We hope you read this!

Hi everyone! This is Trixie at the wheel. We are so sorry we've been gone for so long. And Mama is sorry too. She just hasn't been able to get herself to blog lately. Her new job is kind of wearing her out. Mama gets home from work every day and just collapses on the couch. Me and Lily lay with her. We all squash together on one little couch. Maybe someone will take a picture of us one day. 

We've got some sort of sad news. Mama thought maybe we shouldn't come on here to write about it, since we haven't blogged for so long. She said it would be like just showing up when we have problems, after ignoring our bloggy for so long. But me and Lily thought it would be sadder if we didn't tell our old friends about this, after all you've been through with us. 

For a long time, Sammy-Joe has been losing weight. For a while, way back in February, he kind of stopped eating for a while. He got really skinny and bony. It was weird to see, because Sammy-Joe has always been kind of... um... volumtous. 

Mama took him to the vet, and they tested his thyroid and tested him for some other stuff. They ended up telling Mama that nothing was wrong with him, and that he was probably just bored with dry food. So Mama started feeding him wet food instead. Which he loved! And from then on he gobbled down as much food as anyone would give him. He also loved gobbling down kitty treats, and any meat leftover from Mama's meals. He even ate a potato chip once! But he didn't really gain much weight. 

So a few weeks ago, Mama and her family went on vacation in Hawaii. We all went to our various boarding places... Lily at doggy daycare, me at my friend's house, and Sammy-Joe at the vet. Mama asked them to do another blood test on Sammy-Joe, because she thought he might be diabetic.

When Mama came back from Hawaii, she went with Grampa to the vet. I, Trixie, was going to meet them there, and they were also going to pick up Sammy-Joe. While they were there, the vet asked Mama and Grampa to come into a little room. Then, he told them that he thinks Sammy-Joe has cancer, and that he only has four or five months to live!!!!!!

Mama got really upset. She cried and cried. Then Mama started trying to think positively. She did some research and found out that a mixture of cottage cheese and flax oil, fed in a small amount each day to a pet, has been known to help dogs and cats beat cancer. It strengthens their immune system, which is a really important part of fighting cancer. Mama also decided she wanted a second opinion about Sammy-Joe. 

See, when Mama talked to the vet, he said Sammy-Joe's bones were making a high amount of white blood cells, and that it was probably cancer. But Mama thought that cancer makes you have a low amount of white blood cells! So she was confused. Then she emailed a special vet just for cats, and the people there told her that there can be many reasons for a cat to have a high white blood cell count. They asked Mama to bring Sammy-Joe in for an exam with them. So on Wednesday, Mama is going to bring Sammy-Joe to the kitty vet and see if they can help him. 

Mama says, if it turns out that Sammy-Joe does have cancer, she doesn't think she'll put him through chemotherapy. Mama knows a little human girl who is going through chemo, and the chemo is tearing the little girl apart almost worst than her tumors were! Mama is afraid that would be a lot of pain to put Sammy-Joe through, and that he might not even understand why, and that the treatments could even end up being what kills him. So she is worried about that. Plus, cat chemo is really expensive and Mama probably couldn't pay for most of it. 

Our biggest hope is that the kitty clinic is going to say there is something else wrong with Sammy... something that is easily treatable. If it really is cancer, then our biggest hope is that the kitty vet will help Mama find ways to keep Sammy as healthy and happy as possible, for as long as possible. She'll keep on giving him the flax and cottage cheese, and she'll do whatever else the vet says she should do, and maybe we'd even try pet reiki and things like that.

So that is what is going on with us. Mama hasn't even mentioned this to very many people in real life, because she thinks if she says "cancer" out loud, it is going to make the cancer real and give it too much power. 

It was two years ago today, almost to the minute, that we started our blog. And even though we didn't get to post in it as much as we should of, during 2012, we never forgot about all of our friends. So we thought you should know about Sammy-Joe... and if you can, send pawsitive thoughts our way!

Love, 
Trixie and Lily

A Flower Dog Is Better Than A Flower Girl!

Hi everyone! Mama was telling us about this cool thing one of her friends invented. This isn't a sponsored review or a commercial break or anything... we just thought it was so cool, when we heard about it, that we wanted to tell our friends about it! 


Mama is in a Meetup group so she can make new friends because apparently hanging out with two dogs and a cat isn't enough! (LOL, just kidding, Mama... we know you have to hang out with humans every so often!) One person at the group, a lady named Sheryl, started telling Mama about a thing she and her husband invented. It is called a Pet Petal Pullcart! It was invented because, when Ms. Sheryl was planning her wedding, she wanted to have something even cooler than a flower girl... she wanted a flower dog! She already had her very own cute little dog that would be perfect for the part. But she wanted to figure out a way for her dog to toss flower petals along the aisle as she walked! This is a very hard trick for a dog to learn, especially since our fingers are tiny and round! 


So Sheryl and her husband made a little cart that can be attached to a dog's harness. When the dog walks, and pulls the cart, flower petals drop out of the cart!

There is one thing humans will have to do on their own. You have to teach your dog to walk down the aisle, instead of running around like a crazed raccoon with the cart! Ms. Sheryl's website says that this is a pretty easy trick to teach a dog. You start out by standing a little far away from your dog, showing them a treat, and having them walk towards you. (We two dogs already know how to do this, because Mama teaches us "sit-stay" with cheese or hotdog pieces all the time!) We think maybe the dog will run towards you down the aisle. If you want him to walk slowly, that might take more training! LOL! Or maybe the dog could just be trained to walk behind someone in front of him, and the human in front of him can be secretly holding a treat in their hand! 


We don't know if any of our friends' humans are getting married... but if they are, and they want you to be in the wedding, maybe they can order you one of these! They have to put in an order a long time before the wedding, because it needs to be custom built according to your weight. 


Isn't that so cool? When Ms. Sheryl told Mama about it, Mama used her cellphone to find the website right away, because she thought it was so cute! It almost makes Mama want to get married, just so we can all be in her wedding! 


(Lily and Sammy-Joe have an idea! We think Mama should order a cart anyway, for Trixie's size. Then, she can attach Trixie to it, and Trixie can take us for rides!)


Thanks for reading, friends! Be sure to tell your humans that you want to be in their next wedding!

Lily's Weird Day

Hi everyone! Lily here! You'll never guess what a weird day I had yesterday!
Mama dropped me off at my doggie daycare in the morning. I don't usually go to daycare, but Mama is going out of town pretty soon and I will be staying there for a week for boarding, so she wants me to get used to being there. 
So I was hanging out with some of the dogs, having fun, relaxing, etc. Then a lady came and picked me up. She took me to a different room.

AND SHE CUT OFF ALL MY FUR!

Well, not all of it, exactly, But a lot of it. She also shaved my butt area. Suddenly I felt so naked! 

I was so happy when Mama came to pick me up. I was sure she'd have a fit when she found out what the weird lady did to my fur! But instead, Mama was laughing and smiling and petting me! She kept saying how cute I was, and how I'd be so much cooler on the hot days. She also said something about how it would be way easier for her to wash the squirrel poop off of me when I roll around in it outside. She said maybe I wouldn't have to take so many baths! Which is kind of good, because the day before that Mama gave me two baths in a row, and she still called me stinky. 

Still, though. This is not something I ever imagined would happen to me!

I'll show you what I look like, if you promise not to laugh. (That means you, Sammy-Joe!)

Ready?

TA-DA!

Do you see the tiny ribbons in my hair? I think I look like I have no ears. But Mama keeps on saying how cute I look. What do you think? 

We Are Blessed!

Hi everyone! This is Lily! The other day Trixie told you that I was going to come here and tell you about something really cool that I did. Well, the church that our Mama sometimes goes to (when she can manage to get up early on a Sunday) has a Blessing Of The Animals service every summer. Everyone is allowed to bring their pets, and the service is all about animals!


So, Mama and I went to it. Mama wanted to bring everyone, but Sammy-Joe probably wouldn't like it, and Trixie gets kind of hyper around other dogs and its hard for Mama to handle us both by herself. I am lucky because I am the calmest and the most portable dog, so I went with Mama to represent all of the animals in our family.


The service was really cool! All of the songs were about animals, and all of the readings were about animals, and then we all said a special prayer together about blessing all of the animals in the world.


Also, during the service, dogs and cats didn't have to sit quietly or anything. We were all on leashes, but we could move around and sniff each other's butts, and try to get petted and everything. We were sitting next to a giant Alaskan Malamute who really loved sniffing me!


Here's me, right after the service. The reason Mama's hand is on me is because she only had her phone camera, which is really slow, and every time she'd try to take a picture of me I'd move at the last minute and make it blurry. So she was holding me still. You can see I was kind of annoyed.

Then, after the service, we got to walk around and talk to people and pets. I sniffed so many butts! Some people had dog treats that they passed out to us! I met a really nice lady who kept giving me lots of treats! I am usually shy around new people, but after she gave me a treat or two, I just jumped up on her and wagged my tail like we were best friends! She had two dogs. One was a chihuahua. The other was a mixed breed dog who didn't really like other dogs, but he liked me! 


One of the nicest parts was that there was a table where people could put photos of their pets who went to the Rainbow Bridge. Mama made this really nice picture of our family members at the Rainbow Bridge... Woody, Zip and Chopper.

Isn't it sweet? We think its funny that in one picture, the bird is eating the dog's bone, and in another picture, the dog is eating the bird's ball! Zip and Woody, who were Mama's pets when she was a little kid, were the best of friends. Unfortunately, both of them passed away very young, which broke my Mama's heart. Fortunately, she got Chopper right after that, which healed her heart a little! 


AND NOW FOR A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY!
Did you know that the Catholic religion actually has an official Blessing Of the Animals day? well, technically it's one of the Saint days, or Feast Days I think they're called. It's in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis loved all animals. In fact, he referred to all animals as his brothers and sisters. He would even preach to them about God, and they would sit and listen! There are many stories about things St. Francis did for animals. 

In one story, he was sleeping in a cave (St. Francis lived much of his life in poverty, on purpose) and he gave up his bed to a donkey. 


In one story, someone asked St. Francis to free a rabbit from a trap. St. Francis freed the rabbit, and told him he should be more careful in the future. But instead of hopping away, the rabbit jumped up on St. Francis's lap and refused to leave!


Another story says that, whenever St. Francis was near by and saw fish being caught, he would free the fish and warn them to be more careful. When he went out in a boat, fish would gather around his boat and listen to his sermons, and not leave until he was done! 


A famous story tells about a wolf that was very hungry, and had been attacking and eating people in a village! Some people tried to kill the wolf, but he attacked them and ate them. Finally, St. Francis went out to talk with the wolf. He saw that the wolf was hungry, and asked him to make a pact. The people of the village would feed the wolf, and in exchange, he would not attack any people or animals in the village. He held out his hand to the wolf, and the wolf gave him his paw. From then on, the wolf and the people lived in harmony, and when the wolf finally died of old age, the people were sad because he'd become a member of the community. 


One more story talks about how St. Francis saw a little boy who had caught some doves in a cage, and was planning to sell them. St. Francis worried that the doves would be killed and eaten, or otherwise harmed. He spoke to the little boy about how sweet and gentle doves were, and how they were a symbol of peace. The little boy agreed to let the doves go. Then St. Francis began building nests around the monastery for doves to live in, so that they would be safe. 


St. Francis usually rode on his loyal donkey. At the end of St. Francis's life, when he was in his death bed, St. Francis thanked his donkey for carrying him and helping him. And his donkey wept. 


You see why St. Francis is Mama's favorite saint, even though she is not Catholic?


St. Francis's Feast Day is on October 4. He is the Patron Saint of Animals. Some Catholic churches, especially Franciscan churches, celebrate this day with a Blessing Of the Animals. At a traditional Catholic animal blessing, a friar says a special prayer for each pet, and then sprinkles the pet with holy water.


Since Mama is Unitarian Universalist, and the UU's march to the beat of our own drummer, our blessing was in July and St. Francis was not mentioned. Also nobody put water on me. Thank goodness! But Mama does say she wants to take us to a traditional blessing at a Catholic church this October. If you want to find one, you could Google Franciscan churches in your area, or just Google "blessing of the animals" and your state. AmericanCatholic.org has a website where you can search for a blessing, by town or state. But not all churches submit their info to the site, so if you don't see one in your area on that site, keep looking on your own! Maybe you could even arrange one at your own church, or at an animal rescue organization!


Well, I really wasn't planning on telling you all about St. Francis, but Mama thinks he's such a cool dude, and she thought we should share him with you. Even if you're not Catholic or even Christian, St. Francis is a great role model for people who love animals! 


That's it for now. By, friends! We love you! 

Some Updates, and Raise Your Hand if Your Humans Like To Read!

Hi everyone! It's me, Trixie, updating the old bloggy-blog today. How is everyone?
Here in Illinois it is soooooooooo hot! We don't even like to be outside! Mama put a small blow-up swimming pool outside in the yard, in hopes that Lily and me would get in it to cool off. Lily went in it only if Mama was sitting in it, and then she just walked around. Me... I wasn't sure what to think of it! Gramma picked me up and put me in it, and it felt really weird and cold on my feet. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to get out, so I just stood there. I'm such an obedient dog! Maybe we will try the pool again next week. 


Sammy-Joe seems to have started eating a little more again. And his poops, we all noticed, are looking better. He's been a little ornery though, and has been hiding a lot. Personally, I think he's mad that Mama won't take him outside on his leash, because she thinks it is too hot for him!


OMG, did anyone hear those fireworks the other night? Lily and I hated it! They went on for days! Mama and Grampa took us for a walk that first night, and people in our neighborhood were shooting of fireworks. We were so scared! We kept trying to head back to the house, and Lily got Mama to pick her up and carry her most of the way. 
By the third day, the fireworks had stopped, and I was feeling brave again. But not Lily! Even though we couldn't hear fireworks any more, she was still scared to take a walk for a few nights! Mama had to carry her down the street, set her down to pee and poo, and then carry her back! Or else she would just plop her little fuzzy butt down and refuse to move! She's such a little baby. 


In other news, I wanted to ask you all if any of your humans like to read. You may know that our Mama likes to write. She found out that you can publish ebooks directly to Kindle, and they can be read by anyone who owns a Kindle! So Mama did that. She has one book called Skye Blue, and one book called What Some Call Heaven. A few people have already bought her books. Mama says more people would buy them if there were some reviews on their Amazon pages. So we had this idea!


If any of your humans like to read, tell them that we will send them a free copy of one of Mama's ebooks! We could send it as a Word, or PDF, and you could read it on your e-reader or your regular computer. Then, you could write a review on Amazon for the book! It doesn't have to be a long review. Just a few sentences. And you could use a fake name or something if you don't want Mama to know it was you who wrote it. But that way, more people would notice Mama's books and buy them for themselves on their Kindles!


If you would like to do this, please email us. Let us know which book you want to read. Here are your choices.


SKYE BLUE is about 305 pages long. It is about a girl named Skye who is being raised by her older brother, who rescued her from their abusive parents when she was little. Her older brother also has a drinking and drug problem, and doesn't take great care of Skye. The book is about Skye's adventures in  trying to keep up with and deal with her brother, whom she loves fiercely and never wants to be separated from, even though he has so many problems. This book has a lot of swearing in it, just to warn you. Mama was younger when she first wrote it, and in the settings where this book takes place, people do swear a lot. So if you hate foul language, you might not want this one!


WHAT SOME CALL HEAVEN is only about 75 pages and is an easier read. Like the other book, it also involves homeless people. In this book, a young girl shows up at a city homeless shelter, and introduces herself to everyone as an angel. The girl, and the things she talks about, don't match most of the people's ideas of angels and Heaven. Many people think the girl is crazy, or at least confused. They try to decide how they can help her, because they're pretty sure a girl like her won't last long on the streets! This book may not correspond entirely with your religious beliefs, no matter what religion you are... so if you do not like to read books that have ideas that are sort of different from your religion, you might not like this book. 


We hope you will read one of these books and review it for Mama on Amazon! If you don't, though, we understand... not everyone has an e-reader, and it can be kind of time-consuming to try to read it on a computer. 


That's it for today! But tomorrow or the next day, I think Lily is going to tell you about another one of her adventures!


Love, Trixie

Pawsitive Thoughts For Sammy-Joe

Hi everyone! It's me, Sammy-Joe, taking over the blog for a moment here. 


How are you? I am okay. Except my poops are really mushy. That doesn't bother me, but it bothers Mama and Gramma and Grampa for some reason! They also didn't like it when I puked all over the place. Plus, they noticed that I was losing a lot of weight. 


This is the part that doesn't make sense! All my life, they kept calling me a fat kitty, and even the vet said I needed to cut down on the treats! And now that I've dropped a few pounds, they say I am too skinny. 


So guess what Mama did? She took me to the V-E-T! 


The vet was really mean because he took some of my blood away. Now, how is that supposed to help me? 


Mama says the vet told her I have great blood and nothing is wrong with it. That was the good news. Then the vet told her she needed to switch my food, to a prescription brand that is gentle on my stomach. That is the bad news! I have been eating Meow Mix since I was a kitten! Mama bought it for me because she liked the cats in the commercials who sang, "Meow, meow, meow, meow!" Maybe she thought I would sing like that? Either way, I like my Meow Mix!


Mama started out by mixing a little of the new food in with my Meow Mix. That was okay. Then she started sneakily adding more and more of the new food. When it turned into almost all new food and barely any Meow Mix, I decided to boycott my food!


Then, this morning, I puked all over the place. Grampa saw it and he says I "projectile vomited!" 
Mama started saying I had to eat! She was getting really worried about me! Then she did something that was kind of nice. She took one of these cube thingies. It looks like a little tiny cube, but when you put it in hot water, it turns into chicken soup! Mama made some of that soup stuff. And then she poured some in my food! It smelled great and tasted great! So I started chowing down my food. 
The question is, AM I SICK? I don't know! I've been kind of tired lately. I have been losing lots of weight. Mama says my poops are looking better. (Why is she even looking at my poop?) But she doesn't like that I keep puking. 


So, I thought, just in case, I better ask all my friends out there for some pawsitive thoughts. I need to stay healthy so I can help take care of Mama!

Thanks, friends! Meanwhile, I hope you like the picture of me at the top of this post! Mama added on to my house. Now I have this little tunnel thing here. Grampa says he's going to throw it away, and he calls it a box. I say, if he does that, I will bite him! 

Dog Sitting

Hi everyone! This is tiny little Lily! Way back when we were still on our bloggy break, do you know our Mama left us? She left us for some other dogs! Can you believe that? 
I was so mad. Mama said she was just trying to help those other doggies, because their parents went on vacation. She came back to visit us every day for a little while, but she said she had to sleep at the house with the other doggies. They even slept in the bed with her. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT???
Mama showed us some pictures of the other doggies. Their names were Reggie and Dannyboy. They were both rescued dogs like Trixie was. Reggie came from the same animal rescue place that saved Trixie. And Dannyboy was a stray from Texas! (Dannyboy is only a puppy, even though he's waaaaaaaay bigger than me. !
Reggie and Dannyboy like to play Bitey Face, just like me and Trixie do!

Dannyboy is looking for the Kong toy.  

These two dogs love to play with the Kong! They fight over it all the time!

Dannyboy says, "I've got the Kong! Nana-nana-boo-boo!"

He has such long legs, doesn't he?

Dannyboy is posing for a portrait. 

Dannyboy almost swallows the Kong, as reggie watches.

Do you know that Reggie is part poodle, just like me? He's also part Bichon, not like me. 

 Reggie needs a rest. 

Sitting pretty! 

Now Reggie has the Kong!

"Hello? Hello? Is there anyone out there?" 

On the third day Mama said it was okay for me to come to the other house and have a sleepover. I was a little nervous because I know sometimes other dogs don't like a strange dog showing up. But Reggie and Dannyboy were so nice to me!

"Um, Dannyboy? Do you eat little dogs?"

"Should I tell him that's not even a real bone?" 

I don't know what we were looking at here. 

I wish we had an actual rawhide!

I'm a little jealous of my mama playing with the other dogs!

"Bleeeeeeeh!" 

"Is it almost time for bed?"

 "What's so exciting about that Kong? It doesn't even squeak!"

 "I feel like someone is following me!"

 "I wish I had my squeaky ball!"

"Thanks for inviting me over, friends!"

We were all supposed to sleep in the guest bedroom at the house. Dannyboy was supposed to sleep on the floor, and Reggie and I were supposed to sleep on the bed with Mama. But Dannyboy was so upset because he wasn't allowed on the bed (His parents say he sheds too much) and he kept crying. And I couldn't sleep, so I kept jumping on and off the bed. So finally, Mama brought the bedspread out into the living room, and we all lay down together! Actually Reggie and Dannyboy wrestled half the night, until they got too tired. Mama says, when she woke up in the morning, she saw three dog noses staring at her!

Sleepovers are fun, but I am glad Mama is home now with Trixie, Sammy-Joe, and me, where she belongs. 

s

Sammy-Joe Goes Out

Hi friends! This is Sammy-Joe! Here in Chicago, the weather is nice and warm. My doggie sisters love to go outside and play every day. They get taken outside several times a day because they need to pee and poo out there. Since I pee and poo in my litter box, and since cats can escape a yard more easily than dogs, I have to stay in most of the time. 


But when Mama bought a new harness for Lily, she thought it might actually fit on me, too! Lily and I are about the same size. Mama and Gramma put the harness on me. At first, I didn't want anything to do with it. I was like, "What is this contraption? Get me out of here!" I thought it would be just like all those times they stuffed me in a box and took me to the vet! Plus, the whole thing smelled like Lily. And you know me and Lily don't get along so well, right? Why would I want to put on something that makes me stink like my yucky sister?


Then Mama carried me outside to the yard. She put me down. And I got to walk around and explore the yard, just like my sisters! The doggies were very nice and gave me space. Mama took some pictures of me relaxing outside. Want to see them?

Here I am playing in the garden. What is on the other side of this fence?

Yum yum, tasty plants!

 I am watching bugs crawl around on the ground. 

You can barely see me here, but I am trying to crawl under the grill! 

 It is fun to get all full of dirt, isn't it? 

Here is Lily giving me my space. I kinda wish she'd give me more space than that... but at least she isn't barking at me!  

Mama says she'll take me outside for a while every day, if I'll let her put the harness on me! I think this is going to be a great summer! 

Wordless Wednesday... Did ya miss these faces?

Psssst! Over here!

Psst! Over here! Its me, Lily! 
Me and Trixie and Sammy-Joe have been gone for tifty years! Or an hour! (I have no concept of time.) But guess what... Mama says we can come back in just a few days! We've been working hard at putting a brand new header up and redecorating our blog. Mama says you're going to see us for Wordless Wednesday this week! 
I'm not supposed to be typing this... but I was so excited, I could hardly wait! I had to come and give you a sneak preview!
Uh-oh... here comes Mama... I gotta go! See ya soon! 

Lily's Vacation Pictures

Hi everyone! We weren't allowed to post it on the blog because Gramma and Grampa didn't want anyone to know the house was empty, but we have already been on our big "vacation!" We all survived! In fact, Mama even managed to relax a little, and she had fun swimming at the hotel. She says she had the pool all to herself, most of the time, so she got to practice her back float! 


Lily stayed at a doggy boarding place right near our house. Its called Baxter And Beasley, and it is run by a family. They also have a doggy day care there. We posted before how Lily was going to visit the doggy day care a few times before she actually slept over! Mama's favorite thing about Baxter And Beasley is that they take pictures of the dogs in the day care all day long, and post them on Facebook at the end of the day. So if you "like" them on Facebook, while you're away you can check out what your dog has been up to! Mama said that it made her feel a lot better, each day when she was at the hotel, to come home after student teaching and check out the Facebook page. She actually saved some of the pictures so we could show you. Wanna see? See if you can spot her in each of these pictures! (There is a whole bunch of them!)

The blurry dog next to Lily in this picture is her good friend Vita. They really liked playing together! 

We think this dog looks like the His Master's Voice dog! 

  
Can you spot Lily in this picture?

Lily hanging with the big dogs! 

Someone was about to give Lily a treat! 

Where's Lily? She's very tiny. 

Do you see her way over by the wall, with her friend Vita?

Chilling with Vita again.

Hey, who does this dog remind you of???

The rest of us didn't get any pictures taken, but we did have a pretty good time! Sammy-Joe got lots of sleep, and Trixie had a nice visit with her friend Susan from the vet's office. Mama sent us all with our overnight bags, full of the blankets she had slept with to get her smell on them, and a few toys! We all did fine. And now its over. Lily says she kind of misses her doggy day care, actually... but Mama has promised she can go back to visit!


Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Mama is student teaching, and she's busy every minute writing her lesson plans or making things for her lessons! She's exhausted! She did take us outside in the backyard for a few hours today to enjoy the nice weather. We will try to grab some time to come visit all of our friends' blogs in the next few days!