Another adoption!

Theo got adopted this weekend! I had to give him to Jeff and Bronwyn after Morgan left because I can no longer bring dogs to school. We have a visiting Czech student and things are already crowded in the office, no need to add a stinky wiggly pup! But, no matter, he was adopted today, yippie!

Turkey day!

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. Rather than subject you to sappy drivel about all that I am grateful for, I am just going to show you some pictures of my lovely family that I got to spend time with. But just so you know, I am grateful for a whole heck of a lot!

This is my aunt Karen, she knows more about plants than I'll ever know, and I'm supposedly getting a PhD in plant biology! These are the Nelsen/Zetterholm girls, my cousins Polly and Katie, Aunt Linda, and Linda's mom Bev
Polly and Luke got married last year
Polly was born 5 days before me, a fact she never lets me forget! We had a cribbage tournament, a bit of a Thanksgiving tradition in this family. Luke is so good he almost isn't allowed to play against the rest of us.

There was also a little bit of dancing. Luke got a little wild, I must say. ;)

And Katie even helped make part of the Thanksgiving meal.

It's so much fun to hang out with Katie again, especially in a clean, English speaking environment where the food wont make you sick (unless you overindulge!). Not to knock our adventures of course, but still!

Yes, my cousins are the most wonderful beautiful girls ever.

Ok, maybe a little drivel. I'm grateful for: My family, my advisor who thinks that seeing the beauty of the world is just as important as the science we slave away for, my cat who is slowly loosing weight and becoming less like a black furry ball of lard and more like a real cat (that actually cuddles and chases string! who'd of thought?), my little garden that still has little flashes of color to make living in Davis a little less hard, my labmates that remind me what it is to be a girl, my students who give me reasons to look forward to coming to school, Cesar who is helping me finally conquer the Spanish language, all of the silly little homeless labs that come in and make my life a little more insane and a lot more wonderful, and my darlin Katerina and her little Bella Rose, for all the obvious (and not so obvious) reasons. I'm sure there are many more things I am exceedingly grateful for, but I am going to leave it at that for the moment. Lots o love to you all!

Morgonian

Morgan came to visit me this weekend. It is so nice to have somebody come and break my monotony. Morgan is an old buddy of mine, from the very first days of college. He's got a break between school and a job, so he made the drive from Corvallis, lucky me!


So, Saturday, I drug him around my haunts... volunteering him at the market lab rescue booth

Taking him to the dog park with the new foster dog

This is a pugle, pretty dang cute for a small dog!

Then we ate good food and took a walk around my neighborhood to look at the stars (not to mention puppy needs).

The next day he took me on one of his favorite activities, panning for gold.Unfortunately for us, the best spot was across the river, that was cold! Morgan had to carry Theo across too, because the poor boy had stitches and wasn't supposed to get wet. Morgan didn't have too much luck, and the dog was an absolute brat that I had to spend my day dealing with instead of mucking around with Morgonian. And then? We had to cross back. This may look very tranquil and beautiful, but...Poor Morgan and Theo went for an unexpected and very chilly swim!

I felt sooo bad, but at the same time, laughed my head off. The look on Morgan's face as he realized he was going down... He almost had it, but no. and the dog just sat there, curled up in his arms till finally Morgan let him go and made him swim. Pretty likely his first try at that. Let's just say that Morgan wasn't so fond of Theo after that, though he is recovering well. Deserved his wine that night, for sure!And this is what Morgan has to say about my new found picture taking obsession. Ok, ok, I admit I'm pretty bad.

Theo

I've got a new foster, though NOT one I can keep under normal circumstances. Theo is a thoroughly adorable little boy, only about 6 months old and cute as can be. So cute that Morgan called him The-adorable, and it stuck. But, he is such a little brat, pushing the boundaries all the time. Standard puppy stuff (though he's big enough that he can cause some damage before he desists), but I don't have time for dealing with a baby! I cant bring him to school because he barks his little head off (and it's deep and loud!) whenever he is not directly under my feet. Or, Morgan's too for that matter, he seems to have decided that both of us must be around at all times. Last night, we were in the bedroom watching a movie, with the gate up to protect the poor cat... and he threw a fit. The worst part is, he won when we went to shut him up, but I can't wait out his little tantrum. My head would explode for one, but more importantly, I could get in deep *%$#. So, he gets to stay while Morgan is here to keep him company during the day, but will be headed to another foster soon. Regardles, soooooooo cute

Temporary dog fix

JR stayed with me this weekend, while his foster went on vacation. This dog was the funniest creature, a gruff grumbly old man. Man, did he like to talk! And he would do anything to prove he wasn't old, but then complain for hours as he paid for it. But, he was sweet, underneath it all, and I got my dog fix.

Sappy animal stories

I have two silly stories to tell you.

Well, actually one was rather tear jerkingly beautiful, but... I was at the lab rescue booth last Saturday, and there was one dog who was very shy and meek. She's an older lady, but very fit for her age. She spent most of the time hiding behind people. Then, this young woman walked by and this little girl suddenly perked up. When the woman came in to pet her, the dog was out from under the legs, jumping around, wagging the tail, that had seemed permanently stuck between her legs, for all it was worth. When the woman left, Cheyenne (the dog) tried to follow her, then would not let her out of her sight. It was pretty extreme. Basically Cheyenne chose this woman, and after a lot of hemming and hawing and walking around to test this girls reaction, they went home together. The girl was so not looking for a dog, but could not deny the choice that was made. It had all of us a little weepy.

The other story is a little silly, but it makes me happy. My silly little cat, who if you've met her you know that little is not the best descriptor, is now on a diet. It makes for difficult evenings for me as she runs around asking for food all night, but hey, at least she is running around now! She was a bit of a blob for a while. Now, the odd thing is that she is suddenly becoming a lap cat. I expected some changes as she lost the weight and got healthier, but she has never been a lap cat! I've had her for almost 9 years, and though I picked her for exactly that reason, she proved to be very reluctant to cuddle. But now, everytime I sit in my reading chair, within 10 minutes she has climbed up and settled in. I'm in heaven!

tee hee