Angie, I always thought of myself as a dog person. We always had dogs. Dobermans and Pekingnese, as a matter of fact, as well as many mutts. The dobes were sweet, the pekes, fierce. We had a litter of each type of puppy at the same time and they were so adorable. I was about 12. My dad bought a blueblooded doberman called Baron Von Beaumont, or Beau, and he turned out to be a 105 pound lamb of a dog. Whereas the puny mother peke, Susie, my dad brought home with her litter and her "husband", Big Shot, a pure white bug-eyed guy, was very grouchy. My poor mother! She always let my dad do these things and we kids were of course, delighted. Beau impregnated a neighbors doberman and we got the puppies!
Remind me to tell you about the ponies someday.

We had a cat named Boots, twenty pounds and she lived 18 years but she was no house cat, rarely consented to be fed and moused like a dream. The girls had a Golden Retriver named Buster when they were 5 and 6, but when we lost him, we just kept the cats. They have stolen my heart.

I may get Sam a dog one day but who knows? I want a Beagle.
Thinking about Oreo when I told Syd she needed to take a picture of us makes me laugh. Even holding her and petting, trying to keep her calm although she doesn't like to be picked up and was none too thrilled. She'll swish by you to be petted but doesn't want to be held, EVER. While Sydney got ready to snap the pic, Oreo was suspcious of me, stiff as a board. When I lifted her to my head, she was aghast and was down my back and running for the stairs before the flash went off!

Poor baby. So I went looking for Gabby, who's named for Xena's sidekick, Gabrielle, Gabby was not thrilled either but she is tough so she went onto my head with less fear but I knew I was risking being scratched or bitten and she puffs up when she's irritated. She was puffy for quite a time afterward.
I was in a mood yesterday. It was Ali who suggested I hide my face behind the tree since I did not feel I looked photo worthy but in the end, I couldn't resist. I was chortling at myself through each photo and Sydney and Ali rolled their eyes and told me I was so silly but they laughed too and went right along with me. I love that. Do you think when I am old or dead, they will remember how I so wanted to get a laugh from Catheites and would go to any lengths to do so? I think so!
It's so funny how you guys are to me. I have never laid eyes on you but I was thinking about you yesterday and wanting to get you to have as much fun as I was having. I was waiting for my computer to make the sound that heralds an email and hoping it was a email subscription notice so I colud post another faceless pic until I posted the grinning, full-faced one. I told Shelley we average 350 days of sunshine, I think I want to average 350 days of laughter and you guys do that to me so well. A day without Catheites is like a day without sunshine and at this point I am dependant on sunshine. Solar powered, that's me.
Bobbi
http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver