Sheba's 9th Bday and Maverick's Hunt

I brought a birthday pupcake with Mavie and Sheb's to the Dog Palace, for celebrating while I was away. Little did I know that Maverick would steal the attention by battling a raccoon and I would come back to a very sad boy.



He and his buddy Rocco chased a raccoon out of the yard and ran right through the fence in the process. Lisa is a nurse so she took optimum care of both of them, cleaning them up and bandaging their wounds.



I was worried about all the things that raccoons can carry, and the amount of blood on my pillow the next morning, so I took Mavie to the vet and he got a strong shot of antibiotics and 3 prescriptions. By that night, he was much feeling better, no more limping (still moping, per usual!) Rocco, on the other hand, had his eye swollen shut for a few days.



So we had a make-up bday celebration for little Sheba, complete with bones and new toys! She is 9 years old but certainly still acts like a pup. Sweetest girl in the world :)


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Sarah & Jared's wedding

I've known Sarah for 10 years- we met on the first day of grad school! I was honored to be one of her bridesmaids at her beautiful wedding in Colonial Williamsburg.



It was really fun to have several days together with Sarah and her gals. We have all been friends for years, complete with trips visit each other around the country. From Charlottesville, Virginia, to West Virginia, Utah, and Florida, we came from all corners for Sarah and Jared's special weekend, which included spa day, bridal luncheon, rehearsal dinner, bridesmaid slumber party, wedding, and day-after breakfast.


I missed the bridal party picnic due to airport delays, of which there were many, to and from, but the good news is that I was able to convince Delta to replace my mangled suitcase. And now I have a cute new purple Samsonite to wheel around, and yes, it is the same color as the dress!



More photos to come. Stay tuned. The photographer posted a teaser here. Wow, she is good!


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Pottery Nite

Girls night at the pottery studio was fun! We brought some wine, laughed until our faces hurt, and did a little painting.




You buy the piece you like, then paint each color 3 times, drying in between. It is tricky to keep the colors straight because they are very pastel in the bottle but show up vibrant after being fired in the kiln.




After everything was painted, and the wine was gone, the pieces went to the kiln, and we went out on the town! I picked up my little bowl a few days later, and voila, a candy dish! It matches the crazy colors of my living room :)




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Hibiscus in bloom

My new shrubs are blooming! And hibiscus flowers happen to be a tortoise-favorite. I'll be sure to share some with the lovebirds :)




What a difference the red mulch makes! And it was on sale for $1/bag!




Before landscaping-




After weeding, shrubs, and cypress mulch-




With red mulch-




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Acroyoga

Acroyoga is a combination of acrobatics and yoga. The base is on the bottom and the flyer is the top person. I tried both but prefer to "fly" as you get a great stretch of the spine, neck, and shoulders. Check out the series of photos below- wow, I never thought I would actually be strong enough for this!

You pretty much stand close to the base and just hop up. Emily supported me by stacking my hip bones on her arches, ankles, knees, and hips. And she is tiny!



This one is called folded leaf- you pretty much just balance and hang.


No idea how these guys did this- I was still hanging in folded leaf (see legs at right) and I missed it.


Emily and Paige demonstrated something cool here, not sure what its called or how they did it.


I believe this is called star shoulder stand.


This is step one of some crazy sequence- I had never seen it before. The way acroyoga works is that the base gives instruction to the flyer and you move in sync.


Dave supported my weight with his hands.


Then before I knew it I was flipping over. It happened so fast, I have a very surprised look on my face!


At this point I was about to panic so Paige stepped in to help spot me so I didn't fall on my head. I like to know the steps start to finish before beginning anything- this was scary!


This pose was calming to my racing adrenaline. I can't remember the name though, I must have been too relaxed!


Then I extended my legs out...


And finally, the floating paschi. Wow!



Plus I learned how to hula hoop from a hula hoop instructor (who knew?) and people were hopping around on pogo sticks. It was like clown school!

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Rich potting soil

The Topsy Turvy instructions really stressed the importance for using high-quality potting soil, and I think I achieved that. Not only do I have strawberries... But mushrooms, too!



They are going inside the tomato Topsy Turvy as well!



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Otis meets Rosy!

The day after Otis turned eleven, he met his girlfriend Rosy.  She will be staying with us for a short time while her owners move houses.  In the meantime, Otis is the most excited tortoise that ever lived...

Both are Brazilian Red-footed Tortoises and yes, they will probably have babies!  Rosy is 14 and Otis is her first boyfriend.  I'm anticipating she will dig a nest around the second week of May and then hopefully 2-7 little baby tortoises will emerge just before my birthday in October.





So far I've heard Otis's monkey/duck like sounds 3 times in the last hour, while I've been in the kitchen!  I guess it was love at first sight for these tortoises.  Must be why they're so hungry :) 



Now he just needs to learn how to share his food with her- she is a dainty eater, nibbling from the edge of the plate, while he crawled right on top with his sandy feet and dirtied the whole pile of fruit. Boys!

Maverick turns 10!

Happy birthday, boy! Went for a ride in the Volvo and enjoyed birthday pupcakes with his best friend, Sheba. Spoiled :)




Pupcakes made with applesauce, baby food, canned chicken, and frosted with cream cheese and shredded cheddar. And love, lots of love in the pupcakes!












And of course, birthday presents! A duckbill platypus with squeaky eggs and a big bag of treats. Although he enjoys the box more than anything.

See video below...

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