Dear Friends, I hope you are having a great week! All is fine here, except we are expecting some rain and thunder here today. (Regular readers will know how I feel about thunder!) I am excited, though, to have some fun visitors to introduce you to today. Angela, who is a dachshund person and one of Momma's friends, is visiting with her dog Twinkles and kitty Murray. Angela and her family have a wonderful group of furbabies including Twinkles (Lab mix), Murray (tabby cat), Gizmo (Dachshund), Sarge (Weimaraner), Miss P (gray tabby cat), and Gimli (white cat). I have to mention that Gizmo just celebrated his 10th birthday (Happy Birthday, Gizmo!) and he has his own Twitter account -- @GizmoAdventures. He is one of the world's great doxies, and you should look him up on Twitter!
Twinkles and Murray are both rescues, and have wonderful stories. Twinkles is a Lab mix dog who is 10 or older.
Abby: What is Twinkles' background and how did she end up in rescue?
Angela: Twinkles was rescued by my grandmother about 7 years ago. She had been dumped and was also run over. Her hip was broken. She healed and now walks with a limp. Twinkles came to live with us when my grandmother moved into an apartment that did not allow big dogs.
Abby: How were Twinkles' first days at your home?
Angela: Her first few days, you could tell she was sad and missed her mom. But it didn't take long for her to fit right in. She gets along great with Gizmo and Sarge and even has her own bed for the first time. (The picture below shows Twinkles with Gizmo.)
Abby: What are a few of Twinkles' favorite things?
Angela: My favorite thing is to watch her do zoomies. Despite a bad hip, she still runs like the wind. She also loves to dance in puddles and do spins and splash in them.
Murray is a beautiful cat who is 4 years old.
Abby: What is Murray's background and how did she end up in rescue?
Angela: Murray was rescued by my brother and his girlfriend. She jumped on the roof of their car in a snow storm. They got her off the hood and put her in the car; she was just a kitten. They had her for 4 years and she came to live with us on Christmas Day this past year.
Abby: How were Murray's first days at your home?
Angela: She spent her first week hiding under chairs and beds. She did want to socialize. We think she was mostly heartbroken that her daddy left her with strange people (we have been around her before, but she was a kitten) She finally came out and is now best friends with my mom. She follows her everywhere and sits in her lap all during the day. She loves to go outside and explore and watch the birds. My favorite thing about her is that when you pick her up, she looks just like Garfield after he gets in trouble. She is full of sass and attitude, but she is very gentle with everyone and purrs almost nonstop.
This picture of Murray surrounded by toys was one
of the first times she came out of hiding after first coming to live
with us.
Thank you for visiting, Angela, Twinkles, and Murray! I loved visiting with you all here today. Twinkles and Murray, you found a wonderful home where you are much loved. Please give my love to Gizmo, Sarge, Miss P, and Gimli.
If you have questions or comments for Angela, Twinkles, or Murray, I hope you'll leave a comment below. Thank you for reading, and have a great weekend!
Margret Rey was born May 16, 1906. You may recognize her name as the co-author of the Curious George series of children's books, which she created with her husband Hans (H.A.) Rey.
Margarete Elisabethe Waldstein was born in Hamburg, Germany. She studied art in college, and worked in advertising before meeting Hans Reyersbach. The couple moved to Paris in 1936. They were commissioned to write a children's book called Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys. One of the characters in this book was a little monkey named Curious George.
When the Nazis captured France, the Reys escaped on bicycle. The few possessions they took included a manuscript of Curious George.
The Reys ended up in Spain before traveling to Rio de Janeiro and eventually settling in New York City. They were in New York when Curious George was published in 1941.
The Curious George books were very successful, and were often published under the name H.A. Rey. Hans illustrated most of the books, and Margret wrote the stories. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Barely 5 feet tall and red-haired, Rey said she occasionally served as
her artist husband’s human model for their impish little monkey. She
would scrunch up her face, move her limbs about or even leap from one
piece of furniture to another.”
The Reys were both great animal lovers. The had a series of Cocker Spaniels and also rescued injured animals and nursed them back to health. Their rescues included a little chipmunk who they fed with a dropper until he was well enough to eat on his own.
They did not have children, but spread joy to children worldwide with their books.
The Reys moved to Cambridge, and Marget continued working as a writer after Hans' death in 1977. She passed away in 1996 at the age of 90.
Fellow dachshund lovers will be interested in the book Pretzel, about a dachshund and her puppies. It was published in 1944, written by Margret Rey and illustrated by H.A. Rey.
Did you grow up with the Curious George books - or even Pretzel? I would love to hear your memories in the comments, below.
Sly and the Family Stone Greatest Hits is one of my all time favorite albums. It's one I had on vinyl, cassette, CD, and it just now occurs to me that I also need it in digital format for my phone. Every single song on this album just makes me happy. "Everybody is a Star" was written by Sylvester Stewart. This song was released as a B-Side to "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," and it also charted and went to number one on the Billboard charts in 1970. I love the positive message of this song ... it is so uplifting. Here is a 1973 live performance of this song from the old show Midnight Special ... and the performance is amazing. What beautiful voices! Do you like this song? Do you have other favorites by Sly and the Family Stone? I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.
Book Synopsis In Sarah T. Hobart’s wickedly funny
and fast-paced Home Sweet Home mystery series, small-town real estate
agent Sam Turner discovers it’s bad for business when her clients keep
dropping dead.
Newly armed with her real estate
license, Sam Turner loves Arlinda, her quirky seaside hometown in
Northern California. But life by the beach isn’t exactly a breeze: She
and her teenage son, Max, are being evicted from their apartment, her
long absent ex-husband unexpectedly resurfaces, and her possibly
romantic relationship with sexy Chief of Police Bernie Aguilar is, well .
. . complicated. All Sam wants is a quick and easy sale. What she gets
instead is a killer headache—or three.
Sam’s trying to drum up interest in 13
Aster Lane, a rambling Victorian fixer-upper that’s more than a little
neglected—and possibly haunted—so when a trio of offers arrive out of
the blue, she can’t help thinking it’s too good to be true. But after a
new client drops dead on the property, she fears she’s lost more than a
commission. Before Sam’s out of house and home, she must unmask a killer
targeting her clients, or the only property she’ll be moving will be
plots—at the local cemetery.
Author Bio Sarah Hobart is a real
estate agent and former newspaper reporter in Northern California, where
she lives with her husband and two children in a majestic fixer-upper
overlooking State Highway 101.
Hi vintage friends! I had a wonderful day of treasure hunting at yard sales, garage sales, and estate sales today. Wanted to share a few pics! Old Texaco travel pack:
Recipe cards, unused, in the original boxes:
Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory -- First Edition in slipcase:
Vintage Thingmaker molds - these are fun!
MANY children's books - both vintage and new. These stacks are just some of what I found.
A boxed set of Ray Charles CDs -- this is my present to myself. :-)
Everything except the Ray Charles will end up at Birdhouse Books in the next few weeks. I am excited!
You never know what there will be at the different sales. My best friend and I go together. We have been doing this for many years, and help each other look for goodies. We have done this for so long that we have it down to a science. We can usually scope out a sale from the car to see whether they have the type of things we are looking for. Did you go yard saling or thrifting this weekend? When you do yard sale, what do you enjoy looking for? I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.
