Honey Update

A few days after my last post regarding Honey the adorable girl mutt that found her way on to my front porch and decided to stay, I was woken up at what felt like 3a.m. but was more like 1a.m. It seems Honey (whom I had noticed was taking to territorial growlings and barks at strangers) had been outside barking incessantly. I didn't hear this because my bedroom air cleaner seems to drown out all outside noises. It took the door bell ringing and a uniformed officer to bring this to my attention.

"Do you own a blond dog?"
"Uhhh it's not my dog - she showed up here a few days ago and I gave her some food and water and she hasn't left".
"Well then she's your dog".
"Well, I had planned on taking her to The Haven (which is a local no kill shelter) this weekend..."
"She's been barking and we've had a few complaints"
(I'm told this is what they always say and more than likely it was my immediate neighbors. --Never mind their children are current screaming and yelling in the back yard and interrupting my work for the better part of the day.)
"Does she come in the house?" he asked.
"No I have bad allergies." (Not to mention she's probably in need of a flea bath, but more importantly, if I brought her into my home I'd probably keep her forever).
He paused and I said "What should I do?"
"Take her to The Haven tomorrow".
Mind you him being there was causing her to bark even more so I'm sure the neighbors were even more thrilled. And her barking was causing every other dog in the hood to yap. So I put her in the garage and kept her shut in. I figured the worse thing is I have a mess to clean up in the morning. Then I slept on the sofa so I could hear if she started barking or wimpering.

The next day I took her to The Haven. Unfortunately they are not accepting large dogs right now because they don't have the room and they're expensive to feed. When I heard this I literally fought off tears. I haven't had a good past twelve months in the world of animals so this was hitting a nerve. The good news is, she was wanded and she has a chip!!! We find out that she belongs to the Fayetteville ASPCA. The nice lady at The Haven called and the Fayetteville ASPCA has no record of the dog. It's their chip but they have no idea. The chip company has on record that the chip belonged to FASPCA but that it was signed out to someone else and then brought back to FASPCA. The Haven thinks that maybe Honey was fostered out. But they asked if I could bring Honey in and of course I said yes. I wanted nothing more than Honey to be reunited with her owner and/or found a nice home. Cuz she's a great dog!

When I get to the Fayetteville ASPCA the woman I spoke to initially had no idea what I was talking about but after explanation something seemed to register. I had to fill out a bunch of forms... "What's her name?" I dunno but I've been calling her Honey bun... ??? "What type of dog?" Again I have no idea. "How old is she?" Uhhh not my dog I don't know... It was kind of done at a hurried pace as they were closing in ten minutes and of course I'm feeling like I have no choice but to bring Honey here since a) she belongs to them and b) I can't have the cops coming back to my door. So as I'm filling out the paperwork I see that I am signing away my right to adopt a dog in the future from the Fayetteville ASPCA because I'm surrendering "my dog". I ask about this of course, because she's not MY dog... but apparently by law, after a certain period of time of taking care of an animal they become yours... Interesting. Oh and Fayetteville ASPCA doesn't take "strays". Okay.... So I sign this and after the fact become really annoyed. THEY lost track of this dog. It showed up on my door step. I took care of her. I did all the right things. But you make it look like I am the loser failing this animal. WTF???

I tried to call and get an update on her - I get an answering machine and no one returns my calls. How nice.

Am I St. Francis?

Last Friday - One week after losing Smokey, a mysterious dog shows up. She looks vaguely familiar and I think she's the one that attempted to eat Smokey's food last fall and Smokey gave her a bloody nose for his trouble. While Smokey was here most animals stayed out of the yard. He was a pretty good watch cat -- Rarely getting in fights but often giving warnings to would be trespasser animals.

Now, you might ask if it's possible that this dog was the reason for Smokey's untimely death. While anything is possible, I have to say with complete certainty that she's not. First of all she has no marks on her other than an old scar on her nose (Which is what led me to believe she's the one that Smokey gave the bloody nose to those many months ago.). She's very docile. She doesn't seem to have an interest in cats other than to perk her ears when they fight nearby. The attention she gives to other dogs is mostly an incessant butt sniffing. She's only shown her teeth once to a dog that was a bit jumpy during one of these greetings. And Gerry even picked her up off the ground. If she was going to bitch at anything, it should have been that. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So this yellow lab/sheppard mix dog shows up last Friday. She's very sweet, I give her a piece of ham and say hello. Then I sit at my kitchen counter with the laptop to do work. She spends the rest of the day looking in at me through the kitchen window while camped out on the front porch. I go out to get the mail and I say hello and pet her. She grants me with some prancing and a wagging tail, followed by a little whimper as I sit back down at the counter and she resumes her vigil. Gerry came home from work around 9:30 p.m. and she greeted him with caution before wagging her tail and giving love. Figuring she must be hungry we give her a slice of pizza and some water. I worry that she's not going to go home and I put a blanket on the front porch because it's a chilly night. Gerry's mom named her Bowser because we thought she was a boy. After further inspection (Privacy be damned.) we find that she's in fact a girl.

Upon awaking the next morning she's still here. We start to call her "Blondie" before I decide that's too superficial sounding and Blondie then becomes "Honey". Honey chases the car as we go to get something to eat on Saturday. It had been raining and we left the garage open with some blankets. We came home around 8pm and Honey wasn't here. At this point we figure she's gone. I close the garage door when heading off to bed. Gerry discovered her on the front porch and opened the garage for her around 1 a.m.

By now we've assumed that she HAS to be a stray. But who would abandon such a beautiful dog. Sunday morning she's still on the front porch. She again chase the car as far as she can before heading back to the driveway. She continues this behavior anytime we both leave. If one of us remains behind she'll stay on the front porch. She knows the meaning of the commands "Sit" and "No", so she's at least had some sort of training. She's friendly and loving. Though she's cautious and a bit skittish over loud unexpected sounds. I could jump to all kinds of conclusions over that trait. Was she abused? She doesn't seem to have any evidence other than being skinny because she'd been abandoned. I ask neighbors and no one seems to know where she came from. So did someone dump her off. Did someone move and leave her behind?

It's now been four days. Honey is still camping out on the front porch with lots of blankets (I gave her the option of the garage but she seems to prefer the front door (Probably because that's the door we use the most). We've continued to feed and give her water and at this point I believe she's officially my responsibility and I plan to make a valiant attempt at finding her a new home and if not, take her to the no-kill shelter. Unfortunately I cannot keep her - aside from just not being ready for another animal in my life after the loses of the past year, there are other extenuating circumstances.

Know anyone looking for a really great dog -- before I become any more attached than I already am???

A Memorial to Smokey

I have a soft spot for animals. This is no secret. Certainly, when Outdoor Kitty aka Smokey or Smokey Smoke, found his way into my life last year it wasn’t long before he also wormed his way into my heart. I was never a cat person. Mostly because I am highly allergic to them and I knew that I couldn’t have them in my home. Of course Id’ make a bee line for my friends’ cats, giving them pets and love. And I wasn’t above giving food, water and affection to the strays or other outdoor cats that wandered into my yard. In general, I don’t believe in having outdoor pets, so I went against my better judgment when Smokey came along. His options were the no-kill shelter, where he would certainly be miserable, or here on this large plot of land away from any major roads. The garage was his initial home with plans of putting him in the upstairs bonus room on really cold nights.

I’m not exactly sure when it happened that Smokey came to be more of an indoor cat than an outdoor cat. I do know that I couldn’t seem to let him spend the colder winter days outside – Regardless of the fact that the garage stayed pretty warm. My initial thought was, have him in the hardwood area of the house, keep him off of the sofa where I sit, and remember to take my Allegra and Flonase daily! He never seemed to spend his nights upstairs though, since the door didn’t fully latch and he’d push it open before wandering into my bed. I didn’t seem to mind waking up with him next to my pillow or having him sit next to me on the couch, despite my eyes watering and the inability to breathe through my nose. I could almost hear my doctor shouting in my ear “This is not good for your lungs! There will be long term repercussions!” but I didn’t have the heart to shoosh him away.

Upon waking in the mornings he’d want outside to “make his rounds” and then he’d scratch on the door to come back in for food. Not long after he’d scratch on the door to go outside and do his business. In between inside and outside he’d sit near me “perking” and was more like a dog than any cat I’d ever seen. In fact he even growled at strangers or people I didn’t like. I grew to love the way he’d set his paw on my knee or arm when looking for a treat and how he’d sit on the side of the tub looking for water while taking a bath. (A large jar lid would be used to offer him warm water from the tap which he loved). If I was outside washing the car or doing yard work he’d hang out by my side. Seldom did he ever leave the property and on those rare occasions he didn’t go far. He’d venture to the edge of the field across our road and into our woods in the back yard. But usually he’d come when we call, or at the very least when we shook his treat bag.

Sadly Smokey-Smoke left us the Friday before last. He went out for his rounds early in the morning and didn’t come home. He was found later in the woods having died by some mysterious means (Though evidence points to a fight with another cat). He was buried in the woods with a blanket, treats and his toy mouse.

Out of the Loop

I know I've been out of the loop for the past month and a half. A lot of crappy stuff has been going on. First of all my Nana passed away the day before Christmas. A week and a half ago Outdoor Kitty, aka Smokey was found dead in the back yard woods. He died two weeks to the day before the anniversary of Kelsey's death (My beloved Shih Tzu puppy of 15 years). In between all of this I got slammed with work (Some of which I have yet to be paid for dang it! -Nothing like feeling like you're working for free!). Couple that with classes and house work and another stray dog having found it's way into my life and I've been busy, depressed, stressed and confused. Though busy tends to out weigh everything and keep me from thoughts of jumping from the nearest high place! More posts will follow - I've actually been writing a couple of things -Catharsis is good um hummm.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone ! A GUIDE FOR YOU FOR ST PATRICK'S DAY IRISH BEER TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE SYMPTOM CAUSE CORRECTIVE ACTION Feet cold and wet Glass Being held at incorrect angle. Rotate glass so that open end points toward ceiling Feet warm and wet Improper Bladder Control Stand next to nearest dog, complain about lack of house training Beer unusually pale and tasteless a. Glass empty. b. You're holding a Coors Lite Get someone to buy you another beer Opposite wall covered with fluorescent lights You have fallen over backward. Have yourself lashed to the bar Mouth contains cigarette butts, back of head covered with ashes You have fallen forward See above Beer tasteless, front of your shirt is wet a. Mouth not open b. Glass applied to wrong part of face Retire to restroom, practice in front of mirror Floor Blurred You are looking through bottom of empty glass Get someone to buy you another beer Floor moving You are being carried out Find out if you are being taken to another bar Room seems unusually dark Bar has closed Confirm home address with bartender. If staff is gone, grab a six-pack to go and hit the nearest fire escape door. Run. Taxi suddenly takes on colorful aspect and textures Beer consumption has exceeded personal limitations Cover mouth, open window, stick head outside Everyone looks up to you and smiles You are dancing on the table Fall on someone cushy-looking Beer is crystal-clear It's water! Somebody is trying to sober you up Punch him People are standing around urinals, talking You're NOT in the ladies' room Do not use urinal! Excuse yourself, exit and try the next door down the hall. Try to get phone numbers before exiting (optional) Hands hurt, nose hurts, mind unusually clear You have been in a fight Apologize to everyone you see, just in case it was them Don't recognize anyone, don't recognize the room you're in You've wandered into the wrong party See if they have free beer Your bedroom is painted gray, has a concrete floor and an interesting steel door. Toilet may be conveniently located next to your bunk a. You're in jail b. You're in the navy Sleep it off, you can always get out tomorrow. Don't talk to your new roommate, and under no circumstances sleep on your stomach You are dancing to a Village People song, and your partner is wearing leather chaps You're in a gay bar Keeping your back to the wall, edge toward nearest exit. Do not accept offers for back rubs Your singing sounds distorted The beer is too weak Have more beer until your voice improves Don't remember the words to the song Beer is just right Play air guitar

Memories of Nana

I’m one of those rare people to have the opportunity not only to know my grandparents, but have them in my life long into adulthood. Each of my grandparents served as surrogate parents to my self and my siblings. They all had their roles. Grandma as the nurturer that would take anyone in at any time, no reservations required and no complaints. We’d say “There’s always room for one more at Grandma’s place”. My Grandpa, the tickler, was our play buddy. Very seldom would you hear a stern word from his lips. Instead there would be jokes, gentle taunts and a wonderful belly laugh. Now Gramps (my other Grandpa) was the epitome of proper British culture. His accent still strong after over 30 years of living in the States, he had his own sense of humor. He was quite, gentle and kind. Gramps infused religion into the mix and taught me the importance of hard work, Kung Foo, Kojack and the simple pleasures found in a comfy chair.

Nana on the other hand, while certainly fun and caring, was often tough love. She didn’t take any crap and told you exactly what she was thinking, whether you wanted to hear it or not.--Though most times it was what you NEEDED to hear. So it should come as no surprise that while we saw butterflies at Gramps’ funeral, we saw a bumble bee at Nana’s.--Beautiful and instrumental but willing to sting you if you get out of line. Nana inspired us all to expect more from ourselves--To strive towards something better. In and amongst her lessons were these valuable tidbits:

There’s nothing quite like a good foot scrubbing: Despite giggles and screams emitted during the torturous tickling, I’d always plead for more when the “agony” ceased.--And don’t forget to scrub behind those ears, we don’t want cauliflower growing!

A swimsuit, also known as a swim costume (or “cozzie” for short) is acceptable attire under any outfit – Because you never know when you might find the chance opportunity to worship the sun. And work can always be coupled with play: Get the beach house tub scrubbed and run the Hoover on those carpets, and down to the sea we will go!

Some of the best cuisine will never be listed on a five-star restaurant menu: Potato Chip and Butter Sandwiches, Banana and Butter Sandwiches, Eggs and Soldiers (soft-boiled eggs with the tops cut off and buttered bread cut in strips perfect for dipping), Sheppard’s Pie, Mashed Potatoes Topped with Ground Beef and Gravy and a side of Peas (which usually wound up all mixed together – Some call this Poor Mans Sheppard’s Pie), Yorkshire Pudding (Heavenly!), and to wash it all down, a Shandy (Ginger Ale and Beer mixed half and half in a glass – also good for tummy aches).

There is only one way to enjoy a horror flick: The film must be frightening enough to scare the pants off of you. (Like “Visiting Hours” which left me attempting to sleep curled up on her bathroom floor with the lights turned on because I was sure the slasher was going to come out of the closet!). This type of thing makes you braver you know.

Hurricanes can be fun: Like sitting in a Florida style mobile home, listening to the wind rattle the siding and windows while rain pelted down like pennies on a tin roof and tree tops bent towards the ground.

How to set a proper table including lessons on which eating utensil is used for what: salad fork, dinner fork, desert fork... And exactly why was there a different utensil for each dish? (Did you know that real silver will hold the taste of food until they are washed? Picture eating pickled something or other with the same fork you’re about to use for cheese cake… ICK!--Now Nana taught you something too!)

Always speak proper English:

Say “Please” and “Thank you.”

It’s “Pardon Me?”, not “Huh?” or “What?”.

“Who’s SHE? The cat’s Mother?” – Always use proper names!

Presents are fun to give AND receive. Squeeze, shake, rattle, sniff, listen and if you get a private opportunity, pull up the corner a bit and see if it reveals anything. Then, as soon as you’re allowed, rip into that paper like your life depends on it. Be sure to place the bow on your head during this process.

There’s nothing quite like the cuddle of a soft teddy bear or the beauty of fresh flowers in the garden.

Shopping is a religion.

The Macarana can be fun! In fact when you saw Nana shaking her groove thing to that song in her advanced years, you couldn’t help but clap and sing along in encouragement! Some were even brave enough to join in!

This is just a taste of the wonder that was Nana. After her memorial, my mother, sister and myself were talking in the loft. The little Christmas tree with sea shells still sat on the table and the presents my brother and I had shipped down for Nana remained underneath. I handed my gift to my sister and offered, “Would you like to keep this as a memento to remember Nana?” “What is it?” she asked. At that moment, the video for The Macarana began to play on the television. Yes, Nana found a way to shout: “Oooh! Open it! What’s inside?” a brilliant reminder that while she’s missed terribly, she’s still very much a part of our lives.

Puppy

I was sitting on my couch and saw a woman walking a dog past the window... Wait...that's puppy!!! Awww! I kidna miss the little stinker. But no, I like my sleep too much. And my things.

Demon Dog - Not Ready for a Puppy

I came home from a job to find the cutest little puppy wandering out of my partially closed garage. It was a particularly cold day so I immediately dropped everything, picked up the puppy and took her into the house. As I tried to guess where she may have come from, I went back outside to collect my purse. In that short span of time "puppy" had already tore an ornament off of my Christmas tree. I expected to hear someone calling for her or going door to door to find her. I mean this is a PUPPY after all... You'd think someone would be missing it. Not a peep. I figured I'd wait out the night and if they didn't come, on the morning I'd start calling shelters to find out if someone inquired of her whereabouts before going door to door myself - even put up some posters. My big fear was that someone bought the puppy for their child and decided she was too much work and took her for a ride.

The reason I started to believe this was evidenced by the hole in the shin area of my pants, the little red scratches and nip bites on my arms, legs and even tummy, and the fact that I literally couldn't let this little baby out of my site for a second without her getting into something or tearing something apart. No, not my shoe... No, leave my computer cord alone! Hey! Those are my glasses! Put the remote DOWN.

By 10:00 p.m. I realized no one was going to come for the puppy. I called my friend Stacey telling her all about how cute this little thing was as I listened to her telling me that I CAN make space in my life for a new puppy. I called Cristy and her opinion was "This is why I adopt adult dogs" as I attempted to have a conversation with her between shouts of "No" and "Hey" and "Ouch" depending on the actions of this little possessed being.

Needless to say I was unable to get any sleep overnight. While I did implement a crate, which ensured I was able to have 15 minute naps here and there, but for the most part, Puppy wanted loving, playing, and taken out to eat the frozen grass (She's teething).

By 10:00 a.m. I decided to take the puppy door to door (Unshowered, bags under my eyes and all). I made it to the first house to be told they have no idea where the puppy belongs. At this point I noticed a note on the corner stop sign. Success! I dialed the number and puppy and family were reunited with wagging tails and "I missed you"s. Oh did I mention it's a pit bull? Explains a bit of the demon dog side!

To save my belongings I had taken out some of Kelsey's toys. I used her leash to walk the puppy to it's home. Unfortunately I had to then put all this stuff away, feeling like I was saying goodbye to Kelsey all over again.

I still miss Kelsey so much. And NO, I am NOT ready for a puppy!

To The Cleveland Browns

Thanks for the great season. 10-6... What a record (Keeping in mind that some of the teams playing in this years play offs didn't have this good of a record).

What is my mantra?
"There's always next year".

Who am I?
I am a Browns fan!

Murhpy's Law... Or something like that...

I'm working on a paper that's due tomorrow. Technically today but I had to bug out of class to deal with the heat folks - my thermostat (or something died) and my instructor gave me until tomorrow to get it in. Which is good because I have one particular problem that is kicking my booty. I spent most of the day working the problem, waking away in frustration to do some work only to sit back down and try my hand at the problem again.

A little while ago I got a call from the heat guy to let me know he was on his way. I started to tell him what was going on and I walked up to the thermostat - and low and behold it was working again. Mind you it's 75 degrees outside today (which hit us out of the blue) and I don't really need the heat, tomorrow it's supposed to be cold again. So I told him to come out anyway and see if he can figure out what is going on. While he was running his diagnostics I continued to work on my problem and shouted... "GOT IT!" when I finally figured out the answer. This was around the time the heat guy came in to tell me he can't find anything wrong. So I wrote out a check for 75.00 (With a promise from him, if I have to call him out again tomorrow because it died again that they wouldn't charge me 75.00 again) when my computer decided to reboot itself after auto installing some window updates. Uh huh... Lost the problem and am now in the process of recreating it. Thankfully it was still pretty fresh in my memory but still!

This is my life. Welcome to my world.

And I wonder why it is I can never seem to get anything accomplished!!!

Financial Hardship?

I arrived home from school and flipped on the television. Generally I'll see what's going on Oprah to use as a backdrop while going through my email and figuring out what homework I need to do first. Today's guest was Suze Orman who was giving advice to various couples who were in serious debt (One so bad that she suggested they sell their house and move to Seattle). Most of what Suze had to say was certainly very valuable, however I was stunned when she suggested that one gentleman download his vast DVD collection onto his iPod and then sell the DVD's on eBay.

Ummm... Hello... Do I need to point out that this is ILLEGAL--and in total defiance of Copyright law (Not in any way shape or form falling under the auspice of fair use)? If you think the couple has a financial hardship now, wait until they get slapped with a lawsuit from the MPAA for making illegal copies of DVDs. Eeesh...

Yes, I flung off an email on the Oprah.com website, not sure anyone will read it or make any sort of public correction but I made my psa.

Outdoor Cat

I've gained a new friend - Smokey aka "Outdoor Cat". He can't live inside with me because I'd suffer horrible lung reactions... and so he gets the garage (cracked enough for him to get in and out) and the run of the large yard and woods. He's been guarding my yard for a few months now and I announced out loud a few days ago how happy I am that he doesn't have any hunter sensibilities. Not surprisingly, that very evening, while pulling into the driveway I noticed the carcass of a now deceased field mouse. I was told that I am supposed to praise him for this act, instead I announce "No Smokey! You killed Stuart Little". When discussing this with a friend the other day I was told that I'd should be happy he took care of it because having the rodent in the house is not a pleasant experience. I suppose this is true, but my animal loving side can't seem to get over the murder of this little furry guy.

Database Programming

I'm into Chapter 3 of Oracle9i: SQL with an Introduction to PL/SQL. I still have no idea what PL/SQL is, but I'm at least not running the other direction from the rest of it. Considering I found out after starting the class that I should have taken DB110 first, I'm actually holding my own, which is good. Though I can tell you one thing, its not something you want to be watching Oprah while working on. After reading the first paragraph of Chapter 3, I decided I needed quiet. And I'm taking notes. It borders too closely to math for my distraction zone. I decided to write my own query:

Select DosEquis
From beer
Where temperature = "cold";

In slight contrast, the CSS and XHTML are a BREEZE! A little too easy actually. So I"m happy to report, school hasn't killed me yet :)

Some Folks Shouldn't Breed...

I realize I live in the South. And with that comes certain hazards. This time, as opposed to complaining about the blistering heat or threatening hurricanes I'm referring to another inherent problem. That would be rednecks. Now the reason for this diatribe:

I was listening to the radio while doing some school research. Per usual a news brief came on air and the current concern was the water in a certain county that had been so bad it was coming out of the pipes the color of strongly brewed tea. The reason for this is that the water tables are extremely low due to the severe drought we've been experiencing. Now that isn't what has me disturbed The reason I'm shaking my head in disbelief is a comment made by a local citizen after the close of an emergency town meeting wherein it was requested that residence withhold from watering lawns until the situation improves. This idiot's response (which he wanted the entire public to hear since he voiced this opinion to reporters)... And I quote [Insert hillbilly accent here] "It's my house, I'll do what I want to do!"

Are you serious?

Incredible

Check this out: geek-squad-stealing-porn-from-customers-computer

Now, I can't say that I'm surprised that Geek Squad technicians at Best Buy, or any male techie for that matter would be caught stealing porn, photographs or private information off of computers they're supposed to be fixing. I mean, there is a reason geeks are portrayed a certain way on film and other media outlets. But I base my lack of shock mostly on the mentality I've experienced from many of my male counterparts. Thus this story only goes to fuel the public perception that the majority of techies are adolescent-minded, testosterone driven, nerdy, dateless males who find it necessary to achieve sexual gratification via the internet and other porn-rife outlets. I'm not saying this is true for all computer career males, however this video proves that there is a reason for the stereotype. And to stoke the fires of this stereotype further, the following comment:

I used to work for an independant computer repair shop. Believe me, this is nothing unusual within the industry at all. And all the company owners do it too. I worked for a guy who checked the pcs of every good-looking girl who came in to see if they had any interesting photos of themselves. Either learn to fix it yourself, or live with it. Be happy that most technicians are just geeks looking for porn, you could have gotten a guy who copied your Quickbooks file, stole your account numbers, and then drained your bank accounts.

Is that seriously your response? Would you say the same thing about physicians: Either learn to conduct surgery on yourself or don't complain if your doctor happens to snap a few pictures of you while you're lying naked and unconscious on the table, and then be happy that he didn't steal your wallet? -- What this person is saying, is that we should be experts in every single field know to man if we'd like to avoid getting ripped off, taken advantage of or violated. It's ridiculous. But thanks for making another point in the endless list of why companies should hire more women techs!

Who Loves You Baby

"Gentleman." I heard that word tossed around more than once during his funeral. "He was a real gentleman." they said. And, it's true - there are not many people like him left in the world today. He never had an unkind word to say towards or about anyone, and he'd give a stranger the shirt of his back if they needed it. He worked hard as a carpenter his entire life, and even after retirement he would mow lawns, do yard work, and handy man tasks. He was a devout Catholic and it brought him tremendous joy when any of his family would attend mass along with him. He was the epitome of an English Gentleman in look and mannerism with a strong accent and sense of propriety. His favorite past-time was watching sports, however my fonder memories include him kicked back in his lounge chair with me laying on the living room floor in front of him as we took in episodes of Kung Fu and Kojack on blistering Florida summer afternoons. He'd always greet me with an enthusiastic "Who loves you baby?" to which I'd gleefully shout "You do Gramps!" and a bear hug would result. Often he'd slip me an old-fashioned English toffee, Chicklets gum, or rise to retrieve a coffee can full of change from the hall closet that he'd been saving just for me. He loved his family and his wife tremendously, and even as death greeted him his main concern was that each detail of his Will, ensuring his wife would be properly taken care of, was covered to a T. He passed quietly with the majority of his family around him and his daughter holding his hand until the very end. A peaceful death if ever there was one, for a peaceful, kind and loving man. On the eve of his funeral the family passed around a glass of J&B Whiskey and we took turns sipping the lethal fluid--Honoring him by partaking in one of his favorite vices - a single belt of the amber-colored liquid after each evening meal. During the funeral a butterfly swooped in while my mom was doing her reading, it circled around her head, fluttered around the inside of the gazebo and remained throughout the service. "Gramps was here visiting" I said. My sister-in-law corrected me, "They say that whenever there is a butterfly around, there are angels around you."

Who loves you baby!

What a year...aka Kimmie's Absence

Okay I know I've been MIA, but this is through no fault of my own.

Not only have I been in the middle of getting organized for the fall semester (Yes, I've decided to go back to school.) but in between all this, my grandfather took ill, I went to Florida for two weeks to help out because they didn't think he was going ot make it and my mom has been having health issues of her own. I arrived to find out that my Nana had been sleeping for two days straight and when she came to she didn't know who she was, where she was, or who any of her family members were. We were informed by a Hospice doctor that she had dementia and that she didn't have long to live (Mind you no tests had been administered to discover this fact). Meanwhile grandpa started to do much better and his outlook was good.

Within a few days Nana was doing much better and her dementia was first explained away by a urinary tract infection, only to be informed later that she had a TIA (mini stroke). Meanwhile we find out that grandpa has an infection in his pacemaker, he only has 20% use of his heart and his options are limited.

After two weeks of up and downs similar to this, I came home to await the inevitable - My grandfather's death and funeral. After not having been home a week I was back on a plane the next day to attend his funeral on Friday.

It is now Wednesday (not quite a week later) and I'm just NOW getting caught up on everything that needed to be done around here (catching up on email, work stuff, laundry is still piled high and my suit case is yet to be unpacked... sad...)

So that's where I've been! Fun no???

Yes it's Summer!

It's 99 degrees outside, the little gel decorations have melted on my window, the June bugs (aka Japanese Beetles) are dining on my rose bushes, I burnt the soles of my feet on the way to the mail box, and the neighbor's dog sought solace from the heat by diving into my swimming pool. Ahhh yes, it's summer in the South!

Doing it like... Bunnies...

I was out tooling around in my garden, trying to replace my underground soaker hose, cutting back a mutant strain of parsley that lived through the winter and now has stalks the size of small trees, and pruning back other vegetation. I made my way through the parsley and was about to plant a nice fresh basil when a little rodent head appeared from beneath the mulch.

Contrary to what some may believe, I'm not a big "girl" and I didn't run away screaming. Instead, I cooed in response and began to call all my friends... "I have a baby mole in my garden!"

Upon closer inspection, we didn't have "a mole" but multiple babies had taken residence next to the nutritious and delicious parsley. Being the animal lover I am, I decided to leave them where they were, and planned to spot water until they grew to adult size and would later find a humane means of transplanting them from my garden. It wasn't until later in the day when I showed the nest to a friend that the true identity of my house guests were uncovered.

They're not moles... They're baby bunnies!

When being teased about not knowning the difference between moles and bunnies I professed my desire to respect their privacy. I'm happy to report that mama comes back every evening to feed the babies and I'm giving her full reign of my garden to raise her young. (I mean hell, no one could have eaten that amount of parsley in a lifetime let alone one year! I can share!)

Memories of Kelsey

Sadly, after over 14 wonderful years (I’m told that’s 98 in dog years), being as spoiled as she possibly could, and cared for by the very best doctors and nurses, we had to say goodbye on March 21^st. While the last year seemed to show a gradual decline of the little girl everyone knew, and in her final week her spunky demeanor seemed to waiver, she never lost her charm or spark. She will linger in the minds of many for years to come as “the dog with the tongue,” and she will always be “sweet pea”, “peanut” and “baby girl.”

Pampered to the point of being spoiled, but not bratty, Kelsey had a “pup tent” and three different beds in various rooms of the house though preferred to sleep near her “mama.” She was fully in charge of the sleep schedule and would dig under the blankets, pulling them off to indicate it was time to rise. She loved to be chased on the bed and would raiser her backside in a play bow while emitting a deep grrr to initiate such encounters. She wouldn’t suffer summers without air conditioning and donned her purple furry cape when winter walks threatened to cause a shiver. She was the proud owner of a special “Dog on Tour” meal and water dish, which accompanied her on many adventures, and a walker-umbrella and raincoat to keep her dry on rainy days. Fuzzy blankets scattered the house, as did toys of many shapes and sizes, but despite all the worldly things, what she loved most was to be near her people and wouldn’t let mommy out of her site for more than a minute. She enjoyed having her soft tummy rubbed, being held and snuggled and never failed to “nuggle” in return, earning her the nickname “nuggler.” She was fond of pulling scrunchines from unsuspecting heads, her favorite time of the day was snack time, she enjoyed walkies, and knew how to beg just right—“sitting pretty” to get those coveted morsels of people food—ensuring she’d remain at least a little overweight for the bulk of her life. Seldom barking, but to demand food, treats and water or in response to the occasional door or airline alert bell, instead her mode of communication was cute little whines known as “Gremlin” or “Ewok” sounds. She loved traveling and found herself on car rides, airplanes, boats, camping and even a canoe once. She was snuck into animal-free areas via concealed carriers or duffle bags—And her most recent trip included this type of intrigue as she was secreted out to take pleasure in walks on Myrtle Beach. To say that she lived a long, full, loving and adventurous life would be an understatement. She will remain in our hearts and minds, be forever loved and dearly missed!