CHOCOLATE!!!!!

I started wondering today why we associate chocolate with the Easter Holiday. Apparently, both the Aztec and Mayan cultures discovered that the seeds of the cacao tree can be processed into chocolate. These early cultures mixed the cacao seeds with spices to form a beverage. The Aztecs used cacao seeds as money and in their culture only royalty or the elite could drink chocolate. Both cultures used chocolate as religious offerings and in sacred rituals. The Spanish Conquistadors after exploring Mexico brought the seeds back to Spain and they eventually spread all over Europe. The first solid chocolate Easter Eggs were produced in Germany and France in the 1800's. With the Industrial Revolution came machines that could mass produce hollow eggs and they have since become a favorite in Easter baskets. The Curtsy Girls have brought in stunning delicious Easter Chocolate Bars from Bloomsberry. I love the one that says "Do these ears make me look fat?" We have lots of great little goodies for filling Easter baskets for kids of all ages.

Here's the latest news on the Snick dog's torn ACL. He and I were on the road by 5AM on Monday, driving to the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. That is one long-ass drive with very few rest rooms on the way. There should be BIG signs when you're coming down from Snoqualmie Pass saying "Don't drink 3 cups of coffee or you'll regret it". Anyways... What an amazing facility! They are truly service orientated. My Veterinary Medical Student met us in the lobby and took a full history. We then went to an examination room, where she performed a thorough physical exam. After that she came back with the teaching Veterinary Doctor and they reviewed his case together, drawing me diagrams and really helping me to understand every aspect of his injury. At this point, the teaching Vet gave her suggestions, which were 4-6 weeks of extremely limited activity or surgery. She let me know that small dogs like Snickers have a good chance of recovering without the surgery - YEA!!!!! So I'm going to keep carrying him everywhere for the next 4-6 weeks to see if we can get it to heal.

Since there was to be no surgery, I decided to turn around and drive home the same day. In fact I was so giddy that I was not going to have to shell out $2000 that after filling my gas tank, I drove off with the nozzle still in my car. Can we say embarrassing....really, really embarrassing? The gas station man was very nice and told me that the gas hoses are actually designed to break-away when some ditsy broad forgets she's finished pumping (he didn't really use the term ditsy broad). So for the next 6 weeks, I will continue to sport dog hair on every piece of clothing I own, but now at least I can afford some lint/hair removers :).

XOXO
Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo