Ode to Bo......

My college roommate, Susie, and her husband, Dwayne, live over near Madison. We met at Ripon in 1964 and have been besties ever since. And one of our connections is the fact that we four adults love our dogs. For years Susie's dog of choice (and therefore her husband's too) was the miniature Schnauzer. She usually had two at a time...and they were fun. But after their last Schnauzer died they did a major reversal and brought Bo home. Bo was a coal black standard poodle....he was big, friendly, smart and silly. All feet and bouncing whenever he entered a room.

We would visit our friends and Fenway and Bo would chase each other around the house and out in the yard. Lots of toy stealing and attempts to displace each other in someone's lap. Susie would always say that basically Bo ignored all his toys until Fenway wanted one.  Fenway's ears would perk up whenever we'd say "Want to go for a ride and see Bo?"

We expected them all to join us for this New Year's Eve....until yesterday's email. The message was from Susie telling us that they had to put Bo to sleep yesterday. Sudden and unexpected....an unknown large tumor on his spleen started to bleed. After testing they stood at the vet's office and made that all too hard decision and said goodbye to their beloved pet.

Grief comes in all sizes....huge when a loved one dies. A spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child....a friend. The loss hits hard and black. And the grief we experience when we say goodbye to a dog is real and a testament to just how much we loved our pet....and how much they loved us right back. That four footed never-a-question-about-it love. Feed them the same food every day for years, take the same walks, leave them alone at home while you work or go out with friends. That wiggly butt is waiting for you with the same amount of enthusiasm whether you've been gone for 15 minutes or a week. That kind of love is hard to replace....and we dog owners know we will, most likely, face this kind of loss every time we bring a puppy home.

The four of us used to laugh that it was really hard to get a good picture of Bo....he was just so black and his eyes were so dark. But I think this is a pretty good shot.

                            

Farewell Bo.....you will be missed....you will be remembered.....you were loved.

'Twas the Day After.......

So Christmas 2019 is over and we are almost ready to turn the page on the calendar to welcome a new year. Again it seems this year flew by!

Our holiday was spent with our daughter, son-in-law and two teen age grandsons here in nearby West Bend. We drove over during the afternoon on the 24th and slept overnight to welcome a busy Christmas morning on a warm-for-Wisconsin December 25th.  We four adults and two high schoolers enjoyed our gift opening (lots of gift cards for the teens!) and a delicious brunch. There was conversation, ooohs and ahhhs....and laughter. The best kind of day.

But frankly most of the laughter was due to three dogs busily checking out their own gifts and shredding boxes and walking through the expanding wrapping paper mess. Our Fenway is quick on his feet and can hide under the coffee table after grabbing a toy.

The Johnson's two yellow labs, Sadie and Walter, move more slowly with big "lethal" tails threatening any coffee cups sitting at a low level. Walter, just about a year old, is a big goof ball who has no problem getting up close and personal.

Big sister, Sadie, is a little slower now and very chill. She lets Fenway and Walter grab the toys and is very happy chewing and chewing and chewing on her new tennis balls....until she collapses for a nap.

The dogs added the activity level and laughter that you sort of "miss" when there aren't any little kids racing about. The three helped to make this a very nice Christmas for the Woodard/Johnsons. The kind of Christmas every dog lover will understand.

Something Really Stupid This Way Comes.....

Frankly, as I age, I am experiencing a lot of the "expected" sort of "maladies"....aching joints, some arthritis, thinning hair. Ugh. But again, I am healthy and able to do what I want to do and am very thankful for that!

But right now, one day before Christmas Eve, I just hung up the phone after talking to a nurse at my PCP's office. I've had some really chapped lips for about a week, getting worse and worse day by day and today the lower lip is even a bit swollen. I've been using chapstick and a cream prescription from several years ago when my lips got really sunburned....but since it wasn't getting any better I figured I better call. Sort of embarrassing, but I really was uncomfortable.

And, this morning, when I woke about 5:30 with lower lip burning I suddenly remembered something that happened about a week ago. I got up in the middle of the night for a quick trip to the bathroom, and while I was there I opened a drawer ( in semi-darkness) to grab a chapstick. As soon as I put it on my lower lip I thought "Oh oh....this is NOT chapstick." I had grabbed an old wart removal stick by mistake.

At the time I immediately rinsed it off...and went back to bed. But apparently I didn't wash it off well enough. I am now suffering from a chemical burn from the ingredients in the wart stick and that's why my lower lip is so sore and beginning to swell. Doctor's advice....apply Vaseline several times a day and if it gets worse call him back.

Won't my Christmas pictures be lovely! Lesson learned.....put the light on in the bathroom!

Anonymous Santa.....

The holiday season brings lots of opportunities to provide gifts for people who need a little extra help at this time of year. The Salvation Army is out with their red kettles, there are lots of places to drop off new toys for children, the mail is full of requests for donations for area non-profit organizations. The list goes on and my wallet comes out. I support several organizations with a yearly donation and then I look for other small ways to make a difference.

Our condo neighbors responded a few weeks ago with gently used coats, jackets and non-perishable foods for our local food pantry. Their generosity was on display.

Last week I watched Ellen Degeneres on a three-night holiday special "Ellen's Greatest Night of Give Aways". She and her sponsors gave out hundreds of thousands of dollars to deserving people and organizations. Frankly I watched with a box of kleenex right next to the chair! And I kept sort of thinking about it. And remembering how people go to stores and pay off lay away orders for shoppers  - as a surprise. And I decided I wanted to do a little something more personal than putting more dollar bills in the red kettles or sending another check.

So I went off to the bank to get a few bills. I took two of our extra Christmas cards, signed them with a smiley face and tucked the bills inside. I drove over to our local food pantry because I figured that families who qualified to shop there on Tuesday mornings would appreciate a little unexpected windfall.

I know it wasn't much, but I will say it made me feel really good to walk up to two different families as they left the food pantry and approached their cars. I just said "Merry Christmas", handed them the card and walked away..... each of them reacted with a jaw drop and then a "Thank you!"

And I'm happy I played Secret Santa....and I will do it again next year.

I Need Help.....

It's no secret that we own a dog....or maybe Fenway owns us??? And, as most dog owners know, these four legged family members develop a kind of routine that "governs" the day. When to go for walks, when to have a meal (always!), what to do when we are leaving (give Fen a cookie) and what to do when he wants to play.

So at least once or twice a day Fenway grabs a favorite toy and brings it to Dave and drops it on the rug. This means (in dog language) "Dad get down on the floor and toss this thing so I can run around and keep it away from you!"

One of his long time favorite toys is one we call "monkey". He's had this one for a long time.

Monkey used to have a head and four limbs....the stuffed toy parts were chewed off a long time ago. But somehow, even without the fluffy parts, Fenway loves to play with this toy. Maybe because when Dave tosses monkey it always rolls and bounces in unexpected ways and it's fun to chase.

Yesterday while playing, Dave tossed it from the den toward the dining room, and then he left the room. I was sitting on the couch and suddenly heard Fenway crying loudly from somewhere near the kitchen. I got up to investigate because he sounded serious.

I rounded the corner and found Fenway staring down into his water dish. How frustrating! He could see monkey....but he couldn't figure out how to retrieve it. Mom to the rescue.

Goofy dog.....

Tradition?

To celebrate the holiday season we went downtown with friends once again this year. We went to see stuffed animals in costume and then out to lunch. The colorful display is at the BMO Harris Bank and it really is fun to see. The bank owns a huge collection of Steiff animals and every year the crew is dressed differently to compliment a new theme. This year was "Super Heroes" (most of which we couldn't identify).

It just so happens that Dave met Phyllis and Ted at his photo club....so as we wandered through the exhibit cameras and cell phone cameras were put to good use. The shots captured tiny mice, medium size bears and huge camels and giraffes. 

So as we talked at lunch we decided this was a new "tradition" because we'd done it two years in a row. Already looking forward to next year!

Happy Holidays everyone - have fun enjoying your "old" traditions and making new ones!

100+

So it's Monday and we start the week with more impeachment hearings.....beginning at 8:00 in the morning and probably going all day. Ya da, ya da, ya da. Facts vs no facts. One side is sure that 45 abused his power and the other is challenging every comment.

But the thing that really grabbed my attention was during the news show prior to the beginning of the hearing. Between midnight on Saturday and midnight on Sunday our President sent out more than 100 tweets. That probably qualifies as a "tweet storm".

I have to wonder what sending 100+ tweets indicates about anyone's mental state. I also have to wonder just how much time that takes.....to "compose" and send 100+ tweets. Do you stay up all night? Do you sit down for a meal? Do you, as a person with a job and responsibilities, get anything else done?

100+ tweets.......it boggles the mind.

Let's see how many fly from his fingers today......

Ghost of Christmas Past....

Seventeen days and counting. Christmas 2019 is just around the corner. It's always a busy time of year, but frankly, since the "kids" are adults and grandkids are so grown up, preparing is a little simpler. No toys to buy, fewer things to wrap.....but one favorite activity continues every year. Decorating the condo with our holiday stuff. The red Santa Claus figures spread throughout add a spot of cheer and the snow ladies I made sparkle. This year they have a place of honor over the fireplace.

And included with the gals is a Christmas card we got years and years ago. It's just a favorite image....so it's framed and added to the mix.

It's a card that my cousin sent and I think we've had it framed for at least ten years. This year it did need a new frame so I found a nice one in a drawer and took the card out of the old frame. As I centered it in the matting, before taping it in place, I noticed a faded image. I never realized, or at least I'd forgotten, that Claudia and her family were "hiding" behind this smiling snowman.

Her kids were still home, none married in this photograph....but there she is, right in the center with her warm Claudia smile hitting my heart. I guess missing family members are missed even more when you celebrate special occasions. But remembering that my cousin and her much-loved family are framed and here in our condo waiting for Christmas adds a little extra specialness to this fun card.

I change the decorations a little each year, so I'm not sure where the snow ladies will land in 2020. But I'm glad they all have center stage this Christmas.

No Joke.....

So my day started with a few tears and here it is, as I watch the 5:30 national news, my eyes are full once again.

Wisconsin has had a rough week with several area high schools experiencing gun violence. And I have two grandsons whose school was in a "soft shut down" so they stayed home. A "soft shut down"...what the hell?

And the man who occupies the oval office says that the fact that articles of impeachment are being drawn up in the house of representatives is "A joke." No, it's not.....this is a sad chapter in our Country's history. It's not a joke at all.

And then I watch tonight's news and see a video of a 16 year old boy who died in a cell at the border.....he had the flu and he died in American custody. OK....he was trying to cross the border and was put in a cell....but he died.

Ah America......there is nothing funny about any of this. What the hell.....

And So It Continues......

Up at the usual time this morning.....dressed and walking Fenway by 6:45 in time to see a beautiful sunrise over Lake Michigan. Not the best photo but you get the idea.

 
The lake was calm and the wind we had yesterday gone. It was another moment when I felt grateful to be living where I do.

And then back for my coffee and the beginning of my morning GMA "fix". A few stories and some banter between the talking heads and then the show was interrupted by breaking news. The scene shifted to a room in Washington DC with Nancy Pelosi standing in front of a row of American flags. She spoke for only a few moments to announce that the house would be going ahead to draft articles of impeachment against 45.

I have to admit that I had tears in my eyes.....not that I don't think he should be impeached but that this sad journey is continuing. On and on and on.....with rancor and divisiveness no doubt the theme for the coming year.

I guess I should have remembered the words we used so often while sailing....." Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."

Slightly Tattered.....

Somewhere along the way our little family started a weird birthday "tradition". We found a crown and a banner and put them up every year for everyone's birthday. I supposed the kids were maybe in their teens so they didn't "benefit" from the decorations as much as Dave and I did. These items even found their way onto Connemara and got tucked into a small corner of the sailboat just waiting for our special days.

Now they reside in a drawer in the linen press in our living room....rolled up and tucked under the wrapping paper. The day before Dave's birthday I bring them out and after he goes to sleep I tape them up....maybe on the bathroom mirror. One year I put it across the bedroom door frame so the banner hit him in the face as he opened the door.

This year, for my birthday, I found the banner taped to the countertop on the low wall separating the kitchen from the dining room.  There is a LOT of tape residue on this Happy Birthday banner.

We no longer make each other wear the headband......