Videos of Jake

These are mainly to show the people that helped save Jake, that he is doing well. They are too big to email.

Jake joins us too

It was not my intent to have two fosters at one time.

I'd been trying to get Jake out of a kennel situation in OK for a couple of months.  It's a shame we couldn't get him out sooner, as he had to have it tail amputated just a couple of weeks ago.

He's a good boy, but wants to be the big dog - he and Ollie are working it out.

Poor Little Piru

We got our first foster of 2011 about a week ago.

She was only supposed to be here a week, until Jake arrived for us (our intended foster).  

However this little girl is in no shape to go many places.

She is very scared and almost shut down.  She will eat (when no - one is around) and has not snapped at me, and perked her ears up at me yesterday (for this picture). She wants nothing that people have to offer.  She doesn't want you to touch her, she won't walk and will not respond in any way.  Its very sad.

She has laid (smashed up against the back) in a crate in our dining room for a week with no real response.  She's young, but appears to have had no exposure to humans.  This is new for me, I'm good with the crazy ones!  This girl is the opposite of Mr. Smithey Piston!

Here she is hiding under the deck.  She doesn't move anywhere willingly, except to get away from you.  I'm not going to talk about the hours it took to get her out from under the deck.  In fact we didn't - we gave up and finally Ollie got her out and I tricked her!

I named her Piru (PieRoo).  I was calling her RooRoo (like in Winnie the Pooh)

Piru means devil in Finnish... it's the change I hope to see in her.

My response to Old Man Winter

Lets see... how did I get here?
1.   Last month, my 9 year old truck (THAT I LOVE) left me on the side of the road for 2.5 hours in 12 degree weather.  Fuel pump went out on my commute to work - so no heat.

2.   Then as you can see by the pict below, my Z is unwilling to move with ANY snow on the ground.  Lets be honest, it doesn't like wet pavement.  I got it stuck, and had to get it unstuck myself!

 

3.  Then I ran over a deer with my Z that has 3 inches of ground clearance and it left meat and blood all over it, and who knows what kind of damage.  You can see Ollie enjoying it as some came off in the snow.  The night I did it, he was so afraid to get near my car.  He was shaking and barking and running around it.

So, what I have isn't working.  I've had enough.  It's only me, and I need to get to and from work, even with this freakish weather. I've learned how to drive well in the snow, but as far out as I am - I need AWD, and while my truck is great.  It's no longer dependable enough with no real help if something goes wrong. 

Why a BMW you ask?

 Well, I wanted a Ford Explorer, but once Roger found out he could get a BMW for the same price as a Ford, he forbid me from the Ford lot.  Plus its diesel, so it gets 40% better gas mileage.

... Now it gets to get all salty and dirty and attempt to dodge deer.

Hatching baby chicks

My neighbor, Katie got an incubator to try and hatch some eggs this year.

After two years of buying baby chicks, we thought we'd take a stab at this.

 If you look carefully, you can see the first cracks in a couple of them.

Well just today (while Katie is away for the weekend) they started hatching.

Two out, three more trying.  They can actually peep inside the egg, before they even break the membrane!

"Squat Toilets"

It was in Russia that Sharon and I first experienced squat toilets, but it turns out that they are common in the Black Sea area as well as parts of Asia.

The first time was very unexpected and came with hours of conversation. 

This is a picture of a VERY clean one in a nice gov't building.  Most of them have no running water, no TP, no trash can.  They are basically a porcelain hole in the ground.  Now this may not seem so bad at first, but consider all the things that you might have to do in a bathroom and think about doing them here.

-BUT-

Most of them that we went to were beyond disgusting.  Many of the times I had to roll up my pant-legs and trudge through the "soup", because it turns out that for those of us that didn't grow up like this - we don't really know how to aim!

Sharon and I spent quite a bit of time discussing the logistics of these events.  It was always and adventure! In Italy you get two toilets - here we get a hole in the ground.

Going on?

It's been about 6 weeks since I've posted anything.
I always try to post something once a week, but I had decided that it was time for this blog to come to an end.

I've adjusted to life in Northern VA probably the best that I am going to, making much of this life "old news".

However again, I'm getting feedback from close friends and family that it is the only real way they know what is going on in my life.... and that they want me to continue.

I'll finish out my vacation photos while I reconsider, but I think I'm sorta done with this.

Vacation in Review, Day 9 - Sochi, Russia

We spent the day in Sochi Russia.

 Sochi is site of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

We went to check out the Olympic Village.  

 All around Sochi there is LOTS of construction going on, but it sure seems like there is MUCH to do.

 Will they be ready?

There isn't much of an infrastructure.

 However, construction is not my first thought.  Russians need to brush up on their hospitality.

If they are going to host the WORLD, they need to be more friendly to visitors!

This is also where Sharon and I got a surprise crash course in Squat toilets.  That blog is up next!

Eating my way through Boston

I spent the week in Boston for work, and some of the people I was working with were huge food buffs.
They easily talked me into trying lots of local food.

Flatbread Pizza: I found this to be the best Pizza, I've ever hard.

http://www.flatbreadcompany.com/2007Home.htm
__________ __________________

UpperCrust Pizza:  Local favorite, but I liked Flatbread better
http://theuppercrustpizzeria.com/

Bedford Farms: ICE CREAM!
http://www.bedfordfarmsicecream.com/

Roberts Maine Grill:  Yes, I went to Maine too - I love Maine
http://www.robertsmainegrill.com/

Mikes Pastry: Have a cannoli!
http://www.mikespastry.com/

Greek Corner:  I love, love, love Greek Food!
http://www.greekcorner.us/index.html

Vacation in Review, Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

  I bought Turkish Apple Tea to bring home.

 

Hooka Pipe?

 Along with carpets, pottery is also popular.  The is quartz - was nice, but expensive.

Vacation in Review, Istanbul Mosques

We saw quite a few mosques while in Istanbul.  While I tried to be respectful, after the first one or so - I had a hard time listening.

They were impressive and we took off our shoes and Sharon and I covered our heads....

But after awhile we explained to the local (that we had hired) that we really wanted to see something more of Istanbul

Yes, it is true that I had Starbucks in Istanbul.  It wasn't for the coffee, it was for the "city mugs" that I wanted to give as gifts.  But really, who can go into Starbucks and not walk out with some? 

Yes, those of us from Seattle don't really care for Starbucks, but after living in DC now - it's often the best I can get. 

Wasn't a great day for taking pictures, dark and drizzly. (Which is a common theme of this trip)  Guess that is the risk you take when you go off peak.

We did good for Daisy

Daisy went to her new home yesterday.  It was a bittersweet day.
It's hard to say good-bye to another good dog, but we found her a great home.

Daisy came to us quite scared and in need of socialization. Not used to being in the house and all the manners that go with that.  She's made huge progress in the time we had her and even snuck into my heart.

We considered keeping her, but I'm just not ready. I work and commute and am emotionally unavailable to what she deserves.

Congrats to Daisy and her new dad Fred.  She's a good girl and we miss her.

Vacation in Review, Let the cruise begin

The itenerary of our 2 week cruise.

This was on a small ship with some overnight stays.

As many of you have heard, the places around the Black Sea were never on my list.  In fact .... some of these places scare me.

When planning this trip with our friends Sharon and Jerry ... I was reminded that it's not always about me.  What? Well... when did THAT start?

It's off to a great start, because we just got upgraded to a suite.  We had purchased a mid-range veranda, and were HAPPY to be upgraded.

We got a walk in closet, more space, a bigger deck, and a two room bathroom.  SCORE!

On our first night on the ship we were awaked to an alarm.

After a few awful sirens the captain came on to tell us that this was a fire alarm as there

 WAS A FIRE IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM

He then requested emergency personal to the laundry room.

As I consider panicking, I try to think about how far out to see we are already - should I get up and get dressed?  How long do I have before the boat sinks?  Is it cold out?  Where is my life jacket?

About a 1/2 hour later we were told the fire was out - and all was well.

Yeah right... could you wait and tell me there is a fire 30 minutes before I have to jump?

Vacation in Review, Day 6 - Seattle friends

On Sunday we were still in Athens and met up with Sharon and Jerry for the rest of our trip.

The 4 of us (well the two of us) have been planning this trip for more than a year.

It was so great to see them. 

One last stop in Athens for me was The Zues Temple.

While I'd seen it before, I needed to go again and have a moment by myself to reflect on the things that had changed in my life since I was last here.

It's a nice cloudy Seattle kinda day.

You can see the Acropolis in the background

Goodbye Athens... you are my favorite city.

Vacation in Review, Athens Meat Market

5 years ago when Spenser and I went to Athens ... I HAD to take my son here.

Why do you ask?


Well as Americans we are so distant from our food, that we forget that an animal gave it's life for us.

I wanted him to know that his food was once a life.


The way that we treat our animals for food in the United States is awful.  Feed lots are awful. We should at least be willing to give the animals that feed us a decent life while they are growing for our dinner plate.


I've made the pictures small so not to shock anyone.  Click on the picture to see them bigger

This market takes place everyday in a run down barn like structure, that is more than 100 years old

 

Wow... the USDA would have a field day here.  Yet the US food is more unsafe than many other non third world countries. 

Why is this?