Smudge went in for his regular checkup today. Every couple of weeks he gets blood work done to monitor his hyper-thyroid. Prior to him getting in the carrier, Roxie jumped in. I had to coax her out of it. Smudge gained 2 lbs since he was diagnosed, and she doesn't want him to gain any more. He's doing great. But now she hears a heart murmur and his heart is racing so she's concerned about high blood pressure. If his thyroid is behaving and he gets to cut back or come off of that, and his blood pressure is still high, he'll be put on that. He also needs dental cleaning done, but at those prices, that's not going to happen soon!

Jim and Glenda's photos remind me of a kayaking trip I took to Mallows Bay along the Potomac River south of DC, where the remains of hundreds of ships lie just below the water line, emerging at low tide. There is one large steel wreck, shown here, and many other older vessels that are mostly reduced to wooden pieces and rusty bits. An aerial view shows the outlines of where the ships were. The story behind the wrecks is a fascinating story of a government plan gone wrong http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/potomac/mallow.htm

St Simon's Island Ga

The lady in the photo is none other than Lily Langtry. Many years ago I was shopping and saw the photo being used as just a stock photo in a picture frame that was for sale. I recognized the portrait right away as I had always admired the PBS production of "The Jersey Lily" and had researched Lily Langtry. Anyway, I asked the store clerk if I could have the paper (photo) inside the frame but not buy the frame. LOL He looked at me like I was crazy, and I tried to explain my excitement. He gave it to me! I took the "photo" to a framer and had it properly matted and framed. True story. murraysmom, I like that pic. What a sweet expression on the dog's face.