The James Grandbabies Update

Erik and Jen James now have 4 children. The first picture is of the twins, Naomi and Eliza. The second picture is of Maya and Owen. They are trying to sell their condo and buy a bigger home as they are bursting at the seams in their current home. We are hoping that all 6 of them will be able to visit us in August before the school year begins. We cannot wait to take Maya and Owen berrypicking and boating and we also can't wait to hold Naomi and Eliza. Grandbabies are the greatest blessing!

Humane Society Adoptathon and Wellness Clinic

On June 20th the Grainger County Humane Society held a combination adoptathon and wellness clinic at a local store. Free food (great barbeque pork and hot dogs as well as snacks and drinks) was included as well as great country gospel music. This was a great opportunity for community citizens to get low cost inoculations, heart worm testing and preventative medicine and county registration for their pets. The lines for the wellness clinic were long all day as our community took advantage of this great service. The second picture features my handsome hubby chowing down on the vittles. We did not bring our foster girls as we did not feel they were ready yet, but many adorable dogs were available for adoption. This is such a rewarding volunteer opportunity and I am proud to be a part of it. I am including one picture of OUR foster girls-two Great Dane/Masiff mix girls with great personalities and loving natures (first picture).

Angelina Jolie responds to "Give Refugees a Hand"

Please watch this video and remember those who have lost everything.

The Mower Strikes Again

The angry and evil mower has struck again. Don was coming down the hill and realized he was going to hit the house. He bravely turned the mower to the left which threw him into the steps. Yikes. I am telling you that this mower is as evil as the vacuum cleaner (see previous post). The wounded soldier is Ok but in pain as you can see. All I can say is don't give me any shit about previous incidents with the mower LOL. Sorry for that but I couldn't resist the impulse. Maybe I am evil too! Anyways, Don was a brave soldier to save the house at the expense of his face, butt, leg and arm. He is my hero and I love him. The birds, however, are a bit pissed that he knocked over the (really hard iron) bird bath. Well Poo to them. And hurray to Don for saving the house from a massive break down.

THE GIRLS

Don and I have decided to be foster parents for two abandoned dogs. We are working with the Grainger County Humane Society and hope that these sisters can be adopted together. These appear to be a mix of Great Dane and Mastiff but we will never know for sure. They have only been here for 3 days, but we can already see that they are intelligent and gentle. Babe is the smaller of the two, but she is definitely the "alpha" sister. Belle waits to see what Babe will do before she decides to go along with the plan. Babe has mastered the sit command and is working on come. Belle has just about mastered the come command. They are definitely starved for human interaction and there is a whole lotta tail wagging and rolling over for tummy rubs. They were initially not sure what the leash was all about, but they adjusted really quickly. These dogs are a bit afraid of being hit. For example, if you pick up a stick or raise your arms they cower. We know that they have been on their own for at least 6 months at an abandoned furniture factory on a lonely stretch of country road. There were originally alot of other dogs there. One was shot and dumped in a field and another was hit by a car. We do not know what happened to the others. There is one left there, but that dog is very skittish and avoids human contact. Please find it in your hearts to donate to the Grainger County Humane Society as they do not receive any county funding and survive on donations and grants to provide veterinary services, food, kennels, shots and worming. Because Grainger County is sparsely populated there is no shelter available for unwanted pets. This means that unwanted pets are dumped in the county and must fend for themselves. Sadly, many die of starvation or illness. And of course there is the danger of the spread of rabies with so many uninoculated dogs wandering about.

Misaki Adventure

We were trying to find a reason to dine at our favorite restaurant and all we could come up with was "Yay Spring". Usually it is a birthday or anniversary,but heck, spring is as good of an excuse that we could come up with. And a great time was had by all anyway so who cares? At least no one had to dance on the table! We were spared that embarrassment. And we had a great dinner in celebration of Spring returning to Tennessee. Dinner was great and the bartender remembered how to make Lynne's special Kioki coffee (with whipped cream and a cherrie of course). And we listened to oldies all the way home on the radio. What more can you hope for when dining out with friends!

The REAL Reason Dogs Hate Vacuum Cleaners

I always thought dogs hate vacuum cleaners because the noise hurts their ears. Wrong! Dogs have senses beyond any humans have ever had. They inherently sense the true evil of these demonic machines. I should have listened to Rocky and Lady Jane when they tried to warn me.

Yesterday I decided to spring clean our fireplace. This involves using the shop vac to remove all the remaining soot and such. Then I use a scrub brush and 409 and finish up by placing a flower arrangement where the logs reside in winter. Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it?

Well! The filter slipped while I was diligently cleaning. The fireplace was spotless but, when I turned around, the entire dining room was full of soot and floating debris. Apparently while I was vacuuming, the ding blasted machine was shooting everything out the other end. It was like a foggy morning over the mountains but without any redeeming beauty. Needless-to-say, I now have some major spring cleaning to do, including, but not limited to, washing and ironing the curtains, washing the windows and walls and more deeply appreciating the wisdom of my dogs.

(George, no snarky comments about wood burning fireplaces!).