Mexican Sunflowers

Six or eight months ago I fell in love with the tall shrub I think of as Mexican Sunflowers (can't confirm if that's actually right), which was growing in the little park next door to my house. I took a few clippings, and carefully dusted them with Rootone, babied them and tried to root them indoors; but they all gave up the ghost and died.

Then a while back, my backyard neighbor took cuttings of the same plants and simply stuck them in the ground along our mutual fence line, and kept them well watered. They are thriving and are already 6-8' tall; and I think it's hilarious that they didn't want to be babied at all! Now they are coming into full bloom; and I love looking out the back window and seeing these happy, cheerful flowers!

I even clipped a few and brought them indoors to enjoy, along with a few Mexican Petunias (what's up with all the Mexican plants?)

Sunny Side Down

For a girl whose natural state is Sunny Side Up, I don't know why I'm kinda out of sorts today. For starters, I'm feeling a little under the weather -- I think I picked up the appazootie from one of my little Tuesday night charges last week. And I'm a little bummed, if not surprised, by some of the election results, especially in Florida. I am wholeheartedly tired of politicians of both parties, and would love to see them engage in thoughtful debate and find common ground, instead of blocking one another's plans just for spite or political gain. I find to my surprise I still miss our little 21-hour puppy, and wish we could have her back (only with a bigger bladder!). And I haven't had the energy this week to go for my usual walk. I miss the kids. I miss the grandkids. I want the kids to get settled so we can move on. I want to be in GA where the leaves are turning. I already packed up all my stuff for Saturday's crop. I finished a bunch of Christmas cards yesterday for the troops. And I wandered around JoAnn's this afternoon, just to get out of the house! I guess I'm bored --which I never am!

OK, now that I've got all that whining out of my system, I'm sure by tomorrow I will be back to my usual self--Miss Sunny Side Up!

Frivolous Shoes

OK, I don't really NEED multi-colored slides. I have brown shoes. And tan ones. And black ones. And sneaks. But these just make my feet happy! And they fit, a somewhat unusual occurrence for narrow-width me! They are also a higher heel than I have worn in a while; so it took me a while to get used to walking in them.

The 21-Hour Puppy

Well, after talking about puppies, researching puppies, yearning for a puppy to cuddle and join him on walks, learning about crates and food and personalities and breeds and everything he could think of to read about, Jack finally settled on a Goldendoodle puppy. We spent quite a bit of time Thursday at the breeder's cuddling a litter of puppies. He chose one sweet little girl that we would pick up the next day after we purchased a crate, food, dishes, toys and whatever other paraphernalia seemed necessary. Friday we brought her home. An adorable pup, she loved to cuddle; she gamboled across the back lawn, played with her toys, chased us and her tail, and seemed to like her crate. She had an accident or two; but that was expected.

Then it was nighttime. I took her out just before I went to bed, spoke softly to her as I crated her and made sure she was settled down. Then she cried and carried on for a good hour after I turned in. Throughout the night, Jack was up with her about every hour and a half to let her outside. By the time morning came, I had had about 3 hours sleep; and Jack had even less and was completely and thoroughly exhausted. We then learned that we could expect more of the same for another 4-8 weeks; and we talked about whether or not to simply return her to the breeder and admit we weren't cut out to train a puppy. He went for his morning walk to think it over; and I told him I would support whatever decision he made.

So we brought her back to the breeder today -- less than 21 hours from the time we took her home. The breeder will quarantine her at her house for a week before rejoining the litter. We didn't ask for a refund; we just want them to find her a good home. Let's just say, we paid for our mistake. She's a very sweet pup; and I know she will make someone a wonderful pet -- just not us!

After we came home to a quiet house, Jack was talking to and petting "Puddles", our imaginary dog. For us, I think that's going to be the best pet ever!

Wishing you a wonderful "forever family", sweet girl!

Puddles the Dog

It was maybe a month ago when Jack was out taking photos at City Place when it began to rain. So he popped into the nearest shop to protect the camera, and it happened to be a pet shop. He spent some time there playing with the adorable puppies, which were mostly mixed poodle breeds: Maltipoos, Goldendoodles, Cavapoos and the like; and he was totally hooked. So ever since then, we've been interacting with our imaginary puppy, "Puddles". We take turns taking her for a walk, and try to be careful not to step on her. She's a very good girl, doesn't bark a lot or ask for much. Loves to ride in the car. Very affectionate little puppy -- Puddles has been a good addition to our household!

Coordinates Collections October Blog Hop

...and the much-anticipated first CC Blog Hop is off and running this morning. Marielle started us off with a WOW! of a project; and I can wait to see what everyone else puts up!

I already had a project in mind when the challenge came up. I wanted to do a LO about my granddaughter's first dog; but the journaling is a little sad, as well as lengthy, so I always intended to hide it. It just fit on three tags partially hidden in a pocket.  A couple of the ribbon ends insist on curling up or down, which reminds me of a dog's floppy ear!

This was a fun challenge!

Butterfly Sisters' trip to Scrapbook Expo

The Butterfly Sisters met for breakfast at Cracker Barrel this morning, and then on to the Scrapbook Expo. Although I didn't take any classes, or even do any of the make and takes, it was well worth the price of admission to visit the different merchants and see stuff I can't get locally. I ended up buying a glue glider, some fabulous embossing powders that I've already played with, some baker's twine, and some dimensional butterflies.Our waitress was kind enough to snap a photo. Clockwise: Liz, me, Lynn, Cathy, Pam, Norma Anne.