Alice the foster puppy was here. She is a sweet little thing, but a LOT of work. It really was like having a baby around.
Me and Alice
In addition to having baby Alice here, Hubby and I have tried to ramp-up the house sprucing-up activities. Painting, getting rid of excess stuff, painting, planting flowers, painting… get the picture?
Then there was Shannon leaving…
We’ve known for months that she’d be leaving for California today. To live, not to visit. She’s been living with us since August 2010 when she returned from her round-the-world trip.
Neither of us wanted her to leave. Of course, we didn’t tell her that. She’s been wanting to move to the West coast for some time. So this is a new beginning for her. But it’s a very sad ending for us. It’s been lots of fun having Shannon around. Hubby and I are going to miss her something awful. I foresee lots of flights to California for us.
Shannon's Last Night: Hubby, Me, Amy, and Shannon
This morning, Shannon and Amy, with Hubby’s help, crammed their luggage and a few belongings into Shannon’s tiny little Smart car and away they went. They took Alice with them. Why Alice?
Alice is going to her forever home in St. Louis, Missouri. When I first heard of a potential adopter there, the thought did cross my mind that getting a puppy that far would be a challenge. But this adopter is perfect for Alice. It’s definitely the right fit. But how to get a puppy 800+ miles?
That’s when the lightbulb went off…
Shannon and Amy planned their route months ago. And guess what was always planned to be the first stop? St. Louis, Missouri. It’s almost as if Alice ending up here was completely meant to be.
Alice Transport
So Alice got loaded into the Smart car, too.
And off they went.
Yes, I’ll miss the puppy. But I can’t even begin to put into words how much we’ll miss Shannon.
This edition of “Peeps I Know” is a bit different. It’s EXTRA-special, too. Because this post is not about someone I met on-line. It’s about someone I know-know. Like in-the-flesh.
Not that I don’t love all my online Peeps. You guys are awesome, too. But the lady I’m going to tell you about and I go WAY back. She knew me even before I was ToadMama. Heck, even before I knew there was such a thing as a personal computer.
I think we were about 13 when we met. Our families attended the same church in a Baltimore neighborhood called Armistead Gardens (aka “The Gardens”). Tracey didn’t live in The Gardens, but her Grandmother did. In fact, her Gran lived on the street behind my parents’ house.
I could tell you all about the fun, wholesome things we did together as wee lasses. But I won’t. ‘Cause I like to keep this blog real. (Although we weren’t altogether horrible children, we did have a bit of a wild streak.)
If someone would’ve told me, back in the day, that I”d be sitting here one day writing about “Granny” Trace, I would have laughed hysterically. For serious. Back then, I couldn’t imagine any of us as adults, much less parents or, God forbid, grandparents.
There were actually four of us who hung out together. Carol, Laura, Tracey, and me. Carol is the oldest. She’s a full year ahead of me. Laura is six months younger than me. And Tracey is six months younger than Laura. Which, if you do the math, means Tracey is a year younger than I am. We were some crew, I tell ya. Carol, being a whole year older, wasn’t with the three of us all that often. And of all of us, it was Laura and Tracey who spent the most time together.
L-R, Carol, Kathy (me), and Tracey - Christmas 2005
When Tracey got pregnant at 16. And then married, we sort of grew apart. At that point, I was busy being a kid and she was busy being a very young mother. We didn’t lose touch completely, but we did drift apart. We just didn’t have much in common. I mean, I was a total tomboy. I’d never so much as baby-sat a kid by myself. The only babysitting I did was when I accompanied Carol to watch her nephew. And that wasn’t because I loved kids. It was because her sister would supply us with beer and a place to drink it. While we watched her toddler. Smart, huh?
We did see each other periodically. But several years passed and before I knew it, Tracey had three children. Laura, who had gotten pregnant and married six months after Tracey, ended up with three kids, too. But hers came one right after the other. Tracey’s are at least a couple of years apart. Carol never did have children. And I managed not to get knocked up until I was a whopping 22.
That’s how old my son is now. He’s the only kid I gave birth to. I earned Shannon and Amy by marriage. (I said “earned” for a reason. Step-motherhood takes work. Trust me.)
Anyway… as you’ll discover after you visit her blog (which I really, really hope you’ll do), Tracey is not your average woman. The guy she married at the tender young age of 16? John? He’s still her husband. They just recently celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary. Between them, they’ve managed to build quite a family (three children and three grandchildren). John, who started out as an apprentice carpenter all those years back, is a very successful, high-level foreman-type (I’m sure he has a fancier title than that) for one of the biggest commercial contracting companies in the area. While he was busy building his career, Tracey was tending the home front. You know, being all domestic. Raising children, cooking, baking, sewing. The whole nine yards. She was a stay-at-home-Mom for many, many years. She did daycare for a while. And she worked VERY HARD for far too many years at a grocery store.
Why did I tell you all that? Because her story deserves to be told. Marriage is hard. Parenthood is hard. To start at 16 and build the kind of life she and John have built together is nothing short of amazing. There was lots of blood, sweat, and tears along the way, trust me. But they persevered. And now Tracey is starting to realize her dream of owning a farm (albeit a small one). She always loved being a mother. She LOVES being a Granny. She loves raising critters (she’s been referred to here previously as The Chicken Lady). And growing stuff. And making things. Not just food stuff either. Tracey is far and away the craftiest person I know. (She’s the one who taught me to sew. Yep, I can make quilts (simple ones) all because of Tracey.)
She’s said for years that she’d love to have her own craft shop. And she totally could. She’s very talented. She could sell baked goods, and crafts, and homemade granola (that was awesome, by the way). She’s the one who baked those brownies filled with double-stuff Oreos. Oh. My. God!
When we were at the WV Place for our girl getaway recently, I asked her if she had an Etsy shop yet. She didn’t. But she’d been thinking of setting one up. I told her she should make a blog. Honestly though, I know she’s no techno-savvy Mama. And I really didn’t think she’d go for it. But she did. It’s not rocket science really. And she’s most definitely got more than enough material to blog about. Before I knew it, she was buying her domain name. and Granny Trace Scraps & Squares was born!
Be sure to visit. And tell her ToadMama sent you!
I’m not trying to take any credit here. I just prodded a teeny weenie bit. But I really am very proud of her. Really. She’s got so much to be proud of. So much to be thankful for. None of it was handed to her either. Not a single, stinkin’ thing. She worked for all of it. Which is why I think her story should be told. I admire her tremendously. We don’t spend nearly enough time together. Heck, we barely communicate during the course of a normal year. But that’s just because we both live different lives.
How different? Here’s Tracey’s new ride. A tractor with a wagon. She likes driving it slowly, in circles, repeatedly through the same field.
Not quite like my new ride. We definitely couldn’t ride together. 🙂
Granny Trace on her brand-new ride! Isn't she just the cutest Granny ever?
That’s one of the reasons our annual girl getaway is so important. It gives all of us (we’re down to three) time to catch up. To just be girls again for an entire weekend. You have no idea how refreshing that is.
I still don’t know if she set up that Etsy shop. But I do know she’s up to 35 followers. And she’d really like to hit 50. Really, really.
You can win some chicks of your own.
I’d like her to hit 50, too. Because she could use the encouragement. She’s a very special, very talented lady. (See Trace? I bet you never thought I noticed!)
As an added incentive, she’s giving away some of these awesome little chicks she makes out of vintage wool.
So, if you are at all into crafts, or baking, farm life, or sewing, go visit her blog. Perhaps you know some folks who might be interested in one or more of those things? Tell them to go visit Granny Trace’s blog. And be sure to let her know that ToadMama sent you.
For the record, I never refer to her as “Granny Trace.” I really don’t mind getting old. But calling your girlfriend “Granny” is just weird! Even if she’s really proud of being a granny, and you’re a granny yourself. (No one calls me that, though. I’m just G. It’s very easy for all the grand kids to spell.)
And since we’re talking about records… I don’t know who shot that picture of Tracey on her new ride, but I LOVE it! I totally stole it from her blog. But I couldn’t help myself. Besides, we’re friends. We share stuff.
He were are about a month ago. I can’t wait to see what the next 30 years will bring!
We're Still Hot (It Just Comes in Flashes Now)
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UPDATE: I just had to add pics of some of my Granny Trace creations, i.e., gifts she’s made for me.
A Bloggers Centerline Day, or ABCD, will take place on Sunday 1st May 2011.
The plan is to inspire as many bloggers as possible to go outside and take a photograph of themselves on this day, wherever they are in the world. The photo can be creative, arty, contain more than one person, be in any type of location and can contain anything else you like. It must however contain the centerline of a road and at least part of you, the blogger.
There are 5 rules….
Rule 1 – the picture must be taken on 1st May 2011.
Rule 2 – the picture must be of yourself, and you must be a person that publishes a blog. You can include whatever else you like in the picture, including other people if you wish.
Rule 3 – the picture must include the centerline of a road.
Rule 4 – you should publish the picture on your blog on 1st May 2011, along with a few words about the picture and why you chose that location or pose.
Rule 5 – when you have posted the picture on your own blog, put a comment on http://garysusatour.blogspot.com/2011/04/abcd-will-you-take-part.html and include in that comment the address of your own blog post containing your own picture.
Gary France will then pick his favourite photos and publish these as being the winners. There will be a prize of $100 awarded to the overall single winner, as chosen by Gary.
In order to get this event known as widely as possible, please copy and paste this posting onto your own blog, including the title. Please do that today!
As a reminder to yourself to take the photo and post it, put an entry into your diary for 1st May 2011.
Let’s see if we can get as any people to join in as possible.
For the past ten years, there’s been a World of Pets Expo held at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Maryland. It’s like a big pet convention with all sorts of pet products, seminars, information booths, and special events. I went in 2010 for the first time to help man the American Brittany Rescue booth. This year, I went just for fun.
It was fun, too. The coolest part was getting to see so many different kinds of dogs. Plus, I got to meet Bill and Star of Greatest American Dog (CBS) fame. More on that later. Maybe.
Shooting Hoops
Because I’m big on planning ahead for stuff like that, I checked the schedule of events beforehand. My interest was definitely piqued by this entry: “Debbie Ducommun, The Rat Lady: Teaching Your Rats Tricks and Dressing Them in Costumes.”
Rats in costumes? Oh. My. God.
At that moment, I knew. That was something I HAD to see. I mean, it had to be ridiculous, right? I went fully prepared with various lenses to shoot lots of rat pics and capture some images of this crazy woman and her costumed rats.
I mean, I say again… rats in costumes?
What sort of person dresses a rat? I get why someone might like to keep rats as pets. Sort of. But dressing them?
I had all sorts of plans brewing for a big ole blog post making fun of this person. Until I was overcome by a fleeting moment of maturity, that is.
Just because I don’t like rats, don’t have rats as pets (my dogs would eat them!), don’t think I’d be interested in dressing a rat if I did have one, etc., doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with any of it. Right? It’s just different.
Besides, this lady was actually pretty cool.
The Rat Lady
Her seminar was held toward the end of the day. I was dog-tired by then (no pun intended), but stood transfixed, listening as Debbie talked about about her history, background, affinity for rats, etc. She was quite serious. By “serious” I mean she is passionate about her rats. She knows her stuff.
The whole time she spoke, I kept watching the lid on that little basket of hers. Every now and then there’d be movement. It got to the point where I was so focused on the basket that I missed a lot of what she said. I was tired, remember.
Letting the Rat Out of the Basket
Finally, she let not one, but two, rats out of the basket. Not just any rats, hairless rats!
I never knew there was such a thing.
Hairless Rat
I think it sort of looks like an armadillo. Not the most attractive creature, but cute in it’s own sort of way.
At the Starting Bucket
These are fairly young rats. But she has managed to teach them a few tricks. One which involved a sort of tightrope walk between buckets.
Incentivization
She used treats to reward their positive behaviors.
And if they didn’t perform? It was back in the basket for them!
"Get back in the basket, you rat!"
I’m kidding about the basket as punishment thing.
It was neat seeing the little guys walk from one bucket to the next.
Check out that grip!
She also made the little buggers hop from one bucket to the next.
Jump!
I think they preferred the tightrope thing. But what do I know?
What a mug.
It really was quite interesting. However, I was very tired. After about 15 minutes of rat tricks, I was completely ready to call it a day.
So I missed the costumes.
I know, I know. Sorry.
The Rat Lady (that’s really what she calls herself) has a web site, which you can get to by clicking the fan club image below.
Click here to visit The Rat Lady's web site.
And you absolutely should not miss her MEMORIAL PAGE, where she features a wide variety of pictures showing some of her rats who have passed on. (Seymour is the cutest rat ever!)
(I’m sure he has a fancier title than that) for one of the biggest commercial contracting companies in the area. While he was busy building his career, Tracey was tending the home front. You know, being all domestic. Raising children, cooking, baking, sewing. The whole nine yards. She was a stay-at-home-Mom for many, many years. She did daycare for a while. And she worked VERY HARD for far too many years at a grocery store.
