Way to do it!

The video of a Minnesota couple who boogied down a church aisle with their wedding party to the surprise of their guests is a hit on YouTube.
This made me smile for quite a long time!
Kevin Heinz and Jillian Peterson, their seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers danced down the aisle to the Chris Brown song "Forever" before the couple exchanged vows June 20 in St. Paul.

The Pets

I’ve been pet/housesitting in San Jose since Sunday and won’t head back to Santa Cruz until Friday the 31st. One of my folk is currently on a walking tour with her husband in the Alps and I volunteered to be on pet duty. So meet the pets (text mostly curtesy of Lila who wanted to give me some insights into their personalities – it’s been very helpful in interpreting their behaviour)! The Dog - Cheechoo - named for a Sharks hockey player, Jonathan Cheechoo. Big and friendly…..and could easily pull me off my feet if he got it into his head that life could be more interesting without his lead……he hasn’t tried, he’s very gentle. We have a walking regime which is proving to be very good for my health!
The Kitten – Frances. Lila picked her up off the side of the street after Frances launched herself at Lila’s feet, having been abandoned (Lila is a sucker for this type of behaviour, that’s why she has five cats….sweet). She’s quite friendly and lively, once she is sure you’re okay. Frances and Cheechoo play some scary-looking games, but unless she squeals, they are okay (apparently if Frances does squeal I am to yell at Cheechoo).
Orange Cat - Gus – The ‘gift bringer’ and the talker….skittish and shy, I haven’t received any gifts yet! He’s the soulmate of the White Cat who has a folded-down ear - Charley. Charley and Gus believe they are litter mates, they aren’t but were born a week apart and Lila got them from the vet at the same time. I guess as long as they believe they are related, they are.
Gray Cat (Russian Blue) cat - Gorda. Described as the grouchy queen of the household. Also quite talkative, with a Dick Cheney-ish tone.
Persian Cat- Missy. Quite a Zen character. Often persecuted by Gorda. Believes herself to be persecuted by Frances, but Frances just wants to play. Friends with both boys – if I had a fav it would be Missy......but I shouldn't say that out loud.
Bonus Cat - Max. A frequent mealtime visitor…….if he’s there, I feed him. He’s the neighbourhood cat, although Lila clearly takes the lead in making sure he is okay.
Fishcher's Cat - Mary, who lives across the road looks a little like Gus and will sometimes try to come over for a meal. The only bad thing about that is she will often hesitate, and sit down right in the middle of the street. Scary.
Given the diva personalities, feeding time can be a little dodgy so many logistics to manage! Bedtime is a whole other thing as everyone sleeps somewhere different. Given my parenting responsibilities it's proving easy to stay out of trouble!

Love it

Economic times.....well and the odd emotional one.....this made me chuckle - it might have been the sheep thing (7:1 in NZ btw).

Skunked

oooooook, so everyone knows about skunks, they are quite special and, well, kinda cute when you look at them.  They are not special nor cute when they freak out and decide to expend that special skunk smell.  Thursday night I'm having a perfectly nice time sitting in my house watching a DVD when a very special smell hits me (yeah I knew what it was, I've smelt it on the road....but then you get to fly past it....).  Shite, so bad I get up turn on the outdoor light and open my front door....hear scrabbling and a quiet voice from the new renting neighbors say "hello"....well "hi, is that a  possum (because I've forgotten I mean skunk because I'm startled someone spoke!)".....very quiet reply "no, my dog just got sprayed by a skunk"....."okay, well worse for the dog".....close my door, fairly confident most of what I said was lost in translation. Friday I wake up like I have the flu.....feel terrible.  Working from home and drag my laptop into my bedroom and literally work from meeting to meeting feeling like I want to curl up and leave the planet....that would be good, but I have a job to do!  Takes me all day to get to the Tylenol (read Panadol) because I don't immediately think "find pain killers"  and I am seriously napping between meetings.  Thankfully I am working from home - napping in the office might not work.  Note to self: skunks may have a detrimental effect on your physical well being, even if they don't mean to.  

Doin stuff

So I am just back from a week in NZ - had a grand time. Flew over to surprise my mum for her birthday. Spent time in Auckland, Napier and Wellington. Family time included a very lovely visit to Kathy and Janine's holiday home (check out this months NZ House and Garden article on the Sharing Shed). Although it was a very brief trip it was lovely to catch up with people where I could (and they could, everyone is busy). This is the first time I have visited since I left nearly 3 years ago - I did feel like a tourist and the nicest part was realizing that I now get the best of both worlds..........and right now I get the best of a California summer (I'm not going to mention the rain rain rain.......NZ was lovely and green though).
Now that I'm back and it's summer I'm planning a few new adventures. Biggest one is I am going to try and finish my helicopter pilots license. I am currently checking out a few places and have found one that teaches in the same helicopter I have already flown solo in. I need to find out if I can credit my other flying time - it's been several years since I've flown so will see how that all rolls out. I'm also keen to take up shooting (claybirds not animals) and have found what looks like a very fab club. They offer an intro course so will do that first.
Starting on the 19th I am house sitting a dog and three cats in San Jose for two weeks. I'm going to bring the car and the bike over the hill so that I can ride to work (it's only 7 miles and it will be great fun to ride when the weather is good). It will be interesting to have a holiday away from the beach!
Summer is always a very inspiring time and the California culture is very active so it's not hard to feel motivated.