tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36850860860789283922024-02-21T01:08:00.580-06:00Be Kinder Than NecessaryCollies, Freestyle dancing, Bicycling, Mosaicing,Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-10294817746892351712020-05-29T16:27:00.000-05:002020-05-29T16:27:15.814-05:00Forty-Nine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs_zdpvtRTj7UqxBzGYvAw5DRrGIkDUdPOqA-Rg0YOrzQFgVWxoA-jNAhKSWDxOcR4QB-69MeNwCqqM8dJgWmIz803gVV9P2bfZjYWF1l40F9IBc5EZ-gcoMJV6rjS-Sb1MmX68kMBWQ/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_3270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs_zdpvtRTj7UqxBzGYvAw5DRrGIkDUdPOqA-Rg0YOrzQFgVWxoA-jNAhKSWDxOcR4QB-69MeNwCqqM8dJgWmIz803gVV9P2bfZjYWF1l40F9IBc5EZ-gcoMJV6rjS-Sb1MmX68kMBWQ/s400/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_3270.jpg" width="300" /></a>Forty nine. Four. Nine. 49. Not a very important number as far as numbers go. Not a "decade-marker." Not a first. Not a last. Not Silver, or Gold, or even one where you can buy "Happy 49th."<br />
<br />
No one really Celebrates this number.<br />
<br />
49 years ago I promised to stay with this man. I promised in the presence of my family and my friends. In front of a LOT of folks who knew a lot more than I ever will, and still they confirmed and rejoiced in our decision. They held up Hope. They knew it would not be easy. They knew we would want to kill each other. They knew we would look in the mirror and wonder where that bride and groom disappeared to. They saw children and fevers and sparse tables and car trouble and busted water heaters and sleepless nights. <br />
<br />
What they refused to see was our ever giving up the struggle. They chose instead to set the example of The Continuum and smiled knowingly as we drove away, fearless, clueless.<br />
<br />
49 years. I look at him and see youth and vitality, his bright blue eyes, his sideways grin. He still sees my tiny waist and my long blond hair, tied back with a ribbon.<br />
<br />
We hold hands now, and marvel at our vein-y skin. His blue eyes have lines around them. My tiny waist mocks my hips. <br />
<br />
And today....just for Today...we say we would do it all over again.....Tomorrow is Always another decision....But the decision gets easier each day that passes. He loves me in spite of myself. He knows how hateful and derisive I can be. He understands my insecurities. He tolerates my manic states and listens to my rants. <br />
<br />
He talks a Lot. About things I do not want to listen to or know. Politics and bicycle gear numbers and key signatures. He wears the same clothes several days in a row. He leaves toothpaste globs in the sink (today there was one on the floor...). He spoils the cats, ruins my dog-training rules, criticizes my driving.<br />
<br />
We have been given so much time. Together. We know it is a gift, and we embrace each day a bit more tenderly. He's the kindest man I have ever known. I am the happiest woman he has ever known. This is what 49 years can be. Two people exploding, expanding, embracing.<br />
<br />
Happy Anniversary. I am yours for one more day......<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpmL1RuoqibenzGahQuuPrvbJwQi3r_56eU4PClXzjhVPYb6MkijPKVMXzdRntfvFTrhIJtDDManazVGQLzguRvnG_DokZqZ_gFBCf92NSNgW8OBl3Jfhn2pUUhGiKsY41UU0tXYPl8k/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_223c.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxpmL1RuoqibenzGahQuuPrvbJwQi3r_56eU4PClXzjhVPYb6MkijPKVMXzdRntfvFTrhIJtDDManazVGQLzguRvnG_DokZqZ_gFBCf92NSNgW8OBl3Jfhn2pUUhGiKsY41UU0tXYPl8k/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_223c.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXx_2O8kVtukw-CjK7lCFeWXLLNdVOvN4_OgCDdtpHY3VTavY27MFBjBQKtpoalOeKwIMTyOfZsg3Kmhjz34yxozKFsl9-d8n72-TorqFzvLfN0zIAbcGVWknWtb8aaK-TeAJX1kmY7s/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_22d1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXx_2O8kVtukw-CjK7lCFeWXLLNdVOvN4_OgCDdtpHY3VTavY27MFBjBQKtpoalOeKwIMTyOfZsg3Kmhjz34yxozKFsl9-d8n72-TorqFzvLfN0zIAbcGVWknWtb8aaK-TeAJX1kmY7s/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_22d1.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfgiRf9I6oUjR7KlqzH1yEfPgRxE7ByWADYTp9IpPXynWHVnIn6itY3hUVTzwvrxBwfKPiwe8F5FbeFRXzaA3bE2N9qXSvMuKjYVObwcXnZ9Wsb_7D-bxZz_g4jPXY8XaQ-S-RBGlaa8/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_3278.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVfgiRf9I6oUjR7KlqzH1yEfPgRxE7ByWADYTp9IpPXynWHVnIn6itY3hUVTzwvrxBwfKPiwe8F5FbeFRXzaA3bE2N9qXSvMuKjYVObwcXnZ9Wsb_7D-bxZz_g4jPXY8XaQ-S-RBGlaa8/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_3278.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-t4W7Bpk4FmxTAlEZooZVTp7rsLAzOSqKAYy6FtM4XCqh4RuanDdaOg8vxSoxVQC-GZiMyb1M8KvwIrmnO_Ye5H6OKv9XnurZrxt3Zb7EoueZLBsuEoINfwuCJ4KORMW8uB-6fMkqVF8/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_331f.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-t4W7Bpk4FmxTAlEZooZVTp7rsLAzOSqKAYy6FtM4XCqh4RuanDdaOg8vxSoxVQC-GZiMyb1M8KvwIrmnO_Ye5H6OKv9XnurZrxt3Zb7EoueZLBsuEoINfwuCJ4KORMW8uB-6fMkqVF8/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_331f.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLSYATwIvpDCV3WTmpsCwHz7LH6EJjctIc5T48DHuKwjsvH2gm4EDsqk-qCGgGtDnxZV0EEQ-WUbtRtMkVIZPoEzS85VVxJThIILSBUepV_IKDLU9MIxxH80zDMy4u9D_X1Jh8mwL2U4/s1600/upaNse%252BLRKe3phXmNEkeTQ_thumb_47ea.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLSYATwIvpDCV3WTmpsCwHz7LH6EJjctIc5T48DHuKwjsvH2gm4EDsqk-qCGgGtDnxZV0EEQ-WUbtRtMkVIZPoEzS85VVxJThIILSBUepV_IKDLU9MIxxH80zDMy4u9D_X1Jh8mwL2U4/s320/upaNse%252BLRKe3phXmNEkeTQ_thumb_47ea.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuNWaJ5TWQvpwSUNE0tka0LtFYPTweAQ_lbjn6aD7HWsFPB_r8lR-aaILY79TvJWmxGTfAcxBQWxa3mUgH2kCy53euDAQG1wfSZjl_L7MAT5NZXSJu0DmGajE_3s0pCTnxTNusbxujsnA/s1600/F9IkvVYWTvy6Ih34G4AB7A_thumb_4a71.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuNWaJ5TWQvpwSUNE0tka0LtFYPTweAQ_lbjn6aD7HWsFPB_r8lR-aaILY79TvJWmxGTfAcxBQWxa3mUgH2kCy53euDAQG1wfSZjl_L7MAT5NZXSJu0DmGajE_3s0pCTnxTNusbxujsnA/s320/F9IkvVYWTvy6Ih34G4AB7A_thumb_4a71.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPc8SC8vaY1Cddykmic9Q5QHpvh0bYES6G3ZurkGJ6phbOb_yTFka4HYN4-yathY3xotpyqJCaxRAwY4f4EeEeTsj52iZQeAjOeayQkOgCZWdWLVxcYNXg21-ZAFpnHcQPmladx9UaOqo/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1f5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPc8SC8vaY1Cddykmic9Q5QHpvh0bYES6G3ZurkGJ6phbOb_yTFka4HYN4-yathY3xotpyqJCaxRAwY4f4EeEeTsj52iZQeAjOeayQkOgCZWdWLVxcYNXg21-ZAFpnHcQPmladx9UaOqo/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1f5.jpg" width="240" /></a>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-40209533104944016442018-01-21T09:38:00.000-06:002018-01-21T09:38:59.530-06:00Happy Birthday.......Always<br />
<br />
And, now, it will tell you the story of The Day I Was Born........<br />
<br />
Memphis Tennessee. Early cold morning, snow falling. My mother had had a couple of false alarms, and wasn't quite sure that this was, in fact, THE Time. Besides, it was Early, and like most all the Jasper wimmen, Early Morning is an almost insurmountable challenge.<br />
<br />
My Daddy was not taking any chances this time ( after all, it was their third child), and insisted that they were, in fact, going to the neighborhood hospital.<br />
<br />
He bustled my mother out to the car, in the snow, only to find that the tire on his 1950 Chevy was flat. <br />
<br />
We are talking dark ages here, folks. There was no InstaAir to pump up the tire. Not even a spare tire in the trunk. His only option was to get out the hand pump. Manually. Like a bicycle pump. Attach the nozzle, brace your feet on it, and put your biceps to work. And so he knelt down and began to air up that flat. In the cold January snow.<br />
<br />
My mother, waiting for her knight in shining armor to slay this dragon, did what any Southern born princess would do. <br />
<br />
She laughed.<br />
<br />
She jumped up and down, her turgid belly rolling like Santy Claus, and clapped her hands and Laughed. <br />
<br />
And as the snow blew and the tire filled with air, my father doubled over in severe abdominal pain, exactly coinciding with his wife's labor pain. His appendix later ruptured, and he nearly died, but not this day. That is another story.<br />
<br />
They arrived at the hospital in plenty of time. It was Morning, remember......I was not born until after 4 that afternoon. My father consumed an entire bottle of Paragoric (a camphorated tincture of opium, commonly used to treat belly aches, available overthecounter in those days), and staved off the appendix rupture for a few more months. He also endured taunts from his friends about "sympathy labor."<br />
<br />
I emerged into this world quite ugly. Dark, ruddy skin and exploding straight Black hair. My eight-year-old sister looked upon me in horror and asked my proud father, "you mean we waited all this time for....for....This?!" My father fell in love from the very beginning. He and I share the same stubborn spirit.......<br />
<br />
Quickly my sister’s mothering instincts overrode the initial shock, and I became a Permanent Appendage upon her right hip. I did not walk alone until I was nearly two. My days and nights were disordered, and I never, really learned to sleep when proper children should. Seldom did I allow others to teach me, insisting I make my own mistakes in the Learning Process. Always I rushed in where more prudent folk knew never to tred. Beloved and confirmed and doted upon by my older sister and brother, I grew up believing that Life was beautiful and everyone loved me.<br />
<br />
As the third and final child, my parents raised me with the idea that I would outgrow any unacceptable behaviors. My siblings believed I was their very own to dote upon and entertain. They all taught me joy and kindness and showed me how to be grateful. <br />
<br />
For 66 years I have been loved with overwhelming abundance and affirmation. My life is rich. My memories are sweet. My heart is full.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHSlFpkfLR22qc3Rs6uNnjjsBsYKcdHX_sYko9X4AIvlW3TsR2l5ysqJkme_mRCggwaPIIS2R5oYHp28qhpGedFjllvdUZlaNJWJerst8bvPu788T8f2qV-_aemgE5HjUM5BNNg6Ic7A/s1600/Jasper+family+1952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="999" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHSlFpkfLR22qc3Rs6uNnjjsBsYKcdHX_sYko9X4AIvlW3TsR2l5ysqJkme_mRCggwaPIIS2R5oYHp28qhpGedFjllvdUZlaNJWJerst8bvPu788T8f2qV-_aemgE5HjUM5BNNg6Ic7A/s320/Jasper+family+1952.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-55151374967790626632017-11-05T09:44:00.000-06:002017-11-05T09:44:57.184-06:00Walking with Sorrow and Suffering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhLRXEcUVEzmPeQlEULPLyX1K9dEKFCHuZBwOaQC8IOlC5Fg7jN67JHrQT6xeSe_-86W2qKVpxRfUEGJw9PgffBHHag8y9yz9unlChzMihVLBGJLHnEOjpu96eyo64D58Q6FafMgCcUk/s1600/IMG_0948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhLRXEcUVEzmPeQlEULPLyX1K9dEKFCHuZBwOaQC8IOlC5Fg7jN67JHrQT6xeSe_-86W2qKVpxRfUEGJw9PgffBHHag8y9yz9unlChzMihVLBGJLHnEOjpu96eyo64D58Q6FafMgCcUk/s320/IMG_0948.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This litter was in 2013. Such a beautiful mix of Color and Life. Eyes opened, lustily suckling, crawling with tummies off the floor, learning my voice and my scent. Sadly, All of them passed on, onebyone, and there was nothing we (the vet and I) could do. They just could not make it. I grieved for each little Life as it succumbed to the demands the Planet required. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I spoke very little about them afterwards. (Denial is one of my coping stratagems). I also determined that I would Never do this again. My days of neonate rescue were Over. I did not want to risk the grief. And Pain. Too many days spent caring for them, wth such horrible results. These babies, these very beautiful babies, took with them a large piece of my heart. I had been so careful! I had done Everything Right. And still.....and still, they faded.....and breathed their last. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Time blurs ones memories. And softens ones sorrow. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For, you see, Sorrow and Suffering walk silently beside us in our journey on this planet. They hold our hands so we cannot cover our ears and miss the Voice of Love. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Me?......Well, I would much rather have Peace and Joy as my traveling companions....</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Pride tends to step in and attempt to guide me on my walk.....And to keep me from admitting failure and, yes, even Death. For Sorrow and Suffering bring us point blank to the things we want changed on this Plane....We can overcome the bad stuff with a bit of Good. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">And, yeh.....I took in the next tiny litter months later when someone called. I fed their tummies and wiped their bottoms and worried and fretted while Sorrow and Suffering held my hands and reminded me that Everything is up to God. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-91342769103672046272017-11-03T10:42:00.000-05:002017-11-03T10:42:10.233-05:00Everyone needs an Emily......At first she was our Only Child. We learned that being parents was easy and a Discovery about who we were. We learned that a human, much younger than ourselves, could (and Would) take over our lives. We learned about worry. Infinite Worry. We learned that not every one agrees with us or has the same dreams or desires as us. We learned to laugh as we learned. We learned to give up, release, let go, believe in The Planet's protection, cease control, and watch and learn.<br />
But mostly, Mostly we learned a fierce Love from this baby. Love that never goes away, no matter how many times we botched the parenting thang.<br />
<br />
Thanks, Em, for choosing us. You grew up nicely, despite our efforts.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNEWhyphenhyphen_J9omtUaBF2g1JZsdNEuQfz04W-sHs8ogOT9TG3AcgCXW1U72wZyg3wjyTA9w1i3zP6sWIN5CsQim7bdBv9vOSrXYuk146JhPB7oS5mbslyKqSaHlbpSy42WqtNjHEPJpMh8jo/s1600/Me+and+Em+3+years+old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNEWhyphenhyphen_J9omtUaBF2g1JZsdNEuQfz04W-sHs8ogOT9TG3AcgCXW1U72wZyg3wjyTA9w1i3zP6sWIN5CsQim7bdBv9vOSrXYuk146JhPB7oS5mbslyKqSaHlbpSy42WqtNjHEPJpMh8jo/s320/Me+and+Em+3+years+old.jpg" width="276" /></a>Oh! And Happy Birthday. We did an Excellent job.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeQXHWFHfTlVMl2GaWqZyoXkKo04SFrDsGwi23GdxQ5vMehTvsSaH4LDJ3iu_hzX95v30YQSFvQXc2KNRUjKPOXpyB5vK2YMtHctKOO_I36WO2SQjBxcRiS9wvD6d3O5jjRKTh-OuHZE/s1600/Emily+senior+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1176" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeQXHWFHfTlVMl2GaWqZyoXkKo04SFrDsGwi23GdxQ5vMehTvsSaH4LDJ3iu_hzX95v30YQSFvQXc2KNRUjKPOXpyB5vK2YMtHctKOO_I36WO2SQjBxcRiS9wvD6d3O5jjRKTh-OuHZE/s320/Emily+senior+picture.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-86814217832304640062017-08-27T14:49:00.000-05:002017-08-27T19:48:36.976-05:00Sand County Almanac<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>"During every week from April to September there are, on the average, ten wild plants coming into first bloom. In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them. He who steps unseeing on May dandelions may be hauled up short by August ragweed pollen; he who ignores the ruddy haze of April elms may skid his car on the fallen corollas of June catalpas. Tell me of what plant-birthday a man takes notice, and I shall tell you a good deal about his vocation, his hobbies, his hay fever, and the general level of his ecological education."</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> <u>A Sand County Almanac </u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> Aldo Lepold</span><br />
<br />
This summer I re-discovered this wonderful book when I ran across a copy at a thrift store in Northern Virginia. My own copy long since loaned to someone, or perhaps given.....<br />
It is an important book to read, at any age of Life, but, at this stage of my development, I am finding it soul-fulfilling and rather like meeting an old friend again, after all these years. An old friend who has discovered pieces of Life that I am just now getting to.....<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Twenty-three years ago, my dear husband, Rob rode in his first Century bicycle ride. This is 100 miles of bicycling. In one day. In August. In Texas. Wichita Falls, Texas. With 12,000 other bicyclists (no, this is not a typo. You read it correctly. 12,000. Some years over 15,00). <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzpK5FbpW1VMx_mPga7LLIaxoncsckP2KWHCsb_yMZt_utxYdAtPwgtMG95S8AJmteoZO9i3PVG-bT1eiFvk4N6SC9G7UppK6kKmOI82I843ybXcfQwBhZKQfkzssuj9GmJxq88j4jLo/s1600/IMG_4123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1484" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzpK5FbpW1VMx_mPga7LLIaxoncsckP2KWHCsb_yMZt_utxYdAtPwgtMG95S8AJmteoZO9i3PVG-bT1eiFvk4N6SC9G7UppK6kKmOI82I843ybXcfQwBhZKQfkzssuj9GmJxq88j4jLo/s320/IMG_4123.jpg" width="296" /></a>He has been riding in this event every year since then. Sometimes I tag along, Collies in tow (not riding, only joining in the celebration....and worry....); sometimes our sons-in-law ride with him; sometimes he goes alone and makes new friends in the thronging, sweaty crowd of deranged (and later, after 100 miles, delirious) bicyclers from all over the country. <br />
<br />
The first year he chose to do this, I went along justincase he needed someone to accompany him to the ER.....It's always good to have someone identify the body....<br />
<br />
While he rode, well, of course, I went shopping. Thrift stores, garage sales, interesting grocery stores, and huge plant nurseries. <br />
<br />
Remember. It is August. Always the fourth Saturday in August. In Texas. Everything is suffering in this heat. Dry heat. 100-degree heat.<br />
<br />
Certainly nothing is blooming, and the plant nurseries are eager to unload any and all of their summer plants for pennies on the dollar. Please adopt these and take them to a Better Place where there is shade and water and cooler temperatures. Have Hope for prettier days next spring, where, if they survive, they will bless you with their blooms in the greening-up of April.<br />
<br />
I always have Hope, especially where plants are concerned. Once released from the bonds of their plastic pots and tucked lovingly in the soil with a layer of leaf mulch, I can almost hear their sighs of relief and contentment. Their promises of Springtime blossoms and adding beauty to Eden......<br />
<br />
Amid the brown and crunchy perennials gasping for life in the 100+ heat, enter this:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBgdpsoC7-svn9VRi8LUu9s4jK501EOPBto1tk-EE26hdhFcH3NAYlLmOaeTrus436_rgR2bqdsodxc3K2rJyVM03KqqLdUygqsYLFRgk3doU6JuBAy9toEbq4Pr-lZ5CCMQ3jyzQsjA/s1600/Garlic+Chives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="322" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBgdpsoC7-svn9VRi8LUu9s4jK501EOPBto1tk-EE26hdhFcH3NAYlLmOaeTrus436_rgR2bqdsodxc3K2rJyVM03KqqLdUygqsYLFRgk3doU6JuBAy9toEbq4Pr-lZ5CCMQ3jyzQsjA/s320/Garlic+Chives.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Garlic Chives. Blooming their little hearts out. Potbound and pleading for a good place in the solid earth. I planted them in the backyard. They have migrated to the front yard. I have shared and Shared them with many friends who love their garlic smell and their welcome blossoms when everything else has given up in the heat. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And every year, the fourth Saturday in August, they bloom. Their leaves grace our salads, and the flowers adorn our vases. I call them my Hotter'n Hell Flowers. And I pretend that we are still as young as we were 20+ years ago, as the Earth has turned round and round, and the bicycle wheels spun hundreds of miles.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So.....Reading Leopold's passage again......What does this marker Tell about me?</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Mostly, I think, it speaks of the change of the seasons and the anticipated relief of the oppressive heat with the coming September. And of a 70-year-old man who continues to throw his leg over a bicycle and ride beyond his physical limit. And who brings me presents of coffee cups and cookie jars and Sonic coupons. Of Life. Life that continues with the Young and delights the Old. Of noticing. And appreciating. And always looking forward. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNob_ngz5twWskp9w71DF13fcKvhcfnSsxGT9HLwskF1d4Fhr4gWmeGTKcMEeEwbzWk56EKSZ3-qoacZv3_XYVwNelPJxO9taGjdkyVoysaT1BMkSP0Ju8HQZSvSB_knR5F9q3xmoBC8k/s1600/IMG_4070+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="983" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNob_ngz5twWskp9w71DF13fcKvhcfnSsxGT9HLwskF1d4Fhr4gWmeGTKcMEeEwbzWk56EKSZ3-qoacZv3_XYVwNelPJxO9taGjdkyVoysaT1BMkSP0Ju8HQZSvSB_knR5F9q3xmoBC8k/s320/IMG_4070+%25281%2529.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-76630899915694194872017-06-18T11:55:00.000-05:002017-08-27T14:51:34.768-05:00Father of the Year....I Don't Think So......<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">There are many things that the Fatherofmychildren cannot and will not do. He is incompetent in several. Refuses to do the remainder. Things that Most Dads just naturally teach their offspring, he sees no use in instruction.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">In the beginning of this Parenting Odyssey, and, admittedly, even during the most demanding times of the children’s growing-up, I struggled with these Deficiencies and Imperfections in his plans to bring the girls up correctly. My heart saw only the holes in his efforts. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Dancing. He never danced with them. Never. Not even at their weddings. Not even in the living room with their tiny feet on top of his…..He </span><span class="s2"><b>doesn't</b></span><span class="s1"> dance. He plays the music people dance to. He has a trumpet up to his face while he watches their circuits around the dance floor.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7O7QRN7wdHskqubG5xq52jCDGJ57ZDVI2Z3kOfwszbNvUvl4MZOklUbtzo_YMuzh2PtfSceScYBZ4eZc4HRSPPwF8gGGqRzPnGQ9LVEXXn91_Zs6pQnCGF7Ec-gBPP6ZuHBNMpjGKi8/s1600/IMG_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1208" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7O7QRN7wdHskqubG5xq52jCDGJ57ZDVI2Z3kOfwszbNvUvl4MZOklUbtzo_YMuzh2PtfSceScYBZ4eZc4HRSPPwF8gGGqRzPnGQ9LVEXXn91_Zs6pQnCGF7Ec-gBPP6ZuHBNMpjGKi8/s320/IMG_0046.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">But he does smile so sweetly when the children “twirl” for him, spinning around like dervishes, their skirts flying, their faces bliss. Bliss because of his blatant approval and appreciation for their skill and beauty. They always knew they were beautiful in his indulgent eyes. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Grilling. He has never cooked a meal outside. INside, for that matter. The man does not cook. He doesn't even honestly appreciate the skills that it takes to get a good meal together. He will eat anything. And have seconds. But he takes no pride in the preparation or even the end result. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">He bought me the biggest grill I would allow on the deck. He hooked it up to the maximum safety standards and makes sure that it is fully turned off after the meat is done. He savors the meal. He compliments my efforts. But do not ask him to do anything more than push the electric igniter to begin the process. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">He does know how to French Braid our daughters’ hair…..When I went to Europe with Emily’s Girl Scout troop for 6 weeks, back in the ’80’s, Kathryn was left in the care of her Dad. The 10-year-old child would </span><span class="s2"><b>only</b></span><span class="s1"> allow her hair to be brushed and French Braided at this moment in time. No exceptions. No deliberations. No discussion. So, he took instruction from me, detangling spray and comb in his left hand, and mastered the skill. He became proficient. And The Baby had less angst (at least about her hair) while her mother traveled the world without her. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Mowing. Mowing the yard. It’s a big yard. Almost 1/4 an acre. All clipped with a push mower because of all the twists and turns he must make around my flowerbeds, water gardens, and various trees I’ve planted. But he never saw fit to teach the girls how to propel the mower across the lawn. He always insisted on doing it himself while they “stayed inside where it is cool.” They married men who mow religiously and bore sons who mow. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">He is the Finder of Lost Things, our very own St. Anthony</span>. Irritating, sometimes, when all one wants to DO is rant and rave about how she “cannot find ANYthing around here.”</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">But he calmly processes the possibilities of where the Lost might be, and always, Always discovers its hiding place. He finds Lost Things. And he soothes our defiant, ruffled feathers…..Unfortunately for those of us who would like to remain angry and frustrated because we insist it aids in finding things. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Shooting a gun. The girls never held a gun in their hands until they were grown women. Never. They never felt the kickback of the wooden stock against their shoulders. Never felt the thrill of hitting the Mark with their keen eyes. Never experienced the rush of holding the smooth steel of a pistol in their hands. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">He does know how to bathe a baby and change a cloth diaper. In the ’70’s this was a skill that many fathers left to their wives. There was still a bit of designated “women’s work” that hadn’t eased its way into the realm of masculinity at that time. Rob never considered these tasks, these opportunities, to be relegated to just one parent.</span> He folded and pinned on diapers better than any professional. </div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">He has fallen way short of the Dad Things most people expect. He doesn’t meet the bar at all for the qualifications of Traditional Dads. He barely disciplined the children or raised his voice. Told them more than once, “If you do that again, your Mother is going to spank you.” Never prepared pancakes for breakfast or took them to a ballgame. Took them camping, but once they were asleep, escaped to the car and dozed. Always deferred to me regarding pets, but always dug their graves and played the role of minister when they died. Never engaged in decorating for Christmas, but drove us thru ice and snow to celebrate the holidays at Grandma’s. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Nope. He’s not the Dad we all read about and admire. But I write this to tell you that I have never met a better Father. He raised two very intense and entertaining women who continue to improve the planet and show the world what Love looks like. I’ll take that. Anytime.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Happy Father’s Day, Rob Bailey.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_6Imv4jOv5acWQLSGjFz4DbcsIHe7p0MLLGbVPBAn2tcaeeg4L8wf5vV2asBn4LOOMgC37J1YNKgz6WxHErvG8R9gwhNY9zvr4xdrBN6ajEnbUa2T2Hng74xEM_iVIAe5ItH9V47amQ/s1600/Rob+Sam+Grace+Sam%2527s+christening.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_6Imv4jOv5acWQLSGjFz4DbcsIHe7p0MLLGbVPBAn2tcaeeg4L8wf5vV2asBn4LOOMgC37J1YNKgz6WxHErvG8R9gwhNY9zvr4xdrBN6ajEnbUa2T2Hng74xEM_iVIAe5ItH9V47amQ/s320/Rob+Sam+Grace+Sam%2527s+christening.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPLSM_k2g-AwIM4VxdsporlJGlsBcuJHg8vatyho3RmzORY6nV21QvOpQ8oPyYLoQE4Shh1JRS5EE-DVlsnpua7FQOWuXcIr6qXSGGszSFSkLCQvw7pggKhPf4DVdiWStW9SO-eB_euc/s1600/131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPLSM_k2g-AwIM4VxdsporlJGlsBcuJHg8vatyho3RmzORY6nV21QvOpQ8oPyYLoQE4Shh1JRS5EE-DVlsnpua7FQOWuXcIr6qXSGGszSFSkLCQvw7pggKhPf4DVdiWStW9SO-eB_euc/s320/131.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2ApwWWAbcaovkY-c5WSte9MWG0sM-83cIqTIiN3KxVNdt0GdKYsu7HK0FOWAHaYUyghFZ4jfJHl3LwXDlIdd1x0WPkzgSPfnkF3_mtU_W1obXu3HfqBMG0fsF7SFkitbRakS3KSeNlE/s1600/Bubble+Bath+at+the+Bricktown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2ApwWWAbcaovkY-c5WSte9MWG0sM-83cIqTIiN3KxVNdt0GdKYsu7HK0FOWAHaYUyghFZ4jfJHl3LwXDlIdd1x0WPkzgSPfnkF3_mtU_W1obXu3HfqBMG0fsF7SFkitbRakS3KSeNlE/s320/Bubble+Bath+at+the+Bricktown.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9inrnVntEpauN96CTT5FEZq4eJLvSYwvWsQaoEIyyUfZz3XAtiJvbIw4LGyiz8box0ULggBU2UYgT2pUjKXjdVkeg2Wz9xrP55apiTHglIHLeQ7FSW3FxnfeouLEWNRhvfeURoR486c/s1600/IMG_0049+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9inrnVntEpauN96CTT5FEZq4eJLvSYwvWsQaoEIyyUfZz3XAtiJvbIw4LGyiz8box0ULggBU2UYgT2pUjKXjdVkeg2Wz9xrP55apiTHglIHLeQ7FSW3FxnfeouLEWNRhvfeURoR486c/s320/IMG_0049+%25281%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MU67CnqIz9NQ7yX2mRLSuIs6VJPKwIc4eGDQLRhiDL5rtqqn5H4Wltp-s7odubw4rpNWQ-Z_NDxrHkC66DgzRU-mwaXTh7qs86FPbDdBPPfeETQjKiVkUo7x9Y1Zbu7o4-ktx1qMTck/s1600/IMG_0175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MU67CnqIz9NQ7yX2mRLSuIs6VJPKwIc4eGDQLRhiDL5rtqqn5H4Wltp-s7odubw4rpNWQ-Z_NDxrHkC66DgzRU-mwaXTh7qs86FPbDdBPPfeETQjKiVkUo7x9Y1Zbu7o4-ktx1qMTck/s320/IMG_0175.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXWhiJdHhG3T7fzXo4myejsznTeUwBiKiPVO-FEFElcxXYZFRRolqM1Sps-9OpsYFt4VzK8AVzhgqxWd6xSY5JIHfxULXHTDrVJzDCBtONYVAN6QVZ4__rHhf7BfVODtni0mVzI2eE10/s1600/IMG_0784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1201" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXWhiJdHhG3T7fzXo4myejsznTeUwBiKiPVO-FEFElcxXYZFRRolqM1Sps-9OpsYFt4VzK8AVzhgqxWd6xSY5JIHfxULXHTDrVJzDCBtONYVAN6QVZ4__rHhf7BfVODtni0mVzI2eE10/s320/IMG_0784.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioitT-bAWBi5XmCh7BHaWafBo5gJJz55BQTirBm5zF5q9smbbAVSQxFi6mxgF0t2lsnDwXDPxag8NIvGuCEnJomcu7DZ9ueut77n_9swMklJ7vK_0oLc4uV9RyfVQFE0Ws8cee4FcH248/s1600/IMG_1632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioitT-bAWBi5XmCh7BHaWafBo5gJJz55BQTirBm5zF5q9smbbAVSQxFi6mxgF0t2lsnDwXDPxag8NIvGuCEnJomcu7DZ9ueut77n_9swMklJ7vK_0oLc4uV9RyfVQFE0Ws8cee4FcH248/s320/IMG_1632.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzxaHxg6LGvdDJ0vGp9ppy5bw0cDj-JRwzdqlBBUQ_4aIvDvRLHvgZPBJvCslDg-F-IS-VXMEUqpfxSCoT6p7LrTgUQjV9GsyaZc3G7Ig-DCDvVjn1pc9rz41V-KE8u1byikS5msA1sE/s1600/IMG_1988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzxaHxg6LGvdDJ0vGp9ppy5bw0cDj-JRwzdqlBBUQ_4aIvDvRLHvgZPBJvCslDg-F-IS-VXMEUqpfxSCoT6p7LrTgUQjV9GsyaZc3G7Ig-DCDvVjn1pc9rz41V-KE8u1byikS5msA1sE/s320/IMG_1988.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAXJgpGdfhgl88IJP7qoKpn6bogaFPiGZoEAz8JLsn41ug7tAe5I2KFEjf0EowX_Rt__49BW2ld-SpnOBOIiXIaFvwcULM5_Atp4ZDSiuiDFFDtn0uuNdggSLEFmIebLj8e6YjmWpc90/s1600/IMG_6812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAXJgpGdfhgl88IJP7qoKpn6bogaFPiGZoEAz8JLsn41ug7tAe5I2KFEjf0EowX_Rt__49BW2ld-SpnOBOIiXIaFvwcULM5_Atp4ZDSiuiDFFDtn0uuNdggSLEFmIebLj8e6YjmWpc90/s320/IMG_6812.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlf2u-cTK_1KwqArjtzzCHyC5XVUkwXokOUNSJKz6eOcVVjGh3J_fyY9_pEJRWluQk98kvwi95keHwoLXt5oWjNhVDfw5uFIsupcfMtZw1Rgi4yw2F6tgvH3X-boI_E-oQnJSLIF1C3c/s320/We+got+a+Selfie+Stick%2521.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGz0APVVfegwRhuDfZO98GsBfJqZVlPoGN8oXLyHYR_obCB2g4PXFdIVwioz6soZDJ49_1veCnqS1SqBxGcshcxAURZGnNG-0Rk_d2YEckzeDOvzussc0KeyimGgqBpI0iQgkgj01eH8/s1600/IMG_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="1002" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGz0APVVfegwRhuDfZO98GsBfJqZVlPoGN8oXLyHYR_obCB2g4PXFdIVwioz6soZDJ49_1veCnqS1SqBxGcshcxAURZGnNG-0Rk_d2YEckzeDOvzussc0KeyimGgqBpI0iQgkgj01eH8/s320/IMG_0032.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-55696665277395291702016-06-21T11:25:00.001-05:002016-06-21T11:25:21.863-05:00<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
They were playing with some plastic Army guys, when I overheard Emily tell baby sister Kathryn, "Bang! Your guy is dead! I shot him!"</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
"No, he's not dead," Kathryn told her....."His Dad was with him."</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
And that was when I realized what an impact you had on their lives.</div>
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
Nothing bad can happen when Dad is with you. Nothing. You are protected from all evil and all pain. Dad takes out splinters without even a pinch. He gives you his time and understanding and listens without judgement. Winds can blow and rivers may flood, but as long as Dad is with you, nothing bad can happen.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
You came into this job with no real background or training. First you loved. Loved tenderly and sweetly. And then you discovered these children were intriguing and funny. So much like you in their kindness and patience. So much like me in their ability to wind you around their tiny fingers. So very unique in sharing their talents and gifts with the planet.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I can recount several really Good Parenting moments where you are concerned. With each daughter, you remained calm and allowed them to take responsibility for their lives. With each of them, you offered wise advice and a chance for God to work within. And you laughed. You took such great joy in seeing their sense of humor develop and widen. You never failed to make them laugh.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
As grown women, they still laugh with you. They still Flirt with you! They still want to coddle you and take care of you. They want to show you off to their friends and brag about your musical ability and the miles you have ridden on your bicycle. They beam with pride when they see your influence in their hearts.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Our daughters chose men of integrity to marry. Men who love passionately and love kindness.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I always knew they would.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
They had a wonderful Dad to set the bar high. You cannot settle for just anybody when you have lived all your life with a man who loves you beyond measure and beyond limits.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Thanks for showing us ALL how to be a Dad. Your methods are the best.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
And.....you make us laugh.</div>
</div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-85936924070237579662016-05-28T21:46:00.000-05:002016-05-28T21:46:11.723-05:00What I Expected<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Forty-five years ago, I expected a lot. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that my body and my charms would make you stay home from work.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that I would be able to cook anything, since I already knew how to make biscuits and chocolate cake.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that you would agree with me. On everything.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that our disagreements would always progress to loving forgiveness.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that you would be very famous one day.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew that we would always have plenty of money.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that I would be able to drive a stick shift after only one lesson.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew that you would never be ashamed of me…..Or cringe in embarrassment…..</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected you to be romantic, and to be able to ride a white horse and sweep me off my feet.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected you to always be healthy and never wind up in hospital.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected you to get over an argument in an hour…..a head cold in a day….</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected to never have to mow the lawn. Or clean the roof gutters. Or paint the up-high part of the house.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected you to always know how to fix anything. And never call the repairman. Or even Want to call the repairman….</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that you would agree with me. On everything.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected you would like the same tv shows as I do.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew that you would always love me. I knew that you could hate me, too. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that we would always look and feel young and beautiful.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected that our children would grow up without issues.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew that we would never change, and that our goals in Life would never change.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That was 45 years ago. That was when I knew everything and had the world under control. That was when I did not take blood pressure medicine or megadoses of ibuprofen when I “did too much in the yard.” That was when I weighed 20 pounds less and my hair was 10 inches longer….and actually blonde…..That was when my arms didn’t sag and my bosoms were taut.</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And, even though it would be wonderful to revisit those people from 1971 again who so confidently walked down the aisle with daisy bouquets and daisy boutonnieres, well, I do believe that I like these two people much, Much more. I Like you. I Really do Like you. And I understand a lot more about you now. Even with your silver hair and those lines around your big blue eyes. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I actually enjoy your company and your endless talk and your need to discuss politics and allthingsserious…..I actually enjoy our pillow talk at night and our attempts at solving the world’s problems at 2 am. I actually enjoy fried mush. I love the coffee you bring me with just the right amount of cream. I actually love the fact that you are too lenient with the children…..and the dogs….and the cats…..</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hate your tv shows (seriously, I cannot Take one more episode of How It’s Made or that Saturday morning painting guy or Lawrence Welk). I still hate getting up early in the morning, I still hate it when you insist I come inside before dark after a day working in the yard. I hate it when you insist I stop and takeabreak. I hate it that you pick up after me (though I DID teach you to be neat and tidy). I hate it that you can be more logical and even social than me.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But what I hate most is that we have less years ahead of us than we have behind us……It has taken us a long time to realize what a blessing we have in this marriage. And I realize that no good relationship comes without work and effort and just plain letting go. But I would really like to have 45 more years with you.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I suppose that is something that can only be evaluated in Heaven. Right now, just for the record, let it be known that I morethanloveyou. And it truly has been a fun ride. </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy Anniversary.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Toni Bailey</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2eQ5N6tuzpcVTt4JeqY_cLlH8luJcnTD4Uxqg1gAHjoOGEQvyWWQsEqYVSC1K_LE0NRRiNLQopTjdLKlt55vZG12k8s5kmb9VJuH76_NdxsFKJEEC3lltvRFzFYvjFiAi2L7gDVKJ6E/s1600/IMG_6977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2eQ5N6tuzpcVTt4JeqY_cLlH8luJcnTD4Uxqg1gAHjoOGEQvyWWQsEqYVSC1K_LE0NRRiNLQopTjdLKlt55vZG12k8s5kmb9VJuH76_NdxsFKJEEC3lltvRFzFYvjFiAi2L7gDVKJ6E/s320/IMG_6977.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-45192487200098304822016-03-05T13:13:00.000-06:002016-03-05T13:13:24.753-06:00Robert Bailey Junior<div class="_5x46" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px; margin-bottom: 11px;">
<div class="clearfix _5va3" style="margin-bottom: -6px; zoom: 1;">
<div class="clearfix _42ef" style="overflow: hidden; zoom: 1;">
<div class="_5va4" style="padding-bottom: 6px;">
<div class="_6a _5u5j" style="display: inline-block; width: 422px;">
<div class="_6a _5u5j _6b" style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; width: 422px;">
<h5 class="_5pbw" data-ft="{"tn":"C"}" id="js_1" style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; margin: 0px 0px 2px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 22px 0px 0px;">
<span class="fwn fcg" style="color: #9197a3;"><span class="fwb" style="font-weight: bold;"><a class="profileLink" data-ft="{"tn":"l"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=563362199" href="https://www.facebook.com/Tonicollies" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Toni Jasper Bailey</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Tonicollies" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"></a></span> added a new photo.</span></h5>
<div class="">
<div class="_5pcp" style="color: #9197a3; position: relative;">
<span class="fsm fwn fcg"><a ajaxify="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153883902307200&set=a.10153533588577200.1073741883.563362199&type=3&size=406%2C640&source=12&player_origin=story_view" class="_5pcq" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153883902307200&set=a.10153533588577200.1073741883.563362199&type=3" rel="theater" style="color: #9197a3; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target=""><abbr class="_5ptz timestamp livetimestamp" data-shorten="1" data-utime="1457203149" style="border-bottom-style: none;" title="Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 12:39pm"><span class="timestampContent" id="js_2">2 mins</span></abbr></a><span aria-hidden="true" role="presentation"> · </span><a class="_5pcq _20y0" data-appname="OS X" data-gt="{"appid":"136165049846511","fbsource":"703","ref":"nf_generic","type":"click2canvas"}" href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fosx%2F&h=cAQFnDfYU&enc=AZODBimGEIHd4jla32vjCsC2Qe62ksrpRf8skTKt3RxpuFvaWaQUySS_ihMI2of4nn--j-mH8Amg6drd7XTU-Cnhe5GbHY9gRRV8MJnvR4g4aI97M65W4wcSOcFUuoFFbmKZQUvTU7wtMjHiTaBzZQAG-o4uWntgzVPXvrRpc4QO1A-U5aXAtBw0_FlDxibjuWY&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #9197a3; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">OS X</a></span><span aria-hidden="true" role="presentation"> · </span><div class="_6a _43_1 _4f-9 _nws" id="u_0_10" style="display: inline-block; left: -3px; margin-bottom: -4px; margin-top: -5px; position: relative;">
<div class="_6a uiPopover" id="u_0_11" style="display: inline-block;">
<a aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" class="_42ft _4jy0 _55pi _5vto _55_p _2agf _p _1zg8 _4jy3 _517h _51sy _59pe" data-hover="tooltip" data-tooltip-alignh="right" data-tooltip-content="Your friends" href="https://www.facebook.com/Tonicollies/posts/10153883902307200:0#" id="u_0_12" rel="toggle" role="button" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background: none 0px -21px; border-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: content-box; color: #627aad; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; max-width: 26px; padding: 0px 3px; position: relative; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap; word-wrap: normal;"><span class="_55pe" style="display: inline-block; max-width: 12px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: bottom;"><i class="mrs img sp_EGhxwMMakq9 sx_e4e500" style="background-image: url("/rsrc.php/v2/yz/r/GkQW5XA9c-c.png"); background-position: -13px -70px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; bottom: 1px; display: inline-block; height: 12px; margin-right: 5px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 12px;"></i></span><i class="_3-99 img sp_IM-1eX2Tr8B sx_ccb959" style="background-image: url("/rsrc.php/v2/y9/r/sOQnlBB68lt.png"); background-position: -73px -405px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; bottom: 1px; display: inline-block; height: 8px; margin-left: 4px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 9px;"></i></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_3" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; overflow: hidden;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
Yesterday we said goodbye to Junior….aka Robert Bailey Junior…..He would have been 16 this summer….The summer that our first grandbaby was born.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Junior is the first and Only kitten we have ever kept from the hundreds of neonate kitties that have been raised in our home. I never name them. Never get attached. They are all destined for other loving homes. Naming them makes them Ours….</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
After Bailey Rose was born, and about 8 weeks old, her mother had to have surgery. I left for the weekend to go check on how this new family was faring on their own.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Earlier, we had 13 kittens in our kitchen….3 different boxes, 3 different litters, mostly the same age. They had all gone to their forever homes….except one….a fuzzy peach-colored boy. He was going to his new home the following week, all grown up, doing all the “cat things” required for him to graduate to adoption.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
However, he wasn’t to be picked up until after I returned from Kansas and the new baby….So I asked Bikeman if he would please watch the kitty while I was gone. Of Course he would. This baby was no problem at this point, and just at that point of getting very cute (a dangerous situation, if you have ever fostered….).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I returned home on Sunday, and Bikeman was referring to this kitty as “Daddy’s liddle man…..Daddy’s liddle soldier…..”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
“uh….hmmmmm…..What’s going ON, here,” I asked him….</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
“Well,” he told me “……. we’ve really bonded this weekend. “</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Uh…..This baby is scheduled to go to his home this week…..</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
“He’s too little to leave just yet, “ I was told…..</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
WHAT did he Mean?! All his other siblings and friends had been gone for several days! Are we Keeping this baby?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
“Well, we’ve really Bonded this weekend.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The cat was staying. Of Course he was staying…We Love those whom we serve…..</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
So, we sat down with the Baby Name Book. Bikeman liked “Max”; I like “Maurice.”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
We got to the “R’s,” and I said, “you know….I’ve always Liked this name….Never got to name anybody that….”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
So the fuzzy baby with the lion face became Robert Bailey, Jr.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
They were quite the pair, these two….Jr would sit in Bikeman’s shorts when he was on the pot. When he went to practice his trumpet behind closed doors, Jr. would run his paw under the door….Whenever he sat in the recliner, Jr. would Always be cuddled way up high on Bikeman’s shoulder.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Jr.’s purr was the loudest we have ever heard. We laughingly said he was going to strip a gear, purring so loudly….Jr. always put his front paw in the water dish when he drank……Children could pick him up and pack him around…..He was always quite tolerant of dogs, any dogs…..He never scratched…..He was always glad to have company visit…..He was Always hungry…..He was always laid back and calm…..He was very like his master…</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinf5Z6KYa9-eVbAJnWUntUC_tvFZIxqSoFfKkR4ni_gb0FGfVzxDLEIcujF4uuUZP0aNJC4woOq_hbgE7uomfzKdPuBNW6yR3u6Ag7yuiRPJWlwHjuqePkctNowHpX37RL_ndKZs_dE6w/s1600/IMG_1932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinf5Z6KYa9-eVbAJnWUntUC_tvFZIxqSoFfKkR4ni_gb0FGfVzxDLEIcujF4uuUZP0aNJC4woOq_hbgE7uomfzKdPuBNW6yR3u6Ag7yuiRPJWlwHjuqePkctNowHpX37RL_ndKZs_dE6w/s320/IMG_1932.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
And today, his master had one less food bowl to fill for the morning ritual of “wet cat food.” We have wept and laughed and laughed again at what this fool meant to us….This sturdy, Beautiful, sweet spirit was laid to rest in our garden, very near where this picture was taken.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQq7hQnWxBoljr5hXSnK6o_tMmZCo8q4a819YOCc5oB1ASnsqrZOiN2hJ8nT7kUj2LIwJCSzqxMHHBwFEAqLvdL9UnMeNitbN3SjmcnZlwlVLz7sQts6w9aFrdn7Zg4Dq21C0U8NCqx4/s1600/Junior+May+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQq7hQnWxBoljr5hXSnK6o_tMmZCo8q4a819YOCc5oB1ASnsqrZOiN2hJ8nT7kUj2LIwJCSzqxMHHBwFEAqLvdL9UnMeNitbN3SjmcnZlwlVLz7sQts6w9aFrdn7Zg4Dq21C0U8NCqx4/s400/Junior+May+2015.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="display: inline; margin-top: 6px;">
Jr……Prolly the nicest cat you will ever meet. Rest with no pain, June-Bug……JR…..BabyBabyBaby….Purrbox…. Rob Junior….</div>
</div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-17578446178199540052016-02-26T10:40:00.000-06:002016-02-26T10:40:03.214-06:00SamwellHe was 18 when his baby sister died. Cancer. Debilitating, agonizing, excruciating. When you are 18 and male, all you want to do is escape. Run. As fast as you can run. Cleave yourself from these people and these hospital beds in the middle of your living room. Seek solace and answers on another plane. Another source of being. Away from this pain and the agony of your silly baby sister. This baby who should be tottering in high heels and weeping over Lost Loves instead of lost hair.....<br />
<br />
So he moved out. Away from the sterile syringes the nurses brought and the grim faces his parents displayed. <br />
<br />
<br />
One semester in college was all that he was willing to spend of his parents' money.<br />
<br />
He quickly learned the value of an earned dollar and pursued his love of learning within the daily work in electronics and installation and repair. Life got better, and the dollars increased. He married a woman several years older with children who were teenagers. Perhaps this could be a way to "right" his "abandonment" to that silly, sweet sister. <br />
<br />
His father died soon after in a violent car crash. Fifteen months later his mother succumbed to grief-induced asthma. He was left with plenty of money inside a loveless marriage.<br />
<br />
When the currency ran out, so did she, and he found himself alone, in his parents' expansive home. His business partner locked the doors to their company. His friends disappeared. His grandparents, all of them, died for various reasons. <br />
<br />
He found another job, using his talents for detail and precision, kept learning (he was always learning, that is his way), paid his bills, rattled around in the huge manor, letting the weeds take over the acreage.<br />
<br />
He ate when he was hungry. Went to bed when he was tired. Emptied the trash and recycled his beer bottles. Not the Life he'd envisioned for himself. But, unlike the rest of his family, he was alive. He was breathing. He continued to seek the solace of the Earth and its gifts. And he learned. He always learned.<br />
<br />
I really have no details of how this dear spirit came into his home. I only know that, by a series of miracles, a gangly, smiling, affable Golden Retriever strolled into his home and ensconced himself upon his couch. Their eyes met. Their hearts intertwined, and their souls were knit together. Neither were really aware of what was happening.....except that, suddenly, they were skyrocketed into indescribable joy and unexpected gladness.<br />
<br />
It was as if the dog had waked him from an endless sleep. The dormancy and the lethargy of a quiet life had lost their footing, and paw prints roused his heart. <br />
<br />
The overgrown manor harbored wood ticks that greedily launched themselves onto the Golden. Days were spent bringing the lawn back to its glory. He restored the breaches in the neglected fence. Clutter inside the house disappeared. His neighborhood has expanded within the realm of daily walks and trips to dog-friendly establishments. <br />
<br />
What mysteries compile our days to change us and transform us into humans. The conundrums we view as unalterable change in the soft whisper of dark brown eyes and a moist nose. He has quit his dying. He has moved back in.<br />
<br />
<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-86024461727719272832014-12-12T08:52:00.000-06:002014-12-12T08:52:20.500-06:00A Christmas Picture is Worth a Thousand Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQseiL6jdVSzvqCYjql7y7SRSPwi0kVr9gf5BHB6wv4gSEJcZZiSlKLN8dxxdL4TX9PtKuL0OLQ1Llwi2yXfP5Sh8SGISLRtiT0cUpKlgwCBbtlCdQ1LWtQ2tztEYOSm0rfkdSkBjw0g/s1600/Curtis+asleep+under+the+tree+12-+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQseiL6jdVSzvqCYjql7y7SRSPwi0kVr9gf5BHB6wv4gSEJcZZiSlKLN8dxxdL4TX9PtKuL0OLQ1Llwi2yXfP5Sh8SGISLRtiT0cUpKlgwCBbtlCdQ1LWtQ2tztEYOSm0rfkdSkBjw0g/s1600/Curtis+asleep+under+the+tree+12-+2014.jpg" height="640" width="368" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This picture says perhaps more than a 1000 words....When you view it, you are viewing a very intimate place in my life and in the history of my life......More than just a sweet pup curled up under the Christmas Tree on a cloudy December morning.....To understand it, in part, you must look closer....Much closer....And in doing so, you might just see a bit deep into my heart. So, if you are willing to look, I will start you off with a few guided glimpses......</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">The nativity scene you see on the table is our First Nativity, started 44 years ago when we were newly married, pieces added (and some, beyond repair, taken away) thru the years.....I have over 40 Nativity scenes thruout my house at Christm</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">as. Several from foreign countries, including Israel and Mexico and Switzerland; several whimsical (a "dog" nativity, a "s'mores" nativity, a "snowman" nativity...); many that were gifts from friends and family and preschoolers. I love decorating for Christmas with nativity scenes. I think my Mom endeared me to them. Tho she had only one, it was the centerpiece of Christmas in her home. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">When I was a child, Santa Claus scared the Dickens (pun intended) out of me......He "knew" things about me that I was embarrassed to reveal....He knew that I sucked my thumb, even tho I tried, in vain, to stop......And he informed me (via letters from the North Pole) that, should I continue to suck my thumb, I would not receive a Bride Doll for Christmas. It wasn't so much the thought of not getting Bride-y that broke my heart. It was the fact that I had this "character flaw" of seeking comfort in such a babyish manner......If I couldn't stop the thumbsucking, how in the World would I be able to be a grownup someday?</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">And, to top it off, this stranger, whom I barely knew, was aware of my shortcoming.....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">When I had my own home, I did not celebrate Santa....I wanted no part of him and his voyeurism and wiretapping...</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Until I met Bruce Kotowitch</span></span><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">.....</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">When I was 50 years old.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">And now I Believe...... If ever there was a Santa, it is Bruce....When it is not the Christmas Season, Bruce is Professor of Vocal Music at Lorus University in Dubuque Iowa. His powerful baritone voice resonates in his speech; his body towers over most of us; his face says "yes" in its very demeanor. He is one of the kindest, most caring and pleasant people I know. To be in the same room with him is truly food for your soul. I think that Bruce embodies the type of person that Santa Claus tries to bring forth. And he overlooks my shortcomings and loves me anyway....</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Bruce considers his role as Santa each December one of foremost importance and pays meticulous attention to detail. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCE6VAtWCdw8hfNPVPnxdZjhUgUAem8UmiTaDBekpu_xsd2RQauAyUpG6IBR7POqH1_3Z4ToVJY0zCcp8Ce0oyDnVyodZVkQwVf-S85NkbtkURp5k7qvkWkKooMdOyCeLPJN6lAMpI770/s1600/Santa+sunset+Bruce+Kotowitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCE6VAtWCdw8hfNPVPnxdZjhUgUAem8UmiTaDBekpu_xsd2RQauAyUpG6IBR7POqH1_3Z4ToVJY0zCcp8Ce0oyDnVyodZVkQwVf-S85NkbtkURp5k7qvkWkKooMdOyCeLPJN6lAMpI770/s1600/Santa+sunset+Bruce+Kotowitch.jpg" height="398" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"> His Santa suit is authentic right down to his red one-piece long underwear. The trousers were tailored to fit a size 60 waist. His belt buckles (he has several) were custom made of finest brass from artisans in eastern Tennessee. His sleigh bells, beautifully tuned, are made by the same metallurgists who created the bells for the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales. Bruce wears white eyelashes. And his beard and mustache are real human hair.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqd5hjG7WCRL0wxrHIQJIGvHMM0chhFrnYMr5LXy8iovax038piqQ7xsemryllc1T8sX6tcPOF7jtyymGOjM6lGXG_4Fm39Q_rvMFo0BMSs_iVIWa_Q1rKWmKW7FRtFXPoY3bSyu0hc_I/s1600/Santa+babeinarms+Bruce+Kotowitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqd5hjG7WCRL0wxrHIQJIGvHMM0chhFrnYMr5LXy8iovax038piqQ7xsemryllc1T8sX6tcPOF7jtyymGOjM6lGXG_4Fm39Q_rvMFo0BMSs_iVIWa_Q1rKWmKW7FRtFXPoY3bSyu0hc_I/s1600/Santa+babeinarms+Bruce+Kotowitch.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">
</span></span></span></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">
</span></span></span></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Bruce makes sure that he is well-educated in the realm of toys and most-requested items that children ask for each year. I do not believe that I have ever seen any child afraid or even Suspicious of Bruce-as-Santa. A bit awed, certainly.....overwhelmed by the bigness of body and spirit.....but never afraid. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When you see him, you, too, will Believe. I believe in all that Christmas is again, and my heart and soul slow down to incorporate its meaning.....Maybe he will come visit your home some year......</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"> Ah.....More about this picture.....The dulcimer hanging on the wall was made by us. By me and husband, Rob. Many years ago, when the children were young, we visited Silver Dollar City in Branson Missouri for a vacation. While there, I was intrigued by the beauty and sound of the dulcimers made by one of the artists. I discovered, much to all our surprise, that I could, indeed, play the instrument, with very little instruction. Perhaps it was some of my Appalachian ancestors harkening in my ears.....For whatever reason, I became almost obsessed with the instrument, and would have stayed at that booth all day, had the children not been tugging at my sleeve. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">So, at Rob's encouragement, I ordered a "dulcimer kit" from these folks, and received it in the mail only a couple of days after we returned home. Soon I would have my very own dulcimer and be able to play those mountain tunes as my ancestors had in the hills of Tennessee.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-size: large;">Turns out, instead of buying a couple of pieces of wood shaped like a dulcimer that we just glued together, what we got in the mail was a <strong>box of boards</strong>!</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-size: large;">Boards. Several shapes and sizes. And instructions. I thought about crying. But Dear Rob, as he has so many times in these 43+ years, assured me that, together, he and I could do this. We would make this dulcimer, even though it meant many hours of careful and tedious work. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-size: large;">And so, we began, one night soon after, to make some sense of the dulcimer directions to create one of my dearest </span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-size: large;">treasures.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-size: large;">The Treasure of it, lies not only in its physical beauty, but in the memories it gave us as it came to be....</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-size: large;">We would put the children to bed and make tea and sit at our dining room table, working on it--together--one step at a time. The process was ponderous and painstaking and some evenings, imperceptible. I learned to admire Rob's patience. He learned to admire my technological skills. Each night we would finish one more step towards completion, stopping to let the glue dry or wet the boards to curve into the proper shapes. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, it was time to make the sound holes. I was so eager to hear it sound, that I was content to cut simple circles into the body of the instrument. But Rob asked me what I Really wanted, if I wasn't in such a hurry. I admitted that I loved the hummingbirds carved into one I saw in a picture book......He carved with his pocketknife, two perfect hummingbirds each facing the fret, with leaves and vines woodburned beside them. There is no other dulcimer as fine as this one we made together.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".2v.1:3:1:$comment10152818923642200_10152820243337200:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Keep looking at this picture, and you will see the quilts...on the floor, on the wall, on the chairs.....All made by me, at one time or another. A comfort in many ways, for the body, for the eye....for the pup. I truly believe that quilts that have been sewn by loved ones have pieces of that person stitched into their core. And the magic of it is that someone took Time out of their life just to bring this art into existence for its recipient. Never underestimate the power of even the simplest of quilts.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Christmas Tree doesn't reveal all its beauty in this picture. It's ornamentation is a culmination of 44 Christmases, having begun in a tiny apartment in South Jersey, boxed and moved to several states and endured babies and toddlers and clumsy adolescents. Some of the ornaments are exquisite. Made by my mother in times gone by. Some are little handprints, little footprints, old pinecones, school pictures, vacation souvenirs, gifts from friends long passed on, plastic trumpets, baby angels, icicles, strands of old glass beads.....And then, there's the Star.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You should be able to see a bit of the Star in this picture. It, too is 44 years old. Made by two kids who strung popcorn and wrapped glue-y yarn around balloons and pulled ribbons thru pinecones that first Christmas they were married. The star was carefully cut out of a cardboard box, then covered with aluminum foil. A holder was fashioned on the back of it to loop over the top branch of the tree. We signed it, and dated it, and said we would Always use this star to put on top of each tree, each year.....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Some years I am tempted to purchase a fancy, lighted-up star to grace our tree, but I always remember those two young folks who made Christmas together, even when their budget would not allow the tinsel and shiny decorations. And we smile and weep a bit, and Rob stands on a chair and puts the cardboardandfoil Star on.....one more year.......</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, the picture would probably not have held your interest were it not for that sableandsnow Collie puppy resting at the base of the tree. He is 8 months old. Our 4th Collie to live with us, with huge shoes to fill......His name is Tartanside A Spirit of Courage, and we call him Curtis. His name is inspired by the Bible verse from 2Timothy 1:7 "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of courage."</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He is, as Anice Terhune said of Lad, the Dearest Dog! And I believe that he, too, in the years to come, will make his place in the hearts of many more than just mine. For Collies were meant to be shared in this world. They were bred to love and teach wisdom and bring great joy. I guess you could say that Collies and Christmas bring the same Message. Hopefully, we can continue to spread that Word, and, in everything we do and say, we can keep Christmas all year long.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_531785849"></span><span id="goog_531785850"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-34790432612918489772014-11-11T13:08:00.000-06:002014-11-12T07:58:37.383-06:00The Baby Has a WillI remember when my children began to walk and talk. Then they began to suspect that I did not know Everything. They would walk away from me and learn new things from other sources.<br />
<br />
Sometimes they did not come to me directly when called.<br />
<br />
Sometimes they had Different Opinions than mine.<br />
<br />
And they began to realize that they were separate from me.......<br />
<br />
They were given car keys, new clothes, allowance money, and options for Freedom and Independence. <br />
<br />
And they messed up. Royally. Only to be reconciled back to Us, and forgiven and released again to try once more these wings of growth. They pushed and they failed and they progressed. <br />
<br />
And we loved them. We loved them with Complete Abandon and Joy. We loved beyond the mistakes and the setbacks. We were building a lifelong relationship, and everyone involved knew that it was of ultimate importance. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This month, our Collie Puppy, Curtis has discovered a broader world. Most of the care and positive reinforcement I have lavished upon him for the past 5 months has been for naught. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshxLCCL8vdW0WhFCil-juj3ImJWvLP8eszNCKqHe9-UHqQLvsuW1G-ayypZ2jUiXnKYdnJyA73zWukkkhyzJJGl1qFKBpyDdy4lQPp2mY6a0EK-zddEJ8Ai1d2ZevsjuvlstrKfui6BE/s1600/Toni+Curtis+6+20+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshxLCCL8vdW0WhFCil-juj3ImJWvLP8eszNCKqHe9-UHqQLvsuW1G-ayypZ2jUiXnKYdnJyA73zWukkkhyzJJGl1qFKBpyDdy4lQPp2mY6a0EK-zddEJ8Ai1d2ZevsjuvlstrKfui6BE/s400/Toni+Curtis+6+20+2014.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aSIjp-e6Sjz3q8biCcFnPBDF5M4ujb6tSjcrQY-KoIcWym7T3X2lyApclLihAEhu6ed9jeLkxk0uUJEdAl5xzlCZ1uL0Lb-2iNi0O9Km9Cat43TNsKTLSliifwQDaWw7IbSV_tH2AOw/s1600/Toni+Curtis+6+20+2014+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9aSIjp-e6Sjz3q8biCcFnPBDF5M4ujb6tSjcrQY-KoIcWym7T3X2lyApclLihAEhu6ed9jeLkxk0uUJEdAl5xzlCZ1uL0Lb-2iNi0O9Km9Cat43TNsKTLSliifwQDaWw7IbSV_tH2AOw/s400/Toni+Curtis+6+20+2014+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Curtis is now seven months old. The age when many young pups get relinquished to the local dog pound. He has forgotten everything I have ever taught him. He makes me doubt that I have used the proper methods for education and building a relationship.......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My Spirit of Courage has a mind of his own, and doesn't come when called anymore. He cannot be trusted off leash from the house to the car. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipK_dbu9BJeC0YZmfNXQ9oeA0cCv6RKrw2DsQl5nIo7yinnSxwe6Oj9UvFVXPpnWGEfinc5t6CdJ6HXZoyPSEcRH2TQ1Q9A6gS_4TmGJHZF78AHtbaULQzkzCB_K79vPWW-oUm0uFm5V0/s1600/IMG_2890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipK_dbu9BJeC0YZmfNXQ9oeA0cCv6RKrw2DsQl5nIo7yinnSxwe6Oj9UvFVXPpnWGEfinc5t6CdJ6HXZoyPSEcRH2TQ1Q9A6gS_4TmGJHZF78AHtbaULQzkzCB_K79vPWW-oUm0uFm5V0/s640/IMG_2890.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Curtis has forgotten what "sit!" is supposed to mean. He jumps up on people. He put his teeth on me when I was grooming him. He ducks his head and wiggles out of the way when I reach for his collar.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>Somedays he delights me in his increase of understanding and his focus on me. Somedays I cannot get him to leave my side and disconnect. </b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Other days, he roams the room, looking for Something to do. Rings the bell to go out, paws at the door to come in. Pokes the cats with his nose. Steals the socks out of my shoes.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People tell me that I will love him again in a few years.....I love him now! I love his independence and his courage to explore new worlds. I love his keen mind and his attitude of importance. I love his gangly body and his clumsy gait. I love the way he looks at me. And I love the warmth of his sweet back nestled up against mine.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1cabaEj8tflFm4z0jQnlcne5bPVRtbtdHPApptcHOTlw07JrPFZRD1aBBZ_FZKM9o-kgppJ8GNTSzGiemEhzbwDqdnENsWIrs5ETb-RgmEyhGkMXX5V7eE31RgpNz2fHSA7GKBCIXlA/s1600/IMG_2503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1cabaEj8tflFm4z0jQnlcne5bPVRtbtdHPApptcHOTlw07JrPFZRD1aBBZ_FZKM9o-kgppJ8GNTSzGiemEhzbwDqdnENsWIrs5ETb-RgmEyhGkMXX5V7eE31RgpNz2fHSA7GKBCIXlA/s320/IMG_2503.JPG" width="319" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I love what he is right now, and know that we will both survive the changes. I love who he will be someday......For I can see the Future, and both of us are brave enough to go forward. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyo8JmANz1wLU2fm7GRvRCQwrWsEljRgaxWfsCYVRWv8I1YHlMe9tFZjAsigCLpNkgN_b0jaQbCn4kxBc7hCtGjHXXPN_WOKuwLMCDmlgDPtfNRCYEmZS4m4C5PLODw-W_KcySreZ4O34/s1600/Toni+and+Curtis+Warrenton+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyo8JmANz1wLU2fm7GRvRCQwrWsEljRgaxWfsCYVRWv8I1YHlMe9tFZjAsigCLpNkgN_b0jaQbCn4kxBc7hCtGjHXXPN_WOKuwLMCDmlgDPtfNRCYEmZS4m4C5PLODw-W_KcySreZ4O34/s640/Toni+and+Curtis+Warrenton+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrLI8w_df4hO_GzIuqv_QCa2x38XfJcSFtU4YGYA5ePLgpH1K2_CKq_7drsBmuQ_F8piHiV3_M55baMKbpmg45KmOE1iqgEtEPXu2qX0GcX6k93LY6A9akd2qpA-LAdGV2ACGVMT9PAM/s1600/IMG_2102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrLI8w_df4hO_GzIuqv_QCa2x38XfJcSFtU4YGYA5ePLgpH1K2_CKq_7drsBmuQ_F8piHiV3_M55baMKbpmg45KmOE1iqgEtEPXu2qX0GcX6k93LY6A9akd2qpA-LAdGV2ACGVMT9PAM/s640/IMG_2102.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-76836760482992143682014-11-11T11:18:00.002-06:002014-11-11T11:18:27.883-06:00November 11. A Day that Will Live in Infamy.......<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0y7xLZxk1q1Ckppu9UuXFwe82EhGKISvcYp-L0hsYXb6dIcZQ9RUI8q5UI60yGuNyslY3ti6gTnKsYtVqf8KESZsAEpqFh-v8i2VXAn4MJEglfZYM7a88IhyphenhyphentEPgqFG-MKmMyLZF810k/s1600/Joanne+painting+Rob+ona+Bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0y7xLZxk1q1Ckppu9UuXFwe82EhGKISvcYp-L0hsYXb6dIcZQ9RUI8q5UI60yGuNyslY3ti6gTnKsYtVqf8KESZsAEpqFh-v8i2VXAn4MJEglfZYM7a88IhyphenhyphentEPgqFG-MKmMyLZF810k/s400/Joanne+painting+Rob+ona+Bike.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Lonnnnnnng years ago on this day, my Puzzle Piece was born. My Ying to my Yang.....The Most Important Part of me.....The Biggest Challenge in my Life.......The person I love the most and hate the most......The Best Teacher in the World.....<br />
<br />
Yeh......It was Long before I ever saw the light of day myself, but, truly, in a hotel in downtown Nowata Oklahoma, Robert Bailey came into this world. Accompanying him was a love of music, cats, chocolate, techno gear, bicycles, and order.......<br />
<br />
I met this person when he was a youngster of 23. I was 18. Our draw was immediate. He thought I was beautiful and funny. I thought he was handsome and wise.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qV24Wd9YaSho1M770gXbd36KAMZ4cY3Isd6iHOzUvRWgWr9_QXCSEiO-BviN-mIPcQyjTPhHNMALlhPCIXT_cHQVTqSae5Up7tNM-KhlWhJduRw8M4pl6s7dDS7RhfBKx_7ucYJT-A4/s1600/IMG_2918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-qV24Wd9YaSho1M770gXbd36KAMZ4cY3Isd6iHOzUvRWgWr9_QXCSEiO-BviN-mIPcQyjTPhHNMALlhPCIXT_cHQVTqSae5Up7tNM-KhlWhJduRw8M4pl6s7dDS7RhfBKx_7ucYJT-A4/s640/IMG_2918.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have watched him grow and change and stay the same. He has patiently waited on me to discover myself and morph into me as well. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I don't have many things to write about this person. No real explanation except to confess that he is so much a part of me, I cannot "distance" myself from the "him" and the "me" of it. Things I say about him I really say about me. The two of us truly have become the "we," and we carry each other thru this life of ours.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We have cake to eat. And coffee to drink. And music to listen to. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I am so grateful for being able to share my life with person. I hope he has the Happiest of Days today. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw0QYdK5l4S4Gk6Xz-2v_cFOK7S_4Zn-3BFesg_HvCZBzNN8j_83mOpCntZKACYU4sOTz9TR58iOU_VQzPWbeZ0B5z7LHCwhzP316a_fNCXitG3EOwIEQ6eYIMs4XVsDkb4mDJYoDVLk/s1600/4+melks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLw0QYdK5l4S4Gk6Xz-2v_cFOK7S_4Zn-3BFesg_HvCZBzNN8j_83mOpCntZKACYU4sOTz9TR58iOU_VQzPWbeZ0B5z7LHCwhzP316a_fNCXitG3EOwIEQ6eYIMs4XVsDkb4mDJYoDVLk/s640/4+melks.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUFgwwF1FiXAoJjusVV_6g1AumUBLmjWgxcBX_hBDPcycm9zl1OcJbYabOD18SEooQHStIr3BQs4spWl5osRhwdIR28v7eDVgpHqxnsTJk8AeEb8QY_6wQdNCpInWn_Bcc2c3pJbczjI/s1600/2011+Colorado+Hoosier+Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUFgwwF1FiXAoJjusVV_6g1AumUBLmjWgxcBX_hBDPcycm9zl1OcJbYabOD18SEooQHStIr3BQs4spWl5osRhwdIR28v7eDVgpHqxnsTJk8AeEb8QY_6wQdNCpInWn_Bcc2c3pJbczjI/s1600/2011+Colorado+Hoosier+Pass.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT9_4-hGLLqW-QfT-0LxK3byM1xO-EoGieaVUuV_i2y8_6MJbqs4Ns3Lv6GCry8GNEwx7wgXHCToEwDi-UhXoVDL1F9MtUZcYLNAFpgheLsBQ2e8nNDL2xun3Rod9IWRLIBfsjqCh3uM/s1600/2011+Colorado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT9_4-hGLLqW-QfT-0LxK3byM1xO-EoGieaVUuV_i2y8_6MJbqs4Ns3Lv6GCry8GNEwx7wgXHCToEwDi-UhXoVDL1F9MtUZcYLNAFpgheLsBQ2e8nNDL2xun3Rod9IWRLIBfsjqCh3uM/s640/2011+Colorado.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY9NCn9oMNZKhPtnwGbrR4Tvc9EOx4moadolB0lYNFb68ZKUyPAr_0edOR7xtT3TOVMKKdBi8wKVp0t3WF6JucdEBII5XHGlwJ30fsSv17JL261MODG5OXa0emh-PR79g7J1PdCNVzEg/s1600/Bikeman+June+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY9NCn9oMNZKhPtnwGbrR4Tvc9EOx4moadolB0lYNFb68ZKUyPAr_0edOR7xtT3TOVMKKdBi8wKVp0t3WF6JucdEBII5XHGlwJ30fsSv17JL261MODG5OXa0emh-PR79g7J1PdCNVzEg/s1600/Bikeman+June+2011.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq93LklOXREnXXVJWNzN5_5YQ_MVWCUwBTy-4LmFZyPu8z2xUVwVUwhWeWe4DwuBgrwNB0O1kAFUsVAjwh-vk7xIFW7KBAHqv94oUhYg90nyHdRtVOWPr20zB3VzrMdtijXMq26p4vfzs/s1600/Twrazy+face+at+the+zoo+with+the+Farris+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq93LklOXREnXXVJWNzN5_5YQ_MVWCUwBTy-4LmFZyPu8z2xUVwVUwhWeWe4DwuBgrwNB0O1kAFUsVAjwh-vk7xIFW7KBAHqv94oUhYg90nyHdRtVOWPr20zB3VzrMdtijXMq26p4vfzs/s1600/Twrazy+face+at+the+zoo+with+the+Farris+family.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEGgIXGIzA8svYZiZ2fFTrzo4s7oKroYty9TViyVOGObNg3LvvrHt_M6_Apq-4MjfmVFDIUba6Me59v9bxsbPeoApO4JeJpOXMy8l4pK7_e5Wz4SuQv_D0i0bKzhP1YHBVE6jQqM8MDw/s1600/10+2002+Em+Rob.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEGgIXGIzA8svYZiZ2fFTrzo4s7oKroYty9TViyVOGObNg3LvvrHt_M6_Apq-4MjfmVFDIUba6Me59v9bxsbPeoApO4JeJpOXMy8l4pK7_e5Wz4SuQv_D0i0bKzhP1YHBVE6jQqM8MDw/s400/10+2002+Em+Rob.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAyPo3DdAgpQzrYI4b1nm-s8uZBw6bEiLsuxNNaMauAggazggvDhFRTmfgAoGStnekd1pOEGeGkSO_1CruLgMp0xyR6RTTe54PnpwfaV5IG6RH9OAzckZ-vno2spWeiMwh-Z0pfLo1ck/s1600/11+01+ROB!!!%2BBikeman!!.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAyPo3DdAgpQzrYI4b1nm-s8uZBw6bEiLsuxNNaMauAggazggvDhFRTmfgAoGStnekd1pOEGeGkSO_1CruLgMp0xyR6RTTe54PnpwfaV5IG6RH9OAzckZ-vno2spWeiMwh-Z0pfLo1ck/s1600/11+01+ROB!!!%2BBikeman!!.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V048OvAGCjUZ0mazADNWs8052eACLcSUWE2mUWzs2ch36QtTNekjnOegtlOAK0XJrtd8iE9qgYN6pq7flM5DgkklFqMfaVcLfYo1O491u6ROaH6RKP67RTSgfGi8qfJigK-RGbOLY-k/s1600/11+11+2000+REB+&+BRP.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V048OvAGCjUZ0mazADNWs8052eACLcSUWE2mUWzs2ch36QtTNekjnOegtlOAK0XJrtd8iE9qgYN6pq7flM5DgkklFqMfaVcLfYo1O491u6ROaH6RKP67RTSgfGi8qfJigK-RGbOLY-k/s1600/11+11+2000+REB+&+BRP.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPHsct9IhlssglOuxl3OlMA9NnXyOsp44BaZ-jRlshhRa8pWTg1s3E-C5DbHtGR5EmTt-6-8jL2xprZmVPfdBEmnCwOV8CEwNSfgpkZ_VD-PcwGEq-D8Y2FqDB4hToh9EDBw_r1mB2Cg/s1600/IMG_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPHsct9IhlssglOuxl3OlMA9NnXyOsp44BaZ-jRlshhRa8pWTg1s3E-C5DbHtGR5EmTt-6-8jL2xprZmVPfdBEmnCwOV8CEwNSfgpkZ_VD-PcwGEq-D8Y2FqDB4hToh9EDBw_r1mB2Cg/s1600/IMG_0044.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoBu6JHj4IXutBMcDWEbwNwmZPcSs2fj17470frINrxzn3Eic1LJ2BcXGRw_g61F-qWNxJaOynbOFXj_tUtaTCVosKmwUtoCtKLp70QOHw8V9sotWsPoVr1C-RdLeNAP4pYmpnki6Vdk/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoBu6JHj4IXutBMcDWEbwNwmZPcSs2fj17470frINrxzn3Eic1LJ2BcXGRw_g61F-qWNxJaOynbOFXj_tUtaTCVosKmwUtoCtKLp70QOHw8V9sotWsPoVr1C-RdLeNAP4pYmpnki6Vdk/s400/IMG_0109.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcReQGOLgRlECUD4NNHSkXETG6jlC7-6C45iomEUFIRAj0k2_p_8XqAgyuA_R5KWA8J_y0Iye6u_8ERLsCG5YjuSkV3Ybi4N0gjcGfoZ0fR5nSKDl2T8Mhqj2J6IKBd0XcP22w85Ta78/s1600/IMG_0483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcReQGOLgRlECUD4NNHSkXETG6jlC7-6C45iomEUFIRAj0k2_p_8XqAgyuA_R5KWA8J_y0Iye6u_8ERLsCG5YjuSkV3Ybi4N0gjcGfoZ0fR5nSKDl2T8Mhqj2J6IKBd0XcP22w85Ta78/s640/IMG_0483.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNr_4dNToogD8nPb8YObaCAyKS4k7ZO6wuh4PTmn63rsQNpB1e79azPThyphenhyphenxFhtxkOgJjvrxzl6t3fQLKXmxuXRWjM7v5gTzF0e_Dj7yC3Hu_iny6r9Bg_5mZ4LwunAEifjIdcQBygPGQU/s1600/IMG_1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNr_4dNToogD8nPb8YObaCAyKS4k7ZO6wuh4PTmn63rsQNpB1e79azPThyphenhyphenxFhtxkOgJjvrxzl6t3fQLKXmxuXRWjM7v5gTzF0e_Dj7yC3Hu_iny6r9Bg_5mZ4LwunAEifjIdcQBygPGQU/s640/IMG_1154.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnHqohX_NnFLxS7yJoHEpli5kuCzDRthYI41IIfr5pqQimLiZq6UT0cgzJpOUrBi1pIyyjwhk3bUEZ_ZqJ_nxDdWgGovO7GZFidDuDxRizDjGThozhr8wwjycVewoFit_otn6Y4MVtyo/s1600/IMG_3267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTnHqohX_NnFLxS7yJoHEpli5kuCzDRthYI41IIfr5pqQimLiZq6UT0cgzJpOUrBi1pIyyjwhk3bUEZ_ZqJ_nxDdWgGovO7GZFidDuDxRizDjGThozhr8wwjycVewoFit_otn6Y4MVtyo/s640/IMG_3267.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ29mBVmUOJ_t7G5A3N6bVbGp5XqaiS0x-rSs1OGCzxLYBl2s1-U1b38wB9TYCJQKv1rUOZzQRK5exidNuvphuu4cjplOxN2h8gKKtGNIPIDHUDLpjC3SrZpftQQ_mCKZyUhefpLqeNE8/s1600/IMG_3003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ29mBVmUOJ_t7G5A3N6bVbGp5XqaiS0x-rSs1OGCzxLYBl2s1-U1b38wB9TYCJQKv1rUOZzQRK5exidNuvphuu4cjplOxN2h8gKKtGNIPIDHUDLpjC3SrZpftQQ_mCKZyUhefpLqeNE8/s640/IMG_3003.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFRNRRTLKprjvrFJAHj9LAnVhGfspu2ZDaWX9eYGsAH46OKccyE5jW39UcxSYXHsttNLhzWgpZ6u5NxaBzOF13QSe75gWPnlksEqvine_FuhAQeRRAOUcVIvyKSwGAj3UuZrIypJyNV8/s1600/IMG_1444-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFRNRRTLKprjvrFJAHj9LAnVhGfspu2ZDaWX9eYGsAH46OKccyE5jW39UcxSYXHsttNLhzWgpZ6u5NxaBzOF13QSe75gWPnlksEqvine_FuhAQeRRAOUcVIvyKSwGAj3UuZrIypJyNV8/s400/IMG_1444-001.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-47146868340006565182014-11-03T12:03:00.002-06:002014-11-03T12:03:55.379-06:00November 2nd: The Story of Emily's Coming into this World.....<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was 20. He was 25. No one on this Planet was more wanted, desired, eagerly awaited than our child. We had been married almost a year when the new life started within me. Valentine's Day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Due date in early November. November 5th. Election Day. I sent in my absentee ballot so as not to miss voting in my first Presidential Election. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">On Halloween, Rob and I painted appliance boxes and wore them......We were disguised as a washer and dryer.....Covering my tummy, and wearing masks, no one even Guessed it was us. In fact, the friend dressed as Santa was suspected to be me....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">That week, we drove in from our apartment in New Jersey to the Philadelphia Naval Hospital for a weekly pre-natal checkup. I had experienced no complications at all during my pregnancy. No morning sickness, no fatigue, no mood swings, no pain, not even any Braxton Hicks. This morning, however, I insisted to the doctor that right under my ribcage was the baby's head. I told him that whenever I bent over I was concerned about "breaking his neck."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">"No, that is Definitely a butt," he told us. But just to make sure, he would schedule me for an x-ray. This was a Longgggg time ago (yes, Emily, you ARE at Middle Age now....), before the routine ultra-sounds and other such fancy tests for concerned mommies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">When I saw the x-ray, my first reaction was, "What's Wrong with his head?" The baby was definitely a breech presentation, his head not tucked and positioned downward, but rather UP and looking out (if you know Emily, you would be laughing right now. She has Never tucked her head nor sat quietly). The head was not rounded, but rather had a bit of a "point" on the back. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">"Oh, that is not a problem," the doctor assured me. "And you should have no problem with delivery."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In "those" days, 2/3 of breech babies were actually delivered. Now, all of them are Caesarean Section. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">All Saints Day was upon us. We had our one bedroom apartment all set and ready for the newborn. The hall closet held the changing table and all his clothes. Our bedroom housed the crib, complete with colorful mobile and new-fangled bumper guards. Playtex bottles were clean and ready in case I needed supplements for breast feeding (not many moms breastfed in those days). We had a high chair, an infant seat, cloth diapers, and a baby bathtub.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The phone rang that afternoon in our apartment. Doctor Brannon was on the line, asking me to come in the next day, and asked that I bring my husband with me. They wanted to "look" at his head. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">"Dr. Brannon," I told him, "my husband's head is as round as an orange. What is going on?"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems that the physicians at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital had sent the x-rays all over Philadelphia. To Children's Hospital, the first hospital devoted exclusively to the care of children. Ranked #1 Children's Hospital in the nation (where they performed miraculous feats like separated conjoined twins and curing childhood cancers). To Temple University Hospital, one of the premier medical centers in America......And no one had seen a head like this before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Their conclusion......Probably the brain was protruding out of the <strong><u>back</u></strong> soft spot in the baby's head. The <em>Occipital Fontanelle</em>. Up until this time, we only knew about the Frontal Fontanelle, but learned this day that there are actually two...One in front, a smaller one in back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"We do not want to subject the baby's brain to any undue pressure, Mrs. Bailey. So we have scheduled you for a Caesarean Section on November 5th."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was 20. Up until now, I had lead a charmed and protected life. I had been carefully and gently raised and indulged, and no "bad things" had ever happened to me. Now Life was presenting us with a dramatic and impossible canyon to traverse. I hung up the phone, held my swollen abdomen, and wept bitterly. Never before had I worked so diligently for something, only to have it fail so miserably. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My husband held me close and let the tears of sorrow and fear flow freely. Then he tilted my face up to his and told me, "You have declared all your life your love of God and your reliance on Him. Now is the Time to put that faith into practice. We will go through this together, and trust that He has the Best in store for us."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sometimes I really hate Rob for his wisdom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So, what does a girl do when Life hits her between the eyes......She shops.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went to Fields Department Store (this before the era of WalMart). We bought a new camera. We bought groceries and root beer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Home again. Took pictures of my expanding tummy with me standing next to our avocado plant we had grown from a seed. It was taller than I was, but not as wide......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We propped ourselves up on pillows in the bed with a "fun plate" between us-----salami, cheese, crackers----and poured ourselves a root beer. The TV was airing a movie starring John Wayne (Rob's favorite actor) and Shirley Temple (my favorite actress).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So we watched the movie and happily ate our snacks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At one point, while Shirley Temple is running down the walkway in pretty hat and gown, I notice that my "bulge" is becoming quite hard and turgid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">No pain. Not even any discomfort. The tenor is singing "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAMLa-ay5ro">Oh Genevieve</a>," and we consume more root beer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My abdomen returns to "normal," and, then, curiously, it hardens again several minutes later.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I mention this to Rob, and he whips out his left hand with the watch on it, places his right hand on my baby bump, and looks concerned.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">After several repetitions of this "hardening/relaxing," he announces that we are "going to the hospital." Demands that I get dressed and out the door immediately.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I lumber to the bathroom, assuring him that this, is, in fact, NOT labor, just some weird game the Baby is playing. I find a pair of pants that still stretch over my middle, cover it with a voluminous shirt (no tight maternity clothes back then), and obediently descend the stairs to the car. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Rob is speeding. It is midnight, and not much traffic on the White Horse Pike heading into Philly. He is driving with one hand on the steering wheel, one hand on my paunch. Now we are on the Walt Whitman Bridge, crossing the Delaware River, and flashing red and blue lights pull us over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Rob jumps out of the car, goes over to the policeman and tells him, "She's having contractions, and they are 5 minutes apart. I am going to the Naval Hospital. You can get in front of me or in back of me" (Never before or since has my diplomatic husband been so assertive and demanding).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The policeman, answering with a panicked voice, tells this soontobe new father, "Oh......Oh.....Oh........Okay.......," and careens his patrol car to our front, setting off alarms and bells from the toll booth, escorting us down Broad Street in Philadelphia to the emergency entrance of the hospital. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am laughing. Holding my solid tummy and laughing. "Rob! This is so cool! We can tell the Baby about this when he is 10 years old!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Rob, knuckles white on the steering wheel, eyes peering straight ahead, "Toni, are you in complete control?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Swirling into the parking lot of the ER, I am assisted up the ramp, and swept into an exam room, don a backless gown, and instructed to lie down on a gurney. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"My husband made me come here," I inform the nurse whose head has disappeared underneath the sheet covering me. "I don't think there is really anything to rush on about."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">She emerges calmly from the foot of the gurney. "Hunny, you are dilated 8 centimeters."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am assigned a room, taken thru the proper pre-op procedures, and am told to lie down and wait for the doctor to arrive (he too, driving in from New Jersey, across the WW Bridge). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was only when I lay down that I began to experience some discomfort. Back then, labor and delivery were "controlled" activities orchestrated <strong>only</strong> by the doctors and their nurses. It was unheard of to allow a laboring mother to walk around. So, I began my "practiced" Lamaze Breathing to power thru the contractions. The attending nurse told me that I should stop breathing like that because I could "hyperventilate." She then examined me and announced that I was in transition......And I knew that my breathing was right on track with my body. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There were 8 babies born in that hospital that night. Women screaming and wailing all up and down the hall. The Lamaze Breathing technique kept me sane and comfortable and focused. I was the first Lamaze patient to ever be admitted in that hospital, and the nurses were amazed at my "Little Southern Composure." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Because it was an emergency C-section, I was awake during delivery. It felt and sounded like someone was cutting stiff cardboard when they made the incision. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A girl! Not an 8-pound boy, but a 7pound, 13 ounce GIRL! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Emily Ellen Bailey!" I screamed. "Let me see her! Let me see her head!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Her head is just fine," the doctor informed me, and then I slept.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Emily's head was just fine. My theory is that her skull had been molded in utero from so much "looking around." By day 3, it had rounded out nicely into the pretty roundness of a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">C-Section baby.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Rob got a parking ticket. Emily was jaundiced. My long hair was matted and tangled, and the delivery nurse came over to my ward and combed it out for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">According to my mother, Emily wasn't as pretty as <em>her</em> babies, but her assessment of her head was the same as the doctors. "There aint nuthin in the World wrong with that baby," she affirmed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And she was right. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Happy Birthday, Em. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMWWMqpgke2klaOYkLQH3_JsSlWsVF45IQ94ZfvxqcTD_npbRKRWKjNCw669yA4v03Lv48nAZ7mMQ6cwdf-PsEkxSVg2T7rXhsyIlLnjbhORqFrz83OqlGjCA7T5zyA4B_OPI7uyV1Wk/s1600/Emily+Toni+1973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMWWMqpgke2klaOYkLQH3_JsSlWsVF45IQ94ZfvxqcTD_npbRKRWKjNCw669yA4v03Lv48nAZ7mMQ6cwdf-PsEkxSVg2T7rXhsyIlLnjbhORqFrz83OqlGjCA7T5zyA4B_OPI7uyV1Wk/s1600/Emily+Toni+1973.jpg" height="320" width="237" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECyhFnShCRcsmg9RCKLUfEzUJrBsU6c6WvTSMFiegLz0AbqSEls2yIO3btqfDyBOfmbFC_wFaXII-FMYsmhuKx_cEUG5P-yLTu4XmcYnM8uX7tn2oxJirmcltPnWFpScyCUWQmxp-yw8/s1600/Emily+June+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECyhFnShCRcsmg9RCKLUfEzUJrBsU6c6WvTSMFiegLz0AbqSEls2yIO3btqfDyBOfmbFC_wFaXII-FMYsmhuKx_cEUG5P-yLTu4XmcYnM8uX7tn2oxJirmcltPnWFpScyCUWQmxp-yw8/s1600/Emily+June+2011.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnl4DM7WazsKCO2iOfa3xxXPAZgRoAvea8e8G6aZOdtcFG7FLahjyELKBbi2ND9Wn2sRov_UUS2zXUN36JP5Wdt3LviRVlURUy8Yk2QotTxp5Gm_eb3xLxr3CusHp3kHKt7Q_Oslg29Y/s1600/10+2002+Em+Rob.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGnl4DM7WazsKCO2iOfa3xxXPAZgRoAvea8e8G6aZOdtcFG7FLahjyELKBbi2ND9Wn2sRov_UUS2zXUN36JP5Wdt3LviRVlURUy8Yk2QotTxp5Gm_eb3xLxr3CusHp3kHKt7Q_Oslg29Y/s1600/10+2002+Em+Rob.JPG" height="229" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-67059200163519157192014-01-23T13:47:00.000-06:002014-01-23T13:47:28.292-06:00Training....Training Anything...Crossover Trainers...The Positive and The Negative<br />
<br />
<div>
<br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: small;">InCREDible video. <br />
<span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k7B-JGowL4" rel="nofollow" target="1" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k7B-JGowL4"><span style="color: black;">http://www.youtube.<wbr></wbr>com/watch?<wbr></wbr>v=8k7B-JGow<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>L4</span></a></span></span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: small;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: small;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: small;">FIRST of all, Hawks are my
favorite animal. They are everything that I would like to be. Fierce. Wild.
Free. Exquisite. Well-thought-out. Determined. Accurate. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: small;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: small;">I saw this video, and I
truly did not think anything was out of the ordinary regarding training. Of
course, I have never seen the "other" methods of training raptors, nor have I
ever gone to a rodeo....BOTH factions would probably get me
arrested....sigh.....</span></div>
<div>
<span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
<div>
<span style="color: #3300cc;">Learning the science of positive reinforcement, you
don't run the risk of possible detrimental side effects such as:</span></div>
</span><br /></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span id="role_document" style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">Escape avoidance behavior</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">Increased aggression </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">Apathy </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">Generalized fear of the environment </span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">Loss of trust</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;"></span></span><br /></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">The animal trained in negative reinforcement will only
work at the level necessary to avoid the negative stimulus.</span></span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span><div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">The animal trained with positive reinforcement will
look forward to the training sessions and will be more creative and
attentive.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span><br /></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">..D</span><span style="color: purple;">idja ever go to to Hot Springs when you
were a kid and play the Tic Tac Toe games with the chickens in the arcade glass
boxes? The
chickens Always beat me at that game....durn chickens--I was Such a gambler even
at age 8....But Fascinated at the animals' expertise....</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: purple;">So, over 50 years ago, they were being trained by positive reinforcement...(ever tried to put a choke chain on a CHICKEN?!). </span><br />
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;">Remember how it was in school? The teacher
that made us feel smart and safe and creative had us wanting to
be there and learn? ...Now remember all those teachers that scared us and
how we only did enough to stay out of trouble and never ever offered any
more.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: purple;">Right...sigh...we "grow" thru adversity, but we <em>
Learn</em> with the Positive. So, sometimes, "stress" is a Good Thang, stretching our
"borders" and awareness---but it should always be done with love and patience
and with lots of allotted timespace to learn. There is Good in both the Positive and the Negative.....</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
</span><div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: purple;"></span> </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">I cite this example: When our <span id="goog_18882298"></span><a href="http://www.kathrynfarris.blogspot.com/">Kathryn<span id="goog_18882299"></span></a> was a little
girl and wanted some ketchup to go with her fries at McDonalds....I told her to go
to the counter and get it. "Well....." she told me, "I'm...shy...</span></div>
</span><br /></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: purple;">"Kathryn, I don't WANT any ketchup. I don't use it on
MY fries. If you want some, you'll have to go get it." (meanest Mommy in the
world....The WHOLE world)</span>
</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span><div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: purple;">So, she trucked her liddle blonde head up to the
counter, blue eyes barely seeing over the top, and waited and <strong>Waited</strong> until
someone saw her and asked what she wanted.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">Came back to our table, with a glowing, triUMphant
smile...."Mom! I got my own ketchup!"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">"I knew you would," I told her matteroffactly and with
great restraint....Our baby had grown a few inches before our very
eyes.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">She was stressed....unhappy, in fact...but NOT so much
that she could not Recover and Learn....</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">Years later, when this child was in Nursing
College....she would report in about various achievements she'd reached during
the week, telling me, "Mom! I got my own ketchup!" It has become a catch phrase
in our household.....</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">ANYway, all this is to say, I believe that ALL very
good trainers are actually "cross-over" trainers....We have gone the route of choke chains and jerking and snapping, and have discovered that there is a kinder, more effective, more enjoyable Way.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">If you ONLY use Positive methods ALL the time (with
dogs, at least), then I don't believe that you are very real. Frustration HAS to
be a factor some of the time---or you are Waaaaay too perfect to be my friend!
:-) And even my Very Sweetest, Kindest Collie needs a bit of "cometoJesus"
every once in a while. But that does NOT mean that one needs to put a prong
collar on a Collie or slap and scream and kick.Or teach retrieve with an ear
pinch.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
</span><em>
</em></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBHs4OQcjFA"><span style="color: black; font-family: Comic Sans MS;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?</span></a></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #3300cc;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBHs4OQcjFA" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBHs4OQcjFA"><span style="color: black; font-family: Comic Sans MS;">v=MBHs4OQcjFA</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://www.colliesonline.com/ad_archive_2009/bailey_070409.html"><span style="color: black;">http://www.colliesonline.com/ad_archive_2009/bailey_070409.html</span></a></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Over the years the training techniques have changed--certainly lots of new
and wonderful tools have been added to the trainer's toolbox, but the
fundamentals have not changed. Good trainers in 1981
sent clear messages to dogs which included lead pops--these were taught as
fast. light literal pops--not punishing jerks and lots of verbal praise, though
not too much food at that time. The signature style of this kind of training
was a happy voice no matter what the hands were doing. Timing was the most
critical element in trainer-dog communication. The emergence of clicker
training which I learned in 2011 was huge--it enables the trainer
to communicate with a dog efficiently and quickly. </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div>
</div>
<div>
Most trainers who started when I did assimilated the new stuff as it came
along and edited the tool box on the fly--most of us who grew up this way are
eclectic, not based in a single method. <span style="color: purple;"> I edit my
toolbox ALL the time! At this point, I have actually thrown out my clicker! Yep!
I use the one "in my mouth." A wonderful tip from FS teacher Michele Pouliot.</span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">
(see</span> <span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT5yAOu8HLc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT5yAOu8HLc</a> and </span> <a href="http://cdf-freestyle.com/audio-video/smile.wmv">http://cdf-freestyle.com/audio-video/smile.wmv</a> <span style="color: purple;"> ). </span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">
She ALSO suggests that we keep our treats out of sight, hidden in our pockets,
even taking time to dig them out. Once you have clicked, and the dog understands
that click means treat, you don't have to be quick! to get the treat to
him.....Interesting concept. Makes for Wonderful attention. "Clean training," she calls it. </span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div>
Most tools are perfectly reasonable if applied correctly with the right
owner-dog combo, but none work for all dogs all the time.
<span style="color: purple;">Ever raised a
kid?! Methods that worked for first daughter did Nothing to help out #2....When
you think you have it all sewed up in a neat little package, the planet will
send you something completetly different! One thing that I think that God and
the Universe do not like is <em>complacency</em>.....</span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"></span> </div>
<div>
While you can and have to train some animals as this hawk is trained as
dolphins and killer whales are trained, dogs are more resilient and also more
defiant sometimes than the hawk is. <span style="color: purple;"> I can Definitely
say that James was more defiant than a dang hawk! :-) Prosper, not so much...but
in his own way, he does that "passive/assertive" thang...</span> I don't know
how many times in and out of class I have seen dogs thumb their noses at their
owners and choose to ignore what the owner was doing or saying. At this point I'm going to add some compulsion to the
training--something like a <em>come-for</em> recall onlead where the dog gets a
pull if he fails to respond to the recall command. <span style="color: purple;"> OR, as Prosper loves to do.....PEE before he turns
around to come to me....arrrrruuuuughhhhh!!!! Durn boydawgs....</span> I would
also be using a negative verbal to mark a missed command....I say "Wrong" very sadly, and turn around. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIuVM4KQYp1yrpM9OTViVilz38tUS-RRLEwzTNY0Cl6eGVBvFa7Ru8GPv57Xsk6QWArcsJCsoEIlALmH6_AVsmvfqqdnIH87nYd5qr1bv3MCy3PmXzyscP-m_NoxzYyrOSqiyyjplKK0/s1600/IMG_1141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIuVM4KQYp1yrpM9OTViVilz38tUS-RRLEwzTNY0Cl6eGVBvFa7Ru8GPv57Xsk6QWArcsJCsoEIlALmH6_AVsmvfqqdnIH87nYd5qr1bv3MCy3PmXzyscP-m_NoxzYyrOSqiyyjplKK0/s1600/IMG_1141.JPG" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"></span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"> I am a lot happier training with
positive, understanding methods. With communicating with the dog instead of
dictating. I love being a team and joining up with my dog. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;">What I have learned is that one should not
rush training....even if it means WE are getting older day by day! Eventually,
the Bond between human and dog will begin to explode, and the dog will realize
that Teamwork is the Most fun of all. Assuring the dog that YOU have his back,
that YOU can be trusted to fulfill his every need, that YOU will take care of
each situation. THIS is the
most important element of any training. AND....you can take That into the ring
with you.... Every. Single. Time!.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple;"></span> </div>
</blockquote>
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2W_CX9qMF7rpGG9YhRkup1dPqLyKvHrZQaIEx0-fxpnV1x-bri64SmL-6R15zCzH_wrWNCnM3RQ5JJL7YaVCqqgxld2_qmyuDak_BVU2yGKixhySg8KUmYovxn1b5_WFV3sit1yHToes/s1600/CIMG2628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2W_CX9qMF7rpGG9YhRkup1dPqLyKvHrZQaIEx0-fxpnV1x-bri64SmL-6R15zCzH_wrWNCnM3RQ5JJL7YaVCqqgxld2_qmyuDak_BVU2yGKixhySg8KUmYovxn1b5_WFV3sit1yHToes/s1600/CIMG2628.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VHFPP75vHjhEStIETR517eTdRCm4dvUpc7zm14-FQvpb0YU2e4-xc_9yBfApz0ea1LoXcGLXWXkVXvXvTciObJPDwh80-ggeD6bQAPoGtk3UoeAXloi4H0OuDNhxAAwrbGeW01mpF2k/s1600/103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VHFPP75vHjhEStIETR517eTdRCm4dvUpc7zm14-FQvpb0YU2e4-xc_9yBfApz0ea1LoXcGLXWXkVXvXvTciObJPDwh80-ggeD6bQAPoGtk3UoeAXloi4H0OuDNhxAAwrbGeW01mpF2k/s1600/103.JPG" height="400" width="285" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-13308729966858917092014-01-21T22:56:00.000-06:002014-01-23T10:51:12.310-06:00Sixty Two years ago<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And, now, it will tell you the story of The Day I Was Born........</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Memphis Tennessee. Early cold morning, snow falling. My mother had had a couple of false alarms, and wasnt quite sure that this was, in fact, THE Time. Besides, it was Early, and like most all the Jasper wimmen, Early Morning is an almost insurmountable challenge. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">My Daddy was not taking any chances this time ( after all, it was their third child), and insisted that they were, in fact, going to the neighborhood hospital. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He scurried my mother out to the car, in the snow, only to find that the tire on his 1950 Chevy was flat. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We are talking dark ages here, folks. There was no InstaAir to plump up the tire. Not even a Spare tire in the trunk. His only option was to get out the hand pump and pump up the tire. Manually. Like a bicycle pump. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So he did! He knelt down and began to air up that flat. In the cold morning snow.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">My mother, waiting for her knight in shining armor to slay this dragon, did what any Southern born princess would do. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She laughed. She jumped up and down, her turgid belly rolling like Santy Claus, and clapped her hands and Laughed. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And as the snow blew and the tire filled with air, my father doubled over in severe abdominal pain, exactly coinciding with his wife's labor pain. His appendix later ruptured and he nearly died, but not this day. That is another story.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They arrived at the hospital in plenty of time. It was Morning, remember......I was not born until after 4 that afternoon. My father consumed an entire bottle of Paragoric (a camphorated tincture of opium, commonly used to treat belly aches, available overthecounter in those days), and staved off the appendix rupture for a few more months. He also endured taunts from his friends about "sympathy labor." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I was quite ugly when I was born. Dark, ruddy skin and exploding straight Black hair. My eight-year-old sister looked upon me in horror and asked my proud father, "you mean we waited all this time for....for....This?!"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Quickly her mothering instincts kicked in, and I became a Permanent Appendage upon her right hip. I did not walk alone until I was nearly two. Beloved and confirmed and doted upon by my older sister and brother, I grew up believing that Life was beautiful and everyone loved me. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As the third and final child, my parents raised me with the idea that I would outgrow any unacceptable behaviors, and my siblings just thought I was plain fun.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It is a True Miracle that I am not more annoying than I am....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0SCkL1qj_WSuXtB5CGwIJpHAR_5MWRn8hjAhz5AkdlEvsdcdxFPKebrNWGsTlsG0Wq1V8Z89kVtuBRcF3p3i3FFGUesv9Wq-53ygVNbgYrRRFpq-li4-YLhNZYtzTrEQH0_4pEMhsIk/s1600/Toni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0SCkL1qj_WSuXtB5CGwIJpHAR_5MWRn8hjAhz5AkdlEvsdcdxFPKebrNWGsTlsG0Wq1V8Z89kVtuBRcF3p3i3FFGUesv9Wq-53ygVNbgYrRRFpq-li4-YLhNZYtzTrEQH0_4pEMhsIk/s1600/Toni.jpg" height="400" width="322" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<div>
<br /></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-50606033690856491142014-01-07T19:01:00.002-06:002014-01-07T19:19:04.110-06:00Mornings At SevenMy old dog<br />
Lies on the rug beside my bed<br />
A SableandSnow tapestry<br />
<br />
He is close to me as he can be nowdays.<br />
His legs no longer allowing him access to my bed.<br />
<br />
Softly, his legs run in silent rhythm in dream fields of cats and sheep.<br />
He sleeps the sleep of old dogs<br />
And dreams the dreams of young pups.<br />
<br />
He carries the memories of me as a younger woman.<br />
I remember the strong and fluid moves of a dog in his prime.<br />
Together we grow older, and our slowing down is an opportunity to Reflect. <br />
<br />
I stir under my bedcovers.<br />
His royal head lifts to meet my eyes.<br />
Then drops again between his paws<br />
Neither of us are ready to emerge from the cocoon of sleep and rest.<br />
<br />
My bare feet touch the floor beside him.<br />
He rolls to his back, legs askew, whole face smiling.<br />
"What are we gonna do today?" he asks with Joy and Delight at my attention.<br />
<br />
I stand, creakily, reach for my robe.<br />
<br />
And the slippers under his paws.<br />
<br />
Yoga-stretch to stroke his redgold head.<br />
<br />
He, too, struggles to arise, old hips uncooperative and unpredictable.<br />
<br />
It is no longer a race for the door. I win every time now.<br />
I leave him behind to convince his muscles to perform again for him another day.<br />
<br />
<br />
And my heart remembers a flying Collie. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi8DNaqLMt1ZHiQWhh5ArTXrqlYdREqbIE4umvTCRBplABBXE_pczSaUYBrDlwmd_hDJLsmZ5ulW3xF8JcxN3uagfE7OKTdUS8UslFZJ57FcV8CSHqEeK2ZfJB47h-jSgLsTDJ_2z0sM/s1600/James+Dance+Jump-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi8DNaqLMt1ZHiQWhh5ArTXrqlYdREqbIE4umvTCRBplABBXE_pczSaUYBrDlwmd_hDJLsmZ5ulW3xF8JcxN3uagfE7OKTdUS8UslFZJ57FcV8CSHqEeK2ZfJB47h-jSgLsTDJ_2z0sM/s1600/James+Dance+Jump-1.jpg" height="320" width="283" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5bSnY25-9mAfmI28i9ywjz4Qz2uErJ-7VT2Dpef0w31yp5bTz8mk4xzGE13mDie6BtWs_kpR6EsZIEEphPf2jufENZ4ermoqQtYExioSiextGMjbvf3vM9l06eU_H4kWPjPc5JbnCag/s1600/184.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5bSnY25-9mAfmI28i9ywjz4Qz2uErJ-7VT2Dpef0w31yp5bTz8mk4xzGE13mDie6BtWs_kpR6EsZIEEphPf2jufENZ4ermoqQtYExioSiextGMjbvf3vM9l06eU_H4kWPjPc5JbnCag/s1600/184.CR2.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img src="webkit-fake-url://D6806188-9D41-404A-9EEB-B08D84963555/imagejpeg" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-9197796833236767422013-07-27T09:51:00.002-05:002013-07-27T09:52:09.155-05:00It's Friday. Is the Biopsy Report In?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxAeTy0Bd81RLSj1XW-T118VY7qfIExiseRXmxn7hb7ADOMklyHKN6OBladQ2Bol4EB9jPme7chIh4lojRMxY0BzQLqy4OtPmk3qkcCh5xpJIMmylBlTJUZl7rMng4UQj5P8vhdRp4Pc/s1600/ACFF2ED9-3CA5-4B03-B93A-A1FD6BB0C77B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAxAeTy0Bd81RLSj1XW-T118VY7qfIExiseRXmxn7hb7ADOMklyHKN6OBladQ2Bol4EB9jPme7chIh4lojRMxY0BzQLqy4OtPmk3qkcCh5xpJIMmylBlTJUZl7rMng4UQj5P8vhdRp4Pc/s640/ACFF2ED9-3CA5-4B03-B93A-A1FD6BB0C77B.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Sunnybank, 2012</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yes. Yes it is. And it is Good and it is notsogood.....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I thought he would live forever. Some days I wanted to kill him. Some times I thought he would kill me. Most days were roller coaster rides with James on the front seat, barking, "Faster! FASTER!"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I hung on for dear life, learning skills I did not know were within me. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He's never done anything slowly. He has barreled thru Life, calling all of it "his due," and making us stop and take notice of his </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Incredible Magnificence </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(his words, not mine)......</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And we have. We All have. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Never a Champion in the Breed Ring. Never a High in Trial in the Obedience, Rally, or Agility Rings. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But allow him to make his <b>own</b> way, write his <b>own</b> script, choreograph his <b>own</b> dance......and there you have an Incredibly Magnificent Collie.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Perhaps that is what he came here to teach me...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Choose your Path. Don't be stiff. Don't even be brave. Just expect your Public to love you and be thrilled you are in their midst. Bark at thunder. Allow children to put their tiaras on your head. Rush up to people in wheelchairs. Trade valuable objects for a taste of food. And dance! Dance because you <b>know</b> they want to see you dance. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-53757812459634698222013-07-26T10:14:00.000-05:002013-07-26T10:14:07.306-05:00BrokenTaking the challenge here....a five minute writing challenge.....Just to get me in the Blog again.....<br />
<br />
Keyword here is <b>"<a href="https://www.facebook.com/lisajobaker/posts/10151602293902897">Broken</a>."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I do not Like broken things. For a person who collects and rescues many things, Broken Ones soon find their way to the trash.<br />
<br />
Broken, chipped, cracked,unfixable.......Nope.....as my grand baby said......"No Want." Not in <b>my</b> cabinet, not on <b>my</b> coffee table.<br />
<br />
Several years ago I was introduced to a magical world of Mosaic. My friend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/joanne.deshong">Joanne</a> had some beautiful flowerpots in her home, mosaiced with all sorts of whimsical items and broken pieces of pottery and plates. Even cup handles and teapot spouts!<br />
<br />
Intrigued and not just a little envious, I cajoled her into inviting me over the next time she and her Art Friends convened to create mosaics of their own.<br />
<br />
Never having been acquainted with the "visual artist" types, I sat mute before my large flowerpot while the others nipped and stuck and laughed and praised. <br />
<br />
Slowly, I reached my hands out to a chipped Christmas dinner plate I had contributed to the stash of raw materials. It was one of a set of dishes that had golden trumpets on it with red poinsettias--- a beloved pattern that had called my name many years before. I did not even wait until the<br />
after-Christmas sale to purchase them. Omigosh! Trumpets, Christmas, and Red--- allinone. <br />
<br />
I was so sad when the chip appeared.......I did something I never had done before.......I did not toss it in the trash.......I put it back in the cabinet.....on the bottom of the stack. There it remained, year after year, unused, hidden, a silent reminder that I no longer had a complete set......<br />
<br />
I took the nippers and broke off a piece of golden trumpet and red Christmas flower. Dabbed a bit of mastic on the back, and carefully found the perfect contour of the flowerpot.<br />
<br />
One of the artist-friends had brought a ceramic letter"T." She held it out to me, smiling, knowing before I even knew, what was to come into my life.<br />
<br />
And, this was the beginning of a new discovery within me. The discovery of the Artist Inside Toni Bailey. Emerging in the sixth decade of her life to create beautiful works out of Broken Things.<br />
<br />
I now have a Studio in a corner of our storage barn.....My iPod plays while the dogs lie peacefully on the ramp in the evenings. The cool winds waft thru or the portable fan blows its breeze. My creations come from the not-so-ordinary into the world of re-acceptance. What was broken or chipped or even tossed aside has a New Life and is declared beautiful once again.<br />
<br />
So......bring your broken thangs to me. I, the Artist, will transform their brokenness. Or, better still, I can introduce <b>you</b> to your Artist Within. She exists in all of us.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6pHSZGHZnd6zXp1kyPlu48l7Ls6v_4GjFqqFcCLqxAxJQ3jZHSRH07YEp_IDTTYRVJy6aWw0i3cZXCqOU-uzrCNNySY_E0ZUNrqJfC53N4pLjTWhy6eO9iWvA-vDf7z_zN4yDpVUFqA/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6pHSZGHZnd6zXp1kyPlu48l7Ls6v_4GjFqqFcCLqxAxJQ3jZHSRH07YEp_IDTTYRVJy6aWw0i3cZXCqOU-uzrCNNySY_E0ZUNrqJfC53N4pLjTWhy6eO9iWvA-vDf7z_zN4yDpVUFqA/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJBRDW3_bQCClrBP9YuXQm4BvqFXMh-QIvcwKhyglWzE6TlNaiNJkArCNjcithAopTKp6TYSYX9smikuG34ABPNpxaVorcwoXmXG8fgX6MdZb9gyJ_2mwCKZxq2GNIlQJFOLnuSiRUdg/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJBRDW3_bQCClrBP9YuXQm4BvqFXMh-QIvcwKhyglWzE6TlNaiNJkArCNjcithAopTKp6TYSYX9smikuG34ABPNpxaVorcwoXmXG8fgX6MdZb9gyJ_2mwCKZxq2GNIlQJFOLnuSiRUdg/s320/image.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtyA3J9OqP3z4K8DpNRd4zt0TtdgDWej-Zaubqp0j4sxteAVdGZbiKkON9ZosYbVJKWXt98ksnRba7ziFGQyD0kMUpUe__tlsXym9xfPZSaLkV9709nqhgJr19SGo-DZGzAGRQn7DnWU/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtyA3J9OqP3z4K8DpNRd4zt0TtdgDWej-Zaubqp0j4sxteAVdGZbiKkON9ZosYbVJKWXt98ksnRba7ziFGQyD0kMUpUe__tlsXym9xfPZSaLkV9709nqhgJr19SGo-DZGzAGRQn7DnWU/s320/image.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVzuWcY6lrlr8wFLin4vQZqGGG3CgX3p8do9t8uz2-d1UZ2ippuMWVdc1d341MV8qhe2QTadjMw0y1_8YgZO6HGNm-xLqWXbmseQtHHj63ZDZ0PXJGBivt7uwe_5Zk-nbi87VfWnZAxY/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVzuWcY6lrlr8wFLin4vQZqGGG3CgX3p8do9t8uz2-d1UZ2ippuMWVdc1d341MV8qhe2QTadjMw0y1_8YgZO6HGNm-xLqWXbmseQtHHj63ZDZ0PXJGBivt7uwe_5Zk-nbi87VfWnZAxY/s320/image.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWAC76JnddenJZUbyoVfjCWs5CgkRW6TxcH-PZPEaa4s__9kR1jj6Vl1sP2l3qyQgKqd-p48VPKTKeXaLtjLI5ZK_Hnacq-wX7AdQhDe8nT40O7CMee94ley33vEmZskqz6QZpBiLqaA/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWAC76JnddenJZUbyoVfjCWs5CgkRW6TxcH-PZPEaa4s__9kR1jj6Vl1sP2l3qyQgKqd-p48VPKTKeXaLtjLI5ZK_Hnacq-wX7AdQhDe8nT40O7CMee94ley33vEmZskqz6QZpBiLqaA/s320/image.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6pHSZGHZnd6zXp1kyPlu48l7Ls6v_4GjFqqFcCLqxAxJQ3jZHSRH07YEp_IDTTYRVJy6aWw0i3cZXCqOU-uzrCNNySY_E0ZUNrqJfC53N4pLjTWhy6eO9iWvA-vDf7z_zN4yDpVUFqA/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6pHSZGHZnd6zXp1kyPlu48l7Ls6v_4GjFqqFcCLqxAxJQ3jZHSRH07YEp_IDTTYRVJy6aWw0i3cZXCqOU-uzrCNNySY_E0ZUNrqJfC53N4pLjTWhy6eO9iWvA-vDf7z_zN4yDpVUFqA/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-85876595416137648652013-02-14T21:06:00.000-06:002013-02-14T21:06:27.752-06:00Catching the Squirrel<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My daughter's MIL had a dachshund who lived to chase squirrels. Chased them thru her yard, chased them up trees, high line wires, over and under fences. She chased squirrels for <u>years</u>, this little red sausage. And they, in turn, tormented her, taunting her from the high places and the outsideofthefence places.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ginger made her Life's Mission to catch a squirrel. Just ONE squirrel, so she could experience the triumph and Joy of having known she could do it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But the years of practice rolled by, and even with daily exercises and Encouragement from her humans and dog friends alike, she never achieved her goal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then, one day, Ginger and her human were walking in the park across the street from her house. A familiar face showed itself on the path around the pond, and Ginger took off, her owners leash flying like a banner behind her. She flew like the wind, and the squirrel, who was unaccustomed to such unbridled menace, had no instinct to escape this marauder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ginger caught that squirrel, right square around the ribcage, turned and headed towards her mistress to display the prized trophy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you have ever been around squirrels for any period, you will quickly come to realize that they truly are the embodiment of the definition "squirrelly." Their movements are jerky and fast and certainly unpredictable. They are squirrels, and they <u>act</u> like squirrels. And they have sharp teeth. And they <u>bite</u>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ginger is a very sweet dachsie, unaccustomed to violence or even discomfort of any kind. Mostly she burrows under the quilts on the couch in winter, and people's laps in summer. She's never bitten anything except her chew toys and various chair legs....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So What! does a city dachshund DO when she finally captures her prey in a beautiful park by the lake with her panicked mistress trying vainly to regain control of leash and deal with an hysterical rodent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ginger had caught the squirrel, and did not have the "tools" to complete the task.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She walked around with the semi-comatose squirrel wiggling in her jaws, telling the world around her, "Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! I<i> caught the Squirrel</i>!!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eventually, Ginger released her prize,allowing the sodden rodent to run up the nearest tree. Ginger remained triumphant, proud, and a bit bewildered. She had received her Heart's Desire, and her life was changed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last week, I, too, Caught The Squirrel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My Collies and I have been asked to dance at the Collie National Specialty in Wisconsin this spring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At this point, I am still walking around repeating <i>OmigoshOmigoshOmigosh</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi8DNaqLMt1ZHiQWhh5ArTXrqlYdREqbIE4umvTCRBplABBXE_pczSaUYBrDlwmd_hDJLsmZ5ulW3xF8JcxN3uagfE7OKTdUS8UslFZJ57FcV8CSHqEeK2ZfJB47h-jSgLsTDJ_2z0sM/s1600/James+Dance+Jump-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOi8DNaqLMt1ZHiQWhh5ArTXrqlYdREqbIE4umvTCRBplABBXE_pczSaUYBrDlwmd_hDJLsmZ5ulW3xF8JcxN3uagfE7OKTdUS8UslFZJ57FcV8CSHqEeK2ZfJB47h-jSgLsTDJ_2z0sM/s400/James+Dance+Jump-1.jpg" width="353" /></a></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-65294073129852452892013-02-14T21:00:00.000-06:002013-02-14T21:00:52.570-06:00Dancing Thru Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCmPJ-7QjwfleOaofSSMpdTZd46AeIavcM-zo-rlkQOodFtiuetMrWpq_TS4DpfvASpf8GlqLRKLFz8FNuDXhC81HVIQ1qG_MNZMk_vE-wcQsUvzZeX1fqTqgWb_FSd15Q6cYLFmt_d4/s1600/twelve+and+a+half.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCmPJ-7QjwfleOaofSSMpdTZd46AeIavcM-zo-rlkQOodFtiuetMrWpq_TS4DpfvASpf8GlqLRKLFz8FNuDXhC81HVIQ1qG_MNZMk_vE-wcQsUvzZeX1fqTqgWb_FSd15Q6cYLFmt_d4/s320/twelve+and+a+half.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Below you will find a note from our older daughter.......Their life has been in a (wonderful!) upheaval of moving to another state, selling and buying a home, unpacking, finding the closest Target and Kroger, deciding on a new church, locating a new hairdresser.......</b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>And in the midst of all this Change, her daughter crossed into "Womanhood," momentarily blindsiding her and causing a great deal of introspection, and yes,...worry........</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>As we each rotate into our individual roles in Life, we expect the World to stop and slow down a bit. We need to get our bearings and understand our management of these new titles.....</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The planet doesn't wait for us to interrupt its rotation and gradually cope. Instead, it insists we continue to fly thru the universe by the proverbial "seat of our pants." </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It makes us stronger. Causes us to think on our feet AND savor each moment as well.....</b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> Here's what Emily wrote to me:</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);" /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Well, yesterday I went shopping for sanitary pads with my baby daughter and today I taught her how to shave her legs.... I am still in a state of shock because she is just a baby. She is so interested in discovering all that it means to be a young lady and it is difficult for me to watch her stretch out her longer-than-mine, beautiful legs and ask me questions about pubic hair and Listen to her whisper that "everything was okay when I went to the bathroom....". We shopped for new, cute panties to celebrate "The Event". She has quizzed me about my cycles and we have discussed how important it is that she be thinking ahead in preparation for the Job her body will someday do when she becomes a </span></span></span></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">momma. So much.....so fast. I know it is a big change for her but I had No Idea as to what a big change it would be to me. So, to you that have experienced it I want to say Good Job and Thank You. To those of you who are waiting to</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">experience these changes I want to say..... Soak everything up while you are where you are. Everyone talks about the changes that a young woman goes through during puberty but no one warns the momma that her baby slips through her fingers In a mere second.....</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);"> </span></span><br style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);" /><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); color: purple;">Em</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); color: purple;"> </span></span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And here is my reply.....Red a tenting, indeed!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have never met anyone so Eager to start her period! I heard the "catch" in her voice when she called to tell me, and I melted....Delicate snow turning to rain on my skin.....</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is so wonderful that you can discuss this and cherish the Moment in Time when she steps over to Womanhood. This is the Perfect age for her....She knows enough to be in awe of her body and to appreciate the miracle that surrounds and grows within her. She is not afraid of going forward into Life, tho she certainly welcomes the company and the Support.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a Great Age!!! PERFECT timing on her Creator's part.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And you! YOU get to sit beside her and watch her journey into places you can never go......You travelled this road at this age with your head in the stars, counting it all as Normal and Quite Easy. You had no fear for the future, only anticipation and delight. You wondered how you could incorporate jewelry into each moment and desired, above all, that those around you be as content.....</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I marveled at you, as I watched you depart from me into worlds I could not go. I see you now experiencing the same joy and trepidation and sadness that I felt when I realized you had to do much of this Alone, without me, and in your own style. </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here I am, two generations away, and confirming, once again, what a Good Job I did......</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">xoxox</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Momma</span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpNpan9yyliTZseIfTn0jaNBiB2FbXWpEHDSLqhxmZIuLLVJL1jAXB9Xv4e16C8vzSet9vJ0imxbLnDMTeKHD1huOKFSckoTlT22JImpQDKUj0aWsGRT11jq9INsUThq6HQWQdG42Xx8/s1600/P1040003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpNpan9yyliTZseIfTn0jaNBiB2FbXWpEHDSLqhxmZIuLLVJL1jAXB9Xv4e16C8vzSet9vJ0imxbLnDMTeKHD1huOKFSckoTlT22JImpQDKUj0aWsGRT11jq9INsUThq6HQWQdG42Xx8/s320/P1040003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-1284752695909217812013-01-22T12:27:00.002-06:002013-01-22T12:27:49.633-06:00Musings of a 61-year-old on her Birthday......<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday, January 21, I turned 61. Not so bad. Except that I'm fatter than I want to be. More wrinkled than I want to be. Less limber and less graceful than I want to be. More grey of hair than I want to be. </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All outward appearance disappointments....Some of which can be modified with diet, exercise, Mary Kay, yoga, and Loving Care.....Mail order or WalMart should take care of most of these....</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where am I on the Inside matters? What have I done in these six decades to warrant another trip around the Sun? Have I improved Life on this planet? Have I managed to leave the woodpile stacked a little bit higher? Have I accomplished anything of Merit as a woman way past her Prime?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrScXUbvxN87wXUImRdC6gOmW60dMjwO50TkW4NPv4GkjkoBDXtn_kxBPBleDzI05mtXJsTYyQae7dhKPHZ0YeFBqK-S43SpMNjLYYmsi23YRpirY5Og1yForSwkmJL39ujMEjI6aEks4/s1600/Jasper+family+1952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrScXUbvxN87wXUImRdC6gOmW60dMjwO50TkW4NPv4GkjkoBDXtn_kxBPBleDzI05mtXJsTYyQae7dhKPHZ0YeFBqK-S43SpMNjLYYmsi23YRpirY5Og1yForSwkmJL39ujMEjI6aEks4/s400/Jasper+family+1952.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the earliest photos of me. Probably the only "baby" picture of me.... Third child. Older sister, older brother....If you look closely, you can Tell that this is an "impromptu" photograph....taken while visiting my parents' hometown in Arkansas. Looks like Mom had hurriedly tucked in the front of my brother Nic's shirttail....My sister Sherry was dressed in playclothes, and why Daddy had on a suit and tie, I do not know. Mom seems relaxed. Almost sensuous.....Like me, she Enjoyed her role of wife and mother....</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;">Below is me in first grade. I'd already lost a few teeth. We were growing out my bangs....unsuccessfully, it appears.....I never was a pretty child, and never thin. But I had an Open Smile, and my eyes always said "yes." </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-sVqq9Gd47GoBB1UKdPgukL6d7XU_zKteri18o6-5sQ4vXxHDxiJ0aE60N_D1WVv3LJawhggpQ5AxmT1iSOn_QOo_UmS84B3hjfQAqEc9VsjLnOUNHiGrjYuenHGjGI5m1xsNhWyPY4/s1600/Toni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-sVqq9Gd47GoBB1UKdPgukL6d7XU_zKteri18o6-5sQ4vXxHDxiJ0aE60N_D1WVv3LJawhggpQ5AxmT1iSOn_QOo_UmS84B3hjfQAqEc9VsjLnOUNHiGrjYuenHGjGI5m1xsNhWyPY4/s400/Toni.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Birthdays make one think. At least, the more I have, the more I think about these things and where I am in relationship with the Earth, its Creator, and the folks travelling with me......</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And, so, I believe, a List is in order.....For no one elses benefit except mine.....</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;">If you continue to read, then perhaps this might cause you to create a similar list....and in doing so, perhaps it might help you sort some things out as well....Tho very few of you readers have orbited around the Sun as many times as I have, maybe the following paragraphs will give you a bit of insight regarding how it feels to live in an aging body with a mind who thinks it is still 17.....</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;">Accomplishments:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_xv_TAE-U7dEyoigI-BsVIZLWR9taVCUPBxSSFGIkayzjJYMl06jExCH9uthjmbWjGWvOibX5Sr_YuAVCN3ZbkGH7lz8cxXaOmzK7khjoYJNnPeIZDi_NpDEhPGfRZfDDVNNoS6Rvgc/s1600/P1010379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_xv_TAE-U7dEyoigI-BsVIZLWR9taVCUPBxSSFGIkayzjJYMl06jExCH9uthjmbWjGWvOibX5Sr_YuAVCN3ZbkGH7lz8cxXaOmzK7khjoYJNnPeIZDi_NpDEhPGfRZfDDVNNoS6Rvgc/s400/P1010379.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"> Probably the biggest and best and most important (besides the ones involving God, of course) would be our marriage of 41+ years. This, beyond all else, is the most difficult, frustrating, time-consuming, delightful thing I have ever done. Yep. Certainly the most Difficult. And I am certain that Bikeman would agree to this. Being married to me is a Challenge at best, Hell at the worst.....And HE's no picnic, either! There were many days, weeks, months that both of us wondered What for and Why we were even Thinking of continuing together. </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"> As it turns out, we have come to realize that we both admire each other more than anyone we know. Respect and Honor are the hallmarks of our marriage (Lust comes in there as well, but that's another Blog). Understanding and Agreement never seem to come in to play, but give us another 41 years, and we'll see what happens.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"> People who were married in the '70's did not tend to stay together. It was the era of divorce and infidelity. Look around you. There are plenty of folks who have celebrated their 50th and even 60th, and their 25th.....but not many 40th...We are a strange and rare item, indeed. A Great Accomplishment for both of us.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"> Then there are the children. I think they might just go hand-in-hand with this struggle of 41 years.....Whatever the reason, our beautiful (inside and out) daughters, maturing into successful women with families of their own----They are certainly an improvement to this planet....</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"> If you search the archives, you will see many pictures of them. They even have blogs of their own. The links are there on the side of this post. </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZl2QDmJ6NtkDEy23nhV_PWDVfnbDAj5HoaAM6ZI37EVuNqYcXQqIuMWujjAIplv2rt8JV8ZRF_sIxRHEGCkLQGMJVQnQOjMx7JCXo6BnuQ6s9FsCGLz6-bKvzIiKdJPGPrW_qQMe9GQ/s1600/IMG_1385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZl2QDmJ6NtkDEy23nhV_PWDVfnbDAj5HoaAM6ZI37EVuNqYcXQqIuMWujjAIplv2rt8JV8ZRF_sIxRHEGCkLQGMJVQnQOjMx7JCXo6BnuQ6s9FsCGLz6-bKvzIiKdJPGPrW_qQMe9GQ/s400/IMG_1385.JPG" width="296" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is Baby Toni and Baby Emily.......We kinda raised each other.....</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQrLkUB-K3LKyTtWqSePVnloMWyWQtp7y7Nyry-tx_rWvsQlw43dkWy1P_6EOnUNIaqvSIMw_L5oaLJgejWUsR8loz0wiuWHJUAwLnLgQ84ClZusw_X1J9Q8TUpZ6HmagafZgzKfMJUI/s1600/IMG_1201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQrLkUB-K3LKyTtWqSePVnloMWyWQtp7y7Nyry-tx_rWvsQlw43dkWy1P_6EOnUNIaqvSIMw_L5oaLJgejWUsR8loz0wiuWHJUAwLnLgQ84ClZusw_X1J9Q8TUpZ6HmagafZgzKfMJUI/s400/IMG_1201.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here she is with a baby of her own......A true Treasure on this big blue marble.....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYCMAK-QzOS19kIriFL7vgcATRRCyfieinKwGvQUJJXnDkr-BpPtXtoqauhCeuSKNPvutbSmloPZ5XGMfqELYyxo5Y1OlzDVw9tvhMjzVWPkXqa2SnbLFvyUfZ9rxTMicniVYHPnT74w/s1600/P1020054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYCMAK-QzOS19kIriFL7vgcATRRCyfieinKwGvQUJJXnDkr-BpPtXtoqauhCeuSKNPvutbSmloPZ5XGMfqELYyxo5Y1OlzDVw9tvhMjzVWPkXqa2SnbLFvyUfZ9rxTMicniVYHPnT74w/s400/P1020054.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This one is very like ME....only an Improvement, to say the least.</span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3OHhyphenhyphenPzZ88si9dmCpn8H_0xSlod_R49Mo0_KFFe3eD_MlFNX19p-uX5BqSb5-VOfeUIxY1TdXhch8xqFHJV8rCQ6rmAT1hluh6sq1caIl1m14eUSuZXavEm8nhrCMm7uXtWYyKW83Mg/s1600/IMG_0791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3OHhyphenhyphenPzZ88si9dmCpn8H_0xSlod_R49Mo0_KFFe3eD_MlFNX19p-uX5BqSb5-VOfeUIxY1TdXhch8xqFHJV8rCQ6rmAT1hluh6sq1caIl1m14eUSuZXavEm8nhrCMm7uXtWYyKW83Mg/s320/IMG_0791.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She tells me very Wise things....I learn a lot from her....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8_yKvbUGJZ_sy27pp-jJNMCa39cXxMxikPIOHS4FqzIauvhU_TmXp4L23KpVEePufbv2a6CZnomSXxPNaE3bhKEaoJuUelu7XUPSkNYIaifUgpNPhw1k__r22GSXMc0arXWEVBexHLE/s1600/12+03+EmKate+Busters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8_yKvbUGJZ_sy27pp-jJNMCa39cXxMxikPIOHS4FqzIauvhU_TmXp4L23KpVEePufbv2a6CZnomSXxPNaE3bhKEaoJuUelu7XUPSkNYIaifUgpNPhw1k__r22GSXMc0arXWEVBexHLE/s320/12+03+EmKate+Busters.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ah.....Sisters......</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN22gW03vWjDgQl15oGgfLYGZPxR3zk-PxwZH3M0lsJXgSJJ4_jzis1nOIx8viN7Pd3E7kTFsE2DTn3imMFaZOmlsdM1ghW-DBAqROcCjxmFaPYHXRTOikJgPcCDNM4-2XrxM14FA2QrY/s1600/IMG_1504-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN22gW03vWjDgQl15oGgfLYGZPxR3zk-PxwZH3M0lsJXgSJJ4_jzis1nOIx8viN7Pd3E7kTFsE2DTn3imMFaZOmlsdM1ghW-DBAqROcCjxmFaPYHXRTOikJgPcCDNM4-2XrxM14FA2QrY/s320/IMG_1504-001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And Red Tenting (Have you ever read <u>The Red Tent</u> by Anita Diament? I will SEND you a copy!)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> So.....even though I cannot take much credit, because I certainly was sent some very GOOD raw material.....these women are truly people who continue to improve the planet....At least I can say that I had a small part in developing that. Stir in a wonderful father, Girl Scouts, love of God, Music, and a sense of Humor, and itsa nice formula.....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And the Third Accomplishment.....Helping the Animals of the Earth......</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SmyQryDaXIQ/UP7HlnZsCHI/AAAAAAAADHI/M1c4NrRx7sA/s1600/IMG_1175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SmyQryDaXIQ/UP7HlnZsCHI/AAAAAAAADHI/M1c4NrRx7sA/s640/IMG_1175.JPG" width="380" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74-LGfbwiK09rX51BGbLWTZ9IpBhMI71eSPEWPKJDH7r0cjyis3fQa6a_1qbgyU_GEkic6cM5Ri38ggb54Sw_FFPrGUo5uLduZnTJNjM6zZ_IXa6ORTFOKHTiMlwm8f8HSnVx5kBvDB4/s1600/CIMG0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74-LGfbwiK09rX51BGbLWTZ9IpBhMI71eSPEWPKJDH7r0cjyis3fQa6a_1qbgyU_GEkic6cM5Ri38ggb54Sw_FFPrGUo5uLduZnTJNjM6zZ_IXa6ORTFOKHTiMlwm8f8HSnVx5kBvDB4/s400/CIMG0926.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Ni5KPh38JJD9VqWxowoFJwmp1N5_dKhA1I_dUxw1HihdA7N9qVdXzc_tnL67u06aZERxs1qn561XIrVhZk737otU9aS3qs2DfE8WZ67KU5GXFqOq6bIVuikNiFqQodCFmxEjAg2goco/s1600/IMG_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Ni5KPh38JJD9VqWxowoFJwmp1N5_dKhA1I_dUxw1HihdA7N9qVdXzc_tnL67u06aZERxs1qn561XIrVhZk737otU9aS3qs2DfE8WZ67KU5GXFqOq6bIVuikNiFqQodCFmxEjAg2goco/s400/IMG_0061.JPG" width="333" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> From the time I was very small, I was always bringing home ill and injured animals to heal and be whole again. My parents were very indulgent in allowing sodden, broken-winged birds and flea-infested mammals and disgusting reptiles into our home. Mostly they were defenseless to my tears, and hoped that I would eventually outgrow this need to comfort the wild things.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> I never kept count of the creatures I helped return to the lives intended for them. I only know that I got "better" and more aware as more came into my hands. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNEcOSeeMvY6KgOrBZwhLGfuipGhoH3D3YPJST56oKmjiJWbBjI1xQNk4dOnUAd23wp4kveHUqfm8Jlj8yxyCC7fVLFLNodFzXdXVfs1o5iwew14PGgMQEBw96lDIa_fUWDLVMoy8_mY/s1600/Second_Scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNEcOSeeMvY6KgOrBZwhLGfuipGhoH3D3YPJST56oKmjiJWbBjI1xQNk4dOnUAd23wp4kveHUqfm8Jlj8yxyCC7fVLFLNodFzXdXVfs1o5iwew14PGgMQEBw96lDIa_fUWDLVMoy8_mY/s400/Second_Scan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Several years ago I discovered that I could actually communicate with animals, and have been able, through wonderful mentors, to hone my skills and use them to help out the Animal Kingdom. Plants and Rocks, too....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This is a mystery that continues to unfold and develop before my very eyes. ALL I have had to do is keep myself open and willing, and The Creator does the rest. The most Difficult part has been moving beyond the ordinary norms of society and allowing myself the freedom to continue on this unfamiliar path. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So......Marriage. Children. Animals. Not a bad assessment, now that I have written it all down. I could probably take a few more years of life on Earth....and maybe, just Maybe, continue to improve my surroundings. Please remember me always with a smile....and perhaps a shake of your head....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-49467379802935582542012-10-28T15:33:00.000-05:002012-10-28T15:33:11.124-05:00Breaking Things as Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, who knew that breaking things into pieces and gluing them onto something else could be considered "Art." I've never considered myself an artist until a friend of mine who is an incredible artist, introduced me to the art that I have within.....She showed me that I Do have an "eye" and a gift for placing color in beautiful designs. So we broke a few plates together, and she set me free to find my Muse.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It quickly became an addiction.......</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here's a few examples of some of the creations I've made.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Mostly, the colors are broken dishes, cups, chunks of pottery, marbles, and glass "dots" that go into fish aquariums. They are mounted on various pieces of ceramic/pottery stuff.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Can you guess what THIS base might be.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1oQTSVUmaUtRp4rMs5E18JDp_lWSlVhSkVEVAZIe1Qgi2n33xvwy2J5FNYv2IfxtcEce0EnOU7SyulY_i2-D53qp3-w1hphBHv3O18AbW1D1bsEFHcMJduD4vqU6PFEeIZBnzbyVGME/s1600/P1020439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1oQTSVUmaUtRp4rMs5E18JDp_lWSlVhSkVEVAZIe1Qgi2n33xvwy2J5FNYv2IfxtcEce0EnOU7SyulY_i2-D53qp3-w1hphBHv3O18AbW1D1bsEFHcMJduD4vqU6PFEeIZBnzbyVGME/s400/P1020439.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Yeh....it's uh....well....it's a Toilet Tank lid. Dunno HOW I have come across so many of these, but they make wonderful "yard art," or even fit upon some of your exisiting toilets. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC22VULLjFhTG4xNM5STCdV5Q9HJ2yOxPWdDJYwJwuxbWTzKyT5xlGqKb_2q60bSWHwiCRYADzdPofNBKDbEqmOH0NZH2pwecCJztBig2bcKp0vSrSMNB-x94nhvnICqIiJEh4LZaMU6A/s1600/P1020441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC22VULLjFhTG4xNM5STCdV5Q9HJ2yOxPWdDJYwJwuxbWTzKyT5xlGqKb_2q60bSWHwiCRYADzdPofNBKDbEqmOH0NZH2pwecCJztBig2bcKp0vSrSMNB-x94nhvnICqIiJEh4LZaMU6A/s400/P1020441.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is supposed to be a human/dog dancing. It was a prize for one of the dog dance competitions that we go to.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here is another one.......</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikN52T1ZHgOG6MiCs8snVhvf-qzQ0eibU9MviegSK5nojo7t2hJmtvwF10rOlPoj1JPrRlQuvYY6RRzsAob7lBc94za8Vtc6rpAVcAHp5BSnL2Lg4tXWNTngvkut_mF0XK8E6dq9-FR1k/s1600/P1040619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikN52T1ZHgOG6MiCs8snVhvf-qzQ0eibU9MviegSK5nojo7t2hJmtvwF10rOlPoj1JPrRlQuvYY6RRzsAob7lBc94za8Vtc6rpAVcAHp5BSnL2Lg4tXWNTngvkut_mF0XK8E6dq9-FR1k/s400/P1040619.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And another.....</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimArRfVtYiiw83CGjCH9LNwy4sR67BtAYpFQUf7j5nx2bFiJoZy-glpHM6fn7ouN7dXJAtr0ck-gzSXw5Np7oF-84gqcJNG26QlEpyUJLhNc5kQmNP_Eb2atJdhwld-lX5ef2JWTIohew/s1600/March+Madness+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimArRfVtYiiw83CGjCH9LNwy4sR67BtAYpFQUf7j5nx2bFiJoZy-glpHM6fn7ouN7dXJAtr0ck-gzSXw5Np7oF-84gqcJNG26QlEpyUJLhNc5kQmNP_Eb2atJdhwld-lX5ef2JWTIohew/s400/March+Madness+2012.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
Below is one of the many bowling balls I have "re-created" into a face. This one is my Nerd. His glasses are cup handles, and his hat is a lid to the base he is setting on....Any suggestions for a name?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6w4jOPTv8pd51vWA8-dDAsznoxqpquR4uK0RWscKPhoiubnemDfGF7NIi0ThwsRXYoH90d5wyOBcDoWFNJ53XZNfbFMO9dzQ2TV3GRZGDS7Y1AtXVcbVtnPqit_a7g85KkcNjvWtaMVU/s1600/Bowling+ball+Oct+2012+Nerd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6w4jOPTv8pd51vWA8-dDAsznoxqpquR4uK0RWscKPhoiubnemDfGF7NIi0ThwsRXYoH90d5wyOBcDoWFNJ53XZNfbFMO9dzQ2TV3GRZGDS7Y1AtXVcbVtnPqit_a7g85KkcNjvWtaMVU/s400/Bowling+ball+Oct+2012+Nerd.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This green guy I named Stoner. He was a gift to one of my dog dance friends. His nose is a "bonnet" from some figurine that was broken. He is pictured on the turnaround in my Studio. A nice way of saying that DH Bikeman has agreed to hand over half of the storage barn to my "broken-ness."</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr5LEJQOxx0QjUXtRy9LndtC9odO9gbf6ExLl50QD5VQcrP3Q6IKPiuoHNTZjNqT_8chpfR-TPaBOINjxtmAcpifRD73rbOc8a7Ch43vFuOsXec2aLj3fvQ7w-8cwMcxDvw8FT_q_EmE/s1600/Green+bowling+ball+aka+Stoner+Gave+to+Bev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr5LEJQOxx0QjUXtRy9LndtC9odO9gbf6ExLl50QD5VQcrP3Q6IKPiuoHNTZjNqT_8chpfR-TPaBOINjxtmAcpifRD73rbOc8a7Ch43vFuOsXec2aLj3fvQ7w-8cwMcxDvw8FT_q_EmE/s400/Green+bowling+ball+aka+Stoner+Gave+to+Bev.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And then, there's Pinkie. She is made from mostly pink Fiesta ware. She is pictured before she got grouted.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHGLrVUB_9PsMiMMdAotzPlk-WVVxV-9ntDlAGPr2NhsPQrfOo0N4uyCpGsyzhDdJfDOGJcGp2cpN4vl_YMXIJsxf5hISwNRA5gDiJLP9GxrC7ukc-l_9GAJTRV7lF5issMuoLnh_Cqg/s1600/Pinkie+ungrouted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHGLrVUB_9PsMiMMdAotzPlk-WVVxV-9ntDlAGPr2NhsPQrfOo0N4uyCpGsyzhDdJfDOGJcGp2cpN4vl_YMXIJsxf5hISwNRA5gDiJLP9GxrC7ukc-l_9GAJTRV7lF5issMuoLnh_Cqg/s400/Pinkie+ungrouted.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here she is with her "makeup" on. Her hat is an upside down vase. I love the green eyes. And the border of yellow hearts for hair. Cup handles for nose and mouth.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGcv_iDumE3PYQZr1dGFLN84H6FZXo57DzYCwXI0EuKKZdmimeJKw0gAD2alfBtuaplRylerTbCytxrqmVVGqkeEbLeT5vP8U2f2hG1kdbDbhdEk9Y6yPNxSVvM7EHY8rXNzFwplrPGs/s1600/Pinkie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGcv_iDumE3PYQZr1dGFLN84H6FZXo57DzYCwXI0EuKKZdmimeJKw0gAD2alfBtuaplRylerTbCytxrqmVVGqkeEbLeT5vP8U2f2hG1kdbDbhdEk9Y6yPNxSVvM7EHY8rXNzFwplrPGs/s400/Pinkie.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
Here's a birdhouse I decorated for Habitat for Humanity auction. I think it sold for over $100!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa0Btqw6gwAd1qLPsZjM7UmBjeYNPLud1g9vfTNhiGTdF5Bm6d-Y9zgND00tLhe6JozCTB1LormxrKW_5tbuz7CcVlkvo7fWGc2OvW8X3Dry3ksHPHcJhNhe2D6KZY4nzc4MBIjRlIhs/s1600/Habitat+for+Humanity+Birdhouse+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa0Btqw6gwAd1qLPsZjM7UmBjeYNPLud1g9vfTNhiGTdF5Bm6d-Y9zgND00tLhe6JozCTB1LormxrKW_5tbuz7CcVlkvo7fWGc2OvW8X3Dry3ksHPHcJhNhe2D6KZY4nzc4MBIjRlIhs/s400/Habitat+for+Humanity+Birdhouse+3.jpg" width="382" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRs9mXHGUTO0p75tWRR2oKjiE-Uo31oWRW7wnGbhPBL2t9wAYAA72rNQheQWYdf2byrg519tV7R8fsbz61rppik28XNJCxwYYUfO88MFnRyPk5gAtuECkENMaANBQZS2cpqK7z9WJCGIo/s1600/Habitat+for+Humanity+Birdhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRs9mXHGUTO0p75tWRR2oKjiE-Uo31oWRW7wnGbhPBL2t9wAYAA72rNQheQWYdf2byrg519tV7R8fsbz61rppik28XNJCxwYYUfO88MFnRyPk5gAtuECkENMaANBQZS2cpqK7z9WJCGIo/s400/Habitat+for+Humanity+Birdhouse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__fRLtqhmXIJI23lIylCdsLx_WQgyEuvYrvDsuoE0GzqziJAEqA26AqpAk8Vb4JIY73-RdvUz_idpHCyF0GEsrWpO5XDqZAE2HLT7xrD8B97dz0QCBnPsGrbLcEBx6B8I80HTurjTMCA/s1600/Habitat+for+Humanity+Birdhouse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__fRLtqhmXIJI23lIylCdsLx_WQgyEuvYrvDsuoE0GzqziJAEqA26AqpAk8Vb4JIY73-RdvUz_idpHCyF0GEsrWpO5XDqZAE2HLT7xrD8B97dz0QCBnPsGrbLcEBx6B8I80HTurjTMCA/s400/Habitat+for+Humanity+Birdhouse2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Our birdbath.....remade into something more colorful for the birds' needs.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXwgclU49eUmZUcmi-q8YzmveipxGtJLn9sK5DlSC-COh0F8axg05FpdSj8nv66suCI6PfP4t_DkPPeWrHKB6LtZU4tqLIF6DNwqQVPxqnYkjRefXu4rPExX0RZLWxjnRWbI3NBL5q0U/s1600/Mosaic+Birdbath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXwgclU49eUmZUcmi-q8YzmveipxGtJLn9sK5DlSC-COh0F8axg05FpdSj8nv66suCI6PfP4t_DkPPeWrHKB6LtZU4tqLIF6DNwqQVPxqnYkjRefXu4rPExX0RZLWxjnRWbI3NBL5q0U/s400/Mosaic+Birdbath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Oh, yes....Here's a wonderful mosaic of the heavenly bodies.....It's actually a toilet tank, but I've made it into a planter. The design goes all around....Jupiter and Mars and Earth are on the other side. The moon with the cow jumping over it (a cow-shaped cup handle) is on one of the ends.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblwpygiWlQuv3wsJq7vZKzB_LFWXpUkjpau-PPly5WkWuLkpX8u5aGK3D_pwwmrY8EnwCWqprmgQRQ4Bs0SPhl73NbpzaVCL_vv0nBQ-2Uk2Wb2OlniU11yzYKUXtCYLGgGRgaTgkkCU/s1600/Mosaic+Saturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblwpygiWlQuv3wsJq7vZKzB_LFWXpUkjpau-PPly5WkWuLkpX8u5aGK3D_pwwmrY8EnwCWqprmgQRQ4Bs0SPhl73NbpzaVCL_vv0nBQ-2Uk2Wb2OlniU11yzYKUXtCYLGgGRgaTgkkCU/s400/Mosaic+Saturn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsYG8rYBrR_x5__FU8lYTwPOjNS8enfXK97MezTXYdp3EDVHU0aQm4MPR5md-eo3ArBR1Z4zkecajS5iv3Ih6dLABgUfreu7N_8aTvwNcWoB8ayP0Higs3-3zbcGNAWBMC1S05saHDSs/s1600/The+planets+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsYG8rYBrR_x5__FU8lYTwPOjNS8enfXK97MezTXYdp3EDVHU0aQm4MPR5md-eo3ArBR1Z4zkecajS5iv3Ih6dLABgUfreu7N_8aTvwNcWoB8ayP0Higs3-3zbcGNAWBMC1S05saHDSs/s400/The+planets+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgUiq2wStpGIRTiO1hH-WVI_nC9KyTyL4eKcMTFuPfcLARpbkHcUf_S01wJ3UPK5o1ICbFP0jaA4oMecpyLMXbLfrUDvBkD9_lQeWjLr8BM3ETsXfSHuiwK_ft13CBnHp5OhftcdNWfU/s1600/The+planets+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgUiq2wStpGIRTiO1hH-WVI_nC9KyTyL4eKcMTFuPfcLARpbkHcUf_S01wJ3UPK5o1ICbFP0jaA4oMecpyLMXbLfrUDvBkD9_lQeWjLr8BM3ETsXfSHuiwK_ft13CBnHp5OhftcdNWfU/s400/The+planets+moon.jpg" width="350" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Finally, here are a few more pictures of a work in progress. It is a turquoise toilet tank lid (from the 60's?), and will be a prize for the Thanksgiving Dance competition in Oklahoma City next month.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
First, you draw a design (thanks for the help from my artist friend <a href="http://www.jdeshong.com/">JT DeShong</a> ), then you stick on the pieces with Liquid Nail.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzgKOJQtIG-my_y58va_hy0klb-zbMQcPnRxjmPKuzO9E25kK0QsJJqJDoknhEbuS6Ck_9rPeMIEsahokOObpUSty4Kx9l5iW2wRJ9XKhoLZMzUughkNRu9A17LHzdwHlMPA8ahQ7LoE/s1600/Yellow+dancing+toilet+lid+beginning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzgKOJQtIG-my_y58va_hy0klb-zbMQcPnRxjmPKuzO9E25kK0QsJJqJDoknhEbuS6Ck_9rPeMIEsahokOObpUSty4Kx9l5iW2wRJ9XKhoLZMzUughkNRu9A17LHzdwHlMPA8ahQ7LoE/s400/Yellow+dancing+toilet+lid+beginning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And here is the finished product. Wonder whose prize it will be?!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E8IJ53DCk93u-ham0l6ghuVMrEib7XN8ttWCnAoPE9ohlXmwtMMMRwlOl_QiaUeupAK-FAep-SwEbwCSojUQ3W7fjP2_cMj3qn_z4tJ7Dg_bxRHAwW0KmW8Kiw2zNtcXSE81CDE0bnY/s1600/Yellow+dancing+toilet+lid+Thanksgiving+Trot+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E8IJ53DCk93u-ham0l6ghuVMrEib7XN8ttWCnAoPE9ohlXmwtMMMRwlOl_QiaUeupAK-FAep-SwEbwCSojUQ3W7fjP2_cMj3qn_z4tJ7Dg_bxRHAwW0KmW8Kiw2zNtcXSE81CDE0bnY/s400/Yellow+dancing+toilet+lid+Thanksgiving+Trot+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Everyone seems to enjoy these mosiacs in one way or another. Remember <a href="http://tonibailey.blogspot.com/2012/02/prosper-lochlaren-plans-i-have-for-you.html">Mrs. Whitworth</a>? Well, she has been with us almost a year now, and truly enjoys being a part of a Home instead of a shelter...One of her favorite passtimes is to sit on the front porch, advertising that This is HER place of residence now. And forever. A Mosaic Cat on a Mosiac Chair. She knew where to land....From broken-ness into something beautiful......</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuJv8PZt_S-3jfPZsuXnft1YpQrR-023kVEueZecHT72HMoKBf59-LjLVBQwJDhayTwTznf9ZcQt80vQkIm8e5OcUz2rp8odHPgw9qpM1hHlcxrJcPqWZvD_R916u1Y452f8qdbYKrzQ/s1600/Mosaic+Cat+on+Mosaic+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuJv8PZt_S-3jfPZsuXnft1YpQrR-023kVEueZecHT72HMoKBf59-LjLVBQwJDhayTwTznf9ZcQt80vQkIm8e5OcUz2rp8odHPgw9qpM1hHlcxrJcPqWZvD_R916u1Y452f8qdbYKrzQ/s400/Mosaic+Cat+on+Mosaic+chair.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-44398786539968835932012-10-02T21:03:00.002-05:002012-10-02T21:03:39.405-05:00A Moral Issue<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Digging in my east garden yesterday. Planting some lavender and sage that a friend gave to me. Oh, and some "society garlic." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I love this garden. Used to be full shade until my neighbor's 100+yr-old tree fell across the fence and had to be cut completely down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Now the garden is full sun. Some of the plants, well, most of the plants, are stressing from the full sun since the tree fell.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Now I am trying to replace some of them with plants that will tolerate the heat and the burning sun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">I overturned a ceramic pot, and this is what I saw:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWp_EK4lENJO4Tcg6awFulDNKR4JdSGLqlCkQphuXO3zpi6aKe7XjCg_m_P3qCjJ5v0SGT0cADbUflnDKTaOeG2PIl20ytt4dweTxqHS3COeN_33QQA1Bo6ZxpxRL7HOzmtbBTEeBrgs/s1600/black+widow+spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWp_EK4lENJO4Tcg6awFulDNKR4JdSGLqlCkQphuXO3zpi6aKe7XjCg_m_P3qCjJ5v0SGT0cADbUflnDKTaOeG2PIl20ytt4dweTxqHS3COeN_33QQA1Bo6ZxpxRL7HOzmtbBTEeBrgs/s1600/black+widow+spider.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Black Widow spider, right? Poisonous, right? Could possibly ruin my day/weekend/life if I came upon her, and she got scared, right?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Prolly should kill her and put me out of my misery.....right?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">I turned the pot back over, and will strive to remember where she is from now on....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Yes, it was a moral delimma to me....and the spider won....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685086086078928392.post-73293685732989185532012-09-30T01:47:00.000-05:002016-10-25T21:08:56.223-05:00Meet Max<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNQr3LMwGHsyRazTugxvLBp6mBauNJIbL3yi4q3FXqKrAi41qpe_FiS1PTZLQlO-ga9Ow3NwP03oqq52C_acoO_Va2W_J665HPBCk95qeTF5Retl3w5udx_PnDuENGk-0Wat2o7sZg5w/s1600/Max+still+needs+a+home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNQr3LMwGHsyRazTugxvLBp6mBauNJIbL3yi4q3FXqKrAi41qpe_FiS1PTZLQlO-ga9Ow3NwP03oqq52C_acoO_Va2W_J665HPBCk95qeTF5Retl3w5udx_PnDuENGk-0Wat2o7sZg5w/s640/Max+still+needs+a+home.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meet Max. Approximately 2 years old, neutered male Cocker Spaniel, relinquished by his owner from her kennel when she had to move into a nursing home. He spent most of his young life in a pen with his (intact) sire. Rescued by a very compassionate nurse and taken to her home on several acres out in the county. Max has run the countryside with his family of dogs for nearly a year, gathering ticks and fleas and lots and Lots of cockleburs and sticktites in his plush sable fur. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbLYUd1BUJ5qOsQx_SiSE_8WG0WCyS3RhpXK48iA7X-GhSbXCfl1cLnrDnJKIfHDT1exukgAiqyAO1ITXfm_i4z2zpvvqHuhQxwqBwBXhCYHsoexxoE7Ra4YbAGsdUNW49dFJZQBpzlM/s1600/denise+scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbLYUd1BUJ5qOsQx_SiSE_8WG0WCyS3RhpXK48iA7X-GhSbXCfl1cLnrDnJKIfHDT1exukgAiqyAO1ITXfm_i4z2zpvvqHuhQxwqBwBXhCYHsoexxoE7Ra4YbAGsdUNW49dFJZQBpzlM/s640/denise+scarf.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Now meet my friend Denise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Denise has sent me Max's picture several times, imploring me to please find him a Forever Home. He's been going up to the highway, trespassing on the neighbor's fields, and generally setting himself up for a bad ending. Plus, my friend told me, he truly "deserves a home where someone will love and cherish him. And where he can be safe."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">I was busy. I deleted the pictures, and hoped she would not mention it again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Meet Kathryn. Baby daughter who lives in Kansas City with our wonderful son in law and two of our grandchildren. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6PkQmMwN4Z2UCBJmZIIXXqrPIzouggOAK20OYqX0QHInPfRMRIWhKKyf9uVnfQCrHXKI0XOqWJ8sJmteyP6Rp_L6FJJ_mGky_mGhQtVolePxRdYgEA4kzDJZCIuGlq_fZGdzsgzeap4/s1600/IMG_0733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6PkQmMwN4Z2UCBJmZIIXXqrPIzouggOAK20OYqX0QHInPfRMRIWhKKyf9uVnfQCrHXKI0XOqWJ8sJmteyP6Rp_L6FJJ_mGky_mGhQtVolePxRdYgEA4kzDJZCIuGlq_fZGdzsgzeap4/s640/IMG_0733.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><em>(Here I will insert a piece of advice for you if you have small children in your household: </em></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">If you spend your time when the children are little, trying your very best to raise them into caring, kind, loving human beings, I will guarantee that it will come back to bite you. Big time. When you Least expect it. Certainly when you haven't the Time or the Energy to deal with it. There is really no escaping it, for they are only repeating the behaviors you have taught them, and Kindness is such a much-needed commodity these days. You cannot say no to it....For if you did, it would then seem that you had been lying to them all these years.)</span> </em></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">And, so, even tho your children have been grown and living their own lives for many years, you never cease being the parent....and, hopefully, their friendwhowilldoanything</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">....It just never stops.....And I am quite glad of it, truthfully.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yjCpArRt_i8mO0dD4aqLdFD8PDU16NTI3up53848TkmJMV4ot9riPE6f20dm1_bsjHpEtbWcSDzI4KaKycFpKPFPfjRKjgfhDWbt3f6Bj44KTEVHfx-BdPs8TUrx5CbUmyYYjDWe8dg/s1600/Miranda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yjCpArRt_i8mO0dD4aqLdFD8PDU16NTI3up53848TkmJMV4ot9riPE6f20dm1_bsjHpEtbWcSDzI4KaKycFpKPFPfjRKjgfhDWbt3f6Bj44KTEVHfx-BdPs8TUrx5CbUmyYYjDWe8dg/s320/Miranda.jpg" width="294" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Now meet Miranda. Single mother of two darling children, ages 9 and 4. She is a friend of Kathryn's, and her sister lives in the cul de sac where Kathryn lives. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Miranda, after many years of being "dogless," decided that the time had come for her to consider adding a canine to her family. The children were old enough to appreciate and care for a dog, and she was ready now to make the commitment. So Miranda told her sister. Her sister told Kathryn.....And Kathryn, knowing that I get several "rescue requests" daily, told me.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">When Denise sent me Max's picture for the third time, I finally forwarded it on to Kathryn, knowing full well that this was probably going to be just another dry run request. I had no hope of placing this young dog. After all, who wants a Cocker Spaniel with huge feet and no socialization? </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Unbeknownst to both Kathryn and me, Miranda's "dog of choice" was a Cocker Spaniel. She'd had them in the past (pre-children era), and this is the breed that she truly wanted to have again. As soon as she received Kathryn's email with Max's picture, she called her and firmly told her this dog was "the one."</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Okay. I'm a dog trainer, right? And a darn good one who Knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that one does Not just choose a dog companion from a photograph. This is a minimum 15-year commitment. This is a sentient being, not a car or a bicycle that can be replaced once we tire of its color or its style. You don't just choose it by looking at a digital image.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">So Denise and I drove out into the country so that I could lay hands on this dog and assess his temperament, conformation, health, and general makeup. I took pictures and videos. Sent them to Kathryn. She sent them to Miranda.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Miranda's heart overrode everything practical and logical that I tried to present to her, so I took him home to further evaluate him and give him a bit of a Spa Treatment. Once he was cleaned up and smelling better, parasites eliminated, THEN, perhaps, we could make a more Intelligent judgment call. I'm Not hypercritical, truly, but I DO know that sometimes people can change their minds....</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">and, bottom line, I didn't want this little guy to be traumatized by floating from one home to another any more than necessary.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Max got a warm bath, pedicure, ear wash, blow dry, anal glands expressed, fleas and ticks combed out, cockle burrs removed, teeth cleaned, and introductions to cats, Collies, water gardens, and men.</span></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">After that, a nap was in order.....On my lap.....He snores.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_U-Ac3BM5PrkpUZXRJjEY-wvYuzJHjbbu03Yzw32b2VI7xIpzvNc8ouzDW9dRoB2VoojlUE8OxGVuLS8oKkoIK7vmOnDxxjfP8sdL8hqtZ30PWb3c5nMJbLg3yEIlR92AuZkCyELm4s/s1600/Asleep+in+my+lap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_U-Ac3BM5PrkpUZXRJjEY-wvYuzJHjbbu03Yzw32b2VI7xIpzvNc8ouzDW9dRoB2VoojlUE8OxGVuLS8oKkoIK7vmOnDxxjfP8sdL8hqtZ30PWb3c5nMJbLg3yEIlR92AuZkCyELm4s/s400/Asleep+in+my+lap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">.....He had passed all MY tests and evaluations with flying colors. Nothing really bothered him (except maybe the embarrassment of that anal gland thang). Had he spent more than one night, DH Bikeman would have insisted he stay on....This dog has rather a magical quality about him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjib8Anap5oQBBZ4F1jUp5D1Woad3bETFUeWwwgxSjuxVW3n3p372GwsAR9VHsYjaHJYtLx8Se45oiXot-h2IHZal1xoOGADfm_3Z7DDKclyl5YSSDsJydowWRHs0rBXc2JRS68D1ADyHc/s1600/Waiting+at+the+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjib8Anap5oQBBZ4F1jUp5D1Woad3bETFUeWwwgxSjuxVW3n3p372GwsAR9VHsYjaHJYtLx8Se45oiXot-h2IHZal1xoOGADfm_3Z7DDKclyl5YSSDsJydowWRHs0rBXc2JRS68D1ADyHc/s640/Waiting+at+the+door.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">He slept the night quietly in a kennel beside our bed. The next morning, I loaded the minivan with 3 dogs (two Collies, one Cocker) and headed for the Northland.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiTZF7h0pGHibZbCRaKl6GSrBXgkN-3cCzEVlo4-qv0I9Ln1ehQH7URYBJgZJPUdo-Rtl1SQkK6MoaPFYuhDm_4wzn3FD-qxuQnwTZ9CixWOBuLrsHyvFhRP2IHwpsgLkkzO0TCtKc4Q/s1600/Miranda+and+Max.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiTZF7h0pGHibZbCRaKl6GSrBXgkN-3cCzEVlo4-qv0I9Ln1ehQH7URYBJgZJPUdo-Rtl1SQkK6MoaPFYuhDm_4wzn3FD-qxuQnwTZ9CixWOBuLrsHyvFhRP2IHwpsgLkkzO0TCtKc4Q/s640/Miranda+and+Max.jpg" width="506" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">I do not believe I have ever seen a happier adoption.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61efY7auMn-thPou0O5o2NqrXfZ5E2yXySGqqJkEk0Tti0ymyIcwkrXesd9dFSa_1ZACDttMU9zgpdOJvkNoFKBs8iw-gnGw_O_xmvabovXKYDTVd38l41yuAElg4eFqfLgepKNyVOwA/s1600/Max.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61efY7auMn-thPou0O5o2NqrXfZ5E2yXySGqqJkEk0Tti0ymyIcwkrXesd9dFSa_1ZACDttMU9zgpdOJvkNoFKBs8iw-gnGw_O_xmvabovXKYDTVd38l41yuAElg4eFqfLgepKNyVOwA/s640/Max.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmR0B4hnrF6XY96NkITQR6BLAs1FFRrDX-lUDGwPqSdAPzGZpC7g_nglpUZe1Mr7_zcn14JH69M5FyRrhgmNwZKpQtgflj00-9O92_JWgiEpzF-NEhvwbnhA9b4Mt6HP_rU4agaOrUNg/s1600/Max+2+jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmR0B4hnrF6XY96NkITQR6BLAs1FFRrDX-lUDGwPqSdAPzGZpC7g_nglpUZe1Mr7_zcn14JH69M5FyRrhgmNwZKpQtgflj00-9O92_JWgiEpzF-NEhvwbnhA9b4Mt6HP_rU4agaOrUNg/s640/Max+2+jpg.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitinGtCMTPXEurw1qbqg_iFx-yXtSgRypRGO7Lq5DQT-_H6lTw05NqHmN7HW-RfaouFJsCy4uslkJMl1UXshzZyNUnhEM3B7Gfneh9T4tDkLkJeqC31uzTTGhswDsvsa_fOEfF8-3Lyc8/s1600/Max+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitinGtCMTPXEurw1qbqg_iFx-yXtSgRypRGO7Lq5DQT-_H6lTw05NqHmN7HW-RfaouFJsCy4uslkJMl1UXshzZyNUnhEM3B7Gfneh9T4tDkLkJeqC31uzTTGhswDsvsa_fOEfF8-3Lyc8/s640/Max+3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Welcome to Kansas City, Max.....You handsome, Smart, big-footed little guy. You have your Forever Family now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;">Many thanks to God for allowing me to be His Agent in all this....Mostly, I just drove the car....Now...where did I put that hairbrush?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Update......</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Max is firmly ensconced in this family and living the Dream. Jacob is driving now, and Avery is in third grade and reading everything in sight. Next month they will welcome a new member into their family.......A tiny white and striped kitten named Samson. Rescued from dire circumstances when he was only a day old, Samson already knows the warmth and love of humans and will continue his life in Kansas City. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmH-g3PGSHVMc6R2h_q43y-Cw52ARHKGY77QYlkvQAw0LgGxORuKnJU8GcMQCF1Aj-GjeQAi8hI1U1gHwD6cSTA8QuOmmaC4zt9VJ1-w_cK0-XpUKVwDeQDG-Drd0UAALzdiegKObhVk/s1600/IMG_1682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmH-g3PGSHVMc6R2h_q43y-Cw52ARHKGY77QYlkvQAw0LgGxORuKnJU8GcMQCF1Aj-GjeQAi8hI1U1gHwD6cSTA8QuOmmaC4zt9VJ1-w_cK0-XpUKVwDeQDG-Drd0UAALzdiegKObhVk/s640/IMG_1682.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: large;"></span><br />Tonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11734115494436992922noreply@blogger.com1