Hangin' with the Cos'

The girls were reunited with their cousin, Bug. Bug is a princess pug of the fawn persuasion. She whiles away her days in the wintry climes of Massachusetts, sleeping and eating and getting mucho snuggles from her human. Because that is what princess pugs do.

There was quite thorough checking-outtage by the pugs.

They were also reunited with their human cousin, Madeleine. She, too, is a princess, altho sadly not of the pug variety. Maddie also happens to be a rabid Patriot's fan.

Cleo's head makes for a good headrest

Cleo thinks Kevin's lap is muy comfortable.

She likes her perch for proofreading and editing purposes. She is very strict when it comes to proper grammar.

Also, her noggin is quite useful for comfort during quick naps.

Cleo has a heavy head

Altho it may look like Cleo has a microscopic head, she actually has a very weighty noggin. She finds it difficult to keep it lifted on her own. So she likes to use the table as support.




Cleopatra's skull also serves as an excellent headrest.

Hide 'n Seek

The ladies are quite particular about the arrangement of their blankets. Miss Sasha must be on top of the largest pile of covers. She does NOT like her head covered. Cleopatra is quite all right with burrowing under the covers. As a matter of fact, she prefers it.

Where is Cleo?


Peek-a-boo!

Sharing Christmas Eve dinner

We sampled the deleesh-ous rotisserie duck from Roli Roti for our Christmas Eve dinner. Dave and I had the chicken from their stand in the San Rafael market in the past, and not been impressed. This time, however, duck fat made all the difference. It was delectable. We devoured every morsel. All except, of course, some choice ones for the pugs. They knew we would share.


Duck fat is fattening for porky pugs. Mina made sure they got in a little exercise first.


They had fun working up an appetite.

Return of the giant pieces of food

The pugs were pretty pleased to see their grandpappys for Christmas. They gave them excited greetings, and immediately committed thorough investigation of their pockets for the treats they knew my parents would have. They always need to assure themselves that the parents are, in fact, still big pieces of food.

Investigating is serious work. It makes for sleepy pugs.

Stocking stuffers

We opened the girls' stockings on Christmas Eve. They were pretty interested in the goods.


Sasha was at first a little suspicious because she has memories of having a stocking stuffed over her head a few years ago. She was irate at the time. It's taken her a while to get over it. Didn't stop her from devouring her new Dental stik, tho.

Cleo had no such hangups. She got right into it.

Mmmm.... Christmas treeeee

We put up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We went to this little tree lot by the side of the highway in town. It was classis Yuletide -- families with small children, people traipsing around on pine needles, measuring sticks in hand, looking for the perfect tree. I insisted on patronizing this local, family owned, cute tree farm rather than mega-Home Depot, over Dave's vocal protestations. Why did I insist? well, because apparently I had money to burn. This will be our last tree for the next 3 years, because we have exhausted our Christmas tree fund.



Cleo was interested in our fancy tree. She thought it may be tasty.



She decided it was better to just pose prettily in front of it. Well, as prettily as Cleo can.

Cleo is feeling demoralized

Every once in a while, Cleo decides that she needs a little private time. She wanders off to somewhere, to sit and look as pathetic as possible. Usually we find her under a bed. Last night we found her in front of the door, waiting for us to take pity on her and let her outside to nibble on some trash leftovers that the raccoons left out.

She starts to suspect this is not going to happen.

She starts to despair.

Sleepy Sasha head

Sasha was feeling sleepy and antisocial. She says -- pleez let me hide my delicate sensitive eyes from the cold harsh world.

She only peeked up to see what was going on with the fridge.

The pugs are feeling feisty

The little princesses normally sleep about 99% of the day away. I usually find them in the Exact Same Position when I came home, as when I leave in the morning. With the exception of being a tad more drooly. The little sweethearts are so well-rested at that point, that they have just enough energy to try and maul each other.








This little ferocious wrestle lasts all of 2 minutes, and then they're exhausted again. It's tough being a princess pug.

FoodTV is not G-rated

The girls and I were snuggling on the sofa together, watching my favorite -- Food Network. I like this channel, most obviously because I am obsessed with all things food, but also because there are never any scary bits for the pugs. No doorbells ringing to alarm the pugs, no loud sudden noises to awaken their protective instincts. Such a kid- and pug-friendly channel, that Food Network.

Well. rachael ray proved me wrong.



The pugs reacted instantly. They were quite horrified at the scary beastie who appeared on our TV.

Pugs = Frenchies?

Pugs and Frenchies have a lot of genetic ancestry in common. The flat face, buggy eyes, pork tenderloin-like bodies.

Sasha is embracing her genetic background.

Ready for a nap

Sasha feels like reclining. Not, of course, on her slummy dog bed, but on our sofa. On a faux fur throw. Because that is the kind of pug she is.

Another photo shoot

I've been informed that my previous pics of the velour sweaties I scored from my fave doggy boutique in NYC, doggystyle, were inadequate. So I trundled the pugs into their outfits and sat them down for a nice long photo shoot.



Such pretty glitter decor on the back. FANCY.


Note, however, that the sweaties were not designed for such turgid pugs. The cute little hoodies that are supposed to flap freely in the back, sort of end up looking strangled on my hefty-necked girlies.



In case you're wondering, the piece of cabbage I'm holding just out of view is holding their rapt attention.

Got milk??

Ah, the life of a pug

So content. They found a sunny spot.

Rascal-y Raccoons

Damn rodents woke us up in the middle of the night, trying to get into our trash can outside. We woke up because we heard a CRASH! (trash can being violated), and then immediate ferocious barking and wild trampling of the bed and its occupants (us) by the Guard Pugs. Sasha was so upset and disoriented, she couldn't find her way back to the bed.

Look carefully and you can see the greasy raccoon prints on our front walkway. Evidence of forbidden feasting.

Whatcha eatin?

Sasha would very much like to know what's so tasty about the air over near Cleo.

Cleo isn't divulging any secrets. Sasha quickly loses interest. Cleo, like the Energizer bunny, keeps going and going...

Still hungover

Other than the occasional rapt excitement over food, treats, and their toy ball, the girls are still pretty sleepy from all their holiday activity. Most of the time they can't be bothered to even lift their collective pug heads.

Morning ritual

The pug princesses, verrrry excitedly waiting for their standard morning banana treat.

Belated Birthday Bash

Sasha had a little belated birthday party over the holiday, courtesy of her aunt and uncle. We strapped on a festive pink birthday hat, much to her chagrin.

Cleo didn't think it was all that festive, either.

What they DID think was fabulous were the adorable little doggie cupcakes they got to snarf. One each.

oooooooo, the pugs liked that. Cleo finished hers in record time.

It took Sasha a while to figure out the way of things before digging in.