Month: June 2017

Calm  Before the Storm

I am sitting out back in the breeze on our deck, and I am truly appreciating the peace and quiet.

Oh, I know the weather is calling for this front to disappear, and I am genuinely sad about that. Realistically, tomorrow is one of my BFF’s birthday. Julie is June 30th and I know it’s time for the hot weather when I get to sing loudly and off key to her,”Happy Birthday,” much to her chagrin!

The other peace and quiet is not for long, as the 4th of July vacation folks will be flooding into town. Noise, smoke pits and beer cans tossed by the side of the natural areas will be common place. Fireworks are  banned in this township and yet sphincters will set them off to upset dogs. Some day before I die I hope the cops enforce the law. There is a huge firework display at the bay, a mere three blocks away. **shaking my head**. Oh, I know, before you give me the line about generating income: I understand that. I just savor this “Undisclosed location” for its’ peace and quiet. Trust me; after 55 years in a major city, this is as close to heaven as I get.

So I am signing off to enjoy the last half hour before the sun sets. 

Stay well.

By the way, I walked down to the bay and took the picture below. It was awesome and peaceful.k

Advertisement

After Station Identification……

We are kicking back tonight.

It’s funny, as Jim works day work during the summer and now we share the nights together with Kasia.

We have the Major League Network on so Jim watches baseball.It is on in the background as I am listening to a podcast with three chefs from my favorite and currently only Food Network show I love, which is Cutthroat Kitchen.Tomorrow night they are airing two new episodes back to back. I am really glad, because there has been a draught of the episodes on television.

I used to watch a lot of Food Network, but it seems to me that there are now shows on that channel where they have given everyone from the 1990’s television who is now “adult” a cooking show. Really? Sorry, but not my cup of tea. I am laughing, because after I wrote this, Antonia LaFasio, Jet Tila, and Richard Blais are discussing this very topic.They have farmed off a lot of the good shows, leaving me the Cooking Network to see Iron Chef and Food Network to see Alton Brown and Cutthroat Kitchen.

It’s funny, because I started with a subscription to Martha Stewart Living and outgrew that. I don’t know if I will be leaving Food Network for baseball on the television and in my other ear, a podcast called ” Starved for Attention”, by Richard Blais.

I have another year or two on my subscription. We’ll see.

Three Weeks and Counting….


This photo is about five years old. My girls, together, in the back of the old house down here at Undisclosed Location.

Oh to have that time back. It’s three weeks today that my Zosia left me for heaven, and the pain is just like it was this afternoon. I really miss my girl, and I find it hard not to refer to Kasia without slipping into ” my girls.” Jim’s niece sent us a second sympathy card and a willow statue of an angel holding a puppy. Just when you think waterworks are temporarily dried up, well, no such luck.


Meanwhile, I give Kasia tons of love, especially getting her through her sprained back paw. She misses her sister, and just came over to me to see what I was typing… lol. She has really become adhered to me, although if we are out and she smells, senses or hears Jim, well, Jim is her boyfriend.

We are getting along, somewhat sadly, like a car with three wheels. That is why we are walking now, so the three of us can get used to a 3 family member dynamic.

We’ll keep you posted.

Indeed

My age shows up a lot.

It’s Sunday morning and I am watching Flea Market Flip. On comes a commercial for Indeed, which, I assume, is the on line version of want ads. I remember looking for jobs in newspapers circa 1979. I remember going into center city, filling out applications and later going in for interviews.

Now, evidently, the entire job process, pretty much, is on line. I woud assume you still get called in, or maybe have a Skype call for an interview. No more waiting for a letter in the mail to let you know.

Glad  I don’t need to go through this anymore.

Cat-a-what?

I was told by my Ophthalmologist‎ last December that I had a cataract in my right eye that was there and will probably grow some. Oh great, I thought, Just what I need.

Jim and I had our yearly appointment today and I left shaking my head. It seems that now I have a sister growing for the right eye cataract, as one is starting in my left eye.

Seriously?

I’m not even 58 yet.

I remember, as a kid, grandparents and great grandparents getting cataract surgery. I really felt the moment of retirement.Here I am, avid writer and reader, and I have not one but two cataracts.

I think I am going to drink tonight. I mean, why not?

Here We Go Again!

On our walk this morning, I am hoping Kasia only did a tango with a bee.


All I know is, just like a child, I turned my head for a second, and when I turned my head  again, she was limping off her back right paw.

**sigh**

I am going to keep he laying low for a little while, as I know going to the vet is not her favorite past time, and I know the girls in the vet feel the same. So we’ll be laying low until the Kasia girl is up and going again.

Work some prayers and/or good mojo for Kasia, please? We really would appreciate it.

Seriously?

Kasia and I are taking a ton of walks.

As we go out, we see a lot of vacationing people down here with dogs. I like to think of these people who failed pooch etiquette and pooch care 101. For instance, I was walking up from the bay this morning with Kasia and someone who normally doesn’t walk a dog is like” Oh, I don’t know what kind of dog this is.” Uh,it’s a breed that is an A type personality like Kasia, so I grabbed Kasia a little tighter by the leash and stepped lively so we could get out of the situation. I always loved my girls, and since I am down to one, I intend to protect her to the last breath of my body. Then, we are walking back from the bay, and a woman who is visiting her home for a week is walking her two dogs, one of who is not on a leash. I notice when she sees us coming, all of a sudden the leash goes on.

Later this afternoon, I was walking Kasia with my neighbor and the same lady who had no leash on her one dog almost had it run over by a big SUV. Shocker. Then, as the three of us turned the corner, who dog comes charging for Kasia. I yell over to her there’s a leash law and your dog needs to be on a leash.” I know, I heard you the first time.’ Neat trick, as I said it only once. And yet, was her dog on a leash? Nah. Let them urinate and defecate one neighbor’s lawns.

**Shaking my head**

Truly, some folks need to learn how to take care of their dog, learn dog neighborhood good citizenship 101, or if you are just that LAZY, don’t get a dog.

Two Weeks and Counting 

It’s two weeks today my Zosia left us. 

My heart is still heavy, but I am touched by folks who, one way or another, were touched by Zush. Calls, emails and cards keep coming in.

Kasia and I are like two souls on a stormy sea. We try to comfort each other, but we know we are missing her sister.


I took this picture of me and my shadow while we walked down to the bay this morning.


The two of us are closer than we ever were, and the one-on-one time is quite pleasant. I notice she is staying a little closer to me, which is a result of Zusher being gone. 

I guess there is a reason behind everything.

Picture This

When I was younger, forty years ago when I graduated high school, I got my first good camera. I got a Pentax K-1000, which was a manual camera. I remember reading the actress Candice Bergen was annexing her career by having her pictures published. Back at that time, I thought that was pretty cool.

It became a hobby for me, although Jim used to tease me when we first got married about spending a lot of money at CVS getting photos developed. I didn’t really care, because, well, maybe it was the history student in me, but I liked documenting life.

For the past 16 years, I took a ton of pictures, which, to Jim’s liking, are saved on the computer and only occasionally printed out. I especially enjoyed taking pictures of Zosia with us and later Zush and Kasia with us.

While I was dusting today, I found two Shutterfly photo books I had made up with pictures of Zushie Girl and Kasia on our coffee table. It was the first time I found them since my Zush left me.

It was hard.

Once the tears subsided, I was genuinely glad I had taken pictures all along the way and am still taking pictures of Kasia. With Zosia, every time we went out for a walk, I documented it with a shot of her-some were similar in pose and background, and others weren’t. For me, it was the idea I knew I NEEDED a picture of her for rainy days. Those days are now.

Now, Kasia is my sole subject. I am sure there will be a time when I won’t mist up when looking at pictures of Zush. I am grateful I have them. Kasia will be the focus now. I look forward to many more pictures with her.

Pre-Summer Breeze

We had an excellent twenty degree temperature drop today.


It made me a little wistful, because the last day like this was last year when the girls and I went swimming in the bay.

Today Kasia and I have had a couple of walks.




Needless to say, she was overjoyed.

I’m not totally dense.

She wanted some good earthy animal smell to go with her clean hair shampoo smell… lol

Channeling Zush

When it’s 91 degrees and feels like 99 degrees, it was time to try to cool off.

Kasia got a bath outside. I really, really was not looking forward to it. 

I remember at our home in Philly, I had to get Jim to help me. Not fun.


You’ll notice that Kasia is not really a big sun fan. For me , sun is one thing , but heat sucks. I explained what I was going to do, and then I almost fainted.

Kasia SAT down. Just like Zush used to do. I cast my eyes up to heaven and thanked Zush for her help with her sister.


Here’s a shot of a towel-dried Kasia, trying to put the whole thing behind her.

…until next time.

Just Another Monday, Minus One

… except my Zush has left the building a week ago. 💔💔💔💔

Life goes on, and unfortunately so does the late spring heat.


The heat just seems to linger like a really low cloud over the bay. There was no way to enjoy it except for being in a car with air conditioning. The breeze, although the weather channel claimed it was a seven mile an hour wind… well, perhaps they should say it’s over the ocean, not bay.


Kasia and I sneak out early for our walk. When we go out in the afternoon, we walk a little faster than we used to.  The problem is in this heat, we come crawling back. Fortunately,  we had the air-conditioning on, so we are getting a little better.

Life goes on….. 

Kasia and Momma

Kasia and I are getting our act together, as a duo after our trio for 8 years with Zush.


One thing that I can’t turn Kasia into is the photogenic dog Zush was. Zush would always stop and let me take her picture- no questions asked.  Kasia is a different person.


Kasia will stop but she will never quite pose for me.

Ok.

Maybe hell will freeze over.

Holes

Kasia and I are having hard times missing our Zush.

Above is a shot of Zushie’s bed. I would always give Kasia hell, telling her it’s her sister’s bed, she doesn’t feel well, and she has her own bed she should use.

Now, no one is on it. The last few days Zush was drooling on the corner, so I put it outside so the sun would dry it out. It’s back in the house, but like all the other things Zush used, it’s either not being used and/ or missing Zush herself. It is so hard just getting visually acclimated to the house again. Kasia and I look at each other and it’s like we can read each other’s mind.

For the first time in 8 years, Kasia went on a road trip with us, which was weird. The whole concept of a second dog was to keep the one dog company. Now we feel sorry for her and took her with us to Lowes.

It’s going to be a really long healing process.

The Post I Never Wanted to Write

Yesterday,in the late afternoon, Zush was running out in the yard and had a serious fall.

At 15 1/2, she was confused and fell off the handicapped ramp. It kills me, because she was running out to greet me. She ate last night and pottied, but today is not too good.

Please send some good karma and/or prayers out to Kasia’s big sister.

I’m either hoping for a miracle or a smooth transition for her. She deserves no less.

My heart is breaking.

A Bird By Any Other Name….

Part of my husband’s last name’s reminds you and sounds like bird. As part of the name or bloodline, Jim loves eagles: especially the ones around here.


The first time Jim took me to see the “Eagle”, ( and Philadelphia friends, I don’t mean the Wanamaker eagle), basically this nest was all I saw.

We were out today, and Jim asked me if I want to see the eagle, and off we went.


We found Momma and her baby up in the nest!


I know this last shot loses a little because I enlarged it from my phone.  It was a sight, I will never forget. 

Absolutely awesome!