Author Archives: cherethomas

A Day at the Zoo – Part 1

Above – WATCH OUT!!! Geez, we turn our backs for 1 minute and the Sparts finds himself almost squished by an elephant!!

Monday was the perfect day for the Zoo. We got there a minute before it opened and Sparty lasted an hour and a half, which is pretty good considering, according to Jen, he’d already been up for an hour before we arrived at 5:50am. An hour and a half was just enough time to walk over to see the Muircats, Elephants, Camels, Jaguars and Lions.

There’s a lot of construction going on right now because of the off season. Pappa needs to know everything that’s going on.

That’s a big elephant AND some curly hair!

This jaguar cub sat calmly just 5 feet from us. Beautiful!

More photos for tomorrow.

Today – Music class with Sparty this morning and gymnastics this afternoon with Maya. I’m feeling tons better today but still not 100%.

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone/iMac with LOVE!

Early Morning With Maya & Sparty

Above – After brushing hair selfie.

The day with Maya & Sparty began at 5:50am. Breakfast, dress & off to school for Maya. Now we’re taking Sparty to the Zoo.

Below… Puppy Love

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone with LOVE!

Disney Frozen on Ice

Above – Ron’s autographed BBQ book he got directly from the author, Steven Raichlen, at a job he did in Palm Desert last week.

At Disney Frozen on Ice yesterday – front row. It was a great show and the kids LOVED it!

This was my favorite character – the reindeer.

The Sparts didn’t make it past intermission.

The kids got dropped off with us last night for a few hours. After watching Curious George III, the four of us (5 if you count Bear!) fell asleep on the bed together. The two little ones (3 if you count Bear!) seemed to take up most of the bed!

I’m teaching a special Sunday Morning Restorative class this morning, then RESTING in front of football playoffs all afternoonto and maybe I can get a better handle on this cold. I think I’m feeling a little better today but still short of being well.

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone / MacBook with LOVE!

Puzzling

Above – no explanation required.

Below – an interview with Maya the Bee.

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone and iMac with LOVE!

Blake Gets a Second Chance

Above – Blake about a year ago.

After about six weeks and unable to find someone to take little Blake into their “forever home” we made a deal (which consisted of a hefty donation) with our friend, Stacey, who operates The Barking Lot in San Diego. We got both Annie and Bear at The Barking Lot and know of their reputation for rescuing and finding homes for dogs of all breeds and ages. When we brought Blake in, Stacey said she was planning on putting her in a foster home, a temporary home until they find a forever home for her. That was Friday. Sunday morning I got an email from Stacey telling me that Blake is in a foster home. Tuesday I got another email from Stacey forwarding me an email from Blake’s foster mom telling her this:

“She is adorable! I thought she was a little spunky for a senior! She can run FAST – and loves running through the yard. She really wants to play with Motts; she runs around him and tries to egg him on but he is having none of it. HE taught her how to use the Doggy Door (took 2 days). He kept going in and out and would wait for her. She is very polite and well mannered. She loves treats. She wants to sit ON us on the couch but is fine being moved to the cushion next to us. At dinner time she gets so excited that she will dance around on her hind legs. She often turns and nuzzles her back legs so I’m wondering if she has some hip dysplasia or arthritis. Sometimes has a little trouble jumping onto the couch. She prefers to sleep on the couch at night but during the day sleeps in the beds that are in each room – usually depending on where I am. It is amazing how quickly they acclimate. We’re having fun!”

This is great news. Every time we visited Bill in the hospital he asked how Blake was and I assured him she was doing fine and that she would be fine. I feel great knowing she is in good hands and in a loving home with a dog friend.

We had four different people/families come and look at her but for one reason or another she wasn’t right for them. I was feeling very bad for her because she’s a sweet girl with a great personality that just wants to belong and be loved. We know she will have that opportunity with The Barking Lot!

I will keep you posted as I get updates.

If you’re interested in seeing what The Barking Lot is all about, check out the website: http://www.thebarkinglot.net

Here’s our “TBL” forever dog (a photo I may have already posted)…

Blogged on Amma’s iMac and iPhone with LOVE!

Little Mister Poopy Pants

Above – The blimp flew along the coast over the weekend while watching football. I think there was a golf tournament.

Below – Jen sent me this photo of Sparty telling her “one more minute” when she told him he needs to have his poopy diaper changed. Evidently that wasn’t important to him.

I made chili yesterday and Ron brought the kids over for dinner. Here I was trying to get a photo of both of them giving him a kiss at the same time.

Robb and Akuch got their ethnicity estimates back from Ancestry.com. Surprisingly Robb’s got 35% Irish and only 3% Italian. It’ll be interesting to see what mine says because I always thought I was 25% Irish and 25% Italian with a mix of other Europe regions making up the other 50%.

This shouldn’t be too surprising. Akuch is 100% African!

I’m still struggling with head and chest congestion. I went to the doctor yesterday and he claims its a sinus infection. I’m on antibiotics again which I’m not too happy about but this has been lingering for over a month now. The pressure in my head has been intense at times and morning coughing fits aren’t helping that out any. I’m so done with this!

Note to Mom (who’s on a cruise ship down the eastern South American coast) – Did you know you called me twice yesterday? I could hear you (& Maeann in the background), but evidently you couldn’t hear me. If you want to communicate with me, you can have someone on the ship help you get wifi on your phone and send me an email (that little white envelope icon …). However, if you’re reading this blog post, you no doubt are already on wifi. I hope you’re having a great time!

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone/MacBook with LOVE!

Learn Something New

Above – Dinner consisting of a tuna melt using cinnamon raisin bread freshly baked by one of my students and friend, Sarah. Yummy.

Did you know that during the construction of Petco Park, the Padres offered fans the chance to purchase bricks outside the concourse and to dedicate them?

Soon after this, PETA attempted to purchase a brick to protest Petco’s treatment of animals (PETA and Petco have a long-standing dispute over this matter), but the first two attempts were denied. Undeterred, PETA succeeded on its third attempt by purchasing a brick which read “Break Open Your Cold Ones Toast The Padres Enjoy This Champion Organization.” When one reads the first letter of each word, it forms an acrostic which reads “BOYCOTT PETCO.” The Padres decided to leave the brick there, saying not enough people walking by would notice the secret meaning.

Above fact courtesy of Wikipedia (because I have an inquiring mind)..

But wait, that’s not all. There’s still some learning to do. I had never heard the word “acrostic” before so now I share that pronunciation and meaning with you (although I’m sure all my readers probably already know this):

Acrostic – a·cros·tic (əˈkrôstik,əˈkräs-) noun – a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.

This makes sense because the prefix is the same as that of “acronym,” which led me to research the difference between the two and I found that what PITA wrote wasn’t really an acrostic, but rather an acronym!

I hope I didn’t lose you to boredom. I know it’s a lot more fun and brainless to look at photos of grandkids, sunsets, lifeguards, orchids, floods, doves, steep hills covered with snow waiting for an avalanche, and squirrels. But don’t complain, I did give you a photo of food today.

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone/MacBook with LOVE!

(More) Birds on a Wire

Above – Ron & Jen getting ready to play a fun little game of Russian Roulette.

The doves get very impatient in the morning waiting for the food train. Notice the really light colored dove. We have a couple light (almost white) ones that hang around. All of the doves are fat and happy – very healthy.

Below – A little “down time” with Maya – watching a movie after ‘nastics.

It’s going to be a quiet weekend for me. After teaching this morning I’m going to hunker down in the house and rest up to see if I can get rid of this nasal and chest congestion that’s been haunting me for the past two months. A good reason for football and popcorn!

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone/MacBook with LOVE!

Not in San Diego

Above – Ron atop the mountain. I have no idea what mountain, but it’s clear he’s not at the bottom.

Kando, the happiest baby in the world …

Lily and Alo sporting their matching OB sweatshirts.

I found that orange sock in our dryer so I mailed it to Alo.

Alo’s new dinosaur shirt we ordered for him when we were in Walnut Creek. It finally arrived. From China.

Blogged on Amma’s iPhone/MacBook with LOVE!

This is Major Tom to Ground Control

“Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you “Here am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do.”

David Bowie – RIP

Breakfast yesterday at Shades with Maya and Sparty.

Poor Micky lost all his parts …

Trying to get them to sit still to get a photo …

Bolsters and blankets and Maya pretending to be asleep.

Sparty sleeping for reals. He was so tired. It didn’t take too long to get him to sleep.

Selfie.

After the rain Thursday we drove down Cape May to see how the properties were holding up. The water came up to the curb, but didn’t seem to bother anything else.

The corner of Cape May and Sunset Cliffs.

The entrance to North Beach (Dog Beach) well above curb level.

The apartment/condo at Abbott and Saratoga. This is after crews cleaned out the property from the rains two days before. The driveway has turned into a beach.