Brits

I found through much digging, a breeder of Brittany spaniels near us...well about an hour away, but that is closer than going to France. We are not in the market for another dog, and I really don't want to deal with a puppy, but I desperately wanted to just see some baby Brits, and maybe hold them as a big bonus. So I came up with a phone number, dialed it, handed the phone to my husband and asked him to please speak German. He cooperated and we ended up in Rosenheim today to oooh and ahhh over 3 little baby Brits. The mom looks almost exactly like our Brit in the face....her overall color is darker and Uben is more roan, but they could have been brother and sister. In the litter (this dog Mirka's first) there were 3 girls....Blanca, Benedicta, and Brenda, all names that made me giggle. Here are some shots of these girls from Rosenheim. Mirka has a blog at www.mirkarosenheim.blogspot.com if you feel so inclined. The pups are 5 weeks old, as adorable as puppies come, and their mother was sweet and loving toward them. I don't know how I made it out of there without a puppy in my pocket.

More on Sponsorship of Children

We got the sad word recently that the little girl (Barbara) we were sponsoring in Kenya had moved away from her home and school. Her father was murdered last year, and this year her sister was killed when hit by a train. Her mother told the Humble Hearts school that Barbara was having a terrible time dealing with the loss of her sister, so she decided to move away with her. Perhaps this is best, or at least I'm trusting that her mother is making the choice that she sees as best for Barbara. We are in the process of regrouping and will either sponsor another child or a teacher at the school.
In the meantime, I got word by snail and e mail about my friend Kathy in Tennessee, and the great success that one of her sponsorships was. Follow this link for the whole story.
http://tinylink.com/?I5eUQxpTfj
Way inspirational.

Snails

Besides being the worlds biggest Avon freak, I’m also a snail killer. The little slimy fellows have historically been a big problem here in the garden. I planted marigolds last year and overnight they were all gone....same with some of my herbs last year. I do not want to put out snail poison because of the dogs, so I did a little research and found out about beer traps.
Take a yogurt cup or a tall sour cream cup, and make a 2 inch hole about 2/3 of the way up. Bury the cup in the ground by your plants so that the hole is at ground level. Put a couple of inches of beer inside and cover the cups so your dogs don't get drunk. In one night I killed about 60 snails in 3 cups and did not lose a flower. They are not that attractive out there in the garden, but they work like a charm and I'm hoping to be able to eventually wipe out the snails from around here and take the cups out of the ground. So there ya go.

I'm hooked

I am a complete freak…or as my friend Donna would say, a freakshow. An Avon freakshow. I never thought I would be saying this, but I'm in love with Avon. I was getting my hair cut about 6 weeks ago, and in bops the Avon lady to bring my hairdresser a bag of something. I thought I saw Avon on the bag, and in shocked German I said, “Sind Sie die Avon Frau” (are you the Avon lady)? She answered me in the most perfect English imaginable. I was shocked and stunned and surprised, and told her that I had actually even looked online for her, and where the heck had she been? She lives only about 1.5 miles from me, teaches English in the next village to adults, is as fluent as I am, has tons of personality, brings the loot to my door (gotta love that!), gives me deals and samples, and I have to have become her best customer in the past few weeks. I have used Avon here and there in my lifetime, but due to these samples, I’m now the biggest fan of all time. This stuff is just fantastic. The moisturizers are as good or better than the stuff I’ve been paying a small fortune for, the cleanser I bought is the best thing ever, and I could go on and on. And it is cheap. Really cheap. And most importantly, it comes right to your door in English!
E me if you want her name or phone number. I’m just thrilled to have an Avon lady and the English is an amazing bonus…I would have done it in German, but this is so much nicer. Note in the photo how she wrote on the box that I MUST try the stuff inside. Makes me laugh but I do obey!