Potential Hobby #1

Don't laugh, but how about needle point?



ok, but at least I can make a gift out of it, right?

Updated

This is an update to the last post. This is how the flowers looked when I stood under them... and what a fancy photo editor can do... (thanks honey)

Spring Flowers

OK, so I am not a photographer. I don't have a fancy camera or a fun picture editing software. This is not my hobby. But this is what I wake up to in the mornings when I take the kids outside.



These belong to the neighbor, but are crawling over the fence, so I consider them mine.



This is taken from underneath the overhang - looks b&w, but again, I don't have a fancy camera or photo editor, so it kinda makes it more pretty.



These are beautiful, but the rain has kept them closed this morning.

Don't Inhale

There are many disgusting things that I smell on a daily basis, but one of the worst is something I feed my dogs . . . Green Tripe

Green tripe is the the stomach(s) of ruminating animals. Yeah, its a little gross to think about, but it is actually very nutritious. Dogs can't really digest the cellulose in plants, but since the grains are pre-digested in another animal's stomach they can eat the grains and get their nutrients too. The green tripe that we feed to the dogs is not the same as the white tripe that people eat and make stews out of. They start out the same, but the white tripe has nothing in it. It is washed and bleached and has no nutritional value what-so-ever.

Sounds pretty good? Why don't more people feed tripe? Its the smell. Tripe has the worst smell that I have ever come into contact with. Worse than "the freezer" - if you don't know, don't ask, cause you won't want to know! Despite this hiccup, I have been feeding tripe for years. At first I started out with the frozen logs from a local farmer. The kids love it, but since they are so small, I have to first defrost that skunk, then cut it up into more manageable sizes then re-freeze it. That only lasted about a year. That initial defrost and cut-up was too horrible to deal with on a monthly basis. Luckily for me, I found a canned version! It still smells, but at least I don't have to defrost it for 24 hours in the fridge stinking up everything else. The only problem with that is that the cans are too big! (I'm beginning to think I need bigger dogs!) I end up having to feed the tripe for two meals - not a big deal; but, yes, very stinky.

I stopped feeding tripe for a few months and I felt guilty about it. I know how much the dogs love it, but the smell was just too bad. And I don't consider myself a softy when it comes to gross stuff. I decided to talk to my food lady about it and she found a product that she could order for me - tripe sticks! Just like bully sticks, but without the penis - again, if you don't know, don't ask. When I brought the first bag home the kids were screaming with excitement. Ok, mole was screaming, pocket was dancing. They were in heaven again. But the damn thing still reeks! Thank god the weather is nice and I can throw them outside to eat it. But opening that bag still makes me want to . . .

Let's Go Fly A Kite

I need a hobby. This is a discussion that Mac's mom and I have been having for a while now. She says that hobbies prevent "burn-out" a common problem in our professions. I immediately thought of my dogs and thought that they could be my hobby - they already take up most of my free time! But she said that they don't count - it has to be non-animal related. I don't think that is quite fair since she brings her dog on her hobby "outings". But whatever. . .

I decided to look up hobbies on the internet and I found that I am a bibliophile. No, that doesn't mean that I do improper things with my books! Books do take up a considerable part of my spare time, but I wouldn't really want to classify that as a hobby. Mainly because I already spend too much $$$ on books as it is. If it becomes a hobby then I will be completely broke - and I already have books hiding in every nook and dog crate I can find.

Back to my search. . .
Model trains? NO!
Model Cars? NO!NO!
Model Planes? NO!NO!NO! - I have no patience for any of that!

I could make karaoke a hobby, but then I would probably alienate my friends. I could make hiking a hobby, but that would entail bringing my dogs, and that is a No - apparently. Bird Watching? again, animal related. I could do juggling or bowling, but since I can't actually do either, I don't think it would be a fun, relaxing activity. This is where my internet search ended - well, it ended after I learned about geocaching. Very interesting, but not for me.

I had completely given up hope of finding a hobby this week until today. (ok, I know its only Monday!) As I was walking the kids I saw two different people flying Kites. Its looked like so much fun. Then I started thinking that this must be a hobby for some people. They get home after work, throw their kites in the car, and drive to the windiest spot they can think of - the marina! I began to wonder how much time and money these people put into their kites. Do they belong to kite web-rings? Who knows, but it was fun to think about after a sad day at work. Not that I really want to make kite flying my hobby, but I can see the appeal.

Time Change

Is anyone else having a hard time with this time change? I have not slept in a week and now I have to sleep with 5 dogs! and one cat. . .

The Usual Suspects






Bommer - the old man


Pepper - the oldest lab in the world



And Champ - master of "The Claw"


Orion - the C.A.T.


You can see how difficult this is for me

My Shadow

I have a little shadow
He follows me everywhere
Every time I turn around
I find him standing there.

He follows me down the hall
and into surgery
I can't seem to loose him
Its like he is attached to me.

Some times I love my shadow
He's like my best friend
Other times he drives me nuts
Just like my ex-boyfriend.

No People

Sometimes this sounds like heaven to me. Especially after a long day at work with complaining customers. But the National Geographic Channel did a 2 hour show on what would happen to the world if people disappeared. Aftermath: Population Zero

The show never describes what happens to the people, just that they are gone. And the show is definitely not about what the world would be like if people NEVER existed. It starts from today - ten thousand years of recorded human history.

The show was amazing, not sci-fi at all. I learned so much about how we power our homes and businesses and how catastrophic all that power can be. Even after we are gone, we will still cause major damage to the earth. I also learned that in about two hundred years, most of our buildings, roads, and monuments will crumble and disintegrate. But even after all that time, plastic will still litter the ground.


I've been trying to reduce my impact on landfills, but its easy to forget that the soda can at lunch or the plastic fork will stay in the environment for years. And I never really thought about the electrical waste that I create - as I type on my computer with an overhead light on and the tv going. But all I can do is try to do better from this point on. . .turning off the tv . . .

Rocks

I came across this pile of stacked rocks today and it got me thinking. Why?

Why do people stack rocks? Was it a memorial to someone or something? I had started to feel sad thinking that it was placed for some beloved family dog that visited the park often. It made me think about what kind of memorial I would set up when one of my dogs pass (but that will never happen, so . . .)

When I got home, I looked up "stacking rocks" in different ways and what I learned surprised me. Some people stack rocks as trail markers - makes sense, but this obviously wasn't the case as we were on a single loop trail. Other people stack rock as a trap to catch rabbits for food. Definitely not the case as we were in a preserve and there is a Safeway on every other corner. Then I found that there is a professional rock stacking group and groups of regular people who go around to different places and stack rocks - just cause. What a weird thing to do, but by the looks of it these people live all over the country. Not sure if this was really the case because those people stacked much bigger rocks and the stack looked very unsteady.

After all that I feel completely stupid. Naturally I jump to the saddest conclusion. What ever the real story behind the rock stacking . . .

The Pig and I

A friend recommended this book to me - and I tried not to take offense to it! The complete title is "The Pig and I, How I Learned to Love Men Almost as Much as I Love My Pets." It is written by Rachel Toor and I think it is a bit of a memoir. The story begins in college, lasts through her early 40's, and flip flops between the men in her life and the animals she loved - starting with a mouse and ending with an ass (you'll have to read it to see animal or man!)

I have to admit that I didn't think I would like the book. For one its a much lighter read than I am used to; and two, the subject is about animals. There are only two subjects I absolutely will not read about, and animals is one of them - guess there is really only one subject I won't read about now, but that is a different post. And the cover of the book (well, my book anyway) was PINK! How can anyone take a book with a pink cover seriously? Ok, since it wasn't a serious book, I shouldn't fault the cover, but I still refused to carry the book around.

Despite all that, I was still intrigued. And after reading the back of the book where the publisher says "Any woman who has experienced the pure joy of loving an animal and the often-less-than-pure joy of loving a man will recognize herself in Rachel" I knew I had to read it - if nothing more than for a good laugh. Its no surprise that I love my dogs more than most people I know - and definitely more than all the men that have been in my life recently. How do you tell a guy that you can't stay over because you would much rather curl up with your dogs than with him. And after finishing this book, I no longer feel guilty for going home.


In the end, I really did like the book. I even got a little misty eyed. The second half of the title really sums it up - "How I learned to love men ALMOST as much as I loved my pets." If I can do the "almost" at the end of the day, then I think I could actually have a half-way decent relationship. But thats another post as well . . .

Why Not?

I will never understand why this is not acceptable.

Tilden Park With A Photographer

Luckily for me, there is a photographer in the "family". I'm really lucky that she took time out of her busy cemetery shoots to take some action shots of the kids.

Who knew my old man was so athletic!






Or that my baby girl could "heel"



This was a great shot - especially since my favorite shots of the kids are of them licking their noses (only now I have one of them together!)



If you're so inclined, you can view all the shots here

Even When It Is . . . It Isn't

We needed an easy relaxing walk after that experience yesterday. We decided to do the Oyster Bay walk between the Marina and the Airport. This really was a 2.1 mile easy walk, but the experience was a bit disturbing.

The first thing was that the park is behind the dumps. Yeah, the real DUMPS!



And then we came across all these weird hobbit-box things, but i guess they were another place to pee on.



The other thing we came across was the most disturbing, but maybe I shouldn't talk because I don't have big dogs. For the most part, we were alone on the walk, but about half-way through we came across these two un-neutered Rhodesian Ridgebacks. At first they were polite but having two 70 + pound dogs sniffing your you-know-what would be overwhelming even for a 30 pound dog. I told my well-behaved 9 pound dog to "leave it" - mainly so he didn't tell them off and trigger a fight- and he tried. But they would not leave his manhood alone. At one point I almost reached in and grabbed my dog just to save him as I could see that he was getting very overwhelmed. I tapped one dog on the head thinking he would at least look up, but he didn't. FINALLY, the owner came around the corner with a stick and smacked both dogs. I guess its easier to hit your dog than it is to train him to "leave -it" or "off". After the whole thing I was a wreck but mole seemed fine as he met a few more dogs and reacted just the same as he aways does - no cares in the world. Thank god he is more stable than I am.

More pictures from oyster bay:

Just Cause

After a long, hard day. . .



Yes, I know you're not supposed to give your dogs beer, but you try saying "no" to this face:

The Ridge . . .Le Deux

I'm always looking for new places to take the kids off leash. I found this great site recently that lists all of the bay area hikes. The website is very user friendly and breaks the parks down in all sorts of sub-categories. You can search by difficulty, location, dog-friendly, etc. I,of course, chose dog-friendly and the park we chose for this week was the Pleasanton Ridge.

We got up early this morning and prepared for an easier 2.1 mile loop (according to the hike on bahikes) We were in for quite a surprise. It wasn't the easiest walk I've ever been on as the "hill" keeps going up - I guess we missed the trail head for the loop. We walked straight up for an hour before we ran into someone and asked if this ever loops back down. He looked a little confused and said "no, this just keeps going" Great! So now we have a long walk back down too. Luckily the kids made it and I didn't have to carry anyone.

Here are a few pics from our walk.







And one of the kids after . . .