Happy Trails Zoey

Gyeong of Genji's Corner came to pick up Zoey this afternoon. She will spend the night at the Park's Place, and then continue on to her new forever home tomorrow.
Already the place feels emptier, strange statement to make about a house that holds 7 people (including a 3 year old) and 2 dogs, but true none the less.
We are sorry to see Zoey go, and sorry that she will miss going to the dog park tonight. I'm sure all her new admirers will miss seeing her too.



You have to love this little guy. He figured out how to get on eye-level with the bigger dogs.

Point the fan over here - Please...

(Hubby's blog)
Point the fan over here - Please...

Yeah- what he said.
Except that "he" isn't actually home today. It's the kids and I who are waiting for the repairman (who will definitely be here sometime between AM and PM).
I need a quick fix (of my air conditioning, I mean) (oh, and cheap too please ;)...

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update: A $300 band-aid later and the AC is up and running. But I am afraid a major heating/cooling system upgrade is still in our near future. At least for the time being the hounds are once again resting in an air conditioned abode.

Ninja Zoey

When we first adopted Hero, he was about as graceful on the linoleum and hardwood floors as an elephant on ice skates. We lost several dishes and knick-knacks from his crashing into tables and the baker's rack in the kitchen. It seems Zoey's new owner's will not have to worry about that as she navigates through the house very easily (and very quietly).
But there in lies a story....

"New" dogs at our house are usually kept in the family room. This is where their crates and beds are, where their toys are, and where the door to the backyard is. It is completely visible from the kitchen (where I spend a LOT of my day ;-) due to a half wall, but is blocked off by a baby gate. (Which also keeps them away from the front door).
They are allowed to explore/investigate the rest of the house- but only with a chaperon in tow.


Unfortunately, Alaina who is my second pair of eyes, ears, and hands, is at art camp this week.
And my other children are a little less diligent at closing the baby gate.
While I was outside watering the garden and cleaning up after the dogs, somebody inadvertently left the baby gate unlocked. No- don't worry she didn't get out of the house. But since she greeted me as I came back in....a quick investigation of the house to see what she had gotten into, was in order



This is what I found in the living room.
The Ziplock bag is the Amish friendship bread starter, a friend gave me 4 days ago. Thank goodness in only had 2 little puncture holes in it, so I am pretty confident that she didn't ingest much (if any) of it (the outside of the bag was pretty much clean and dry).The other item is the baby proofing latch for my kitchen cabinet. This was VERY slobbery/ chewed on- lol.
Obviously after being touched by several childrens' sticky fingers, it smelled more interesting than the bread starter.

I am sorry that I missed such a good opportunity to work on counter surfing with her. I suspect I will get another opportunity :-)

Zoey discovers Toys

We received an e-mail letting us know that Kaycee's new name (at her new home with her new family) will be Zoey. We think it's a greyt choice and really suits her.
Thus this is Zoey discovering some of our dog toys.

A weekend for gifts....

What a greyt weekend!
It started with our anniversary celebration (I promise I will write a post about my "nickle" gift soon), next came a gift in the mail from Dog-Gone Fashions. I had sent an e-mail to Gail Blasius of Dog-Gone fashions around July 4th, and she decided to send us a visor and scarf for Hero. How sweet is that?



Pepsi is jealous of how stylin' Hero looks.


Next we received the award from Bark about It. And then today we picked up our new foster :
Meet Kaycee


Kaycee is a guaranteed no-fail foster. There is already a family planning to adopt her. But they are on vacation until August, so we get the pleasure of her company until then :-)

We Got An Award

We were given this lovely award from Stephanie (and Lady, Sophia, and Einstein) at Bark About It. (Thanks Y'all)
Hero and I are thrilled (especially since this is our first time receiving an award ;-)

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name seven things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate seven Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.

OK, so 7 things people might find interesting:

1) Hero does not really play with toys; and he actually dislikes balls of ALL types. But there is one stuffed polar bear, (which was actually William's toy first), that he will take out of the toy basket and chew on once in a while. (Of course you in anyway try to encourage him or even speak to him as he is chewing on it he will drop it and no amount of encouraging will get him to touch it again).

2) Hero still does not like going up and down our main staircase (even though we have had him a year). It doesn't really matter because our dogs sleep on the main level anyway. Though he DOES have to go up and down the stairs anytime he needs a bath ;-)

3) Hero's racing name was "Star All Star"

4) Stowe and Maria at halfwayhomehounds.blogspot.com fostered Hero for 2 or 3 hours before we came to adopt him.

5) How about one about Doug and I ??- Doug proposed (ring and all) after we had been dating only 3 months. But we had a 3 year engagement, before we actually got married.

6) I enjoy doing any and all arts/crafts; including but not limited to: painting, drawing, sculpting, interior decorating (eg. decorative painting and stenciling), decoupage, making floral arrangements and topiaries, scrapbooking, and photography (just to name a few- lol), but the only sewing I do is mending and making dog collars :-)

7) And lastly how about something even I didn't know until tonight....
We have tried to give Hero "Frosty Paws" and "Pup cups" at least half a dozen times in the past and he NEVER would take them. But tonight we all walked down to Nathan's for ice cream and Hero stole some of mine (plain vanilla) and he LOVED it.

And now the envelope please...
The nominees for this prestigious award are:

Fumbled Returns
Halfway Home Hounds
Never Say Never Greyhounds
Learning About Life With Greys
Halfway to Crazy
Genji's Corner
Beau and Belle

21 years- and still going strong!

Today marks Doug and my 21st Wedding Anniversary.

The actual "celebration" will be tomorrow when we go to Charlestown,WV for dinner, drinks, and to bet on the ponies. :-)

But of course when you are married to your best friend, every day is a celebration-

ok, enough mushy stuff --lol.
So this started me thinking,

While most people are familiar with the 25th wedding anniversary being "silver" and the 50th being "gold",
I have to admit that I really didn't know the "traditional" gift for 21 years.
Thus I turned to my good friend Wikipedia.

Year/ Traditional Gift
1st Paper (money is always good)
2nd Cotton
3rd Leather (no comment)
4th Linen
5th Wood
6th Iron
7th Wool
8th Bronze
9th Pottery
10th Tin/ Aluminum
11th Steel
12th Silk
13th Lace
14th Ivory
15th Crystal
16th Obsidian (???- I think they made this one up)
17th furniture
18th Coloured Gems/ porcelain (I guess this "coloured gems" anniversary excludes Amethyst, Rubies,Sapphires,and Emeralds which are covered by 19, 40, 45, and 55)
19th Amethyst
20th China
21st Brass, Nickel
Dear Doug- neither brass knuckles nor "a" nickle would be advisable.
22nd Copper
23rd Silver plate (a base metal plated with silver or 1 silver plate?)
24th Musical Instruments
25th Silver
30th Pearl
35th Coral, Jade
40th Ruby
45th Sapphire
50th Gold
55th Emerald
60th Diamond
65th Platinum
70th Titanium in case you are searching for titanium gifts:
http://www.titanium-jewelry.com/
80th Oak -

is it just me or is this a step back from Platinum and Titanium?
But I am looking forward to my "oak" anniversary just the same.

PS. Doug- I wanted to comment on your blog but my computer would not let me-

VAGA Warrenton Meet and Greet

Lets hear it for Genevieve, my 11 year old daughter, who played photographer for the meet and greet this weekend.

I think she got some really good shots- especially considering that she only had my little Cannon "point and shoot" to work with.







We started outside, and the weather really was pretty nice (especially considering that this IS July)




BUT

You can see what Harper thinks about July in the DC area.



















So we moved inside the PetCo, just to make sure the hounds did not get over heated.






Didn't everyone look greyt?









































Harper was especially glad to move indoors , so that she could admire the parakeets for sale.








Wading through a sea of greyhounds.







Hero relaxing after a job well done.

Thursdays at the Battlefield

Every Thursday, our group "Mutts of Manassas" , get together for a 3 mile walk on the trails of Bull Run Park (also known as the Battlefield- due to the Battle of Bull Run).

During the summer months, we start our walk at 7:00 pm. Lately this has been ideal, as it is not too hot or crowded.

Would you like to come along?

Of course the walks begin with the required greetings and introductions.

Meet Emma and Simon.

Hero and Gizer (that is Gizer with a soft G as in Engergizer)

Sky and Sirius

Isis





Duke and Tessa

We finish up, just as the sun goes down.

Thanks for joining us.

Random pictures

Random pictures of Alaina. She doesn't bother downloading them herself; she waits for me to clear all the pictures off the camera, then either copies them off my blog, or asks me to e-mail them to her. I chose option #1. lol

Guess who else decided to get in on the act...

What do you see?

Best friends cuddling?

~ or ~

Pepsi pinning Hero's head down?

(she is definitely the alpha)

Happy Birthday America !

Just spreading the word

I'm sure most of you have researched pet-safe plants vs. toxic plants. But this was posted on a veterinary clinics website and I thought it worthy of being passed along.

Poisoning ALERT!!!!"Sago Palm" or "Cycad"Poisoning Alert- It has come to our attention that many home improvement stores are selling a houseplant that can cause serious poisoning in pets and children. The plant is called the “Sago Palm” or “Cycad”. It is also referred to as “The Oldest Known Plant”. It is used in outdoor landscaping in Southern States, but can only survive as a houseplant in the North. All of this plant, including the seeds and root ball are toxic. Signs of illness first appear about 12 hours after ingestion and include gastrointestinal sign such as vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy. The toxins in the plant lead to severe liver failure with progressive weakness, jaundice, bruising and bleeding and other signs of liver failure that lead to death. It is estimated that 75-80% of animals ingesting this plant will die in spite of aggressive medical treatment. If you have one of these plants in your home you will want to be sure to keep it away from pets and children, preferably by disposing of it safely in a covered trash can or “rehome” it with someone who does not have pets or young children in the household