Remembering my Grandpa

My Grandpa died almost 6 yrs ago now. I really miss him. He was a WWII vet & had Navy tattoos on the inside of both forearms. I remember asking him when I was little how you got a tattoo & he told me that first you had to get really drunk. My Grandpa was tough, I figured if he had to get drunk to get a tattoo that it really hurt & I was NEVER getting one.

My Grandpa was not a big talker, he only talked when he had something to say, and usually it was something that you should listen to. He taught me how to drive a nail w/only two hits from a hammer, that tomatoes and peas tasted best fresh from the garden, and that riding on the back of an old tractor was a lot of fun.

My Grandpa liked cats, when I was really little, he had Stinky Cat...a tabby who thought he was a skunk-the skunks disagreed. When I was a little older he had Cat, until she had kittens, then she was Mama Cat. My first kitten was from Mama Cat and was a tabby named Tiger. The last cat he had was a stray he adopted who turned out to be pregnant. She had a litter of 5 kittens. When they were about 6wks old Grandpa went into the hospital for some routine surgery. After 2wks he came home. I came to see him at home & all the great-grandkids were outside playing with the kittens & telling everyone how fun they were. He looked a little wistful, so I asked him if he wanted me to bring him one of the kittens. He said yes. That little black & white kitten sat on his lap & snuggled with him for an hour. It's the last time I saw my Grandpa happy. He went back into the hospital that night & never came home again. I brought my Grandpa's kitten home & have him to this day. He's not little anymore, he weighs over 20lbs, and his name is Cookie (Monster).

My Grandpa always carried a pocket knife. He told me when I was old enough to have my own pocket knife that they were the most useful tool & you never knew when you might need one. I bought him an Old Timer pocket knife for Christmas the year Doug was born. When Grandpa died my Dad asked me if there was anything in particular I wanted. I said Grandpa's pocket knife & his kitten. Well, you know about Cookie. Dad asked which pocket knife, since Grandpa had a few. I told him I wanted the one he carried everyday...turns out it was the one I got him for Christmas. I have that pocket knife, but the since I'm afraid of loosing it, it's not the one that I carry in my purse. Eventually, I'll pass it on to Doug.

Just when you thought it was safe to go to the animal shelter

So Friday, Riley & I are walking dogs & Riley mentions that they don't like leaving the lone puppy left from a litter overnight & send them home w/foster parents & wouldn't it be great if we could be the foster parents for just one night. I tell her we gotta check w/the folks at the shelter & with her dad hoping that someone would say no...no one did so here is the foster puppy we kept Friday night. He's a cute little guy, 8 wks old, pit/lab mix, male. He did real well w/our other animals & only had one accident in the house. We took him back out at noon on Saturday & he cried most of the way out there & when we were leaving...I almost got Gregg a pitbull puppy for his birthday, we just really don't have the space for another dog, but it was incredibly hard leaving him...had to show nothing of this though or Riley would've taken full advantage.

Then, Cody got hurt yesterday & had to get staples in his ankle for a deep cut. Haven't heard yet how it happened or if anyone knows how it happened, but he will be fine, & that's all that counts. Riley & I are going to cash in our FULL piggy bank & contribute to his vet bill on Tuesday & then go out & see how he's doing & take everyone for walkies...but no more foster puppies, I just can't take it.

Stripey socks are a wonderful thing

I have a thing for stripey socks...not a fetish thing, cuz that'd be wierd, but I really love them. They are bright, they are cheerful, at our house they are considered lucky, they are easily found & matched while doing laundry, they can be matched to either your undergarments, or your shirt, or all the above, and they make my ugly feet look better. I mostly have calf high stripey socks, but I have one pair of knee high & have another pair of knee high ones on the way. The new ones are black & pink striped w/silver skulls on them! I can't wait until they arrive. Today I have on calf high stripey socks in the colors of red/maroon/grey/black/pink/fuschia/teal/silver/and light blue.

Who wouldn't adopt a shelter dog?

This is Riley with Cody...Cody has been at the shelter since November & was just neutered this week. He's also a Pit/Rott mix, has some aggression issues w/some male dogs (like a lot of other male dogs), and is rather large. He's also a huge marshmallow who just adores Riley. Just before I took this picture he'd "washed" her face & as you can tell was ready to do so again. If we had the room at our house Cody would probably be living with us, he's a great dog. But, some people look at him, see only the size, or his breed mix & keep walking. It's really unfair. He has very good manners, I walk him with no problems. And like Riley says "he's got kind eyes". Problem is I don't think people look him in the eyes, or they'd see what we see & he'd have a home.

Yeah, I've got issues with puppy mills too...

Dogs and Cats at animal shelters are generally there because there was a problem with their previous owner, not with them. People need to realize these aren't damaged animals, they are sweet, loving animals, maybe some need some training (again their previous owner's fault, not theirs), but most have excellent manners and are usually already house trained. A lot of them have been abused, and yet they are willing to give us a 2nd chance.

And just because a dog is a Pitbull or has Pit in him/her doesn't make him/her a monster...some of the sweetest dogs I've met at the shelter are just these dogs.

Casual Tiara Wednesday

Yep, Daph & I are all glammed out in our tiaras...I'm wearing my somewhat matching bling...working on the bracelet, but got the necklace, rings, earrings to go w/the tiara.

In really great news...Gabriella got her sparkly new heart & seems to be well on the road to recovery & hopefully a full & happy life. Prayers & heart felt condolences to the family of the donor, as well as gratitude.

In other good news:10 dogs from the animal shelter got spayed/neutered yesterday! Including Cody. When we're out tomorrow walking dogs, Riley & I are going to try to get some good pictures of him with Riley to post on Facebook...nothing like being cuddly w/a 10yr old girl to knock down some of his intimidation factor. He is a Rott/Pit mix, so he is big, but he adores Riley, and he really is a good boy.

Four blankie bears done & turned into Children's Services, next up my Mother bear project bear & of course angels. Baking dog biscuits tonight for the shelter...although our three each get one too.

It's looking like Curves & Zumba tomorrow, Zumba Friday, and Curves Saturday...did Zumba last night, so that will be all my workouts this week! Last week after doing all my workouts I got myself a couple of pairs of stripey socks, not sure what I'll do to treat myself this week. It's really hard to top stripey socks.

Race weekend & we kicked butt!

Doug & Gregg consulting just prior to a round of drag racing.

Doug hanging in the staging lanes.

Riley all lined up in the staging lanes, ready to race.

Doug in his truck ready to race...you can just see Ashleigh peeking out of his shirt pocket.

Day one-Gregg got first place in Pro, Riley got first place in JR's & Doug went out first round...he's just mock pouting.

Here's Gregg accepting his trophy.

Here's Riley accepting her trophy.

Riley also got first place day 2 of racing! Gregg got third place in Pro & Doug got third place in Sportsman! All in all a great weekend of racing for Team Kirby.

Too Much Fun Not to Share

Everyone should have this healthy a relationship with themselves.

Shelter Animals

Riley & I spent a little over 2 hours walking dogs on Saturday. There are some great dogs out at our shelter & some truley wonderful dogs. We walked this one dog, male, collie & something mix that is an utter sweetheart...he was available for adoption 05/11/10, and there were people looking at him, so I imagine he got adopted already, because not only was he sweet, but an absolutely beautful animal. Then there's Daisy & the the girl we call Maisy, who is Daisy's best buddy. These two girls look almost identical & they're both lab mixes, possibly w/pit, but they're just goofballs & get along with everyone. Then there's Sophie. I gotta admit she's a favorite of mine. She looks like a lab, acts like a lab, but is brindle! So, they think she's got some pit in her too because of that...of course other breeds have brindle too ie Boxer, Great Dane, Chihuahua, you get the idea. They won't take her at Oregon Humane Society because they think there's pit in the mix. Then there's Cody. Cody is Rott & Pit mix & has some aggression issues with male dogs, but does fine w/the ladies. He's also huge. This is the fourth shelter he's been to. I'm hoping he gets neutered, I think that will improve his adoption chances & might mellow him out a little. I really like Cody & Cody just loves Riley. We also walked this Pitt/Lab mix that is chocolate brown, so we call him Hershey. He's just a love & very well behaved, but again has some aggression issues w/the boys...this is pretty common among all the boys really, but some are worse than others.

Then there's the kitties...Riley has a hard time with the kitties, she'd take them all home & there are some real dolls. My favs are Corey & Desi. Corey just has the most awesome face...I've never seen a cat with such an expressive face before. Desi is just a little ball of sweetness, with just a hint of attitude that you gotta love.

Here's a funny story from the shelter we found out about on Saturday. The weekend before the Oregon Humane Society took a bunch of dogs and cats from our shelter. I can stalk them online at their website and see when they get adopted. My perennial favorite, Penny the Red Heeler, got adopted the first day she was there. Another favorite, Sonny the lab/collie mix, got adopted within the week. I kept looking for Griffin, the Boxer/Lab mix, that is Penny's best bud & another favorite of ours. He's a big brute, but gentle as could be & Riley used to walk him, even though he probably out weighed her by 10lbs. Griffin wasn't showing up on their site, so I asked Nicole-the wonderful shelter employee, who arranges all the wonderful transfers & adoptions-why Griffin wasn't showing up on the website. Here's the story I got:Nicole got a call from OHS on Sunday saying to come get Griffin, that he was bullying the employees/volunteers at the shelter. So Nicole had to drive all the way to Portland that night & pick him up. They even had the poor guy quarantined & said she'd have to go in & get him, they were afraid of him. Griffin was quite thrilled to see her & after much loves, loaded up in her car, got some Arby's for the trip home & spent the night at her house with her & her herd of small dogs. Griffin is still available for adoption, but currently at a foster home & might be adopted by his foster mom. Riley & I both thought she was kidding, but apparently not. Riley even said, "But I walked him all the time." We'd start out with her walking Penny, but Penny pulled & so I'd have to trade her for Griffin who didn't. A little back story is that Griffin was a little shy when he got to the shelter. My theory is, he was a little shy & perhaps slightly defensive at the new facility & because of his size, they were intimidated & didn't give him a chance, cuz he really is a sweetheart of a dog.

Happy Mother's Day!

Rhodies in my backyard...

Lilacs in my backyard...

Rose from the front yard....

And another rose, same bush, from the front yard.

Hope everyone is having a Happy Mother's Day. So far, mine has been great. I'm even going to be getting a manicure for the first time courtesy of a gift certificate from Gregg!

And it's Casual Tiara Wednesday

That's right folks, Daphne & I are on dayshift, it's Wednesday & we're wearing our tiaras. We instituted this several years ago & then promptly got separated, but now we're back & more tiaray than ever. They guys are all jealous, we may have to hit Dollar Tree & get them each one.

In other good news...Shorty got adopted from our animal shelter yesterday, Sonny got adopted at OHS, and the Schwenningers had their baby boy, Noah.

In not as great news...Dr is convinced I've got hypothyroidism. My blood tests come back in the normal range, but way at the bottom of the normal range & I've got more than my share of symptoms...only lacking hair loss, which I would like to continue to lack thank you very much. The good news is the new meds should start making me feel better w/in a couple of weeks, the weight should start coming off, my skin will hopefully not be so dry that I'm single handedly supporting the lotion industry, and I will have enough energy to actually accomplish everything I need to accomplish! I agreed to a six month trial, if it doesn't work out, we gradually back off the meds & I guess try something else.

Why oh why don't people see the truth?

I was just listening to a rendition of "Over the Rainbow", it's actually a pretty song, but I hate the movie it comes from. I know, THE WIZARD OF OZ, is a family classic & how could someone not love it? Well, I don't & haven't since I first saw it at about age 5. I couldn't believe that Dorothy was considered the good guy & everyone was trying to help her after all the bad things that she did. She starts out the movie letting her dog run amok & destroy someone's yard. Now to be fair, Auntie Em did try something that sorta looked like discipline & made her let the dog with person who's yard was damaged. I didn't like that they were going to do something to the dog...that wasn't fair, the dog was just being a dog, it was Dorothy's responsibility to make sure that her dog was well behaved.

Then of course, Toto, escapes & Dorothy starts hiding him. Then there's the tornado & it picks up the house...and drops it on the hapless sister of the Wicked Witch of the West. This one is not really Dorothy's fault, but still her house contributed to the death & she really doesn't feel a whole lot of remorse for it, she just doesn't want to be blamed. Then Glenda, "the good witch", steals the ruby slippers & gives them to Dorothy. Obviously, they should've gone to her sister the Wicked Witch of the West, but Dorothy does not give them to the rightful owner...theft by recieving. (I'm a cop's kid, I did in fact know about this kind of thing at 5.)

The Wicked Witch of the West then spends the rest of the movie trying to get her rightful inheritance back. And of course it all culminates with Dorothy killing the Wicked Witch of the West.

To recap we've got Dorothy allowing a dog to be a public nuisance & destroy private property, theft by recieving, and at the minimum manslaughter, but probably murder 2...and she's the good guy?!!! Didn't buy it then, don't buy it now.

I understand there's a play or book that basically comes at the story from the Wicked Witch of the West's perspective, but I've not seen/read it yet. I might one day though. In the meantime, I still don't like this movie.

Reward Yourself

So, for the past couple of weeks when I hit my workout goals I reward myself w/something small, but that I might not normally buy for myself. My goals are to work out at Zumba 3 times a week & Curves twice a week. Week one I bought myself my crazy stripey socks, week two I bought some sweet smelling lavender soap. This week I treated myself to lavender/seaweed facial mask...nothing has been over $10, just little pamper things that are just for me. I'm going to have to get creative to hit my goals over the next few weeks...I'll be on dayshift and dayshift hours are not real conducive to other business's hours. I've got it worked out for Zumba, but I'm having to get real creative for Curves & on Mondays...I double up & do one in the morning & one in the afternoon. But, I'm feeling better, I'm loosing some inches if not weight, although I'll find that one out on Tuesday when I go back to the doctor.

Oh and good news on the shelter front...Stella, the sweet little pitbull momma dog got adopted today! Penny, Sonny, Griffon, and all the puppies went to the Oregon Humane Society...now to get that sweet little brindle pup, Sophie, adopted...need to work on homes for Cody & Shorty too.