Find that where I previously thought I would never run out of things to say.... I ran out of things to say. So I have not done a "writing" in a long time. Needless to say much has happened and not much has happened. I find that to be true as you get ......well.....older.
Been retired officially since the second week in January. Enjoying it a lot. Wanted to do some giving back for all I have been given, so Mate and I are involved in several "good works". I am attending Ladies Bible Class for the first time ever. Every Wednesday morning during the fall and winter, ladies of a certain age (estimating from 55 on up through and including 98) meet for an hour of Bible study and just plain old sharing of information. I have known these ladies almost my entire life. I love them. I am confident of few things at my age, but one of those things is that they also love me. We share a history that cannot be obtained other than through the love and belief in a Savior. Its so ......well.....WOW wonderful.
I also decided I would become a better neighbor. I know to say "Hi" and sometimes, "Boy we need some rain" with 3 others on our 6 house cul de sac. Sad isn't it. I aspire to correct this. But I am not doing too good a job. Seems we don't go outside a lot. Neither do my neighbors. We no longer work in the yard. We hire it done. I do walk the dog but not so much anymore since she has a visitor and they run for hours on end in the back yard. I don't even see many people in a neighborhood with seldom an empty house. When I was growing up we at least came out the front door and walked to the garage. Now I go through my hall to get to the garage and car. Where has everyone gone? But I digress.
Did see a for sale sign on a house across from our cul d sac and saw a moving van with a young couple moving in. Thought about it a while. This is a good place to start. Baked a chocolate cake, even put walnuts in the icing. Took it over and with a smile announced my name and welcomed them to the neighborhood. Blew this one big time. Seems this was the young couple still moving out and they had lived there since 2000. They could not even keep the cake as they were on the road. However with much embarrassment I noted later that evening that no good deed goes unpunished. We had a death in our congregation. Wanda Ganzer, beautiful lady, one of those I have known all my life. Ladies responsible for feeding her family needed a cake. I happened to have a welcoming one all iced even with walnuts . I knew Wanda well and it was indeed a welcome home to Paradise cake.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
70 YEARS OF SISTER ACT
We grew up where there was plenty of love to go around and we benefitted from it all of our lives. My first memory I believe.....you know how you sometime think you knew something and then you are not sure whether you actually knew it or you had heard the story so many times that you believed you knew it. Its a complicated sentence and thought but you know what I mean. I heard the story about her long blond curls which everyone thought were beautiful and my hair which seldom ever bent and how I loved cutting hair anyway and so.....the rest of the story is predictable. I cut a few of the curls off. Again I may only know if from having heard the story, but I think I actually remember it.
She didn't call me Beverly. She called me Kid. I never knew why. It took years and years before her saying Beverly sounded right to me. It does today, She was actually much more the lovable child than I. She was obedient, she was respectful and she was prettier than I was. Enough to make me wonder what I had done to have this person enter my territory. I was more adventurous than she and together I suppose we finally meshed.
Today I can thank my Mother and Dad for putting her in my life. I know that she and I both grew up. She was my chief baby sitter with my daughter. I was her chief baby sitter with her first two children. We traveled many miles together, all over England and Scotland. Four of us. Actually, I know that God blessed me and put her in my life. That's how she got there.
I still don't know how we managed when they would visit from Arlington, and we had the four of us and three children and somehow in a small house on Dunbar Street with one bathroom we managed to feed everyone breakfast get everyone in and out of the bathroom and get to Sunday School on time.
The time that I think bonded us more than any other time was when we spent about 2 weeks together at the hospital in Dallas when we said goodbye to her mate and my brother through her. I knew then that neither of us would ever be alone as long as the other one lived.
Today she is still wiser than me and I am still more outgoing than she and we probably complement each other. She knows more about me than anyone on earth and I am confident and comfortable with her knowing.
I've seen her enter into another marriage with a good Christian man. She would not have chosen otherwise. I thank God for that. She is a dependable person to have around.
Thank you Father for this gift. Frances Stewart, today at this milestone year of your birth, I hope you have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and that I never have to live without you in my life.
Friday, September 9, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMBO
Forty-three years ago we had a baby boy. We named James Jr. We have always called him Jimbo. In fact everyone does. He uses that exclusively in his business. It was a name we swore we would not ever use. Shows how when children are concerned you should never say never.
I repost here a blog I wrote for his birthday in 2010 and again say to him he was a BIG DEAL and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 10, FROM MOM AND DAD..
You know as you get older, you realize things you considered BIG are really LITTLE in the scheme of things. For instance: you will recall that Mate and I ran off and got married. Boy was that a BIG thing! After 57 years the actual planning and doing it was not at all that big. It was one of many defining moments in our lives and certainly the living together is BIGGER than the actual running away. The finding a way to buy a home across the street from the Colleys was really not such a BIG thing. The BIG thing was living and forming lasting memories and friendships together for over 30 years. In 1967, our family consisted of a Mom, Dad and 14 year old daughter. Our lives were just peachy. Our wants were not much. Daughter was doing okay in school, we were content. Had just what we wanted. Fusses every once in a while but they passed. All in all....... GOOD life. God blessed us.
1968 proved that indeed God has a sense of humor.
If you live in Wichita Falls, Texas, you know that usually on the last Saturday in January each year, the Kiwanis Club has a pancake breakfast and it is almost mandatory to attend sometime during the day. We always did. After all you got to visit with people you didn't see much during the year, and every politician who was running for office or trying to stay in office would be there and back then they gave away pencils or rulers. It was, you might say, festive. Plus all the bacon and pancakes you wanted.
In 1968 my doctor's office was open on Saturday mornings. I had made an appointment. Told no one. In my mind I had decided I was going to have a baby. Don't have the slightest idea why (maybe that sense of humor thing again). Dr. Richard Bates, my doctor for everything. I loved Richard Bates. No personality, seldom ever joked , just down to business. Office on Brook Street. Told him what I thought, and he laughed. That was a BIG thing. I had made Richard Bates laugh. Had to do a test. He said he would let me know Monday. Told him I would be a maniac before Monday. Nurse, friend of mine, said she would run the test and he would call me in a couple of hours. Feeling better I went home.
Mate and daughter ready to go eat pancakes. I stalled. Phone rang. I answered. Simple statement from Richard Bates. "You're pregnant." His next words, "Are you Okay?" I think I must have weakly said "Yes". How do you tell two unsuspecting persons that three people's lives as they know them are about to change and change dramatically, when they have no clue what is going on? When in doubt, barrel in. "Lets go eat pancakes and by the way, we are going to have a baby," I said as I walked toward the door. That my friends was a 'BIG THING'.
Needless to say we did not leave right away, we had a family discussion. Daughter wanted immediately to run tell the neighbors. Mate said, do not leave the house. I think it took a while for it to sink in.
Well 1968 had come in like a lion. We adjusted. Daughter was ecstatic, Mate happy, I stayed in shock. I was the practical one. I thought about things like, PTA again, bottles to sterilize, diapers to wash. Now along about three-forths of the way through I began to do some investigation and found that things had come a long way. Bottles of formula could be bought and all you had to do was to put a nipple on the top of the bottle. Pampers were introduced some 7 years earlier but had not caught on. They had a long way to go and still used those huge safety pins with the little ducks on them. However, at this point in time, unlike when Daughter was born, we had a washer. No dryer yet, but a washer that you did not have to stand over and operate. It did it on its own. Still almost every back yard had a clothes line. One good thing about the pregnancy is that I never felt better in my entire life, before or since. Didn't gain but 14 pounds, was able to get really cute maternity clothes and best of all people made over me all the time. They thought it was wonderful. I was not certain of that. Selfishly I kept thinking about how my life was going to change. I worked until 2:00 on the afternoon of September 9, 1968, and went home got my "stuff" together and Mate, Daughter and I journeyed to the hospital where I was scheduled to deliver a baby the next morning at 9:30. Well, it was almost fun. I had a large room, flowers from bosses, whatever I wanted to eat that evening. It wasn't til Mate and Daughter left that I assessed my position. There was no way to get out of it, no way to say, "I changed my mind", nothing to do but plow ahead and wonder if it would be a boy or girl. So the next morning, I bade my family a teary see you later and was wheeled into the operating room. At 9:36 on September 10, 1968 , Dr. Bates announced, "You have a fine looking boy here."
That folks is a
BIG, BIG, DEAL Happy Birthday Son. Thanks for coming into our lives
.
I repost here a blog I wrote for his birthday in 2010 and again say to him he was a BIG DEAL and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 10, FROM MOM AND DAD..
You know as you get older, you realize things you considered BIG are really LITTLE in the scheme of things. For instance: you will recall that Mate and I ran off and got married. Boy was that a BIG thing! After 57 years the actual planning and doing it was not at all that big. It was one of many defining moments in our lives and certainly the living together is BIGGER than the actual running away. The finding a way to buy a home across the street from the Colleys was really not such a BIG thing. The BIG thing was living and forming lasting memories and friendships together for over 30 years. In 1967, our family consisted of a Mom, Dad and 14 year old daughter. Our lives were just peachy. Our wants were not much. Daughter was doing okay in school, we were content. Had just what we wanted. Fusses every once in a while but they passed. All in all....... GOOD life. God blessed us.
1968 proved that indeed God has a sense of humor.
If you live in Wichita Falls, Texas, you know that usually on the last Saturday in January each year, the Kiwanis Club has a pancake breakfast and it is almost mandatory to attend sometime during the day. We always did. After all you got to visit with people you didn't see much during the year, and every politician who was running for office or trying to stay in office would be there and back then they gave away pencils or rulers. It was, you might say, festive. Plus all the bacon and pancakes you wanted.
In 1968 my doctor's office was open on Saturday mornings. I had made an appointment. Told no one. In my mind I had decided I was going to have a baby. Don't have the slightest idea why (maybe that sense of humor thing again). Dr. Richard Bates, my doctor for everything. I loved Richard Bates. No personality, seldom ever joked , just down to business. Office on Brook Street. Told him what I thought, and he laughed. That was a BIG thing. I had made Richard Bates laugh. Had to do a test. He said he would let me know Monday. Told him I would be a maniac before Monday. Nurse, friend of mine, said she would run the test and he would call me in a couple of hours. Feeling better I went home.
Mate and daughter ready to go eat pancakes. I stalled. Phone rang. I answered. Simple statement from Richard Bates. "You're pregnant." His next words, "Are you Okay?" I think I must have weakly said "Yes". How do you tell two unsuspecting persons that three people's lives as they know them are about to change and change dramatically, when they have no clue what is going on? When in doubt, barrel in. "Lets go eat pancakes and by the way, we are going to have a baby," I said as I walked toward the door. That my friends was a 'BIG THING'.
Needless to say we did not leave right away, we had a family discussion. Daughter wanted immediately to run tell the neighbors. Mate said, do not leave the house. I think it took a while for it to sink in.
Well 1968 had come in like a lion. We adjusted. Daughter was ecstatic, Mate happy, I stayed in shock. I was the practical one. I thought about things like, PTA again, bottles to sterilize, diapers to wash. Now along about three-forths of the way through I began to do some investigation and found that things had come a long way. Bottles of formula could be bought and all you had to do was to put a nipple on the top of the bottle. Pampers were introduced some 7 years earlier but had not caught on. They had a long way to go and still used those huge safety pins with the little ducks on them. However, at this point in time, unlike when Daughter was born, we had a washer. No dryer yet, but a washer that you did not have to stand over and operate. It did it on its own. Still almost every back yard had a clothes line. One good thing about the pregnancy is that I never felt better in my entire life, before or since. Didn't gain but 14 pounds, was able to get really cute maternity clothes and best of all people made over me all the time. They thought it was wonderful. I was not certain of that. Selfishly I kept thinking about how my life was going to change. I worked until 2:00 on the afternoon of September 9, 1968, and went home got my "stuff" together and Mate, Daughter and I journeyed to the hospital where I was scheduled to deliver a baby the next morning at 9:30. Well, it was almost fun. I had a large room, flowers from bosses, whatever I wanted to eat that evening. It wasn't til Mate and Daughter left that I assessed my position. There was no way to get out of it, no way to say, "I changed my mind", nothing to do but plow ahead and wonder if it would be a boy or girl. So the next morning, I bade my family a teary see you later and was wheeled into the operating room. At 9:36 on September 10, 1968 , Dr. Bates announced, "You have a fine looking boy here."
That folks is a
BIG, BIG, DEAL Happy Birthday Son. Thanks for coming into our lives
 |
.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
CAN IT GET ANY BETTER
Last evening I was privileged to substitute for sister and play a silly little game called Bunco. I say its a silly little game because it takes no talent, no strategy, and you don't even have to concentrate, The whole purpose of the game is to sit down and "visit". I played with eleven Christian women, ranging in age from the youngest who is 20 to myself at 75. I still think i am much older than Vollie. Among the women were a Mother and Daughter, two mothers in law with their daughter in laws, There was a young lady who had killed a snake and who trains horses. There was a retired teacher who still occasionally substitutes at the Christian School, a dear friend of mine, who I had never seen laugh so hard and have such a good time; A young mother who from outward appearances has no cares and no worries Her personality is serene and so calm. Not a care in the world, Yet we all know she has anguished and stood by the side of a husband who underwent Chemo, who we prayed over, who has seen him through remission and whose daughter is to move away to begin her career in a far away big City (well not too far away) A very happy lady who has been hired for a job at the college and a mother who is thrilled that she now has a house to move into, One lady told a story about a long ago anniversary trip, one I had heard before, and we were all laughing so hard that it was difficult to hear this delightful story again. One a woman we all admire who has a husband who needs her care and who has seen a son turn from a life of sin where she thought she had lost him and now she rejoices in the fact that he often preaches from our pulpit and in fact is in charge of the facility where we
met, A beautiful, young woman who laments turning thirty, with two handsome boys and a sweet husband. I came home happy and was met by a freshly groomed schnauzer and a husband who loves me. I read that my sister and her husband were safely home with my great niece.
Then this morning I woke to a tribute written by a niece who I love dearly. Today is the anniversary of the death of her father, my brother in law. One of the finest men I have ever known. I wept for sorrow in missing him and with joy that I know he is with the Father. I thanked God that w had him for the years that we did and I thank God that my sister has a Christian man who is her life companion now and will love and honor her after I have joined Monte with the father.
To all outward appearances we had nothing in common, nothing that would make you think we would enjoy two or three hours spent in each others company tossing three little die around. You already know what is is. Its another Three, but the Three are the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
It CAN'T get any better,
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A Funny Thing Happened...................
I worked for the Great State of Texas (GST) for over 14 years. I loved my job. Learned about bureaucracy; accepted the fact that I could not change it. But most of all I met some wonderful people who did a good job and took their responsibility seriously (admittedly some more than others). I am truly grateful to the tax payers of this state because I have a retirement check and best of all I had free health insurance all the years I worked and will for the rest of my life and I am able to purchase same for mate at a very low price.
GST decided to hire a firm, not from the GST, but of all places....Yankee Land, up North, whose job assignment is to audit the beneficiaries of all retired and present GST employees. Seems some employees or retirees of GST have some beneficiaries on their insurance program who are not legal. (well I am shocked) It is not me. So last Friday a letter came out. Told us what to do. Classified the different kinds of State Employees and beneficiaries. I fall under LS (for legal spouse) I had to get a copy of something showing we still live together, they suggest a copy of the front page of our 2010 Tax return, properly redacted and of course a copy of our marriage license. The copy we had of the license was stolen about 24 years ago when for the only time ever we were broken into and a lock box was taken which contained that and those sweet birth certificates you get from the hospital with the baby footprint on them. No problem. Monday I will call and get a copy from the County Clerk.
Had a nice weekend. Worked Monday morning, Called the Courthouse, We do not have a marriage license on file. After all these years, we are not married. We have celebrated a 50th anniversary at our Church building; we have at times done a wee bit of marriage counseling and ourselves are living in sin. We even appeared in the Casa Manana advertising for the HHH for two years in a row with the story of how we returned there on our 55th anniversary and sat in the same booth and told our story to a reporter for the Times and Record News, I ask you, could a 50th anniversary celebration, a reporter for the TRN and Casa Manana be in error. Evidently, cause I have no license.
I called Mate. He is not worried about our reputation or the disgrace of it all, he wants to figure out how to keep his insurance, (ever the practical one).
Now another thing about GST is that we are one of 16 states that recognize Common Law Marriage or CLM. I have known that because we once had a case that revolved around the legality of a CLM. Folks they are as legal as you can get. If you have a true CLM you would need to get a divorce before you could remarry. Contrary to what you may have believed there is no time limit. From the moment you begin to hold yourselves out to be husband and wife, whether its one day, one year or one hour, you are married. That gave me some solace where the insurance was concerned, but I had to tell the kids that they were born out of wedlock. Called. They both think this is the funniest thing
they have ever heard. Also both assure me that living in California no one cares. Daughter even says she can now blame anything she does that is wrong on her birth status, You can see what insensitive offspring we have,
Next I have to break this news to my sister. The good child. She too thinks this is hilarious. Which of course she would. You can see her position is further enhanced. I then write my nieces and nephew and their spouses. I explained to them what had happened and ended my email with...."You No Longer Have An Uncle Jim".
Well you would think that my family would be sad and broken hearted. You would think wrong. Some 50 emails went back and forth with one liners. Some I admit are rather clever. My daughter in law now has an identity crisis; My niece in Chico wonders what we are going to put on the cute Christmas Shirts that usually say Merry Marshall Christmas so we can match in our Christmas picture; my daughter tells everyone in her company in California; My grown grandchildren feel unique; my Methodist preacher nephew offers a cut rate wedding service where the cost is set by the number of Amens we want; My sister does not know where I am so she emails that we are probably on dates. Some of the lines I cannot repeat. Of course if you are judging, I will not name names, but the niece by marriage in Ohio refuses to give up Uncle Jim. She now calls him Uncle Boy Toy.
I got the blank affidavit from the audit company, the one entitled "Affidavit of a Common Law Union". Filled it out, waiting til Monday to get it signed by us and a Notary. Embarrassed to look at it. But life goes on. Single Life. I was 75 this April and thought I had only lived 17 of those years as a single person..now I find I lived the entire 75 as a single person.
My used to be Legal Spouse and I talked and decided we would get a certificate, Our solution is simple. We purchase a wedding license, then wait til my sister got back from Tennessee and on Sunday night a week from now we would see if Larry would visit our small group and do a early quick wedding service. My sister would be maid of honor and my great-niece would be former Mate's best man. I think that will wake my small group up if anyone has gone to sleep. Of course our leader is a preacher and we might use him.
Friday afternoon I want to ask a couple of questions so I call the County Clerk. I know the one that answers. Tell her my story, She is hysterical. Funniest story she has heard this week. Says wait a minute. Tells me that since it was so long ago it might be on another computer program.
FILED IN VOLUME 36, ON PAGE 25, SIGNED BY ELDER CLYDE DARR, AN ORDAINED BAPTIST MINISTER IS A LICENSE TELLING THE WHOLE WORLD THAT WE WERE MARRIED ON JULY 3, 1953. I can send the GST a paper with a LS (legal spouse).
I figure that there is one more thing to do so that my family will never run out of stores to tell. It will be only fitting if I am buried in the wrong grave.
GST decided to hire a firm, not from the GST, but of all places....Yankee Land, up North, whose job assignment is to audit the beneficiaries of all retired and present GST employees. Seems some employees or retirees of GST have some beneficiaries on their insurance program who are not legal. (well I am shocked) It is not me. So last Friday a letter came out. Told us what to do. Classified the different kinds of State Employees and beneficiaries. I fall under LS (for legal spouse) I had to get a copy of something showing we still live together, they suggest a copy of the front page of our 2010 Tax return, properly redacted and of course a copy of our marriage license. The copy we had of the license was stolen about 24 years ago when for the only time ever we were broken into and a lock box was taken which contained that and those sweet birth certificates you get from the hospital with the baby footprint on them. No problem. Monday I will call and get a copy from the County Clerk.
Had a nice weekend. Worked Monday morning, Called the Courthouse, We do not have a marriage license on file. After all these years, we are not married. We have celebrated a 50th anniversary at our Church building; we have at times done a wee bit of marriage counseling and ourselves are living in sin. We even appeared in the Casa Manana advertising for the HHH for two years in a row with the story of how we returned there on our 55th anniversary and sat in the same booth and told our story to a reporter for the Times and Record News, I ask you, could a 50th anniversary celebration, a reporter for the TRN and Casa Manana be in error. Evidently, cause I have no license.
I called Mate. He is not worried about our reputation or the disgrace of it all, he wants to figure out how to keep his insurance, (ever the practical one).
Now another thing about GST is that we are one of 16 states that recognize Common Law Marriage or CLM. I have known that because we once had a case that revolved around the legality of a CLM. Folks they are as legal as you can get. If you have a true CLM you would need to get a divorce before you could remarry. Contrary to what you may have believed there is no time limit. From the moment you begin to hold yourselves out to be husband and wife, whether its one day, one year or one hour, you are married. That gave me some solace where the insurance was concerned, but I had to tell the kids that they were born out of wedlock. Called. They both think this is the funniest thing
they have ever heard. Also both assure me that living in California no one cares. Daughter even says she can now blame anything she does that is wrong on her birth status, You can see what insensitive offspring we have,
Next I have to break this news to my sister. The good child. She too thinks this is hilarious. Which of course she would. You can see her position is further enhanced. I then write my nieces and nephew and their spouses. I explained to them what had happened and ended my email with...."You No Longer Have An Uncle Jim".
Well you would think that my family would be sad and broken hearted. You would think wrong. Some 50 emails went back and forth with one liners. Some I admit are rather clever. My daughter in law now has an identity crisis; My niece in Chico wonders what we are going to put on the cute Christmas Shirts that usually say Merry Marshall Christmas so we can match in our Christmas picture; my daughter tells everyone in her company in California; My grown grandchildren feel unique; my Methodist preacher nephew offers a cut rate wedding service where the cost is set by the number of Amens we want; My sister does not know where I am so she emails that we are probably on dates. Some of the lines I cannot repeat. Of course if you are judging, I will not name names, but the niece by marriage in Ohio refuses to give up Uncle Jim. She now calls him Uncle Boy Toy.
I got the blank affidavit from the audit company, the one entitled "Affidavit of a Common Law Union". Filled it out, waiting til Monday to get it signed by us and a Notary. Embarrassed to look at it. But life goes on. Single Life. I was 75 this April and thought I had only lived 17 of those years as a single person..now I find I lived the entire 75 as a single person.
My used to be Legal Spouse and I talked and decided we would get a certificate, Our solution is simple. We purchase a wedding license, then wait til my sister got back from Tennessee and on Sunday night a week from now we would see if Larry would visit our small group and do a early quick wedding service. My sister would be maid of honor and my great-niece would be former Mate's best man. I think that will wake my small group up if anyone has gone to sleep. Of course our leader is a preacher and we might use him.
Friday afternoon I want to ask a couple of questions so I call the County Clerk. I know the one that answers. Tell her my story, She is hysterical. Funniest story she has heard this week. Says wait a minute. Tells me that since it was so long ago it might be on another computer program.
FILED IN VOLUME 36, ON PAGE 25, SIGNED BY ELDER CLYDE DARR, AN ORDAINED BAPTIST MINISTER IS A LICENSE TELLING THE WHOLE WORLD THAT WE WERE MARRIED ON JULY 3, 1953. I can send the GST a paper with a LS (legal spouse).
I figure that there is one more thing to do so that my family will never run out of stores to tell. It will be only fitting if I am buried in the wrong grave.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Walking With Daisy # 2
Here I am home another day with Daisy and Mate. What an exciting time we have had since we last wrote. Horrible fires in our community and we are praying for rain. During the heaviest of the fires we had friends call who were being evacuated from their home. They asked if they could come to our house with their dogs. Of course we said yes.
One of the dogs is an Irish Wolfhound, named Fen. To say the least, this was the most dog that Daisy (and Mate and I) ever saw. Daisy was fascinated and wanted so badly to play. Fen would have none of it. Daisy as you can see is about as big as Fen's head. When he came in the house I heard her bark an octave higher than ever before. Luckily they got an all clear and did not lose anything. But it was an adventure for all of us.
Then on Monday, April the 18th, my office mates took me to lunch at Pasqualls (which has the most wonderful soups in the world)I think it may have been a combination of birthday and retirement. Brad gave me a gift card from Amazon so that I could buy books for the Kindle. I got it loaded in and all I have to do is chose a book. There are several I want to buy but I am having a hard time using the card. I figure when I use it up it will be gone (which if you think about it makes perfect sense) Never had a gift card before except to eat. I have learned it is much harder to buy something with a card than it is with cash. This is exciting for me. ...... Took me a few days but I purchased a book recommended in our Sunday paper. Don't know the author, but it sounded like a good read. Emily and Einstein. I have now almost finished the book. It is about a young woman in New York City who is married and her husband is killed in an accident. He is then reincarnated into a scruffy dog who of course winds up with her. She thinks it is just a dog. Versions of this story line have shown up in books for years and this one has some unusual twists. Fun read. I recommend it. Wonder if Daisy is reincarnated? I think not.
My daughter sent me a flower arrangement. I am not usually a fan of cut flowers but how can a dog lover not love a flower that looks amazing like Daisy.
All in all a grand birthday. Being 75 is another road to travel toward 76. Occurs to me that I have been on the journey toward 76 years all of my life. I just didn't know it would happen this quickly.
One of the dogs is an Irish Wolfhound, named Fen. To say the least, this was the most dog that Daisy (and Mate and I) ever saw. Daisy was fascinated and wanted so badly to play. Fen would have none of it. Daisy as you can see is about as big as Fen's head. When he came in the house I heard her bark an octave higher than ever before. Luckily they got an all clear and did not lose anything. But it was an adventure for all of us.
Then on Monday, April the 18th, my office mates took me to lunch at Pasqualls (which has the most wonderful soups in the world)I think it may have been a combination of birthday and retirement. Brad gave me a gift card from Amazon so that I could buy books for the Kindle. I got it loaded in and all I have to do is chose a book. There are several I want to buy but I am having a hard time using the card. I figure when I use it up it will be gone (which if you think about it makes perfect sense) Never had a gift card before except to eat. I have learned it is much harder to buy something with a card than it is with cash. This is exciting for me. ...... Took me a few days but I purchased a book recommended in our Sunday paper. Don't know the author, but it sounded like a good read. Emily and Einstein. I have now almost finished the book. It is about a young woman in New York City who is married and her husband is killed in an accident. He is then reincarnated into a scruffy dog who of course winds up with her. She thinks it is just a dog. Versions of this story line have shown up in books for years and this one has some unusual twists. Fun read. I recommend it. Wonder if Daisy is reincarnated? I think not.
My daughter sent me a flower arrangement. I am not usually a fan of cut flowers but how can a dog lover not love a flower that looks amazing like Daisy.
All in all a grand birthday. Being 75 is another road to travel toward 76. Occurs to me that I have been on the journey toward 76 years all of my life. I just didn't know it would happen this quickly.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Walking with Daisy #1
Part time retirement (PTR) has taken its toll on Daisy. She is off schedule. When I worked from 8:00 to 5:00 she would get really excited when I came home in the afternoon. Breathing hard, running from the front door back to me then to Mate, talking Schnauzer talk. She knew as soon as I headed toward the bedroom I was going to change clothes, I was going to get the halter, hand it to mate and she was going to "get dressed" for the favorite thing in her small life. A walk through the neighborhood! You might say she lives for those walks. I of course had to get a sack and a rubber glove (since I am a good neighbor and pick up behind us) and she sits almost quietly in Mate's lap waiting for me to say "Okay". Then its off to the races.
Daisy, Mate and I attended obedience school this past spring and early summer. Our main purpose was to train Daisy to walk on a leash. Not that she doesn't know about a leash, and not that she doesn't know about a walk, but putting them together is difficult for her. I know you have seen those wonderful movies, or true life stories, about the Iditarod and the beautiful Eskimo dogs that pull the loaded sled, along with the master, for miles and miles over frozen Alaskan terrain. When we were looking on Pet Finder for a rescue dog to adopt, we came across Daisy's picture and she was described as mostly Miniature Schnauzer, weighing approximately 15 pounds. We never found what else was in her background until we went for our first walk. Obviously somewhere in her background was a sled dog pulling for all she was worth. Daisy still does it today.
Despite the best efforts of the several trainers at the Obedience School, we did not quite master the walking on a leash part and we actually never missed a session. Now we did learn about snacks (her favorite part) and how she could wait patiently for one. She even learned to get down when you put the snack in front of her nose and went down to the ground. She still follows right along with you and lays down, never taking her eyes off the snack, to the point of almost looking cross eyed. She will wait patiently til you say "Okay" before she nicely takes the treat from your hand and lays there and devours it. Mate and I have not found an actual reason for this but she does look cute doing it.
But back to the walk. I often wish I had better balance and could ride a skateboard as it would be a wonderful exercise for Daisy to pull me. We have one of those leashes that you can let out and pull back in. She strains so hard I am often worried that if the leash would snap she would be in Archer County before she ever slowed down.
But back to confusion..... PTR (part time retirement) is giving me all sorts of different times to chose from for our walks and just this morning (Thursday, I don't go in til 1:00) we walked beginning at 7:00. She is trying to adjust. One thing for sure she is excited to go no matter what the time. Daisy may never be the dog that stops and smells the roses. Oh she smells all right, she has certain blades of grass and certain poles that she will at least slow down for but even when she squats she just keeps on going. I am thinking at this time in my life, going along with Daisy, straight ahead, looking neither to the left or to the right may be a good plan. The difference in me and Daisy, is that she looks down and I have to remember to keep on looking up. That way I will be sure and make home.
Daisy, Mate and I attended obedience school this past spring and early summer. Our main purpose was to train Daisy to walk on a leash. Not that she doesn't know about a leash, and not that she doesn't know about a walk, but putting them together is difficult for her. I know you have seen those wonderful movies, or true life stories, about the Iditarod and the beautiful Eskimo dogs that pull the loaded sled, along with the master, for miles and miles over frozen Alaskan terrain. When we were looking on Pet Finder for a rescue dog to adopt, we came across Daisy's picture and she was described as mostly Miniature Schnauzer, weighing approximately 15 pounds. We never found what else was in her background until we went for our first walk. Obviously somewhere in her background was a sled dog pulling for all she was worth. Daisy still does it today.
Despite the best efforts of the several trainers at the Obedience School, we did not quite master the walking on a leash part and we actually never missed a session. Now we did learn about snacks (her favorite part) and how she could wait patiently for one. She even learned to get down when you put the snack in front of her nose and went down to the ground. She still follows right along with you and lays down, never taking her eyes off the snack, to the point of almost looking cross eyed. She will wait patiently til you say "Okay" before she nicely takes the treat from your hand and lays there and devours it. Mate and I have not found an actual reason for this but she does look cute doing it.
But back to the walk. I often wish I had better balance and could ride a skateboard as it would be a wonderful exercise for Daisy to pull me. We have one of those leashes that you can let out and pull back in. She strains so hard I am often worried that if the leash would snap she would be in Archer County before she ever slowed down.
But back to confusion..... PTR (part time retirement) is giving me all sorts of different times to chose from for our walks and just this morning (Thursday, I don't go in til 1:00) we walked beginning at 7:00. She is trying to adjust. One thing for sure she is excited to go no matter what the time. Daisy may never be the dog that stops and smells the roses. Oh she smells all right, she has certain blades of grass and certain poles that she will at least slow down for but even when she squats she just keeps on going. I am thinking at this time in my life, going along with Daisy, straight ahead, looking neither to the left or to the right may be a good plan. The difference in me and Daisy, is that she looks down and I have to remember to keep on looking up. That way I will be sure and make home.
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