Yesterday...bad..then good..

..and today..better again!

I don't know how many of you are on Facebook or have me as a "friend" so this may be a repeat of what I talked about yesterday..but for those who aren't, and have no idea about this weed..I think it may be worth repeating..

I guess there is a weed called foxtail that is prevalent west of the Mississippi..and it is very dangerous to dogs and cats {and I would imagine any animal or even small children..or big children..like me}

"Depending on the location of the seed or seeds, other symptoms are compulsive licking and biting at a paw or around the groin or rectal area or whining and crying with no obvious or acute injury.

In addition to causing pain and localized infections, foxtail seeds can migrate and lodge in the spine, in the lungs and in other internal organs. They enter through the nose, ears, paws, eyes, urethra or just through the skin and travel through the body The seeds are very small, making locating them a painful, difficult and expensive procedure. Depending on where a foxtail seed has traveled to inside a dog, it can even be life threatening and will require prompt surgical removal."
{ from: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29569.asp }

They (the weed) had a seeds that has spikes that when caught on the pads of their (the animals) feet, enter the body and are like fish hooks..they sort of open and the barbs make it impossible {or at least very painful..} to pull out..then they can actually travel through the body..

{poor baby! Left paw..surgery..right paw..IV location ..he also has a bennign wart removed from his hip..and unfortunately, during his dental (which they decided to do since he wasalready  sedated..) they found they needed to remove several teeth..ShihTzu's have a overbite that can cause teeth isues..plus his age..12 years. :-( ...

Although we try to take care in walking the pups on sidewalks and clean areas, Braxton picked up one of these in his foot...maybe Sunday?..and was licking and pulling on something in his paw.  Because I didn't know anything about this weed, I thought he maybe he was just grooming..or had a sore paw {understatement} and developed a limp..

We decided to take him to the vet and then learned all about this summer weed.  Braxton had to have surgery to remove the "seed"..

So, please consider this a Public Service Announcement..please watch out for these weeds..

..and I have been really concerned with our little neighborhood and the lack of maintenance of some yards and property..with weeds {such as this} can grow in abundance.  City code states weeds cannot be more than 6 inches in height..some are up to my waist! 

And yes, I know, we've had a wet spring..and people have busy lives..but so do we.  And Mr. B takes care and pride in our yard. He works from 5am until 4:30pm every day Monday through Friday..yet our lawn is taken care of..

So, I will be contacting the code enforcement people with my issues, with photos..so maybe no other dog, cat, animal or child {big or little} will have to go through this..

Anyway..this photo comes from http://www.brocantehome.net/ and I just love it! I want a tent like this..

Have a good rest of the week..and please pass this info on the weed to anyone you can..

Time for Braxton's pain pill..

-me

I have one of "those" mirrors....

..you know..the ones that all those people who are on all those awful "Wal-Mart people.." Wal-Martians...  have at their homes?

The one's that when you look at your reflections, says back to you...

"You are lookin' good Girl..MmmHmm...yeah baby.."

OK..well probably not that bad..

But there are days when I leave the house thinking I look pretty good..

and I pass a mirror and see this ..uh..lumpy-bumpy with not good posture and literally NO boobs..{no really, literally ..} which, I may remind you,  if I had them,  may not look QUITE so lumpy-bumpy..I mean the "girls" can lift your tops away from your lumpy-bumpy-tummy..sort of...

Or..I get to work and in the Powder Room I see the outline of an eyebrow...but nothing in the middle! Bald as Dr. Phil's Charlie Brown head.....but just in the middle. The outline is there..oh yes it is...

Eye make-up? Looks rather good this morning..yes, a little heavier than most women my age..but kinds smokey and nice..

{See any resemblance??}

{me...Halloween..about 70 lbs ago...}

Uh, no.  Not in the "real" mirror..I look like a raccoon..or like a linebacker..you know, with the stuff they put under their eyes to make them look scary?  The linebacker, not the raccoons..they are too cute to look scary :-)

Wait, what? Ohhhh..they don't do that to look scary? To cut down on reflection? Huh..well that's pretty smart.. {again, the linebacker, not the raccoon..although I do think raccoons are pretty smart..like the one that got into April's kitchen through the Doggie Door..guess they didn't have a "raccoon" door..}

And, did you know my mirrors tells me I am thinner? And there is no etching that states:

"Objects in the mirror are larger than they appear."

I've looked.  No warnings there..

So I confidently go out into the world, my mismatched colors, my too-heavy eye make-up..my mere outline of a brow..

...and the back of my hair looking like I fell asleep with my head pressed up against  a hot, sticky car seat...

Frightening I tell you...and not just for me...but for the general public....

.......minus the "Wal-Mart" people..

"Yeah girl...you be lookin' fine..."

-me

I have met the thief and it is I...uh..me..

..isn't that some sort of quote.."I have met the enemy and the enemy is I"..or me..or us ??

So, yeah..I am the neighborhood thief. 

Cherries.

Yeppers..full, round, sticky, red and ...abandoned.

"For Sale" house..vacant..and no fence.

Come on..no fence??

Don't judge me. 

I even had a split moment of clarity on Friday and asked the question of ethics on Facebook.

Yeah, 'cos we all know how totally upstanding and ethical everyone of Facebook is..it's the bastion of civility and ethical-ity..ethical-ness, ethicalnicity right?

So it ended up a crime of opportunity..well, 'opportunity' can be subjective here..I mean I sorta had to drag the pups to go that way..

However..I have just one word to day....

SCORE!!!

Now, if we weren't on "a good healthy and intelligent eating plan/lifestyle" I would totally {learn how to} make a cherry pie...

Well, at least it wasn't Sunday...  I really don't think it's a good idea to steal on Sunday...

-me

"Life is just a blow   BOWL..of {stolen} cherries"

EDITED: Thank you,  Aunt Amelia , for letting me know ...

Did I ever tell ya..

How much Braxton loves his carrots?

..or that he's a remote control hog??

..or that he *hAteS* having his picture taken?

Yeppers, that's my boy :-)

-me

What can I say..other than..thankyou thankyou thankyou :-)

I had such a great time today with all the girls for lunch..it was as if we'd known each other all our lives.  No awkwardness..and no silence, that's for sure!

{Bridgette,Lois , and Vicki}

{Roeann, me and Gail..}

That everyone made the effort to come..and wiliness to share of themselves was totally amazing..but not at all surprising.  After all, we've been through a lot together..all through blogging.

{Vicki, Gail, Roeann and your's truly..}

If I could have had all of you there, I would have

(Gail and...can you spot Roeann??}

.{all of us minus Bridgette}

Some memorable and thought-provoking quotes of the day:

"I'm going to have a koi fish tattooed on the underhang of my arms..that way, when I wave, the fish will swim..."

"If  I eve get married again, he'll need to be rich...and generous....and ...impotent."

"Oh my gosh! I was washing my hands and I looked down and I have this watch on from Anastassia's Attic! I need to go give it back before I look up & see the police!"

"Well, you work for a DNA company...can't you clone him??"

"She has a tattoo right above her bottom..it's a Phoenix rising from the ashes.."........
{ "sounds  more like rising from the asses.."}

"You need to take a lot of pictures of us..we'll tip big.."

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Archibald Cafe..what could be better?"

We laughed, we ate,

we shopped ..

 ..we met the beautiful Tara from Anastassia's Attic..the most beautiful store I  have ever seen...

{Yeah..that's Roeann..hiding again! And the beautiful addition to this photo is Tara..owner and author !!}

{Good look on ya, Vicki!}

{Roeann, we KNOW that's YOU!!}

**LOVE** the sign below...

and I bought her book, which she inscribed to me..

..today we bonded.  In a special way..and our lives will be enriched by the events of just this one event...



Bless you all...I had a blast!!

-me

ok..so more random..

Yes, today was long.  The longest day of  the year..and long because I'm excited for tomorrow..

Kinda like the first day of school...well..without the pink sponge rollers.

..or the new #2 pencils..the blister-producing new shoes..

anyway...tomorrow is our first annual { yes, I have decided..}Gathering of the Blogging Buddies lunch at Archibald's in the beautiful Gardner Village..

It will be "Breezy", "Life in Red Shoes", "All My Memories" , "Arizona Photos" , "CATIZ4PAWPAW". and of course, "Main Street Memories".

...oh and I am sooo mad!  I am trying to invite "Melinda's Fabric & Fancies" and "Random Musings From My Point of View"..but blogger is doing that thing again where, after I comment, it loops forever and brings me back..and won't let me comment!!  Grr...!

And because I don't have your emails, if you are reading this and can make it at 12:30, tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22nd...Please do!!!

Then, I woke up cranky this morning ..no, not Mr. B..silly..I was cranky.

Well, until our walk when we turned the last corner and I spotted something out of the corner of my eye..at the corner of a building..

One pretty quail....and 6 (!) little quail-ettes!! They were sooo little..and kind of  running in a million different directions..I wanted to run to get my camera..but they wouldn't have waited..

{this is not them..but look at all those little left-legs..in the air..at the same time!!}

But you know..."I" saw them and they made MY day better :-)

{also not mine...but, awww..}

So, be sure to look around every corner...and be expecting bunches of little-feathered-love!

...so, plan on joining us next year for the Second Annual Gathering of the Blogging Buddies...Utah style!

-me