Sam's Dog Blog
8. The Television is a Puzzle, November 18, 2010
The television, in case you don't know, is a plastic box in the living room, with lots of things moving inside of it. Sometimes I see dogs on it, and I see them moving and hear them barking, but then they aren't doing it anymore. They just disappear. I don't know where they go. And sometimes while I am wondering where they went, they reappear.
Today, my mommy was on the TV, and she was in the living room watching it with me. Very puzzling. . . . More puzzling than the phone. When I talk on the phone, I can hear people saying my name and asking me if I want to go for a walk, but when I go to the window to see them they are not out there. But, then they do come in a little while. Or sometimes, we go in the car and go see them. I like to use the phone because any time I do, I get to go for a walk, and I love walks.
What things do you find puzzling in your life? Have you ever wondered how money works? Or how your mommy or daddy takes a bunch of things out of the refrigerator, and puts them in a pan, and then into a metal box that gets very hot. Then when they come out they look and smell completely different. Like there are magicians inside that metal box that take replace the stuff we put in there with something new. Or have you ever wondered why you have to go to bed, even though there are so many exciting things to do still? There are a lot of puzzles in my life. How about yours? You can write me and tell me about the puzzles in your life at sam@zodiworks.com.
7. My Books, November 10, 2010
Well now, I have been writing about me for quite a while now (49 months in dog time to be exact) and I have barely mentioned the Zodibooks about me and my friends. If you are reading this blog, then you might already know about them, but maybe not. So just in case, you haven't heard about them and since I will have my first public appearance this Friday afternoon at The Cave, in Brooklin, ME, I thought it might be a good idea to tell you about them.
This book is one of my favorites because it has my toy, Pig, in it. I bury Pig and take a nap, which I like to do. Then when I wake up, I can't find Pig anywhere. Don't worry, it is only a little bit sad.
Sam DIgs Pig is the fourth book of the 12 books in my series. It is longer than the first book, which is named after me, Sam, but shorter than the sixth book, Fox in a Fix. In that book, Fox falls into a pit, and it takes a bunch of us to try to figure out how to get him out. I can show you a picture of that next week. Or maybe, if you come to The Cave this Friday, you can see it for yourself.
6. A Trip to a Fort, October 10, 2010
My cousin Mike came over a little while ago and he, Mommy, and I went to see a big Fort, Fort Knox, in Prospect, Maine, across the river from Bucksport. Mommy says this fort was built a long time ago for the Civil War, but it was never used. This fort has lots of dark hallways and curving staircases, which were kind of tricky to walk on. We went all over the place, even on the roof. It has grass on the roof, which is kind of weird I think, but I have never been on any other roofs, so maybe lots of places have grass on their roof. 
Here are some pictures of us at the fort. As you can see, we were pretty close to the edge of that roof. The grass tasted pretty good though. The other thing we did was get a drink at a drinking fountain. Mike even tried to teach me how to get a drink.
We also saw lots of bats, which Mike liked, but Mommy didn't. She said they might be dangerous. I didn't actually see any in was dark, so I don't know what they look like.
Mike loves to jump and run and race around with me. Here is a picture of him flying in the air down one of the long hallways. He loves to go to the fort and showed us all of his favorite places. I really like it when Mike comes to visit, we play in the yard a lot, and he likes to go to the beach with me, and he throws the ball for a long, long time. Mike is one of my best friends.
Do you ever go on trips to see things with your family? Do you ever see anything surprising like grass on a roof? Do your parents tell you about new places and things like what things happened there?
Mommy says she sometimes takes pictures from places she visits and puts them together in a scrapbook so she will remember those places and what she learned there? Have you ever made a scrapbook? Mommy says you can just draw your own pictures if you don't have a camera. She likes drawing pictures better than taking them anyway. She says that writing about the picture is what helps her remember the most about the trip.
5. A Big Move, September 10, 2010
We had a very busy weekend this weekend. Mommy and me went to her mommy’s house and helped her move. She has a dog, named Ace, who is very good at catching Frisbees. He is much better than I am. I prefer tennis balls, and Ace likes those, too.
Mommy kept saying to me over and over that she wasn’t going to forget me, but she kept telling me to stay inside while she put boxes of stuff in her car. I did not believe her, so every time I got the chance, I jumped in the car, because she was driving away a lot.
Ace was not very happy either. He was hiding under a chair and shaking a lot like he was scared. I think he was a little scared by all the noise, but really scared that his mommy might go off and forget him. Everything that he was used to was getting moved and changed. I don’t blame him for being scared at all. I told him to get in the car with me, but he stayed with his mommy while we went on a trip.
The trip was pretty short, and when we got there, Mommy put me on a leash and tied me up in the shade. Then she took the boxes inside the building and came out and got some more and went in again and came out again. I barked at her, so she would take me in too. When she finally did go in, there was no room to lie down anywhere, and people kept telling me to move out of the way. I couldn’t find anyplace safe, so I stayed right with my mommy.
When we got home that night, Mommy and me took a long walk and then she had a long bath. She said moving is a lot of work! I think it is a lot of confusion and kind of scary.
Have you ever moved to a new house? Did you think it was scary? Did people keep telling you to get out of the way? Did it feel like you might get left behind or maybe some of favorite toys would get lost? How did your Mommy and Daddy help you feel better? Were you kind of excited to go to a new place to live?
4. My Fort, August 10, 2010
It got hot here this weekend. So hot that I wanted to go to the beach so I could go swimming, but Mommy said it was too early, the water would be too cold. I don't think she and I have the same definition of too cold though.
But she did make me a fort so I could have a cool place to lie down outside. She said it wasn't hard to make at all. She took her two big chairs and moved them together to make a wall. And then she took our big towel and covered the chairs with it. Then I could crawl underneath. She even let me have a picnic in there. Here is a picture of me inside my fort.
Do you ever make forts? When my cousin Michael comes over, he always builds a fort in the living room. Sometimes he uses all the couch cushions and blankets and sometimes he uses big cardboard boxes. One time he made his fort so big, he could sleep in it all night. I didn't want to sleep in it though, it was too hot, so I slept on the couch. Do you have any special friends to share your forts with? You could draw picture of you and your friends in your fort and send it to me at sam@zodiworks.com. If you want to write a little story about your fort, I think Mommy would read it to me. I would like to hear from you.
3. Traveling With Friends, July 10, 2010
In the morning, when I get up, Mommy hugs me and kisses me and lets me go outside. Then I come in and have breakfast. After breakfast, Mommy tells me I am either staying home or I get to go to work with her. When I stay home we go for a walk or play ball before Mommy leaves. It is fun but not as fun as when I go to work.
The first fun thing is that Mommy asks me if I want to bring any friends to work. I go to my toy shelf and look through all of my toys until I find one I want to bring. Today I brought Teal, one of my ducks. Teal and I get in the car, and sleep in the backseat on the way to work. When we are almost at work, we sometimes see Tinker walking. She doesn’t play with me very often, but whenever we see her, both she and I get biscuits.
As soon as I get to work, Mommy and I go for a walk. Then I get in the car with Teal while Mommy goes to work. I tak
e a nap. Mommy comes out three times during the day to take me for walks. Sometimes I feel like I just got to sleep and Mommy is coming to get me. Other times, I wake up and Mommy is not outside at all. So I have to wait for her. I watch all the people in the parking lot come and go. Most all of them say hi to me. Sometimes Lorna brings me a treat, but she says don’t tell Mommy. So I keep it a secret just between us.
I go lots of other places with my Mommy too. I like to go in the car and visit my people friends. Do you like to go on trips? Do you ever get to work with your Mommy or Daddy? Do you get to bring a friend with you? How do you decide which friend to take with you?
2. Something Big, June 10, 2010
Mommy says we are going to have a book signing at my friend Laura's store. I have never been in her store, but Laura always comes out to see me and gives me lots of special treats. I am always happy to see Laura. Her store is called The Cave and it is in Brooklin not far from where Mommy works. Mommy says Laura's store is full of wonderful treats--like cheese and chocolate and wine and bread--but that I can't have most of them, though she does have very nice dog biscuits too.
Anyway, on June 11th, from 4 to 6 in the afternoon, we are inviting all kids who might like my books to come see us. AND I GET TO MEET THEM!!! I love to meet kids. They always like to play and always want to give me biscuits.
The Cave is at 5 Bay Road in Brooklin, ME. I hope you will be able to come and meet me. I think we will get to listen to all of the stories. That will be so FUN!!!
1. Meet Sam May 10, 2010
Hello, my name is Sam. You have probably seen me in one of the books from Zodi. If you are reading one of the books in my sSeries, then you probably need help reading this. But that's okay. It won't be long before you can read this without much help at all.
It is pretty exciting that you are learning to read. I can't read at all, but I like when people read stories to me. Maybe someday, Mommy can teach me to read books all by myself. I hope you like reading my books. You will see me playing with my friends,
Who are your favorite friends to play with? Have you ever written a story about playing with your friends? It is pretty hard if you don't know how to write many words. But if you draw good pictures, sometimes they can help people figure out what is going on in the story.
Sometimes it's fun just to draw a picture, you don't have to write a whole story. You can just draw a picture of you playing with your friends, and tell somebody about it.