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Several years ago when we lived in a rented apartment, we had a mixed bag of neighbors. There were a few problem people, such as the drunk who lived behind us, whose daily vomiting we could hear through the bathroom vents and who had either the fire department, paramedics or police showing up at least once a week. Or the girl up and over from us who regularly beat the crap out of her boyfriend. There were some people who were great neighbors, always looking out for each other, making friendly conversation, and lending a helping hand whenever it was needed. And there were a few who just kept to themselves, which is okay, too.
When we bought the condo, I didn't expect things to be much different - or at least I didn't expect them to be worse. I thought that, if anything, people who owned a piece of the property would take pride in doing their part to keep it a pleasant place to live. What I didn't count on, was that so many units would be owned by people who live elsewhere and rent them out, with apparently no better standards than the large real estate corporation that owned our old apartment, or that many of the neighbors who do own their units would be more interested in making it a pleasant place to live only for themselves, not for anyone else.
The first clue that we had arrived in neighbor hell came when one neighbor, less than a week after we moved into what was supposedly a "pet friendly community", welcomed us with a complaint to the condo board that our dog barked. Well, no kidding! She was adjusting to new, strange surroundings, with new sounds and new people walking around outside. And even without all that, dogs sometimes bark. It's what they do. So it's a pet friendly community, as long as your pet doesn't do what pets do? This person never came to our door to make introductions, welcome us to the neighborhood, or even give us a heads up that the dog was having some issues when we weren't home and we might want to confine her somewhere where she wouldn't be able to see out the windows until she got used to her new surroundings. Nope, they saw someone new move in and went right into "what can we find to complain to the board about" mode.
To be fair, we weren't completely surrounded by neighbors as bad as that one... at first. The lady next door to us when we first moved in was great, actually... about as perfect a neighbor as one could wish for. She was quiet, never complained about anything, kept late hours and didn't mind if things got a little rowdy when we had company. She always tried to be friends with Chiquita, even though Chiquita wasn't interested in being friends with anybody. And when Chiqui passed away and we got Brooskey and Vixen, she welcomed them as well. Unfortunately, she too passed away, about two years ago.
In her place, we now have pretty much her polar opposite. This woman is a complete fruit loop, has regular screaming matches with her daughter-in-law, her sons, her mother, and yes, even herself... she yells out her front door when there's no one outside she could be talking to. She's a compulsive liar, leaves nasty notes on people's doors, goes up on people's porches to scream at their pets (and I mean she has done this to several people, not just us), all while letting her own cat roam the property freely, tormenting our dogs and crapping on our decks and walkways.
Add to this a neighbor above us on one side with small grandchildren whose idea of a good time is leaping off of furniture onto the hardwood floors, while she and her daughter scream and whine at them, teaching them to scream and whine back. And newly moved in on the other side, a family of four in which the mother and daughter have screaming, dish throwing fights on nearly a daily basis. Oh yes, we are in neighbor hell.
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Who'd have thought that less than two weeks after I mentioned the record-breaking flood stage of the river near my house, it would flood again and break even more records? This time, instead of stopping across the street from the complex, it came all the way to our side of the street and into the property entrance. While it was at its highest point, Chris got some photos of the flooded bridge at the property entrance and the mouth of the river where it empties out into the bay (which is just around the corner from us). The actual buildings were safe from the river, but the lower lying ones did have some basement flooding due to the rain. Our building, however, is the highest on the property and was never in any danger.
Since "floodpocalypse", as I like to call it, the weather has gotten better and better. Yesterday we broke 90 degrees! Yes, that was probably a bit excessive for April, but today is much more seasonable... about 68-75 degrees, depending which weather station you check.
Last night, after work and sushi for dinner (yum!), we took the dogs up to play in Chris' parents' yard. They were very happy and excited to be there! Vixen especially was the most excited I think I have ever seen her. When we let her out of the car, she just started running crazily around the yard - she even got excited when she pooped!  Chris unhooked her leash and she spent a good twenty minutes sprinting from him to me and back again as we called her name. It's amazing what a good listener she is, without having had a single obedience class. To think of the hundreds of dollars we wasted on classes for Brooskey, and to this day we still can't let him off leash. He has a fifty foot rope we put on him when we play outside, which makes him think he's tied up even though it's not attached to anything... without it, he'd bolt. But we regularly let Vixen off leash both at home and in "Nana & Papa's" unfenced yard, and she never wanders too far away from us, and always comes right back to us when we call.
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A couple of weeks ago we took a day trip to Groton, Connecticut to my former coworker Norm's house. The primary purpose of the trip was to help Norm set up his new business computer, but we also brought Brooskey and Vixen along to play with his two Australian Shepherds, Summer and Merlin. Summer, the adult female, somehow managed to evade the camera, but our two and Merlin, who's just a puppy and an adorable one at that, had a blast playing together all day and Chris got a few photos of the three of them. (The first one, with Chris in it, was taken by Norm.)
The day went so well, and even Vixen did not once get scared of the strange people and big dogs. Merlin had never seen a dog so small and was fascinated with her. He was also amazingly gentle playing with her, as if he understood she wouldn't be able to handle his full strength.
All four dogs were exhausted by the end of the day, and our two slept til about noon the next day. And even after they were awake, they were just barely awake.
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![[Brooskey sleeping on the floor]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/post-park-brooskey-thumb-150x200.jpg) We call him "doormat". ![[Vixen sleeping on Chris]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/post-park-vixen-thumb-150x200.jpg) Does Daddy need deodorant? Last week was rough on Brooskey and Vixen; we weren't home much. By Saturday they, Brooskey especially, were unbearably hyper and anxious. Brooskey could do nothing but wander around the house whining, and crying pitifully out the window every time he saw anyone outside. He was bored out of his mind.
So, we put them in the car and took them down to Warwick City Park. We parked by the beach, took Brooskey out on the sand to see if he would approach the water (he wouldn't), then went for a brisk walk on the walk/bike path (okay, Chris and Brooskey ran ahead of us girls a bit). When I started to feel like Vixen and I would not make it back to the car if we went much farther, we turned around and probably broke some kind of municipal law by walking the wrong way on what's supposed to be a one-way loop. (Too bad, not everyone can walk three miles at one time.) On the way out we stopped to let Brooskey run in the dog park for a few minutes while Vixen and I played dead in the car. It didn't take very long before he was done, too, and we headed back home.
And those two sweet, peacefully sleeping creatures you see in the photos? That's what we had for the whole rest of the weekend.
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I shot this a couple of weeks ago but it's taken a while to get the tools I needed to edit it (I used Chris' iPhone 3GS, and even though I shot it in landscape mode, it came out in portrait once copied to the computer). And I just now noticed that though I thought I trimmed off the end where you see my feet as I'm stopping the recording, apparently I did something wrong because it's still there. Oh well.
This is what Vixen does when we take her outside to play.
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The biggest weekend of the summer is over, and Joe & Sandra have finally tied the knot! It was an awesome weekend, starting with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Saturday, the big event on Sunday, and even our recovery day off from work yesterday (Monday). I'm so happy the weather held out, even though the threat of thunderstorms loomed all Sunday evening (with an outdoor reception!) - they stayed away! Since Chris was the best man, he wasn't able to take any photos during the ceremony, but our friend Greg took some shots with our camera beforehand, and Chris got some during the wedding party's photography session after. Those are all up on Picasa. We were way too busy having fun during the reception to worry about pictures!
(In case you're wondering, the ceremony took place in Newport, Rhode Island, at Salve Regina University's Ochre Court, one of the cliff walk mansions which now serves as an administration building for the university. The reception was at NYLO Hotel in Warwick.)
I'm so proud of Brooskey and Vixen (especially Brooskey) for getting through this weekend without any tantrums, destruction, or other bad behavior. It was just them and me Saturday night, as Chris was already at the hotel with Joe, and we both stayed in the hotel Sunday night, so they spent their first ever night alone at home. Vixen was gated in the hallway because I couldn't possibly leave her in her tiny crate for that many hours. She didn't escape, and Brooskey didn't jump in with her or knock the gate over on her. We had our pet sitters make frequent visits including a trip to the dog park for Brooskey Sunday morning. (They were willing to take Vixen too, but Brooskey is very protective of her and we were worried about a fight starting if any of the dogs he dislikes were to mess with her.) Yesterday we rewarded them with a trip to "Porter Park" - i.e. Nana & Papa's backyard - for some quality play time.
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I've been looking into some of the new "pocket" video cameras, and for the next few weeks I'm borrowing a friend's Flip Video to try out and decide if it's a design I can even use. My issue is with holding it upright and still being able to see the screen. Hey, I'll be fine if all the action takes place on the floor! Actually I can hold it a bit more upright with a mini-tripod attached, so that may be the key. I have to play with it some more and see if I come up with anything. Maybe if I open the tripod legs a bit and wedge my left hand in, using my right hand to stabilize.
I grabbed the camera last night when Vixen was being adorable, but of course the moment I turned it on, she froze. Oh well, she's still cute.
I have to say I'm rather impressed by the FlipShare software (which installs right from the camera when you plug it in - no discs!) and how stupid-easy it is to use. I was able to combine these two clips, set them to music, and upload to YouTube in only a couple of minutes.
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I've just finished up my last "free" weekend for the next couple of months. With the schedule we've got this summer, it's going to be really difficult to get anything done, so this weekend we tried to accomplish as much as possible.
I'm finally finished dress shopping. I still needed one more dress for the first wedding of the year, which is next weekend. It's not quite warm enough yet to wear the short little sundresses I picked up a while back. This weekend I found what I needed. It's still a bare-shouldered halter dress, but much longer (almost to the floor), and I will wear one of my cropped cardigans to keep my shoulders warm. It's a green paisley pattern, has a built-in padded bra which I love, and is long and slender until the skirt ruffles out below the knee. I will have to get photos when I wear it on Sunday.
I also got some other shopping done. I got a couple of shirts for work at the same store where I got the dress, and then a couple more at the outlet shops in Wrentham, Mass. Combine those with the shirts I picked up at Old Navy a few weeks ago, and the four dresses, and I think my summer wardrobe is all set. At the outlets I also got shoes to wear to the weddings, and chose some new sneakers which I then had to order online because they didn't have the color I wanted in my size (they're white, but I wanted the silver accents rather than pink, for neutrality's sake). UPS tells me they should be delivered today. They were just delivered while I wrote this post.
Brooskey got a haircut, which I stupidly forgot to take a photo of this weekend. Maybe I'll remember tonight. We got him a "brush cut", which is a short Springer cut, so he won't be so hot and miserable this summer. We had a few small victories in our continuing attempts to get Vixen housebroken, but the biggest barrier that we can't seem to get past is her fear of any human other than Chris and myself. As soon as she sees or hears another person outside, which in a busy complex happens fairly often, her one goal becomes to get back inside to safety. She fixates on the front door, pulling on the leash repeatedly to try to get back inside, and no matter what I do I can't refocus her energy onto anything else. But as long as it's quiet outside and she doesn't get startled, she does know what she's out there to do, and if she needs to do it she will. Tonight our friends Alysha and Rich from Furry Friends Pet Care are coming over to familiarize themselves with Brooskey and Vixen's routines, so that they can help us out during all of the bachelor/bachelorette parties and weddings this summer.
Finally, one huge victory: the nightmarish cauterization procedure on my nose worked! I still experience what I'm referring to as phantom bleeding sensations - moments when I swear I can feel blood beginning to run down that side of my nose, but there is nothing there. My allergies are kicking my butt right now, so I've been blowing my nose quite a bit, and I have not seen a drop of blood. The nostril is still a bit painful and dry, and I'm hoping that goes away soon.
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This is Brooskey, completely zonked out after running around my in-laws' yard all day Sunday. I'm posting it as a test to be absolutely sure that posting a photo to the site directly from my iPhone works the way I want it to. I'm hoping to still be able to blog every day while I'm on vacation in Oregon, so I'm going to be running several tests to ensure that I can do so strictly from my phone. Most of my posts during the trip will probably be short photo posts like this one.
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![[photo of Jasper and Mackenzie]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/assets/jasper-mackenzie-thumb-200x133.jpg) Jasper and Mackenzie practice standing on their hind legs. Chris found this for me this morning: There is a pair of nine-week-old Chihuahua puppies here in Rhode Island who were born without front legs. They were taken in by an organization called Just A Touch Rescue, and they are receiving physical therapy to teach them how to manage life on two legs. Dr. Guzinski, the veterinarian who is providing their medical care at a discount to the rescue organization, is Brooskey and Vixen's doctor too!
Jasper and Mackenzie have their own web site where you can read about the care they're getting, see more pictures (coming soon!), and also make donations to help pay for things like their spay and neuter surgeries, Mackenzie's hernia surgery, and special wheelchairs that will support their front ends while they push with their back legs. The Providence Journal web site also has a video about them which includes footage from a therapy session. (Video may require Internet Explorer - I couldn't get it to load in Firefox.)
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I was playing around with YouTube on the TiVo the other day, searching for Chihuahua videos. Brooskey didn't let me get too far, because he wouldn't stop barking at the screen. Yeah... what the trainer told us about dogs only seeing colors in anything less than HDTV? Complete and utter BS. This was YouTube resolution, and he knew exactly what he was looking at.
Anyway, I found this photo montage set to what might be the best Chihuahua song ever.
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Being a mommy to two dogs gets expensive, which is why I'm entering on ConsumerQueen.com to win a $50 PETCO gift card, and doing everything possible to earn extra entries! One idea I have for what to spend the card on is a gate big enough to close off the front deck, so that Brooskey can go out with Dad when he grills in the summer... but there are so many other things it would be useful for. It's a rare day when we go out shopping and don't come back with something for the dogs.
You can, of course, enter yourself by subscribing to ConsumerQueen.com and leaving a comment on the contest post with what you'd spend the gift card on, but wouldn't you much rather leave the prize for me???!
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Nothing earth-shattering to write about today, but I wanted to share a quick silly puppy story.
After taking a nap inside my fleece hoodie last night (yes, while I was wearing it), Vixen went over to Chris to ask for her "fratchies". And I guess I should explain this technical term. Every night at some point while we are relaxing in front of the TV, Vixen climbs up on Chris' stomach and he scratches her back. She loves it; she'll close her eyes and arch her back, and sometimes he'll hit just the right spot that causes her whole body to shake in a wave from her head down to her back legs. We call this "getting fratchies". So anyway, she goes to him and he starts scratching her, and he started jokingly singing along with a song that was playing on the TV. As soon as he had sung two words, Vixen covered his mouth with her paw. When she had pulled her paw back again, he tried singing again and she covered his mouth again, and she kept doing it every time he started to sing. I guess we know what she thinks of his singing voice!
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![[Brooskey hypnotizes us with teh qte]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/brooskeycute-thumb-200x150.jpg) He's ridiculously cute and he knows it. is almost eighteen months old. He has made some huge strides in growing up over the past couple of weeks, and we're incredibly proud of him. We met with a dog trainer to learn how to address some barking issues we were having, and while we didn't take all of his suggestions, the ones we did follow have made a world of difference, not just in his barking, but in his behavior in general.
The first step was to reclaim his food and toys as things that belong to us, which he earns the privilege of eating/using by behaving correctly and obeying commands (sitting nicely and performing at least one other command are the equivalent of a human child saying "please"). It makes perfect sense when you think about it; what incentive is there to behave when you already have everything you want? He is fed on a schedule, and required to "say please" as I described above before the food dish is set down. He gets to play with a toy, for a period of time, when he has behaved well. When quiet time comes, i.e. our evening TV watching, the toys get put away. Additionally, if he and Vixen fight over a toy, no matter who instigated it, the toy goes away.
Brooskey regards all attention, negative or positive, as a reward - so instead of yelling at him or correcting him when he is misbehaving, we completely ignore him. If he is jumping or barking for attention, we turn our backs and/or leave the room. When he stops, then we reward him with attention, a treat, or a toy. When he commits sock/underwear thievery, instead of chasing him, we shower Vixen with attention and give her a treat for being a good girl, and most of the time he will drop the stolen object, at which time he gets rewarded, too. This has made our household so much calmer and more peaceful, that in turn we have more patience, not just with him, but with each other and everything else.
Keep reading...
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This is the weather conditions when I got to work this morning. It's FREAKING COLD. It's only a few degrees warmer now. I'm actually glad I'm not going home for lunch; I get to stay inside at work while Chris goes out in the cold to bring me food.
We got our first snowfall yesterday. It wasn't much, but enough to cover the grass. The sun melted it a little bit yesterday before the temperature started plummeting, but the ground is still mostly white. Last winter when Vixen was still little, we kept her inside and used wee-wee pads, so she never got to experience snow. Knowing Chihuahuas and their tropical preference, we thought she was going to hate it, but when she went out yesterday she didn't seem to mind it at all. She didn't react to it being cold on her feet, just ran around sniffing and licking it. Chiquita used to come in from the snow crying and licking her feet, but Vixen couldn't have cared less. Regardless, we chose not to take her out once the icy winds started blowing in last night, and in return she did us the courtesy of having her accident on the bathroom tile, instead of on the carpet or in the laundry like she usually does.
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I finally got Vixen on video growling at the squeaky football. It wasn't as funny as the first time when her growls were turning into whines of frustration, but I think it's still pretty darn cute. The microphone on my cheap camera sucks, so you'll have to crank the volume up to actually hear her growl. And as usual, excuse the shaky camera work. I edited out as much of the shaking as I could, but there are still a couple of moments.
That "No. Hey!" at the end is when Brooskey decided to take Daddy's wallet for a run.
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Today is Vixen's first birthday! It's hard to believe she's a year old already, especially since she's only been with us for eight months. Here's a video of her playing with her litter mates while she still lived in Oregon with Dana.
We tried to get a video of her playing last night, but she wasn't interested. I wanted to show you this cute thing we had her doing the other day with Brooskey's new squeaky football toy. Chris was squeaking it at her and she would make this noise that started out as a growl and would morph into a whiny yelp. It's impossible to describe; we really have to catch it on video one of these days. She makes the same kinds of noises when she and I play: I'll get her riled up by tickling her or blowing raspberries on her belly, or by playing peekaboo behind the loveseat, and she'll start jumping back and forth at me with that same growl. If you've ever seen the movie Puppet Master, think of the cowboy puppet and the little sinister laugh he had - it sounds just like it. And as she gets more and more wound up, those growls turn into high pitched screeches like you'd expect from a little monkey. It really is the funniest thing in the world. I promise I will keep trying to get it on video!
We've done a lot less training with her than we have with Brooskey, but she still is much better behaved. In fact, when Brooskey takes off with something he's not supposed to have, Vixen goes right after him, growling and barking at him as if telling him to drop it! We're still struggling with housebreaking, mainly because she just doesn't know to tell us when she needs to go. When we take her out, she goes, because she knows that's where she's supposed to do it. But if she has to go again later on, she just finds a spot out of sight and goes. But we keep trying, and keep taking her out as often as we can, and I know she'll get it eventually. She does know how to sit, what "off" means, "come here", "come up" (to get her to jump up on the couch or loveseat so I can pick her up or put her harness on), "get back" (away from the door when someone is coming in or out)... and goes to her crate when we say "bed time" or "go to bed". She knows what "leave it" and "drop it" mean as well; she just doesn't always feel like listening!
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Wit's Bitch thinks she might have a hairball, and I think I can relate! I coughed up a hairball myself the other night. Well okay, it wasn't so much a hair ball as just a single long strand of hair (probably my own). How it got in my throat I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it had something to do with the blanket I kept having to pull up with my mouth every time one of the dogs sat on me and pulled it down, exposing my upper arms to the icy air from the air conditioner.
The bigger problem I have with pet hair is getting Vixen's hairs in my eyes. Smooth-coat Chihuahua hair bears a close resemblance to a very long human eyelash. I don't know where they hide, but often I will be at work, in the middle of the afternoon, not having been anywhere near Vixen for several hours, and suddenly one of my eyes will start bothering me. After much rubbing and coaxing with wet paper towels, out from under my lower eyelid will pop a three-quarter inch white or light brown hair that can only have come from one place. I seriously find more of her hairs in my eyes than I do my own eyelashes. It's not like I spend a lot of time with her shoved up against my face, tempting though as it is. I think she sneaks out of her crate during the day and rolls all over my pillow or something...
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Today Brooskey turns one year old. Yesterday he got a birthday card in the mail, actually addressed to him, from the company that supplies our pet insurance.
I went online last night to see if I could find any easy recipes to make him a special birthday treat. When I kept finding recipes containing ingredients I know to be dangerous for dogs, I decided I couldn't really trust any recipes I might find, so decided we'd be better off just buying him something at a local dog bakery. The Edgewoof Pet Bakery is pretty close to our house, and was voted the best pet bakery in Rhode Island Monthly's Best of Rhode Island last year. I just hope they're still around, as their web site appears to be defunct (their domain registration looks to have expired last month).
I wonder if it's time to give Brooskey his own MySpace page...
Happy Birthday, "Bub"!
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I received an e-mail from my good friend Len this morning. He had this to say:
What I am about to relate is among the hardest of hard things I have had to ask over the last year. Many times I have come to the aid of others during my life; yet, when I must ask for help such as this, I squirm.
This request is not about me. It is on behalf of one who quietly stole my heart away years ago, and who has placed in my hands a trust more precious than words can express. She trusts me to keep her safe, and to make decisions that will determine the quality of her life. There is no responsibility more sacred than the protection and nurturing of a living creature or person.
I learned several weeks ago that Gata is in need of dental work. The vets tell me it is not an emergency, but should be attended to promptly. The sooner she is treated, the greater the chance of preserving her teeth. Because the needs are complex, my vet recommended a dental specialist.
Now the hard part. I need your help. This will cost between $1,000 and $1,500 before it is said and done. I will cover part of this, but as much as it pains me, I cannot cover it all. What ever you can donate to this cause is sincerely appreciated. I can reimburse you once I am again gainfully employed.
If you can possibly spare any amount, no matter how small, to help Len's kitty get the care she needs, please donate through PayPal. Gata, Len, and all of us who love them, would be forever grateful!
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![[a test of the mobile photo blogging system]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2002/3528656169_4e0660671e_m.jpg)
![[weather conditions: temp 16F, wind chill 4F]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/Clipboard01-thumb-200x71.png)
![[photo: Vixen's first time in the snow]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/vixensnow-thumb-150x200.jpg)
![[cartoon kitty - click here to donate]](http://www.confoozled.com/archives/322px-Cat_drawing.svg-thumb-200x163.png)
![[photo of me]](http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/7fe9c3e52fcd03d2253441f7ddc89ab3.jpg?size=144)
![[album thumbnail]](/photos/albums/userpics/10001/thumb_img_0986.jpg)
![[album thumbnail]](/photos/albums/flood2010/thumb_IMG_0112.JPG)
