Nice Facebook juxtaposition

On the left side of the screen:
"The Girl Effect (www.girleffect.org).
Change starts with a girl."

On the right side of the screen:
"Do you know about the Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori?"

Yet another golden tail

This is Harley, my sister-in-law's gentle basset hound. Harley appeared in her driveway, a half-grown puppy, about thirteen years ago. He arrived with a scar on his nose and a broken rib. I wonder if he sensed that there was already a basset in that house (Rosebud, the queen, gone on several years ago) and that he would be safe and loved there? Harley was a good companion all of his life; he loved people and other dogs, and got along with everyone. He became blind a couple of years ago, but didn't lose his interest in people or his love for life.

I wish I had a photo of his other side; he had a perfect white UT Longhorn right in the middle of his left side. Good thing my SIL wasn't an Aggie.

Recently Harley has had very little energy, and last week my sister-in-law found out he had lymphoma. Yesterday Harley had no more strength left, and it was time to let him go. He was a very good boy, always. I hope that when we get to the Bridge we'll hear Harley, "Aroo"ing to welcome us.

Random stuff

• Valentine's Day: Beautiful flowers, candlelight, the good china, and our traditional beef stroganoff and molten chocolate cakes. So far, so good...until we looked up from our mutual reverie just in time to see...the dog, peeing in the living room.
• This came on the heels of a relaxing afternoon, enjoying a glass exhibit at the Center for Contemporary Craft, then driving past our old duplex in West U. and remembering strolls through the neighborhood, nearly eighteen years ago.
• Unbloggable extended family stuff is driving. us. nuts. Prayers for patience and wisdom are appreciated.
• On Sunday, the congregation voted to call our new pastor. No dissenting voices were heard. (Yet.) I'm so glad he will be here soon, but actually a bit sorry to see the PNC come to an end.
• At work I made a stupid mistake that will affect the provision of services for one of our clients. I have an idea about how to rectify it, but I will have a lot of egg on my face. "What! You mean you're not perfect?" my friend D said. No, I surely am not. I hope that straightening this out will be less miserable than I anticipate.
• As Scarlett said, I'll think about it tomorrow. Good night.

Friday Five: Pets

Sophia says:

My son's tiny beloved lizard, Elf, is looking and acting strange this week. His skin/scales are quite dark, and he is lethargic. We are adding vitamin drops to his lettuce and spinach and hoping and praying that he is just getting ready to shed his skin--but it's too soon to tell. Others in the ring have also been worried about beloved pets this week. And, in the saddest news of all, Songbird has had to bid farewell to her precious Molly, the amazing dog who is well known to readers of her blog as a constant sacrament of God's unconditional love. So in memory of Molly, and in honor of all the beloved animal companions who bless our lives: tell us about the five most memorable pets you have known.

This has been a difficult week. Sadly, Lutheran Chik's beloved Cassie went to the Bridge this morning too. I am sure LC would appreciate a kind word tonight.

I have been owned by five dogs:

1. Boots was a black puppy my dad brought home from somewhere out in the country (bought from someone who had a litter, I think--not a stray) when I was about six. He grew up rambunctious and wild, and I was too small to manage him. I don't think average families put the effort into training their dogs then, that most people do today. My dad used to recall Boots jumping on my friends and me and knocking us down, and would say, "He didn't have a brain in his head." My parents gave Boots to a family with several boys who could run and play with him and wear him out! I saw him occasionally when we happened to drive past their house, but never got out to pet him.

2. After Boots, we went to the local shelter and I picked out a friendly yellow puppy that I named Chips. We dropped him off at the vet to be bathed and wormed, but Chips never came home. Mama told me, very gently, that he had died. Years later I understood that, like most dogs at the shelter, he had probably been very sick and the vet had euthanized him.

3. Then we had Janie--short for Lady Janice of Elmwood (our subdivision). A big Beatles fan from an early age, I named her for Paul McCartney's girlfriend, Jane Asher. She was described as a "field cocker", some mix of cocker spaniel and a leaner, rangier breed. Janie was our companion for about nine years. She loved my mother and would follow Mama around the yard while she gardened. After we sold our house at the beginning of my senior year in high school (a story for another day), Daddy gave her to a farmer friend who gave her a loving home. Many years later Daddy told me that Janie had died peacefully in her new home about two years after she left us.

4. I didn't have an animal companion again for nearly twenty-five years. Then I found Zorra, my precious girl. Two years after her death I remembered her here. She was the most beautiful, funny, maddening dog I have ever known. There will never be another like her.

5. My sweet Amie is lying at my feet right now, waiting for her daddy to come home. In late 2004 I started looking for another heeler because we thought Zorra might need a companion (alas, Zorra didn't agree, but that's another story), and on Petfinder.com I saw a sweet-looking dog described as a "quiet, unassuming, slightly overweight older dog who likes to sit back and watch what's going on." The dog was described as a male, and they had named "him" Frayser. Frayser's picture touched my heart, and as I told the Scientist, "No one is going to go to the shelter to get a fat old dog." So I took the car and the Scientist loaded Zorra into the truck (so they could meet on neutral territory) and we all headed to Lockhart, Texas to bring Frayser home. Well, he was a she, and much older than advertised. She took immediate possession of the Scientist, warning another dog to leave him alone before we ever left the shelter! Zorra kept her distance. I drove Amie home, softly talking and singing to her most of the way. She wasn't too sure about Zorra (and vice versa), but she became attached to her humans very quickly. She is still a quiet dog who likes to sit back and observe before getting involved. She has survived homelessness, shelter life, and cancer surgery with a sweet, loving spirit, and I love coming home to her every day.

Here's my favorite picture of Amie and Zorra, sitting on the back porch with the Scientist's mom:
Zorra, as always, is queen of all she surveys...poor Amie seems to be wondering, "When is this thing going to turn on me?"

Friday Five: My Favorite Things

Just a few, off the top of my head:

1. An uncommitted Saturday morning, to sleep in as long as we like (snuggled in another favorite thing, flannel sheets, this time of year), followed by a leisurely brunch of eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, scones, biscuits, or some such things....all from scratch...and good coffee, lots of it...and the newspaper. (I know I'm behind the times, but I still believe a literate household includes a daily newspaper. And yes, I can read the news on my laptop, but that's no fun at the table.)

2. An equally uncommitted Saturday afternoon and evening, to spend "inside the Loop", wandering through museums and galleries, followed by dinner at some interesting new place.

3. Watching Amie jump, dance, and frisk like a puppy when it's time for her walk or when she's just saying, "Yes! Please, please, I DO need to go outside!!"

4. Cooking and eating. The co-op had a special on chicken wings this week, so we're having chicken wings Hawaiian tonight--an old favorite I haven't fixed in a long time.

5. The sound of the garage door going up, telling me the Scientist is home. Won't be long now--so I'd better go get started on those chicken wings!