Spring Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . .

Sorry. . . . . . . life is empty.  

Busy, but void of fun things to post about this weekend!

I hope to bounce back soon.

P.S.   Today is Mother's Day in the UK - we called it Mothering Sunday 
when I was growing up there.   
A very happy Mother's Day to all my British friends who are mums.

Sadly for me, this year it falls on the 12th anniversary of my own lovely English 

mum's death. I sipped a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream in her memory -

she and I enjoyed a tipple at the sherry bottle when I was home visiting! 

How I miss those days.

Saving Elephants. . . . . . . .

Have you heard the news regarding Ringling Bros. 
decision to discontinue elephant acts in their circus. . . . . . in 2018?
The sad thing is that date is a long way off.

Mother and baby at the river - Patara Elephant Farm, Chiang Mai, Thailand  

We all seem to love elephants. Most of us first viewed elephants at the circus as children. 

We had no idea as to the way these magnificent animals were trained to perform 

when we were young.  Sadly, many of us bury our heads in the sand not wanting 

to know now we are older.

Me with Mokosoup, my gentle, sweet female elephant for the day at 
Patara Elephant Farm ~ a beautiful working farm where elephants are saved from 
cruel situations, cared for and bred with love and kindness. 
This day spent with the Asian elephants in Thailand is one I'll never, ever forget.

Paula and me - riding our Asian elephants (bareback) to lunch 

at the river - Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I made a decision not to attend a circus after spending time with elephants in 

both Asia and Africa. The 'tricks' elephants are trained to perform are often 

life-threatening. We were told at Patara the specific circus trick of making an elephant 

stand, balancing its huge weight on its front legs, can cause an early death. 

After two visits to Africa I also decided I would no longer visit zoos. Seeing wild 

animals in their natural habitats is so breathtaking that watching them through

bars, caged, or made to perform, was something I could no longer do.

To learn more on the treatment of circus elephants and Ringling's decision

read here. 

http://nypost.com/2015/03/05/goodbye-to-elephants-ringling-bros-foolish-cave-in

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/03/06/elephant-retirement-will-ringling-bros-move-could-be-game-changer/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/03/05/ringling-brothers-elephants/24423553/

SuzAnna's ladies and treasures. . . . . .

I did get to SuzAnna's Antiques at the Vintage Village Saturday afternoon.  

I did not get a lot of pics to share as I spent too much time chatting!  
The girls working included blonde owner Susie, Courtney - now more red-haired 
than me, and my dark-haired granddaughter Jasmin. . . . . . making the tiny 
office/check-out area chock-full of beautiful women! I should have just taken 
a photo of them but forgot.

Also, Bob tagged along with me and, for once, actually picked up pieces of china, 

turned them over and read the marks to me. . . . . ."Mary, look at this one, do you like it, 

it was made in England". . . . . handing me a very pretty pink Mason's transferware bowl.

Yes I liked it, but since I no longer collect pink I made him put it down. Now, if blue or 
grey, I would have grabbed it from him, pulled out my cash, and it would be here on a 

shelf all freshly washed and shining, and being photographed to show you. 
Someone else will definitely love it and give it a new home I'm sure.

The entire weekend we enjoyed much better weather at long last, and 

it's continuing with temperatures reaching the low 70's each day. 

Shopping and treasure hunting is definitely on the upswing 

in these parts!