and
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Heidi
We lost our matriarch dog, Heidi, last week. She was at least 13 years old, and was probably closer to 14 or 15. About a month ago she suddenly started getting skinny and slowing down. She was still a happy dog, smiling and thumping her tail at you when you spoke to her, lying on her back to get a belly rub. So I don't think she was in any pain or distress, even up to her last hour. I miss her and had a good cry when she died, but it isn't as hard as it was when my Scout died.
We got Heidi in 2001. Thomas and the kids had stopped by a house in the country to buy some fresh corn. They had several dogs, and one of them was Heidi. She took a shine to Eler Beth, 5 years old at the time, following her around and running and playing. They offered her to Thomas, and he called me to see what I thought. Well, I didn't really want a dog. I really, really didn't. We'd moved into our house the year before, and I hadn't planned for a dog. But I couldn't say no. They came home and got me, and we went back to see the dog. The previous owners had called her Smilie, but I immediately knew she was a "Heidi," and I fell in love with her.
They told us she was a year old -- I put her at closer to two years, based on her teeth -- and that she'd been spayed. When I took her to get her shots I didn't asked if she'd actually been spayed -- I should have. lol A year later she presented us with eight beagle-mixed puppies. We loved them, though. They were adorable, and we ended up keeping two of them: Bruin, Eler Beth's dog, and Taxi, for Andrew. Needless to say, Ms. Heidi-Ma'am was spayed as soon as we could have that arranged, and we found good homes for the other six pups.
Three months before this, Eler Beth's dog Fanci (yes, another dog had been added to the family, and that's a whole other story!) had four pups, full-blooded Fox Terriers. So when Heidi's pups were born, we had 13 dogs/puppies on the place. And we ended up keeping two of those as well: Little Bit, for Eler Beth, and my own dear Scout.
Fanci's pups, especially Scout, loved Heidi. He would follow her around, try to get her to play with him, and sleep snuggled up to her. She was a good Momma-dog to her pups, and when Fanci died a few years ago, she became the Momma-dog. She had a beautiful Beagle voice, and she assigned to herself watch-dog duties and took them very seriously. She wasn't afraid of any other dog, no matter how much bigger than her it happened to be. She respected the cats we've had over the years and put up with Eler Beth's pet possum, although she looked a little disgusted about it, but she never, ever got used to the rabbits. And I wouldn't have expected her to, bless her old Beagle heart. Anytime Eler Beth had the rabbits out in the yard, either loose or on their leashes, the dogs were put up in their kennels, and Heidi would lower her head, stand very still, and just watch them intently.
She was a good, sweet old girl, and we'll miss her. Little Bit is now the oldest dog on the place, being three months older than Bruin and Taxi, and years older than Bryant. She always did want to be the alpha dog, and I guess she has her chance now. But she has some mighty big paw prints to fill!
We got Heidi in 2001. Thomas and the kids had stopped by a house in the country to buy some fresh corn. They had several dogs, and one of them was Heidi. She took a shine to Eler Beth, 5 years old at the time, following her around and running and playing. They offered her to Thomas, and he called me to see what I thought. Well, I didn't really want a dog. I really, really didn't. We'd moved into our house the year before, and I hadn't planned for a dog. But I couldn't say no. They came home and got me, and we went back to see the dog. The previous owners had called her Smilie, but I immediately knew she was a "Heidi," and I fell in love with her. They told us she was a year old -- I put her at closer to two years, based on her teeth -- and that she'd been spayed. When I took her to get her shots I didn't asked if she'd actually been spayed -- I should have. lol A year later she presented us with eight beagle-mixed puppies. We loved them, though. They were adorable, and we ended up keeping two of them: Bruin, Eler Beth's dog, and Taxi, for Andrew. Needless to say, Ms. Heidi-Ma'am was spayed as soon as we could have that arranged, and we found good homes for the other six pups.
Three months before this, Eler Beth's dog Fanci (yes, another dog had been added to the family, and that's a whole other story!) had four pups, full-blooded Fox Terriers. So when Heidi's pups were born, we had 13 dogs/puppies on the place. And we ended up keeping two of those as well: Little Bit, for Eler Beth, and my own dear Scout.
Fanci's pups, especially Scout, loved Heidi. He would follow her around, try to get her to play with him, and sleep snuggled up to her. She was a good Momma-dog to her pups, and when Fanci died a few years ago, she became the Momma-dog. She had a beautiful Beagle voice, and she assigned to herself watch-dog duties and took them very seriously. She wasn't afraid of any other dog, no matter how much bigger than her it happened to be. She respected the cats we've had over the years and put up with Eler Beth's pet possum, although she looked a little disgusted about it, but she never, ever got used to the rabbits. And I wouldn't have expected her to, bless her old Beagle heart. Anytime Eler Beth had the rabbits out in the yard, either loose or on their leashes, the dogs were put up in their kennels, and Heidi would lower her head, stand very still, and just watch them intently.
She was a good, sweet old girl, and we'll miss her. Little Bit is now the oldest dog on the place, being three months older than Bruin and Taxi, and years older than Bryant. She always did want to be the alpha dog, and I guess she has her chance now. But she has some mighty big paw prints to fill!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
NaBloPoMo
I think I'll do it this year.
But I want to do it this month instead of next month.
Maybe.
But I want to do it this month instead of next month.
Maybe.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Trepidation
A few posts previously I mentioned a writing project that simply fell in my lap. It was offered to me as a project that I could put my own name on instead of ghost-writing, or I could co-write if I preferred. I'm hesitant to write too much about it on my blog, but I really, really want to. It is a great story, and I feel privileged to have been asked to take it on.
It is a story based on the family of a school-fellow of mine. She is living an unusual -- well, unusual in the grand scheme of things, but not as unusual as it would have been a few decades ago -- life, with some very specifically unique, trying, and sometimes humorous -- as in, "You have to laugh so you don't cry" -- scenarios.
There are two very categorical circumstances in her family, with neither of which I have any real personal experience, so for nine months now I have been doing research and brainstorming ideas. I have gotten to know her and her family very well through her emails. She has been very frank with me, and, honestly, the information she has given me could be overwhelming if I let it be so. But I have parsed her emails, transferring what I want to use into my notes and skeleton of an outline. She has recommended reading material and videos for my research, and I have found a lot of information on my own.
I think I am ready to develop my main characters. You see, she wants it to be a work of fiction, but based on some of her own experiences. So now that I have all this information I have to separate the story I am going to write from her, her husband, their children, and other key characters in her real-life narrative. I can't let myself picture them when I'm writing. I can't let myself think of them with their real names. The characters in "the book" must belong to themselves. And so far I am having trouble getting the right "voice" for it in my head. I know who the main character is and what's going to happen to her. But she doesn't have a name yet, and she doesn't have a voice. It will come, I know. I've been here before, and it always comes to me eventually, but it has never mattered so much to me before as it matters to me now. I mean this is a really great idea for a novel!
This school-fellow of mine works with my eldest sister, who knows her family and their circumstances very well. When my friend started talking about how she'd love to write a book about her situation but knew she couldn't and that she'd love to give her idea to someone else to write, my sister recommended me. And I am feeling a lot of trepidation about it because I don't want to fail or make a mess of it. It could be so good if it's done correctly; but what if I'm not the one to do it?
Guess I won't know until I try, right?
I won't rush it. When I do have something coherent, I might ask a few of my Blogger friends to sample a bit and give me some feedback. I will at some point need a sounding board besides my own family. My sister Barbara is my usual sounding board, and she will continue to be so, but I want several readers who have different reading tastes and backgrounds. So don't be surprised if some time -- perhaps after the first of the year, although that might be a bit pessimistic -- I ask you for that favor.
It is a story based on the family of a school-fellow of mine. She is living an unusual -- well, unusual in the grand scheme of things, but not as unusual as it would have been a few decades ago -- life, with some very specifically unique, trying, and sometimes humorous -- as in, "You have to laugh so you don't cry" -- scenarios.
There are two very categorical circumstances in her family, with neither of which I have any real personal experience, so for nine months now I have been doing research and brainstorming ideas. I have gotten to know her and her family very well through her emails. She has been very frank with me, and, honestly, the information she has given me could be overwhelming if I let it be so. But I have parsed her emails, transferring what I want to use into my notes and skeleton of an outline. She has recommended reading material and videos for my research, and I have found a lot of information on my own.
I think I am ready to develop my main characters. You see, she wants it to be a work of fiction, but based on some of her own experiences. So now that I have all this information I have to separate the story I am going to write from her, her husband, their children, and other key characters in her real-life narrative. I can't let myself picture them when I'm writing. I can't let myself think of them with their real names. The characters in "the book" must belong to themselves. And so far I am having trouble getting the right "voice" for it in my head. I know who the main character is and what's going to happen to her. But she doesn't have a name yet, and she doesn't have a voice. It will come, I know. I've been here before, and it always comes to me eventually, but it has never mattered so much to me before as it matters to me now. I mean this is a really great idea for a novel!
This school-fellow of mine works with my eldest sister, who knows her family and their circumstances very well. When my friend started talking about how she'd love to write a book about her situation but knew she couldn't and that she'd love to give her idea to someone else to write, my sister recommended me. And I am feeling a lot of trepidation about it because I don't want to fail or make a mess of it. It could be so good if it's done correctly; but what if I'm not the one to do it?
Guess I won't know until I try, right?
I won't rush it. When I do have something coherent, I might ask a few of my Blogger friends to sample a bit and give me some feedback. I will at some point need a sounding board besides my own family. My sister Barbara is my usual sounding board, and she will continue to be so, but I want several readers who have different reading tastes and backgrounds. So don't be surprised if some time -- perhaps after the first of the year, although that might be a bit pessimistic -- I ask you for that favor.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Javen's First Studio Recording
This is my 10-year-old grand-niece, Javen Smith (my eldest sister Dennice's youngest granddaughter). Her father, my nephew, Jamie, introduces her: "This is Javen's link to her soundclick page. This is her first studio recording. It is a cover of the ever popular "Cup Song" a/k/a "Miss Me When I'm Gone" as recorded by Anna Kendrick."
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12484250
She has such a nice, true voice. Very pretty. Reminds me of her daddy!
Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
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