Dog bday?

Mallory texted me yesterday to tell me not to forget  to post about it being Olive’s birthday on my blog.   Ummmm what?   She’s apparently my  granddog and it is important that she not be left out.   She was born 4 years ago in my basement.    Right. Okie dokie.  Mallory even provided the photos for the blog post!   She also brought pup cakes to my house to share with all of Olive’s best friends.  Alrighty then.  Happy Birthday Olive Oyl.   Thanks for always giving us a reason to play fetch.  

She really is a good dog, albeit a little bit high maintenance.  We do like knowing if Mallory were to be abducted, the dog would probably trip the abductor with a tennis ball and lick them to death.  

A little scarecrow story.  Last week, the Overbrook Pride president (I think?) stopped me on the street to see if I would mind decorating "my" flower pot for fall.  The summer flowers were about dead, and the Pride thought it would be fun if each merchant downtown decorated their own pots, and they were asking if we could do something maybe with scarecrows.  I told her sure, I would be happy to, and went on about my day.  A little later, it dawned on me that I don't really have much in the way of actual decorating skills, and that what I would like to put out for fall (scary Halloween decor) is probably not what they had in mind.  My brain went to old hairdressing mannequin covered in blood and gore, tied up with scary scarecrow including a machete.  Probably not what Pride wanted.  My next thought was that I have a friend whose husband is on the transplant list for new lungs.  They are having to travel to St. Louis repeatedly, and I the waiting is hard.  They have continually offset costs by having some fundraisers, and currently, they were selling some cute little scarecrows that they made.  So I contacted her, and she said she had 1 left!  I told her no - you have none left, because I want him!  I made arrangements that included the scarecrow being left with Jim at his office.  I would have the best pot!  I was going to win the pot decorating contest, that doesn't actually exist anywhere except in my mind.  (My children making everything into a competition did not solely come from Jim).  After 4-H, I stopped by Jim's office to pick up my newest exciting purchase.  The thing is huge!  Like 2 1/2 feet tall!  And adorable!  Jim immediately went into "hey - this guy is really, really cool, and I really like it, but I fear if you put him downtown in a pot, he is going to be stolen!"  I hate when Jim is right.  It annoys me, but in this case, I didn't even argue because I didn't want him in a pot downtown, I wanted him on my front porch!  Problem - still don't have a scarecrow for the pot!  

Mallory happened to be at my house, and I was telling her about my scarecrow problems.  She offered to have her 1st grade class do some team building activity, and make me some scarecrows.  I told her if they weren't cute, I would reject them, because I am winning the non-existent pot decorating contest.  She assured me she would make the cutest scarecrows ever, and that I would be happy!   She would even laminate them for me so they could be outside!  I agreed, not because I was convinced it was a good plan, but because I am....well....lazy!  :)  Why would I want to put any effort into something if I can get a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds to do it for me?  

I did give credit to them.  I love how my little pot and display turned out!  So cute.  Thank you Mallory and kids!  You may have a permanent job in pot decorating.