What an interesting new (to me) fruit. This is an Australian Finger Lime, and what an intriguing fruit it looks to be! I have never heard of such a thing, and sadly, they cannot be found around here. *sigh*. Oh well, now I'll have to go to Australia to taste one.

Yesterday was not only Valentine's Day, it would have been my Dad's 82nd birthday. Also, a few days ago it was 2 years since he passed away, so needless to say, I have been thinking of him more than usual this past little while.

Here are the Top Ten Things My Dad Taught Me, in no particular order. Some (#2) I have lived up to, and others (#4) I have tried to.

1. Always keep your gas tank at least half full.
2. Never run with your hands in your pockets.
3.When raising kids, remember the days might be long, but the years are short.
4.Do what is right, not what is easy.
5.Always put the peanut butter on the bread before the jam.
6.Don't worry about what you don't have, be greatful for what you do have.
7. Listen to your Mother.
8. Don't be afraid to be different.
9.Always invest your money where you can get the best compounded interest, but also make sure you always have some "mad money" available.
10. Listen more than you talk.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's pretty one.

He was trying to sit nicely and behave, but he was watching Gypsy fling around a chew-toy and it was just SO hard for him to sit patiently! Doesn't he just look sad?

Don’t crop your Pit Bull’s ears. That’s just cruel. How would you like to have your ears lopped off with hedge trimmers?

Don’t leave your Pit Bull’s ears intact. They just look silly and they might be at a disadvantage if they ever encounter one of those ear-pulling disciplinarian-type grandmothers. Or a bear.

Don’t neuter your Pit Bull before 5 years of age because you will rob it of vital hormonal juiciness it needs to grow up big and strong.

Don’t neuter your Pit Bull later than 5 months of age because it might get testicular cancer.

Don’t put your name on your Pit Bull’s tags because then a stranger might read them and be able to call your dog by name, and everybody knows that a Pit Bull will never go with a stranger that doesn’t know its full and proper name.

Which reminds me, don’t use nicknames with your Pit Bull. The breed has an image to uphold, you know. While we’re at it, don’t ever put cute froo froo stuff on your Pit Bull, like bandanas or sweaters. Nobody’s fooled, and these dogs don’t get cold anyway.

Don’t register your Pit Bull with the city because the super-secret covert ops agents will swoop down on your home and carry your dog off in a black helicopter.

Don’t own an unregistered Pit Bull or you make baby Jesus cry.

Don’t thump your Pit Bull on the head. Not sure why anybody would need to be told this, but it’s sound advice at any rate.

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Don’t bike with your Pit Bull because they will eventually pull to the wrong side of a telephone pole and you will die.

Don’t own an untrained Pit Bull ‘cuz that’s just as bad as leaving a machine gun on your front lawn.

Don’t take your Pit Bull to group classes because it will definitely grab another dog and create massive media headlines.

Don’t show your Pit Bull in UKC dog shows because it will definitely break that silly little shoestring leash and wipe out the surrounding dog population.

Don’t show your Pit Bull in ADBA dog shows because we all know that those are just a cover for prostitution and drug smuggling. Nobody shows their dogs unless they’re into something illegal. I mean, duh.

Don’t weight pull with your Pit Bull because PeTA will so get you for that.

Don’t do obedience with your Pit Bull because these dogs just aren’t that smart.

Don’t do agility with your Pit Bull. See any above line about machine guns or mass genocide.

Don’t bathe your Pit Bull any more than once a year because you’ll dry out its coat, or any less than once a week because that’s just gross.

Don’t speak in any other language except English to or around your Pit Bull because that’s deeply offensive to their cultural heritage.

Don’t post on any Pit Bull-related message boards because the CIA, FBI, ATF and any other associated letter people will swoop down and take your computer, you naughty thing.

Don’t get any of that paraphernalia stuff (treadmills, springpoles, etc.) because, yeah, just because.

Don’t get a blue-nose Pit Bull because they are fake.

Don’t get a red-nose Pit Bull because everyone knows that red is recessive to black and without strong pigment your dog will spontaneously combust in the sunlight.

Don’t get a black-nose Pit Bull because those are just boring to look at. If you’re going to get a Pit Bull, you might as well make a statement.

Don’t teach a Pit Bull to open the fridge and get you a beer. They will eventually become alcoholics and you’re just being lazy.

Don’t leave a Pit Bull without a job to do, unless the only job available is beer retrieval.

DO replace the words "Pit Bull" with any other breed and the result is the same.....it's NOT the breed, it's the ignorance.

Oh what a beautiful baby!

I had to add this picture, doesn't he have the BIGGEST eyes you ever saw? He is the happiest baby I have ever met, and just looking at these pictures (one below) make me laugh right out loud!

This picture just cracks me right up. The little one looks like something just scared the bejesus out of him! (these 2 little guys are a friend of mines boys.)

Did you ever say something so perfectly in your head, but then when it came to saying it out loud it came out a jumbled confusing stuttering mess and you just sounded like a complete jerk?

I hate it when that happens.

This picture appeals to me. I think I may have posted it once before. I took it one spring day when we had some unexpected snow, and I like the way you can hardly tell that the robin is there, and she is looking up curiously at the snow. Very unlike now, when we should have some snow, and we have virtually none. I wonder if it's Mother Nature's way of boycotting the Olympics?

Sparkley Christmas Things

My glittery new Christmas ornaments. Even made out of genuine glass....not plastic!

I love a sale.

Gotta love a sale. The last thing I need this year is more Christmas things, the reason being that I decided to change my ornament colour to silver & blue this past Christmas (last month, I mean) so I bought all sorts of new ornamants, all blue and silver, lots of sparkle and glitter in December. I didn't have a colour theme prior to this, just a mish-mash of years and years of accumulated ornaments. Some from my childhood, some from my boys childhood and even some from my Mother's childhood. You know how it is.


So I gently, and rather sadly, packed away the ornaments from years gone by and almost reluctantly decorated with the new ones, I was very pleased with the results although I almost wondered if I would have rather had blue and gold.


Well, today I was in The Great Canadian Superstore and got myself tangled up in the Christmas "blow-out" aisle and what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a sale so wonderous that I shed a tear. Cards that were regular $6.99 were on sale for .54! Rolls of wrapping paper (30 sq feet!) on sale for .14! Containers of gold sparkley (some "unbreakable", but some were real glass)ornamants, regular $9.99, $8.99 and $7.99 on for only .74! And lovely plush Santa Hats (Steven always wanted a Santa Hat, I don't know why, but he does.) for only .34! I bought $74.00 worth of wonderful things for the grand total of $7.33. What a day!

We are in the midst of planning our trip to Cuba, but there are too many places too choose from, so my TA said that she'd do some research for me, and quiz her other customers who have recently returned.

Isn't that the height of laziness for me? Too lazy to plan a trip? But I think it's from the exhaustion of this cold that I can't seem to shake. I have had it since a week before Christmas, and it's so close to being gone, but it just won't quite go.

I just want to sit in the hot sun somewhere and have beach boys in small bathing suits bring me coconut type drinks. Preferably with coloured umbrellas in them.

What?

Have Brad and Angie split? The answer seems to be "probably not", but "maybe". The question is, "Why do I care?" Seriously, really, WHY do I care? I don't know, but in a strange, and unusual for me way, I do.

I'm not a massive Brad Fan, I think I've only seen the "Oceans" movies and "A River Runs Through It"...never seen "Fight Club", "7 years in Tibet" or most of his other movies. Of hers, I've seen (and loved) the Lara Croft ones...so what gives here? Why am I spending my morning frantically Googling all variations of their names, looking for news?

Perhaps it's a fascination with their globetrotting lives and their knack for naming children. Their generosity in helping less fortunate? Their looks? Maybe just seeing how The Other Half lives and what they have traded for Fame & Fortune. I don't know, I just know that I feel an odd sort of sadness. Not so much for them (because I am a bit selfish) but for me. And I never liked Jennifer Anniston either, so I am annoyed that she is probably thrilled with the whole thing.
Let's just hope it's all false and that there will soon be new Jolie-Pitt babies with "Z's" and "X''s" in their names.

Dinner for One

Steven wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I thought I'd make myself a little veggie stirfry. It just looked so appealing to me that I thought I'd post a little photo. It doesn't quite look like something from Martha Stewart, but it sure tasted good.

What's for dinner?

Well, not fish, that's for sure. These are mouthwateringly deelish...as Rachel Ray would say, but I just can't bring myself to cook a fish. Not 2 hours prior to this picture being taken, they were swimming happily in White Swan Lake, you can't get much fresher than that. Nice trout that would go for $18 or $20 in a local restaurant, but here at my house they go for free. After I dutifully admired them, Steven took them over to our 82 year old neighbour and his wife, and they fried them up with great joy (and onions and lemon).

What a phenomenal day. I love walking when the clouds are low and grey...everything is silent and it's like being in a black and white photograph.

Goofy Dog

Trying to get as close to her loved ones as she can...I have never known as dog who wants to be touched so much!

Silly Dog

This is how silly old Gypsy likes to snuggle. She is the meaning of the saying "Give her an inch and she'll take a mile."

X-mas Dogs

Gypsy and Chino home at Christmas

Shannon and Sue go to Africa...kinda...

Yesterday my cousin-in-law and myself took a bus tour to Spokane to see the musical The Lion King. It's the road tour group of the Broadway production, but I was a tiny bit leery because the road versions of things never seem to be very good. It's like the understudy of the understudies and the stages and sets and costumes always seem to be a bit tattered and worn. Well. Was my foot stuck in my craw, or it would have been if I had voiced my doubts to anyone. This was, without a doubt, one of the most impressive shows I have EVER seen. I can't even explain how vivid and crisp it was. It was like the difference between HD TV and local cable. I kept blinking my eyes because I just could not believe how bright and beautiful and breathtaking everything seemed.

From the opening moments when Rafiki sang (in a tremendous voice) as the animals paraded through the audience to Pride Rock, to the closing moments as the curtains droppped I was completely enthralled. I was extremely tempted to use my camera to take a little video clip, but I didn't want to risk being tossed out on my ear.