The mulch buffet is open

Every year, come springtime,  we rake up our old mulch and replace it with new.  ( please note that I used We very generously,  as I raked nothing!)  Every year,  once the new mulch is down,  the dogs act like we filled the backyard with milk bones and try to eat all of the mulch.  This year,  to try and discourage the full out mulch feast,  I sprinkled some cayenne pepper on the mulch.

This year, we also used something called Hollytone around the base of the bushes. Lucy has carefully stepped over the cayenne peppered mulch,  and instead has eaten all the Hollytone!  I originally thought I had some rogue squirrel burying acorns,  but someone with muddy paws has given themselves away!  No worries,  Lucy is fine so far,  but apparently can't be left in the yard unattended until this stuff soaks in!

Does your dog routinely eat crazy things?  My cat eats hair elastics,  so I always have to hide them!

Presents!

Every year for Mother's Day, I get my sister the Allure Beauty Box.  This arrived on Monday this week, and I hope this present makes my sister as happy as it usually does!  I know it normally ends up being a feud for products between her and my niece, but it is still fund to receive and try all the products.  Did I mention that I always get myself one too?

When my sister came over to pick up her Mother's Day present early yesterday, she brought me a present from my lovely niece!  Pottery!  On my nephew's birthday, while we were all in my sister's kitchen, I picked up something my niece had made in ceramics and mentioned that no one ever made me anything because I had dogs, not kids.  When I was in high school, I took a pottery class as well.  I have nothing to show for the pottery class that I took, but my sister does.  In my sister's bathroom, there is a small misshapen pinch bowl that she uses to hold q-tips.  I made that misshapen bowl!  Anyway, my niece's dish is much more attractive and functional.

Last, but not least, my brother dropped off two gifts for my niece and nephew today, as he missed their birthdays.  Presents for everyone!

Who knew turkeys could fly that high?

Today, I got home from the gym to find my boyfriend comforting Lucy.  Apparently, she heard some turkeys walking by, gobbling, and she got scared.  She was hiding behind his legs and shivering.  I already knew she was afraid, as she won't stay outside alone when they are nearby.  The other dog just likes to bark his ass off at them, but only when he can see them.

My boyfriend left for work, and the dogs and I went running.  On our return, when we got one house away from mine, my neighbor was pulling out of her road and called out "There is a turkey right there!".  I told her the dogs were afraid of them, and asked where.  She pointed him out and drove away.  Of course we had to investigate...so we got a little closer.  Lucy hid behind me, and the other dog watched that darn bird intently.  After a few minutes of that, we head home.

Thanks to the dew, the dogs are a muddy mess.  When this happens, I make them go outside to the backyard immediately after coming in.  For whatever reason, today I had not taken their leashes off yet.  We are standing on the deck and I am about to unhook the leashes when I spot their nemesis....a turkey...in my freaking backyard!  I'm figuring the bird must have cleared the front picket fence, so 3 or 4 feet?

My other neighbor is outside hanging her laundry at good ole 6:50 AM, so I ask if she can open the gate so the damn turkey can leave.  At this point, the bird is straight up freaking out, running in a circle.  He then abruptly turns, and starts to fly in the other direction.  He clears the 6 foot fence on the other side, and keeps going and going up in the air.  He stops around 35 feet in the air in a neighbors tree, which is where he stayed until after my shower.  Not sure when he left, but he's gone now!  I guess this proves my claim to my friend just the other day wrong, as I told her I thought they could only fly 3 or 4 feet!

The bushes

Shortly after we got Lucy, we lost half of a boxwood bush in the yard.  No one witnessed what happened, but when we brought Lucy over and asked her, she ran away.  I blamed Lucy, even though I did not see her do it. Is that wrong?

Last spring, we did a little landscaping project on the side of the house.  Lucy did not like the arrangements, so she fixed it for us in her own way!  We planted 3 small grassy plants, along with some other bushes.  About 3 days after the project was finished, I noticed 1 grassy plant was missing when I let the dogs out in the yard.  I checked the yard, and found the grassy plant shredded in the middle of the yard.  Lucy strikes again! I brought Lucy over to the plant, showed her the mess, and firmly said "NO!".  Lucy looked at me for a second, and went about her business.

Trying to prevent a repeat performance, I sprayed the remaining plants with Bitter Apple spray.  2 days went by, and another plant mysteriously disappeared.  WTH? This plant was also shredded and spread out on the grass. At this point, I was forced to pull out the big guns, and sprinkled cayenne pepper all over the rest of the plants.  Then the third plant was removed...does Lucy have any taste buds at all?

As my boyfriend is rather stubborn, he replaced all three plants with THE SAME PLANT! I am not sure what the difference was, but none of the plants have been touched so far.  I think Lucy is done with the shrub rearranging and has just switched to grass this year. Multiple times this spring, I have caught her on the deck with a grass clump, roots and all, tucked between her paws.  If only I could train her to just pull weeds!

Does your dog do any landscaping for you?

Mmmm... Coffee!

This just arrived in the mail the other day!  Dark Magic had been my favorite so far for  a while,  but I got the Espresso roast to try as well. 

How do you start your day?

Monday 4/15/2013

My day Monday started off same as it did the past 3 years.  I got up at the crack of dawn, dressed in the dark, hopped in my card, and headed off to Hopkinton, MA.  I parted in a state park lot, met my friends, and took a big, yellow, volunteer bus into the center of town.

Once in the center of town, I attended a meeting for the Rope Holder volunteers.  I was assigned to Coral 2 this year, and stayed after the meeting to meet the 2 lovely ladies I was going to be working with.  We decided on the best method for us to get the rope across, and decided I would walk in front of the runners to the other side.  I asked to get the Korean church side of the street, because it was right where the elite runner entrance was, and I was hoping to get a glance.

At a little after 9, I took my position on my side of the road and held up my rope to block the entrance of the Corral 2 runners into Corral 1.  Wave 1 and 2 were almost entirely men, with wave 3 having a lot more women interspersed.  I took whatever pictures I was able to when the elite runners came down their entrance....but the only clear photo I have is Shalane.  Wave 1 and 2 went seamlessly.  Wave 3 was filled with a few grumpy runners who had missed their wave.  Apparently, if you missed your wave and were leaving in the following one, you were allowed in any corral but 1.  (No one told us this prior to the race!)

All the volunteers stood and clapped and cheered for the runners as they passed by.  We tried to call out any names we saw written on the runners.  It was such a good feeling to see so many excited runners pass by!  Once all the runners passed, we briefly helped some of the other groups move some barriers and other stuff.  Then, on to lunch, which wasn't there yet.  We probably would have left, but I was starving.  I asked my friends to give it 5 more minutes, and thank goodness, it arrived within the 5 minutes.

Once I had grabbed my lunch with my friends K and S, we found a seat and sat down to eat.  This was S's first year volunteering.  I asked her what she thought, and she said it was great, and that she would definitely do it next year.  I said, probably for the 2nd year in a row, that we should try to volunteer at the finish line, as it would be easier for us to get in and out of, with a much shorter drive.  Then, we talked about how they must have different shifts then us, as the runners finish in all different amounts of time.  We all thought that everything went off very smoothly, without a single serious hitch! We threw our trash out and headed back to the bus.  The last bus.  We had no idea we were that close to missing the last bus!  It seems petty now though, when I think of all the runners, stranded, many with no money or phone, unable to retrieve their bags and leave.  I almost missed the bus...so what, right?

Once back at the park, I said goodbye to my friends and we headed off in our cars.  I stopped at Wrentham Outlets for a birthday present for my nephew and then headed back home listening to the marathon results on the radio.  Eventually, it switched to just Red Sox, so I turned it back to music. I was almost home when I got the phone call about the explosions.  As I hadn't heard anything on the radio yet, I thought the explosion was at my house.  No one I talked to had much information yet.  I got home and turned the TV on as soon as I walked in.

 It seems so strange that an event that I had just left with such fond memories could have turned so tragic!  It was also wonderful and heartwarming to watch as the day went on, and residents opened their homes and hearts to those affected by this tragedy.  My heart is with all that were affected by Monday's bombing.  I have chosen to donate funds to The One Fund.  If you would like to donate there as well, please click on the link and it will bring you right there.

Right now, the headline on Boston.com read: "Official: Arrest imminent in marathon bombing, suspect to be brought to court 1:44 PM.  Hopefully, this will help bring peace and a sense of "right" to something that just seems so wrong.

What is wrong with these pictures?

How are you going to tell me there are no artificial colors on the front of the bag,  and then list artificial colors in your ingredients list?? What the heck is that about?  Damn you, red dye!