-Jenny

So excited about the new Wind Turbine I had to take a pic on my iPhone while sitting in traffic!

Not only does Kaddy Car Wash kick butt at washing cars, but the owner of this establishment is doing his part to keep this earth clean and is now starting to run the business partly on clean energy.   First off, Kaddy Car Wash reclaims the runoff from the car washing process to keep it from going into our natural water sources.  Secondly, Kaddy Car Wash cleans your car with quality, environmentally friendly products to help the earth and your car.  And Thirdly, and this is so cool, Kaddy Car Wash just installed a WIND TURBINE at the Andresen street location in Vancouver, WA.  I highly recommend any one in the Vancouver, WA are to go check it out, get your car washed and say thank you to the winds for contributing to your shiny car!  And thank you, Chuck Kaddy, for this cool addition!   

Within 10 minutes I had 5 requests from Craigslist and a total of 15 requests for the furniture by the time they were picked up and in a new home!  Within 2 hours from the time I posted the add on craigslist, both the couch and desk went to a new home of a newly widowed woman who has two young daughters.  Thank you CRAIGSLIST!  You are AWESOME!  If you’ve never experienced Craigslist, check it out.  They have something for everyone!

RIGGS AND US:  THE LOCAL”MARLEY AND ME”

I’ll never forget the day we went to pick up our beautiful new puppy.  I never had a dog of my own before, and although Mike had, this was our gift to each other.  It was something we were doing together.  We weren’t even engaged yet, so the responsibility of having her was the beginning of us.  All the other little puppies were barely walking, hardscrabble little blond beings who were tripping over each other and making tiny fools of themselves.  And then there was Riggs, walking, marching, running ahead of the pack.  She was always the fastest dog around.

Riggs, although never an affectionate dog, had an uncanny ability to win people’s hearts.  She made you feel like you were the center of all her attention.  She would run, furiously wag her tail and jump up, slamming her sidebody into your leg or anything else she could make contact with.  She was all about the thrill of an adventure and our joy of watching her took us on countless excursions both near and far.  On hiking trails, her favorite activities were body slamming into strangers, swimming and peeing in bodies of water, searching for food and always finding her way away from us.  At the dog park, she would shimmy up to the other dogs, tease them with her cute blondness, then take off in a scorching run when she had acquired their attention.  And then there was her smile.  That dog had a smile.

During her 13 years, Riggs destroyed untold amounts of our possessions.  There was the time she sucked on our resin lawn furniture until it looked like someone had taken a blow torch to it.  Or when she pulled all the stuffing out of our cushions so it looked like it had snowed.  Or when she smelled something she had to have and dug a hole through the carpet and padding to the subfloor of our rented house.  Or the countless socks, shirts, plastic toys (ripped apart until the “squeakie” was obtained), stuffed animals who lost their battle with her teeth and acid saliva. 

When our kids were born, as often happens, Riggs took the back seat.  She did it in stride, never malicious to the kids but somehow hopeful that she would one day again have her throne.  She had a particular fondness for Barbie feet and Littlest Pet shop.  We continued hiking with her, bringing her on trips and throwing her her beloved frisbee.  But she never regained her position of prominence pre-children.  Mike and I feel guilty about that but know that it was inevitable.  She got some attention by constantly jumping over the fence and visiting all our neighbors, in search of new types of food, making new friends and making us crazy. By doing so, we met lots of new neighbors, had trips to the vet ER and lots of interesting new poo to clean up (the remains of snacks provided by her new pals). 

Over the last couple years, she began to move more slowly, bark less, jump less and get out of the yard less.  Her preferred place to be was in our front yard, watching passersby and feeling like she was part of the action.  She was always there, no matter what life brought us.  She was always home, even when she greeted us less and less.  When she began losing weight, we thought she was going through one of her spells again, where she ate slug bait or some plastic thing that stopped her from eating.  She withdrew from us physically and emotionally and looked sad.  It was hard to see her this way.  So, this past week, Mike and I said a tearful goodbye to our puppy.  It was the end of an era for us. Mike and I know Riggs has marked the first part of our lives together and that her life is a reflection of ours and that our memories are reflected in her.  Because she was always there.

Rest in peace, Riggs.  You were an unforgettable dog.  In heaven, you can run fast again.

Angel is ready to be adopted!

Check out www.treesforlife.org  This organization is helping our world, fighting poverty and world hunger by educating and giving resourceful items, such as fruit bearing trees.  You get to give gifts of empowerment to needed communities.  I want to write more, however, their site is so full of information, it tells it how it is.  Below I give many links so you can check it out!

Go to the Catalog of Gifts and you can purchase a life giving tree (10 trees for $10! what a DEAL), books for the community to educate and empower them, Moringa Trees also known as the Miracle Tree (which is not only highly nutritious, but may also cure up to 300 diseases), help build a library or learning center, etc, the list of items goes on!  I love this site.  I think it is super exciting that we can do this all over the internet.   Plus, what a perfect match for In Honor Of!   You can do all these plus more as gifts, in honor of a friend or family member. 

Keep in mind….This is a fantastic idea to give this as a gift to your child’s teacher who probably has a billion coffee mugs already!

If you are looking for one more source to help this holiday season, please consider Angel.  Information on how to help with Angel’s vet costs is within her story at the North Beach Paws site.  Below is Lois’s plea.

Letter from Lois:
Dear Friends, Family and Neighbors,
 
Lee and I volunteer for the local North Beach PAWS organization.  Friday morning we went to the kennels to care for the dogs.  We discovered a new dog that was just rescued by our volunteers and given the name Angel.  Angel is going to require many vet visits and medicine in order to first survive, and then be spayed and vaccinated before she can be available for adoption.  Angel’s story is on Petfinder.com.  Select “dog” and give “98569″ as a zip code and that site will take you to the animals of North Beach PAWS.  Read Angel’s story.
 
It isn’t like to me ask this kind of thing, but she so deserves to live.  All of you are animal lovers.  That’s how you made my list.   Times are tough right now and it’s almost Christmas as well.  However, if you are touched by Angel’s story and would consider a donation to help pay for her medical needs, please send a check to North Beach PAWS c/o Linda Ready, P. O. Box 962, Ocean Shores, WA 98569.  Be sure to state the donation is for Angel’s medical needs.  No amount is too small.
 
I promise not to make a habit of asking for money.  I feel rather like the adds on television, but this little girl just touches my heart and I want to try to help her.
 
Lois Schuster

To help the families of these 4, the restaurant chain Papa John’s will be doing a fundraiser.  So to all Washington readers, on Tuesday, 12/08/09 and Wednesday, 12/09/09, fourty of  Western Washington Papa Johns Pizza restaurants in KING, PIERCE , THURSTON and KITSAP COUNTIES are donating their profits to the families of the Officers in Lakewood. 

From what I understand, you need to mention you heard about the fundraiser and would like to participate through your pizza order.  I hope they stay true to this!  Let’s see if they do and have a pizza next Tuesday and Wednesday!  So if you are in King, Pierce, Thurston and Kitsap County, remember to check it out!