Friday, August 18, 2006
Cannonball
They called him Cannonball. He was a drill sargeant in the marines, a Korean War vet, an Indiana State University graduate with multiple degrees, a husband, a father, a friend, a successful businessman, a witness of history, a teacher of others, a curmudgeon, a joker, a chaser of squirrels, an avid reader, a light turner-offer, a wearer of stocking caps in winter, a newspaper article highlighter, a gambler, an ex-smoker, my friends father and he is gone but never forgotten. It was an honor to be a pallbearer at his farewell. I will miss you Don.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Turkey Trot
Sitting in my office yesterday and I heard this strange noise outside. I opened the door and discovered a wild turkey making a ruckus. Then I noticed trotting away from the turkey, towards me was Climber, one of our outside cats. The turkey was chasing Climber. I put Climber in the office and grabbed my camera. I got a couple of shots of her before she started down the front hill. I watched her and walked slowly towards her and realized why she was chasing Climber away. Down the hill were 4 chicks and a young male. I was lucky enough to get a few shots of them before they trotted off into the woods.
Animal Parade
Rico and I have been going for walks every evening. We walk down the gravel road beside our place. It's a pretty quiet road and more often than not, we won't have any traffic on the road while on our walk. Last Tuesday I decided to double our distance and we kept on going. We got to the tree line and I noticed something laying on the road ahead. I figured it was a dead squirrel. When we got up to the animal, it was an orange and white tiger striped kitten. I picked up Rico so he wouldn't mess with it and kicked it off into the ditch. "Poor little thing" I said. I set Rico down and we kept walking.
Rico is doing great off leash. He heels like a pro. I'll speed up, slow down, zig-zag and turn while he keeps near perfect pace. If I stop, he stops, sits down and looks up at me. I know this won't last forever but am trying to reinforce the good behavior now so he knows the right way before he becomes the defiant teenage dog. I walk half with leash and half off leash just so he gets used to the leash. He's a quick learner.
We were past the curve in the road when all of the sudden this little gray kitten jumped onto the road. I swear if it could talk it would've yelled "Hello! I'm so damn happy to see you!" Huddled on the edge of the road were two more kittens, apparently siblings. They immediately were begging for some petting, very lovey kittens. Rico didn't know what to do so he decided to bark at them. It didn't phase the kittens at all. I figured momma cat had taken them out hunting so I waited around and called and called for her. Then I remembered what I had seen on Sunday afternoon.
I was in Rico's pen Sunday afternoon and had noticed a car going down the gravel road. It stopped, a woman got out and opened the trunk, closed it and took off again. I didn't think much of it at the time but it was now clearly obvious I had seen a monster at work. These kittens were not old enough to fend for themselves. One was killed on the road and the others would have starved if I hadn't decided to walk the extra distance that night.
I decided to walk home and come back with the car to pick up the kittens. Rico and I headed for home. I looked behind us and lo and behold, the three kittens decided to follow along. It was an animal parade and I was the pied piper! Poor Rico was torn - do I follow Mom or do I go herd up the kittens? Luckily he decided to follow me. We walked a slower pace on the way back but it must have been quite a sight! I did have my cell phone along and took a photo. It's lousy quality but you get the idea...
We got almost to the driveway and I decided to pick up the littlest of the three kittens. They had been on quite a hike so far. I picked it up and the kitten immediately jumped out of my arms into the ditch. I tried coaxing it back up to the road but it huddled into the grass. I decided to get Rico and the other two kittens up to John and I'd come back for the third one. As I was coming back a car went by on the road. The kitten must have got scared and disappearred further into the grass. I looked and looked but could not find it. John and I looked for two days but could not find the third kitten.
I took the two kittens to the vet on Friday. They had a myriad of problems but are on the mend now and have taken up residence in our pole barn. Their names are "Crash" and "Burn". We found out Burn is actually Burnadette. They are great entertainment for Rico and are teaching him that cats are OK. I still feel bad about the third kitten but at least we saved the two. I still can't imagine how someone could just drop them off like she did. There are some truely cruel people out there.
Crash on the left, Burnadette on the right. They are a joy and John, I and Rico are head over heels!
Rico is doing great off leash. He heels like a pro. I'll speed up, slow down, zig-zag and turn while he keeps near perfect pace. If I stop, he stops, sits down and looks up at me. I know this won't last forever but am trying to reinforce the good behavior now so he knows the right way before he becomes the defiant teenage dog. I walk half with leash and half off leash just so he gets used to the leash. He's a quick learner.
We were past the curve in the road when all of the sudden this little gray kitten jumped onto the road. I swear if it could talk it would've yelled "Hello! I'm so damn happy to see you!" Huddled on the edge of the road were two more kittens, apparently siblings. They immediately were begging for some petting, very lovey kittens. Rico didn't know what to do so he decided to bark at them. It didn't phase the kittens at all. I figured momma cat had taken them out hunting so I waited around and called and called for her. Then I remembered what I had seen on Sunday afternoon.
I was in Rico's pen Sunday afternoon and had noticed a car going down the gravel road. It stopped, a woman got out and opened the trunk, closed it and took off again. I didn't think much of it at the time but it was now clearly obvious I had seen a monster at work. These kittens were not old enough to fend for themselves. One was killed on the road and the others would have starved if I hadn't decided to walk the extra distance that night.
I decided to walk home and come back with the car to pick up the kittens. Rico and I headed for home. I looked behind us and lo and behold, the three kittens decided to follow along. It was an animal parade and I was the pied piper! Poor Rico was torn - do I follow Mom or do I go herd up the kittens? Luckily he decided to follow me. We walked a slower pace on the way back but it must have been quite a sight! I did have my cell phone along and took a photo. It's lousy quality but you get the idea...
We got almost to the driveway and I decided to pick up the littlest of the three kittens. They had been on quite a hike so far. I picked it up and the kitten immediately jumped out of my arms into the ditch. I tried coaxing it back up to the road but it huddled into the grass. I decided to get Rico and the other two kittens up to John and I'd come back for the third one. As I was coming back a car went by on the road. The kitten must have got scared and disappearred further into the grass. I looked and looked but could not find it. John and I looked for two days but could not find the third kitten.
I took the two kittens to the vet on Friday. They had a myriad of problems but are on the mend now and have taken up residence in our pole barn. Their names are "Crash" and "Burn". We found out Burn is actually Burnadette. They are great entertainment for Rico and are teaching him that cats are OK. I still feel bad about the third kitten but at least we saved the two. I still can't imagine how someone could just drop them off like she did. There are some truely cruel people out there.
Crash on the left, Burnadette on the right. They are a joy and John, I and Rico are head over heels!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Stray Baby or Superman?
I found a stray baby in my yard yesterday. Honest to God! I walked out my office door around 2:00 and looked up, there’s a 2-ish-year-old blonde-haired boy wearing nothing but a diaper standing under the pine trees. He couldn’t talk, just pointed and grunted. I looked around thinking someone had walked over with him and maybe was knocking on a door on the house, but no one was around.
I assumed he belonged across the road so I picked him up and walked down the driveway. I then discovered his vehicle was parked at the end of the driveway, a tricycle. I just gasped! Our road is so busy. So I picked up the trike with my other hand and started walking to the neighbors. Well, this kiddo was getting heavy so about halfway between our driveways and I put him on his trike and let him pedal home.
At the neighbors, an older boy rode his bike to the end of the driveway. I said, “Does this belong to you?” while pointing at the kidlet. He said “YES!” and rode his bike back up to the house. The teenage babysitter with 3 more kids came to meet us at the end of the driveway. She was pretty flustered. She said “I just heard the door shut and he was gone.” Um, sorry, didn’t fly with me. He had to have been gone at least 15-20 minutes to pedal down the driveway, up the road and walk up our hill. I told her, “He had to have been gone quite a long while to trek over to our house.” Later on Mom & Dad drove over and thanked me profusely. But I see the teenager’s car is over there again today.
John said I should’ve done what we do with stray dogs – put him in the dog pen until someone comes looking for him. ;) Good thing we’re not parents huh? That was the wierdest feeling though walking outside and there’s this baby in my yard! I’ve been watching too much TV, I checked to see if he had a bellybutton! Alien baby... could've been, you never know! He could've been a Superman baby. But then I figured they probably don't have Sesame Street Huggies on other planets.
I assumed he belonged across the road so I picked him up and walked down the driveway. I then discovered his vehicle was parked at the end of the driveway, a tricycle. I just gasped! Our road is so busy. So I picked up the trike with my other hand and started walking to the neighbors. Well, this kiddo was getting heavy so about halfway between our driveways and I put him on his trike and let him pedal home.
At the neighbors, an older boy rode his bike to the end of the driveway. I said, “Does this belong to you?” while pointing at the kidlet. He said “YES!” and rode his bike back up to the house. The teenage babysitter with 3 more kids came to meet us at the end of the driveway. She was pretty flustered. She said “I just heard the door shut and he was gone.” Um, sorry, didn’t fly with me. He had to have been gone at least 15-20 minutes to pedal down the driveway, up the road and walk up our hill. I told her, “He had to have been gone quite a long while to trek over to our house.” Later on Mom & Dad drove over and thanked me profusely. But I see the teenager’s car is over there again today.
John said I should’ve done what we do with stray dogs – put him in the dog pen until someone comes looking for him. ;) Good thing we’re not parents huh? That was the wierdest feeling though walking outside and there’s this baby in my yard! I’ve been watching too much TV, I checked to see if he had a bellybutton! Alien baby... could've been, you never know! He could've been a Superman baby. But then I figured they probably don't have Sesame Street Huggies on other planets.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
The Last Thing I Said
With the windows down on the non-airconditioned mini van on this 90-something degree day, I headed to the hospital for a heart stress/echo test. Doc thought it was a good idea to have an ECG (electrocardiogram) with my family history and some symptoms I've been having. With my tennis shoes in tow, I walked in and checked in at the front desk.
I was brought to the emergency room to have a nurse put in an i.v. for the procedure. I picked up the "Bazaar" magazine from the table and started some skimming while waiting to hear my name called. A woman with a young girl in her arms and a barefooted brother following behind walked in the door. The girl had cut her foot on some glass at the beach and had her big brothers t-shirt wrapped around her foot. They checked her out and took the young family back to an exam room.
Next a woman in her late 50's walked in and asked about a man that had been brought in earlier by ambulance. She said she worked with him. They asked her to take a seat. Within a few minutes another woman, also late 50's, early 60's walks in and greets the previous woman. Obviously distraught, this was the wife of the man brought in by ambulance. She went up to the desk with the co-worker and was asked to take a seat. I heard the co-worker say to the wife "he'll be just fine, he's a tough old coot."
Two women came out of the ER and went to the wife and introduced themselves as nurse "so and so" and this is "so and so" the social worker and would she, the wife, come with them to speak to the doctor. My heart sunk...social worker. They walked out of the ER waiting room down the hall a bit and I heard a door click shut. Moments later I heard only her wails.
The heart wrenching sounds brought tears immediately. I felt like an invader in possibly the most horrible moment of her life - learning of the death of her husband. More wails. I looked over my shoulder at the co-worker seated behind me and her eyes were fixed down the hall with her hand over her mouth and tears running down her cheeks. In a few moments the doctor came for the co-worker and said the wife had asked for her.
I thought of my husband John immediately. How that could be him, that could be me, it could be any one of us at any time. My thoughts then raced to my Mom, who 33 years ago was that woman in a slightly different situation. I then wondered, what was the last thing I said to John? I didn't like the answer.
After the hour long procedure and my heart had been echoed, stressed, recorded, contrasted and imaged, I walked out into the heat again with tennis shoes in tow. As I left the parking lot of the hospital, I thought of the wife in the emergency room. How her life had changed in an instant. It was then I called my husband John at work and made sure the last thing I said to him was "I love you."
I was brought to the emergency room to have a nurse put in an i.v. for the procedure. I picked up the "Bazaar" magazine from the table and started some skimming while waiting to hear my name called. A woman with a young girl in her arms and a barefooted brother following behind walked in the door. The girl had cut her foot on some glass at the beach and had her big brothers t-shirt wrapped around her foot. They checked her out and took the young family back to an exam room.
Next a woman in her late 50's walked in and asked about a man that had been brought in earlier by ambulance. She said she worked with him. They asked her to take a seat. Within a few minutes another woman, also late 50's, early 60's walks in and greets the previous woman. Obviously distraught, this was the wife of the man brought in by ambulance. She went up to the desk with the co-worker and was asked to take a seat. I heard the co-worker say to the wife "he'll be just fine, he's a tough old coot."
Two women came out of the ER and went to the wife and introduced themselves as nurse "so and so" and this is "so and so" the social worker and would she, the wife, come with them to speak to the doctor. My heart sunk...social worker. They walked out of the ER waiting room down the hall a bit and I heard a door click shut. Moments later I heard only her wails.
The heart wrenching sounds brought tears immediately. I felt like an invader in possibly the most horrible moment of her life - learning of the death of her husband. More wails. I looked over my shoulder at the co-worker seated behind me and her eyes were fixed down the hall with her hand over her mouth and tears running down her cheeks. In a few moments the doctor came for the co-worker and said the wife had asked for her.
I thought of my husband John immediately. How that could be him, that could be me, it could be any one of us at any time. My thoughts then raced to my Mom, who 33 years ago was that woman in a slightly different situation. I then wondered, what was the last thing I said to John? I didn't like the answer.
After the hour long procedure and my heart had been echoed, stressed, recorded, contrasted and imaged, I walked out into the heat again with tennis shoes in tow. As I left the parking lot of the hospital, I thought of the wife in the emergency room. How her life had changed in an instant. It was then I called my husband John at work and made sure the last thing I said to him was "I love you."
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
What's With This Concertina Thing?
I like the fact that after 18 years of marriage I can still throw my husband for a loop now and then. He was looking at my profile on my blog and noticed that "learning to play the concertina" was listed as an interest. The other night he came home and sat down in my office and asks, "What's with this concertina thing?"
It started a couple of years ago and was a combination of things. The first spark was a designer I was working with at the time had decided to learn how to play the accordian. Once the seed was planted, I started listening for the instrument in songs. We took a trip to Florida and went to a bar to see a band called The Yard Dogs. They had a great Zydeco/Cajun sound and one of the guys played the accordian. Then last winter my friend and I were in a Good Will store where they had just set out two accordians to sell. I got to touch and feel it and realized what a heavy and bulky instrument it was. We had a party to attend that night and we were both pretty confident that if we bought the accordians, we could learn "Mama Has A Squeeze Box" within a few hours and perform at the party. Although we both seriously thought about buying them, something in our gut told us not to. I still think it would've been a hoot!
One day this spring I was checking eBay and got into the instruments area and found the concertinas. Why hadn't I thought of that? It's small, less complicated and sounds wonderful in my opinion. So I decided I would look into buying one. One thought kept popping through my head, "can I play the instrument with a missing finger?" I found a concertina forum online and was reassured that it wouldn't be a problem. Once I got reading further on that forum, the decision started getting complicated. There's different styles, key configurations, numbers of keys and constructions of the concertina. Do I get a $120 China-made instrument that won't last very long or do I spend more and get a better quality instrument? I was amazed at the cost of the instruments but they also hold their value. Decisions, decisions!
Since I had waited for two years to get to this point, I've decided I can wait a bit longer and save up for a better instrument. So while I tuck away my pennies for a Stagi 30 button Anglo concertina, I'll keep listening for the instrument in the music around us.
Here's a few links of concertina music: http://www.caroldenney.com/therich.mp3
http://www.filmsonglass.co.uk/images2/Astleys%20Ride.mp3
It started a couple of years ago and was a combination of things. The first spark was a designer I was working with at the time had decided to learn how to play the accordian. Once the seed was planted, I started listening for the instrument in songs. We took a trip to Florida and went to a bar to see a band called The Yard Dogs. They had a great Zydeco/Cajun sound and one of the guys played the accordian. Then last winter my friend and I were in a Good Will store where they had just set out two accordians to sell. I got to touch and feel it and realized what a heavy and bulky instrument it was. We had a party to attend that night and we were both pretty confident that if we bought the accordians, we could learn "Mama Has A Squeeze Box" within a few hours and perform at the party. Although we both seriously thought about buying them, something in our gut told us not to. I still think it would've been a hoot!
One day this spring I was checking eBay and got into the instruments area and found the concertinas. Why hadn't I thought of that? It's small, less complicated and sounds wonderful in my opinion. So I decided I would look into buying one. One thought kept popping through my head, "can I play the instrument with a missing finger?" I found a concertina forum online and was reassured that it wouldn't be a problem. Once I got reading further on that forum, the decision started getting complicated. There's different styles, key configurations, numbers of keys and constructions of the concertina. Do I get a $120 China-made instrument that won't last very long or do I spend more and get a better quality instrument? I was amazed at the cost of the instruments but they also hold their value. Decisions, decisions!
Since I had waited for two years to get to this point, I've decided I can wait a bit longer and save up for a better instrument. So while I tuck away my pennies for a Stagi 30 button Anglo concertina, I'll keep listening for the instrument in the music around us.
Here's a few links of concertina music: http://www.caroldenney.com/therich.mp3
http://www.filmsonglass.co.uk/images2/Astleys%20Ride.mp3
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
A Good Sister Day
My sister Nancy came down for a visit. Woo Hoo! I got my shopping fix in! We hit downtown Red Wing yesterday afternoon where I found the wonderful sign above. Then to Woodbury today where Nanc made some great finds for a room she just remodeled.
My sister has a contagious smile. We were at DSW Shoes and she went to check out her purchase. I told her I'd go out to the car and get the AC running as it was about 100 degrees out today. So I'm sitting in the car watching the people come out of the store. One woman walks out with her bag in hand with a great big smile on her face. She smiled all the way to her car. My first thought was "I bet Nancy was talking to her in the checkout lane." Sure enough, Nancy came out the door next and gave the woman a little wave and a smile as she drove by. The woman was buying shoes to wear at her daughter's wedding. Nancy's advice to her was to "just enjoy the day."
It was a good sister day. Thanks for coming down Nanc. I enjoyed our day.
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