HUMANE SOCIETY WEB PAGE WITH PICTURES
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ASHES
We put Little Ann to sleep a couple of weeks ago because she had cancer and I felt it was time. Yes, I made the decision and I am not sorry for it, maybe it could have been put off a few days, maybe she was already too uncomfortable and I should have done it earlier. I did the best I could for her.
Now her ashes are waiting for me over at Dr. Barnard's office; they called and left a message. I found it hard to go over and get them - a container coming home. I had taken a dog and watched her nose around outside the clinic unaware that the minutes of her life were ticking away. That is a hard thing to watch: the last sniff, the last little walk, the last wags of the tail . . . you know, but she doesn't suspect.
Then it occured to me perhaps she thought I wasn't coming for her - not that the ashes would think, but that somewhere her spirit was watching. It is in my head that maybe she is thinking, "They don't care." So, I will go today and bring her ashes home . . . her spirit, I hope is romping at the fairgrounds, curling up on the sofa, infuriatingly barking at the mailman, trying to sneak out the door and secure in our abiding love.
PICTURES FROM BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE CONCERT
CONCERT AT KENDALLVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Last night Cameron was in a buttondown shirt and a tie for his 8th grade concert. I remember when he used to wear shirts with power rangers on them - ah, growing up for him, growing older for me.
Superintendent Sprunger and the school board were there for a meeting, but stopped in to listen to the first part of the concert and, on leaving, Dr. Sprunger remarked that the band had done an excellent job playing the National Anthem and encouraged them to keep up with their music.
ce
It is always pleasurable to listen to Mr. Swartzlander's concert - and it is not only the music. He is a very personable speaker and, as he said with a laugh, always teaches the audience something. Last night's subject was rap.
MY LITTLE CREW
This message is being brought to you via one of my little elf crew buddies who live around the house and ride in my pockets, hop into the backseat or perch on the chandelier, depending on their inclination and state of inebriation. Yes, elves do take a taste of the spirits periodically, which is good for their general health and their hearts.
Sometimes when I am tired a couple of them will dance across the keyboard in response to my dictation; other times, they may gather around me in a semicirle and exclaim, "Gee, you're lame," and compose the post themselves. They don't come on here too much because they prefer my blog about the house in the forest with the piped in Coke products, but, as I said, every now and then they will just feel they have to take over.
Lest you think I run an "elf house", let me emphasize this is not an R&R destination for the little fellows. No, this is just a place where they are comfortable revealing themselves and participating in life without having someone croon, "Ah, look at the little sweethearts . . . they are so cute." Excuse me, I've just gagged myself. Attitudes such as that are so demeaning and patronizing, but the guys just let it go; it is we, their friends, who take umbrage and want to march and carry signs about "ELF POWER" and promote sensitivity. They just shrug and say, "Eternity is too short." Yes, sometimes they are a bit profound . . . over my head and out of my league. They are nice to me, though, and I appreciate it.
NORTH SIDE CARNIVAL II - KENDALLVILLE
Colin happy at the North Side Carnival.
Alison in jail with Summer and Colin watching.
Mrs. Avery welcoming Colin to the carnival.
We went to the carnival about 3:30 pm and stayed until 6pm when the silent auction winners were announced. I won a Yankee Candle, but lost out on the football and wrought iron piece from Jo-Ann Antiques. Well, the candle is burning right now and smells pretty good, especially on a fall evening. Here are a couple of pictures with more to follow in the photo galleries.
STEVE CLOUSE IN JAIL- KENDALLVILLE
Well, at the North Side Carnival, Steve Clouse, Noble County Prosecutor and candidate for re-election was jailed on Oct. 21, 2006.
HIBERNATOR TO MOVIES
Hibernator, who is stuck in Georgia for the week-end, and not, unfortunately, in Atlanta where there might be some cool museums or malls, is going to the early showing of Flags of our Fathers, the story revolving around the picture of the planting of the flag by marines on Mt. Suribachi. We are going to tap him for a review, but for now,
here is the one at Yahoo.
CHRISTMAS STUFF AT KENDALLVILLE WAL-MART
ACK - We meandered, on Summer's insistence into the garden area - soon to be the Christmas part of the store - and, indeed, found some Christmas stuff, including some elves. Actually, we accidentally knocked one and it hit the floor and the head went one way and the body under the shelf. Fortunately, Summer was able to reach and get the body; we fessed up to the accident to the cashier and purchased our elf, now a symbol of honesty, and have glued his head back onto his body. He is in recovery now and if things go well, we will post a picture.
NORTH SIDE CARNIVAL - KENDALLVILLE
Today, I am going to see the inside of the new school - North Side - when I pop into the carnival with my granddaughter, Summer, and her mother, Alison. Last year when I went with Summer to the last carnival held at the old school, she had me locked in the jail. Arrrgggghhhh. I think it starts at three this afternoon and I think I will take my camera and snap myself silly. Maybe we can get Summer in jail.
A Picture Share!
A Picture Share!
First hamburger
MORE REDBOX FILMS
Today I rented "Prairie Home Companion" even though Hibernator doesn't like Garrison Keillor because of his politics, and for that matter, neither do I. Also scarfed by moi were "Irresistible" shot in Australia with Susan Sarandon and "Click" which Alison and the kids wanted to see. It has something to do with a powerful and really universal remote.
YEA . . . WE HAVE REDBOX
Quentin told me about DVD rental through
REDBOX, which that had in Houston in grocery stores two or three or maybe even four months ago. Now Scott's has one and I rented two movies for two dollars - first run movies.
We have already watched The Omen, the remake of the Gregory Peck film, and I have to say I enjoyed it, even though I felt the actor in the Peck role had a weak chin and seemed at times to imitate Peck's intonation - especially in the archeological scene. The other film is one Alison had mentioned - The Lake House.
ALISON AND THE IPOD MINI
Sometimes we have a funky kind of musical experience in the house; that would be Alison wearing her ipod mini, but with the volume turned up so high her head sounds like a speaker. She often sings along. Perhaps I can get a audioblog of this for you.
US 6 KENDALLVILLE REDUX
I just got back from taking Alison out to the hospital and I cannot emphasize too much that the stretch of highway being widened is a serious threat to motorists, especially during the night hours, and if the old adage that it is always darkest before the dawn is true, then that could be the reason I was even more apprehensive this morning. I think the odds of accidents on the road are very high.
Because of the need to maintain access to businesses along the road, the orange and white barrels marking the lanes have gaps and there is no divider between east and west traffic, despite the meandering of the temporary roadway.
Eastbound traffic is alerted that the lane ends and the new location is to the left by a yellow arrow of lights that do NOT flash. The lane ends immediately after the arrow and the lights of the arrow blend into the lights of the town ahead.
I think it is a dangerous situation.
US 6 ROAD WORK
I don't know why they started the widening project on US 6 at this time of year. The days are already getting short and the winding path defined by orange barrels is a little tricky at night. At one place the pavement changes color in the makeshift lane at a slant and your eyes want to follow the pavement color instead of holding to straight ahead - and that could be really bad.
A Picture Share!
Moms birthday aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
ALISON'S BIRTHDAY
Yes, today, October 14th, is Alison's
36th birthday. Oh, you rushed over the number? It is
THIRTY-SIX and she is starting to feel
OLD but we are trying to cheer up up and not let her get down in the doldrums because she is now
36 36 36 36 36 36.
Self protrait
Summer
LITTLE ANN - TUESDAY AFTERNOON
More pictures that the kids wanted taken are in the photo galleries.
HIBERNATOR - THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE
In the wake of Little Ann's passing, her beloved friend, Hibernator, has written about missing companions. You can read his words
HERE.
?? to OCTOBER 10, 2006
We got Little Ann from the pound in Butler County, Ohio in 1994. We don't know how old she was; she was a cocker, but her tail had not been docked and there had to be a story there. Quentin named her Little Ann after the faithful dog in Where the Red Fern Grows; her main objective in her 12 years with us was to run away. She was an adventurer with an indomitable spirit.
We discovered she had cancer this summer; she got better after an operation, then worse and we knew she would never give up, no matter how short her breath grew, so I took her to the vet and we helped her sleep away. His last words to her were: "Little Ann, you've been a good and faithful dog."
80 AND STILL ALIVE
Mother, Summer and Alison at the Wellspring Fiddlers' performance.
This weekend is Apple Festival and my mother's birthday - I don't know how long Apple Festival has been around, but my mother turns 80 today, October 8th. She was born in 1926 while Corn School was going on in LaGrange - it was this week this year also.
Summer looked up while we were talking about mother's birtday in the kitchen and uttered a line destined to go down in family lore: "You're 80 and you are still alive."
HAIRCUTS
Alison, Colin and Summer got haircuts today. Alison said she felt her head was being taken over by her hair; Summer wants her hair a little longer and to no longer have her ears cut out and Colin just had his hair trimmed. I, personally, had a great time; I bought a book - I can't remember the title, a common thing with me - and sat in the car in the middle of the parking lot away from all the other cars and read while they were being de-haired.
SPRINT UPDATE
Okay, if you are getting a new phone because of damage and you have the protection program, you only have to pay $50 and no activation fee. So they say. You have to do it through the company, however, and not at a Sprint store.
When I first went to the Sprint store, they had tons and tons of phones, but now they only have about seven against one wall and about five fancy ones on the opposite wall. Actually, it does not seem nearly as festive as it used to, but then I guess the novelty has worn off.
NEW WORDS FOR 2006
1. BLAMESTORMING : Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
2 SEAGULL MANAGER : A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
3 ASSMOSIS : The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
4. SALMON DAY : The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
5. CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles
6. PRAIRIE DOGGING : When someone yells or d rops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
7. MOUSE POTATO : The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
8. SITCOMs : Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stop s working to stay home with the kids.
9. STRESS PUPPY : A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.
10. SWIPEOUT : An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.
11. XEROX SUBSIDY :? Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.
12 . IRRITAINMENT : Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The J-Lo and Ben wedding (or not) was a prime example - Michael Jackson, another...
13. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE : The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
14. ADMINISPHERE : The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
15. 404 : Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested site could not be located.
16. GENERICA : Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.
17. OHNOSECOND : That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send on an email by mistake)
18. WOOFS : Well-Off Older Folks.
SPRINT - THE TEST TODAY
Today we have the five week appointment following surgery on Robert's leg. He has been a very, very considerate patient. I am a grumpy nurse: "What do you mean you need the urinal? You want something to DRINK? You're hungry?" Fortunately, he has had a really good nurse for his primary caregiver - Alison, who works at Parkview Noble on the Med-Surg floor.
Of course, when she is at work, it is just moi, the mother nurse . . . and I think everyone is glad I did not go into the profession.
However, this is not about my nursing; this is about stopping at the Sprint store to check on getting a replacement phone. Robert's phone was damaged by liquid and because he has been paying for the Sprint's Total Protection Plan, he should be able to get another phone for $50. We will see.
OLD or NOW I'VE HAD THE LOW*
At Scott's today, on Cancer Day, a lady automatically assumed I was a grandmother with school-aged grandchildren. Auuuuugggggggghhhhhhhh.
*See entry title below
WE'VE HAD THE HIGH
Well, it was 68 degrees at eight this morning and the high was supposed to be 75˚. After some storms the high is predicted to be 66˚, so I guess a cold front has moved in. Apple Festvial this weekend will, according to the weather site, have clear skies and warm temperatures - in the 60's. That's a good temperature for eating apple burgers and Brimfield's beef and noodles.
7:05 a.m, DARK, Governor Daniels
This Daniel(s) will put a thorn in your paw.It's a little after 7 in the morning and it is really dark outside. Why? Well, can you saw Mitch Daniels and his Daylight Savings Time in the EASTERN time zone for state that is hundreds, hundreds miles from the Atlantic Ocean. This is GD Time, that is to be perfectly clear, Governor Daniel's Time or, more accurately, but wth the same initials God Damn Time.
Theater owners took a hit this summer because of GD time. The schools have had more fog delays because of GD time, and it is
DARK at 7:10 am thanks to GD time.
Thank you very much, Governor Daniels.
Lest you feel this is a rant against daylight savings time overall, I stress once more - this is INDIANA. If we are going to be on EASTERN time, we should not be on DST; if we are going to observe DST, we should be in the Central Time Zone.
MOVIE MOVIE MOVIE
Heading out to watch The Guardian at the Strand with Kevin Costner.
UPDATE: Good movie; great theater.
GEORGIA?
You know your brain hasn't clicked into drive when you read this headline,
Russia cuts links with Georgia
and you think, "Boy, what is going on in Atlanta?" Okay so the real story is
HERE.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS PERSON?
Here's a hint: 5th grade
COLTS WIN
We were able to wrestle the unlucky hat off of Summer's head in time to allow the Colt's to win - and save Summer from a week of ignominy.
LAUGHING TERRORISTS
Look at the guy on the left; he flew a plane into the north tower at the WTC. Look at the guy one on the right; he was the one who was on United 93 that went into a Pennsyvania field. Just look.
Here's the entire article.
EMORY AND KATHRYN FELLER
Emory and Kathryn Feller were pictured in today's News-Sun. (Click on picture to enlarge.)
COUNT-DOWN TO 36
Alison will be turning
36 on October 14. And then it is only 37, 38, 39 and
FORTY.
A LOVELY DAY PREDICTED
It is supposed to be sunny today, around 70 degrees and nice blue sky . . . Am I in Northern Indiana? The family gimp - oh, the political incorrectness of it all - wants to go out and bask in the sun today. Well, let's see, he has only been laid up since August 15th with
"the leg." I suppose we will show some of the milk of human kindness and help him wheel on out and get settled in a chair. Maybe we will take some pictures; the last time we had him out in a wheelchair,
Summer had this very impish look on her face as she contemplated pushing him.
