The Making of Florida One

I guess this video has been around for a while, but I hadn't seen it until my friend Don sent it to me this morning. I thought it was pretty cool-and I enjoyed the jazzy music too!

Stamps

My first experience with Stamps.com. I am pretty happy with the result. Invites are sent...that's a biggy off the list.

Only one month until the party. Holy Moly - where is the time going??

My Crush of the Week - Meet Josh

The Cat

Can you find the cat in this picture? I found this on my friend Denise's FB and got a kick out of trying to find it. No, it's not one of those stupid things you stare at and something jumps out at you...

Lover Dogs

The pups have been so sweet lately, both with me, and with each other. I think they know I've been a little down in the last couple of weeks, and stressed out too. They are such great company, not only for me during the day when the house would otherwise be empty, but for each other as well.

When they nap, they snuggle...

And when I am out working in the backyard, I always have company.

I love these dogs!

Hungry Boy!

Hubby is lucky enough to be able to spend some time with our boy AJ in Indiana this week. I am SO jealous, but happy that they get to see each other.

First order of business - FEED THE BOY! Hubby took him to Outback Steakhouse, and they thoroughly enjoyed dinner together. Next it was a quick trip to Target for a few items, then back to the dorm. By that time it was already near midnight! Hopefully tonight they will have a little more time to hang out.

I miss them BOTH so much right now!

A New Look?

Yes, you'll notice that my blog has a new look. It's not on purpose. I clicked on something I shouldn't have, and it gave me a new template. Then I lost my header picture - so I put up a picture of the pups from our last year's Halloween Doggy Party. Good Golly, what did I do?

Oh well...it's getting late and I'll try to figure it out in the morning...until then I'll just share these fun little pictures with you...Bear and G-Ma and I went to the casino for a little free buffet, dessert, and fun!

Oh, how I wish I wasn't playing pennies tonight!

Skelly head

A couple of years back I was in a little Halloween store, where a guy had made most of his own props. He had a really cool looking mummified skeleton and he was kind enough to give me a quick description of what he'd used to make it. Although I don't have much time right now, I've been dying to give it a try. So... I just went out into the garage, grabbed one of the cheapy skeleton heads we have brought down out of the attic (hey - some people have skeletons in the closet, we keep ours in the attic....) and gave it a try. I'll have to wait to see how it looks when it's dry, but I'm happy with the first impression I'm getting from it. It certainly doesn't looks as cheapy-plastic-y (I know, "plastic-y" is not a word, but you know what I mean) as it did before.

What do you think?

Muscles in Motion

AJ played in his first Purdue Ultimate Frisbee Tournament this weekend. The tournament lasted ALL weekend and his team made it to the championship round (I honestly have NO clue how the games are played!) but didn't win that round. When we spoke to him this evening he was exhausted, but happy.

We certainly can't knock that now, can we.

The Animal World

I think I am moving up in the animal world - at least in relation to painting animals that is...For our last Halloween party I painted a couple of cows...

...and several horses, among other things.

Today I painted a camel. Well, not a whole camel, just the head of the camel - which is part of one of our backyard scenes this year. I've never painted any part of a camel before and I must admit, I am quite pleased with the result. Now I just hope the rest of the scene turns out the way I am hoping it does!

The Door

It took me 8 hours to paint this door. 8 HOURS! How crazy is that? I think if I did this for a living, I'd have been fired a longtime ago! Sheesh! Tomorrow I need to work on a LOT more painting...great....


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad because I'm too pooped from painting to sit at my computer...how lame is that!?!

My Painting Project

I told you I'd start today...but I didn't say how far I'd get....Just after I'd gotten everything set up, paint ready, brushes loaded, etc., it started to rain, and THUNDER! Give me a break! I couldn't believe it! Crap! So...I covered everything up with plastic and came inside, and waited....After about a half hour things were dry enough for me to get started, but by then I'd lost half of my "umph." I got myself in gear though, and have been working on it since about 10am....boy oh boy, it's taking longer than I thought! I'll post an updated picture when I am done for the day. For now though, break time is over!

How?

How am I supposed to take these simple materials...

and put them on this backdrop...

and make it look like something people will recognize?

I am having severe doubts in my ability to do this.

Tomorrow I'll start. Of course I did pick out some good colors! Wish me luck, I'll need it!

Another Busy Week

I can't believe its already Thursday - and nearing the END of September already!! Where, oh where does the time go?

Kona and I have been on several therapy visits this week. The most recent was this morning to the College Ave. Senior Center. The people we visit there are always very appreciative, and the dogs enjoy themselves very much.

Today we were joined by Henry and Sparky, two of our new Love on a Leash "teams in training." They are both adorable, and Kona, being the good sport he is, doesn't mind sharing the spotlight.

This is Henry...and this is Sparky.

Both Henry and Sparky are doing great with their visits and seem to soak up the TLC. It's always wonderful to connect with people that have the same interests as we do, in this case Pet Therapy, and of course there are few things in life that are more rewarding than spreading joy to others with a loving animal.

Yup, I may be crazy busy every moment of my life sometimes, but it's worth it.

Reading Time!

Kona and I began a new venture tonight. We started a reading program, along with our friends Linda and Happy, at the Benjamin Branch Library.

This was the first flyer they made for the event (before we knew Happy would be there too.)

Pretty cool, don't you think? We had a great time, and plan to go back once a month. It's always nice to have a captive audience!

The Looming Paint Project

Things are starting to come together for our Halloween party, slowly, but surely. This weekend we got the beginning of our backyard "cityscape" put up, and now I need to work on the front panels. I have a good idea of what I want it to look like once it's done, but I'm not sure if my thoughts can translate through to my hands and the paint brushes. Each panel is 8ft tall by 4 ft wide, so the finished scene will be 16ft wide total. I hope my painting skills don't fail me!

We got more painting on a different project done this weekend, and other than the actual construction of that project (which will have to happen just a couple of days before the party) it's all done. It was a big undertaking, and I'm glad we can scratch that one off our list. Now there are only 9,999 things left to do! Oh, I'm just giddy with excitement!

Hide and Seek

Lask week while cleaning out party of AJ's closet, I had a little company. GiGi (aka Jill) decided to sneak into the closet and get comfy. Yes, she misses "The Boy" as much as I do!

Pyramids and Pharaohs

I know it's only the middle of September, but I'm knee deep in Halloween party preparations. Hubby has been out of town, so in the last two days one of my friends and I worked for about 17 hours on the invitations. Last night, finally at about 9:15pm, we finished them. I can't show them to you - I don't want to ruin the surprise for my invited guests...I'll tell you though that we made 77 of them and they were VERY time consuming! I am SO glad that project is done!

Here are just a few quick flashes of what my house looks like when you cruise around. Needless to say, it's a disaster area here, and will be for about the next 6 weeks. I know, I know, I'm nuts.

Foot vs. Fire Hydrant

Dear Kona,

This is my foot. It is for walking, running, jumping, skipping, leaping, and occasionally, dancing. It is NOT for peeing on. Please use the closest provided fire hydrant the next time you feel the urge to relieve yourself.

Fire hydrants dry much faster than Mom's toes.

Thank you,

Mom

The Sweetest of Surprises!

Last Tuesday was the first day of school for kids in this area. I didn't really give it much thought because Pickle goes to a charter school and had started back on Aug. 29th.

Late in the afternoon I received a knock on the door and found a floral arrangement waiting for me.

It was a lovely arrangement of pink roses, red carnations and greenery. I'd been in a little bit of a sad mood earlier in the day, and my first thought was that Hubby had sent a little something to cheer me up.

I was very surprised when I read the note - can you see it?

It wasn't from Hubby, but rather my dear friend Doug. Doug and I met on the very first day of 7th grade, which for us was the day after Labor Day, back in Sept. 1976. He sent flowers to me for our 35th anniversary of meeting. I was blown away - not only that he would remember that we met 35 years ago that day, but that he would take the time to send me flowers in honor of the occasion.

Friends like Doug come into a person's life for a reason, and I believe that Doug is in my life to remind me not only of my youth, but to show me what a true, life long friendship is.

Here's to another 35 years Doug. I love you! (And I've loved you since that first day in Mr. Toler's math class...and even when I threw Red Hots at you on the ride home from Disneyland...it was Margaret's fault, just remember that.)

9-11 Retrieved

You may have seen this come through in an email (I've received it from several friends) but even so, I wanted to share it with you all. These faces really touched me.

These are the dogs that worked the trade center that are still alive but retired, they are heroes too. Their eyes say everything you need to know about them. Just amazing creatures.
True canine heroes of 9/11 still with us today...Moxie, 13, from Winthrop, Massachusetts, arrived with her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days.

Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts, arrived at the World Trade Center on the night of the 11th. The dog and her handler Lee Prentiss were there for eight days.

Kaiser, 12, pictured at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for people in the rubble.

Bretagne and his owner Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days.

Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days.

Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days.

Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon from September 16 until the 27 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines.

Abigail, above, was deployed on the evening of September 17, searching for 10 days while Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day.
Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to the World Trade Center from their home in Denver on September 24 and searched for five days.
Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero, just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search for survivors.

During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000 people died, nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave owners scoured Ground Zero for survivors.

Now, ten years on, just 12 of these heroic canines survive, and they have been commemorated in a touching series of portraits entitled 'Retrieved'.

The dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in the rubble, along with countless emergency service workers and members of the public.

Traveling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full decade on from 9/11.

Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called Retrieved, which is published on the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs, Charlotte wanted 'Retrieved' to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs.

'I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs, who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the human stories involved,' explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New York and Amsterdam. 'They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly important for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.'

All pictures courtesy of Charlotte Dumas