Today our sweet dog, Jade, will go to doggy heaven.  She has been such a good and faithful dog for our family.  So rather than thinking about her absence, this blog is to remember her doggy ways and the joy she brought into our family.  

 I remember the day we went to get her.  She was an 8 week old little puppy with jade green eyes, who liked to sleep on her back and looked like a headless dog when she did.  She was initially John's dog, but I think she claimed us all as her puppies.  

Poor Jade was a confused little dog who didn't know if she was a dog, a human, a deer or a cat.  She tried to use her paws like hands, jump through the fields like a deer and jump straight up on a porch post like a cat.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the months that she thought she was a fox and would play tag with the other foxes in the field.  Was there ever a more multifaceted dog?

Because John loved sports, Jade did too.  Even when John wanted Jade to be the sports buddy he had always wanted, Jade patiently endured his efforts to make her so.

Now let's remember "fetch."  Jade loved to fetch.  It didn't matter if it was golf balls, tennis balls, frisbees or dog toys.  She would fetch until she was so tired that she would drop. She was never happier than when we would play fetch with her.  Remember the big grin she always had on her face?

Of course there were the down times too, like when we banished her upstairs when people came over to visit so that she wouldn't jump on them.  She would look at us all forlornly through the banister.  Poor Jade!

All the grandkids loved Jade.  They wanted to pet her, ride her, be next to her, feed her.  (I'm pretty sure Jade liked the "feed her" part the best.)

There was hide and go seek with Sarah and John throughout the house.  (She always managed to find them.)  There was racing cars and trucks along the fenceline, with Jade always trying to beat them.  There were late night walks in the fields, confronting racoons and skunks on the porch, sneaking over to the neighbors' houses to eat their chicken and cat food, chewing her dog toys to bits with her "jaws of steel", playing with Tarzan and Bruno, and just hanging out with her family.

Good bye our dear and faithful friend, our little pupper schlupper.  We will miss you.

Update #2

Bill is doing better day by day.  Healing from back surgery is a long process...weeks and months of it.  Bill still sleeps a lot, but is up and around a little more during the day.  He has lost 25 lbs in the last 2 weeks.  It seems that surgery has killed his appetite, so he eats only small meals a couple of times a day.  Wish my appetite was that dead...but I don't think that I am willing to have back surgery to get there.  I guess I will just have to do it the hard way with will power.  Oh wait...that part of me is already dead.  I guess I will have to accept the chubby me.

I am excited that Mike and Lisa will be coming in a week.  All of my kids will be here for a few days!  I am also excited that we will have family pictures taken.  Who knows how long it will be until we will all be together again with Mike and Lisa in Arizona, and Sarah and Mark moving to New Mexico.   At least I will be able to look at the picture on my wall to see all of my wonderful kids and grandkids' faces.

I took the time at the beginning of the summer to get all my long overdue stuff done, i.e. dentist, mammogram, doctor appointments, glasses prescription, car repairs, etc., so now I am getting to some of the other bigger projects that need to be done.  One of my goals this summer is to work on preparedness.  I am in the process of doing an inventory of what we have so I will know what I still need to get in order to finish our year's supply.  I know, I know, I've said that I am going to do this for the last few summers, but this year because I am spending so much time at home while Bill is recouperating, I am actually getting it done.  It feels good to be more organized. 

Bill Update

It has been one week since Bill had his back surgery.  He is doing better.  The first couple of days he was still working out all the anesthesia out of his system.  He was not his old self.  He didn't sleep well.  He was up, he was down, then he was up again.  I felt like I was constantly running around trying to help him with things.  I thought to myself, "Shouldn't he be sleeping?"  The 4th day after surgery was the worst for him...and for me.  He was in pain, his incision was oozing blood, he was grouchy and demanding, he didn't want to see anybody, he couldn't get comfortable and I heard, "Oooooh honey!"  about 50 million times.  I'm sorry to say my patience wore thin and I was not very sympathetic that day. 

Fortunately, things have improved since that day.  His pain meds are working even though he has now cut back on how many he takes, he sleeps most of the day and night and is getting good rest (which should help him to heal), the incision is closing and shows no signs of infection, he is drinking lots of water (but still eats hardly anything), he wears his belt support, today he walked up and down the driveway and went on a short ride to the store to get out of the house (he didn't go in the store but waited in the car for me).  And most important of all, he is appreciative of my efforts to help him and he is trying to be more independent in what he can do for himself. 

When the pain gets bad, I keep reminding him that it will get better, it just takes time.  I guess that's one of life's lessons that we all have to learn...when things seem bad, remember that things always get better ... eventually.  Have patience and faith and things will work out.

Bill's Surgery

Five days ago Bill had back surgery to open up and fuse two vertabrae in his lower back.  Those 2 vertabrae were 90% closed, pinching off the nerve bundles from the spinal cord.  We had hoped to do it 2 weeks earlier, but were delayed because an irregular heartbeat showed up on an EKG when he was in the operating room.  During the next week, he had an ultrasound, EKG and an angiogram.  We were relieved to find out that there was a weakening in his heart but no blockage so we could proceed with the back surgery. 
The surgery went well and took less than 1 1/2 hours.  The first 2 days in the hospital went well too, Bill had some pain, but he was up and walking the next day.  Then we came home.  Not so good.  He is experiencing more pain and discomfort.  He had some bleeding from the incision yesterday (today it is much better).  He keeps saying that he never knew it was going to be this bad.  Since I have never had back surgery, I can't pretend to know what it is like.  I am sure it is miserable, just like the doctor said it would be initially.  I keep reminding him that this is temporary and that it will get better as he heals. 
His back problems had progressed to the point that it inhibited his ability to walk, travel and do anything that required physical activity.  I am hopeful that it will all be worth it in the next few weeks and months as he recuperates and that he will have much less pain on a daily basis than he has had for the last 10+ years.  We will hope and pray for the best as healing progresses.

Bill's Birthday continued

OK, OK.  I know I messed up.  But it wasn't because I couldn't get the pictures in.  It was some other inept way I have of dealing with technology.  So here are the pictures I was supposed to put into the previous blog.

Last Sunday my sweetheart, Bill, turned 65 years old.  I decided to throw him a semi-surprise birthday party.  He knew that I was doing something, he just didn't know what.  Thanks to Becky's great idea, we turned our home into a Senior Citizen Chinese Buffet.  All the kids and grandkids that live in the area came, as well as some close friends.  Becky and Matt came early and cooked Walnut Shrimp and Beijing Beef.  It was yummy!  Everyone contributed something to the buffet.  We had lettuce wraps, stir fry noodles, fried rice, cookies, brownies, fortune cookies, etc.  It was all great!  Thanks to everyone who helped to make it a success.  Of course we couldn't let the day go by without teasing Bill about his new senior citizen status, so we put up signs around the house like:  "Park walkers and wheelchairs here,"  "Apply Here for Social Security," and "Medicare Line Starts Here."  Bill was surprised at all the work we put into it and he greatly appreciated our efforts and had a memorable 65th birthday.

Here are a few pictures of our fun day:

Gratitude and Cake Making

I know, I know.  Don't faint because I finally wrote on my blog.  It's not easy for me.  I used to love to write, then life happened, kids happened, work happened, no time happened, and finally out of practice happened.  Only I used to do it the old-fashioned way...with paper and pen.  There's something more satisfying about using paper and pen for me than punching computer keys.  Sure the computer is faster and more efficient, but I miss the feel of the pen strokes and seeing the curves of my own cursive writing.  It helped to ground me.  Maybe if I had been born a generation later like my children, I would feel differently.

Anyway, the last two months have been filled with...work.  I am often there for 10 hours a day.  The beginning of the school year always kills me.  There's so much to do and even when you think that you have prepared enough before school begins, it's never enough.  I still end up staying late most days just to stay caught up.  The bad part is all the paperwork required, the good part is the great kids that I teach and the wonderful people that I work with.  For them I am grateful and fulfilled in teaching.  I'm also grateful to have a job.  It has served its purpose in providing for my family when I was a single parent with a work schedule that closely matched my kids and good health insurance. And it has helped Bill and I to make it through the rough times.  It has provided stability.

But work is still just work.  My joy and my life's fulfillment is my family.  It's kind of like making a cake.  I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who loves me and does all that he can to take care of our family.  He is the foundation or bottom layer of the cake.  He works hard and is kind and considerate.  He loves my children as well as his own.  Not easy for many men who take on a second family.  But he makes it look easy.  He likes spending time with the kids and grandkids and finds joy in being a part of their lives.  I have learned from him and seen personal growth in our years together.

And then there are my children ... the second layer of cake.  You are wonderful!  You have saved my life.  You have helped me to stretch and grow beyond what I am naturally capable of.  You will understand what I mean as you raise your own families.  Your variety of personalities and flavors make the cake delicious.  You have chosen wonderful spouses who have added depth to our family.  They help to fill in our gaps and add new flavors like the frosting in the middle of the cake. 

And the grandchildren....  They are the frosting on my gratitude cake.  They make the cake complete.  They are the sweet gooey frosting that is being swirled and shaped even as we speak.  They add color, flavor and decorate the cake in his and her own unique way. 

So that is my Gratitude Cake.  I have been making it my whole life.  I am now putting on the frosting.  How sweet it is!  Our children are working on the first and second layers of their own gratitude cakes.  Keep working on it.  It is worth all the time and effort you will put into it.  Enjoy the process of making your cake.  Laugh at the mistakes that you make, learn from them and continue on.  It will bring you joy and satisfaction. 

Here is a picture of my Gratitude Cake!

Last Days of Freedom

Only a couple more days and then my summer freedom is over.  I do so like being able to plan out my days during the summer.  But alas, I will go back to my regular routine on friday.  There are good things to say about routine though.  It forces you to be more organized.  You know what to expect each day.  You seem to be able to accomplish more things in a shorter period of time and you become better at prioritizing what really needs to be done.  The down side is that you have less thinking time.  (Something I've always enjoyed doing).  You don't get to choose where you go or what you do each day, you are pretty much required to spend a big chunk of the day doing what is expected of you so that you can pay the bills.  You only have snatches of time to cook meals, clean, do the laundry, take the dog out, exercise, do family history work, and spend time with family and friends.  Oh yes, and then there's the stress.  The ever present stress.  That is the part that I hate the most.  Maybe because I'm so OCD.   I guess that is my own fault, but I am working on it.  Maybe by the time I die I will learn how to chill out.

I have thoroughly enjoyed some of my summer highlights. 

 Like visiting all of our kids and grandkids in the Philadelphia area.  We love them and miss them.

It was hard to get Bill to stay off the phone however.

Playing with Jade.  She's still our shlupper pupper!

Going to Farm Country with the grandkids and having a picnic lunch.

Driving to California with John & Krista, Sarah & Mark to see me dad.  We went to the beach, the San Diego Temple and Knotts Berry Farm.  We made crepes and lasagna for my dad.

Scrapbooking with all the grandkids.  They did such an awesome job on their scrapbooks!

Spending time with my mom...going shopping, visiting the emergency room, going to the doctor, and movies with Sharon & Melony.

Hanging out with the girls.  Some of us got together for a Girls Night Sleepover.  It was fun.

Marie's baby shower.  Good fun, good food, great friends and family, and lots of presents!

And last but not least...spending time with my Billy Bob!

So that about sums it up.  My great summer of fun and freedom is over.  But the memories are wonderful.  And Marie can't help but be impressed that I actually added pictures to this blog all on my own!  See!  You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Summer

So, I know it has been a long time since I have blogged ... even longer than Sarah.  So I thought I better say something before they kick me off blogspot.  Here's the tricky thing...I don't have much to say.  I used to write a lot when I was younger.  I mean really write.  When I lived in Minnesota away from family, I would write long letters about the daily adventures and happenings of my wonderful kids.  Now...well, I'm an empty nester and my kids have their own blogs so I find myself tongue-tied, or finger-tied or whatever you want to call it. 

I could write about how I spend most of my days - at work.  But, oh wait.  I can't talk about all the funny and great things that happen at work because of confidentiality.  So I guess that I can say that I love my students and enjoy teaching them.  I love my coworkers.  They make going to work each day a pleasure.  And I feel that the work I do is meaningful.

Becky would say, "Write about the 2 children you have left, Jade and Midnight."  Well, Jade, our 9 year yellow lab, and Midnight, our 8 year old black cat don't give me much to write about.  We haven't had any skunks fall into our window wells recently, only one racoon has invaded our garage in the last month, and it's too early for the deer to come eat the fruit off of our fruit trees.

I could write about planting my garden or I could write about weeding my garden.  Or maybe I could write about cleaning my house and finishing all the unfinished projects that I am trying to get done this summer.  But who wants to hear about that?  Not me.  So I guess that makes me a boring person.  In fact, you are probably bored out of your mind just reading this and will never visit my blog again, right?

OK.  I just thought of something to write about...our trip to Pennsylvania to visit our kids and grandkids there and our upcoming trip to visit my dad in California.  Now if I could just remember how Marie told me to add pictures....

School Dazed!

I just completed my first two weeks back teaching school. The kids are as cute and adorable as ever and I am back in my typical pattern of feeling stressed as I try to juggle all the work that has to be done at the beginning of the year and keeping my home somewhat in order. Then this happens to be a year when I also got a cold within the first week and a half. For many people that isn't such a big deal, you just tell yourself to stay home and get well. Not so easy at the beginning of a school year when you are trying to get yourself and all your students into a workable routine. Having even one adult gone makes such a big difference. The good news is that I am finally on the mend. (Thank goodness for Alka Seltzer PM! It let me get a good night's sleep for the past 4 nights so that I could get up and go to work).
I am looking forward to our 3 day weekend. I am also looking forward to seeing all my children (at least the ones that live in Utah) come over for a Labor Day BBQ. I love having my children and grandchildren come over and enjoy the closeness of family. I am so proud of all of our kids and what they are accomplishing in their lives, as well as the kind of parents they are as they raise our next generation of grandchildren. What is more important than that...nothing!
So even though I may be a little "school dazed", like a deer in the headlights of your car, I can enjoy the little moments in life when I can connect with those I love.

FEELING BLESSED

Two weeks ago I woke up and immediately noticed that my right eye felt weird. It felt different than my left eye and I could see a lot of little "floaties" in my vision. I wondered if it would just correct itself, but it didn't. With my family's history of eye problems, a few days later I decided to mention it to my mom. She said that I should go to her eye doctor and get it checked out. I told her it was probably nothing but she insisted that I should go. My brother, Gordon also encouraged me to go. Not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill, I asked my mom to call and make an appointment. She was able to get me in yesterday at the same time that she had her appointment.
Well, we went to Dr. Carver. Unfortunately, my mom found out she will probably have to have the same eye surgery that my brother Gordon had last month. The pressure in her eye is not going down. She is feeling discouraged at the continuing progression of her vision loss. I am only now beginning to understand my mom's and brother's frustration with their vision problems.
Then it was my turn to be examined. My vision was good in reading the eye chart (20/20). My eyes were dilated and then the doctor looked inside my eyes. At first he commented on how it was nice to see a healthy eye for a change, then he stopped and said, "Oh. You have a tear in your retina and it has started to detach." "You're kidding." I said in shock. "No, I'm not." he said seriously.
The doctor later said that it was a miracle that I had come in so that they could repair the tear with laser surger in his office. He said that most people don't recognize the symptoms of torn retinas until it is too late and then they have to go through eye surgery and/or suffer from totally detached retinas and permanent vision loss in that eye.
The laser surgery only took about 5 minutes but it felt like an hour. I had to hold my head very still so that he could accurately seal the torn area on my retina with lasers. I didn't have to try to keep my eye open (totally impossible) because the doctor held it open. Because the tear was at the top of the back of my eye, I had to keep looking up during the procedure. The lasering was a serious of very BRIGHT lights going through and into my eye. When it became uncomfortable, he would stop and let my eye rest for about a minute and then continue. There was no sharp pain, but after repeated lasering it felt like my eye was aching. It also gave me a headache for the rest of the night. It took 130 laser shots to seal the tear. Amazing what our medical knowledge and skill can do. Thirty years ago, I probably would have gone blind in that eye.
I am feeling VERY blessed and grateful that I noticed a change in my eye and that my mom and brother insisted that I go get my eye checked out. If I had waited even a week later, I would be having eye surgery instead of going back east to visit family and I could have had some permanent vision loss. Blessings!!!!

FREEDOM

I love our country's birthday. It is a time to get together with family and friends, eat, play games, talk, celebrate and enjoy the bounty of our nation. It is also a time to reflect and be grateful. We have so much. We get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and make choices in so many aspects of our lives. Many people have worked and sacrificed throughout the last 233 years to give us the opportunity to have choices. I am grateful for them. I am also grateful for those who are now serving their country with integrity to help us to maintain the blessings that we have. God bless America.

LIFE STINKS!

We lost our sweet black and white cat Mellow this past week. She just disappeared. Which probably means that she got too close to the fields past our backyard lawn and a fox got her. Hey, it could even have been a cougar since they have been spotted in neighborhoods not a mile from our house. Anyway, I miss her. We have had her for 7 years. She was a good sweet fatty cat. Her sister, Midnight, is meloncholy. Now we are down to one cat and one dog. Life on the gully stinks.
It was only 2 weeks ago that we discovered a baby skunk in one of our window wells. Within a couple of days (and with the help of my daughter and son-in-law) I was able to successfully get it out and back to the gully. Whew! I thought my stinky days were over. Was I wrong. Yesterday I followed my normal routine of taking the dog out early in the morning to do her "business," and she kept trying to go under the deck. She finally succeeded in crawling under her deck and started growling. Oh great. That meant there was probably an animal under our deck. I brought her in the house and dismissed it from my mind thinking that the animal would leave on its own.
Later that evening I went downstairs to get something and I heard Jade whining in one of the downstairs bedrooms. My first thought was, "I hope that there's not an animal hiding in my house." Fortunately, there wasn't, but as I looked through the window into the window well I was shocked to see...yup, you guessed it...another baby skunk. This shouldn't be so bad since I now know a way to get them out, however, this skunk decided to fall into a window well under the deck. There's no way I am crawling under the deck to fish out a skunk and then get sprayed! I don't get it. Is our house a skunk magnet or something?
Bill assures me that there are some trap doors in our deck so that we can get under the deck. We are now trying to figure out how or what to put down there so that it can crawl out by itself so we can avoid the odorifious experience that we had last time. Any suggestions? Like I said before...life on the gully stinks!

Living on a Gully!
If you have read Marie's most recent blog then you know about our little stinker. No, I don't mean Jade when she has gas. I mean a real baby skunk which wandered up from the gully with its mother a couple of days ago and managed to fall in one of our window wells. The mother is no where to be seen, but our dog, Jade, managed to find the little critter in our window well on Sunday.
Now our dilema was- how do you get a skunk out of your window well without getting sprayed? I went on the internet to find out about baby skunks. Can they spray too? How old are they before they can spray? How old is this little critter? Is it as stinky as an adult skunk?
What I found out was that baby skunks can share their odor at about 1 month. Most skunks give birth in late spring (May) which would make this baby at least a month old. I also found out that baby's can't shoot their spray 6 to 15 feet like adults, but they usually just "piddle."
I don't like to see animals suffer (even a skunk). From my neighbors' experiences with skunks, I knew that animal control doesn't usually bother with skunks. My neighbors have had to find their own ways of disposing of their skunk invaders. Cat food is one of the biggest attractions for them. So I am very careful to bring in our cats' food each night so that we don't have racoon and skunky visitors at night like we used to. This has helped a lot, but I guess friday or saturday night, we had visitors, hence the baby skunk in the window well.
With all this information, Marie, Anthon and I decided to try to get the poor little thing out of the window well and back out to the gully. Our first attempt was to put a board down into the well so the Little Stinker could crawl out by itself. No go. Poor Little Stinker has been traumatized by the fall and doesn't want to move. Then Anthon has a great idea. Make a skunkie trap out of an old cereal box, attach a string to it, then lure the skunkie into it with cat food. When Little Stinker gets into the box we lift it out by the string and take it back to the gully. Unfortunately, Little Stinker doesn't want to get into the box, and when we try to prod it gently into the box with a hoe, Little Stinker lets us know it is not pleased. The internet was right. Month old skunks can spray or "piddle." We left the box. The offending odor drove us away and permeated our house. Peeeeuw! We gave up after that. It took all night to get rid of the smell by running the fan throughout the house.
Now for the latest update! Little Stinker is back with her gully friends! Monday morning and afternoon I checked the window well. Little Stinker was still huddled in the well away from the box. I had decided that I would probably have to let it die in my window well and hope I could get it out before it bloated and released its stink. This morning (Tuesday) I tried to find time to check on Little Stinker, but couldn't. Finally this afternoon I was reading Marie's blog and it reminded me that I hadn't checked on it. So when Nicole was asleep, I went downstairs to peek through the window...and all I could see was the box. Could Little Stinker have crawled out on the board? Or was it in the box?
I hurried out with the hoe to try to snag the string so I could pull up the box. As I looked into the well...no skunk. Yipee! I snagged the string and pulled up the box. OOOhhh! Little Stinker is in the box looking at me! I'm muttering, "Please don't spray. Please don't spray," as I hold the string and box as far away from me as possible. I hurried across my yard, out through the field to the edge of the gully and lowered the box. I got lucky. Little Stinker decided not to spray even though it was a little bit of a rough ride. Using the hoe, I turned the box over so Little Stinker could easily get out and then I hightailed it back to the house before it decided to leave me with a smelly souvineer of its visit.
So I guess all's well that ends well, as long as its not in my window well.

I Love Summer!

At last the school year has ended and I get a few weeks to try to catch up on all the things that I didn't get done while I worked. I will also get a chance to enjoy more time with my husband, children and grandchildren, and of course, Jade, Midnight and Mellow. I have to mention them (our pets) because they are a part of our household.

I love summer because, my time is my own. Instead of being run by a school schedule, clock and calendar planner, I get to choose what to do with my day (for the most part). I love that! If one of my kids need me to help them with something, I have the time to do it. If I want to do something fun with grandkids, I can do it. If I want to work on geneology or scrapbooking in longer time increments, I can do it. If I want to work in the garden and actually finish a section of yard work without rushing off to work, I can do it. If I just want to stay home and read a book, I can do it. If I get sick, I can stay home and get well without feeling guilty. I can also just sit around and think. Something I used to do more often, but feels like a luxury now. I can have enough energy at the end of the day (instead of feeling exhausted when I get home) to do more things that I like to do.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my work and it is very rewarding most of the time, but it is also demanding and at times stressful. It does wear me out by the end of the day. I guess I'm getting older. Not as much energy. I guess it is the selfish part of me coming out....being able to do what I want and like to do, when I want to. So I do love summer even though it goes by too quickly. The nice thing is that it comes around every year.

OK. I'm not good at this, but just a few words on Mother's Day. Many women I know hate Mother's Day. I'm not sure if it's because we feel so inadequate at not being able to measure up to what our idea of a "good" mother should be or because we always hope for a peaceful, tranquil day in which our children are perfect angels all day long and our husbands pamper and adore us, anticipating our every need and whim. Maybe it's both, in any case, Mother's Day is often a big disappointment for many women. Me included. However, now that I'm older, my kids have grown up and are no longer yelling and fighting with each other in the car on the way home from church, and I don't have to feel like I'm a failure as I listen to talks exalting the virtues of mothers who do not resemble me in the least. Now as I look at my children, their spouses, grandchildren and husband, I feel a sense of contentment and peace at the family that surrounds me and that I have tried to nurture. In return I feel love and acceptance of me, the imperfect mother...and I realize it is enough. In fact it is more than I could have hoped for...being loved by such wonderful people. Thanks for the memories.

Mom's Blog

Becky, my favorite child, has set up this blog for me. I don't have much to say now, but I'm pretty sure that this blog will be an Ode to Jade, my dog.