Good-by little one

Taneya
born 6/14/1994 died 8/19/2010
known to the American Kennel Club as
- jeepersamicuteorwhat
With the help of a compassionate veterinarian
Tanaya passed on to doggie heaven.
She had lost the joy of life.
She hated to be brushed or even petted.
She couldn't eat properly because she needed dental care
and would not have survived the anesthesia to have it done.
She was most likely in the grips of "canine senile dementia".
It was a gentle passing.
She is missed very much, but it was time.
What surprises me the most
is the depth of loss felt by those around me
who also knew and loved her.
Gone, she is - but forgotten, never.

Time passes

About the time the sky begins to lighten I wake up to answer a call of nature.
When I get back to bed I take my thyroid meds, which little section I have to open tells me what day it is.
Back to sleep until it's really morning, or if I stayed up really late until it's noon.
When I finally get up I run wet fingers through my spiky hair, change into "around the house" clothes, and tippy-toe off to make the coffee.
Big decisions follow: toast, cereal, an egg? I open the paper to confirm my opinion of the date. Unless I have an appointment out in the real world I get to decide what to do next - chores, reading, movies, art
. I tell ya it's a full life.
People think I have a lot of time on my hands but really I seem to run out of time every day - that's why I end up awake at 3 am.
Not enough hours I say!

Memorium

On mother's day I went to the cemetery to put some flowers on my mom's grave. My sister Janet was planning to go too, so we arraigned to meet there. we sat on the ragged grass and talked about "old times". There was a lot of traffic going there so I took an "alternate route" home. The cemetery is near the airport - about 25 southwest of my place in Alhambra. Going there I took a pretty direct route (mostly on the 10 westbound) through downtown LA. To get home I went North on the 405 to the 118 then East on that to the 210 and got off in Pasadena. It was more like 40 miles but I was moving the whole time. I had the windows open, the sunroof open, and the radio blastin'. There were mostly uninhabited rolling hills on both sides of the freeway on the western part of the 210. It was "fabulous"!!!!
Father's day is coming up but this Wednesday is the anniversary of Dad's passing. Maybe I'll go again then. I know the folks are not really there, but seems comforting to make the journey and spend the time in remembrance. I talk to both of them in my head all the time.

shocking !

I tell ya it's a jungle out there !

My old car used to leak oil so there's a big oil spot in the dirt of my parking spot.
It made me think my new car was leaking oil so, genius that I am, I bought a bag of kitty litter and spread it all around the spot under my engine.
So I came home this afternoon and was shocked - shocked I tell you - to find - -
cat poop smack in the middle of my fresh kitty litter. No respect I tell ya !!!!!

Where have you been ?

So, it's like I forgot I have a blog - and no one reads it anyway.

Also, I seem to have made a rule that I have to post a picture every time.

I went to the cemetery on the day after Christmas. It was dad's birthday. I took pink carnations.

When I was ready to leave I realized that the ocean was just over the hill - so since I have a new car, I was ready for a break-in ride.

I drove from Santa Monica to San Pedro on surface street, some of them right by the water. Windows open - moon roof open - radio blasting. I look out and saw that "it was all good". I ate at a cafe in "pedro". Then went over the Vincent Thomas and Gerald Desmond bridges - then up the 710 back to Alhambra.

The photo is facing West from a cliff above Portuguese Bend.

OMG ! No really - How can it be that I haven't made an entry since September ?

Well - It could be that I've been a busy li'l old lady.
In mid-Septtember I started a class at Church, called Education for Ministry.
It's a four year program studying the Bible and church history and Theology.
It's cool - only 12 students and a mentor at a round table - very apostolic.

I bought a new car in early December. I'll have to post a photo later - it didn't occur to me to take a pic. It's a silver Honda Civic, with a moon roof, and I love it!
It's soooo nice to have a trustworthy vehicle.
When I adjust the mirror I'm not worried that it will come off in my hand (as happened twice with the heap) and there are no worrisome noises to stress over.
Oh Yes, and when I step on the long rectangular pedal with my right foot the car actually scoots forward witout hesitation. The radio works, and the turn signals, too (both of them). The passenger window goes down AND up and never gets stuck. When I step on the brake - it actually stops - right away. WOW !
It gets great gas mileage - the beast got about 13 mpg - so I've just been cruising around enjoying driving the way I used to. I think I need to go to Santa Barbara.

I'm also keeping up with my CASA commitment. The child I'm responsible for is 13 months old now and I spend about 20 hours a month working the case. I feel like I'm making a contribution to society.

My neighbor boys are seven and five now and learning new things. I get the best part of teaching without the responsibility. Paulo calls me "tia".

The main reason I have forgotten to "blog" is I have been trying to "get my house in order".
I have no idea why I have so much junk but about half of it is perfectly useless so out it goes.
My back and knee are making the task go pretty slow, but eventually I hope to achieve my goal of "a place foreverything" then I'll have to work on the "everything in it's place" part.
Mom would be so proud.