Here are a some of my favorite quotes, two from long ago and one from a friend this morning:

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” ~Thomas Jefferson

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
British prime minister during WWII

“There may be some things you do better than me, and some things that I do better than you, but unless you are willing to do EVERYTHING YOURSELF ALL THE TIME, you need to trust and respect the individual responsible for the task.”

I always think it is good to step back and listen….

I have to laugh — this seems like it is becoming a PetBlog — but today is the 9th birthday of my crazy dog, Bacci.  It has always made me laugh that he was born on April Fool’s Day — Always has been extremely appropriate for him!!

 So, today, I wish Bacci a Happy 9th Birthday — he has to the be the luckiest dog in Floral Park — or perhaps all of Orange County, as I am cooking him chicken just to celebrate!!

 There is just no way to measure the value that pets add to our quality of life!

From Toni Kimball’s column in The Floral Park Newsletter March 2008
(Toni Kimball is the owner of Fur & Feathers Pet Sitting Service, www.fur2feathers.com.)
First Aid Products That May Come In Handy

• Maalox -in case pet ingests over-the-counter drugs. Note: If pet ingested drugs less than 1-2 hours ago, induce vomiting. If more than 1-2 hours ago and pet seems fine, give Maalox.
• Neosporin Antibiotic Ointment - for small wounds
• Sterile Saline Solution - use as an eyewash, cleanser or soak gauze in it to place over open or draining wounds.
• Hydrogen Peroxide - for cleaning and inducing vomiting *
• Scissors - for cutting bandages
• Tweezers - for ticks and splinters
• Sterile Gauze Pads - for bandages and to apply direct pressure to stop bleeding
• Gauze Bandage Material - for binding wounds, pressure bandages for bleeding, and to use as a muzzle
• Cotton Swabs - for cleaning small areas
• Large Towel and/or Blanket - for lifting injured pets
• Washcloth - for cleaning and as a compress (cold for burns; warm for puncture wounds
• Olive Oil and Dawn Dishwashing Detergent - if pet gets into gasoline, kerosene, or pesticides, bathe with Dawn and give olive oil* to coat stomach.
• Pet Piller - to get past teeth when giving pills
• Collapsible Cardboard Pet Carrier
• Cortisone Cream, Desenex or Baby Powder - for hot spots
  *1 teaspoon for cats and small dogs, 2 teaspoons for large dogs

Well, finally, for all of us pet lovers who know that our pets ARE members of our families, we have a great place to go for brunch on Saturday or Sunday.  While I was having Easter Brunch — and it was great — at the Wyndham Hotel at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, my good friend, Tom Smalley (also the General Manager) told me that starting April 5th they will be featuring “Paws & Claws Breakfast Buffet” on their lakeside terrace.  The champagne fountain would be enough to get me there, but being able to bring Bacci, my Lhaso, makes it a great family event and a good outing for us all.

 For more information, contact:

Thomas Smalley, General Manager,
Wyndham Hotel - Orange County 
Email: tsmalley@wyndham.com  
Phone:  714.442.8600, 
Cell: 714.721.6562,  
Fax:  714.751.2704

Check it out and I will look forward to seeing you there!!

Ed’s daughter is going to have a baby in May and I can feel the energy building!! There are so many unknowns at this time.  Thank goodness we know it is a boy, so that helps a great deal.  But there is also the question of will he have red hair (a family trait) and what will his name be?

 We already have a collection of stuff at our house so we will have a “warm and friendly” place for him as well as Mom and Dad — and I am trying to stay calm — but the excitement is building!!

As most of you know, I was never able to have my own children, so this is such a gift to be able to share in this joyous event!! I am so very thankful for this wonderful opportunity!!  And also grateful, I must say, that he has scheduled his arrival AFTER the Home Tour!!  That way I will have lots of time to share and be there!

 So often my mind wanders to the things that we would like to do and all the adventures and excitement which lies ahead.

What a wonderful time of joy and how very blessed I am to be in the middle of it all!!

Recently I had a friend do me a “major favor” and organize my pantry.  Now if you had asked me if it would make a difference in my life to have my pantry organized, I would say you were nuts.  But I am here to tell you that, oh my God, it does!! Just being able to walk into my pantry — and I am so grateful to have a walk in pantry — and see the items I want to use is incredible. 

 I thought people were crazy when they had everything in line and orderly, but it is incredible!  I just went in there last night and spent 30 minutes moving stuff around so it would be “perfect” again, and it felt great!!

It is amazing that once you get something done the way you like it, it is a lot easier to keep it that way! Sort of like a lot of things — nothing gets done by thinking about it — you have to take action!!