Say Hi to Sluggies

After Uncle George the one-eyed basset left to live at Karen's, we brought in our latest foster, Sluggo! He came from some sort of animal hoarder situation and was in rough shape but with a good diet and a warm bed, he's doing great. He's quite possibly the ugliest, "junkyard dog" I've ever seen, but in a sweet, bulldog way. Good news is that he may already have a home pending. I'm glad for him. (Look at those teeth!)

Hit the slopes

Here's my on skis a few years ago.


Here's me again, taking advantage of this week's crazy snow! Surprisingly enough, even though I hadn't skied in a decade, I did quite well. (And I also have to note that I posed like this especially for this photo comparison!) It's amazing how much better the entire experience is when you're appropriately bundled in the right, warm gear! We had fun. Gary, zoomed around on his snowboard. He wiped out once and I missed it was my camera. Dammit!

My pony friend

While I usually meet my equine pals at barns, I met Butterscotch, a FurReal Friend at WalMart last weekend. If this pony was available 30 years ago, I'm sure she would have been at the top of my Christmas list...!

With Butterscotch, your girl will feel like she is interacting with a living, breathing pony. Butterscotch is soft to the touch, with a fur coat and mane that feel just like a real pony. Her markings and color are modeled after a Shetland pony. Butterscotch also has built-in sensors all over her body, which enable her to respond to children in amazingly lifelike ways. If talked to, she will cock her head toward the speaker quizzically and blink her eyes.She will also react to petting, showing her enjoyment by rubbing her head against your child, twitching her ears, and swishing her tail. In addition to her convincing movements, Butterscotch also makes a medley of different sounds. She'll neigh and whinny just like a real pony, and snort when she wants attention. Should the room become dark, she will begin to whimper, letting her owner know that she needs a consoling hug to know that she is safe.

Saddle Up!
At over three feet tall, Butterscotch is more than strong enough to support a rider up to 80 pounds in weight. Your little girl will be overjoyed to sit on Butterscotch's back and pretend to go for a ride. Although she doesn't move her legs, Butterscotch will bump up and down when her hindquarters are tapped, simulating the feeling of a real pony ride. She will also make clomping sounds with her hooves while riding. Your child's imagination will soar as she pictures herself out on the plains with Butterscotch.

Caring for Butterscotch
Much like a real pony, Butterscotch loves to be groomed and fed. Children will keep very busy taking care of her. When given her special carrot, Butterscotch will chomp and munch on it. She also enjoys having her mane groomed with her brush. Along with her brush and carrot, Butterscotch comes with a special adoption certificate, which will give your little girl a real sense that Butterscotch belongs exclusively to her.

A new star is born!

Following in his big "brother's" footsteps, Tankee has been invited by PBS to appear in the upcoming season of Fetch! The creators have decided that Riot (aka Murray) is on hiatus, likely shooting Antiques Roadshow or something similar, and Tank has been summoned by the temp agency. We have a lot of work to do to get Tankee Wankee in trainable form by January 5, but I'm sure with lots of hot dogs, we can get the job done. I'm thrilled that the legacy of stardom will live on!

Metal no more!

Obviously this is not my jaw, but many people have asked what exactly my jaw surgery was all about. The procedure, which I had done in the spring of '04, involved a removal of a section of bone along the line where you see the plates and screws in this image. I won't go into the details but let's just say that the reason why I had so much hardware is because they had to basically saw off my jaw, remove a portion and put it back together. Thank goodness I never let myself view any images or videos online prior to the procedure! I actually had double the amount of hardware (4 plates, 16 screws) than this fine model has, but you get the idea. I had the left hand side of the screws and plates out a year ago and the right side out today. SO glad it's done. And no hardware left in my wrist or my jaw (but I have a big collection of metal now!) The nurse said to me that when I was going under anesthesia I said, "You know, I don't know if I trust you guys with all this slicing and dicing!" ha ha

Uncle George

After the ride, and after the Hanukkah celebration, it was off to Worcester to pick up my newest foster, Uncle George. Poor Uncle George must have had a tough life, as he lived outside, suffered from heartworm, and somewhere along the line lost an eye. But what a sweet dog he is! He is extremely skinny and I can see every rib, but he's a great eater and I'm sure we'll fatten him up in no time. He also came on the transport (another 20-leg journey from Tennessee) with a very cute blue sweater to help him brave the elements. He's a vey good boy with the most wrinkly legs -- like bunchy old lady nylons! Love Uncle George!

On another note, Artie went to his new home on Thursday and I think he'll be very happy there. The new family is semi-retired and will therefore be home with Artie a lot. He got to sleep in bed with them his first night and when I spoke with his new "mom" on Friday she said, "We're madly in love." Hooray for Artie!

Hanukkah time!

This weekend we celebrated Hanukkah at Gary's dad's. It was a great day with tons of presents and a birthday celebration for me, which was an added bonus! Here, Gary and I pose wit the girls in our matching hats from the Pennsylvania crew. I love our hats! Below, Laura and I take time to pose with her dog, Bosco. Love that Bosco. And that Laura!!

Holiday trail ride

This weekend was a busy one. Sunday I had the holiday party at the barn and it was so much fun. Four of us went out for a 5+-mile trail ride and it was amazing. We were a little unsure how the footing would as the ground was covered with snow and we weren't sure of the icing, etc. But it turned out to be great. Allie and Riley led the way, followed by Collette on Truckles (her first time riding with us), then Chris on Pilot and me and Olly-var. Oliver was by far the most pokey pony, but I love that. Here, Oliver and I pause by the century-old cemetery Allie found way out in the woods. It's crazy because the only way out there is by trails, yet it's very ornate. Makes you wonder how and why it came to be. The end of the ride had us walking back on the road about 1.5 miles and while I've never ridden Oliver that long on the road, he did great amongst the cars and barking dogs. I was very impressed! I also got to use my new trail riding GPS -- Fun!

Atari on the big screen

Earlier this year, Gary and I puchased not 1 but 2 40-inch flat screen TVs. We've been doing a lot of wondering lately why we bothered to get one for the den, since we never use it. Well, we finally figured out a good purpose for it: my Atari 2600!

Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Circus, Donkey Kong, Kaboom... the list goes on!!

Visiting Santa Paws

Yesterday I took Tankee and Artie to have their photos taken with Santa Paws. While the professional ones came out much better, these are still cute. Artie is going to his new home on Thursday. I'm going to miss him lots, but they seem like a great home. Below is a photo of Artie and Buford (the foster we had last week.) The best part is that this was not staged -- Buford put his arm around Artie all on his own!

A hunting we will go

Yesterday, Chris and Allie an I went out on a 5+-mile trail ride. It was amazing (even if when I was leading Oliver over a small ravine he jumped and landed on me!) We came face-to-face with a few hunters who were nice and assured us they wouldn't take aim. They even radioed ahead to their pals to let them know we were out. The jingle bells really helped they said, so that's good to know. Oliver got a little spooky at the gun. Smart boy.

Guitar Hero

I admit it. We're 30-somethings, and we're fans of Guitar Hero III. Here's Dena (first time player) rocking out. She proved to be a natural, even when Tankee was humping her leg. I continue to get booed off stage. Oh, now that I thoght about it, Dena's only a 20-something. Must be why she's so damn good.

The Mousinator

When tackling the basement, Gary doesn't mess around. Having to deal with a scary ceiling project that was sure to reveal a colony of critters, he donned this fine Tyvek suit complete with a respirator. I think we've found a good idea for next year's Halloween costume.