Introducing: The Girls

Annnddd... we're back!

I’m sorry it’s been few days – we’ve been a bit under the weather and I’ve been finishing up edits on my upcoming book, A Valentine Christmas (a cozy-adjacent, suspenseful romance book about my Annabelle Valentine, P.I.) More on that soon. I’ve also begun work on the sequel, so there’s been a lot of writing happening.

Today, just a little introduction to two members of our household, Maizie and Rhubarb, better known as Roo. I’m allergic to everything with fur except Yorkshire terriers - they have hair more like human hair and thus different dander so I can actually live with them. I’ve had four Yorkies before them, so pretty much I’ve had Yorkies for my entire post-college adult life. Currently Maizie is 9 and Roo is 8. They aren’t genetically related beyond being of the same breed, but they are adoptive sisters.

Really, they’re better described as “sestras.” We picked up the term from Helena in Orphan Black, if you’re familiar.

Basically Maizie is the Goth kid, the emo kid. She’s moody af and is not shy about sharing her feelings. She despises birds and deer, but loves cats and lizards. She can jump and climb really well, but needs doors opened far wider than necessary for her slim frame and won’t go under any table shorter than three feet. She’s the classic silver and gold of the adult Yorkie, long and thin, with (don’t tell her) deer-like legs. She will fetch until she drops and has destroyed almost every toy she’s ever had, even KONGs made for Rottweilers. We had a hard time bonding, she and I, but I was bound and determined and now we’re best friends. She’s my most consistent co-worker and sleeping buddy.

Roo I describe as the easiest of all of us to love. We all are loved and do love, but she makes it easy. She’s got a sweet heart and sassy little stubborn personality. She rarely barks, but coughs. She looks like a Yorkie, but she’s got a velvety black back, rather than silver, and reddish brown in place of gold. She has stubby, adorable legs with over-size paws, is chubby and lives to eat. She can’t climb or jump particularly well with those legs, but she will go under anything she physically can. She is the escape artist. She chewed her way out of two playpens (Maizie has had the same one for nine years) and got stuck chewing her way out of a metal pen. She had to be cut loose. She manages to jump and move her plastic pen feet away from where it started. As long as she has access to her dad, she’s peaceable and fine and will even choose to hang with me, but God help you if you try to keep her from him.

All my Yorkies have taught me lessons. Sam taught me utter abandon; Duncan unswerving loyalty; Bean that love is everything, but an adventure is a close second; Olivia that it doesn’t matter what you can’t do or what obstacles you have, you live your best life anyway; Maizie that even the craziest behavior may cover a dear heart; and Roo that having your whole family together in one place is the best way to be.