Good Afternoon Idylls! This will have to be a quickie, as Ive been out all day with mom. I took her shopping for some Christmas presents. Well, mom mostly sat (nice store with chairs *everywhere* and great customer service) and I did the actual shopping for her, just showing her stuff and getting her approval. Anyway, I think mom had a good (though exhausting time). On the way to the mall I was playing a "40s station for her and she really enjoyed hearing "her" music. Xavier Cugat sp? came on the radio playing a jazzy rumba and I started pretending I was rumba-ing, while driving the car...LOL! I think she was a little nervous at first (worried that I wasnt being careful with my driving dont worry I *was*). Anyway, she finally loosened up and started giggling...you should have seen the twinkle in her eye...for a moment I got a glimpse into her past...the twinkling eyes and bright smile, for a fleeting moment I saw her at 18! Well, I guess somewhere buried in all of us mature, dignified woman a carefree young girl still lingers! :-) You know, the nice store we went to had me thinking. Like I said, it was great because there were chairs everywhere to relax...even at the checkout counter which certainly went a long way in making the experience more pleasant for mom. But what I was thinking was wouldnt it be nice if these big department store could offer a service....like a doorman (but not so formal) that could sit with your elderly mother, while you ran to get the car or wait for her while you go park the car? Thats always such a worry of mine whenever I take mom out. She cant walk far so I always walk her to the inside doors of the store before I go to park the car. My heart is in my throat the whole time Im looking for a parking space though, with thoughts running through my head like "what is someone singles her out as vulnerable, knocks her down and steals her purse, or what if she gets faint or what if she trips while Im parking the car, now days with the dementia getting worse I have the added worry that she may start to wander off if Im taking too long. Heck, Id be willing to pay some reasonable amount for that service, just for the peace of mind and added security. Hey thanks Eden & Marian! I am relieved to see the instructions are so easy too Eden. Please thank Brad for me too, will you? :-) Ill give it a whirl tonight, but first Ill have to load the pics up in "My Pictures". I have them saved right now in Image Expert. WOW Marian! I cant believe the ladys slipper...she looks wonderful *and* happy. Well I do believe I heard her breath a sigh of relief, when I was shipping her out to you...LOL! Im so glad that you are enjoying them...it really tickles me that they bring you pleasure. You really do have a gift. I have *never* had an orchid repeat bloom for me and I have finally given up on them. Woody, I love Chelones suggestions, especially the teal or plum! I was also thinking periwinkle might look lovely too (or maybe not, it could be its just cause I love the color periwinkle...LOL). Anyway, funny, after I closely re-read your post, I realized that there was only *one* arbor. The arbor looks so different through the season, depending on what plants are in focus and with the gate open in the one pic and not the other, I just assumed you had *two* arbors! Anyway, your plantings are just beautiful! Deanne Well, I did exactly as you suggested. Very scary stuff indeed. I gather that it is fairly uncommon for cats to get cancer from injections, but it can and does happen. As far as dogs are concerned, while I didnt get any "hits" on the internet re dog vaccination and cancer, I did find some articles that said there is a possible relation to autoimmune hemolytic anemia in dogs receiving innoculations. According to one the articles, which I linked at the bottom of my post, there is reason to question annual immunizations (except of course rabies, which is required by law for dogs). Interestingly, my vet has had Scout on an "every 3 year vaccination" and previous to going to this vet, I use to have titer tests done to see if he still had immunity. Interesting article and I definitely plan to show it to my vet the next time Im in and ask what he thinks. Anyway, heres a little excerpt from the article "According to Dr. Schultz, protection against canine parvovirus and canine distemper from successful vaccination is long term, probably lifelong. (Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy XIII; 2000; "Vaccines and Vaccinations: Issue for the 21st Century", Richard B. Ford and Ronald D. Schultz; (Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy XI, "Canine and Feline Vaccines," Phipps, Schultz; R.D. Schultz, "Considerations in Designing Effective and Safe Vaccination Programs for Dogs," May 2000; (Schultz, "Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines: What We Know and Don't Know."). So then, *why* do our vets recommend continual immunization? Anyway, the author does state that he is not saying immunization is a bad thing, just saying that we should be more informed. Also, the lepto virus, Ive never given to Scout because he had an adverse reaction. Interestingly in the article it states that lepto is a common "problem" shot and that it is not very effective anyway, since there are so many strains. Okay, Ill shut up now... Anyway, glad you all had such a great time at Sues (of course I knew you would). Michelle, neat story! You are right, that *is* part of the charm and the special memories! Funny you brought that up cause that is the sentimental gift I received from my mom this year. :-) My mom gave me her nativity set! She made it when I was a small child and its just beautiful...all hand painted, There is Mary, Joseph & the baby Jesus, an angel, 3 camels for the 3 wisemen; a cow; a donkey; 3 sheep; and even a goat. Hey T Ive got a goat now too! :-) I was so touched when she gave it to me (I remember that it took her a whole year to make the whole set and I know she was very proud of it as she should be)....I will cherish it always! BTW, thats a lovely pic of you and Rick. And your jacket is so pretty! Thanks too for the compliment Michelle. It was such a nice thing to say and you really made me smile! I guess sometimes we all need to hear stuff like that, even if I've never been able to handle compliments well! :-) Speaking of T...that *is* a gorgeous sunset and I smiled when I saw Tall and Wide...simple names and yet so clever! :-) Your beds are looking gorgeous. I agree you have *some* beautiful soil, in fact, it would be an insult to your soil to call it "dirt". :-) Kathy, the mantle is stunning. I really love the what you did with the vases too. How clever to fill them with walnuts and then add the twigs....so simple and yet so natural and well designed...BRAVO! I may steal that idea for next year! :-) The new walkway and arbor are really lovely too. Gorgeous sweater Bug! I love the colors and the "cut" of it. Funny about Charlotte...that little cutey! The other day when you were mentioning that the two of you had "hair appointments" I had a visual of Charlotte sitting under the dryer in a Beauty Salon...LOL! You know she is so human looking, she could probably pull it off! :-) LOL Bug...hope Eden's wearing her crash helmet! Uh oh, Pauls pulling up and the pork roast is in need of checking. TTYL! Ei P.S. Hi Prarie Moon! You're going to love these people! :-)

Lars, it wasn't cool in the daytime, it was well into the 70s, but early morning and after dark it cooled off into the 40s, enough that I wished I had not forgotten that jacket. Hey, I think YOU look better than that shirtless guy on the street corner too. AnnT, I loved the market. I told Elery that when I got to the cheese shop with a million cheeses, I think I blacked out, LOL. And the bread was amazing. I also got a Montreal style bagel from St. Urbain, but I messed up. I asked for an Asiago Cheese bagel, and when I got back to the hotel, I found she had actually given me a pastry filled with some sweetened ricotta filling. It was so busy I probably got someone else's breakfast. Peppi, if you head that way, call me first, I'll go with you. It was great fun. Hey, maybe Linda (doucanoe) wants to come along too. Toronto would never be the same. (grin) Yes, Gina, I think Elery IS cute, LOL, but I'll tell him you said so. Deb, sorry about the pigs...... Annie

Sounds like you're doing great with him. As Cesar would say: "Dogs live in the moment." So what matters is now, not a slip when you were surprised and spoke louder than you meant to. "Dogs respond to a confident leader." When you walk him, stand tall, shoulders back, loose lead, in charge, ready to conquer anything that comes your way. "Don't encourage fearful behavior - ignore it." Go about your business as if there is nothing scary going on, just like balanced dogs would. If a dog acts scared and you scoop it up and comfort it, the message the dog gets is that there is a reason to be afraid and it is rewarded. So the next time that stimulus comes, she reacts the same way because you taught her she was right to be afraid of it. A rescue dog I got reacted slightly when there was thunder. I ignored it and then thought of a game that would make her happy. We played her favorite game, a game of her own I called growly bump. There it was thundering and I'm on my hands and knees, doing the let's play position and jumping around with her, bumping her hip, immitating her play growl. We made much happy noise and drowned out the storm. I did this a few other times with particularly bad storms, and she quickly forgot that storms were once scary to her. Hope that helps you.

I've really been enjoying everyone's stories in this thread. You can see a lot of love here! Clementine, if you tell your mom to butt out, no matter how politely you say it, it will hurt her deeply. She advises you because she loves you and wants to give to you, and she needs to feel needed. I had sort of the same problem with my mother. So I sat down and thought about how she would love to feel that she had done something nice for me. Then I did a little mental inventory of her skills, and she had no shortage of those. I wanted to sew new living room drapes, pleated. This was an area where I really would love her help. So when she was over, I took her to the fabric store with me and we picked out something pretty. Then she helped me measure and cut, I sewed, and together we hung them. It turned out to be a really nice mother-daughter time for us both. I got help with something I needed help with, and she got to feel needed and appreciated, which she was. I learned to think of things to ask her opinions and help with, and she learned to relax. Everybody won. If you think about it, maybe can you find a way to put your mom to work helping you sew, or can, or something?