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Did you miss Random Friday? Don’t worry… it’s back… and better than ever pretty much the same as before. Now on to the random.
1. If you follow me on Instagram (@ourwaldobungie), you’re already aware that I am in love with a new guy. His name is Hamish.
He is my nephkitty. Nate and Deanna adopted him a few months ago and I am absolutely smitten. He is very social – almost like a dog. I can’t get over his adorable face – soulpatch and all. Not sure, but I might try to convince Daniel we need a kitteh of our own. Do you think he’d go for it?
2. The Brookside neighborhood in Kansas City (just a few blocks from us!) was featured in this month’s HGTV Magazine! Pretty sure the houses they featured are the same ones I drool over when I walk the dogs. It is pretty cool to see Kansas City finally getting the props it deserves.
3. Turk and Rufus are spending a few weeks with my parents in Lincoln, so Miss Polly Pocket is an only-dog for awhile. This means that she is my wingwoman when I go to the coffee shop, pick up my dry cleaning, and go for long walks on the Trolley Trail.
I have to be careful though. On Tuesday, I forgot to feed Polly until 10:00 a.m. (gasp!) and she nearly swore off being my wingwoman for good.
4. Finally, and most importantly, today is my bestie Deanna’s birthday! Here is De with her first Birchbox package – I got her a 3 month subscription to the service for her birthday. Happy Birthday, De!
This weekend is packed full of birthday fun and Polly time – is it 5:00 yet?! Happy weekend!
Another week has flown by, another random Friday for you all.
1. After a successful garage sale (we made almost $300!), two items that I’d been intending on refinishing and then gave up didn’t sell (a crappy old chair I found on the side of a road and the side table I picked up when visiting my friend Emily in OKC). I decided it was a sign that I was meant to get in gear and actually refinish them. All it took was season one of Dawson’s Creek and four episodes of Burn Notice to go from this:
To this:
Not too bad, right? Daniel used some pieces of extra wood he found in the garage to replace the rotted-out seat and the missing board on the seat back as well. I spent about $10 on some outdoor fabric and new padding for the seat at Joann Fabric – the paint was leftover from a recent re-painting of the porch (which you can kind of see in the “after” picture). Now our front porch won’t look so empty when potential buyers stop by. I am thinking of getting a little chalkboard that says “Welcome Potential Homebuyers!” and putting it on the table. Maybe that would be too much…
2. We recently attended Shakespeare in the Park to see “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream” with a few friends. Unfortunately, it was nearly 100 degrees and we arrived a bit late so we were seated way too far back to really see or hear anything well. So like the small children we become when it’s too hot and we can’t hear anything, we took pictures on Instagram and left at intermission. We want to go again – maybe for their other play, Antony & Cleopatra – before the summer is over. I always preferred Shakespearean tragedies to comedies anyways.
3. Finally, the euthanasia of Lennox in Northern Ireland has hit a lot of us in the dog community – especially the pit bull community – pretty hard. Breed Specific Legislation is unfair and have been shown to be ineffective. Topeka, KS and the state of Ohio recently repealed their BSL, but there are many cities in the United States and countries around the world that still ban certain dogs based on their looks. So while Lennox’s story is unique because so many people heard about it and rallied in support of him, there are many other dogs being put to sleep each day with no one to fight for them. Look at your city and state to see if BSL exists. If it does, please write your government leaders asking to repeal these outdated and ineffective laws. Because at one time Dobermans, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds were subject to BSL. It’s pit bulls now. What breed might it be in the future?
This weekend’s walk took us to Penn Valley Park for a trek around the beautiful grounds, with views of the Kansas City skyline and the always beautiful Union Station and Liberty Memorial. We were excited to see some new faces this time around, including sweet Ruby…
Ruby
The perpetually happy Yoshi made a repeat appearance, and brought his friend, a sweet little rescue dog whose name escaped me as I was writing this.
Yoshi & his mom, Megan.
Yoshi's girlfriend.
We encountered our first ever loose dog on the walk – a large Doberman who was playing fetch in the large grassy area in front of the Liberty Memorial with her owner. The owner didn’t appear to have a leash or great control over her dog, so we altered our course and headed away from them, down the winding stairs and onto the sidewalk (and street when we hit construction) along Main Street. It was a little annoying, but luckily our group is pretty laid back, so even though we had to literally take to the streets to get around the distraction in our path, we were no worse for wear.
Zach & Crystal with their foster dog Minnie and forever dog, Lucas.
Obviously, the view from the street wasn’t the best, but the other parts of the walk made up for the unforseen detour…
Zach, the only male member in attendance, took the lead position.
Beautiful Union Station
When it was all said and done, spending the afternoon walking at Penn Valley Park with the Pittie Pack was a great way to spend Earth Day…
This weekend was the Great KC Pet Expo in Overland Park, KS (a suburb of Kansas City). The event brought together vendors from all over the United States, rescue groups, and pet owners of all kinds to one place to celebrate pets!
Crystal from Wayward Dogs and I met up on Sunday to check out the event and cheer on our friend Amy, who had her own booth for her dog photography business, Fido Fetch Photography.
In addition to Amy’s dog-tography booth, there were countless other vendors hocking their wares or services, from custom collars & leashes to all-natural dog treats to pet boarding. I was super impressed with all of the products made by local small businesspeople, such as the adorable Waggiewear Collars from Kansas City…
Chew Gourmet Dog Bones from St. Joseph, MO…
Rupert’s Simply Smoochable from Kansas City…
Also, EuroDog Designs from Lawrence, KS, where I bought this beautiful leash (on sale!) for Rufus…they had beautiful leather collars and leashes that smelled so amazing, it took me back to when I used to ride horses as a young girl.
There were also several animal rescues there, including T.A.R.A., Missouri German Shepherd Rescue, and the newest Kansas City pit bull rescue, Midwest Adopt-a-Bull. Unfortunately, due to a breed ban in Overland Park, the Midwest Adopt-a-Bulls group was unable to bring any adoptable dogs with them to the event, so they focused on getting new volunteers signed up and raising money for their foster dogs.
The Canine Stars, who have been featured on Animal Planet, were doing exhibitions at the event as well. I was bummed that the seven dog pit bull team was barred from attending due to the breed ban, but luckily, the other dogs were entertaining enough to almost make up for it. For example, this Red Heeler, who could jump over a 64 inch hurdle into his trainer’s arms!
We also saw lots and lots of people with their dogs at the event – I couldn’t resist photographing a few!
The Great KC Pet Expo was excellent and Crystal and I had a blast meeting the different vendors and discussing various dog-related topics. I’ll be posting more in the coming weeks about a few of the local vendors we met and some of the products I brought home to try with Turk & Rufus. Plus, we already have one giveaway in the works, so stay tuned!
Our Waldo Bungie 