Lorrie Shaw

If you are like me, you are relishing this time of year. Warm temps, earlier sunrises... more outside time. I love to work in my garden in my spare time too. All of our pets love to spend time outside with me while I'm getting things done. Some of my fondest memories of Gretchen's younger years were her sitting nearby while I would weed or she would stand right next to me and watch as I would dig out dirt and plant annuals. Gretch still does, as does our cat Silver, and I prize each day out with them. (Bruiser prefers to roam about the property and do his own thing except when he comes back to tease Gretchen so that she will chase him.)

If you are like me, you probably love to have physical contact with your pets. As a pet sitter, I know how important physical contact is to pets - it's all part of the non-verbal communication that animals rely on to convey what's on their mind and I am very sensitive to that.

What I learned several years ago after a bout of poison ivy changed things a bit.

After a visit to the Dr. because my reaction was so severe, they informed me that my pets might be a contributing factor in my contact with the oils - urushiol - from poison ivy plants. Doh! I would wash my tools, gloves, clothing, but never thought about the animals.

Urushiol can remain active for years.

I started using Tecnu to wash the pets, just as I would my tools, and while that helped - it found that it is impractical as all of our pets roam the property extensively and it's impossible to combat the urushiol competely. I did find that IvyBlock helps tremendously to protect me if I do come into contact with poison ivy. I refuse to give up doing the things that I love, whether it's gardening or being around pets.

Did you know that local food pantries' are in greater need than ever for food donations? In so many ways, our local communities are struggling, but honestly... not having enough to eat has to be by far one of the most serious issues stemming from the economic downturn.

In an attempt to help, Keller Williams' Ann Arbor and Dexter Market Centers decided to celebrate RED DAY (Renew Energize and Donate) - a new KW national initiative dedicated to strengthening and serving our local communities - locally, by holding a food drive May 14 - 16 to benefit Food Gatherers in Washtenaw County.

I was able to participate by assisting Chris Glahn this past Saturday by getting out in the field and helping to retrieve grocery bags of food from the homes of Chris' clients, friends and members of the community, door to door. What a great day to spend a Saturday morning! Chris' efforts alone were able to secure nearly 20 bags of food and upon arriving at the main drop off at the Ann Arbor office later that morning, there were bags lined up everywhere.

Fun, fun fun! We live in a great community and kudos goes out to the many folks who pitched in and gave. Chris and I are looking forward to Red Day next year.

A few days ago, Chris and I had the opportunity to attend an event in Ann Arbor that just knocked my socks off.

Held in Superior Township, the evenings' events began with lush edible offerings like smoked salmon and sushi bites provided by Katherine's in a visually stunning setting. After catching up with friends and making new acquaintances it was time for the presentation by Jazzistry, and it proved to be an engaging and truly spectacular event. Bandleader and emcee Vincent York led an enlightening evening filled with auditory glimpses into eras past and present. Snippets of the jazz greats like Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Sten Getz, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea and so many more were featured during the evening. The goal of Jazzistry is to illustrate the evolution of jazz from it's beginnings in the late 1800's to the present time, teaching not only audibly with the live music, but visually with props and musician led demonstations of their respective instruments.

As a jazz lover, this was an especially fun evening and all in attendance were in agreement, I'm sure. It's great to see an organization like Jazzistry offering their talent and knowledge of jazz music to others in such an interactive and engaging fashion. Kids will love this event, too and the group actually does many of their presentations in schools.

I was reminded of a handy tip a short while ago...

An acquaintance of mine was working with polyurethane a couple of days ago, dropped it and splashed everywhere, including on their skin. Pretty tough to remove, as you can expect!

Vegetable oil or peanut butter is effective at removing polyurethane residue from your skin - simply rub either into your skin well, and wash off with liquid dish soap and rinse well.

The same procedure can be applied to dogs and cats. Typically the polyurethane contamination occurs when curious pet wander through a freshly urethaned floor (which is usually done perfectly, right?), and their paws are just sticky with the mess. Be sure to rinse well and inspect all areas of the body, as the hydrocarbons in the poly can cause severe respiatory dysfunction and even death.

We had a very active day on Saturday. I took the dogs for a walk here in Chelsea while Chris was out with clients in the morning, to begin with. I ended up running errands late morning/early afternoon and on my way back to Chelsea, I stopped in to check out the Last Day Dog Rescue adoption event at Wags to Wiskers in Dexter as I needed to pick up some EVO canned food for the dogs anyway. When Chris got home, I told him that I since I had no further pet sittings to tend to for the rest of the day, it might be a great day to go to Hudson Mills - but he happily suggested a trip to the Peach Mountain area instead. We had never taken the dogs there, so we hopped in the car and headed over.

Home to the former Curtis Observatory, the walk to the Peach Mountain area was peaceful and just gorgeous. Gretchen and Bruiser were happy to have the freedom to sniff around at new surroundings and explore a bit. We were thankful for more of a challenging walk and a bit more excercise and as an enthusiastic lifetime learner, I was excited at the prospect of seeing something new. No bugs, filtered sunshine and no wind made for a great afternoon. Best of all, it's right in our backyard. Michigan is filled with exciting history, and all sorts of unexpected things. The dogs were pooped after our excursion and were ready for a good meal when they got back to the house. So were we. What a great way to spend a free afternoon.

A little history...

The Curtis Observatory was completed in 1950 and was used for 17 yrs. That telescope was then moved to the site of Cerro Tolol Interamerican Observatory in Chile. That building appears to be abandoned, but is still quite imposing - what a sight!

The second building, which housed a reflector telescope was put into use in 1969 and was then removed and transported to Kitt Peak National Observatory - located in the Arizona Sonoran Desert and is still in use today. It's original building is too abandoned, and is quite amazing to see as well. I suspect that over the years the powers that be realized that with encroaching development would make it increasingly difficult for the telescopes to be used to their full potential. The lights from surrounding cities, vibrations from railroads and the like make it difficult for the telescopes to operate. That is probably why Chile and Kitt Peak were selected as favorable sites.