New Friend

There's a new kitty living in our apartment now. He was hanging around for a few weeks, mostly showing up for dinner and then disappearing again. He wasn't very healthy and he had some really bad wounds, so we took him to the animal doctors to try and sort him out. Well, he's still here and if everything goes well I think he'll stay!

We've named him Slim(a good bluesy name since he's had such a rough life and because he's so skinny). I think he's very nice, well-mannered and handsome:



















Unfortunately, Stella(my cat sister) is simply beside herself. She hisses and growls at him every chance she gets. Even when he's just laying down! I think she's afraid that mom and dad won't want her anymore, but that's not true! Hopefully she'll get used to it soon because all this cat drama is making me nervous...which makes me feel itchy...

But right now she is not happy:

I love my new apartment!

When we first got here, I really missed my old house. It wasn't perfect but it was mine and it was the only place I had ever lived. I knew all of the rooms by heart, every step in the front and back of the house and all of the noises in the neighborhood. If I had to bark, it was for a good reason! I loved all of the big tall trees and the nice plants that Mom and Dad planted around the yard. Good places to sniff and green grass to chew on. Those are the things I miss most. Here's all of us right before we left for Texas:

















The first thing I noticed about my new place, is all of the steps. I'll keep my girl-ish figure for sure! That's Mom way up there:



















But I'm used to them now. Having to walk up all those steps is a little inconvenient but the views are the best! And because it's so sunny on this side of the building, we a have all kinds of interesting plants that make this one of my favorite spots to relax while I survey my new neighborhood:






















The back deck is great as well. It gets a little noisy sometimes, especially when it's really hot and everybody comes to swim in the pool. But I still like to hang out there. So does Stella, my crazy cat sister. My parents say that she's "social but insecure". Whatever. I think she's a fruitbat!


















There's a bunch of interesting critters here as well. This guy likes to hang around the plants on the front deck. He is a type of lizard called an Anole, but we've all named him Jorge. We know it's a "he" because the girls are brown:


















Here's another strange creature that sometimes hangs around. They seem to want to come into the apartment to visit. Dad doesn't seem to think that's a very good idea. They're called "stinkbugs" and when they get scared, they let a smell out that can really clear a room! Stella found this out the hard way when she tried to catch one. The stink made her eyes water and she sneezed a whole bunch!

Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!


















Anyways, I'm very content in Austin, Texas!

A Nice Visit

We had a visit a few months back (too short!) with Oma, Pap and cousin Harriet. Here's a few pics of us out and about Austin. Can you see the face on the tree behind Oma?



















We went down to Town Lake and sat in the Gazebo:



















Then we got our pictures taken by a bench just at the edge of the river. I took a little dip right before this photo was taken...that's why I'm smiling!



















Here's a picture I took at Freddie's Place just down the street from where we live. Don't they look happy?

My first trip to the ocean!

Even though I'm 8 years old, I have never seen the ocean before this trip. It's sooooo big, you can't see the other side! My family took me to South Padre Island, all the way down at the tip of Texas, near Mexico. The water sure tasted salty but I tried to drink it anyway. YUCK! We drove all the way down there from our new home in Austin. Over 7 hours! I really don't like the car too much but I made it. Here's a map to show you where we were:

























There was lots to see and do at the beach. I found a seashell and I gave it a real good sniff but nobody was home.

























I played with mom in the waves



















I chased the waves and the waves chased me back!




















I saw some birds, Dad called them pelicans. They flew way up high above me. Flying looks like fun!
























I met Mr. Jack Russel:












and I saw a girl buried in the sand with 2 puppies giving her kisses on her face!






















and we wrote some names in the sand.

































Here's a family picture of us (can you see the boat and para-sailor behind us?):


























The ocean is now one of my favorite places to visit!