His demeanor is better

Here is Duke outside right after his bath getting rid of excess water. Look at his demeanor changing already. You can see it in his stance. He's still timid and skittish, but he's coming into his own, holding his head higher and strong enough to stand up straight. His fur is growing in, but both of his eyes are still so red. We're treating it every 12 hours with an antibiotic ointment. He does not like it at all and it takes both me and Harold to get the ointment applied.

And boy does he (WARNING! TMI!) poop! But he's eating like a hog and what goes in, must come out. Ha ha ha ... OK. Now for MY bath. A must after bathing a dog.

PS. Look at those feet he's going to grow into. He's going to be one big dog!

We're almost there!

Our New Additon

Meet Duke/Buddy. The rescue group that had him named him Unser, but I'm here to tell you that he told me his name was Buddy. And he likes that name. OK then.

I found Buddy on Petfinders.com and when we got to his picture that was that. I filled out a lengthy application with the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue Group and heard from the organization the next day. It took a couple of days to iron out the details as I wasn't in shape to talk yet as I was burying my late Bubbas, but the decision was made to add him to our home.

Harold immediately said, his name will be Duke. I'm thinking to myself, why not? Duke. How regal. His foster mom lived in New Orleans. The gal that brought him to Wildwood, FL for me lived in Texas. She picked him up and off she went. After multiple vehicular problems and not accounting for the time change the meet ended up being at about 11PM this past Friday. We chatted for a few minutes and off we both went in our separate directions.

But I'm exhausted and didn't make it far before having to take a nap in the rest area. I know my limitations. We didn't arrive home until 3:30AM. And all the way home I couldn't stop calling him Buddy. Come on Buddy. It's OK Buddy. I'm thinking, why can't I call him Duke? What's with all this Buddy stuff? When I arrived at the house I looked at his paperwork. On his vet paperwork he name was listed as Buddy. OH MY GOSH!!! He'd been telling me his name!

The first day Buddy was very timid and afraid. I have Charlie here after all and he is no lap dog. And to complicate matters further we're babysitting our granddog, Buster, as his father is in Pennsylvania. However we had a great day as far as potty accidents in the house. Woohoo!!!

The 2nd day, today, went much better. He came into himself and was interacting with the dogs and me. He's sooooo cute. When I talk to him he cocks his head to one side and then to the other side. I called him to me today and he was offering his paw to me. He's got such a sweet spirit.

You will note in his pictures that he is severely underweight and is still recovering from mange. He was an owner surrender to the pound and that's all I know about the previous owner. Poor Buddy has an eye infection, had an ear infection, was totally infested with fleas and of course the mange and being emaciated. He had to be wondering if pain and torture were all there was to life.

But that's all changing and now he's eating Blue Buffalo dog food twice daily. Two HUGE bowls. One in the morning and one in the evening. Each one with cod liver oil drizzled over it and 2-3 dollops of plain yogurt planted on top. And he's loving it. And I chuckled when after Charlie and Buster had left some in their bowls for a snack a bit later, Buddy went and gobbled it up. It won't be long before the combination of this good nutrition and his medical treatment will make the dog you're seeing above in the pictures obsolete. A long ago thing of his past. He's got youth on his side along with good nutrition and proper medical care. And Buddy deserves that much.

Today, being just two days before Christmas, I was in the kitchen a lot. All of a sudden I heard him, hmmm ... how do I describe it? It wasn't a bark. I KNOW!!! It sounded like a boat horn. So I howled back to him and there we were talking back and forth. Ha ha ha ... he's such a cutie. And a welcome addition to our home.

Welcome Duke/Buddy!!!

As we continue to observe ...

... the Christmas Cactus coming into its full glory.

Better Times

This picture is cut out of the New Messenger, Fremont, OH's newpaper, I believe in May of 2000. It was an unseasonably warm day and I took Nugget to Lake Erie. He loved going to the beach so much and it was the best treat I could do for him. He loved the water and chasing his stick. He'd keep me at it until he pooped me out and then I'd be sitting on the beach and he just barked and barked at me until I threw the stick back in the water and we'd start all over again. He would swim until he sank -- like a rock -- to the bottom from exhaustion. I'm not kidding either. I had to catch him by his collar/harness and pull him up and get him to where he could stand on more than one occasion. Reckless boy that he is. Ha ha ha ...

... and all of a sudden I noticed a man wading out to me in the water with his clothes on and camera in hand. Um. Can I help you? I mean, after all, how weird was that? It was just me and Nugget on the beach and here comes this man. He asks if he can take some pictures. I asked if he was from a newspaper and he told me he was. Oh geez, I remember thinking, me in my bathing suit! But Nugget took over and we were on the 2nd front page of the paper a few days later. Ha ha ha ... in all our glory.

Make sure to take note of Nugget's stick in the upper right corner. I'd just released it and he was on his way after it.

Anyways, I went out and bought a cherub angel statue and am in the process of making it into a memorial. Little healing things I'm doing to get me through. I miss him so much.

In Loving Memory of Nugget (Bubbas)

December, 1995 -- December 10, 2007

Today I took Nugget to the Humane Society and lovingly ended his misery. I had made up my mind to do it over the weekend and darned if today he couldn't get up on his own this morning. His hips were shot. Gone. Kapute. I never thought I'd be so torn up over a dog, but this dog caught my heart back when he was just a pup and my daughter owned him. Oh, I was so delighted the day that I received the phone call asking if I could keep him for good. YES!!!

Nugget loved me more than he loved himself. He totally trusted me with everything. When his hips were getting especially bad he didn't flinch when I held him down for prolo injections with huge needles into both hips. He trusted and knew that I knew what I was doing. And he was the same today when they stuck the needle in him to gently put him to sleep. My head was next to his and with tears streaming down my face I lovingly thanked him for being such an important part of my life, and for his undying love and dedication to me. And then his head rolled off to the side. He was gone running with the angels. Crossing over into the light and most importantly he was no longer in pain.

Thanks so much to Jesse for coming with me and helping me through this. And then taking over when we were digging the hole. He let me help, but once we laid Nugget to place and I put the first couple of shovels of dirt on him, I lost it, and Jesse insisted that he had it from there and for me to go.

Oh how I miss him!!! But I know he's running and enjoying himself and is no longer in pain. Until we meet again my dear boy.

Much love, your mama

For the 3rd year

May I show you my Christmas Cactus. This thing is HUGE!!! I'll bet there's a 1000 buds on it. You might want to go into my history and check December, 2005 and 2006 for comparative values.

And, as usual, you'll be seeing her in all her stages of glory.

After all my vet bills ...

... related to Nugget grabbing cats off the street and shaking them like rag dolls. Who'd have thought they'd be laying so close to each other? And Charlie? He loves O.C. so much. They play and have a great time together, and take naps together too.

A boy and his dog

I was sent this link via email. How adorable. And what patience this dog has with this young boy. Especially his shoes. Ouch! I remember those shoes when my kids were that age. They HURT!!!

Enjoy!

Meet Rookie and Carolyn

I was just cruising the internet, specifically youtube.com and did a search for dancing dogs. This is what I pulled up. While watching this video you'll be smitten with the dancing couple's relationship. They are an amazing pair.

And then when you watch this video, first off, be prepared, this is a tribute and a real tear jerker. But rest assured Rookie is not passed over. I did a Google search and found that he is 13 1/2 years old and retired.

And this is the end of the trip to Peru

Thank you for all who have visited. And thank you Mike for all your thoughtful notes through out. I truly believe we did a wonderful job -- all for the glory of God.

I finished this just in time. I've got several interviews lined up, work is going to start, the holidays are right around the corner. All following posts will be work/family/greenery, etc.

Until next years trip,

Love and peace,
Alicia

The ruined home of Mamacuna

Now this post is a very interesting post related to women. Listen up. Back hundreds of years ago women were worshiped (what happened???) and the elite lived in this home -- of luxury -- comparatively. The neat part of this is that men guarded the house protecting the women from any intruders. Should you dare to try to get in the women's home you, your family, and your neighborhood would be destroyed. And the guards of the home? Their faces were slashed so that you wouldn't want to look at them and they were castrated. Every thought possible was given to protecting these women. And this is what is left, 100's of year later, of the fine home they lived in.

The Pachacamac ruins (Thanks Mike!)

I'm not sure what ruins they are, but I'll find out soon. I have the question out there and am waiting for a response. Pretty awesome. We didn't get to go over them in detail though because we had time constraints on us. We had a plane to catch.

That is Vivian looking over at an alpaca. Nice, soft, fuzzy, and tasty alpaca.

Artifacts from the Mamacuna Ruins

We went to see these ruins on our last day before catching our flight. I'm telling you, we never stopped. We checked out of our hotel and then shopped that last day, visited these ruins, and then caught our flight home and flew all night long. Then, of course, Harold wants to go bowling on that Sunday. So we get through customs, head across alligator alley and arrive in Lehigh about noon. Then we bowled. Then I came home and slept. And slept some more.

Fabian -- such a great help!

Thanks for all your help Fabian. Especially at the market the day we were leaving (my guide to a present for my husband, Harold. A nice alpaca tie -- about the color of the shirt Fabian is wearing in the picture. Ha ha ha ...

Meet Jesse and Buster

Here is Jesse, my step-son, with his new best friend, Buster.

And Dr. Rosa's nurse/companion

As a nurse usually is, she was busy, and doing as much as she could to keep things going as smooth as possible.

Dr Rosa again

And here is Dr. Rosa again

She has dedicated herself to her people in Peru. She works endless hours. I know. I watched her. She is one amazing person.

Much love to her and God bless,
Alicia

For Dr. Rosa

I'm going to try and put up all her pictures so she can have them. Dr. Rosa, all you have to do is right click on the pictures you want and then save to your computer.

$1,000,000,000.00

Terry Fator, the ventriloquist that won America's Got Talent. He is amazing!

Pisco sours and piano players

The pisco sours are just that. Sour. Woo! And if you look closely into it you can see the bitters tossed on top of the egg whites.

And the lady playing the piano was right by our table. She played dutifully along, but when I went and stuck that $10 ( worth about $3 American) into her tip jar she was all smiles. And either way, she played a great piano.

Our last dinner at one of Peru's finest restaurants

I can't even begin to tell you what these foods are. OK. I'll try, but I'm not going to be good at it. Goat, Alpaca, heart, tamales, and much, much more. I went over and tried everything -- one bite at a time. And the last are the desserts. Yummy. The dinner is prepared for four or more people.

One thing about it, there sure was a lot of foods in Peru I'd never thought of, and of course I tried them all. With one exception. The guinea pig. Cuy (pronounced cooey) as they call it in Peru.

I must interupt my Peru trip

I found this amazing dance couple on youtube.com and wanted to share it. They are awesome!

A hodge podge of pictures

In the first picture you'll get an idea of how organization is kept with fifty plus children. And another one of Ann with the baby, And the last two, it was amazing how the older children helped so much with the younger children. It was an amazing place to visit and experience.

And our group was blessed to able leave behind a bounty of medications and supplies. Keep in mind all these children have medical problems. From many different physical deformities to drug resistant TB. Regardless of the problem, Dr. Tony took them in.