I must admit, it has been a long time since
I posted anything personal on the blog.
I keep taking pictures thinking this will
be good for a blog post that never happens.
Well today I have three stories and some
odds and ends at the end that I'll share today.
So away we go...
Shaving A Poodle
One weekend last year we called a mobile
grooming service to get Elvis shaved.
He's almost 17 and it's less stressful
when they come to the door, take him to
their van, and have him back in his home
in under an hour.
Sam told the lady we would need
an experienced groomer that can
work with older dogs.
She said she has just the one, but she has
a busy schedule today so she will
be there later in the afternoon.
Well, a younger guy showed up
at the appointed time and took Elvis
to the van, after we showed him
pics of the look we were after.
Basically, fully shaved.
"The full Chihuahua".
"The Dobby" from Harry Potter.
After about half an hour the doorbell
rang, when we opened the door
the guy handed Elvis back to me
saying he couldn't do anymore.
Elvis is too hard to work with.
He squirms and wiggles and at times bites.
Here's a picture at what he gave back.
O.o
Body shaved with head and feet untouched.
He looked a bit like a Muppet.
Sam called the company and left a
message with her disappointment.
The owner soon called with an apology,
explaining there was a scheduling mix-up
and she sent the wrong groomer.
She said the woman who works with older
difficult dogs would be over in half an hour.
She did a great job on Elvis.
She said the secret is, you shave
the beard last so you can keep hold of it
while your trimming all around the head.
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Alex's Surprise
In October, my old friend, and college roommate,
Alex texted me with this selfie.
He was standing at the door of my favorite tiki bar!
Trader Sam's at Disneyland!
He was on break from filming "The Muppets"
He builds props and costumes and makes repairs.
He's not a puppeteer, just works closely with them.
He decided to visit Disneyland for some fun.
I asked him once, if ever he went to Disneyland,
would he please pick up some
tiki mugs for me at Trader Sam's?
I even emailed directions
and pictures of the mugs I was after.
Here's proof he kept the email.
A few weeks later I received these.
I was thrilled! I now have three tiki mugs
to add to my collection.
The Shrunken Zombie Head Cocktail Mug
and the "Uh-Oa Bowl" on the right.
The orange mug on the left is
their Halloween addition that year.
Here's a detail of the ghosts on the back.
What a Pal!
I was sad to hear that "The Muppets" got
canceled but Alex always finds more work.
Here he is building a walk around
character The dragon "Toothless" for a cruise ship.
Then on to a gig with Sid and Marty Krofft
working on a reboot.
Can you guess what?
He's building all the main characters,
for everybody's favorite sea monster,
Sigmund.
So needless to say, with his talent,
no need to worry about Alex.
------
A New Town At The Station
At Christmas time
Sam let me buy a new picture for
the area over the dry goods pantry.
We found it at Kirkland's.
It's called "Small town Christmas Night"
Here's a picture from Kirkland's website.
It has twinkling LEDs behind the
canvas and all the street lights glow.
Such a magical painting.
Check out the cool faux carved
detail around the frame.
In my opinion the picture pairs perfectly
with my Spode Train Station cookie jar.
------
I Found Dory, On My Cake!
In January I celebrated my 47th Birthday.
Sam surprised me with a Finding Dory
birthday cake.
It sure was a great looking cake!
Dory is actually a squeezable bath toy
that squirts water.
She clips on to the plastic water base
that is attached to the plastic backboard
with Nemo and Hank.
Behind them are rubber suction cups.
Here's a shot of Cher and I next to the cake.
Sam also gave me a set of the Halloween
"Oh Rats" candle holders from Ganz.
I've had them in my watch list for like, 5 years.
They are bigger then I had imagined.
They'll come in handy at Halloween.
I never did a post about last year's cake.
It was a Jurassic World cake
for my 46th Birthday
Complete with a plastic T-Rex and Main Gate.
Another very colorful and beautiful cake.
My parents gave me a new air compressor
and a new garage door opener!
Sam surprised me with a tablet!
It was quite a haul that year.
Here's a pic of Elvis and me next
to the cake and our grandson Jaylen
playing with his toys in the background.
------
How Cool Is That's
A shot of me and the pooches at Halloween
both looking at the camera at the same time.
That alone is pretty cool.
Behind us you'll see the Halloween
hutch buffet.
Down in the lower left corner
you'll find something new...
a set of vampire teeth from Dept 56.
It's from the "Dr. Frankenstein's Lab" line
called "Bite Size Specimens" circa 2008.
It's a very ugly and very cool candy dish.
I scored the winning bid on Ebay!
I mean, how cool is that?
A shot of the South Point Casino's
lobby Christmas tree.
It has bears and beehives in the branches.
How cool is that?
We bought a new end table at Lamps Plus
for our India themed living room.
It looks like a stack of books
that are actually drawers.
How Cool is That?
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Well that was a monster blog post!
As always, thanks for stopping by
and happy hunting!
They blend in nicely with our 
