Gert and Sweet Pea have made it big time...

I just love this picture of John and his favorite girl (well, next to me - actually, that might not be true....).

I've been emailing Connie, one of the volunteers at the adoption event yesterday with updates about how our first day with the new pup is going. Connie kindly put one of the great pics on the website. For anyone looking to find someone to love, Annie's Orphans is a great site - the dogs they had there yesterday were all fabulous. Here's the link to the website.

http://annsorphans.blogspot.com/

Connie is on a quest to paint one picture every day - here's her website showing some of her fabulous artwork: http://cjpaintingaday.blogspot.com/

I think Mom is changing her mind from Sweet Pea - she's now come up with 'Spirit.' We'll see how this shakes out. I'm a fan of martini myself. That would give me Barley, Hops, Killian, Marguerita and Martini. Sounds right to me....Stay tuned as the story evolves.

Sweet Pea?

Still not 100% sure of the name but, whatever she is, she's adorable. I took her to PetSmart to get a new bed and some bath stuff - she had a lot of admirers and, she's so comfortable with me that people couldn't believe I just got her yesterday - she's definitely home for good.

The poor thing has got a horrible itching problem (looks to be an allergy) so she needed a good bath - she's so small that I bathed her in a soup pot (yes, I washed and disinfected it after...). Anyway, I bought a bunch of colloidal oatmeal preparation and bathed her 3 times. So, 40 minutes later, she's sound asleep in Mom's arms - Mom's out like a light too. Looks like there's a new friend in town (listen up, Matee....).

It just happens....

Well, it's happened again - it just sort of happened. John and I were minding our own business yesterday, having a cocktail at La Mex when we spied a young girl who appeared to be delighted, walking a large rat on a leash. Upon closer inspection, the 'rat' was a messed up looking little dog. She's right around 10 lbs and just a bit porky at that, a part yorkie, part terrier of some type. Whatever she is, she's having some pretty bad hair days. She and John are in the running for worst bedhead....There's not a clear cut winner at the moment.

So, I gave mom the right to name the new one and I believe it's Sweet Pea although I was much more excited about Pinot or Shirley Temple. It'll be what it'll be. I gave her a piece of a rimadyl (the dog, not mom) this morning after reading her vet records and seeing she'd been on it before. She's got a suspected flea allergy which is pretty miserable for her at the moment. I'm going to give her an oatmeal bath today, probably do that twice to try and relieve the itching. Vet first thing tomorrow if I can get her in. She's sound asleep on my arm right now. Darling little thing. Rimadyl must be working. She fell sound asleep on Mom's lap last night - I think she's going to fit in just right. So, that's 3 girls, 3 boys and an even more confused cat right now. But, it's all good.

Matee and Rita are not pleased.

eBay-itis...

Oy, do I have it bad! I got started playing around with selling some crap (er....treasures) on eBay and now I don't appear to be able to stop! Niece Monya is helping me hone my selling instincts, which, for any of you who really know me, are pretty good in the first place. John has threatened to take us to Vegas just to go to the Pawn Stars store so I can bargain with Big Hoss. He thinks that would be fun. Sad sense of humor...

Anyway, so far, I have a nifty wooden salad bowl for sale, Vintage (1960s) 11" Haiti-made wood salad bowl/extra, along with a Lladro statue that has been collecting dust: Lladro 1421 The Debutante and Original box - FABULOUS,  and some Careprost eyelash solution which is the same as Latisse but I can't say that one eBay: Careprost longer eyelash solution + applicators -   it's a bit like fishing to me and a whole lot of fun. I'm resisting the urge to do dumpster diving today but I'm seeing a new pasttime for Gert and myself.

Now, the real problem is that I decided to visit some yard sales yesterday, specifically to find things to put on eBay. Niece Monya assured me that there was cash in them thair junk. So, off I go...

Long story short, I now am the proud owner of a plant stand ($3), 2 nifty purses ($2 each) and a 'vintage' (read: old) hand crank beater that I just thought was cool ($4). Of course, I don't have plans to sell any of my new treasures. Mom was rolling when I walked in the house - she said she knew that was going to happen. Live and learn.


I've got a dog down with a hurt wing - Killian. Ugh. And, it appears as though it might be rotator cuff tear which is about to be very expensive - wonder if I can sell him on eBay. Ok, ok, all of you dog people, I'm only kidding. I was the one who rescued him from the vet's office when he was taken there to be put down 8 years ago. No way I'd let him stay there - he didn't know that though and was a big, trembling baby who was hugging my knees when we were at the vet. The thing though is that, since I have to keep him 'quiet' for 10 days (no running, jumping or merriment of any type), I've had to walk him on short walks for the last 3 days - the amazing part is that he's tuning back up and listening and responding to me much better. Of course, I knew all of this from my years of dog training but just sort of got lazy and, with a nice backyard and a gaggle of dogs to play with, I didn't really think he was missing our one-on-one time. Little did I know that, not only was he missing it, but so was I. Have had a few really nice rambles with the boy. I believe I'll continue the trend even after his wing is healed. My wallet and I are really hoping there's no surgery involved.

My new camera continues to delight me. I love this picture of Rita, even if it is a little overexposed. And, this is my new favorite picture of John. I'm so glad I finally got this camera - I think a lot of good photos will be forthcoming once I learn how to use the thing!

Well, who knew?!

So, my new computer has a little slot to slide the memory chip from the new Nikon right on in and, voila, instant photos. I have, of course, no idea yet what I'm doing but this picture of Mom made the purchase of the entire camera so worth it - makes me wish I had bought it last year when I started drooling over it. I love this shot of Gert. Gorgeous, gorgeous woman!

Now, if I could just master layout of the pics on this blog. Blogger doesn't make it easy....

Dog days of summer...

 

Dog days are happening already! Yesterday topped 87 here in Boyds. Bobbi, Gert and I spent an enjoyable 2 hours sitting outside and just enjoying a nice evening. Rita definitely enjoyed the evening as can be evidenced by the photos. I love the way that Mom and wee Rita have the same smile on their face sometimes; they totally delight in each other.

Bobbi, Sharyn, John and I are planning the next trip to Key West - we've decided to celebrate Bobbi's birthday on the island and have gotten as far as to get the plane tickets. The hotel room, as always, is creating quite a challenge as we just want it all. We're looking for a house with private pool this time, waddling distance to The Bull & Whistle - our favorite window-sitting spot. I'm sure a fabulous time will be had by all - again!

Took Mom out today and had a rather expensive day, at that. Ended up with a new toaster oven, a nice new down pillow for her, and, for me, a new toy - I finally bought that Nikon D5000 SLR camera I've been lusting after. Of course, I have NO idea how to use it but I did manage to get a great pic of Mom and a few nice shots of Killian which I will upload, once I figure out how.

Passover et al

Well, once again, I find that so much time has passed without updating this blog. Geez...life just keeps getting in the way. So, here goes.

Mom kept asking when Passover was so I took that as gentle hint (as is her wont) that she was missing Passover so a seder we would make. Now, when I was growing up, Dad always did the seder (meaning he read the Haggadah - the Passover book, to you gentiles in the audience). Dear Joe, well, had his own style which obviously stuck as he was sitting right at that table with us.

Let me set the stage:

Our 'congregation' was Bobbi, John, Gert and me (and 5 dogs and 1 cat).
The Passover plate was filled with 1 egg, horseradish, basil (our 'bitter herb' as I didn't have any parsley), 1 chicken bone (no lamb shank either) and various other substitutions which might be too embarrassing to dwell upon.

So, we sit down to the table and I start in on reading the Haggadah...

I think I might have made it to page 6 and the paragraph that starts in on 'Rabbi Ebenezer' (or whichever that rabbi is), and, honest, I could hear Dad saying...

'And....we'll skip....'

So, off Joe would tool to, oh, maybe page 12 or so but he would never tell anyone where he was so we would all furiously thumb through the book until Steph (the little suckup) would usually whisper 'He's on page 12, 3rd paragraph). We'd all head there, only to find that dear Joe had skipped somewhere else. Ah, the good old days.

So, it wasn't without surprise that the congregation couldn't follow me. We had our own version of 'seder-lite' but a fabulous time was had by all. And, egg soup and Manischewitz wine are fabulous once a year....

The weather lately has been wonderful so I've been able to get Mom out more. We met up with Linda (sis-in-law) and had a great lunch over in Olney last week.I think we all loved the break from normal routine. I took Mom through The Home Place (site of all those wonderful trays we now own - sigh). I should have known better. I spent the whole time prying things out of her arthritic hands (they hang onto stuff pretty good...). Much to her chagrin, there were no more trays, cups, or plates coming home with us this time. We stopped at a nursery also to start working on the garden and nabbed some lettuce which is, sadly, still sitting on my deck out back. The garden is READY to go though so will start planting very soon.

Mom and I headed over to Ron's gang last night for a wonderful dinner for Easter - although we don't celebrate this holiday, we're not about to turn down a free (and good!) meal. So, off we tooled. I had put Mom in the sun yesterday while I did some stuff to the deck and, although I kept an eye on if she was tanning, I wanted her to get a little color. Well, she ended up with some giant raccoon eyes! Note to self: suntan lotion or that huge umbrella would be a good future plan.