Dog Fights

Dog fights happen so fast.  One minute everything is okay.  The next minute it is on! 

I've broken up my share of dog fights in my time, but I am old and my dogs are big, so it's harder for me now.

Now, don't get me wrong.  My dogs seldom fight.  My girl actually NEVER fights if there is any other way of dealing with the situation, but the boy dog is large and in charge, so he will sometimes fight given the right circumstances. 

Friday night we tried to introduce him to the neighbor's new young pit bull, who is only about eight or nine months old and very playful.  My girl dog and the little pit bull play very well together, so we decided to introduce the boys.  NOT a good idea, as it turns out.

The dogs were fine after the fight, but I hurt my left hand, which is still very sore.

Then today we were at the dog park attending a memorial for one of my friends who passed away last week.  He was a dog lover and visited that dog park about every day, so everyone decided to meet there for his memorial.  It was a bittersweet kind of day.

The people who adopted his two precious dogs brought them, and everyone else brought their dogs too.  We all talked about our friend and told our memories of him.  We had been there for some time and all was well with my dogs, but someone brought dog treats, and Stark and Pepper, one of the deceased's dogs, decided they wanted the same treat, and it was on! 

Stark almost never fights girl dogs, but if treats are involved, he'll make an exception...like today.

I tried to grab him, but he got away, so I grabbed his hind legs and tried to pull him away from Pepper, but he jerked away and I fell backwards and twisted my knee.  I am going to be sore all over tomorrow.  I'm already feeling much stiffer than usual. 

A man, who was stronger than me, grabbed Stark and someone else grabbed Pepper and they got them pulled apart.  Someone had to help me up, but I could thankfully walk and didn't break anything this time.  Stark's mouth was bleeding pretty bad, so I brought him home.  Pepper was fine. 

Stark's mouth is fine now.  The bleeding stopped, and I honestly can't see where he was bitten.  He may have bitten his own tongue for all I know.  I'm honestly not sure.

I'm hoping that's all the dog fights I have to deal with for a good long while.  Thank goodness the dogs were not really that serious and no one was hurt worse. 

I've seen a lot of videos and television shows that tell you how to break up a dog fight, but, just so you know, when it is YOU in the middle of the dog fight, NONE of those things will work every time.

The WORST video showing how to break up a dog fight would be one like this:


Whatever you do, do NOT try breaking up a dog fight like this. Seriously. You will most likely be bitten.

Most of the videos say to grab the dogs by the collar or by the back legs and slowly pull them apart turning them facing away from each other.  Some say to squirt them with water or a special spray or some other thing that there is no way you are going to have handy unless it is your own dogs fighting inside your own house.  

I say there is not necessarily a right way to break up a dog fight, but there are plenty of wrong ways.  If it is your dog fighting, then you probably already know the best way to stop the fight.  I'll just leave it at that.

Dog fights are sure scary.  I'm glad the dogs are okay.  I seem to have been hurt worse than any of the dogs, which does not surprise me.  I'm getting too old for this.  Let's hope it doesn't happen again.

Visitations

This is a story.  Just like any other story.  Some of it is true.

It started when I was very young.  They'd come.  Confused.  I'd see them out of the corner of my eye.  Standing there wanting.  Wondering.  Anxious.

There'd be some sort of accident.  A car would crash.  A log would fall at the saw mill.  A house would burn.  They'd come.  Drawn to the energy that is me.

Mama knew I was different.  She tried to beat the different out of me, but it stayed anyway.  I left her house as soon as I could.  Sooner than I should have, but I felt I had no choice.  

It is true that the outside scars always healed soon enough, but the inside scars never heal.  They weep instead.  They hurt.  They scream in rage.  They are immortal, like the ones who come.

She could see them too.  My Mama.  She didn't want to look.  She denied it long past my youth, but she knew.  Mama always knew things she shouldn't know.  Had no right to know.  She just knew.  I suspect her Mama tried to beat it out of her too.  That never works, of course.  You can't stop their coming.  You can't stop the knowing.  

It pops into your head when you least expect it, and you just know.  The baby will die.  The man will get the job.  The couple will marry, but it won't last.  You learn to block it eventually.  It's not good to look for it.  There is a price.  There is always a price.

The night this story happened was cooler than usual.  Bright with stars and moonlight.  Smelling of the cool clear air of home.  The sirens woke me up.  Tearing though the early morning hours with an urgency you could just feel.  The dogs wailed at their passing.  A warning in the night.  Then suddenly they stopped.  The sirens. Abruptly they stopped.  Dreadfully they stopped making the hair stand up on my arms and tears come to my eyes.

The air in the room was suddenly cold.  I could see my breath in the dim light the streetlight spread through my room.  I turned over in bed shivering at what I did not know, when I heard it, and I knew.  I was not alone.

Both my dogs got up and went into my kitchen where the cups he made with his own hands hung above my sink.  The dogs' tails were wagging.  They did not bark.  They recognized him.  

The entity in my kitchen felt male and panicked. I knew the dogs would comfort him, and I'm sure they did.  I didn't know who it was, but I knew someone had passed away that my dogs knew, but my dogs know many people.  I thought maybe it was one of our elderly neighbors down the street.  Passing through to say good-bye and give the dogs one last pat on their way to heaven.  It had happened before.  I was not surprised, but this time, I was wrong.  

The next day I heard the sad news.  The dogs did indeed know their visitor.  I knew him too, and I was heartbroken to hear of his passing.  I've been weighted with grief this past week, but the grief suddenly lifted today.  He is calm now.  More settled.  More accepting.  He will be okay.  He stayed as long as he could.  Perhaps longer than he should, but he had no choice.  

Do not concern yourself.  Life never ends.  Only the body dies.  We will all meet again.  One fine day.  That is my advice to you.

Yes.  This is a story.  Just like any other story.  Some of it is true.

Rest in Peace, Kris Neal

My friend, Kris Neal, died this week.  He was 44. I am heartbroken at his passing.

Kris was my neighbor, my friend, and the favorite of my wheel-thrown pottery teachers.  He was also a dog lover like me.  We saw each other often at the local dog parks.  His dogs, Lola and Pepper, are so precious.  I know they will miss him most of all.

Kris holding his beloved pug, Lola, with his sweet Pepper at his side.

Kris was a very talented potter and pottery teacher.  He owned Fire and Earth Pottery near my house.  I only have a couple of his pieces, but I love all his work. 

Kris also did several instructional videos, so his teaching will live on even after his passing. Here is an example for you:


You can see more of his work on Instagram by clicking HERE.

Kris was well loved and will be missed.  

Rest in peace, my friend.  Until we meet again....

---

A celebration of Kris's life will be held at Ackerman Park Dog Park in West Ashley, Sunday, January 29, 2017 from 12-5 PM.

A Season of Loss - A Season of Change - A Reflection

It is a season of loss.  So very many people leaving my life.  Family.  Friends.  People who have influenced my life for the good.  Poof.  Gone.

I tend to look for signs.  When God tries to tell you something, He usually doesn't hit you on the head with a rock (although sometimes he does).  He mostly will send you a sign.

• A dish falls to the floor for no reason and reminds you of an aunt whose dishes you loved as a child.  Three days later you hear of that aunt's passing.
• You accidentally call someone a name from your childhood, and you hear news from that person the next day.
• A squirrel runs across your path on the way to work and you suddenly decide to take a different route.  Then later that day you hear of the accident that might have been you if you had driven your normal route.
• You suddenly have an urge to flip through the TV channels and end up watching a show that helps you solve a current problem in your life.
• A bird lands near you, looks up at you, and sings a note so very pure that you know your life is on the right path.

Signs.

 I believe all things happen for a reason.  God talks to us every single day, but we don't always listen.  

God usually tries to prepare me for bad things.  He'll send messages to me from the lips of others, from nature, from television, in dreams....  He loves me and knows I suffer when I lose those I love, but when it is their time, it is their time.  When it is my time to leave this life, it will be my time to leave this life, and I will have to go.  

When it is my time to change this life, then the change will come.  I can choose to prepare for the change, thus making it easier, or I can choose to wait and let the change yank me out of my comfort zone.  Not pleasant.  Either way the change will come.   

When God wants you to make a drastic change in your life, you can easily do it yourself, or you can wait until your circumstances force you to do it, but it must be done.  

It is hard to leave your comfort zone.  Leave the support system you have built over many years.  Leave the things and people that you know and love.  It is difficult, but sometimes it must be done.  People must leave, and we must accept that.

Most of the time when people leave this life, they really don't want to leave.  They'd rather stay awhile longer, but I believe when it is your time to go, then your task here is done and you must leave.  

It is easier for those left behind to accept the leaving if it is by God's hand, but sometimes people leave this life by their own hand.  This is hard for me to accept, but I try not to question God's will.  It is not up to me to judge because I know my own life could easily turn to something terrible enough to make me want to leave it.  But for the grace of God, go I.

I've personally known more people that I care to think about who died by their own hand.  The very first person I knew who did it was not a friend of mine or a family member.  It was my Mama that he knew.

---

When I was a young girl, back in the 1960s, a male friend from my Mama's childhood visited her.  He was tall and nice looking with a ready smile and a pleasant manner.  Mama had not seen him since they were children.  That bright sunny summer day that I met this man, he and my Mama were in their 40s or 50s.

We all sat on the front porch and drank iced tea in tall glasses. Mama and the man talked and talked and talked.  They laughed so much remembering things that happened when they were young.

The next day that man took the lives of his wife and his three children, who were all close to my age.  Then he took his own life.  

Mama was devastated.  She could NOT believe he could have done that.  She cried and cried and nothing we did could comfort her.  She wailed at the loss of her childhood friend, and then she wailed at the loss of her belief of who he was.  She became horrified that she had let him sit on the porch with her own children.  She said he could have killed all of us, and she was horrified that she had trusted him.  

Eventually the grief passed, but Mama was a little more wary of trusting people after that.  

Later Mama learned that he had visited all the friends he loved most before he killed his family and himself.  He wanted to see his friends one last time, I guess.  Everyone was so glad to see him.  Not a single one of them thought him capable of doing what he did.

Not a single one.

That was a season of loss in Mama's life.  She had several such seasons, as do we all if we are fortunate enough to live to be old, but this season of loss disturbed her the most.

---

Yes.  The past few months have been a season of loss in my life.  A winter of unprecedented unwanted change.  In the past six months I've lost two brothers, a life-long friend, and a friend and neighbor that I will miss very much. 

But I know the spring will come.  The sap will rise.  The flowers will bloom.   I will sell my house this spring and move back to hill country...mountains.  I will keep all my present friends, but also make new friends and live a new life.  I will grow and learn.  I will make mistakes and I will have unexpected success.  

Life will go on without the people I have lost these past few months.  I know this from all the other seasons of loss I've had in this life. I will miss them terribly, but my life will go on.  Until we meet again...and we will meet again.  One fine day.  When my time has come....

When the Deathbird Sings

A lifelong friend of mine died yesterday.  Cancer is a terrible thing.

So very many people that I have loved in this life have passed away, but the deathbird didn't sing for all of them.  I remember the sound though.  So lonely.  So eerie and odd.  Not your normal bird call. 

If you hear it, the hair will stand on the back of your neck, your gooseflesh will rise, and you will wonder, if in times forgotten the wail of the Banshee heard screeching across the moors of the old country, was really just a deathbird singing its awful song.

I suspect it is some type of rare and dreaded owl sitting in a tree outside your bedroom.  Warning you that someone you love is about to die.

I've heard of deathbirds all my life, so I find it odd that if you Google them, there is little information available.  People don't speak of them much, I guess.  

Before my father's death in 1962, a bird sang every night for weeks outside his window.  He told me, when it would wake us up at night, "That is a deathbird.  It sings for me." It also sang at random times during the day, giving us pause, and hushing the whispered conversations in Daddy's sickroom.  What little breeze that stirred in that smothering heat brought the sound inside to us. Daddy did not survive the summer that year.  

We looked for that bird, but we never found it, although the sound it made was crystal clear.  Cold in the heat of the night.  

I've heard that sound several times in this life.  If I hear it more than one or two days/nights in a row, I always hear of the death of a loved one a few days later.  

Let's hope I never hear it ever again.  

I've never seen a deathbird, but I imagine it might look like this.

Angel Numbers - 1111, 2222, etc.- and Their Meanings

It came to my attention this morning that yesterday's Inauguration Day post was my blog post number 222.  This reminded me of the meaning of Angel Numbers.

About a year or so ago I started seeing 111 and 11:11 and 4444, etc. numbers just everywhere.  I saw them every single day for months, and I still see them often, but not as much as that period of my life.

These numbers have meaning.  There are whole websites and blogs on the subject of Angel numbers.  One of my favorites is ANGEL NUMBERS - Joanne Sacred Scribes located at: http://sacredscribesangelnumbers.blogspot.com. This site has a lot of information and it is organized well, but it is only one of possibly hundreds of such sites.  If you are interested, I would recommend checking out a few.

There are also many books written on the subject: Angel Numbers 101: The Meaning of 111, 123, 444, and Other Number Sequences and other books by Doreen Virtue, Number Sequences and their Messages: Unravel Divine Assistance by Amelia Bert, Messages in the Numbers: The Universe is Talking to You by Alana Fairchild and Michael Doran, Angel Numbers by Jason A. Wright, I keep seeing 11:11 Do You? by Natasha Nanda, and others.

People have built careers around studying and explaining these numbers.

It is a real thing.

The number sequence 222 appearing to me on Inauguration Day is significant.  It tells me that everything will turn out for the best in the end.  With the country divided and vocal about their fears and concerns regarding the future of our nation, my post being number 222 comforts me.

It tells me God is in his Heaven and all's right with the World.

It doesn't mean stop trying to make the Earth a better place to live, it just reinforces my belief that all things happen as they should.

Each Angel Number you see has a different meaning.  If you find yourself seeing these numbers, your spirit guides are trying to communicate with you. 

The 111 sequence I was seeing so often was a warning to watch my thoughts because my thoughts were quickly being reality. It was a plea for me to be more aware and reflective of what I want to do with the rest of my life.

The 1111 sequence is a herald of major changes in your life.  Again, watch my thoughts lest they become reality, but more than that, it tells a story of a new reality about to come into my life.

The 444 sequence is telling me my angels are near.  They are watching over me and helping me through all the hard work I need to do to create the change that is coming in my life.  All is well and as it should be.

The 4444 sequence is basically telling me my angels are with me.  All I need do is ask for their help and guidance.  They recognize the change that is coming and will protect me as my life changes.  I am on the right path.

What are your Angel numbers telling you?  Did you even know about Angel numbers?  Have you ever wondered why you keep seeing certain numbers?

If you'd like to know the answer to any of those questions, I'd recommend you do a little self-reflection and research.  You might be surprised at the answers you find.

God has a plan.

Here are some short and to the point, basic Angel number definitions from https://www.sagegoddess.com/what-are-angel-numbers/ that may help you better understand the numbers:

0 – You are receiving divine guidance and reassurance on your path.

1 – Keep your thoughts positive, focus on your desires and suppress your fears. Your thoughts create reality.

2 – Stay optimistic and continue to hold the vision, even through tough times.

3 – Your guides are with you offering love and wisdom.

4 – Your angels are surrounding you to offer assistance in this exact moment.

5 – Positive change is coming. Ask your angels to help you manifest this change.

6 – Release fear, embrace trust, and find balance between the spiritual and material realms.

7 – Your path is aligned with Divine fortune. Pay attention to new opportunities.

8 – Infinite success and abundance are yours, in alignment with your Higher Purpose.

9 – It is time to begin the work of your Soul Path, now that you have all you need.

11 – Your intuition is on target. Keep your thoughts and vision aligned with your intention and your greatest dreams.

22 – Be patient, your prayers have been received and will soon be realized if you continue to work towards them.

Inauguration Day 2017 - My Two Cents Worth

Today is Inauguration Day.  I think Anticipation Day would be a better description, but nobody asked me when they were setting up the world. 😉

Here are some things I anticipate from the new administration:

1. I believe President Trump will find the job harder than he anticipates, as you can NOT fire Congress.
2. I think his populating his cabinet with business people who know little about their appointed positions will cause him more trouble than he thinks in the end.  To view his appointees click HERE. 
   
   (NOTE: Please comment and list the Education Secretary Appointee's qualifications for me.  I am honestly stumped and can't figure out any she has.  Where is her degree in education?  Which public schools did she attend?  Where was she a school teacher or school administrator?  What qualifies her to head a department that over-sees the future of our children?)
3. I think President Trump will leave the office of President in a few years with the knowledge that running a country is very very very very very different from running a business.  A country can not go bankrupt to fix things without extremely dire consequences.  
4. I believe President Trump will surprise many people by doing some remarkably good things during his administration.
5. I do not want to believe that President Trump's tweets will cause a war, but this is something that I fear.
6. I believe that President Trump will have to learn to compromise to be an effective President of these United States.
7. It is my hope that President Trump learns to be more diplomatic and inclusive while he is in office.  If he does not at least try to bring the country together, he will face adversity at every turn, and he will learn that a President is not a King or a Dictator.  The power of that office is more limited than people tend to believe.
8. Earth is our home.  I hope President Trump learns that if we rape Mother Earth for the almighty dollar, there will be consequences that he does NOT want and will NOT enjoy living through.  
9. I predict learning that climate change is real will be a very hard lesson for our new president.
10. I believe that our new president will do what he thinks is best during his time in office.  I think he really does want to make America great again, but I also think that his definition of making America great may not be the same definition that most women and other minority American citizens hold.  

Having said all that, I will tell you that I did NOT like either candidate for President this past year.  I believe we were given poor choices.

Truly, I am not a very political person.  I have voted Republican in the past, and I have voted Democrat in the past.  I do have opinions about political things.  In a perfect world, here are a few things I would like to see:

1. Universal Healthcare as good as or better than all the other first world countries in the world. 
   
   Some countries with universal health care include: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Ukraine.
2. Environment protection should be a priority including the development of solar and other "green" energies that would cost our citizens less money as well as help protect our planet.
   
   Protecting the environment also includes protecting animal habitats and protecting the animals themselves, especially the endangered animals. 
   
   Animal cruelty laws should carry heavy penalties, and animal cruelty should ALWAYS be punished by those laws.
   
   State and National Parks should be supported and protected all all costs. Always and forever.
3. Women should be treated with all the respect due to any American citizen.  Equal pay for equal work.  Access to quality healthcare including birth control and all other facets of women's health. Etc. etc. etc.
4. ALL minorities should be treated with all the respect due to any American citizen.  STOP the discrimination based on skin color.  That is just ridiculous.Native Americans, especially, should be given the respect and fair treatment they deserve, and their lands should be protected no matter the costs.  WE are the true immigrants in this great land of ours.  We always need to remember that.
5. There should never be any discrimination based upon religious beliefs.  Period.
6. Gun control should be limited to military assault weapons and basic background checks.  We are Americans.  It is our right to own guns. 
   
   My father was a conscientious man and taught all his children a healthy respect for guns.  If today's parents aren't willing to do that, then I would not be opposed to people having to complete a gun safety course in order to be a gun owner, as there have been way too many gun "accidents" in recent years.
   
   Thinking of guns reminds me that: We need to support and respect our military and their families!!!  VERY important!
7. Gerrymandering should be illegal with prison consequences.
8. All politicians should have the same healthcare and retirement benefits as the least of American citizens.  THAT should fix a lot of things.
9. We should ALWAYS take care of our ELDERLY!!!  It is a shame and disgrace to hear stories of our elderly citizens, who have worked all their lives, widowed and alone and having to eat cat food.  It happens way more often than you think, and every single American should hang their head in shame as they read these words.  Just because you are not yet that person does not mean it won't happen to you.  Have some compassion!  Have some empathy!!  Protect Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid!
10. We should take care of our poor.  People of all socio-economic backgrounds are important to our society.  The poor deserve the same education as the wealthiest among us.  Fully SUPPORT and FUND our public schools, colleges, technical schools, vocational schools, and universities!!!
11. We need to recognize that government should NOT be supported mainly by the middle-class.  Our middle-class is shrinking instead of growing.  That is unacceptable.  The rich need to pay their fair share of taxes.  I personally believe the only fair way to tax is a percentage tax with no deductions for anything.  A flat percentage tax where every single one of us pays the exact same percent in tax based on our profit any particular year.  That would fix the deficit AND pay for the Universal Health Care because the rich 2% that have most of the money would have to pay their fair share to our government which is supposed to be by the people and FOR the people...not just for the rich.
12. There should be term limits for Congress, and nepotism has no place in politics or in the workplace either for that matter.  People should be hired based solely on qualifications.  Period.

That is my two-cents worth. 

Feel free to argue amongst yourselves.

Prophetic Dream

Many years ago I dreamed a dream.  A very disturbing dream.  The US was at war, and random bombs and violence was happening all over America, but not everyday.  Just random things like the Boston Marathon bombing and the things in this article from September 2016.

It was one of those dreams where I was so upset that I realized I was dreaming and woke myself up. Once awake, I just somehow knew it would happen.

At the time I was renting the upstairs of an old house on one of Charleston's barrier islands, but in the dream I lived up Hwy 61 in West Ashley, and I had dogs.

As I said, years have passed.  I now find myself living with dogs where I lived in the dream, and I have watched as all the buildings in the dream have been built in real life.  All but the last few on the other side of the Crosstown.

They are in the process of building those last ones now.  

As each building goes up, I think of that dream and nearly panic at the thought of still being here when it happens.  I will retire and move away in July of this year if at all possible. Hopefully it won't happen before then.

In the dream a bomb explodes near the front of the Veteran's Hospital in downtown Charleston, SC.  Panic ensues.  

Soldiers arrive shortly after the explosion.  They raise the Ashley River drawbridge and close off the peninsular.  No one is allowed to enter or leave.  I am frantic to get across the Ashley River to my dogs, and in the dream I am considering trying to "borrow" a boat to cross the Ashley River, but then I rationalized that I would need my car to get out of the area.  I was frantic to leave, but couldn't figure out a way to get off the peninsular.  I was so frantic that I woke myself up.  

Let's hope this was just an unfortunate dream that has stayed with me for over a decade.  Let's hope that the buildings they have built that were in the dream are just a coincidence.  Let's hope that no one targets our Veteran's Hospital with a bomb. 

But most of all...I hope I get to move away before they finish those last buildings.  Let's hope....

A Dozen Reasons Why Leaders Should Be Technologically Savvy

1. If you require your students or employees to be proficient in technology, then you should be proficient in technology too.  (NOTE: I hate the "Do as I say, not as I do" form of leadership.)
2. Technology has its own vocabulary.  If you are not tech savvy, then you will not be able to communicate effectively with your IT department or your Computer Science department or tech people in general (etc.).
3. If you are in a leadership role at a college campus that has online courses, then you need to be tech savvy enough to communicate with your faculty about those course offerings and their advantages and limitations. (This applies to leaders who supervise corporate trainers too.)
4. Understanding how your company or institution can use social media to its advantage is a powerful thing.
5. Knowing how to use technology effectively can free hours of your time for other uses.
6. Technology can be a very effective communication and collaboration tool.
7. Understanding the types of marketing technologies available  can help you better communicate with your recruitment staff, as well as aid in the recruitment of new students, employees, or customers.
8. Webinars and other virtual meetings save both time and money, and can connect people from all over the world in real time.  Knowing this is useful information.
9. Knowing what technologies your competitors and also your partners use can help you with decisions about which technologies would be good investments for your campus or company.
10. To be an effective leader, you need to be able to embrace change.  Technology is all about change.  
11. Understanding today's technologies will morph into a greater understanding of tomorrow's technologies.  
12. Technology is a very useful tool in the hands of a leader who knows how to use it.  

A Tick and A Fear of Lyme Disease

Two days ago I took my dogs to a local dog park.  It was a beautiful sunny nearly 80 degrees mid-January day here in Charleston, SC.  

This particular dog park is located within a county park that has camping, miles of walking trails, lakes, swimming, boating, and many other fun activities.  I take the dogs there often, as they love swimming in that nasty lake.  

Yes.  There are alligators in the lake, but the park employees are good about removing the ones large enough to eat people, and the smaller ones generally stay away from crowds as large as the crowds that gather at the dog park.  Still, I always keep an eye out for them, as I don't want to have to wrestle one for one of my dogs...and you know I would.

Yes.  I was watching for gators even though it is January and usually they hibernate in winter.  I was afraid one would wake up on such a warm day.

I didn't even think about watching out for ticks.

I've been taking my dogs to that dog park since August 2005, and they have never once gotten a tick there.  Fleas?  Yes, but they die quickly because my dogs take medicine to kill them.  I've never even gotten a flea there myself, so I didn't even think I might pick up a little hitchhiker this week.

I bathed my dogs as soon as we got home that day.  No signs of fleas or ticks.  Just a lot of sand and dirt from playing in that nasty lake and in the dog park in general.

Yesterday, I spent the day inside cleaning out my linen closet.  I have a LOT of things to do before I move in July, and I don't have much energy, so I have to do things a little at a time.  This long weekend I planned to clean out my linen closet and paint my bedroom, if time and weather cooperated.

I didn't wash my hair yesterday since I washed it the day before, so last night as I was preparing to go to bed, I ran my hand through my hair, deciding whether or not to wash it before bed, and felt something on the back of my head.  

At first I thought my dermatologist missed something he needed to remove.  Then I thought it was maybe a scab, so I tried to scratch it off.  It was too stubborn for a scab, so I thought, I should take a photo of it to see what it really was.  

Yup.  A deer tick.

I hate deer ticks.

Deer ticks are the ticks that carry Lyme Disease, which frightens me.  This tick was probably on my head around 31 or 32 hours or so, which may not have been long enough for me to be infected, but just the thoughts of Lyme Disease scares me to death.  It should scare you too because it oftentimes goes undiagnosed and can become chronic and make you miserable for many years of your life.  

For more information about Lyme and other tick borne diseases, click HERE.

The good news is deer ticks do not carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  That is some consolation, I guess.

Now I just need to watch the back of my head for a rash or a red ring.  My sons often accused me of having eyes in the back of my head, but I really don't. 

Oh well...wish me good luck!  

I'm just glad I found the thing and was able to remove it myself  with tweezers without leaving any of it sticking in my head. That was good luck!  I hope this year is full of good luck.  I hope I hope I hope....

Changes Changes Changes

Today I'm thinking about how different the world was when I was a child, and how blessed I am to have had the great good fortune of having lived through those years.

Back in the mid-1950s when I was born, televisions were brand new.  Not many people owned them yet, but many people owned radios.  You could hear music and news right in the comfort of your home!  No more having to go out for the paper to get news.  No more just hearing live music now and then. You could hear it everyday! You could hear stories without reading books yourself, and you had instant entertainment for your children on rainy days when they had to stay inside.

Then more and more people started getting televisions.  There was no such thing as reruns when we first got a television.  All the shows were live, and at the end of the day, television would sign off.  There would be a test pattern displayed with a very annoying high pitched sound to make you turn off your TV.  It worked.  That noise would play all night long if you didn't turn the TV off because nothing was broadcast late at night, but the next morning the shows would come back on in all their black and white glory.

Yes.  Televisions were black and white at first.  Most stations did not even broadcast in color until somewhere around the mid-1960s, and sales of color televisions did not surpass sales of black and white TVs until 1972.

Amazing to think about. 

I believe I was around eleven or twelve years old the first time I saw a color TV.  I was mesmerized.

Remote controls were invented, but most televisions did not have one until after I grew up.

There was no such thing as a VCR or DVD or Blu Ray player when I was a child.

There was no such thing as video games when I was young.  You could play a pinball machine at the pool room downtown if you were male, but girls and women were not allowed in the pool room until after I grew up.

I was married with children the first time we owned a color TV.  It was the mid-1970s by then.  I will never forget the first time I saw the Wizard of Oz in color.  Amazing!

Also, when I was a child, no one had air-conditioning.  Oh, I know air-conditioning was invented in 1902, but no one I knew had an air conditioner until I was grown.  Summers were miserable in the south where I was born and raised, but I was luckier than many because it almost always cools down to at least 70 degrees at night in my hometown year-round.  That is not true of much of the south. 

There was no such thing as hand-held calculators.  Those weren't even invented until 1967 when I was twelve.  I remember teachers in my high school making us check behind the calculators by doing the math long-hand.  Hand-held calculators were not well trusted at first.

Instant cameras were invented in 1947, but almost no one I knew had one when I was very young.  Most people took photos using film that had to be sent to a lab for processing and printing.  I remember we used Jack Rabbit labs when I was very little.  It was a catchy name.

There was no such thing as a home computer.  Typing happened on a typewriter and later electric typewriters. If you wanted copies, you had to use carbon paper and not make mistakes in your typing.  White out was used if you did make mistakes.  It was not attractive.

Original home computers required you to write code to make word processors work, and you printed your work on dot-matrix printers that had holes in the edge of the paper that had to be torn off.  The paper was also in big rolls that had to be torn into pages. 

School teachers had mimeograph machines to make copies up until at least the 1990s.  I can still smell that blue solution. 

Telephones were hard-wired to the wall.  You could not move them, and the handsets were attached to the phone with a cord.  If you were lucky, it was a long cord.  The telephone company owned the telephone.  You did not have to buy it. 

There was no such thing as a cell phone until I was grown.  Cell phones were invented in 1973, but no one I knew owned one until the 1980s at least.  I didn't buy my own cell phone until 2002.  Now I'm not sure how I lived without one.  

Funny how times change.  

I've noticed the more technology I have the less time I have to spend in person with people.  At least that is true so far.  Perhaps that will change with time.  Technologies seem to have turned to trying to bring people more together with social media and Facetime and Skype and other technologies.  I sure hope that trend continues, but nothing beats being with someone in person, so maybe the tech will eventually be able to beam me over to you.  I'd like that.  

Beam me up, Scotty!

King Cake

As most of you know, I am NOT Catholic, but you may not know that I love a lot of Catholic things.  King Cake, historically a Catholic thing, for instance, is delicious!

I was in my local Publix grocery store yesterday and I noticed they had King Cake for sale.  I don't ever recall having seen it in a store before, but they had both large and small ones.  I didn't buy one because awhile back I found the BEST recipe for King Cake, so I just make it at home.  I can't imagine a cake being any better than this one.  YUM!  So easy too, since I use frozen yeast bread dough...the loaf kind. 

To see the recipe I use, click HERE.  There are step by step photos there too.

I promise you, it is VERY easy and VERY delicious!  I've made it with orange extract instead of lemon and that is  yummy too.  I never hide the plastic baby in it because it is usually just me eating it.  It keeps well in the fridge for a week or more if you keep it wrapped tight.  I keep saying I'm going to freeze it, but it never lasts that long.  Oh well. 

In case you're confused and wondering, "What the heck is a King Cake????" Click HERE to read all about the history of the King Cake.  

Those of you who have ever visited New Orleans during Mardi Gras probably already know.  😋

I Think I'm in Love With Sixto Rodriguez

Seriously.  I love this man.  I love his music even more.  I love that he's not about money and fame. I feel so cheated that I didn't get to listen to his music on the radio when I was young.

You want to hear his music.

You want to hear his story.  It is incredible.

He was bigger than the Rolling Stones in South Africa back in the early 1970s.  He was even bigger than Elvis. His first album, Cold Fact, was released in 1970 followed by Coming from Reality in 1971.  For whatever reason he didn't find an audience in the US back then, but South Africa was a different story. 

Rodriguez is presently working on his third album.  I sure hope he finishes it because I want to buy it.  I LOVE his voice and listen to his music often on my drive to and from work.  You can purchase his music by clicking HERE.  His official website is sugarman.org.

I know I posted about Rodriguez back in October, but it came to my attention today that the full documentary about him, Searching for Sugarman, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2013 is now on YouTube, so I had to share.   

To view all the film's awards click HERE and be prepared to scroll a long way down before getting to the end of that list.  It is a remarkable film - a modern day rags to riches story - a story of a life that should have been.

The Rolling Stone also published a great article about him back in 2013 that you might enjoy.  To read it click HERE.

Here is the documentary.  Enjoy!

Two Years Can Make a Big Difference - Enjoy Today!

Today I've been thinking about how quickly life can change. 

As most of you know, my brother, Tom, passed away Christmas Eve.  I've been very sad these following days, but I know he is no longer in pain, so I try to find comfort in that.  I still miss him though.

I've been looking at pictures again. 

These photos were taken November 8, 2014, just over two years ago.  My! What a difference two years can make!

When I get depressed or just feeling sorry for myself, I need to remember that life can turn on a dime. Even a single day can change the course of your life for good or for bad.  This time next year, I could be living high post-lottery win for all I know.  I could meet Prince Charming, re-marry, and live happily every after.  My situation could be better or worse.  I'm hoping for better. 

Two years ago my brother had no idea the cancer would attack and take his life.  None of us knew. 

These photos are so happy.  This was when Tom could still eat regular food.  I used to love going out to eat with Tom and his family.  My son, Marcus, was still living in the area, and I enjoyed his company so much. 

Times change.  People change.  Circumstances change.  Health changes. 

Here's to living for today and enjoying the good in our lives right this very minute.  I'm going to try to do that more this year.

Enjoy the photos!

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Sister, Miniver!!!

Today is my older sister, Miniver's birthday.

Carole King's Birthday Song seems perfect for Miniver's birthday, so I thought I'd share.  It's like she wrote the lyrics of that song for my sweet sister.  To know Miniver is to love her, and she really does deserve the best.

Happy Birthday Miniver!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!



Carole King – Birthday Song

Happy Birthday
Celebrate your day in style
Happy Birthday
Tonight I want to see you smile
Your whole life is in front of you, you've only just begun
So Happy Birthday
The best is yet to come

Happy Birthday to you
The good things I could say about you are infinite
But I will only take a minute
To say the world is a better place with you in it
With you in it

Happy Birthday
You know just how to be
Happy Birthday
I'm glad you're you with me
To know you is to love you, to love you is to be blessed
So Happy Birthday
You deserve the best

Every time I ever reach out for you
You never let me down
Any time you're ever in need of a friend
I will always be around

Happy Birthday
You are everything that's good
You are everything that matters
I would give you the world if I could
You will always be a part of me and all that I go through
So Happy Birthday, dear friend
May all your dreams come true
Happy birthday to you

Cheating Death

Cheating Death is a poem I wrote for my brother, Tom, after his heart surgery a good many years ago.  It is published in my poetry book Alice's Verse.  You can hear me read it below.

I've been thinking about Tom a lot since his passing Christmas Eve.  Tom cheated death so many times that it is difficult to believe he is really gone.  Since the early 1970s, Tom has been a walking talking medical miracle.  We are all so blessed to have had him as long as we did.

Will It Snow???

Today I'm thinking about snow.  It might snow tomorrow.  It might not.  It probably will NOT snow in Charleston, SC where I am right now, but it probably will snow back home in the hills where I was born and raised. 

When I was little, it snowed several times every winter.  I used to long for snow.  I loved pretty much everything about it except when the electricity would go off.  Actually, when I was really little, I didn't even mind that so much, as long as we had water and our oil or gas heater to keep us warm.  I really hated it when the pipes froze though.

I remember one year when I was young, it snowed knee deep back home, which is a lot for upstate South Carolina.  We built snowmen and broke through the ice in the horses' water so they could drink.  We made sure all the outside animals had food and blankets and a warm dry place to sleep. We slid down the hill on old cardboard or anything else we could get to slide.  We gathered snow for Mama and watched her make homemade snow cream.  She never measured anything, but it was always good. 

Afterwards, we'd gather around the gas space heater in Mama's den.  Red faced with cold fingers and toes and big bowls of snow cream on our laps.  We laughed and talked and ate snow cream until we just about popped. 

Those were the days, my friends.

When my own sons were little, it snowed less those winters, but it always snowed at least once.  Here is a photo of my eldest son, Dave, and our dog, Lady (aka: the BEST dog in the world!) back in the 1970s.

Lady's tail is wagging so fast that you can not see it!  Lady LOVED playing in the snow with her boys.  I may have given birth to those sons, but they really belonged to Lady, or so she believed.  She spent many long hours trying to round them up.  They never herded worth nothing.  Poor Lady girl. She was an Australian Shepherd and took her shepherding seriously. She just kept trying. Wagging that tail and smiling the whole time.  She was such a good dog!

Here is a photo of me in the snow in the 1980s.

By that time my boys were pre-teen and/or teenagers and mainly wanted to sled or have snowball fights! We had so much fun back then.  We'd take the sleds up the mountain to Batchelor Drive and slide down the road all the way to Dolittle Bridge.  Someone with chains on their tires (a family member or one of the neighbors) would follow in the truck to pick us up and take us back up the hill.  Then off we'd go again!  You could get up to 55 mph on those sleds going down that steep hill for a couple of miles or so before getting to the bottom.   Great groups of us would go together and slide.  So much fun!  Yes.  I know.  Very dangerous, but it sure was fun!

After I moved to Charleston, SC, I almost never saw snow, but it did snow about 9 or so years ago, and I took this photo of my good boy, Buster.  It clearly lets you know exactly what he thought of snow.  This may have been the first time he had ever seen snow.  Let's just say he didn't like it.  

I miss Buster so much.  Cancer is a horrible thing. Please pray for a cure!!  But I digress....

My girl, Dolly wouldn't even go that far out into the snow.  She would just step off the deck to do her business and back inside she would come.  That stuff was slippery and it just didn't look like you could trust it.  -grin-  I LOVE DOGS!

I have more snow pictures I'd like to show you, but they have not been scanned.  There is a project for my retirement.  Scan my literally thousands of photos, so I can more easily share them!!

Now I'm wondering what my boy, Stark, would do in snow.   I wonder if he has ever seen snow?  He was three when I adopted him in 2013, so he may have come from the frozen north for all I know.  I have to wonder.  I kinda hope it does snow so I can see what Stark does.  Can't control the weather though...at least not yet!

Cross your fingers and do a snow dance tonight!  Maybe it'll work!

2016 Reflections

2016 was a traumatic year.  I'm not sure traumatic is a strong enough word.  I maybe should say disturbing or distressing, but there were some good days sprinkled here and there to keep me sane.

There were two weddings in my immediate family and two deaths in my immediate family. It was a very emotional year.

January was a month of joy for my son, Marcus, as he married his love, Anne, last January in a small courthouse ceremony near their home in California. I was unable to attend. Anne did share all the photos with me though, which is the next best thing to being there.  They make a lovely couple.

Later in January I was able to visit with my old grade school and high school friends from back home.  They come to Charleston every year to attend the Oyster Festival held in January at Boone Hall Plantation.  I didn't go to the festival this year, but I did meet my friends for dinner one night while they were here.  It was good to see them.  I've known some of those people since we were babes in bassinets.
  

At the end of January I had the honor and the absolute joy of attending the AKC Dog Show held annually at the Fair Grounds in Ladson, SC.  I had such a good time.  The dogs were all awesome!  I'm really glad I didn't have to pick the best ones.

In February my church had an oyster roast that I enjoyed, and I also got to spend some quality time with my brother, Tom throughout the month.  

In March my sister, Miniver, and family visited.  It was a great visit!  We went out to eat one of the nights and before they traveled back home, we all went to our brother, Tom's house and had a cookout at the fish pond.  The food was delicious and the company was the best.  It was the highlight of March.  I had the best time visiting.

Also in March, I hired a landscaper to get all the leaves out of my yard.  It was about a hundred bags full of leaves and costed me hundreds of dollars, but the yard sure did look better.

Later in March, I painted my living room.  It took a few days, but I finally finished it.   

By mid-April my living room "paint and clean project" was complete, and it looked all clean and wonderful!

I spent some quality time with my dogs in April.  We visited dog parks and took long walks, as I lived in dread of hotter days.

A couple of my friend, Crystal's plays were read in a lovely outdoor area outside a restaurant in the revitalized older area of North Charleston off Park Circle at the end of April.  I enjoyed sitting under the trees and listening.  

Again, I spent as much time with my brother, Tom, as possible.

My son, Dave, came to visit for Mother's Day in May.  We both spent some time with Tom when Dave was here.  It was an excellent visit. 

My brother, Howard, sent me a Family Name Origin framed print that month that I really like.  I also got to spend some time talking with him on the phone.  He had been in and out of the hospital for several months and I missed our phone conversations so much.  It was good to hear his voice.

In June I started writing this blog!  I've enjoyed it so far.

My friend, Carol and I celebrated her birthday by going on a Bulldog Culinary Tour that I won on Employee Appreciation Day at my workplace in May.  The tour lasted several hours.  We visited many restaurants downtown and sampled the food.  The tourguide was very knowledgeable. It was so much fun, but the day was in the mid-90s and humid, so we felt a little wilted by the end of it.  

I spent a few happy days at several dog parks with my good dogs in June too.  They love the dog parks.

My birthday is at the end of June.  This year I celebrated by doing a day trip with friends.  We met downtown for breakfast and then we went to see Bee City in Cottageville, SC!  It was fun.  On the way home we stopped for BBQ.  The temperature was 104 degrees and very humid that day, so we couldn't stay outside as much as we wanted, but it was still a fun day.

My sweet sister, Miniver, fell in July and hurt her leg very badly.  I was so worried about her.

In mid-July I had to travel to Chicago to present at a conference.  I've been presenting at that conference for many years now, so I know a lot of the people who attend every year.  We had a great time, but while I was at the conference, I got the news that my brother, Howard, who lived in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, had passed away.  I will miss him until I die.  That trip was sure a roller coaster of emotions! 

While in Chicago, I took a Greeter Tour in the Old Town area of Chicago and spoke to a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in many years.  I didn't recognize her, but a few minutes later she recognized me and sent me a message that night, but it was too late.  I missed talking to her.  What are the odds?

My plane home from that trip was several hours late.  There were bad thunderstorms, but I finally did make it home that night/early morning.  

Later in July my son, Marcus and his wife, Anne, brought Anne's parents to Charleston to meet me.  We took a walk and had dinner together one night and walked around downtown another day.  It was nice to meet them.

Towards the end of July, I got to meet my newest little great-great nephew, Cole!  What a sweetie.

August was mainly full of work as the Fall 2016 semester began, but my friend, Judy, and I did visit the The Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, SC one HOT day.  We really enjoyed seeing all the birds.  I only wish the weather had been nicer.

At the end of August, Judy and I attended the SC Aquarium's Charter Member Reception together, and we got to tour not only the aquarium but also the Sea Turtle hospital, which was a real treat!

September, I mostly worked, and spent my weekends with my brother, Tom, as his health continued to decline.

October brought Hurricane Matthew.  I couldn't find a place that would take both me and my two large dogs, so I stayed home for the hurricane.  I was without power for three days, but other than that, we did okay.  The flood was not as bad as it was the previous year when the 1000 year flood hit SC.  I was thankful for that.

In mid-October, my nephew, Chris, married his lovely bride, Debbie in Gaffney, SC.  I attended the wedding.  It was lovely.  I also got to visit two of my sons, both my granddaughters, my granddog and grandcat while I was there.  It was a happy trip.

In late October I took my good dogs to meet my brother, Tom's and my nephew, Tom's dogs at my brother's  house.  We all had a good visit, and my great-great nephew, Weston had the best time playing with the dogs.

In November, my son, Dave visited for Thanksgiving.  We ate with my brother, Tom and his family and had the best time.

In December I attended The Citadel's Christmas Chorus performance with Linda, Margaret, Debbie, and Judy.  It was so good, as always.  

Then, a few days later, I bought a new smart phone!  I LOVE IT!  

My friend, Conyers and I went out for coffee one morning and she brought me some Wassail as a Christmas gift!  Delicious!  

I did Christmas shopping here and there, but I mostly spent time with my brother, Tom and his family, in December, as his health continued to decline.  

Tom passed away Christmas Eve morning, December 24, 2016.  I'm so thankful that I was able to spend so much time with him this past year.  I will miss him until I die.  

The last week of December, my friends Karen and Carol and I went to see the Christmas lights at James Island County Park.  Beautiful.

New Year's Eve I spent alone with my good dogs doing a craft project that I was given for Christmas.  I'm okay with that.  It was a good way to end this year, I think.

Yes.  I lost two brothers in 2016.  That alone made it a very traumatic year, but add in work and the stress of watching a loved one battle cancer, and the year became distressing and disturbing.  But, as you can see, there were pockets of happiness in even the darkest days, as there were family and friends and my good dogs who all love me.  

When all is said and done, I still feel blessed.  I am blessed to have known my brothers at all, and I am blessed to have so very many family and friends who love me.  Yes.  I am blessed and I am thankful.  AND I have good dogs, which make life worth living.