Mom’s Birthday Trip

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia

Hi friends, I’m back with pictures of Mom’s birthday trip to the North Georgia Mountains near Helen, GA.

They drove along the famous Ocoee River where there’s lots of rafting and tubing. This is a picture of people whitewater rafting. I think I’d rather stay home!

They kept driving up and down mountains and back and forth on winding roads, until they got to their Air B & B in a little town called Sautee Nacoochee, GA. This is the scenery they mostly saw.

Mom wanted to get a picture of them on the porch, with the trees and mountains in the background. Their backs were to the north, and the sun was busy setting in the west, so the picture isn’t too good. The mountain town of Helen, Georgia has Octoberfest all of September and October. The folks hit it mid-September before it got crazy busy. All the stores and restaurants down the “main drag” were part of it

Now comes the best part! *suspenseful music*
I can’t figure out how, but Mom got word that I was wanting to make elephant stew to surprise her when she got home on her birthday. She and Dad looked and looked for elephant meat. This was as close as they could find (ads on the windows of local stores).

Oh, well, at least they tried. They’re going out of town overnight again soon (they’re going to Inn Dee Anna to a big dance) so I’ll take another look in Mom’s recipe box then.

Oh, I should also mention that they both had a great time at the Octoberfest dance hall where live bands played all day long. They danced and danced the polka until they couldn’t dance anymore, Then they went for a walk, came back, and danced some more! One person even asked for an “at the moment” dance lesson, which they gave him. I guess I’ll finish up with a coupla pictures Mom took of feel-good signs in the windows of a chocolate store. (We didn’t get any chocolate.)

Xena: Hey Chia, did you eat chocolate? Mom weighed you in at 5 pounds over what you weighed in the spring. I’ve been hearing her call you her little sausage.

Chia: Grrrr.

30 thoughts on “Mom’s Birthday Trip”

  1. Amy: My hubby went there, I just wear his sweatshirts! He said to tell you he finished in 1982 and went on to “the other Indiana University.”
    Chia: I just wish Mom would top calling me “the sausage.” It makes me worry I’m about to get eaten. And Xena laughs at me when Mom says that.

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  3. Elephant meat isn’t available here, either, even in our exotic stores…Petcetary has a recipe book for all things wild, game etc, but no elephants there, either!

    Wow, that was a great drive to go to your birthday party, Miss Amy!

    We saw your Purdue shirt…our Pawppy graduated from there way back in antiquity…with a degree in civil engineering. (1976)

    Chia, good food has its results, and since you are a rescue pup of sorts now you are likely where you should be. Us pups, too, have gotten rounder too…vet thinks we are just fine, since we maintained our numbers since last time we were there.

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  9. Thank you so much!! And, yes. Isn’t that interesting? I looked back in my notes and the problem I had with Science Diet occurred in 2018. Suddenly my senior became very lethargic, started losing weight, and began going downhill so fast I rushed him to the vet. She ran numerous tests but couldn’t find the root of the problem (that dreaded “nonspecific” diagnosis). This went on for 3 weeks. All we could do was watch him die. Since he wasn’t eating I decided to switch him from the Science Diet he had eaten all his life and that had kept him healthy as a horse to the cheap brand I keep on hand for strays that wander into the state forest where I live. Much to my surprise he gobbled it down and began to recover rapidly. Within 24 hours he was completely healed. I’ve never seen anything like it!! So I knew it was the Science Diet. Probably some ingredient added to their standard recipe or a cheaper ingredient substitution. I’ve heard the same warnings about Rachel Ray since Nestle bought the pet food division. However I just googled it and see it was bought out by another company last year. It’s crazy how careful you have to be with what you feed your pets these days!!

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  13. I distinctly remember Hills being bought out in the the mid-90’s when I was still working at the vets. The ingredients soon changed from the first ingredient being meat to it being corn. Looking on line now, it shows it was bought out by Colgate-Palmolive in the 1976. And that Purina is owned by Nestle. I really don’t understand the discrepancy between what I have known for years and this on-line info…

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  16. Holy moly!!!! I had no idea Science Diet was owned by Purina. That’s awful!! It wasn’t always that way was it? I ask because up until 10 years ago I always used Science Diet. Then I had a cat that suddenly developed an allergy to it so severe he almost died. Then I noticed the packaging had changed and the kibble had changed. Now most of mine have some sort of allergic reaction to it. So I only use it when I have one that needs to lose weight. I have often wondered what happened to that brand. It really seems to have gone downhill in the last decade. I’ve never been a fan of Purina, so that explains a lot. Good for you feeding human food to your babies!! I’ve been a health food nut since my hippie days in the late 60s and early 70s, and I’m still vegan, an alternative medicine fan, and work out every day. We have to be so careful about our food. Corporate America is NOT our friend when it comes to that. lol!! My vet always recommends green beans for weight loss in dogs. Seems to work really well too. And I’m totally with you on the medication and flea treatments. Too many of mine have developed allergic reactions. My best friend’s beloved dog died from a new flea treatment her vet gave her. One of mine walked around for weeks with a golfball size lump on her back from a rabies shot. Forget that!!

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  17. Java Bean: “Ayyy, that’s quite a variety of flavors! Our Dada has got a thing of wild boar chorizo in the freezer here. Rumor has it he might be making it next week for breakfast. Somehow I doubt we dogs will get any of it …”

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  18. I’m sure that works, but I stay clear of Science Diet (owned by Purina) and most other kibble and other dog food unless it is Human Grade and Gently Cooked. I usually feed raw that I make myself, and sometimes feed Ollie’s packets of slow-cooked, human grade recipes. I just need to feed her more veggies that have been instant potted to remove the bad lectins. I’ve gotten pretty fanatical about what the dogs eat, as well as anything else I use on or in them since my heart dog, Lexi, died of cancer. No HW pills, no flea prevention, no food other than what I just described. I use safe alternatives for all that.

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  19. Sneaky little Chia!! What I do when I have a chunky monkey furbaby is buy a 3 pound bag of Science Diet Perfect Weight for the first month. I look at the chart on the back to find out how much food to give them every day for the weight I want them to be. I measure it out with a measuring cup for 3 meals per day. No free feeding. I think free feeding only works when you have one baby rather than 2 or 3. All of mine woof down their food in 3-4 minutes and then that’s it until the next meal. No snacks or treats between meals. Science Diet Perfect Weight does an amazing job of getting those first 2 pounds off of them. Then I switch them back to their regular food. But I still measure it out according to the feeding chart on the back of the bag. Mr. Chester had 4 pounds to lose (because like Chia he was stealing food from the others). Now he’s slim and trim and quite the Romeo with my girls. Problem is spayed girls HATE boys. But this never seems to deter his adoration (and chasing) much to my girls’ dismay. 🤣

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  23. I grew up near the mountains of PA, which is a big part of why I love living here, too. Nope, didn’t buy any of the jerky. I’ve been feeding Chia a bit less for a while now, when I first noticed her waistline was no longer visible. It’s been a mystery why she continued to look like a big German sausage. I found out today that she’s been running in my son Andrew’s room and gobbling up the food Riley doesn’t finish. How funny about Mr. Chester loving the part about being able to chase the girls!

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  24. WHAT FUN you Mom had on her bday trip.

    Guess what my Nephews Kat and Rocky and my Niece Cali live about 30 minutes from Helen.

    Hugs Cecilia

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  27. So glad you Mom and Dad had what looks like a very fun time in Georgia for her birthday trip. What beautiful surroundings! Love those chocolate signs.

    Chia, little girl…just think there’s more of you to love. No doubt you’ll get back to prime weight under the watchful eye of your devoted mom.

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  28. What a great post!!! I love this. Love all your pics too. They make me homesick for Dalton. Like I always say, when you grow up in the mountains of north Georgia, they get in your blood, and you never quite feel at home until you’re back. lol!!! Btw, great pic of you and your hubby too. Such happy smiles on your faces!! That’s wild about all the animal jerky. Did you buy any? I can only imagine how some of those might taste. 😵‍💫 A carnivore’s dream food, right? I think I’ll stick with the chocolate. Great signs!!! And poor Chia!! Does this mean it’s time to go on a diet? My Mr. Chester just reached his goal weight last month. Took 4 months of strict dieting (no, he was NOT happy about it). But he does love how much faster it makes him when chasing my girls. 🤣

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  29. sounds like Mom had the perfect birthday trip and lots and lots of fun and so sorry you didn’t get the elephant meat but glad the elephants are still alive. I thought maybe she would bring you a toy elephant. Dancing the night away is a wonderful thing to do

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