Category Archives: Sammy Brave Dog

Home Again, Home Again

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Weather in the Tries:
A whole lot cooler than when I left, and where I was! Feels kinda good, actually.

Home Again, Home Again:
Had a marvelous trip. There were a couple of changes, but nothing serious, and one was quite beneficial. I remembered we had a new home to go to, but the fact the date slid one day to the right totally slipped off my eyeballs. I figured it would take 3 days for a leisurely drive from Kennewick to Dallas and the AirBNB we rented. So, as I’m leaving Kennewick on Saturday, I called Goodest Friend Dixie, back in Virginia, and told her I was on my way and would see her on Monday.

Pregnant pause: Monday? I thought we were meeting on Tuesday?! 

Yep, we were. Well, I was already on the freeway and no way to turn around, so I kept going. Loverly day through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Spent Saturday night in Rawlins, Wyo. Had a loverly drive through a gray and drizzly Colorado (had a time, distance warp but me back on the Dark Side of the Cascades?). New Mexico was sunny, and Texas was a mash up. Sun, drizzle, sun, drizzle and by the time I got to Wichita Falls, it was drizzly (sort of) and dark.

NO signs on Texas highways or roads as to what’s available next exit. If you don’t know, you don’t go. I missed a whole row of motels and got off at the next exit and tried to back track. Uh, no. I stopped at an all-night grocery and asked the young man where I was. I realized the mistrake as soon as I saw the expression on his face. I laughed, told him I knew I was in Wichita Falls, and missed the last exit up the road, and wanted a motel. He assured me I could continue going north, but if I went south a few blocks, there is a very nice motel across the street from the Arby’s on the off ramp I took.

Why didn’t I see the sign for the motel? Because it was dark, and almost midnight their time, and the lights were off. Both at Arby’s and the motel. But I found it. Right where the young man who thought for a couple of moments he had a crazy lady on his hands. (Oh, if he only knew….)

It was an old Econolodge. The room was clean, neat, the bed comfy and I took it for two nights. It was also very, very quiet.

Since I was a day early I had an extra day to sight-see or sleep or whatever. Yes, I chose the last door and did whatever.

Doing Whatever:
I brought about 2.5 inches of poems printed out. That’s probably a good 400+ pages. The room had a cabinet with a large top, maybe 5-6’ x 3’. Perfect for sorting poems. I went through them, put them into 8 or so categories, then went through one more time and got rid of the obvious doubles. Then, I put each category in alphabetical order by title. Found a few more doubles. Then, I got really OCD and pulled out my file folders brought just for this, and wrote on each folder, in alphabetical order, the poems therein.

That made it much easier to find yet more duplicates. And there were some. Then, I began putting them in reading order, by category. The upshot is, I think I’ve got two books of poetry. One on Thomas and Grief, and one on everything else. I had no disruptions, I did get hungry at one point, looked at Arby’s across the street, looked at my project, and voila! I ate some of the junk food that was in my car 😉 Peanut butter filled pretzel bits, a bit of Pub Mix, and Peanut M&Ms. I opted to work and eat junk food. And water. Drank lots of water. I kept working instead of going through the old cemetery next door. Do I know how to have fun, or what?

The next morning, I checked out, and sat in the lobby reading Inside the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson. I tried reading his book about the Devil in White City, and couldn’t get to page 60, let alone beyond, but this book was a page burner. The main reason I hung around is, I was only 3 hours from Dallas, and couldn’t check in until 3, so I sat and read. 

Photo in the AirBNB:
This was a photo of a sculpture that hung in the living room. The Dallas Skyline. The art appeared to be actual size. 

from the desk of the brave dog, Sammy;

my human is back, my human is back, my human—happy dance, happy dance 

And there it is. More next week. Right now, it’s time for yet another nap. 😉

For those of you who followed it, here is the Opening and Closing theme to Dallas. And, no, I have no idea who shot J.R. For that matter, I’m not even too sure who J.R. is/was.

Darth Vader Will Speak No More

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Hot Links in this Blog:
Carole King, I Feel the Earth Move https://www.smoothradio.com/features/top-songs/carole-king-songs/

Weather in the Tries:
One 80F day, and the rest are high 70s. Not parka weather, yet, but it’s a comin’. A couple of Dark Days (cloudy) but most sunny, or a combination of Dark & Light 😉

Darth Vader Will Speak No More:
I loved that voice. David Prowse, of course, played the character of Darth Vader and did a bang-up job of it, but speaking through the filter in his Darth mask made his British accent almost beyond the ability for Americans to understand. So, James Earl Jones was hired to do the voice over. He felt that Prowse did the work, he should get the credit, so he requested his name be left off the credits!

I have seen some of the movies in which Jones acted, for me, he always stood out. He became that character, and that voice. For me, he will forever be the voice of Darth Vader, and of course, can anyone forget, “This is CNN!”

Railroad Spikes:

The two tiny little pins came out of my toe a week ago today. I asked the doctor if I could have them, but he said they had to go into the Sharps box. The point of those little suckers was sharp! So, I just have two photos. It really went well. The doctor poured something on my toe that was cold, and said I’d feel a pinch. He then said, ‘pinch’ and repeated it a second time and both the pins were pulled out. He was pleased I didn’t jump, flinch, etc. I learned years ago, to relax, at least as much as I can, before medics get near me with things that could hurt. I also tell them if they hurt me, I’ll scream. They treat me very gently.

More Medic Stuff:
Went to pharmacy to get my latest vaccinations on Tuesday. Needed three, and really wanted them before I took off on my road trip. The last thing I need or want, is to get sick on the trip! I’ve had just about every vaccination offered by pediatricians when I was a kidlet, the military, and every one that’s come out since. Yes, some affected me. I do now and then have a sleepy day or two, but it’s so worth it not to get the disease, whatever it is.

I remember when the polio vax came out. I remember some of my friends at the time had died of it. Yes, the shot hurt, or I thought it did, and I probably cried being the wuss I was and am. But it’s so much better than having the disease. I’ve also had friends who had it as kids, survived it, and then relapsed when they were in their 70s or so. I’m so glad my kids are grown. I’d hate to send them to school in this day and age where they not only have to fear live shooters, but school mates whose parents won’t let their kids get vaxxed. 

And now RFK, Jr. is touting his anti-vax crap. Or is it Junior? Does Junior speak, or does the worm in his brain speak? I dunno. Only the Shadow knows.

Knew Addition to Coffee Break Escapes:
I have a few friends who have been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration and find reading to be more and more difficult, and they’ve asked me to record my blog, so I shall attempt to do that. The recordings will be posted in Spoken Word. If there are hot links mentioned in the recording, they will be in the body of the written blog. Or maybe at the very beginning of the blog as well as where called out within the body? Ideas?

Photos of the Week:

OK, here be the two pins that were in my dainty toe. They are a touch over an inch. The ‘T’ in BEASTS is 3/10th of an inch. Best guesstimate is they were about 1/20th of an inch in diameter.

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I drove by the Duck Pond the other day, a bright, sunny day, and had to stop the car as a platoon of geese crossed the street. Not sure what they wanted on the other side of the street, but here they are. 

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from the desk of the brave dog;
we have cooler nights now. it’s wonderful, and i can snuggle my human all night long, now. my human likes the cuddles. I remember last dark time when it was really, really cold, she called those three dog nights, and said I had to snuggle like three dogs—or let her adopt two more. I snuggled. not gonna share my human with other dogs. or those other furry fiends so many humans have and can’t even bark.

Earworm of the Week:
Carole King, I Feel The Earth Move, #9 on the top 10 of her songs

,LALA
Let Americans Laugh Again

Road Tripping in 3 Weeks

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Happy Labor Day. Support Unions.

Weather in the Tries:
Oh, dear. the temps will range from 100 (one day) as a high to 88 (one day), most in the warmer side of the 90s. The lows will be the low side of the 60s. That really makes it pretty livable.

Road Tripping in 3 weeks: 
I am getting ready to leave on a month-long road trip. The other day I sat down, and figured my traveling, dates of travel, dates of visit, etc. Got it all finalized, and then some friends in Berkeley let me know I need to stop and see them, too. Oh, the price of fame, poetry, family, and friends! 

One week from today, Monday the 9th, I get the pins taken out of my toe. I hope, oh how I hope, that I will be able to walk, if not like an Egyptian, at least with a modicum of normalacy. I don’t know how long it will take, but to be able to walk on my whole foot, not just the outside edge. A two-footed happy dance 😉 Happy, happy, dance, dance, dance!!!

For the first time since my surgery 5 weeks ago, my toe hurts. Sometimes. Housemate Dan figures it’s the nerves getting back together (yeah, it feels like needles in my toe.) Bad enough when I’m up, but oh, when it happens at 0:Dark:00 it’s enough to bring me out of a deep sleep.

Photos of a Few Weeks Past:
Ice Dragons Dancing. Don’t you just want to shiver looking at them? Save them for those really hot days!

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from the desk of Sammy brave dog;
oh, look. it automatically capped my name. it caps my name and if I type I it caps that, too. my human has a neat computer. and when she goes on her road trip, maybe housemate dan will turn it on and I can practice my typing. and send her emails. 

MALA

Make America Laugh Again

A Kinda Sorta Political Post

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Weather in the Tries:
Oooooh! Temps will be mostly in the 80s with a couple dips to the 70s, and the weekend in the 90s. Can ya dig it? And the lows will be in the 50s with the weekend being low 60s. A few years ago, this week, I went to the hospital to give birth to my Favorite Daughter. It was sunny, warm, and summer. When I came home a few days later, it was cold, rainy, and fall. Ever since then, I’ve associated her birthday with the advent of cooler weather. Her birthday is Wednesday, which should be spelled Wensday.

A Kinda Sorta Political Post:
I watched most of the DNC in highlight snippets, but the last night, I watched live. What a blast!  What humor! I don’t recall any of it being put-down, with the possible exception of one guy who said he was very impressed with the AI audience that filled the auditorium. He even managed to deliver the line and keep a dead-pan face, for a couple seconds.

The night before, I watched Tim Walz make his acceptance speech and was truly impressed. I would gladly sit at the table in the Walz kitchen and share an iced tea and maybe a white man’s taco/Bwahahahaha. One of the biggees of my admiration for them is the way they have raised their kids. OMG, that young man, Gus! Wow!! He was so proud when Dad gave his speech, Gus stood with tears of joy running down his cheeks, pointed at his dad on the stage and said, “That’s my Dad, That’s my Dad.” I nearly had tears running down my cheeks, too, from sharing his joy. 

I’ve tried not to go political here, but, alas, I’ma gonna do it. Admittedly, I watched only the highlights, and darned few of them, of the RNC, but the biggest difference I saw between the two was Joy. The DNC was full of it, the RNC sorely lacked. In seeing the snippets on the news, the MAGA crowd are always not just serious, but angry, vindictive. Or they look that way. As do a tremendous number of the evangelicals supporting the MAGA movement, whereas the MALA (Make America Laugh Again) people, whether democrats or republicans, find humor in their lives. MAGA wants to destroy, tear down, lock up, kill. MALA wants to build, unify, help, laugh. Pessimists v. Optimists.

Several years ago, when I was a good bible-toting Christian, Pastor brought up the subject of humor in church one Sunday (Baptists allowed humor? /snort.). Based on the adage that the nut seldom falls far from the tree, he decided Yahweh, father of Jesus, had a sense of humor—somewhere. But he had biblical proof that the son, Jesus, had humor: Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” New International Version.

Yep, that was his proof. Remember when you were a kid at the park, and at one end was a guy yelling at the adults and any kids who wandered by, shouting about sin and salvation, heaven and hell, with more about the latter than the former? A ways down the park was a guy making balloon animals and telling funny stories? Where did you and your mates go? I can pretty much guess—you went to the guy who smiled, who made you and your mates laugh. You went to the guy who told funny stories, who made you laugh and feel good about yourself and being alive. Unless, of course, your masochism made an early debut and you went to the angry preacher and reveled in the pain.

Jesus tells stories that make children feel good about being alive, who makes them laugh. I don’t know why so many (alleged?) Christians are so severe, so lacking in humor, so angry, unless it’s power. Some will have power and therefore will continue the severity, the beatings, the hate, until morale improves. Because everyone knows if you make people fear you, especially through your God’s anger as delivered by his “chosen” modern day prophet ie, you, that person, that prophet, will   have   power! The great Walt Whitman once said, “Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.” [emphasis mine]

Photos of the Week:
The Great Blue is usually on the big pond, this is the only time I’ve seen him on our pond, and yes, that’s ice next to and on top of, the water. The pix were taken Jan ’23.

from the desk of the confused chihuahua;
my human got stitches out of her toe last week, and then her toe was taped down. I don’t understand, was it flying away. and why would she have stitches in her toe, was it falling off. anyhow housemate dan is walking me. my human says her toe doesn’t hurt, but it isn’t comfy. I still wonder how she got her toe in her sewing machine. and why she would do it. and why couldn’t she pull her stitches. humans are very, very strange. 

MALA

Make America Laugh Again

Something Different

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Weather in the Tries:
Oh my goodness gracious sakes alive! The highs this coming week, according to my phone, are all in the 80s! With the night lows dipping as low as 59, but most at 60. In other words, we have reached perfection! 

Something Different:
I figured y’all were probably not looking forward to any more one-legged happy dances, besides which I overdid it this last week, and I’m doing my Happy Dance sitting in my chair. You know, waving my arms. Oh, sigh, at my age, one would think I’d know better. I don’t. But I do get my stitches out in a couple hours;-)

I’ve spent the last few days at my computer, wondering what to write about besides my personal happies or woes, and it wasn’t until last night that I saw the most fascinating video on YouTube that it dawned on me. So, yes, a shorter blog, but a longer video. It’s something like 28 minutes long, but I was spell bound the whole time, and hope you are equally fascinated by “the process of making a cello. A high-end Japanese cello crafted by one artisan in six months.”

One of my all-time favorite movies is Departures. It’s a delightful Japanese romcom about a young man who buys an expensive cello and then learns the orchestra in which he plays is being disbanded. He and his wife move back to his hometown and his late mother’s tea shop. He answers an ad for a job for ‘departures’ thinking it’s with a travel agency or travel-related job. He shows up, and is hired on the spot, and it’s for a mortuary, the ad had a typo—it should have read ‘departed’. If you don’t know, Asians have a real phobia of touching/dealing with corpses. (I saw an interview of the ME of a large and populous county in Florida (Dade?). She was Asian (Chinese?) and when asked how her family accepted her profession, she laughed and said they didn’t know. They thought she was a practicing physician. Fortunately, she said, they lived in Canada and didn’t watch American tv.

Back to the movie, if you like cello music, you really ought to look for it. As of this writing, I think YouTube is streaming it as well as Apple TV. Possibly other places. However, if you would like to see how cellos are made, clickhere.

Photos of the Week:
Watch the video. Pour a cuppa, settle in, and watch.

from the desk of the ferocious guard dog;
I don’t understand you humans. you sit around watching a screen all day, and if you were outside, you could watch birds and squirrels, and if you got your nose closer to the ground you could smell the most delightful messages from other dogs. my human doesn’t even walk right. she needs to get down on all fours and have fun.

Make America Laugh Again!

One-Legged Happy Dance

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Weather in the Tries:
Holy Kamala! Monday is the only triple digit day forecast for the week. Gonna be all the way down in the 90s. Oh, can you see me do my one-legged happy dance? Now, where is my parka……

And why, you are asking, is it a one-legged happy dance?
Because on Tues last, I had the double hammer toe of my right foot fixed. I can put weight on my heel, and only my heel, and I cannot pass Go or collect any moneys. Shuckins, I can barely make it from my bedroom to my desk, to the kitchen. My walker helps, but if I’m taking dishes with food in them, I have to use my cute little pink steno chair so I have something to set them on. A steno chair makes a fair walker, but probably not as safe as the real McCoy. 

I was told if I wear a bra, make it a sport bra, but nothing with an underwire. I had to ask the nurse why? Was I going to have a scar from my toe to my boob? Anyhow, Dr. uses a cauterizer, and though they have a grounding pad under me, they just want to be sure nothing untoward happens. Believe me, that was a relief. But that woulda been some kind of scar!

I spent the first 4 days either on my bed with my foot elevated, or at my desk with my foot elevated. No swelling. And really good drugs that did nada, so after two of the pills, I moved over to over the counter NSAID instead of the oxycodone. Those NSAIDS worked a whole lot better. And 6 was all I required! Last one was Thurs morning.

Housemate Dan has been in charge of the hound during this fun time. Since I can’t put any weight on the toe part of my foot, it’s a tad difficult to pick dog dishes up from and put them down again on the floor, and no way can I go outside and walk him, let alone bend over to pick his offering to the Grass Gods then throw it into the Alter/dumpster. Sammy is very happy that the Grass Gods always accept his offering. Me, too./snort/ 😉

Photo of the week:
Wounded foot. Isn’t that exciting? I have YES on my right leg, as well as the dr’s initials, and NO on my left leg. Indelible ink. The ink is still on me. I can’t get my foot wet, and even with a plastic taped to my leg, I can’t stand in the shower to scrub, I have to sit. And scrubbing the ink off is not a high priority. Yet.

from nurse chihuahua;
sorry, folks, can’t sit in my chair when my human is in it. and if she’s not in it, I have to be next to her and act as guard dog. it would be easier to take care of my human, if I had longer legs and opposable thumbs.  

As You May Imagine

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Weather in the Tries:

Oof Da! Can you say: Sun? Can you say: Hot? Yep, that be us. Am listening to the ambient music, Miyamoto Musashi: Embracing Loneliness. Not that I’m lonely, but it’s raining in the video. You know, cool.

As you may imagine:
Well, I imagine you can imagine this past week was not the bestest in my world. It took a few days for me to get over SCOTUS’ ruling on Monday. Maybe not over it, but through it. Through most of it. 

On the sunny side of the street, I was in a bookstore the other day, and came home with two books. Yeah, I know, you’re so surprised. /snort/ One is a book of poetry by Margaret Atwater. I love her poetry, and haven’t seen a new book of hers in a long time. So I am reading Dearly before I turn the light out at night.

The second book is, The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. A small book, maybe 5” x 8”, filled with delightful 2-3 page essays he wrote over a year finding delights where he could, including memories. It is a delightful book, and just what the doctor ordered!

Should you find yourself wandering in a bookstore, wander over to the poetry/essay section and look through his book. Take the time to read a couple of his essays. Shucks, while you’re there, look at Dearly by Margaret Atwood, even if you don’t like poetry. Particularly if you don’t like poetry! Her poems are mini stories in a different form. Try a couple. Perhaps you will walk out of the store with two books (or more).

Also, I discovered some new-to-me channels on YouTube and I thoroughly enjoy them—woodturning and woodworking channels! Absolutely great ways to get my eyes and ears out of the news that is so damn depressing. My two favorite woodworking channels are Foureyes furniture and Blacktail Studio. The guys are fun, they explain what they are doing, what they did wrong, and how they fixed it. I love how they work, too. Would I ever spend $15K on a table? uh, no, but if I decided to, it would be from one of these two guys. And I must be learning something—on Sunday I decided to watch someone else make a table. I was quite taken with the top and I wanted to see how he made it. He made it cheaply. Where the guys above glue and clamp, this guy used way less glue and nails. Where Chris (?) and Cam (above furniture builders) take the time to get every join perfect, where they use several grits of sandpaper, where they spend time finishing their work, the table I was so taken by was very shoddily made. The joins did not match, the sanding was perfunctory, and the finish was sprayed on. I watch they guys for entertainment, but apparently, I’m also getting an education.

If you are in the market for some new and high quality furniture, I strongly suggest you watch a few episodes of the guys at the links above. Not that I’m recommending them to you (which I am) but to see how they work, and what to look for when you go shopping. 

By the way, Cam at Blacktail Studio is the one who came up with the Damascus Denim Desk. Yes, a desk made out of denim. Check it out here. Talk about fabric art!!!

Photo of the Week:
Yep, it’s me. I had to get some new headshots for the new book, Saying Goodbye to Thomas, which will be ready for pre-order probably in in Feb/Mar 2025. As you undoubtedly know, there are few things I hate worse than having my picture taken. From my POV, I look like Sophia Loren. From the camera’s POV, I look like me. God, what a let-down for all concerned.

photo by Katrina

from the desk of the hot dog;
the one and only bad thing about the heat is sometimes the hard, black surface of the driveway where most of my walking is done, is too hot for my feets. otherwise, all this sun and hot is pure heaven for this desert dog. can you see my tail wag.

Music of the Week:
Miyamoto Musashi: Embracing Loneliness. Great ambient music to have on, turned low, and write or study by. There are several pieces online for this music. I think if I could play it on the bedside radio I do not have, I could easily sleep with it. No, it doesn’t make me sleepy (couldn’t work or study if it did) but I think it would make great sleeping music.

Quote of the Week:

“Re-examine all you have been told.
Dismiss what insults your soul.”
—Walt Whitman

ps: 
Looking for a nightmare? Give this site a once or twice over: American Autocracy Threat Tracker. Truly scary stuff! But necessary. How sad is that?

To Baseball or No Baseball

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Weather in the Tries:
Stock up on ice, my friends. While Monday is a nice, low 85F for our high, we begin a low and steady burn to 87, 90, 92, 101, 106, finish the week off with Sunday being 103F. The good news is the pool is open and the sun is shining with no clouds in the sky.

To Baseball or Not Baseball: 
When I was a kidlet, living in Northwest Portland, Oregon, I loved baseball. I could sit on the front porch in the summer and have the radio on and listen to Bob Blackburn and Rollie Truitt call the games live from the Vaughn Street Park. It was many years later I learned they called the games from ticker tape that came into the radio station downtown. But I could hear the crowds roar from the stadium as well as from the radio.

I listened to the Countdown Podcast by Keith Olbermann for 20 Jun 24, in which gave an interesting tidbit about Willie Mays, and talked about why the World Series has lost so many fans through the years. That got me to thinking about why I no longer care for baseball all that much. I do admit, I’m not a huge sports enthusiast. I used to like American Football, until the dangers of being hit in the head came to light, and somehow, watching these overgrown kids playing a game lost its appeal. And now, they are discovering the same problems with Soccer (the rest of the world’s Football), and women are coming down with it now as much as men. 

But back to my real topic, about how I lost my love of baseball. One of Mother’s friends took us to a Beaver’s game at the Vaughn St. Stadium. I was so excited to go. It was hot. We sat in the bleachers in the full sun for a double header. And it was duller than watching paint dry, or grass grow, or a rock at the ocean be ground into sand. There were these guys on the field, wearing their pajamas, and standing around and running and batting now and then. BUT BOB BLACKBURN AND ROLLIE TRUITT WERE NOT CALLING IT. Oh. Emm. Gee. Booooredom. Bob and Rollie called it for the radio, brought it to life, a life I expected, not the life that was before me.

Eventually, I think the Portland Beavers disappeared. I know they moved to a different stadium, I think it was Multnomah Stadium, but by then, I really didn’t care. The next time I heard from Bob Blackburn, he was the radio voice of the Sonics, and though I wasn’t a great fan of basketball, I was a great fan of Bob Blackburn, and I became a fan of the Sonics. I actually did see a professional basketball game back in 1970 when I believe the Sonics played a California team in Portland as an exposition game to help bring professional basketball to Portland. A young hotshot player was in the game, Kareem Abdul Jabar? Wilt Chamberlain? Kobe Bryant? I don’t remember, but he seemed to stand around center court and not do much. We were pretty disappointed in him until the next morning the headline said he made something like 53 baskets! A record at the time. And we realized he was so gosh darn tall, he’d shoot from farther back than most. 

Since I no longer have Blackburn or Truitt to make sports come alive for me, I don’t listen or watch much anymore. And yet, if Keith Olbermann talks about sports, I’m spell bound. Those three men could, I’m sure, talk about the paint, grass, and or sand mentioned above, and make it the most interesting story on the radio/television/internet of the day. Oh, is Formula One racing a sport? I love F1 races as long as there is one really good, spectacular crash and THE DRIVER WALKS AWAY FROM IT! I also still watch the Thunder Boats when I catch them on streaming. And golf. I actually enjoy golf. Talk about going from the ridiculous to the sublime;-)

Oh, and I did listen to one World Series in 1969 when the Mets won their first World Series. As I recall I won a dollar off my grandfather on that one.

A note from/about one of my favorite authors, M. K. Tod:
She writes historical fiction, and I’ve yet to read one of her books I didn’t enjoy to the max! She sent a note advertising her newest book, which I have but have not yet read, and asked the recipients to take a reader’s survey. Which I did, and was asked both in her email, and at the end of the survey, to share the survey link. She would really like to get men to take the survey, as well as women, so please consider it. The survey takes about 10 minutes, or less. It’s not often you are asked for input, to help writers write what you’d like to read, so here is your chance. Just click the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LSYVTG7

Photos of the Week:
This is a wee quilt I am making a friend. It will be about 16×20 when finished. She picked out and bought the fabric, and wanted it to be Mount Shasta and three of her sister mountains. I call it Purple Skies Over Mt. Shasta and Three of her Sisters. The title is almost larger than the quilt. I hope to have it finished this week. Well, the piecing. Then I have to figure out how to quilt it.

from the desk of the big chihuahua;
all week it will be sunny and really warm. I hope my human spends time on the patio, so I can go outside and keep her safe. I take my duty to guard her very seriously. she’s so funny. every time she leaves, she gives me a job to do. then she leaves and locks me in. how am I supposed to keep the hippopotamesses out of the parking slots? or the jiraffs and allegators out of our pond when I can’t open the door to go outside. and what are those things, anyway.

Quote of the Week:

Add life to day not days to life
                        ~ Samuel Sangwa.

Willed Body Programs

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Weather in the Tries:
Yikes! I started writing that this week would be cooler, and checked my phone to be sure I wouldn’t tell a lie. Well, part of the week will be cooler. Monday will be 71, Saturday will be 97. Hmmm, maybe I should consider switching to Celsius? It won’t affect the temps, but the number will be lower. A little psychological magic.

Monday will be 22, Saturday will be 37.Whatcha think? Shall I switch to Celsius until Fall?

Willed Body Programs:
We have two Willed Body programs here in Washington State—the University of Washington in Seattle and Washington State University in Spokane. I want to donate my body to a Body Farm, there are six of them, but none of them in the Pacific Northwest. They are all in the South and East. The original one is in Tennessee, started by forensic anthropologist Will Bass. I wish we had one in the PNW. Alas, we don’t. 

We do have Medical Schools, in Washington State, we have two of which I’m aware. The University of Washington(UW) in Seattle and Washington State University (WSU) in Spokane. Both accept willed bodies provided all the paperwork (oh, yeah, pages and pages) is complete and no next of kin objects. 

The UW accepts bodies from anywhere in the state and will cover transportation, and eventual cremation, with the ashes being placed in an unmarked grave (columbarium?) in their plot at Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle when finished with the body. WSU will transport, free of charge for bodies in a more localized area and charge the estate for transportation from farther away. I don’t know how much they charge.

Links to both schools’ Willed Body Programs are above. For me it boils down to: Do I want my ashes to be turned into mud, or to enjoy the seasons mostly in the sun. And can my estate afford the transportation costs?

Both sites have easily read and understood directions. Some things will disqualify—certain contagious diseases (at time of death) as well as horrendous trauma. If you will your body, there is no guarantee at the time of your death that either school will have need of you. Both strongly urge all donors to have a Plan B. 

If helping future doctors become good future doctors, this may be something for you to consider. This should be discussed with your family, as it will mean if you want a funeral, it will have to be without a body (I suppose you could use an empty casket. Hmm, would it have to be empty? Surely you can think of things to place in the casket to your weight? Those ugly sweaters Auntie Lenora did not give you (use them for wrapping so things don’t rattle), those computers you need to get rid of (especially the hard drives with incriminating letters?), those slick tires you need to dispose of? Well, you’ll think of something, I’m sure). UW will not return the ashes, WSU will, if requested. 

What will your family do with them, anyhow? Why would they want them, unless they’re going to use them for something other than put them in a vase to grace your living room or to use as a door stop? Yes, I know, cremains may be used for several things, but will they really go to go to such lengths?

Anyhow, I will post the links to both in my doula site, in the Resources page.  

Photos of the Week:
Be careful for what you ask! This guy was lonely. He sent out a call.

And this happened in minutes. He was ignored by everyone.

from the desk of Sammy snuggle pup;
my human sits on the bed to put on her socks and shoes. I lie in wait, and as she sits I sneak from behind her and crawl into her lap for pets and snuggles. for some reason, she enjoys it. I’ll have to do this more often, because I enjoy it, too. I also enjoy the warmer weather and sunshine we’re getting. happy dance time in my town.

Ear worm of the week:
Wolf Totem by the HU

Quote of the week:

“In such diffused changes of culture
two factors are necessary:
contact and understanding.” ~Hu Shih

Saying Goodbye to Thomas

3 Replies

Weather in the Tries:
Oh my goodness gracious sakes alive! A week of sunshine is ahead of us. A tad cooler than yesterday, the temps will mostly be in the 80s until the weekend, when it will drop to the 70s. And the humidity, though higher in the morning and night, will be low enough that the heat will be heavenly.

Saying Goodbye to Thomas:
In case you missed the wee bit in last week’s post about my chapbook being accepted, Finishing Line Press has accepted my chapbook, Saying Goodbye to Thomas. These are the poems I wrote, mostly in the final months of his life, about his dying. No, they are not all doom and gloom, you know me better than that. At any rate I think I’ve calmed down a wee bit from the excitement. It will spike again, when I get the contract. Then it will be really real;-) 

Here is their acceptance. Well, a small portion thereof, I’m sure you don’t want to read the whole thing. This is the important part:

“Thank you for submitting to us. Your manuscript has been accepted for publication. We would love to publish your book.” Every time I read those three sentences I just get giddy all over again 😉

Please check Finishing Line Press out and consider buying a book. Small Press publishers are a mainstay for poets. Not sure which one to buy, get Finding Her by Kristie L. Williams. It’s a great book.

I’m a writer, I’m used to rejection. But sometimes, when enough come with no breaks, it’s hard to remember that editors aren’t rejecting me, they are rejecting my work. And they can reject it for a myriad of reasons. Maybe I used a word they don’t like, or I wrote about peace instead of war, or I wrote it in this form and they really love another form. Or, as so many rejection/pass letters state, my work just didn’t grab them. Any and all of those reasons are valid, plus the plethora I didn’t list.

It’s really nice when acceptance letters come in like rejections usually do. Within a month, I had something like 8 poems accepted/published. Huzzah! for editors 😉

Depending on your frame of mind, you may or may not want to download the WeCroak app. They will send you 5 messages a day to remind you, you are not a permanent fixture as a live person. It’s inspired by a Bhutanese folk saying: to be a happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily. I just went to the computer one, and they have “the final word on advice columns” you can ask Death for advice on current events, relationships, etc. and so forth. I’m enjoying it very much, but then, I’m weird. However, should you get it for your phone or ipad or watch or whatever, let me know what you think of it. They have both ios and android.

I keep hearing Johnny Mathis singing Chances Are. Yeah, I’m wearing that silly grin, but it’s not because I’m in love with some guy, it’s because my book about my Elder Brother of Choice is being published. Oh, happy dance, happy dance. Oh, wait. Yeah, I am in love with some guy. He’s a spoiled rescue dog!

Speaking of being a spoiled dog, he’s finally taking treats from my hand! That’s huge. I used to have to set them down and walk away, or gently toss them near him. Even the one that looks like a stick to him. Especially the stick one. Now he takes it from my hand. Sometimes it takes a bit. I’d sure like to know how badly he was abused. I think it’s worse than I imagine, which makes me want to hold him and cry and then go find the abuser and abuse him the same way he abused this poor puppy.

Photos of the Week:

Thomas loved watching the bunnies in the yard.

And he loved tossing peanuts out for the crows. One was fairly tame, Thomas called him Podjo, Old Friend.

This Rosemary plant is huge, and was right next to the outside door to Thomas’s area, and when the sun shone, and it was warm, we’d open the door and enjoy the perfume.

from the desk of the big chihuahua;
my human seems tremendously happy i am now taking treats from her hand. i wish i could tell her why it took so long, but she has been patient. sometimes, i still can’t do it, but she doesn’t seem upset when i want it tossed to me. 

Earworm of the week:
Need you wonder? One of my girl-hood heart throbs, Johnny Mathis sings Chances Are. 


Quote of the week, compliments of Good Housekeeping:

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” ~ Stephen Covey