some more painted projects...

Featured Pet: Cliff (my nephew)

This handsome gentleman is my nephew, Cliff! I am a proud aunt... especially since he loves me lots and lots (and then there is the little bit about me coming up with his name!!). His daddy, my brother-Chuck, wanted a name that suited his lifestyle... backpacking, hiking, sleeping under the stars at Red River Gorge. ... they frequently slept on cliff's... Many people assume he was named after Clifford the Big Red Dog...or my great-uncle Clifford (whose house Cliff and the rest of his family now call home). No, Cliff was named after cliffs... And this past weekend, he lived up to his name. He fell off a 50+ foot high cliff. It took my my brother a couple of hours to get to him. Cliff was unable to walk... so Chuck drug him where he could and carried him the rest of the way (mostly down steep rocks). After a trip to the Emergency Vet, Cliff surprisingly had no broken bones!!! but, being that he is like 80 in human years... his arthritis flaired up greatly. Chuck has been taking Cliff back-packing since he (cliff) was like 6 months old. He even gets to carry in his own supplies in his very own backpack! Once, he left his favorite toy out at a site. My brother said he knew Cliff didn't have it, I asked him why he didn't grab it for him. He said he told Cliff to get his toy and its his own fault for leaving it behind. ahhh... brothers. I think they found the toy on their next trip! As for my wonderful nephew, I guess his eye sight and depth perception aren't as good as they used to be. I asked Chuck if that would be Cliff's last camping trip... he, of course, said no! Cliff loves to camp... just no more cliffs for my nephew, Cliff!

Evelyn the kitten: 3 weeks ago vs yesterday

I didn't realize how bad she looked until I compared her first picture to the ones from yesterday!!! she doesn't even look like the
same cat to me! ... I was just thinking of how I can't afford to keep doing things like this. But seeing these two pictures makes the $150 in medical bills I spent on her so far completely worth it... I can't put a price on life. and I think that is what I have given this little girl.

all the hard work...

... and I didn't sell a single thing. The yard sale managed to pull in $500...which I am surprised at. We just didn't have the traffic we were hoping for, and I don't think we got any of the craft fair traffic. at least I pre-sold two pieces, which will add an additional $110 dollars to the total. and, I am going to set some things up at our monthly spay/neuter clinic on sunday...where the clientele will hopefully be better.

Pictures Wanted!!!

Hello my faithful blog followers!!

I know that you all love seeing pictures of my fur-babies.... but, I thought it would be fun to showcase some pictures of your pets! your babies! (plus, did you see that recent picture of hank...giving me the evil eye for taking his picture!) I know that a lot of you out there have pets... so email me pictures to: slobe@vcu.edu

Don't be shy... send the pictures in!!! don't forget to include names and such (a funny story, character description, etc). This has got me all excited... so you better not let me down!!

love,
Shannon and my furry gang!

**p.s. in answer to Kate's question, no... I do not need all of your pet pictures. just your favorite ones would work fine!

Evelyn...feeling better and exploring!

Here are some pictures I took of the much happier and healthier,
Evelyn. The antibiotic she started on monday really did the trick,
she gained ~ 4 ounces in just 24 hours!! a lot better than the 1
ounce in two weeks. This is the first time in the two and a half
weeks that I've had her that she has actually explored her room, she
typically just stays in her kitty condo...coming out to eat, do her
business, and to cuddle up with me. It was wonderful to see her
acting like a regular kitten, all playful and full of energy and
spunk!! I am sure that once you scan through the pictures, you will
quickly figure out which picture is my favorite!

Mike's niece, Meredith, tested for her black belt this past weekend.
She is the youngest black belt at her school (or whatever they call
it)... and one of only two girls there with a black belt! Also
pictured is her brother, Josh--he has his black belt also!