I am. So I guess my middle name would be Briddle!

B - is for beautiful, need I say more?!

R - is for raisings, barn raisings and I sure hope I get to go to LOTS more of them!

I - is for ice cream - all kinds - I don't have a favorite. Any kinds will be just fine, thank you!

D - is for digger! Everyone know that you can't take the digging out of the Terrier even though mom tries her very hardest to tell me to stop digging Maggie!

D - is for determined - determined to get my own way at all times!

L - is for loud! I'm a talker and I have a lot to say and I'm never quiet about it!

E - is for energetic! I'm an Airedale! We don't stop to think; we just move and quickly!

Okay Mitch - now it's your turn!

Well, I don't exactly have a middle name and seeing as I'm named after Mitch Miller then I guess that middle name will do me just fine till a better one comes along! It's all about the goatee~

M - is for manly, something I'm still dreaming about seeing as I'm only 9 months old!

I - is for intelligent! I can now climb stairs so I'm a smart boy!

L - is for loveable. I'm all boy but I sure do love to be hugged and I love to lick back!

L - is for lime. I've taken quite a fancy to limes ever since I found one in the center of town. I carried it for the longest time and then I decided to clamp down on it and I was making lime drool everywhere!

E - is for everybody. I love everybody except small children- they're scary monsters!

R - is for rides in the car! It means we're going someplace fun and I'm always ready to do that!

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Today is our last full day on Nantucket so we have to make the most of it! Last night we had another picnic and then we strolled into town for ice cream once again. I got to sample mom's vanilla pistachio almond cardamom flavor and dad was having orange mango sherbet. Both were very yummy! Tonight mom has decided on Peppermint Stick and dad wants Rum Raisin!

We've had such a great time here on the Island. We've had lots of rest and relaxation but we also miss home and our daily routine there! And we're also anxious to catch up on all of our friend's blogs! Tomorrow at 6AM we board the ferry to return to Connecticut! We'll miss you Nantucket and we hope to visit again in a year or two!

So until next time................

Your Nantucket reporter signing out!

Love ya lots,

Maggie

Brant Point Lighthouse

Yesterday when mom and dad got home from Surfside beach we packed into the car and headed to Something Natural again for another picnic dinner. Mom and dad have been trying to eat light so we have room for ice cream!
I see dad coming back! Great ready Mitch!
You can see my new collar in this picture! Dad bungies us to the picnic table so that we won't run off and get ourselves into a heap of trouble. Hey, no way am I going anywhere when there's food on the way! You can count on that!

After dindin we headed to Brant Point to check out the lighthouse. This is the harbor side of the Island, not the ocean side so the waves aren't quite as intense. Dad was hoping that maybe he could get me to go for a swim. hummmmmmmmm, I think NOT!

Mitch tried to taste the ocean and decided he didn't like the salt water! Smart boy!

Mom tried to lure me closer to the water where Mitch and dad were and she got me to follow until I felt damp sand on my feet and that was enough of the wet stuff for me! I think I'll explore this nice seaweed mom, at a safe distance from all that nasty ocean water!

When we approach Nantucket, while we're still on the ferry, this lighthouse is one of the first sights we see. It never ceases to bring a smile to mom and dad's faces! Mine too mom!
I love Nantucket!
We sure do love it here!
Just to let you all know, we did have gingersnap molasses ice cream and it was to die for but unfortunately mom's memory card in the camera got filled up and all photo taking came to a halt so we'll address that issue today and we'll be back in business in a hurry!

Newsflash! We're back in business! yippeeeeeeeeeeeee

So until next time................

Reporting live from Nantucket...........

Love ya lots,

Maggie

The Missed Lunar Eclipse

Mom is bummed!
Since we've been on Nantucket, I've been waking her up every single morning at exactly 4:40AM and she keeps wondering if finally, at my age of nine years old, I know how to tell time!
She was psyched last night when she heard that on the east coast, if you're up at 4:50AM, you can watch the lunar eclipse! But I disappointed her. I didn't wake her up until 5:30 so we missed it! Sorry mom! I'm on vacation and I wanted to sleep in! Please forgive me!

We had a good time in town yesterday. We were there for a good hour checking out all the sights. Take a look at this antique car! Mom says that if she could somehow squeeze this into her suitcase, she'd love to take this baby home! Wouldn't we be nice and cool riding through town on this!

For dad, it was a toss up between mom's antique car and this boat. OMG could Mitch and I ever do laps on this thing!

Mitch is constantly practicing his stair-climbing all day long! So many of the shops have a short flight of stairs and he's forever climbing them and trying to check out the goods! He scored in this one! They actually didn't toss him out on his ear!
Mom and dad had dinner last night at The Brotherhood of Thieves! It's a very popular spot on the Island! I wish we could have gone too but no dogs allowed :-(

The plan tonight is to hit Brant Point where the lighthouse is and after that more ice cream! Mom and dad found another ice cream shop this morning that makes gingersnap molasses ice cream and they sampled it and gave it the thumbs up so we're drooling already just thinking about it!

So until next time................

Love ya lots,

The vacationing Maggie

Cisco Beach

Yesterday was the most awesome day! We started out with our two mile walkie down to Surfside beach and along the way we met our friend Colleen - the one who's getting Jake, the Airedale puppy this coming weekend. Mom and dad suggested that the four of them go out to dinner one night so everybody's is excited about that!

We all went into town again to help dad buy the newspaper. BTW, we would never dream of rooting for the Yankees, Agatha and Archie! No way! Red Sox all the way!

Mom stopped into a store called Cold Noses and came out with two fancy rope collars for both of us. Mine is green and pink and reminds mom of wallymelon and Mitch is a patriotic boy in red white and blue! While we were window shopping I spied a sign for ice cream and pointed that out in a hurry!

We meet so many doggies every day. We saw Simba hanging around the docks and we saw this grey Poodle that had been shaved down to the point that mom asked the owner if it was a GreyHound! Mommmm! She's so embarrassing! We saw Ernest and we've seen lots of Golden Retrievers and Labs! No Boston Terriers yet Ruby! We saw Herbie and 5 month old Helios and Pacco and Scruffy and even Opy, who was minding a clothing store!

After town we headed back home, had lunch and then mom and dad headed to the beach for a couple of hours. They were back around 4PM and told us that we'd all be going out to dinner as a family. Whooooohooooooooo! We went to Something Natural. It's a sandwich shop where you can eat outside on picnic tables with the best views! Mom grabbed bottles of water and a bag of chips and we were off!

The next stop was Cisco beach. Mitch has never seen a beach before. We were standing in the sand admiring the view when a wave came in and got Mitch and dad wet! Mitch wasn't sure about it at first but soon realized that this could be fun! He starting digging and tossing sand everywhere! Good thing it was after hours and no people were nearby!

I don't feel the same way about getting wet - no way do I want that nasty sticky salt water all over my fur!

I couldn't wait to leave!

I got my wish! We left after dad dried Mitch off and got all that icky sand off him! We headed to Stars for some Vanilla frozen yogurt. It was so yummy and refreshing! What a great ending to a perfect day!



So until next time.........

Love ya lots,

The Vacationing Maggie

On Nantucket!

We met the neatest people on the ferry! We were hardly even out of our car when these nice people stopped us and told us that this coming weekend they were picking up a 3 month old Airedale puppy and that his name is Jake. He's coming from MY breeder so it was pretty neat to hear all the stories. It passed our 2 hour trip very nicely. Mitch did awesome on the ferry stairs going up. Going down he spazzed with dad and dad gave in and carried him down but then it was mom's turn to take him down and she made him do the top step and everything was fine after that. And now at the house Mitch is up and down the stairs all the time. This is his reward at the top of the stairs!His very own bed - or so he thinks! And it's all dressed out up there in pink!

We've been to town a few times already and we found out that the dogs all congregate in front of the coffee shop with their families. Yesterday we met quite a few of them. Mitch is making sure this one is a boy like he is!

We've had ice cream once and mom and dad promised that tonight is another ice cream night so we're psyched about that!

We have a 2 mile walkie down to Surfside beach every single day and then we head back into town so that dad can buy the newspaper to read on the beach. This is the Bartlett truck that comes into town every single day and sells fresh flowers. Seeing this truck is very special to mom and dad! This is Nantucket's Main Street!

We're finding this vacation stuff real relaxing and hope that it never ends! We could get very used to this fat and happy life style!

We apologize that we're not sharing many pictures but our connection is very slow. We'll share lots more pictures when we get home. And we want to thank Blue and Bogie and I think Sitka for tagging us. We'll get to the tags when we get back too, okay?

We miss you all lots! We see lots of doggies that remind us of so many of you!

So until next time..............

Love ya lots,

Maggie

Packing for Nantucket

Mom has been busy getting stuff together so she can load the car on Thursday.
Friday morning we'll leave in the wee hours of the morning. Our ferry leaves at 7:30AM and Hyannis (where the ferry departs) is a 3 hour drive from our house. It takes the ferry 2 hours and 20 minutes to go from Hyannis to Nantucket! Check this out! Mitch is going to ace those stairs - we're feeling very confident! Wait till he gets on the upper deck and meets new people and new doggy friends. He's going to have so much fun!

Mitch spent the morning outside with dad while mom and I got things going. I'm making sure that mom has packed our favorite stuff!

Next was the beach umbrella. She wanted to make sure that it was in tip top working order.

I was on Cisco beach with the family just one time - my first trip out - when I was one year old! Nantucket now has these stupid rules where they don't want dogs on the beach anymore unless it's after hours!

How rude is that!

We're trying on my hydrangea bandana in this picture. Nantucket is famous for their beautiful blue hydrangeas! We'll be bringing lots of bandanas! I have lots of pretty choices!
The books are getting packed!
Reading material for the beach! hummmmmmmm I'm not sure these are the best choices though!
I hope mom remembers to pack lots of treats!The suitcases haven't come out just yet. Clothing is usually the last thing mom packs! Our guestroom upstairs is looking pretty messy. Mom is piling stuff everywhere! Stuff is staying upstairs so that Mitch doesn't help himself to everything!

Hey, can I wear your hat mom? Don't forget the sunglasses and the sunscreen!

The packing continues.........................

We just want to let you all know that we're going to miss all of you HEAPS!

The camera will be coming along and we'll get lots of pictures! It's still up in the aire about the laptop coming along or not, so if we post, it can be a surprise! And if not, we'll be back in September!

So until next time...............

Love ya lots and lots,

Maggie

The Glenwood

Dad has been going to the Glenwood for years and years and when dad married mom, he introduced her to this famous drive-in restaurant in Hamden! They make the BEST hamburgers and hotdogs! Mom was hungry for a hamburger so we decided this afternoon that the Glenwood was the place to be! This restaurant is on a very busy road so there was lots to watch while dad was inside placing our order.
Mitch appointed himself the look-out!

OMG check out that food! The smell is killing me! When do we eat?!

I see fries and mom's hamburger and it looks like dad ordered a hotdog for himself! ummmmmmm onion rings!!!!

We've never had those before! Mom is telling us these are not for us.

awwwwwwwwww come on mom - just one??!!

Mom has a real hard time trying to take pictures of us eating. We basically swallowed that piece of hamburger before the flash even went off! hehehe
It was good though!
Thanks mom!Here comes a french fry and it has catsup on it! yummmmmmmm
Right into my mouth it goes! Me first Mitch!
That catsup is pretty tasty stuff! Do you mind mom?
Attached to the Glenwood is Kelly's Kone Konnection and we were really hoping that we'd get ice cream for dessert but it wasn't to be tonight. We left without ice cream!

Mom said that while we're on Nantucket, we'll be eating ice cream every single day and she wants to save her appetite for something special! I'm not sure I totally agree with this but mom's word was law. No ice cream tonight!

So tomorrow we'll begin to pack for our vacation! Only 4 more days before we leave! We're getting excited!

So until next time..................

Love ya lots,

Maggie

He's Getting There!

Mitch is getting there! We have one more week before we leave and we think he'll make it - no problem!




Mom tried to video his descent but she was too close to him. He actually came down better than he went up!
As soon as he reaches the bottom he turns around and goes right back up! He's like a kid with a new bicycle! He doesn't want to get off!! I wonder how many ups and downs he'd do before he got tired?

So guess what the latest is??

Is this rude or what?

First mom wants him to learn and now that he's on his way, he's locked out! Go figure!

So until next time...............

Love ya lots,

Maggie

Out of the Woods

Mom never stays mad at me for long! All she has to do is seriously look at my face and she melts! I show her that famous Airedale smile and I have her right where I want her!

Mom had to go to the bank this morning and she asked me if I wanted to go - just ME - Mitch stayed home with dad!

Absolutely mom - I'm always ready for a ride in the car to beg for cookies!

How soon do we leave?!

I'm all set - hurry it up, okay!
My very favorite teller waited on us - the one who always feels really badly for me!
She gave me a cookie and asked where Mitch was!
Mom can never quite get the cookie picture! I'm always too fast for her! hehehehe

Mom told her that Mitch was home! She passed two more cookies out the drive-in window to me! Man, do I ever love this lady!

BUT - she told me that I have to take one home and share it with Mitch! awwwwwwwwwwww - well, alright - I guess!
So when we got home we took the cookie out to Mitch and told him that the nice lady at the bank sent this for him! He was pretty happy about that!

So that's my morning at a glance!

Until next time...............

Love ya lots,

Maggie

Northford Barn Raising Second Day

My dad was on TV this morning!

After the news mom grabbed the camera and decided to walk us both up to the barn raising site to take pictures of the progress so that you all could see how the barn was coming. It was still early here so it was pretty quiet at the barn site. The TV newsmen were just leaving. Darn! Shoot! If we had been here a tad sooner maybe we could have been on TV too!

At this point things went downhill. On Saturday, Mitch met a Brittany Spaniel that was deaf and he wanted to play with him. Charlie didn't want to play with Mitch and his mom took him home. Charlie was back today and this time I was going to give him a piece of my mind! So I crouched down like a tiger hunting his prey and when Charlie got nearer, I jumped him! Naturally fighing cries broke out and mom was REALLY upset with me! We left for home pronto and all the way home she told me how disappointed she was with me and how it was hurting her heart to say all of these mean things to me. She also told me that this would be my last barn raising because I embarassed her and my behavior was totally unacceptable.

So not only did I get reamed out but we also have no pictures to show you of the barn progress and mom is very sorry about that.

Later in the day mom walked back up to the raising for the pawty and she left her camera home because she was still so upset that I acted the way that I did.

Toby, mom said to tell you that building a timber frame barn is like putting a puzzle together. Everything has it's own spot - all the timbers and hurricane braces - and then the pieces get "nailed" together with wooden nails called pegs. The bents have to get stood up as a unit. This is the way it's done. Did we answer your question sufficiently?

On another note - I think we led you all to believe that Mitch was climbing stairs. Well, he's not! He had that one good day and now mom will occassionally find him in the hallway with his feet on the bottom step looking towards the top and she'll ask him if he wants to go up! He races off! So he's not quite there yet and I guess he needs LOTS more practice! And naturally time is moving forward and it's getting closer to vacation time so we'd best get on it!

So that was our weekend in a nutshell!

So until next time..............

Love ya lots,

Maggie

Northford Barn Raising

Hi Everybody!

It's me, Mitch!

Maggie said that I could use her bloggy once again to tell you that I was at a barn raising this morning and it was right up the street from us! Mom and I walked to it this morning - right after our official walkie! We sure did get our exercise today!

This is my new friend. She is 14 months old and she kept dropping Cheerio's and I wanted to be a good citizen and not get her in trouble for littering so I cleaned up the ground for her !

See that man sitting down right up in front with the green shirt on? That's my daddy! He leads the barn raisings but right now the pretty lady in the black shirt is saying a prayer. We always start our raisings off with a prayer!

Today is magnificent! Not a cloud in the sky and no humidity! It's clear and sunny and just perfect! This is a special barn that we're raising today. My dad dismantled this barn about 20 years ago and it's been in storage for all this time. Now at long last - and a few repairs - it's going back up. Want to see the first bent go up! We have to caution you at the end that there's lots of applause! We don't want to hurt anyone's ears! That's my daddy yelling "lift, lift, lift!" That's the barn chant!



How did you like it? Isn't it just so exciting! We never get tired of going to barn raisings! Every single one of them is more exciting than the next!

This is a picture of bent number 2 in place!


There are a total of 5 bents (sections) in this barn. Mom and I left the raising just after bent number 3 cause Maggie stayed home. Dad says she talks too much at the raisings and he didn't want to have to try and compete with her! hehehehe
I think Maggie gets to go tomorrow!

Before we left I got to say hi to my friend Mabel. She's Greg's Bulldog!

She didn't mind me sniffing her at all! Mabel is a sweet girl!

So that's my exciting new for today! This is only my second barn raising and this time I got to stay for 4 whole hours! Maybe one day mom will let me stay for a whole day!

So until next time...............

Love ya lots,

Mitch

Mitch and the Stairs

Hi Everybody! It's me- Mitch!

Maggie said that I can post because I'm just so excited to tell you all that I climbed the stairs all by myself - with mom's help, of course - but I did it!

I'm pretty much at the bottom here!

Mom was behind me and kept placing my paws where they should be as I climbed higher and higher! Look what a big boy I am! Maggie was watching me from the bottom at this point!

OMG this is so exciting! I can see the top and all this neat new stuff to sniff that I've never seen before! Mom has always carried me up the stairs and plopped me on the grooming table and I've never explored before.

I've been in this room before - sitting in the bathtub! But I'm usually carried up and dumped in the tub! I always wanted to sniff that whale stuffie! Mom says that used to belong to my Uncle!
So this is where Maggie sleeps when she comes upstairs with mom and dad at night! I sleep in my crate downstairs in the laundry room. I don't mind - I love my crate. I even have my very own fan to keep me cooled off on hot summer nights!

And this is where they stash all the good stuff that I'm not supposed to chew! I was wondering where that bikini stuffy went that Stanley gave Maggie for her birthday! And here's the pink piggy that Putter gave her! She's still in very good shape! Maybe I need to change that! hehehehe I've never seen this purple elephant before! I bet they hid him away when I first arrived at the homestead so I wouldn't rip him up! Very clever! It's kinda cozy here! Let me squeak on this toy to get Maggie all riled up!It wasn't too much longer that mom helped me down the stairs. She was in front of me and placed her arm as a stopper so I wouldn't tumble down head first. Mom says we'll have to post again so that you can see me in action! She needs dad to man the camera so that she can help me!

Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful suggestions and encouragement! It means a whole lot to me! I'm going to conquer these stairs - you can count on it!

So until next time .................

Love ya lots,

Mitch the stair climber!

Our Airedale Breed

Mitch and I got tagged by Sparky to tell you all about us Airedales!

Airedales are the largest of the Terrier group and we range anywhere from 50-70 pounds. Mitch and I are closer to the 50 pound end of it, thank goodness or mom wouldn't be letting us have pizza and ice cream!

We're basically a cross of the old Black and Tan Terrier and the Otterhound so we were bred to swim and hunt vermin. I guess we're poor examples because neither one of us swim. Mitch hasn't had the opportunity and I'm not fond of getting myself all wet and taking all day long to dry off! YUK!

Do bats count as vermin? Okay, we can do that! Get the badminton racquet Mitch!

We're also known for being great guard dogs! I can speak for myself and tell you that I'm one heck of a guard dog! No one would think of breaking into my house! I won't bite but I will tell you in no uncertain terms that you don't belong here and leave quickly or else!

We're very loyal to our family and can be very aloof to strangers. This is true with some adult dogs. Mitch is still a puppy so he's very friendly but not me, a stranger can admire me but if you put your hands on me to pet me I'll tell you exactly what I think of this not-acceptable behavior!

We are known for finishing fights but never starting them. Our breed has very powerful jaws - just look at how we can destroy our stuffies! It's a constant battle for mom to keep on top of us not to destroy our toys! Any toy that's given to us that's not for power chewers usually gets wrecked pretty quickly. I used to be really bad but now that I'm 9 years old I've eased up. Mitch is just getting started! Show dogs are stripped, not clipped, and have wiry coats. Both Mitch and I are clipped because we have no interest in the show dog circuit. My coat is very soft, which is not acceptable for a show dog. Mitch has a beautiful wiry coat now but the more mom clippers him, the softer he will get in time. That's okay - we will still love him!
We Airedales are known as big clowns and we're very smart, quick learners! Tell that to Mitch so he can climb those stairs!

Actually he's doing quite well. Mitch and mom were climbing one step at a time today and Mitch did okay!

Mom is very proud of him but that video of him racing up and down the stairs won't be coming for awhile yet!

Thank you for all of the GREAT suggestions that you sent us! Mitch will ace these stairs! He just needs a few more days!

So that's the scoop on us Airedales!

We tag Asta, Huskee, Joey and Doofus and Luckie. Tell us about your breed!

So until next time...............

Love ya lots,

Maggie