?

Beatrice, our headliner for May, went to wait at the shelter for a new home today.
It took 45 minutes.
Who knows? Was it the photo and write up on the web? Was it luck? Was it coincidence? Was it karma?
Why question something ordained? She actually lives w/i a mile of us now. Who would have guessed. I told her she'd pick up her scent over here from her new house.
It was another tough "release". We had her for her 30 days of recovering from her heartworm treatments. One can get attached in that timeframe.
And now we look at Cyclone. He's a real charmer. Today was his surgery - "alteration". He's a Bassett - German Shepherd Dog.
Does that make him a Bassherd? a Shepett? a basshep? a herbass? Whatever he is he is WONDERFUL. We have adopted out lots of great pups and dogs.
What will happen next?

More pixs from wk of 05.04.09

Puppies @ 5 weeks old

For information about puppies contact Lesley Hiltz

Puppy Pixs from week of 04.27.09

Save Your Fork

My husband had unused airline miles and received a letter about using them up.

You've all received those letters, haven't you? I think I got from from Ozark Airlines back in the 80's. Usually I toss them. That was not the case with Ed.

He took "advantage" of the magazine "offer". This happened about the time I was pushing a more green lifestyle so I missed hearing it when he told me he'd placed the order...hmmmmm...We receive catalogs, way too many, but had given up all magazines.

Nonetheless, by Thursday of this past week he was, well, fretting. It seems he was of the understanding that our subscriptions should have kicked in and he was mumbling about that, going to contact them, etc.

Then they started. He ordered Martha Stewart's LIVING. We got the April issue one day and May the next. Both were in the trash today.

Good thing because today, while he is out of town, BON APPETIT arrived. He's gone all week. Good planning on his part.

I'm not sure what this means. Is there a hidden message or a bold statement? Do I need to iron my mother's and grandmother's aprons and buy a shirtwaist dress? Our plates and tableware are each a "set" so it can't be about the table settings. We've watched enough Food Network that I know what "presentation" means now versus what it meant in my corporate days. I'm puzzled. He'll have some 'splainin' to do when he gets home, he will.

In the meantime, I was inspired tonight. I added a sliced pickle, make that Kosher Dill Spear, to the side of my now-sliced-diagonally grilled cheese and salami sandwich and embraced it all with a halo of leftover veggies. Martha has nothing on me.

Stick a fork in him. He's done.

Meet Beatrice

You need to think and say her name with an Italian flair. It's Bay-uh-TREE-chay. Our doing, well, my doing. I was troubled by the shortening of it to Bea when we have a dog whose name has a long ee sound. Why confuse them? Lo! Behold! I was starting to listen to another book on tape (didn't like it) and realized the book description cited a character named Beatrice but the reader was pronouncing it differently. Problem solved.

Regardless, tomato / tomato, she's an amazingly cunning little Beagle who is with us for, you guessed it, her heartworm recovery period.

Beagles don't like to take it easy. She wants to run and leap, to chase around the fenced in yard, to lock her gaze on whatever is "out there" that she senses.

Beagles are very good at getting their own way. What Bea, say "Bay", hasn't figured out is that her yard is much smaller thanks to my (self-proclaimed) clever re-formatting of her private outside space. It's win-win!

Inside she is Miss Social, wanting to be grand friends with our dogs. None of them understand the need to keep her calm. Compromise time arrived last night when I had her in the living room with all of us but placed securely on my lap.

She's learning that she cannot conquer this Rome in a day, no matter how her name is pronounced or how cute she is! And, she's penetrated our hearts, having been here to keep Boyd company his last week with us and now getting ready to enter her preparation time so she can go to her forever home.

Change.

Seems to be a popular theme at the global level all the way down into our state and into our lives.

We do what we do, we hope for the right reasons. Bea is a singular example of a life changed: sick and lost, overwhelmed, found, treated, secured, rebounding, gaining confidence and understanding, preparing for moving on, leaving our hearts changed. Hmm.

May Day - May Day!

In CA I have a cousin who turns "my age" today, minus 5 months, of course. But she's reached the point where she has earned the right to say no without anyone questioning her. When I called her this evening I explained it took me all day to find the magnifying glass I needed to read her phone number in the address book. And, I did hope she noticed that the Sec'y of Health, etc., has ruled we should all sing "Happy Birthday". To heck with the notion that it is to be done in concert with washing your hands and that when you complete the song you know you washed long enough to kill any weird things lingering on your skin.

Another cousin, in TX is trying to convince me HE sewed new curtains for the bathroom. He included photos in the email message. Oddly enough the one he's holding up to assure that the fabric is not see-through does show that the scalloped trim is already on the bottom edge. One would think he would not have gone that far before testing the fabric. I'm skeptical. But the pictures were interesting. I've warned him I'd post it.




So this evening I'm watching "The Devil Wears Prada" and I see in the "out takes" that the luggage Ms. Streep had with her as she awited a return flight from Miami to NYC was really Prada, worth $70,000.

That leads me to wondering what the word "worth" is all about. A hatbox, a makeup case, and a suit bag...that's $70k. I could have bought 3 of my first houses and still have had money to pay a couple years of taxes on them, back when I was the age of the young assistant in this movie. Yipes.

In fact, the house I live in now...well, suffice it to say,...I'd rather have it than a complete set of those bags. For one thing, they were crocodile and I don't think they needed to be. Next, the dogs would find them interesting and deem them "new toys".

My (step)daughter works in the high, high, did I mention high?, fashion world, in NYC, as a Marketing VP. She dismisses more little black dresses in one season than I've owned in my life. She travels globally and has lunch with people like Stevie Nicks and goes to functions with NBA and/or NFL players. Thankfully she comes from solid stock and is "herself", regardless.



Maybe I'm watching the movie to relate more. But I still don't have a definition of "worth" that is worth much in the Prada world. One character referred to "inner self" early on...it's not what you wear; that sort of message. He was being sarcastic.

So, May Day - a cry for help! How does "stuff" get to be worth so much? It just cannot be. That's why our country - heck, our world, is where it is. We assigned worth to that which is not worth much. Let's get it straight.

To Linda Sue - may the towel you wear over your flannel shirt and jeans as you feed your grandson his early dinner be a statement of your worth. Happy Birthday.

To Ralph, aka ST - may the curtains you sorta wore, sorta made - whatever that was, be a sign of what you are worth to us, your willingness to sorta expose your humor at your own expense.

To TL-G, may the ever-changing wardrobe find its way to the back of the closet as your true worth bursts through the seems. I'm still fascinated by how much you look like Darryl Hannah.

Love to each of you.