TAGGED

Julz tagged me last night and I needed a Friday post - so, here we go!

The rules are:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same.


Seamus 23.5 "We herded the sea of fur back to their kennel and I said goodbye to the Bufflepup knowing it would be another week before he was old enough to fly to Seattle." *Sniff*

So saith DOG!

Wow! That seems like a long time ago and I'm nowhere near my 1st Blogaversary!


Tagged:
Muse
Brighton
Boo
Innana
Carolyn

Have fun diggin' ya'll! :grins:

Barely focused

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy

She'll beat you if she's able

The queen of hearts is always your best bet

Well it seems to me some fine things

Have been laid upon your table

But you only want the things that you can't get

Desperado – Henley & Frey

Hmmm…speaks for itself!

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New subject –

Now most of you are going to think I’ve lost my ever-loving mind.

You see, I have a real issue this most insidious of urban ills – rodents. Yep, I’m talking Willard here. We’ve managed to keep the little squatters out of the domicile for most of the time we’ve been here, but there has been a plethora of destruction/construction on the main road, a.k.a. business district, just a block from the house and the buildings removed had been abandoned for a while. So instead of dealing with the indigenous population before tearing down the structure we now have a surge of homeless refugees moving into the neighborhood.

Now I smugly thought, after hearing all the neighbors complain, “I’m glad we dodged that bullet.” Ha! Since discovering the first tell-tale sign 2 weeks ago we have been about the business of rodent relocation. Fortunately they found ingress into the greenhouse but one of the creatures found a breach in the castle wall.

When all this happened a few years back the problem was solved using ultrasonic generators and the unwanted guest disappeared. This squatter in the basement was either immune to the sound or deaf as a post and could care less. It was given fair warning to vacate the premises.

Now here is where the “Seamus is crazy” part comes in. Yes I’m eccentric. I herd the spiders out of doors. I catch the moths and the lacewings and move them to the garden. On and on and on, but I just abhor the thought of having rodents on the grounds. However, I hate setting traps and using poisons on the rodents even more. Yes I can hear some of you now, but it’s the way I am wired. Because our squatter didn’t leave I had to resort to a package of D-con. Blek!

I found the critter last night and to tell you the absolute truth, it ruined my evening. I don’t know how to reconcile these stupid feelings; I DO NOT WANT THEM IN MY HOUSE, but I don’t want to resort to these horrible means.

Enough said!

Barely focused.

Round and round and round in the waiting game…

(sorry Joni)

Well guess what?
No?
You should’ve expected it.
It’s almost a habit.

“Hi. Seamus?”
“Yes?”
“This is Jonelle at the Surgical Clinic.”
“We are still on Monday’s schedule, aren’t we?”
“Well-lllll, Dr. P would like to see Taylor ahead of time. Can you come in for a quick check? “
“Ok. What time?”
“Like…now?”

Oh! Now you’ve guessed!!!
Bwahahahahahaha!

POSTPONED AGAIN!

Calm again.

October 10th.

Me?
Frustrated?
Naaaah…………………………..NOT!

So I went shopping!
A new hat, three purses and a pair of … three pairs of shoes.
What?
You don’t believe a word of it?
Ok! How about a new Hummer H3!
Don’t believe that either?
Well, you’re right you know!
Just righter than raindrops.

Ok…I did give Taylor a bath!
Clean Buffledog.
Toenails to ear tips.
He’s smilin’!

HAPPY MONDAY! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm…clean dog!

Saturday short

I was reading Michael Hall’s Pioneer Journal and 2 quotes that he used just jumped off the page that seem so pertinent to how and what I am feeling these days.

The first has to do with you, my Blogger community. It’s from Richard Bach’s Illusions:
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.

The second from Barbara Marciniak’s Bringers of the Dawn is, well, very apropos now:
If you are not willing to change and not willing to give things up, you will have to go through experiences that are less than joyful.


Happy Saturday!!!

The End of the Road - part II

the rest of the Hawaii pics can be found here

Here are some more musings about the Hawaii trip - seems that a few things have gotten in the way of finishing this account.

I said in the last post that the Big Island has 11 of 13 ecological zones on the planet. I am still amazed that in the span of 20 miles heading north from the hotel on the Kona side we drove out of a parched landscape reminiscent of northern Arizona and into a lush, green and drippy landscape that more represents what most of us envision when we think of tropical islands. What a pleasure to see wild orchids and ferns as big as an automobile – blooming plants were very prolific AND odiferous. Standing on the steep cliffs on the northern part of the island you can look out onto an ocean so vast that it really does feel like you are standing at the edge of the earth. There was both a power and a vulnerability that I experienced from that vantage point and I became lost in the vertiginous space between solid and surreal. I was awed!

The expanse of the cattle and sheep ranches in the mountainous interior was a complete surprise. The main highway rose to 3000 feet and the verdant hills were spectacular with the distant ocean as a backdrop; again the overwhelming feeling of being at the end of the earth.

Ahead on this road loomed Mauna Kea, an extinct volcano rising over 13,000 feet and was the dominant view looking south. We had originally planned a trip to the summit and a visit to the observatories there but we had agreed on doing just one big adventure during our visit and Mauna Kea lost to a trip to the active volcano on the south of the island. Mauna Kea will be on the agenda next visit. The observatories are so large that they are easily viewed from the lowlands and it’s said that it is so clear at that altitude that you feel as though you can reach out and touch the stars. Next time for sure and all the camera gear I can carry.

Did you know they had a Costco on the island??? Seems incongruous, but it’s there and was a welcome shop for supplies.

Driving south to Kona was an eye opener since we had only driven that route in the black dark upon arrival. We drove for miles through lava fields and it was like being on the moon for all its bizarreness. In The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson he describes “the Blasted Lands” and that is what I thought of when I saw this explosion of rock and tried to imagine what it would have looked like when it was flowing. In the midst of all this dark upheaval I noticed there were some small white stones that had been arranged into words along the side of the road. It soon became more prolific and it was like a form of graffiti – so we stopped to examine it a little closer. One of the products of a lava flow like this is pumice stone and that what the white rocks were. They had been gathered and arranged by a variety of folk in stark contrast to the dark brown lava and it was everything from overt bathroom wall writing to actual ads for businesses. The shoulders of the road were resplendent in love proclamations and simple graphic designs. Since the island doesn’t allow billboards I suppose this was the next best thing.

The pièce de résistance for the trip was the active volcano. We chose to take a helicopter tour of the activity since there were no surface flows happening within hiking distance. This turned out to be the best decision and we were able to view the crater in action and some surface lava flows. Our pilot was smooth in his operation of the craft and highly entertaining and suddenly we found ourselves hurtling toward Mt. Doom. He banked the chopper and there we were looking straight down the throat of the volcano.

After circling several times and banking both left and right so both sides got the view we flew off toward the ocean over the hardened crust. There had been a 5.4 quake on the island the week before and it opened a couple of places in the crust that we could see the molten red magma. The one pictured here reminded me of the Eye of Sauron.

The lava flow was underneath the crust and was spilling out into the sea on the very south end of the island. The resulting steam explosions were massive and we got a very close view of land that was only minutes old. What an extreme from the land on the north end that was millions of years old to new born on the south.

We passed over what remained of a community taken out in the 80s by the volcanic flow. It wiped out an entire town and what remained were a few homes and only one remains occupied – it is a B & B. The only way in or out is by helicopter and you can base from there to explore the lava fields. It is hard to imagine the destructive force of molten rock flowing like a river at 30-60 MPH.

So after our trip through the Land of Mordor we set off to exchange the rental car that was steadfastly refusing to latch the trunk lid. We had hours before we needed to be at the airport in Kona and it was a 3 hour drive from Hilo so we set off for the black sand beaches on the south coast. Ignoring a turn off we drove right to the end of the road – literally. The road stopped where the lava had flowed over the top of it. It was quite awesome walking out over this cracked and once molten landscape. It was like being in a place that the goddess said we couldn’t be, treading on the forbidden ground.

After thoroughly assaulting our senses and sensibilities on this bizarre landscape we backtracked and found the black sand nude beach that had been our goal.

After not enough time there we had to start for the journey to the other side with a brief tour of the Volcano National Park on the way.

A memorable trip and there was every enticement to return to the islands soon. I could easily fall right into island time and island ways. Who knows?

Irony and Buffle-junkie

In regards to yesterday’s post and your responses I would like to say “thank you” for all of your wonderful perspectives. It was a bit of thinking-out-loud that I have woefully neglected in the last couple of years. If it all seemed couched in ambiguity it is because it is ambiguous and all of you got to witness me playing with my thoughts in ovo.

I picked up a new novel last night, John Fowles’ Daniel Martin, adding to my collection of works in progress – I think I’m reading 6 - well, last night’s addition made it six. I had to laugh out loud when I opened to the frontispiece and how apropos the quote was in regards to the discussion yesterday. It reads:

“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appears.”

-Antonio Gramsci,
Prison Notebooks

The irony doesn’t escape me.

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On a lighter note, the Buffledog, a.k.a. Buffle-junkie, is handling the series of injections we are giving him with ease and grace. He also feels remarkably better now that the skin is beginning to clear up. I’m very hopeful that the surgery can go as planned on the 26th of this month.

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If you’ve noticed my absence in your comments it is not from lack of interest, it’s just crazy work hours and you all are my smile breaks – I just don’t get enough of them! I’ll make my rounds tonight and this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Rumination

There is this undercurrent in my life now and it has to do with the definition of want and need. I look at things in macro and there is little, if anything, that I need. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, apparently there is the “other side” that keeps trying to turn wants into needs. Some of these thoughts have surfaced as I’m finding ways to simplify my life, especially as it relates to “things”. There is, however, more than just the physical trappings, there are the elements that feed my soul and this is where the conundrum begins.

Looking at Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs it seems that Levels 1 & 2 of physiological, biological and safety needs are coved pretty well and in a very basic sense so is the 3rd of belongingness and relationships. So why is it that I’m feeling so unfulfilled and unsatisfied? It feels like a chicken or egg question sometimes; that in order to satisfy the higher needs relating to cognition, esteem and love requires change that affects the first three levels. This, I suppose, is the divining out of the difference between wants and needs. If what I want threatens a need then is it valid?

Maybe I’m just nutz….

THE GREAT ACORN WAR

...and now for some fun...


Every season has its perils and we mortals are destined to endure the dangers or cloister ourselves until the season passes.....only to emerge from our shingled bunkers to face a new seasonal onslaught! Such is the case of the bi-annual Acorn War.
I have come to understand, or at least be aware, of the intrinsic nature of the different tree kingdoms. There are those that are benign by nature, causing little grief and a proportionate amount of benefit. Then there are the moderates, such as the pine, whose trouble is a bit more insidious, with the endless rain of straw and cones; much to the delight of gutter trolls and the consternation of castle owners and their coffers. Then there are the mighty oaks; the paragons of summer shade and majestic in their foliage. Equal to their regal splendor they wage the greatest battles and exact the highest casualties.
For those of you who live outside their royal influence it is hard to imagine the ferocity to which these wars escalate. Starting in the spring with the tassel skirmishes, one begins to sense the harbinger of doom as all is blanketed in its golden tinsel. Ah! How soon we forget and are lulled into complacency through the summer, unaware of the arms buildup in the branches above.
Then the first missile is launched, usually on a Labor Day gathering, and woe is the unsuspecting guest or pet. The fusillade commences and from here the battle escalates and reaches a fever pitch that will last for weeks. Fortunate that the aim is not always accurate, but the sheer proliferation of munitions fired has the law of averages on its side. Since most of us are not well versed in the tactics of Oaken Warfare we stumble blindly into the line of fire, adding injury to the insult of such a menial task as taking out the rubbish!
There is also the Oaken Alliance with the Squirrel Kingdom and the carnage begins in earnest. Squirrel warriors, motivated by the spoils of war and visions of huge winter larders, are not particularly skillful at bombing but create a very messy diversion, carpeting the battlefield with acorn shrapnel.
Safe in our bunkers; to which the Oaken Warriors have laid siege, they set about mental warfare, striking targets that are metallic, hollow or any combination thereof that creates noise - lots of noise and we cower. Looking out on the battlefield one cannot help but notice the tannic stains of war, set fast by the seasonal rains, and wonder at the possibility of ever resurrecting the landscape again. Will there be an "after"?
Then it stops! The silence is deafening, yet small hopes begin to emerge. Tentative steps onto the field and surveys of the destruction are begun. Just about the time you trust that the carnage is over and the Oaken forces are in retreat from the lack of munitions, there lurks high in the branches, the "last acorn" - waiting, watching, planning and when the time arrives, launches the missile of vengeance....you know the one, it has your face painted on the side and.....OW!......you know, Chicken Little probably had a point!

...........and the leaves begin to rustle...........

Reflections

I’ve been sitting here wordless, thinking about today, September 11th. I then remembered a comment that I’d left at Mireille’s and thought I’d share the thought en masse.

Today is a day of reflection and a day of hope. Despite all of the bickering across the political fence and the finger pointing regarding the tragedy that is New Orleans, the stories of the outpouring of help and compassion are beginning to filter through - just as they did in the wake of the New York tragedy. These are the stories that we can build from.

I then decided to grab a book again from the shelf and this is what I opened to:

“The Eighth Commandment – What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.”
“It is a harsh fact that the things you build may be destroyed during your lifetime. You may lose them overnight. Even if they last beyond your lifetime, they will eventually be lost.
Still they are worth building. The act of building brings joy and satisfaction.”

Kent M. Keith – Anyway - The Paradoxical Commandments

Commitment

I was up early, wandering around feeling a little unfocused this morning. Often when I’m feeling like this I will pick up a book or magazine and pay attention to the first thing that I open to – it is almost always relevant.

I have been having some discussion with a friend who has just returned from Banda Aceh, where he’s been helping coordinate some of the reconstruction there following the tsunami. He talked a lot about how this has changed him for better and for worse. The thing that he was most struck with was the resilience of the human spirit in the face of such adversity.

There is so much more to say here, but I’ll save it for another post. Here is what I opened to this morning:

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up,
after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

Oriah Mountian Dreamer, The Invitation

Let the sun shine in, let the sun shine in

Open up your wallet and let the sun shine in

I started not to post this. I thought about just sleeping on it. I’m in shock so what spills forth should be taken with a grain of salt – hell, take it with pepper…quinine even.

The Buffledog’s surgery was scheduled for next Monday, the operative word here being “was”. “Houston, we have a problem!” Another 3 weeks – September 19th.

Today was a wedged in appointment for the “doggy dermatologist” to determine the progress and perhaps a diagnosis of Taylor’s skin condition. Remember that surgery was postponed last time because of this condition, so we needed to be sure of what we are dealing with here.

He was so-o-o-o-o happy to be going for a ride this afternoon. Our early morning walks have stopped by necessity and he misses going everywhere I go in the car – so today was a good day for the boy – a ride! Woo Hoo! He sat up in the back seat of the Jetta (most entertaining for the other motorist) grinning at everything and everyone. He was even fine with getting out and going into the vet’s office. Spying the scales as we walked in, he goes right for them and sits down – treat! “Where’s my treat? I get two??? Well while you’re being generous I’ll take twenty treats! You know I’m cute!”

I like the doctor and Taylor took right to him as well, being compliant and affable as the doc crawled through his fur. Three things: one – the bacterial infection is still with us, two – it is complicated by what appears to be a yeast infection, three – it doesn’t appear to be a food allergy but an environmental allergy. The allergy test for environmental allergens and a test for immune system suppression will need to happen. Do it now? Ok! In for a penny, in for a pound! Off they trot and I get to go sulk…er…contemplate the Buffledog’s plight in the waiting room.

Thirty minutes go by and here Taylor comes, looking for me and whining just a little the whole march up the hall. He immediately came right to my face and told me all about it, in between numerous doggie kisses. The doctor arrives with the results of the allergen test and of all the possible things he was tested for, one of the highest allergens on the “bad for Buffledogs” list was ……………………… ME!!!!!!!!! WTF mate? He’s allergic to human dander? And cats? And house dust? And too many others to list. WTF?

So we get to increase the dosage of the antibiotics, add a yeast pill, go back to his regular diet and supplements, ear drops to administer – oh! didn’t I mention that the yeast is taking a holiday in his right ear? – rinse and clean, rinse and clean, rinse and clean and drops (You dip it in the Cheer and you dip in the clear, hold it to your nose and smells like….), postpone the surgery for an additional two weeks……………AND…………………..I get to learn how to give my Buffledog allergy injections every other day for a month and then every other week for the rest of his life. So, armed with enough syringes to make a junkie jump, pills and prescriptions, the Chilton Manual for Buffle-care and a thoroughly denuded wallet we head for home. Taylor sits up in the back seat grinning at everything and everyone despite the new “patch” on his flank and I’m wondering if a nervous breakdown would be appropriate here!

I actually didn’t see the actual test patch until we got home and my first thought was, “Looks just like a peg board!” followed by “You sure pulled an interesting genetic card didn’t you buddy?” I asked if there was anything that could have been done to prevent any of this and he assured me that there wasn’t. The diet was right, the supplements were right, the grooming was right; however, we did need to make sure and dry him completely after his baths.

I’m glad we have a diagnosis and a plan of action. I’m glad for the doctor’s confidence that we can get this under control. I WANT Taylor to be on the other side of his difficulties, for him, especially for him. He’s such a trouper. *sniff*

Changes

Yesterday I took an hour or so from chores, deciding that I was going to catch the last rays of summer. A gorgeous sky, warm sun, chaise lounge, beer, book and sunglasses all made for a very pleasant afternoon on the deck. It was so pleasant that even the Buffledog lay next to the chair, choosing the sunshine over the shade he normally seeks and turning his bare haunch into the sun. We were a pair with our naked bums seeking the last of the summer warmth, knowing instinctively that change was coming.

This morning I’m freezing, the sky is cloudy, the air is much cooler and the Buffledog has his bare bum backed right up to the fireplace. What? That’s right, I said the “F” word – fireplace.

Change happened in the blink of an eye!

I went searching for a robe this morning and grabbed a robe gifted to me by our neighbor recently. I took a moment and looked at the gift robe and thought about how it came to be in my hands.

We’ve been in this house since late 2000 and although we know all of the neighbors by name we only know a few with any depth. The neighbors of this story introduced themselves the first day we moved in, always friendly, always kind and always offering help if needed. We’ve exchanged Christmas gifts, summer fruit bounties and have shared our pick-up with them when there was a dump run needing to happen – often combining loads. Our neighbor drives a cab and he’s always up when Taylor and I go for a walk in the wee hours of the morning – always waving as he passes on his way to pick up another fare. We never fail to exchange pleasantries when we see each other - BUT – we had never been in their house nor had they been in ours. Our social interaction was mostly pleasant, superficial neighbor stuff…until they needed to fly home. You see, our neighbors are from Ethiopia.

They asked if we would watch their house and take care of the yard while they were away. They were going to be gone for 5 weeks. So we collected the mail, aired out the house, started the car and although someone else mowed the grass we still took care of the rough edges. Just being in their space began to give us a sense of who they were – not In a snooping kind of way, but just being aware of their furnishings, wall hangings and the general ambiance of their house.

They returned home and were grateful ad nauseam and were bubbling over with excitement from their trip. They came over to the car as we were about to go off and said they had their pictures back and invited us for coffee. We didn’t realize it at the time but we were in for a treat. Spending the afternoon with these wonderful people was like taking a National Geographic tour with historical annotations. They left Ethiopia when Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974 and this was their first time back. We learned so much about their history, their culture, their religious beliefs and their experiences as immigrants. We were surprised again when she invited us to their table to experience traditional Ethiopian food in the traditional way using no utensils. They were gracious and patient with us as we dropped far more than we ate in the beginning.

Full of new food and new experiences and a new awareness and appreciation of our neighbors we began to say our goodbyes and they presented us with gifts from their country; a traditional cotton robe for me and a cotton dress for Hot Sauce. They again expressed their gratitude for our being caretakers of their home while they were away.

So I’m looking at this beautiful robe this morning thinking of how just one social afternoon can change our perceptions and notions and how we have come away from the experience the better for it.

I am also struck by the fact that our relationship with them has changed from being “neighbors” to being “friends”.

This is an appropriate memo

UPDATE: Varla of Monkeys with Fezzes sent me this link of a blogger who is right in the middle of NO and is basically a live feed of his observations. Check Interdictor out. Be prepared to spend a lot of time - there is a lot here.

I saw this post this morning at Laura's blog Vitamin Sea and couldn't resist sharing it with the rest of you! It's just such a "spot on" response to the wingnuts out there!

• MEMO
  TO: The so called Christian zealots who are making statements that the hurricanes are occurring in the cities where the greatest amount of sin takes place, yada yada yada, may I direct you to your nearest college, university or public school where you should at least take a basic science class. In the absence of that, please google this simple sentence into your search bar: "How Hurricanes Are Formed". Additionally, please read up on the concept of the "hurricane belt" as well. Find the NOAA site on your own and get yourself familiar with the weather patterns.
  
  TO: The fair number of people who have said the people in Florida and Louisiana "got what they deserved" with the hurricanes because we "choose to live there." May I suggest that you refrain from vacationing anywhere in the United States where a natural disaster is likely to occur.
  
  Your presence in any of these cities while on you're on vacation means that the people who "choose" to live there have to provide support for the infrastructure that existed in place long before your arrival.
  
  And that means that when you get off the plane with your suitcase, there will be an airport staffed by personnel who "choose to live there", and when you drive your rental car down through town, the stoplights that will keep you from crashing into another car were put in place by a person who also "chooses to live there." Ever drive in a country without stoplights?
  The roads were paved by people who choose to live

The bad and the ugly

UPDATE: if you haven't heard the Mayor of NO you need to hear this clip found on the Washington Post!!!!!

I just posted this as a comment on Vicky's site and because this is what I'm wound up about this morning I decided to share it with the rest of you. The devastation on the Gulf Coast is just beyond belief.
"I keep trying to look on the bright side - to see something positive coming from this, but I keep drawing a blank. It's a fucking mess and a serious black eye on our ability as a country to mobilize aid in such a devastating and critical time. The place should be crawling with military - we should be hearing stories about rescue vehicles getting in each other way instead of hearing about people dying in their wheelchairs, lonely and afraid. We can mobilize a military machine to take out a country halfway around the world and yet can't seem to get control of a disaster on our own soil? WTF is that about? What does that tell us about our preparedness for a disaster anywhere on this continent, be it natural or malicious. I cannot take seriously the claim that "it takes time to coordinate the rescue efforts". Where is all the bravado now regarding "Homeland Security" and "we are more prepared than ever to..."? "To" what? Does this not take on an equal importance because it was not inflicted on us by "terrorist"??? We are once again going to look like complete idiots on the world stage.
I suppose one good thing is that this disreputable administration is losing ground fast and we will not forget!"

More "hurl fodder" !

Good Thursday

To balance out the past couple of “pitiful” posts here is some
GOOD STUFF

I just opened a wonderful surprise package from Serra of Whiplash Smile - thank you so much and there'll be no bitchin' here!! :)

The Buffledog’s skin is beginning to clear – yay!

Taylor’s being his bouncy baby self again in a three-legged sort of way!

In light of Unky Moods’ apparent demise I’ve decided to figure out an audio mood (sort of) – perhaps install this long weekend.

The sale of our company looks like a go, so a lot of unsettling issues will soon find resolution.

Some projects around the house are beginning to find themselves in the “completed column”.

One friend is starting grad school – she’s got guts, lots of guts.

Another friend is putting her relationship back together – she’s got guts as well – yay!

Dad’s house is finally on the market.

I’ve begun climbing again – slowly at first so not to re-injure the shoulders.

The fruition of a two year project is on the horizon! So this means crunch time and 60-70 hour weeks for a couple of months, so my activity here will be somewhat limited – but the “good stuff” is that I’m paid for these crazy hours … and that means I can pay someone else to paint the house!!!

I’ve finally calibrated all 4 monitors that I use between work and home … wha’? All the pics look the same now – yay!

I’m sure there is more, but I’m still on the first cup of coffee!