Monday, December 8, 2008

the story of our Christmas tree...


PART TWO:
When we got the tree home, it was even BIGGER in person. We didn't think about how big it would be when the limbs spread out...it takes up 1/3 of the whole living room! We don't even have enough decorations to put on it...





PART ONE:

We usually walk down to WalMart (yes, walk), pick out a tree, and carry it home...only to be asked 28 times if we want a ride by passers by in pickups. We decided to drive down to the tree farm and buy one this year. There were small, medium, large, and xtra large trees. I really wanted a superbly-large tree, but they were like 200 dollars, so we went for the regular large tree. Those suckers are bigger than they look....(see the pic of the giant tree loaded on our tiny car). You should have seen the helper guy's face when he saw what car he had to load the tree on. More to come on the tree inside our house and decorating process!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

A Tale of Two Kitties...

















Meet Petie (bottom) and Pearl (top). These are two of the most wonderful and loving creatures you've ever met, and they are both victims of being either let outside ("oh, she only goes out for a while...she knows not to cross the street when cars are coming...") or abandoned ("I'll get my cat spayed or neutered later" or "I can't take care of this kitten right now"). Petie is a wonderful kitten that will purr if you even touch him. He just wants love. We don't know what happened to him, but one of his legs was mangled and infected, the other back leg was dislocated. He had his first surgery (unfortunately, he lost his little leg), and yesterday had his second (reconstructed the ball of the femur to fit back into the hip). Unfortunately, he has no other leg to compensate for the pain of the second surgery, and he is forced to use his other back leg. He is a wonderful boy, and I am proud to be his foster mommy.

Pearl was an indoor/outdoor cat that someone had the nerve to
declaw. She was hit by a car, and her back leg was broken so badly that a steel plate was used to put it back together. She was abandoned before her surgery at a local clinic by the (presumed) owner who did not want to pay for her medical bills. There was a day when Pearl's owner loved her enough to adopt or buy her, but the newness apparently wore off, Pearl was let outside, and now you know the rest. Fortunately, my animal rescue group was able to help her, and I am also proud to be Pearl's foster mommy.

If you can't adopt these wonderful babies when they're ready (they have weeks, if not months of rehab ahead of them before they're available), please consider donating at www.littleorphanangels.org. This rescue group does not euthanize, and it is the one of the best groups out there, in my opinion, and I have been so glad to be a part of them for almost 8 years.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Monday, July 28, 2008

Don't let Jenny go to Mexico!

**Update: The Dallas Zoo decided to leave Jenny there, however, she has an enclosure equal to the size of a postage stamp for you and I - she has no room to roam. The Dallas Zoo is creating a larger habitat for her, but it won't be ready for TWO more years! Jenny is over 30 years old, entering the end of life expectancy for an elephant in captivity. She may not live to see her new home, and even if she does, why would she want to live in a few acres when she could roam freely in Tennessee? Take a look at this video of Jenny, taken in the last few weeks - go to www.concernedcitizensforjenny.net for info on how to act NOW!



Jenny the elephant has been at the Dallas Zoo for over 20 years. After the death of her lifelong friend, the Dallas Zoo now wants to ship her to Mexico instead of a bigger, better facility in the U.S. (Tennessee). Go to http://www.concernedcitizensforjenny.net/Home_Page.html for all the details. The rally at the zoo on Sunday was wonderful and raised very good awareness, but we need letters, phone calls, and flyers to get more attention and action for a wonderful elephant that needs NO more undue stress!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Fort Worth Water Gardens



Ben and I went to the water gardens last weekend...first time I'd been not only since they reopened, but since I was in college! First pic: I love these trees - look at the roots...they grow under the concrete and up through any crevice they can find.

Second pic: mine and Ben's feet; we're sitting at the main pool.


Third pic: Ben climbed up one of the walls (and many more afterwards).

Fourth pic: me!


Friday, July 4, 2008

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

We went to the Concerts in the Garden at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens - we try to go every year; usually I get tickets through work, but I had to buy them this year :0(..... It was wonderful, though - and worth every penny.



It was hot outside, as usual (me: "when are you gonna take the picture?"...)

...and Ben decided to look at his watch magazine and hum along with the orchestra:

Friday, June 20, 2008

Adopted! - Meet Sam the Siamese!


(Sam was adopted by a wonderful LOA volunteer who just fell in love with him at the adoption center while cleaning....hooraayy Sam-Sam!) My latest foster kitty....a very handsome boy by the name of Samuel! I call him "Sam-Sam" and "Sammy." He's very talkative, and very smart! He's his own cat, and he doesn't mind the dogs since they pretty much know the cats are the bosses in my house! He bops the kittens on top of the head every now and then, but he really does get along great with everyone.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Kaylie plays the flute...

Here's Kaylie at a concert she had at school last week - she's so good! They played two songs composed by John Williams (here's a video of one of them):


Here are Kaylie and me after the concert :o)


Wednesday, April 30, 2008

(update - Will was adopted yesterday!)~~introducing...WillaMina~~



WillaMina is a very interesting cat. She was found one night at WalMart in the garden area, sitting just as pretty as you please on a lawn chair, letting every passer-by pet her without even getting up. When I asked the store employees where she came from, they said she was dumped there, and they had been feeding her for several days. Just think – she had spent night after night in a lonely store after being tossed out of what she thought was her loving home. The store employees told me the manager kept threatening to call Animal Control to have her removed. I couldn’t leave her there, so I took her home to foster for LOA....To read more about WillaMina, or to fill out an application for adoption, go to www.littleorphanangels.org!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Tiny Manx Invasion!



Look at these kittens! "Just when I try to get out....they pull me back in!" When LOA told me a man had found 4 Manx kittens without a mama, I couldn't resist fostering them! There are 3 girls and 1 boy: 1 Manx (no tail) girl, black and white medium hair...1 Manx boy, tabby...1 half-tail long haired girl, smoky brown....and the kicker: 1 Manx girl, tabby, and POLYDACTIL!!! If you don't know what that means, she has thumbs! They are all around 4 weeks old and playing like crazy. Updates coming soon!


Monday, April 7, 2008

Kaylie's Winterguard Championships

Their theme was "spin for a cure" - for Breast Cancer Awareness. I thought the show was great. Here is Kaylie spinning one of their flags during the show:





Here I am (proud mother) with my baby after the show:








Saturday, March 22, 2008

Update on Yoshi


Yoshi has been adopted! Yaaay, Yoshimi! I wish him the very best in his new home. I'll miss you, Yoshi, but have fun with your new family!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

THE BIG "D"

Today, my daughter drove with me in the car for the first time. I was pretty stiff before takeoff, as you'll see in this video (excuse the "no makeup, just woke up" look):



...that was to our first destination. I was much more calm to the second one:



...and to the third one:

Monday, February 18, 2008

Lauder likes grits...

"I see you're eating my favorite snack...."










"...if I act cute enough, will you give me some?"










"Never mind cuteness. Give the grits to me now."










"You WILL give me some grits...."

Friday, January 4, 2008

Meet Ursula...


Hello! My name is Ursula. I am an LOA (Little Orphan Angels) foster kitty. My lived with my foster mommy when I was a kitten. I was adopted to a nice family, but then I started having problems with my teeth - my gums would hurt, and I would growl because of it and not eat. They gave me back to LOA, which was good and bad. It was bad that I had to leave my family, but it was good they gave me back to LOA so they could help me. I even got to live with my foster mommy again! LOA paid to have two surgeries done to remove my teeth. Now I just have my 4 canine teeth (don't know why they call them "canine" when I'm a cat...). I feel so much better! I am a special needs kitty in that I will need medication for the rest of my life - but probably no more than once or twice a year. I will also probably need another surgery sometime in the future, but LOA will pay for that if the right family adopts me!

I'm looking for a family with no young children, no dogs, and only one or two other kitties. In my foster home, I tend to get picked on, and I don't like the dogs. I also will hide under the bed for a week or so in my new home, but then one day I'll come out and greet everyone, rub on ankles, and act like I've been there all my life!
You can see me at Petsmart in Watauga each Saturday from 11am-4pm, or online at: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9550827