The dog ate it

To Whom it May Concern,

Please excuse Alison's absence from participation on this site for the past three weeks. She has many excuses reasons.

She put a new addition into the household, in the form of a puppy.
Cheyenne cannot stand the new addition.
New addition tries to chew everything that moves or is stationary.
Alison spends a lot of time chasing the new addition away from table legs, chair legs, and books on the lower shelves.
Alison's beautiful, intelligent, funny, sweet niece has been in town since mid-June and will be here for two more weeks.
They've seen a lot of movies.
They've read a lot of books.
They've spent a good bit of time wandering through bookstores.
They've completed a couple of very difficult jigsaw puzzles.
They've been to the cabin.
Alison's other niece came to Houston last week.
There was much laughter and cupcake baking in the house.
Both Alison's nieces left for Austin on Saturday.
The younger one returned yesterday afternoon courtesy of Southwest Airlines.
Alison is currently doing temp work for a friend whose assistant is on vacation.

With the above in mind, please excuse her absence.  She has every intention of returning.  Unless the puppy eats her computer.  Which is a definite possibility.

Sincerely,
The non-blogger, formerly known as a blogger
xoxo

One Tin Soldier

I want to share with you a special email I received yesterday from a friend of mine who works in the private aviation sector.  You may remember her from a couple years ago, she was frequent in the comments under the moniker, Sassy Suspect.  In the real world, she goes by Jessica and she's a smart, funny, ball of fire who I enjoy calling my friend.

To my friends and Family on this holiday weekend,


I hope this email finds you all in wonderful and blessed health. The company I am with has recently begun flying military charter flights. I thought I'd take a moment to remind us all to remember what a wonderful country we live in and how truly blessed we are and to never forget all the men, women, children and families who make sacrifices for our beautiful country.

I left this past Tuesday for Fort Hood in Kileen Texas. 320 troops boarded our 747-400 en route to Afghanistan. The crew and legs I was assigned were to take them as far as Hahn, Germany. A second crew met us in Hahn to refuel and take them on Afghanistan for 12 months of duty. The soldiers boarded one by one quickly filing in and filling each seat, as we reminded them that the butt and not the barrel of their rifles needed to face the aisle. They listened to our commands (something flight crew is not used to).

We tried to keep the mood light. During our demo I got caught in my life vest and a soldier said to me, "I didn't realize it was going to be that kind of flight." Insert my red face rear galley. One soldier told me he spent the previous day at Chuck E. Cheese. I replied, "Sounds like fun, what did your children do?" Many other cheesy jokes followed during our 9-hour flight as the soldiers tried to keep a jovial attitude even though they would miss milestones in their children's lives and only be able to look and hear their wives/girlfriends/lovers through a computer screen for the next 12 or 13 months. Our leg was complete at 2130 CEST. We said our goodbyes and then headed to the hotel.

Day 3: Hahn, Germany to COS Fort Carson Colorado Springs, Colorado

We met the plane at 0600 CEST and the soldiers were transported to the terminal as we changed crews, refueled and restocked. The soldiers boarded at 0715. We stood at our doors said hello and their light, fun and down right giddy moods were contagious. The hardship, fear, terror, anger, longing and camaraderie was hard to ignore as I tried to magine what life is like on the inside of their fish bowl. Mid-flight, I walked around the plane and tossed the soldiers that were awake small bags of Hairbo gummy bears I picked up in Germany. This was received with the look of surprise like a child finding a unexpected gift; it's the little things in life that can put a smile on someone's face, right?

The plane's wheels touched U.S. soil at approximately 0957 MST and a roaring round of applause went through the forward, main, rear and upper deck cabin. 302 U.S. soldiers were returning home. The mood of the plane was electric until moments later when the Chaplin spoke over the P.A. system asking everyone to bow their heads to remember the 19 fallen soldiers of the 1st Brigade (Raider Brigade) Combat Team. We had a few moments before the doors opened and I chatted/continued to joke with the soldiers. One of the three soldiers sitting in front of my jump seat told me, "The only good thing, and this is THE ONLY good thing about deployment is the first time I see my wife.  That first kiss is like falling in love all over again." Three or four soldiers around him nodded their heads and grunted their agreement.

The soldiers filed off the plane in the same manner they filed on, single file militant style. As they walked by me getting stuck on the bulkhead I said, "Welcome home," they replied, "Thank you." It was one of those moments in life that grab your heart strings and pull you under water making making you grasp for breath as a tight knot forms in the back of your throat. These individuals have sacrificed, gave up their lives for us; it's hard to imagine what they have experienced. Looking each one in the eye I replied, "No, Thank you."

Happy Fourth of July Everyone and God Bless America Land of the Free!

- - - - - - -

Some letter, isn't it?  As I was reading it, Coven's One Tin Soldier was playing on the radio.  I'll leave you, then, with those lyrics.

Listen children to a story

That was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore they'd
Have it for their very own


Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away


So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom
With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there


Now the valley cried with anger
Mount your horses draw your sword
And they killed the mountain people
So they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it
Peace on earth" was all it said

She's got legs

Truth be told

I think this photo is a great way to show how successful Cheyenne is at telling me what she thinks about the new addition to the family. There's a message in those eyes and it's not a warm and fuzzy welcoming one.

Update, and all that Jazz

Yes, I am having a flare-up of Ulcerative Colitis. But, we caught it in time. The medicine is working and the restricted diet in combination with the medicine is also working. I've been feeling great since the weekend. Big health mess? Averted! Thank goodness.

On Saturday, I traveled to Nacogdoches to pick up my niece, Alexandra. She is spending the summer with me and I've been excited about that since we came up with the plans earlier this year. On my drive there, I saw something, something I could not shake out of my head during our stay Saturday night. On the drive home, I saw it again and this time I had to investigate.

What did I see? A sign that said, Coonhound Puppies. Oh dear. I've gone back and forth for a couple years on whether or not I wanted or should get another dog. I did want one, and I wanted one partially to keep Cheyenne company, but I also didn't want to upset Cheyenne or make her uncomfortable in any way. She is and always will be my number one girl, best dog friend. I knew that if I got another dog, it would not be another Chocolate Labrador. There's only one Cheyenne and that's just how I see it. I did look into other breeds though, and was considering a Coonhound. Coonhounds have similar temperment and loyalty as the Labrador, and they are in the same adult weight range, though the Coonhound is a taller dog.

Can you see why that sign caught my attention? On Saturday night in Nacogdoches, while we watched movies in the hotel room, I was mentally going over how I could fit another dog into my life, if, I told myself, I were going to get a new dog. I kept thinking about that sign. With respect for Cheyenne, I justified realized that with my niece being here all summer, she could assist with a new puppy and Cheyenne could continue to get ample attention from me while adjusting to the new addition. 

When I asked about the puppies, I was told there was one left.  I asked, male or female?  If the answer was male, that would be a deal-breaker for me. Cheyenne thrives in her alpha dog role and whereas she could easily establish that with a female puppy, I wasn't so sure she'd be able to keep it with a growing male. Cheyenne will be 11 in October and I did not want to put a challenger to her role in this house. The lone puppy? Female.

And then I saw her, and then I held her, and then I bought her. Just. Like. That.

She is a Redbone Coonhound, eight weeks old.



She rode the entire way from Lufkin, Texas, back to Houston in my niece's lap. During the drive, we tried out several names for her but we couldn't land on one that we liked or that seemed to fit.



When we picked up Cheyenne from my friend's house, I went in the house first and my niece followed with the puppy. Cheyenne didn't really pay any mind to the puppy as she was too excited to see me.  At my friend's house, we talked over potential names and all agreed that a southern name would be fitting for a Coonhound. So, I googled southern names.  After saying several out loud, Dixie was the one that we all liked and thought fitting, especially given my penchant for nicknames. Already, she's my Dixie Cup and my Dixie Lou Who.

Dixie has large feet, very long legs and very long ears.



When we all got home, Dixie got a little to close to Cheyenne for my girl's liking. Cheyenne roared a deep bark at her and, in response, Dixie high-tailed it across the room and under a chair. That's the same thing that Cheyenne did when we introduced her to my friend's mature female lab, Maggy. Maggy let out a growling bark and Cheyenne scooted her butt under the coffee table so fast that all we saw was a brown blur of movement. Maggy is the one dog in Cheyenne's life who was alpha dog over her. So, I was happy with that little exchange and I've been letting them work it out. 

Outside of that, and one low growling reminder this morning, Cheyenne is adjusting better than I had imagined she would do. Dixie seems to have gotten the message and is staying wide and clear of Cheyenne, as it should be for now. 

If Cheyenne was at all threatened or concerned about Dixie, she didn't show it, although she did act especially pleased last night when I put Dixie into her crate downstairs, and she and I went upstairs together, as we do every night, and went to bed.

So, yeah, there's a new member of the family.  And only four times have I wondered what in the world I was thinking:  12:30 a.m., 2:21 a.m., 4:50 a.m., and 6:30 a.m.

Fingers crossed I'm wrong (but I don't think so)

I've been feeling the initial signs for a couple of weeks now. At first I tried to ignore them, thought, nah, it's something else, something that will just run its course. After 25 years, one would think that I would recognize the beginning for exactly what it is. Still, I hate the path, so denial is usually the first step for me. 

But then on Monday the pain really kicked in and demanded to be heard. Yesterday, a mild fever joined the pain. This morning, I woke up with a mind full of hope that things would be different but a body that hurt in every joint. 

What in the world am I talking about?  Ulcerative Colitis. UC is a chronic autoimmune disease that I was diagnosed with in college.  It results in inflammation of the colon’s innermost layer, where small tears or ulcers develop along the interior, oftentimes bringing on a lot of pain, and blood. 

I will spare you of the key symptom, but lets just say that I spend a lot of time in the bathroom.

Doctors and scientists still do not know what causes ulcerative colitis.  In the past 25 years, I've read a lot of reasearch, all inconclusive. Many think the disease is inherited while some think it is environment. At one time, it was thought to be nutrition or stress, but both of these theories have been debunked. Although the exact causes are not known, one thing is for certain: UC is a result of the body’s immune system responding incorrectly. Your immune systems understands the difference between good and bad bacteria and so does mine, usually. Sometimes, however, my body cannot differentiate and so it attacks itself in my colon. And, oh wow, is there ever a war brewing in there right now.

Even though I know what is going on and I have an appointment with my Gastrointerologist this afternoon, I'm still really really really hoping that I'm wrong.  Seriously, I'm probably the only person that goes to her doctor hoping to hear food poisoning.

That was then

This picture brings back so many memories. It was taken in 1986 and I thought it was lost forever but recently and digitally it came back into my life. The couch was red or maybe it was blue, and I remember it being much larger than it is here but I guess that's the kind of distortion that time and absence will do to a memory. There is so very much I can say about this picture, so very many words. For now though, I'm going to leave it as is.

Simplicity

I snipped this daisy from the enormous potted Gerbera Daisy plant on my front porch. I bought that thing in a 4-inch plastic container in late April and now it fills its 18-inch pot with thick green leaves growing tall and wide, and beautiful daisies shooting out on strong green stems. There's something so delightfully pleasing in the simple effort of  walking out your door and snipping a flower from your garden.

I hope your weekend is filled with finding equally simple delights!

Long hot happy weekend, Day 3

On Sunday afternoon, we packed two cars with four dogs, four people, one baby, one canopy and a cooler of beer, water, chicken salad, chips and fruit, and we drove to the same spot where I had taken Cheyenne the day before. We parked in a suspect place, and lugged our goods through the park only to find that other people had decided on the very same spot. And they didn't seem very happy to see us. And they definitely weren't happy to see and experience our four dogs frolicking about in the water, even though they had a dog doing the very same.



We didn't stay there long. Instead, we piled all that stuff and dogs and people back into the two cars and drove back to our house. I had bought a pool to use there so we decided to fill that thing up and enjoy ourselves without the attitude of others.

It was the right decision. 







Cheyenne even learned to share!

Long hot happy weekend, Day 2

More from Memorial Day.

On Saturday morning, coffee in hand, Cheyenne and I set out for an early walk around the property. She did her best imitation of a cow and happily grazed on the moist grass.



Then I loaded her in the car and took her to a favorite spot on the San Marcos river. I've been taking her there for years and as soon as we get out of the car, she picks up the scent of familiarity and practically drags me across the road and down the path that cuts through the heavily wooded park to a spot where the banks of the river gently slope and she can easily get in and out of the cool waters.



Cheyenne will play fetch with me for a few minutes until she loses interest, then she enjoys just plopping her behind down in the shallow water and watching the river world go by.





My niece Catherine got to the house in the early afternoon and we sat on the porch talking for a while before she had to head out to a birthday party conveniently about 20 minutes away. She left her dogs with me and took off, promising to return by dinner.  Yea!



And then this precious family arrived.





When Catherine returned, she embraced an armful of her own niece.



A whole lot of fun and laughter took place in this little house that afternoon and evening.  Good times!