Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

I was in town to see Sting with a couple of my sisters (a must-see concert IMO!)  and work on planning the big 20th year vet school reunion(!) with my pal Peach. This merged into a quick getaway with my parents – just the parental units and me – to the coast. It was a bit spur-of-the-moment at a crazy time of year, when I normally wouldn’t take a trip, but we had a wonderful time.

We even had a day of nice weather.

Then I came home. I somehow walked out of the airport leaving a bag on the baggage carousel. la-la-la didn’t even think about it until several hours later. Yes, feeling a bit distracted lately. :-/ Thank goodness, my bag was waiting for me in the baggage claim. My dear husband drove out to the airport to retrieve it. How nice. (I think he was eager for a little break too, since it was dinnertime. I cooked instead of going to the airport.)

I came home to an eager family and pets, all of them glad that life is now “normal” again, and me realizing oooh how far behind I am on work. Quality time with the parental units meant less work time, but it was totally worth it. Now, however, I am feeling a bit buried.

Reality hits.

Awaiting my return was a package from a long-time dear friend who is genius, pure genius, at packaging and gift-wrapping. And finding cool stuff. Her talent takes my breath away, seriously. (Also filled with a bit of envy… you would know why if you have ever received a package from me, taped wildly together and including a few cat hairs for good measure.) Look:

Everything handmade, wrapped to perfection.

Yummy goodies, musical goodies, books, fun stuff and a big juicy letter! WOW. Perfect goodness on a cold rainy day. Barnie went crazy playing in the packaging. He is so easy to please.

Friends, Family, Pets - what life is all about

A drive around my neighborhood.

Abandoned Farmstead

In the small stand of trees to the right is the abandoned house, and the white rectangle is the old barn; trying to hold it together against the elements.

Abandoned farmsteads are common around here, most settled during the “160-acre free land to homesteaders” in the west. Sometimes only the foundations remain or a windmill, but many do have a visible house and barn. The stories that they must have…

Typical spring day here – crazy big white clouds, blue sky, and green-green-green as far as the eye can see. My favorite time of year. Mid to late June is when the wheat and barley start getting streaks of gold, then the greeness is all over. Golden waves of grain is pretty and all, but I love the green.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving break with family and friends. I love Thanksgiving – all of the fun and none of the “gift stress” to deal with. Here’s to a fun, relatively stress-free holiday season ahead!

Sophie is the pot o' gold!

I will be the first to say that I hate moving. I hate everything about it — the planning, the plotting, the preparations — both for the new location and closing out the old location. And the packing! Ugh don’t get me started on packing.

Years ago, I moved across the country and back, both times with pets. While pets don’t have much “stuff” to pack, they do need to be transported safely and legally. Health certificates, licenses, ID and proof of vaccination are all necessary for a smooth trip. Traveling internationally is that much and more, as far as official requirements, as each country has their own rules and regulations.

And what about ‘exotic’ species such as birds? It can all be overwhelming.

Through Twitter I learned about PetRelocation.com, a service dedicated to helping people move pets. Across town or across the globe. They assist with basics, such as a crates and bowls and they assist with the more tricky things like… finding pet-friendly airlines and hotels  if you want to move to say, Norway. (<– Isn’t that a cool map? Check out the tabbed info.)

They have a very navigable site with loads of information, expert travel resources, and it probably goes without saying, but they are well-connected on a variety of social media networks and have a very active blog. Check them out.