Ahhh! Pictures!

 When all of us sisters went to Washington to the cousin family reunion we were treated to the sight of two "sand tables" my cousin had in her house. Basically a tray with sand and stones and shells or whatever they chose to put in them. Since they live very close to the ocean this seemed appropriate. I loved them. So when I found someone in the neighborhood throwing away a small tray which had a stand for it, I asked if I could have it and they gave it to me. So I finally got around to getting a piece of glass to top the tray, for about $10. A trip to Dollar Tree netted me stones and shells, $4. And D got some sand from work for free. So my new table cost me less than $15, which makes me very happy. And I got to recycle an item that would have ultimately wound up in the land fill. But I don't live near the beach and thought an ocean theme didn't really fit me so I did a sort of river theme. The result, without glass and stand so I can get a better photo, is above. I think I will be tinkering with it for a while. It makes a lovely small table at the end of the sofa. And is just plain fun.

 I have three orchids that have decided to bloom for me. This bloom just popped open yesterday. And there's another plant who's buds aren't quite open yet. I've forgotten what colors and flower forms they are so each time one opens a flower it's a surprise to me. I'm just so happy they are blooming again.

 Just to cover my bases, in case none bloomed or blossoms fall off, I got this little beauty from Trader Joe's. Where else can you get flowers for $8 that will stay fresh for at least a month? Even if the plant eventually dies it's a good deal.

This one is blooming madly. This one and the one is the upper photo came from Costco last year. I always have good luck with Costco plants and cut flowers. Not all the orchids survive my TLC. I've lost two so far this year. Why one thrives and another doesn't I don't know. I'm just happy I got a few of them to bloom again.

Meanwhile back on the animal front...Charlotte has had another urine test and there are no more crystals in her urine. I am continuing to give her a B vitamin to prevent it. I don't even have to hide them in her food I just hand them to her and she eats them. And she has perfect control of her bladder so it must have been the infection. Big sigh of relief there.

Sarah's manure now looks normal. I told D that this seems to happen to her every winter and he thought about it and thinks it could be a seasonal thing. Who knows why it happens but she is just fine now also.

But not so for poor Ringo. As if that little guy hasn't been though enough with his back, rotten teeth, and blindness in one eye. He's such a quiet, gentle little guy. Well, Friday night I went to my Women's Circle meeting and D told me Ringo either fell off something he was up on or Charlotte pushed him or something. He isn't sure what happened. All he knows it that he heard yelping and went to check it out and blood was pouring out of Ringo's mouth and his lower right canine tooth is now missing. His upper right was already gone and now there's nothing to hold his tongue in his mouth. I wanted to take him to the vet Saturday morning but D said no he would be fine. Ringo has a great deal of bone loss in his jaws and I was worried his jaw was broken and he was in terrible pain and I can't watch that. I finally got D to call the vet on Sunday and we took him in in the morning. But we didn't leave until almost four in the afternoon. Life threatening emergencies kept pushing Ringo to the back of the bus. So a couple xrays, and a few hundred dollars later we were delighted to know that Ringo is in excellent health, and his jaw is not broken. He now has pain drugs, antibiotics, and more drugs for his eye. He's doing very well. His eating kibble days are over though. Right now it's chicken and rice in the blender for a sort of soup. He loves it. We might even be able to get that two extra pounds he's been carrying off of him.

I'm pretty sure D didn't want to take Ringo to the vet because he was worried we'd have to put him down. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. He's only 10 years old and seems older to us. We think it's due to poor care as a puppy. But he's Darryl's boy that's for sure. When D comes in to finally relax he is looking for Ringo and Ringo is looking for him. It makes me laugh because D always said little dogs are "kick me" dogs and his best dog buddy is a little dog and mine is a big dog. Don't worry Vinnie get plenty of lap time too. He's a lovely boy and we love him to pieces.

Mother Nature is teasing us with a couple nice days and then crappy days. I know, "we need the rain". Well, maybe that's true, but we need the snow more and it doesn't snow here often so how about snow in the high country and spring sun here. Winter had it's chance and blew it. I'm ready for spring.