Sad News, Bogart's Dad/What's a Westewn Wall

Hey Pals, Thanks fow youw touching messages. We awe all pwaying vewy hard. Norwood asked what a Westewn Wall is. It's one of the most impowtant religious places in the Jewish religion, but it's also impowtant fow Christians and Muslims. The wall supports the terrace whewe the temple of Yahweh, or god the father was in ancient times. Aftew the Romans destwoyed the temple, the wall became all that was left of this sacwed monument. You can leave your pwayews thewe and it's a direct line to god! Some people even fax thewe pwayer! Latew, the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock above the wall, because it's the point whewe the Prophet Mohammed twavelled to heaven and met god pawsonally. That must have been quite something, pals. The spot whewe the Dome is, is also impawtant to Christians and Jews, because they believe it's whewe Abraham, a gweat holy man was to sacrifice his son to god and pwove his gweat faith once and fow all. The Jews believe Abraham was going to sacwifice his son Issac and the Muslims believe it was his othew son Ismail. Issac is the fathew of the Jewish people and Ismail is the fathew of the Arabic people. So, they awe all cousins. Whichevew son it was, this is a vewy impowtant and vewy holy place whewe people believe god is close. So, it's the bestest place to pray fwom.


G'day Pals, We wewe vewy sad to learn that Bogart's dad is vewy sick. PG 2 and I awe pwaying vewy hawd fow him and his family, and mum has one mow week in Israel, so she has gone back to the Western Wall to pway fow him too. I want to thank my Twinny for pwodoocing this bootiful cawd.

Happy Valentines Day Furprise, Mates!

Myspace Glitter Graphics


G'day Pals, It's Valentine's Day and I want to intwoduce you all to my sweet sissy kitty Pussy Galore II. I know you all have waited a long time fow this moment. You can see how I love hew so much I let hew sleep on my bed. If we can get along this well, then maybe thewe is hope fow world peace.

Although some of the fiewes awe still buwning things are looking up in Melbowne. Sam the Koala who was injuwed in the fiwe stowm has found a new love, Bob and they awe hoping to live happily evew aftew eating gum (Ooooocalyptus) leaves. Thanks to evwyone who donated to the RSPCA. Mum and dad donated cat and dog food, and blankets and I have donated some of my pig eaws.

I also got another friend award from Gussie! I want to pass it on to those pals who contributed to Victowian pets &/or checked on us: Lorenza, Snowball, Twinny, Maggie, Mitch, Joey, Tanner, Fleas Gang, Huskey, Hershey, Simba, Jazzy, Eric, Molly, Taffy, Dewey Dewster, Asta Marie, and Toby, Jax, Twinkle, Bogart, Eduardo, Noah and the Leurdales, Bae Bae, my sweet Nessa, Stanney and Stella, the Barkalots, the 4 Musketeers, & the pawents of Lacy and Freda. Thanks fow thinking of us!

And, to top it all off, my Twinny Asta up over sent me this weally cool and pawsonal Valentine, and mum is coming home in 2 weeks!

New Year's Kisses 2009 & Up Date

Happy New Year Pals! Sowy I haven't been keeping up my blog, but my mum will offer an explanation below.
Mum has been wowking in Israel since November and gets back on 1 March. My dad is taking good cawe of me meanwhile. Fow Kwiznuz, I had a nice big steak wif my dad and his two fwiends that he bar b q'ed wif and they came back for dwinks and cawds fow New Year's Eve. As you can see, dad liked the big wet sloppy kiss I gave him at midnight. He said that having a bootiful (and modest) girl to kiss him on New Years (yours truly) made him fowget all about mum being away. He says he like the way I stick my tongue up his nose, but enough of the kinky stuff. He was also gwateful I didn't take any kitty "tootsie wolls" fwom the cat's treat box - more about her soon! I think the I-phone mum bought him fow Kwiznuz also helped put the smile back on his face. In the next weeks, I'll be bwinging you up to date on my recent adventures!

Message From Asta's Mum

Dear Friends of Asta, I just want to apologize for the delay in helping Asta update her blog. My blog is also behind, but I do have some recent photos up and plan to add more. This has been a busy year for me that has involved publishing 2 books, writing some articles, organizing a conference that brought 48 speakers from 14 countries to Melbourne, seeing Asta's dad join me in getting dual Aussie/US citizenship, going to a conference in Cyprus, digging in Israel in July, then returning to Israel for 4 months in November, breaking my toe (oh toe is me!), and teaching my students. Look for more photos of Asta, her new cat Pussy Galore II, and updates on her life in the coming weeks! Asta's mum.

My New Year was Totlly Pawsome

Happy New Year Pals,

I had the bestest New Year ever here. It happened after mum and her booz soaked associates sampled beers and ate pizza at a local bar. Evwyone came back for me and took me to a pool pawty wif one of mum’s students. Yes, a real swimming pool! It was in the middle of a big apartment building just like the TV show, Melrose Place. It was over 40 C (over 100 F) hewe - the hottest ever NYE in Melbourne! At midnight, all of the pawty peeps jumped into the pool. I got soooo excited! I ran round and round the pool bawking. Finally I mustered my cowage jumped in. It was sooo cool, it was pawtastic. I swam round and round the pool - mum could not keep up wif me, and then I rode on a boogie board, and then I swam some more. There was also another doggie there - a cocker spaniel named Elton. He kept dunking my head under, but I swam longer than him. Then I wan round the pool and bawked some more and swam some more. It was gweat. Stupid mum didn’t bwing her camewa, but she came in swimming wif me. I hadn’t been in a real pool since last NYE when the Figgs took me swimming and I messed up the Ph balance. I’m zausted now from all of the laps I swam.

And later, I joind the round the World International Chat Pawty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was held by Dogs with Blogs. I stawted chatting about noon on New Year's Dav and got to ring in the New Year and talk of my exploits to my best buddies: Bussie, Gussie, Jax, Butchy and Miss Snickers, Asta NY, Momo, Ruby, Precious, Snowball, Jaffe, Opy & Charlie, Ruby, Joey, Faya, and too many mowe to count. I feel we've gotten 2008 off to a gweat start!

Mum Cheats On Me

G'day Pals,
Mum told me she abandoned me fow 3 weeks to go to confewences, but these photos tell another stowy. It seems that she was weally pawtying it up dwinking pawtinis and cheating on me wif other animals - including hew fwiends dog, Tommy and all of these stwange cweatures. I don't know if I can twust her anymore. Boo hoo hoo.

Another Cawd Fwom Jax

G'day Pals,

Thanks fowr all of your bawkday wishes. I got another cawd fwom Jax and when I'm not rolling in the mud, I've been enjoying the pawtini's, bikini's, and surfboard sent by my Thin Twin, Asta up over. Mum says she is going to take me out for Ice Cweam when she gets home next week!
xxx Asta

1-2 Days Till My Bawkday!

Ellen Figg looked up my barkday on my blog so they are going to make make me a pawty hat tomowow. Of couse it's 2 days till my bawkday in Califownia, but just 1 day here in Melbourne. I'm going to be thwee! My thin twin Asta up over has sent me a bootiful bawkday carwd. Meanwhile mum is having a good time in California.
Mum's first conference ended a couple of days ago and the next one starts on Friday. In between, she says she has been catching up with old friends and eating lots of Mexican food. I'm glad that hewr twip is already half over. Brian has been spending half of his time with his 86 year old mother, so he's not having as much fun as mum, talking about hewr bones all the time.
We have had some hot weather in Melbourne, in the high thirties (93 F!) and now it has plummeted to below 20 (68 F) again - welcome to Melbourne.
My Cairn pal Judah is getting old, he is not at all interested in playing wif me anymore - he shudders when I come neaw him. His legs are really sore, so I have to amuse myself wif tipping over the water bucket and running around the back yard until I am completely black. Mandy has been punishing me wif daily bathing! I haven't suffewed this much since mum gave me a bath aftew rolling on a dead bird. I smelled so much betew. I just don't understand these hoomans.

Figg Time

G'day Pals,

The fiwst photo shows how I helped mum mawk hewr enowmous pile of papews and now I'm staying wif the Figgs fow 3 weeks while mum goes to confewences in California. Mum has been working pwetty hawd and needs a bweak. I'm going to be enjoying life wif my pals Mandy (holding me hewe) and Ellen and thewe dog Judah. Mum comes back in December, 2 weeks aftew my bawkday.

Where Is Asta?/Asta's Routine

G'day Pals

Mum has been working so very hard these last few weeks - late nights evwy night and she has bad insomnia. She still finds time to take me for 1-2 hour walks/runs evwy day. She says it helps hewe sleep better. I can't believe she hasn't had time to work on either of our blogs for almost a month!

We always walk or jog a mile to Princes Park where our beloved Blues used to play. Then we visit the dog section of the park. Here you can see me with my pal Axel - he's a massive and with my other pal Conor, who is a Cavy. Cavy's are popular here in Oz. Then mum and I go running through the middle of the fields and you can see the skyline of Melbourne in the backwound. We do this almost evwy day, so life is pwetty routine.

About the only blog I've had time to visit is the one of my thin twin, Asta up over. And we didn't even have time to watch all of hewr clever videos - we just wead about her fun activities. We do always twy to make the weekly chat that Bussie has to keep up wif my pals.

Mum is going to Los Angeles in 2 weeks and she has so much to do to get weady. She says she has to write a confewence paper, whatever that means????

Plus she has to mark papwews and final exams and theses. I offewed to mawk them fow herw but she says that wouldn't help. I don't know why. We'rew weally sowy we haven't been awound lately. Mum hopes to catch up on evwything duwing the Chwistmas times.

Happy Halloween pals!

Another Footy Loss

G'day Pals, I apologize for my long absence from blogging. Mum has been sick for 2 weeks and foolishly going to the Uni to teach when she should be home in bed cuddling yours truly. She finally went to the vet last week and got some pills to make her better. Yesterday she was clearly feeling better because she went to the football game to drink beer and eat meat pies, but her pathetic team lost again. The Blues were ahead for the entire game, then lost to a team that has a mosquito for a mascot - how sad is that? So it was up to yours truly to try and console her. In return, she FINALLY took me for a decent walk today. Mum's blog got an award this week - it's the Expat Blog of the Month - it's still not enough to get her blog more hits than mine. I am clearly more interesting than all of this archaeology stuff she does, but at least her job keeps me in pig ears.

Footy Day!!!

G'day Pals, Mum has been taking me for long walks and runs evwyday, but at night she has lots and lots of student work to read, so she hasn't had much time to help me blog. But, today, mum went to see her favowite Austwalian Rules Football team pway. Austwailian football is played on a round field and mum likes it because the players wear tight little shorts. She supports our local team called the Carlton Blues and she likes them so much (even though the are almost in last place) that she makes me wear a Carlton Blues jumper. Mum says that the footy is fun because they drink beer and eat meat pies. I would rather pway wif my water bowl, but the meat pies sound good.

Where Are the Bones?????

I figured that because my mum found boxes upon boxes of bones she would bring them back to me for my pain and suffering of being abandoned for 8 1/2 months. But what does she bring me? She brings a rock from the Philistine hearth she excavated. She is a excited about this stupid rock. Tell me, have you ever eaten or chewed a rock? She said the bones had to be studied, and analyzed and put into a putter. So, Putter is getting all the bones???? Then she says she has a special gift for me. But it's even worse than the rock!

Even worse than a rock!

Mum said she had a really gweat pwezzie for me, but it turns out she bought this humiliating hat in the Bangkok airport! Oh, the Shame! She said it was cute and that she was inspired by all the clothes that Tadpole's massah buys for him. If you've read Tad's blog lately, you'll know he twied to mail himself somewhere to stop massah fwom buying those clothes! Dad says that this hat makes me look like a CHAV. I am soooo disappointed!

A Real Prezzie for Asta At Lasta!

Mum didn't forget me after all! Look at this giant bag of pig ears she is holding for me. Oh, the joy, oh, the bliss! My dawg! Have any of you ever seen such a big bag of pig ears? Maybe she'll give me one soon!

Why Mum Hasn't Been Helping Me Blog

G'day Pals,
I thought after months and months of weading about Mycenaean Pottery and Philistine Pottery my mum would be giving me her undivided attention, but now she just seems to spend all of her time reading about Harry Pottery! Can you tell me what to do?

The Reunion!!!!

G'day Pals,

Sowy it took me so long to post these photos of my big homecoming after my mum being in Israel for 8 LONG months. Mum has been weally tiwered fwom her twip and digging and she had to go back to work today. She has to give a lecture on Tuesday. I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound as much fun as a pig ear.
Mum is in the middle as Grant and Mandy Figg pose wif us. They are weally gweat people for taking good cawe of me for 8 months.
The first thing I did when they put me down is pee! I was sooo excited, but mum just thinks I was marking my spot.
After that, I played wif my favowite rope toy, I showed mum I still wemembered my twicks like laying down, I had some dinner, and then I layed down and took a west while mum and dad went acwoss the stweet to the pub to celebwate mum's and my homecoming.
I'll have some pictures of our fun weekend soon!

THWEE MORE DAYS!!!! & My Bones

G'day Pals,

Mum will be home in just 3 more days on Friday! And, best of all: look at all of the swell bones she dug up with her friends at the Philistine site of Tel es Safi. I'm not sure what a Philistine is, but it seems like they sure enjoyed their food! I just hope mum brings all of those bones home to compensate me for my pain and suffering of being away fwom her for 8 1/2 whole months. I'm soooo excited, I've just peed again!

Countdown to Mum

G'day Pals
Happy 4th of July. Being a true blue Aussie girl, I don't get these things, but mum is a yank (we call all Americans yanks), she sawys it's weal important. That's when she & all her mates got freed fwom the Bwitish. They just sent all of us to a big pwison.

Mum hasn't been helping me blog much cause she's been packing to finally come home. She's going to dig up old bones on Sunday for 10 days at a Philistine place, then she's coming home in just 16 days! She leaves Israel on July 18 and reaches Aussie land on July 20 - I'm sooo excited, I could just pee! I hope she at least brings me some of her dusty old bones. Mum and her mates are digging in the photo.

Meanwhile, my best pal, Judah the cairn, hurt his foot. Crikey! you should have seen how big and swollen it was. My poor little mate was very upset. The vet thinks that he's either been bitten by a bug, had an allergy, or sprained his foot - maybe playing too much wif me! And, then because it was sore he licked it so much that it became infected. Poor Judah has been on 2 weeks of antibiotics and some anti-inflammatories and he is good as new. Mandy Figg - who takes care of me till mum gets home noticed I was a bit put out because Judah wouldn't play chasies with me around the house. I love chasies almost as much as playing nursie wif Jackson! I kept going up to him and sniffing his foot and then giving him a dirty look - cause I only give nursie cuddles to Jackson and I wanted to Judah to play. Everyone thought it was vewy funny. You can see Judah in the picture wif me.

Jerusalem Gay Parade & Doggie Tummy Rubs

G'day Pals,
Last week my mum went to the gay parade in Jerusalem to show support for her friends and for human wights. She said it was her scawiest experience of 20 years working in the Middle East, and she's wowked in Sywia, Egypt, and Lebanon! Thewe were 9000 police to pwotect 5000 marchers. In the middle of all of this there was still woom for a doggie to get a tummy rub! She took the photo cause every time she sees a dog she thinks of me and she misses me. I pwoud of my mum for standing up for wights, even though I'm not suwe what they awe. My mum says she's a little jealous because she's had a blog for 9 months and I've had one for 3, and I have as many hits as she does. If you want to visit my mum's blog it's at http://lahconfidential.blogspot.com/
She's coming home in 3 weeks! Hooray!