Another lucky one...

They don their red capes...

Pull up their tights...

(cue super hero music)

Here they come...

The Amazing Aja and her sidekick Puppy Pal Paul!!!

Off to save another Jack Russell!

Today's story takes us to the land of ugly mugs.

 A lonely little guy with one red and itchy disposition.

 Down swoops the Doggy Diva and the Canine Com padre...

Into their arms they scoop up a pup with a face only a mother could love...and the skin to go with it!

Parker is swept off his feet and whisked away into the land of love...

of good food and vets and warmth.

Here he will convalesce and become a real dog again...

going for walks, chasing balls, barking at the mailman...

and of course being snuggled as all dogs should be...

 P.S...here's what my daughter had to say...

I'm not sure of his entire story but here is what we could gather from the vet records that came with him from the shelter. 

 

He is about 2 years old, we gather he was bought as a family pet since he is named after a character from the Disney movie Cars.  At around age 8-9 months his previous owner started taking him to see the vet because he was itching and scratching at his fur and was losing some hair.  The vet prescribed some anti-allergenic food and the next visit was a few month after that.  Condition had worsened and he had lost a lot of fur and was prescribed a course of steroids and topical agents.  The owner took him in a couple times and though condition was getting slightly better, it appears the owner did not want to deal with it anymore, or maybe it was getting too expensive (or maybe he had just lost that cute luster that a new puppy has for some people) and he was surrendered to the shelter.   By the time he reached the shelter he had lost about half the fur on his body and was quite underweight.  The shelter started him on a hypoallergenic diet and a few courses of steroids and by the time he came to us he was "80% better" per the shelter, so I can only imagine what he looked like before he came to us.

 

He is a crazy little snuggle monster and he likes to lay down on the carpet and drag himself around using his arms only with his legs straight out behind him like Superman.  He loves to run at the park and is outrunning every other dog around so far.  He is still a bit timid and shy, especially if you scold him, he just tucks his tail in and curls into a scared little ball, but with time, he is learning to trust us and we are being firm but gentle with his discipline so that he knows we aren't mad at him, only his behaviour.  It has only been a week, but we have him on a grain free diet with some added hemp oil and aloe/cortisone for his skin and he already looks 200% better.  With a bit of stability, love and trust we are hoping his fur will start to come back and he will get back up to healthy weight and be able to relax and find a permanent home.

 

Song for Friday...for the sun...

Don't pansies just make you want to smile?

It's trying really hard today to be spring.

After MANY rainy days, the sun came out!

It was a very frosty cold night but after the sun came out, 

these 'Johnny Jump Ups' were standing bright and cheery,

ready to get a move on in the growing department.

Keep the faith, sturdy little ones...spring is on it's way!

Have a lovely weekend all.

Movie review...

We watched this movie the other night.

I love a good story and this is a deep, dark, mysterious story of love, redemption and forgiveness.

Beautifully filmed and one of the better acting jobs Robert Duvall and Bill Murray have done in a long time.

The music is fantastic with a bit of old '30's songs as well as some fabulous bluesy bluegrass.

The song at the end by Alison Krauss and Union Station is simply beautiful.

Unfortunately youtube won't allow me to paste it up here so you'll have to search for it yourself.

She has the voice of an angel.

The song is "Lay my burden down"

Anyway here's a taste from the trailer.

On shop windows...

Remember on the Mary Tyler Moore show, her upstairs neighbour, Rhoda Morgenstern?

She was a window designer.

Along with her groovy gypsy clothing, she had one of my dream jobs.

Working at A Sea of Bloom has allowed me to live out a little bit of that fantasy.

In the retail world, you're always anticipating the next holiday or change of season.

With Easter coming, Karen and I dug out the boxes of Easter stuff,

and had fun redoing the shop window display.

There's something uplifting about spring colours, bunnies, eggs and chocolate!

These lovely hanging eggs look good enough to eat!

(sadly they're not real chocolate!)

 ...chick sticks...

...pretty porcelain tea light holders...

Wouldn't this be so sweet for a new baby?

Speaking of new babies...how about these beautiful hand carved baby spoons?

Loretta Joseph makes these along with bigger spoons and amazing hand carved leaves and feathers...

glass wind chimes full of spring colour...

It's all about the colour purple...

these enameled tiles bursting with flowers...

And always the gorgeous fresh flowers in the shop...

Even these silk sweet pea blooms looks as fresh as the real thing...

So if you're in the area, come have a look...you'll feel that fresh breath of spring air.

Big news in a small package!

 With all of the horrific images of devastation in Japan, here is some good news.

Miraculous really.

The Japanese coastguard found this small dog surviving on a floating island of debris

in the ocean 3 WEEKS after the earthquake.

In this day and age full of sadness, there is a glimmer of brightness.

How they even spotted the dog is amazing when you look at the size and colour of him/her.

Blending in with the wood and such, but someone did see movement.

And the rest, well have a look for yourself!

Spring day...

There was a time when I would look after my brother's 3 of 5 children...

then the younger boy started coming along...and then the baby girl.

Now it's all five that pile into the van!

On Thursday, I babysat the two youngest whilst the rest of the family moved into a new house.

My dad came along too and we met up in Victoria.

So what do you do with a 4 year old and a 1 1/2 year old on a blustery spring day?

 Why, off to the petting zoo of course!

Checking out the ducks...

 the miniature horse...

This is Peanut Butter...we used to board her for a few winters with her foal Jelly...

She's almost 21 years old now...such a sweet old girl and only 3 feet high!

The peacocks were everywhere and not afraid of the paparazzi at all...

And with it being spring...well, peacocks do what they do so well...

Show off those gorgeous feathers...this photo is exactly as I saw him...no editing at all.

Spectacular isn't he?!

But the main reason people bring their kids here is for these guys...

The miniature goats!

We were lucky to get there just as the workers were bringing them down from the main barn to the petting corral  for hay and brushing. 

They call it the goat stampede!!

"Hurry up! You're going to miss out on all the good stuff!!"

 At first Isabella wasn't too sure of these guys.

She's a bit afraid of our goats at home. 

(we adopted several of these guys quite a few years back).

But then big brother Brayden showed her the ropes...

Then it was all smiles and giggles!!

 Much munching was going on...

And looking for the right mom...

Next it was off to see the donkey that was born last summer...

Before...

...and now...

Her name is Annie.

Then we went for a walk along the waterfront on Dallas road...

Home to crazy kite surfers...

And big ocean crossing container ships...Brayden thought there were houses on this one...

...and what little boy can't resist a puddle and a stick?

It was a dry day with the sun popping in and out...perfect timing for us...

Happy Grandpa! Sleepy Isabella.

Through the woods and around the corner, when Brayden shouts out

"Look at the giant pencil rocket!!"

"Uh...not quite, buddy...that's the worlds tallest totem pole.."

So a successful day with the wee ones...spring is on its way and the days are getting warm.

Lot's more fun in the days ahead!