Louie turned two on April 1st, and today it’s Mango’s 11th birthday. Wrecks will turn 12 on May 10th, God willing. So we have a lot of pet birthdays to celebrate over a short time span. They never get gifts, though, as they’re so unappreciative of them.

At the time of Louie’s birthday I noticed he was sneezing like mad and thought he must have a cold. Then I realized he has seasonal allergies. Apparently age two is often the time dogs can develop allergies, and this little genius began right on the very day he turned two.

I give him children’s Benadryl and it seems to help a bit, as do windy days. Yesterday on our walk we met the mail man, and he said he has allergies, too. It was windy and he said just like Louie, his symptoms were a lot milder that day as a result.

Luke and Jan’s wedding/welcome to Canada party went swimmingly. I made dinner for 30 people, and it was so easy I want to help others to do it for themselves as well. As with any party given by Martha Stewart, it’s got to be executed with military precision. Detailed shopping lists, followed by daily To Do lists, so that by the day of the event there’s almost nothing left to do.

It was a big effort for many people who travelled here from out of town. Freddie and his family came, which was great as the next morning was Easter Sunday, so I had a massive egg hunt for the little grandchildren. Jan and Haruka (Nicky’s girlfriend) had never experienced Easter, so partook of the hunt and loved it.

Luke and Jan slept in the guest room, so Margaret had to bunk in my office as I have a single bed in there. In the morning she said she was in the midst of a lovely dream only to be awakened by the sneezing, snuffling and gagging of the dog at 2:00 AM.

When Nicky came upstairs he said he’d also been awakened by the dog, and I said, “Huh!” I was sleeping several inches away, and they were either down the hall or downstairs, and heard the cacophony. When I’m sleeping, I’m really sleeping.

The kids love telling stories of how when they were small they’d be standing by my bed, talking, and I wouldn’t wake up. These would be summer nights, and they’d be up ranting around until all hours, and I went to bed at my usual time, whether still light outside or not.

They said it scared them for someone to be sleeping like a corpse, not able to be awakened by anyone or anything. It’s some sort of strange gift, I guess.

Last Saturday Petra had a surprise birthday lunch at her house for Kathy which was fun. I’d seen Kathy at the gym that morning, and she said her friend Bev was picking her up and they were getting Petra for a birthday lunch out at a restaurant.

I said well that sounds like fun, and chuckled to myself. We were told to arrive by 11:30 and hide our vehicles. At about 12:15 Kathy walked in and we screamed surprise! and she was truly surprised so that was great.

I should plan surprise parties for the pets on their birthdays and see if they appreciate those, but I doubt they would.