The beautiful
Princess Snowball from Singapore sent me a package of shells and rocks for the coffee table. This is package #2 from Singapore - the first was from my friends Huskee & Hershey. Even though they're all from Singapore, they each sent very, very different things!
The two shells on the top were so delicate and beautiful that I'm grateful they made it all the way (9,539 miles or 15,349 kilometers) in one piece! As you can see below, the rocks and shells were carefully packed up in the cute little box.
Princess Snowball also sent two "Milk Spoon" treats. Ziggy and I each had one and they were unlike anything I've ever had before. Ziggy finished his right away but it took me a long time on mine.
In fact, I got one end chewed off and then the whole thing vanished! Hmmmmm...... I'm thinking Ziggy stole it when I wasn't looking. I'm telling Mom!!!!!!!!!
I asked Snowball where she found such beautiful rocks and shells and she told me she set out on a quest.
First she jumped into the sea and swam and swam and swam for a very long time.
Until at last she spotted a picturesque beach that seemed like it might have hidden treasures waiting to be discovered! The name of this beautiful place is Changi Beach.
So she made her way to the shore and collected the awesome shells and rocks to send half way around the world just to be in my table! I am so impressed with Snowball's long distance swimming abilities! She should definitely be in the next Pawlimpics! I definitely see
GOLD medals in her future.
Thank you, Princess Snowball for the spectacular rocks and shells and for the delicious, strangely disappearing, treats!
My two new Texas kitty friends, Angel & Kirby sent me a really cool round rock. These two good looking cats live in Plano, Texas which is 1,630 miles from my house. 
There is a very long family history to this rock that was explained lovingly in the letter that came along with it.
This is a naturally round rock. It has not been polished in any manner. If was found on the property that Angel & Kirby's mom's father (I'll refer to him as Grandpa now) grew up on in West Texas (actually the Western part of Central Texas in Eastland County - whew I'm confused!) There was a community there called Yellow Mound where Angel & Kirby's Grandpa lived as a boy. The family has been finding these round rocks for 80 years (I think that 560 dawg years!) Many of these round rocks are very smooth like the one Angel & Kirby sent to me. Others look like they are made of small pebbles stuck together. Angel & Kirby's mom thinks her dad would be very happy to know that one of these rocks is now in my table.
Angel & Kirby, I want to thank you so much for sending this unique and very personal rock for my table. Every time we look at this rock we will not only think of you and your mom but also your Grandpa. We will think about the earth in Yellow Mound which is brown but almost like yellow clay. Though we've never been there, we will imagine your Grandpa when he was a young boy and later on your mom when she was a young girl, each searching for these perfectly round rocks. We can almost see them filled with joy when they found one and maybe even playing a game of marbles with their collection. 
My mom's mom and dad have also left for the human rainbow bridge and would have been 90 and 93 this month if they were still here, close to the 85 Angel & Kirby's Grandpa would have been if he were here too. My mom knows how important these special memories are and we all thank them so much for sharing!
Inside the package was this very artistic card that the hounds made for me.
The letter explained that the pieces glued to the front of the card, with the exception of the slivers of shell, were from their personal collection.
Mom opened the package and laid all the rocks out on the patio with the letter. Bijou explained that the two speckled rocks on the upper left came from the Oregon coastline. The two triangular rocks on the lower right along with the white rock on the bottom left came from Arizona. The remaining rocks all came from Bijou's home state of Nebraska. So alot of the rocks had already traveled great distances before they made their way to me in New York!
Libby the camera hog insisted on a photo shoot with the letter and rocks (as usual)!
No offense to all my cat friends, but sometimes cats can be such attention seekers! Libby is constantly infringing on my time with mom. She insists on sitting next to mom on the couch every night which really annoys me because I want to sit next to mom! If I'm not quick enough she'll steal my spot next to mom in bed too! 
The little white rock from Arizona is called a Desert Rose. Mom had to take a close-up picture of it to share with all of you because it is so interesting and beautiful. Desert Roses are actually "chalcedony" which is formed when mineral rich water flows or drips over a long period of time. You can see "growth" rings on this beautiful specimen. It is very smooth and has an almost waxy feel. It's hard for me (and my mom) to really understand the geological make-up of this rock but it is somehow related to the quartz family and is often used to make jewelry. Please forgive me if any of this information is wrong. I did research but there isn't a Desert Rose for Dummies web site out there! All I know is I like it and it's a great addition to my mom's table!
I chose the place for the rocks in the table on the two corners. Several of the rocks were too big to fit under the glass but no worries - my mom has figured that all out. Rambo sent a rock that was too big and the beautiful big shell from Byron & Xinver is also too big to fit under the glass. Last weekend my mom found the PERFECT clear glass candle holder that she's filling with the plus-sized rocks and shells and she'll post about that when it gets a little more full!
The first package we opened was from 
They went for a nice walk on Muir Beach to find special shells and rocks for my mom's table. Sammie needed to run around and play for awhile first while Honey enjoyed wading in the cool Pacific Ocean.
After that they got down to some serious searching. They found rocks and shells and even a piece of plastic sea "glass".
When they got back home the grandpeep helped them make beautiful and colorful cards to send to us with the rocks, shells and plastic sea glass taped onto them.
When my mom opened the package for me the first thing she pulled out was a miniature hamburger squeekie toy! 
I loved that toy so much I had to run around like crazy and kill it!
The rocks, shells and plastic sea glass are great additions to our table. Thanks Sammie, Honey, your parents and the grandpeep for sending us such a nice package!
Stay tuned this week for posts about the packages I received from Bijou, Snowball and Sweepy!
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Today I received a package from my new friend .JPG)
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The first thing my mom noticed was that Faya used corn starch peanuts. Those are the best kind of peanuts to use for packing boxes. If you've never tried it, put a cornstarch peanut in water and watch it melt away! Unlike traditional packing peanuts, cornstarch peanuts will be gone with the first good rain. Faya you are truely a Green Dawg!.JPG)
On closer examination I found a bandana in the box, which my mom immediately put on me. Also in the box were four bags of awesome treats for me and Ziggy to share. The next few things I pulled out of the box were specifically for my mom..JPG)
Swiss CHOCOLATE! Faya, you are officially my mom's best friend! She is a serious chocoholic! Usually I'm the one doing the drooling, but today my mom was drooling more than me - hehehe..JPG)
Look at this cute stuffed dawg. According to Faya, this is a typical Swiss dawg - the Bernardiner. We call them St. Bernard's. I think it looks alot like me with it's bandit eyes! My mom said they carry alcohol in the cask around their neck to warm up cold skiers..JPG)
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Whew! I am tired from all this excitement. I think I need to take a nap but first I need to put all the rocks in the table. Wow! They look great!.JPG)
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