The long weekend

Yes, it's a holiday weekend, and we really weren't sure what was going to happen since Staffer Mom declared Wimbledon over for us when the Williams Sisters lost. But, things are looking better.

Today the staff took off and left us all day. They went somewhere requiring a ferry ride and time on an island with feral horses and wild boars. Whatever. We were prepared for the day to be a wild bore when they put us in the bathroom with the dreaded gate between us and the house. The stupid Kitten teased us from the other side until we figured out how to break out -- and then we were in charge.

We played for a while, chased Kitten a lot, and napped on Blue Pillow. When the staff finally got home, all we wanted to do was pee. They were pretty horrified to find us roaming free. Oh well. That's what they get for leaving us.

Now we hear Aunt Audrey's coming to visit, so this weekend shows much promise after all. She might feed us off the table!

It's Wimbledon time!

All in all it's been a good weekend -- the staff was around a lot, our friend Jake is here -- and we didn't get a bath. Best of all, there's Wimbledon.

Faithful readers will know how much we love the major tennis tournaments. It's Wimbledon time and the Williams sisters are IN.

Maggie loves Venus -- she's stylish and tough. Bandit prefers Serena's tough, competitive nature. Tennis-ball activities have long been favorites of ours, and we know how hard it is to play with them. The William sisters know how to make it happen.

We're sorry about Roddick's loss, and we can't wait to see what shapes up with Nadal and Federer. In the meantime, serve'em up Serena and Venus!

A bizarre time of upsets

Ok, so first Venus lost at the U.S. Open, and then Roddick lost and things were bad. We did like Melanie Oudin and enjoyed having Cljisters back. And Roger -- we're sorry. You're a decent human.

And then there was Serena. Good grief! Bandit was really annoyed at how the announcers were shocked, shocked at it all -- he's a fan of McEnroe and Connors and knows they got away with more. And he was impressed at the warped racquet. Wow. that would hurt. He doesn't approve of Serena's behavior at all -- after all, he says the poor person was just doing her job, albeit badly.

Maggie, on the other paw, is glad someone's finally taken a cue from her. Serena
just went "all Maggie" on that poor lineswoman. Maggie thought it was funny, and still thinks Serena went easy on her.

We both agree that if they had dachshunds as line judges, none of this crap would happen. Let the Labs and other retrievers be ball kids, and let us do the real stuff. Guaranteed the calls would be accurate -- after all, who's closer to the line? Wiener dogs or humans? Get real.

Long weekends are for long dogs

We love those long holiday weekends humans get. While it is troublesome that the staff stays underfoot for the whole time, they do let us run around the house more than usual. The biggest problem is Staffer Mom thinks those weekends are for "projects" and "cleaning."
Hanging around her is pretty risky when she's in full focus, and you never know what's going to come flying -- today it was old boxes and a bunch of paper used to wrap stuff when you move. She found a box she thought needed to be liberated, so we decided to stay out of her way and watched the U.S. Open instead. We really love Sharapova, but we like Oudin, too. So, we'll be cheering for Oudin on Monday, and we hope Maria's feeling OK.
Tomorrow: The Williams Sisters. Excellent.

Wimbledon time!

As careful readers will know, we love tennis. And Wimbledon is here.
It's our custom to watch early rounds at home, and then watch the rest at the beach with Aunt Jenn and Uncle Brad. (Aunt Jenn always brings champagne.)

We can sit in front of the TV and watch the tennis ball go back and forth for hours. Roger Federer and the Williams sisters are our faves, but we do wish we'd see something out of Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova.

While we do love Staffer Mom's Wii tennis matches, we prefer ones on TV -- they are quieter and the language flying around can't be as bad as what we're exposed to here. We're not even sure what some of the words mean, but it can't be good. You'd never hear that coming from Maria. (Staffer Mom says the only difference is Maria says it in Russian, but we prefer not to believe that.)

Super Bowl stupor

It was a strange weekend at our house. First of all, there was no internet. Again. The staff has to get this figured out.
We do have a few observations to share:
- Puppy Bowl. We noted they'd added an extra deck on the "stadium" this year, but we didn't see nearly enough dachshund action. The Kitty halftime was a nice touch, and we definitely liked it when they dumped a bunch of paper on the cats at the end. We often want to do that to Ernie.
- The Boss. Bandit likes Bruce very much, but neither of us understood why he needed a football game for an opening act. Bandit felt that was disrespectful to Bruce and the Band.
- Commercials. Again, a bunch of big-ass horses. Remember the Sprint dachshund commercial anyone? Dachshund...oxen....you know.
- The Australian Open. Thank heaven it's over. As careful readers know, we love our tennis. But, those 3:30 a.m. match starts were killing us. If the Aussies really want us to watch, could they please move the times to something normal? Maggie was crazed for Serena, so those early mornings were vicious and interrupted our routine. We both admit the Williams sisters doubles team is so scrappy and strong, they should be honorary dachshunds. Definitely on the Fierce List. Definitely.
- The Tar Heels and great basketball. What a great basketball weekend -- buzzer beaters and the Heels on a roll! Oh yeah...Duke lost. Staffer Mom was happy about that.
- And finally, Staffer Mom cooked a lot and we found some pizza cheese on the floor!

Snore and snore alike

We found an interesting question on Aunt Allison's blog today: Do pets snore?
Yep, we do. And our staff will verify that.
Her big-ass cat, Bisquick, has inspired a poll to ask people about their pets and snoring. You can vote here.

We know we snore, and we know we dream. No big deal, and we don't disrupt things. The big problem is the staff. Our staffers snore and it's a problem. We are tired of being kept awake and not being able to hear our favorite shows at night.

We totally didn't hear part of the Serena-Venus match the other night, and we also missed the final "auf" the other night on "Project Runway." They may not stay awake for these things, but it's really annoying for us since we can't reach the remote to turn up the sound sometimes. Now we have to wait until Staffer Mom decides to watch a rerun to figure out who won.

(We really hated that whiny guy who created that chicken thing last week, and then there's Stella. Her makeup gets a bit better each week, but that thing she created for last week was awful.)
Who survived? We have no idea, but the whole point here is the staff and their snores.

For once, we think Ernie has the right idea: When a staffer snores, just sit on his or her head so they'll get a mouthful of fur. Now, we have to figure out how to get up on the bed.

Hanna who?

First of all: Maggie has a new photo. It's her "I really do use the computer" pose. Let us know what you think. Several readers have asked us if we use the computer, and while we were a bit insulted, we can understand how some would doubt us. Keep in mind, we never really said what we use it for.

The week's been a real blur. The staff worked outside putting stuff away for a good part of the week. They continuously griped about hurricanes and someone named Hanna. We don't know much about Hanna, but they sure didn't even try to like her. Then, they told us it was going to rain all day Friday, but it didn't. The grass wasn't even wet on Saturday morning. They've been a real pill, and we want this hurricane thing to move on. Every time one comes near, they just go a little wonkers.

And then the network blamed Hanna for canceling today's USOpen women's final. What's with that? We did get to see Venus vs. Serena the other night. It ran a little late, but we enjoyed it. We couldn't hear anything much because Staffer Dad snored through it, but we saw a great matchup with 2 tough competitors. If they hit a ball at us, we think it would hurt. And we do admit to laughing Friday when Serena smacked that whiny player in pink in the head with a ball. Go Serena!

We were sorta right

Ok, no closets were cleaned out this weekend. We were right about that. But we did get to play outside a lot and watch the US Open. We did get a bath, but that was the only really bad thing that happened. Oh yeah. Maggie got in trouble for charging a springer spaniel on the nightly stroll. She maintains the street near the neighbor's house is her territory since she walks there every night. Staffer Dad disputed the claim. Nothing's been settled, but the spaniel knows who's boss now.

As for the tournament: We approve of this year's bright colors. And we approve of the return of tennis clothing that actually looks like tennis clothing. Maybe the whole cocktail-tennis dress era is over for a bit. Colors we like: Djokovic's green shirt and Serena's bright red dress are nice. She's just great in it! Lots of folks were wearing red though, so we suspect red is the new white -- for now. And we're very happy with Federer's orange shirt. It's just a nice break for all of them.

As for players who didn't win but played with style, let's hear it for Gael Monfils, the French guy who lost to Marty Fish. Poor guy. He lost on his birthday, but he gutted it out.

As for more tennis info: We just found out that tennis rackets used to be strung with catgut. Hear! Hear! (Except for Ernie...he's our friend.)

W is for Wimbledon, Williams

From Maggie: Last year, I was able to give you regular observations about Wimbledon fashion, but this year the staff changed how the TV remote works and we've had trouble figuring it out. So sadly, our fashion updates had to be sacrificed. (We'll try to do better for the U.S. Open -- there are more fashion risks there anyway, and I'm more than willing to point them out.)
Today, we're in luck because the staff decided to let us watch the finals. And I'm pleasantly surprised to find my fashion fave, Venus Williams, playing sister Serena. Venus is always my pick for best-dressed anyway, but today, even in the respectful Wimbledon white, she's a goddess in her plain halter dress. Her sister, on the other hand, looks less like a go-go dancer today and finally got rid of the less-than-classy catsuits (for now). Today, she's chosen a low-key dress with a graceful plain top. Her earrings, however, look like beaded shower curtain rings. Venus would never make that mistake.

Fuzzy-ball fashion

From Maggie: Ok. It's been raining, so I've had a great chance to take a long look at more US Open fashion. All I can say is this: Venus has a future outside of tennis. Every outfit she's designed has been terrific. Of course, if anyone else wears the design, they'll probably look like a ruffled green vienna sausage. (I could wear them well.)
Serena's the only one who's been able to pull off the Nike black and pink, but I'm convinced the smocky design is because she's put on a bit of weight since her calf injury. (Mom says that happens when you hurt your leg. But mom could be rationalizing.) And, I'm a little testy about Maria's demise. She had some wicked dayside outfits.
As for the guys, they are all wearing the same thing: Nike diagonal-stripe shirts. The only one who can wear them well is Rafa, and mom says he can wear anything. (Why would he wear just anything?)
And hey...did anyone see how Vaidisova demolished that tennis racket the other day? When they asked her if she felt bad about the tantrum and the "redesigned" racket, she said "It deserved it."
She's my new hero.

A shout-out for tie-dye

It's Maggie: I'm amazed at the how black is the new white for this year's US Open tennis competitors. And I know I look really good in black, but I'm not sweating out on a tennis court. In fact, I'm not sweating it out anywhere. Someone else can do that...when they say "working like a dog," they are not referring to me.
Anyway, I think this year's clothing is really overmanaged by Nike. Can we get some tie-dye T-shirts out there? My mom's favorite shirts are tie-dye, and she's always happy when she's wearing them. I'm pretty sure she could kick someone's ass wearing one.
Back to the Open: Let's talk headgear a second: It should be a rule that your hat matches your clothes. Serena has the right idea. Her headband matched the pink in her outfit. She didn't look like a farmer or a soccer mom. I approve.