Sharon Young

I'm throwing out a question to Active Rain dog people.

Does anyone have any idea what kind of dog my Gracie might be?

We got her from a rescue group who told us she was saved from a puppy mill in Miami where she was a breeder. It was obvious when we brought her home that she had just had a litter. Poor little mama. They said she was a Shi Tzu, and while she may have *some* Shi Tzu in her ..... I dunno....

She weighs about 12 pounds and she is very long and has short stubby legs. I had one vet tell me she thought she was some type of Terrier. And the short legs may suggest that. But her length is almost Daushund like.

I have had folks tell me:

• Lhasa Apso
• Maltese
• Shi Tzu
• Terrier
• Tibetan Terrier

Of course she is most likely a mix. Maybe of all of the above! LOL

I personally am thinking Havanese. I have found pictures of this breed that look very similar to Gracie.

No, it certainly doesn't matter because whatever she is.... she sure is cute! And we love her.

It's just that every time I take her for a walk, someone asks me what breed she is. I decided that I am going to pick one and make it official.

So Active Rain ... what say you? What breed should Gracie be?

Believe it or not .... this was Gracie right before we got her!

Here a few cool pictures (at least I think so) from my trip up to and back from Ft Myers, Florida to Philadelphia, Pa.

I just spent a few days in Southampton, Pa. A lovely suburb of Philadelphia. We took a direct flight up to Phila International and then the R2 train to Warminster station, then got a ride from family.

As the plane was making it's decent to Phila airport, I was accutely aware of the differences between Phila and Bonita Springs, Fl.

For one thing ... the weather! Believe it or not, it was hotter and more humid in Phila than Southwest Fl. It was also grey and poured all day on Friday.

Phila is a special town, for sure. It's the birthplace of liberty. The home of top notch culture, sports teams and diversity. But ... let's face it ... it's old. And dirty. And grey. I'm just saying.

When you get used to new and clean and shiny ... well...I'm spoiled. I missed the palm trees and sunshine and blue skies. I felt a little out of place and wonky, being away from the city feel for so long. I saw things with a new perspective.

Then on the other hand ..... I was born and raised in Philly, and there is a certain pride and a "toughness" that belongs to the Philly crowd. And I will always be part of that. Besides, where else in the world can you get the BEST soft pretzels, hoagies and Tastykakes? No where!

And while I'm at it ... there are NO fans in the world like EAGLES fans!(especially when they are killing playing Dallas. The greatest rivalry ever.) We are known for being tough, hard to please and quick to turn... but always diehard and passionate and green!

Ya know ... I think I miss Philly. Dirt and all.

GO E-A-G-L-E-S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So....this is what happens when I cook.

Half of Bonita Springs Fire & Rescue comes to dinner and the whole neighborhood knows about it.

What can say? I blame it on the electric stove. Darn things are just too hard to regulate.

You need to know that I *can* cook. I just don't *like* to. So therefore...I don't cook that often.

In a rare moment of guilt, I decided to take over the duty from my DH and offered to make eggplant parmesan. I sliced the eggplant and covered it with flour and then dipped it in the beaten egg and then the bread crumbs.

So far so good....

I wanted to brown it in relatively hot oil and then transfer it to the oven.

Well, the gosh darn stupid electric burners just have a mind of their own and the oil got too hot and the hard wired right to Brinks / fire dept alarm went off. And kept going off ...on and on and on.

This alarm is more piercing than all the smoke detectors I have ever heard.

It was absolute chaos. My husband trying to talk to Brinks through all the noise. The Bonita Springs Fire & Rescue called three times to check on us and let us know that the fireman were on their way. (They did a nice job.) I told them that there was no fire and we were fine. Just our ears were splitting. They said that they *have* to come out.

And did they ever. I guess this was the most exciting thing going on in Bonita Springs tonight.

My whole street in Village Walk of Bonita Springs was nothing but fire and rescue trucks. There must have been 10 to 15 fireman milling around. 5 or 6 in my (not that big) house in full fire gear trying desperately to get this alarm to off!

How many grown trained men does it take to turn off an alarm? I don't know either.

One of the more resourceful fireman started pulling wires out of the main panel and got lucky. LOL

Well, to try and make a too long story a little bit shorter ... it's finally off and fixed and back to working properly. Sheesh.

Thanks to Bonita Springs Fire & Rescue. You guys were polite and patient and understanding.

Enjoy and have a good laugh. Oh BTW ... the eggplant parm was delicious!

I'm on a beach roll! Who can blame me.

What can I say. It seems as though we can go for weeks or maybe months and not go the beautiful beaches that we are blessed with here in Bonita Springs, Fl. But lately, I just can't stay away. More is not enough.

It seems as though we are experiencing the calm before the storm. (As in IKE ) This weekend has been a dream weather wise. Saturday was an absolute 10! The sky was so blue it almost hurt to look at it. The sun was hot with a slight cool breeze and the air was so clear and fresh.... the kind of day that makes you forget all your problems.

So ...for what it's worth ... here are more pictures. I hope you enjoy.

Well, it's a good thing that I have enjoyed our beautiful Bonita Springs sunsets lately.

Looks like it may be time to pay the price for living in paradise. Hurricane Ike is on his way with his girlfriend Josephine close behind.

Personally, I love storms and hurricanes... but I'm not stupid. They are saying Ike is a big boy and even though he is a ways out, we figured it was time to do the preparation drill again.

When we bought our house three years ago, we opted for accordion hurricane shutters as an extra. They were well worth the money even though we only had to use them once, and that was for Wilma, which hit 6 weeks after we moved in.

We felt a little like Church Lady doing her superior dance when all the other homeowners struggled with large sharp metal panels! Why more people didn't pay for the accordions is beyond me.

Anyway, they haven't really been used in three years and we made the mistake of not opening them up and cleaning out the nooks and crannies as part of regular maintenance.

It's amazing the crevices that Florida insects, spiders and frogs etc can get into. And the crap that they leave behind. Yuk!

We just spent the last couple hours cleaning out "who knows what" from the bolt locks on all our shutters, so that they will be in working order for Mr. Ike.

Ike is on track to hit Tuesday night or Wednesday. It's still early and he may miss us. I hope so. We have a flight scheduled for next Thursday and I don't want to change it.

It's still a small price to pay, but say a prayer for all of us in his path.

Anyone else getting geared up for Ike?

And don't forget your pets! If you have to evacuate, PLEASE take them with you. If you are "hunkerin" have plenty of food and water and necessary medicines on hand.