Nurse Helen’s Neighborhood

Meet Petie, my mom's dog

He was an early Christmas surprise to my mom from me and Thomas (she had been wanting a dog). My friend, Molly, had to give him up, for she was moving to a new community that had some restrictions on the number of dogs you could own. The limit was 4, and being that Petie was doggie #5, he was the one they decided to part with. I guess the last to come is the first to go. Anyway, their loss was my mom's gain. Petie is an excellent dog. We were worried at first that things might now work out so well at his new home, but he soon adjusted to his new surroundings in the country very nicely. He began to lose weight from chasing squirrels and such, and now he looks like a much healthier Jack Russell.

Recently, mom has discovered that Petie is a BIG FAN of water. After work, she will turn on the hose and let him run wild. Petie is in dog heaven. He chases the spray and chomps at every drop. He loves to get his fur wet, and running straight into the hose's spray is one of his favorite moves. If you stop for too long, Petie will beg for more, literally. It is quite an enjoyable sight to see this dog so happy over the water. Daniel loves to help spray the water for Petie as well. All in all, it will provide a great laugh and lift anyone's spirits.

A couple of months ago, my Unruly Beast, Aslan, was taking me for a walk around the block when he suddenly discovered a scent that he had to sniff.  He failed to give me the "I'm going over here for a sec" signal, and, clumsy me, I wound up on a concrete driveway up the road.  In the spirit of the Olympics, I pretty well nailed the landing.  I figured I was going to relive the moment frequently based on sensations in my left knee and hand. I rolled onto my right side where my arm was stretched full length and I could see the leash taut with 85 pounds of Dark Golden fur S T R E T C H E D toward a plant in the yard.  My body on that concrete, by the way, wasn't going anywhere, so Aslan was at the proverbial end of his rope.

I was mad.  I'd had all the pet fun I could stand, so my partner and our pooches headed for home.  My knee and hand weren't all that bad.

A couple hours later, when reaching into the cabinet, I found out that my shoulder was the injured body part.  I got in with an Orthopedic Guy the next day, and while waiting for the appointment, Hubby and I spent some time roaming in a nearby PetSmart.  We bought a 'Gentle Leader' training harness, one of those contraptions that go around the dogs head and over his nose. (Did you know that a dog has an Adam's Apple?  I didn't, even after Anatomy  & Physiology of Farm Animals at Tech!) Pricey --around $20 for a collar? -- but if it worked to keep the big boys from pulling ...

It worked!  On both our pullers (those "Hey!  Who's walking who?" dogs).  At least on the trial runs the teen daughter took them on.  I was scared, and busy getting to know the orthopedist and the physical therapist and his staff.  The MRI's on the books for this week.

BUT, today, I took Mr. Unruly and the Gentle Leader to the local Greenway for several miles of Walk with my Walking Partner, and after the 10 minutes of fighting it (predicted in the literature), he was a model citizen.  Incredible!  I live about 4 miles from the path, and here he is after the drive home.

"Oh cool!" is often my response to Daniel when he shows me something, rather it be a page in one of his books or a piece of paper he found on the floor. It has become such a habit. He now echoes "Oh cool!" when he sees something he likes and wants to show us. And to what did he say "oh cool!" today?

MY NEW DIGITAL CAMERA! I am very pumped to have this item. "Oh cool!" is right on target.

Thomas was the one to suggest that I needed a new camera, although there might have been some prompting from a friend (thanks Dawn). The little point and shoot that I currently have is around 4 years old, which is quite old in digital camera age. It has a tiny LCD screen in the back and the batteries, no matter how new, always seemed to lose charge---at the most inopportune times. Now, my new Cannon SD750 has a 3in LCD screen on the back, an internal, rechargeable battery, and it is totally awesome. We've done some saving, researching, and sale watching on cameras, and today was the day that we finally got one.

A few extra things I love:

• When you flip the camera sideways, the images on the back flip too
• You have no need for a viewfinder on the back--even in sunny situations--because the screen is so big you can see everything.
• I have a video camera on this one as well, but the quality will be much more crisp and clear.

And, for the first pic (of many more to come)....................................
  anyone in the market for a used Nikon CoolPix 3200????

Although almost every day at Six Apart is Take Your Dog to Work Day, Friday was extra special because it was the official Take Your Dog to Work Day! Plus, as lovers of blogs and animals, we think it's great that active blogger and Human Society's President and CEO, Wayne Pacelle, thinks having dogs around the office is a good reminder of "who we're working for."

We realize some people have it ruff and aren't lucky enough to be able to bring their dog to work, but hopefully these pictures taken at Six Apart last Friday will get your tails wagging... And let me tell you, it's harder than it looks to get all the doggies and their fetching owners in one picture.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, today is the summer solstice. For ancient civilizations, this day was akin to our modern day New Year's Eve and was viewed as a time to reflect and renew. So why not kick off your summer celebration with a new theme?

See all of our themes in the Design Area.

Or choose from one of  these brand-new themes. (Available under "New.")

Cute.....but ornery....trust me, his cuteness is deceiving!

Oh how I love my son, but the past week he has been such a pill. The poor thing is teething his top right and left back teeth, so they are hard to reach and painful, hence a grumpy little man for me. There is little to do to assuage his little gums way back in the back. He did, however, find my headband on the couch the other night, which he quickly placed in his mouth because it hit perfectly on each side in the rear, right where he needed it.

On top of the teeth issues, he is coming into his own, wanting specific items that he can't always specifically request. Gone are the days where the baby is hungry and the baby eats whatever is put before him, completely content because he is simply eating. Now, its goldfish, not peanut butter crackers. Bananas, not strawberries.

Also, Daniel has been discovering even more about his ability to get into nearly anything and everything. His long and lean physique makes nearly all items within reach. I'm running out of places to put things, especially in the kitchen, for he can reach everything that is placed on the counters unless they are pushed back to the wall or dead center of the island.

When it comes to his mobility, Daniel is pretty capable of doing what he desires. He will frequently need a little boost or a quick hand grab to get a task done, yet, there are times when he does not want any help. He wants to try and try and grunt and whine, sometimes breaking down and getting help, but other times becoming successful. It is hard for me, however, to know which is which--does he want help or not?

It is neat to see him developing likes and dislikes (for instance, he likes pulling his peanut butter crackers apart, having one piece in each hand). But I just wish he could put up with the dislikes a little more cordially.

Let's just say we have both been learning about patience this past week! He is clearly a toddler. 

When it comes to Girl Scout Day Camp, there are 2 jobs I'm willing to do: teach canoeing and teach singing.  Our area lost its camp on the lake a few years back, so that axed my canoe job.

I haven't been at Day Camp for a while, but am back this week, teaching singing.  The girls haven't been taught traditional Girl Scout songs since last time I was there, as far as I can tell (except one Troop led by an admitted "Old Scout"), so there's been some catching up to do.  Everyone needed to learn 'Taps'.   No one knew 'Pink Pajamas' (and many were scandalized at the thought of sleeping naked!).  It would take a lifetime, I'm telling you.

We're in a field in the city park, in a tent city of sorts.  Trying to provide shade in a field that has ONE, count 'em, one tree.  Fortunately, even though it's 90 degrees, there's a good breeze (balmy!) and no one's fried so far.

This is my Music Complex. The wind can really whip that tarp around! But the girls fit under it nicely.  Follows is one of our traditional songs.  I especially like the second verse. :~)

A couple of months ago, we told you about Blog It powered by TypePad, the first cross-platform blogging application for Facebook the enables you to post to your Vox blog - and ALL your blogs - with a single click.

Within a week, Blog It had nearly 4,000 active users posting tweets and creating blog posts, as well as updating their status messages with the title and link to the published post. Today, Blog It's Facebook application has nearly 10,000 users. But here's the thing: You're not always sitting in front of the computer when the inspiration to blog strikes. And at Six Apart, it is our goal to provide you the tools you need need to blog where you want, and when you want.

Which is why this week we introduced Blog It for iPhone, a free web application just like the one we introduced for Facebook - only now - on your iPhone. Built specifically for iPhone's Safari browser, Blog It for iPhone enables you to post blog entries or status updates from wherever you are to more than a dozen different online services. And just like the original Facebook version, you can choose to share your posts with the people you know across various social networks.

To start blogging with Blog It for iPhone, go to  http://blogit.typepad.com with your iPhone's Safari browser and install the Blog It icon onto your mobile desktop. Then, all you have to do is click the Blog It icon and start creating posts!

Whether you're riding the bus to work, cheering on your team courtside, or enjoying a picnic by the lake, now it's easier than ever to Blog It.

  One of my dear brothers, John, who works for Google out in sunny California, was on TLC's new show Master of Dance last night. Since we don't get the frills of cable television, we did not see it. In an attempt to catch a glimpse of John on the show, I checked out YouTube. Although I could not find the episode, here is a promotional video of the show. If you care to see him, you might want to just skip forward to 4:20 or so. He begins to cut a rug shortly after that point. He is in some other quick scenes in the background, but at around 4:20 is when he dances.