What dog doesn’t look happy when they are face down in their food dish? It hasn’t always been that way for us – both our dogs were off and on picky eaters most of their lives. Henry had been known to not eat for more than a day for no reason that we could discern.

When we moved here the dogs had been eating a fancy designer expensive dog food. I liked that it was more real nutrition and that they produced smaller stools. I figured that their bodies were actually absorbing more of the food due to less filler.

Lucy – like many floppy eared dogs – has had problems for most of her almost nine years with fungal infections in her ears, especially when the seasons change. She also had bad dandruff and chewed her feet almost compulsively.

A few months ago she was really in a bad way so we took her to the vet. After examining her, he recommended an elimination diet – just rice and tuna or salmon to start with. He also sold us her usual ear medicine and some shampoo.

So, we changed the dogs over to this new diet, which now consists of tuna, rice, frozen peas and chicken all mixed together. Being a vegetarian I don’t like to mess around with cooking chicken so I bought chicken breasts (quite inexpensively) at Sam’s Club to add to the food.

Both dogs are now enthusiastic eaters. They eat it up and then check each other’s dish, just in case. They lick the little pieces of rice off the floor. Lucy’s skin has cleared up beautifully, she only licks her feet once in a while, and I can keep her ears under control with cleaning every week.

I like the fact that they are eating without a lot of fillers and unknown additives. It is a bit expensive but no more so than the fancy food…and I am happier knowing that I am taking good care of our best friends!

Oh, and the treats that we give them now in place of store-bought dog cookies? Carrots!

Erica and Owen on Lake Whatcom

Comics…the newspapers have comics! And the Sunday paper has ads for everything you could possibly want (but probably don’t need.)

People speak English. Obvious, I know. But I am so used to translating menus and thinking ahead about what I will say I felt kind of lazy.

Headphones are on nearly every head. Not just kids. Not just little white earbuds…but every kind of large and small headphone you can imagine. The spectrum of what they are listening to is probably as varied as the types of headphones. NPR? Music? Books? Podcasts? Is it just the fad or are they saying “don’t bother me?”

Credit, everywhere. Pretty much every store I went to offered me a discount if I would apply for their credit card. And when I said I lived out of the country, they thought I meant Canada!

Some things cost a lot. Restaurant food. A glass of wine. Parking downtown. Gas (around $4.40/gal) A cup of coffee.

Some things are less expensive. Clothing. English books. Hair clips. A set of outdoor furniture at Fred Meyer with 6 chairs, a table, cushions, and an umbrella for under $250. In Mazatlan it would be at least $1,200 dollars!

What did I bring back? Different things than I thought I would. Books, Clothing, Seeds, Tea, Casement window hardware, French door hardware, Yarn, Aloe Vera, Vitamins, Last season’s Dog Whisperer on DVD, Dog toys, and Dog tags with our Maz information.

What didn’t I buy? Peanut butter. (too heavy) Frontline Plus for the dogs (no time to go to a different pet store) A WII Fit (decided it was too frivolous)

What had I forgotten? That it is stunningly beautiful there in the summer. There were lovely sunsets, sunny days in the 70’s, and nice cool nights perfect for sleeping.

It was a great week, but I am glad to be home!

I just got back last night from my week in Washington State. I had a wonderful time and am really glad I went….but also am glad to be back! Here’s a little summary of the fun I had:

Sunday evening upon arrival in Seattle I picked up my rental car and headed to my sister’s house. We drank wine and duty-free tequila and caught up on everything.

Monday we took a wonderful walk on Ruston Way in Tacoma – along the Commencement Bay waterfront and through Old Town and back home. After that, lunch with our aunt and uncle as they passed through town in their RV on their way to visit friends for a week. Here they are with my sister at the restaurant:

My aunt became our surrogate mom after our mother died when we were kids, and as she is now 86 I was so happy we were able to see each other on this trip.

My sister had to go in to the office Tuesday morning so I went to Target, PetSmart, and Rejuvenation Hardware on my way to Seattle to join up with her.

I’ll leave out the part about going to her office but it was fun to be a fly on the wall as breaking news publication decisions were made.

We booked a room with a city view at the Sheraton and had a sister’s night in Seattle. We shopped and roamed around – took care of banking, etc. For dinner we ate at Lola, Tom Douglas’s newest Greek-inspired restaurant. We ordered based on the most interesting combinations: Appetizer of Pita with Kalamata and greek fig spread…Salad of watermelon, feta, arugula and basil…Smashed garlic fried potatoes…wild mushroom kabobs. It was wonderful.

The next day my sister had a presentation to give to the Board so she got dressed and practiced it on me. Excellent, of course.

After she went to work I drove to Bellingham to visit with our oldest son and his family. I miss my son and his wife but it’s the grandkids that change so fast! I really miss them. As an aside I spent a ton of time trying to get their webcam to work but I believe it’s not compatible with Vista. What a nightmare.

We went for a long walk in the sunshine along the water in Bellingham. People were crabbing from the piers and teenagers were jumping into the water and screaming because it was so cold! We hit the tail end of the farmer’s market and strolled through an independent bookstore.

They took me out for a really special dinner at Anthony’s Home Port, a Washington chain famous for its seafood and northwest flavor. Erica took the picture below after dinner.

Erica did her hair for dinner with the chopsticks I bought her. She had been doing her hair up with a pencil after learning how in her Daring Book for Girls.

We took their boat out one afternoon on Lake Whatcom. We cruised up and down, and stopped and let the kids swim here and there. They’d decided not to take the big inner tube thing because it was a little chilly. Here they are swimming off the boat:

Both kids are excellent students and also excellent athletes. Owen received the Defensive MVP award at his baseball camp this summer.

Erica has been taking swimming lessons and participated in a swim meet on Saturday. It was the first time I’ve seen her seriously swim, and she won two firsts and a fifth! The video below is the 50 meter backstroke, in which she won first place. There were three heats.

In between all this family time were various outings for shopping and eating that you are probably grateful I didn’t photograph! Now, I had better go see what all my blogger friends have been up to!