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Here is a photo of me being all patriotic today on Memorial Day.

We had our 'socially distanced' Memorial Day BBQ with the kids today. They had their table, and Dan and I had our table. They came in through the back gate, and only used our pool bath in the house. We were outside the entire time, so we felt pretty safe. We didn't go near our son and daughter-in-law at all, but kids did get a couple of hugs. No face kisses at all, just arm hugs. When a three year old comes up and says Grandma I want to give you a hug, hard to say no. It was easy to stay separate in the pool, and we had a line of soccer cones keeping us apart on the lanai. All in all a great afternoon.

I went to the grocery store this morning. First time in TWO MONTHS! I've been to Costco and ordered the rest of our food from WalMart online and curbside pick up. Well Publix was an experience! Took me over an hour to get in and out, and there was only one person ahead of me in line! Dan and I use a program called One Note for making lists. It allows you to make a list on any of your shared devices, and it updates instantly on all of them. Problem was Dan make most of the list, and it was in random order! All the isles were one way, and I kept having to backtrack to find stuff! Next time we will be more thoughtful in our list making!

That is sort of what I normally do! We have to wear a school logo embroidered shirt. I have 7 identical ones except for color. So normally my bid decision is light blue, green, pink, red, purple, blue, blue! Bottoms don't show on camera, so comfy shorts it is! LOL!

Patsy you are in good company! Most of my students were wearing their P.J.'s to our Zoom meetings! The same ones again and again!

Sending you hugs Elizabeth. Hope you feel better Nancy. Guess what Peoples? Mama gets to pick out her berry own clothes for da next 11 weeks! She was beside her own self dis morning wif da pressure of choosing! She says whilst wearing a school logo shirt ebberyday can get boring, it sure is easier in da mornings! Molly Mc Fashionista.

Deb Magoo says that while at a fun run, a Greyhound ran into her and just kept on going. Unfortunately the impact broke Deb's leg and her ankle. Last I heard on Monday night she was in the hospital awaiting surgery. The dog is fine.

As does Molly Weasley Carpenter-Caro!

Happy Rest Of Your Life to Miss Kathy!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zviQY3WGC4

As some of you may remember, way back in 2005, our crazy free spirited girl Specky dismantled a Santa Christmas ornament. I have no idea what crime Santa had done to so deeply offend Specky, but she certainly did a first class job of tearing him to bits! Literally! This is what the pieces I could salvage looked like after Specky got through with Santa! Poor Santa was quite the sad case! All of his body parts dismembered, some of them past the point of recognition! So I got out my glue gun, and did my best to reconnect Santa - sort of like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again! I really did try, but alas, my results were less then optimum. I really should have paid more attention in anatomy class! Here we are, 14 years later, celebrating Christmas once again. Specky sadly left us back in 2013. Gosh we miss that crazy girl! She brought so much joy and excitement to our lives! We now live with an almost equally crazy three year old Standard Poodle named Molly. There are times when we swear Specky is whispering in her ear - giving her ideas of new ways to get into mischief! Don't listen Molly!! Ok, maybe listen a little, because every home needs some crazy every once in a while! So let us all again remember the example of Specky. That crazy girl who knew how to live life to the fullest. Who was never afraid to do the unexpected. We can all learn a little from this tiny spark plug who taught us the meaning of fun!

Affiliated Veterinary Specialists - or AVS - are wonderful! This is where GPA-GO has all their complicated ortho cases handled. They also use University Animal Hospital for the more simple ones. Dr. Privitte at University Animal is our own personal vet and we just love him. On a personal note, the specialists at AVS were able to keep our girl Lady alive for almost 3 years after a devastating diagnosis of PLE. I cannot praise them enough.

Well, another year has gone by .... but we still smile when we think of Specky! She truly was a 'one of a kind' girl! Her enthusiasm for life was contagious, and she gave her all in everything she did. Unfortunately, that included her efforts to dismantle poor Santa way back in 2005. He started out as a simple ornament, living quietly on the Christmas tree, minding his own business. Ok, maybe not quite 'minding his own business' as he does have that pesky 'naughty and nice list', and now sends elves to people's homes to spy and report back to him! Perhaps that was why Specky decided that Santa needed to die! I'm guessing that she was on the naughty list! At any rate, I found poor Santa's body parts, and reassembled him as best I could! To this day, Santa comes out every Christmas to once again adorn our tree. Each time, we reflect on our special girl Specky, and relive just a wee bit of the joy she brought us. Specky and Santa on our tree 2018. Santa after the unfortunate incident 2005. Santa after my attempts at reconstruction. Obviously I went to one of those 'off shore' medical schools! So once again I ask you all to remember our sweet girl Specky by throwing caution to the wind. Throw a toy in the air! Make a snow angel. Or a snowball! Have fun and remember that life is short and regrets will get you no where. Live your life like Specky lived hers - always on full throttle and at 100% fun! Love to All, Carol Ann, Dan and Molly McPoodle.

Some of you might remember my original post regarding the unfortunate accident that Santa had at our house back in 2005. This was our first Christmas with Greyhounds, and at that point we only had Gizzy (aka Miss Perfect) and Specky (aka Gets In Trouble!) That was the year that Specky chewed a Santa ornament into scraps! I gathered them up, photographed the evidence, and then glued poor Santa back together as best as I could. The end results suggest that Santa did not make a wise choice on the healthcare exchange! Well, Santa is still alive and sort of well and on our tree again this year. 2016 Update - Santa is still hanging on our tree in a place of honor. This year his presence is even more special since we last both Gizzy and Riley Roo less than three months apart. So to honor Specky, Gizzy, Riley Roo and all the hounds that are not here to spend the holidays with us, please have fun. Pounce! Throw a toy in the air! Play bow! Life does not give you any Mulligans so make the most of every single day. If you are having a bad day, look at your hound and take inspiration from them! They know how to have fun!! 2017 Update - Once again, Santa, in his state of disrepair, has made his way to grace our Christmas tree. Life has changed at our house since last Christmas. We lost our fourth Greyhound Lady, earlier this year. Three lost in eight months - that was hard on our hearts. So, to change things up, we got ourselves a Standard Poodle Puppy last spring! Molly is one year old now, and still 100% crazy puppy. Today we put the tree up and started decorating. Trust me when I say that Molly has her eye on quite a few of the ornaments to claim as her own! We think she might be 'channeling' Specky! To keep poor Santa safe - after all, the poor guy went through the wringer when Specky got a hold of him - we placed him high up on the tree in a place of safety and honor. While losing so many so close together was heartbreaking, I still looked at the Santa ornament today and had a good laugh. Specky you were one of a kind! For those of you who did not get the chance to 'meet' Specky, here is a small taste of what her beautiful spirit was like. Crazy!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zviQY3WGC4 Pre-Surgery 2005 Photo Post Surgery 2005 Photo - Santa should have sued for malpractice or at the very least operating without a medical license! Today 2017 - in his place of honor (and out of reach of Molly's teeth!) Please, as you start your Holiday Season, enjoy every moment. Don't sweat the small stuff - will it 'really' matter six months from now if you get everything perfect? Approach life like Specky did - with all your heart and soul. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.