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