Dog tales

Since my dad died two years ago, Mom has been awfully lonely. They were married for over 50 years and she has said she wants another heart beat in the house. We visit often and sometimes I take my dog, Lucy, over for the day when I'm at work, but it's just not enough.

Mom has been wanting a beagle and we've been looking at the Northern California Beagle Rescue site for some months now.

We got an e-mail this morning about a six year old female in Mountain View, about 15 minutes north of us. I took Mom up there this afternoon and I think it was love at first sight.

When my sisters and were growing up we had a beagle named Ginger. Ginger was one of those epic dogs. When we were all tucked into bed and Mom and Daddy were watching TV in the evening, one of them would tell Ginger "go check on the kids". They'd hear her nails clicking down the hall and she'd go into each of our rooms to check on us. Then she'd go back to where Mom and Daddy were and look at them as if to say "they're fine" and lay back down.

Today when we walked into the house where the rescue people have been fostering her, Mom got teary eyed. This dog's face looks just like Ginger. She has big feet and short legs and is a bit overweight - we think she may have some Basset Hound in her. But that face!

While we were at the house I looked at Mom and said "she looks just like Gin in the face". Mom just smiled and nodded.

The dog's name is Kansas (which we think is kind of a dumb name for a girl) and she is as sweet as the day is long. We stayed at the house for about an hour and Mom decided to take her home. They have a two week "sleepover" program where the adoptive family decides if the dog is a good fit.

We went to the store and bought her a bed, food, bowls, toy and snacks. I put her bed in Mom's room and patted it and the dog dove right in.

The acid test was if she and our dog, Lucy, got along. Lucy spends a lot of time there and if they don't like each other it'll be a deal killer. Laura brought Lucy over and they got along just fine. Sniffing and playing. Laura curled up on the couch and the beagle jumped right up. Lucy was a little jealous at first, but soon snuggled up with the two of them.

Mom has been calling the dog "Rosie" which I think suits her better than Kansas. They are settling in together and I hope that Rosie will be a permanent pet for Mom.

Goddess of Christmas

One of my friends called me the Goddess of Christmas today. It totally made my day.

Let me back up a bit here. We found out that one of our dear friends is dying of cancer. He has just a few short weeks to live. We adore Fred and his wife, Marilyn, who are both in their 80s.

Fred's nephew put the call out to me for some lefse a week or so ago. They don't know how to make it and Marilyn can't make it any more, as she's in the early stages of dementia.

I had some lefse for the family and we tried to meet for the hand off. Norman and John (nephews of Fred) both live about an hour from me in opposite directions. I had a Facebook chat with Norm on the 23rd to try to arrange for a meeting for the hand off. It just wasn't working out.

I finally told Norm, I'm coming to your house.

On Christmas eve in the morning, I drove the hour to Norm's house to deliver the lefse, a loaf of julekake and a dozen krumkake. My gifts to the family were much appreciated. Poor Norm was hobbling around on a cane, recovering from recent knee surgery, trying to make a nice Christmas for his family.

I feel so good about this little mission of mine. When someone you care deeply about is dying, you feel so helpless and you want to do something. Most times there is nothing you can do. My laundry and baking were done. The house was clean, the gifts wrapped and ready to go. I had the time and the goodies to deliver. I helped make Fred's last Christmas on earth happy and that makes me happy. God bless you Fred. We love you. As the Wizard of Oz said, "A heart is not judged by how much you've loved, but how much you're loved by others". Fred, you are loved and we will miss you when you're gone, but enjoy you while you're still here.

50

I turned 50 this past weekend. I was a little bummed out about it, but not nearly as traumatized as when I turned 30. It turned out to be a great weekend.

Our Sons of Norway hall, which I manage had been booked for September 24^th – my birthday. So I figured no party or some small thing with just family. Then the lady I booked the hall for called to cancel. I saw it as a sign from Odin that I needed to throw myself a party like I did when I turned 40.

Things sort of evolved. Ten years ago the real estate market was rocking. I had an open bar, catered food and our friend Reggie, from Grass Valley who plays guitar and sings. A great entertainer.

This year I was going to have beer and wine, cater sandwiches and salads and get a DJ.

The DJ thing didn’t pan out, but Reggie was ready, willing and able. Check.

Pat suggested we cook the food. We do our annual barbecue at lodge for around 75 people, so we know how to do that. Check.

Still planning on beer, wine and sodas. Check.

We had tri tip, chicken, cole slaw, beans and garlic bread. As usual, Pat did an awesome job of BBQing the meat. The food was way better than sandwiches and salads.

It turned out to be an awesome night. 60 of my family and friends took the time out of their busy lives to help me enter my 6^th decade. I really appreciate their attendance. Namely, Cindy, our neighbor whom I grew up with, traveled quite a distance, long time friends Moling and Dan, my dear friend Susan, newish dear friend Carol (who helped a ton in the kitchen). High school friend George and his wife, Marianne, some friends from the Chamber of Commerce who had another party to attend, but stopped by for a bit just to wish me happy birthday. Friends from lodge who had theater tickets, but stopped by at the beginning and end. The list goes on and on.

One highlight of the evening was dancing with Dan. He’s 84 and LOVES to dance, but has become frail in the past few years. We did have a dance and when I pulled him out on the dance floor (for a slow one) his eyes lit up light a Christmas tree. That made me so happy.

Probably the best moment was when my daughters, Kristen and Laura brought out the gift they got me. A five foot long, remote control shark! It was amazing! He’s filled with helium and you “drive” him by making his tail move back and forth. He “swam” around the hall. It was so cool. Reggie played “Mack the Knife” and I danced with the shark and named him Mack.

It was a great celebration and I feel good about being 50. I’m healthy, happy and life is oh so good!

RIP Sam

Our son, Brandon and his wife, Josselyn, had to put their dog down today. We are all so sad. They rescued this pup, who had been severely beaten, six years ago. Sammy's jaw was wired shut and it healed - sort of. They loved and healed this dog for six years.
Sam looked sort of weird, because his tongue always lolled out like you see in the picture. He was a good spirited and nice dog - even though his breath smelled like ass.
Whomever the beast was who beat this dog so severely, I hope you rot in hell. No animal or person deserves this treatment. Sam was a sweet and loving dog, who was loved (despite the halitosis).
Our daughter, Robin, said it very well tonight. She said "RIP Sammy! I hope you are chasing squirrels in a green field while your jaw functions normally, your breath doesn't stink and you can eat food larger than cat food. Eat a fillet my friend"
Well said, Robin and rest in peace, Sam. We'll miss you.

Golf

Golf is a game I love to hate. I call it a game and not a sport, because if you can smoke and drink while your doing it - it's not a sport. I digress...
Back up a few years... we had a windfall at a casino and I decided to get golf clubs. The pro said I was too tall for ladies' clubs, so he hooked me up with senior men's clubs, as they are more flexible than regular men's clubs. I've hacked and hewed at many courses and a few tournaments and hated most of it. Pat says I have golf-induced tourette's syndrome because I curse after just about every stroke.
I'd pretty much given up and hadn't touched my clubs in about three years. My clubs were covered in dust, as were my red patent leather golf shoes (they are beautiful and one reason I should continue the game).
We decided to hit Pruneridge today - a nine hole 30 par course nearby. I wasn't expecting much, in fact, I was expecting nothing but a nice walk outdoors.
Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! We hit a bucket before we started and it sort of came back to me. I did okay, had some nice drives and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I even bogeyed a couple of holes! I had a blast! Maybe there's hope for me yet with golf.

More Bikes

Pat liked my cruiser so much that he bought this bike. We've been having SO much fun on them.
We took our usual 11 1/2 mile spin on the Los Gatos Creek Trail this morning. This afternoon I had the idea to ride our bikes to downtown Campbell for dinner. What a great idea that turned out to be!
Campbell is small city of about 40,000. It has a rich history of fruit processing and drying - in fact, Fruit Cocktail was invented here! I've lived here my whole life and love this little city. I'm a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and my business is here.
Campbell has a great, friendly downtown - just two miles down the bike path from our house. We saddled up and rode there this evening. Had our dinner on an outdoor patio with our bikes right next to us and pedaled home. A round trip of 4 1/3 miles. It was a great evening and we will be doing this again. Soon and frequently!

Bicycles

Here I am on my 8th birthday in 1969 on my brand new bike. It's too bad the picture isn't in color. The bike was stop light green and had a white banana seat - all the rage in the late 60s. I rode that bike to school every day and all over the neighborhood.

Flash forward to when I was 12 or 13... it was now totally uncool to ride a sting ray. My folks got me an orange Schwinn Varsity 10 speed for Christmas when I was in junior high school. I didn't ride it to school, but I put a lot of miles on it until I got my driver's license at 16. I still rode the Varsity in high school, because even though I could drive, I didn't have a car.


Here I am in 1994 with my new Bridgestone MB4. The Varsity still worked fine, but it weighed about 900 pounds.

In the last couple of years we've started riding a lot and I've put about 1000 miles on this bike. It may be 17 years old and some of the technology is outdated, but it's a great bike and I like it very much.

I've been eyeballing beach cruisers every time we go into our local bike shop, Wheel Away Cycle Center. I just thought they looked really cool. Pat has been bugging me to get one - either that or a new mountain bike. My standard response has been "I don't need that" or "I don't want to spend the money on that".

A recent trip to Lake Tahoe changed that answer for good. We were at Squaw Valley, where I took place in the dedication of a statue of Snowshoe Thompson. We spent Saturday night there and had time to kill on Sunday before we went home. We were checking out the shops in the Village and went into a place that rented bikes. Let me back up a bit - we had intended to bring our bikes, even bought a bike rack for my car, but got a late start on Saturday and decided to leave the bikes at home.

So there we were at Squaw Valley rentals and decided to rent a couple of beach cruisers. We rode on the bike path along the Truckee River to Tahoe City, had lunch outdoors with a view of Lake Tahoe and rode back. It was a fairly level path, about seven miles each way, it was beautiful and it was FUN!

I went back to work on Monday and Pat was off. We had a fish taco at one of our favorite places and then to Wheel Away to "check out" their cruisers. Yeah - you guessed it. I bought one and here it is:

An Electra Hawaii Custom. It has three speeds and coaster brakes. I've ordered a wicker basket for the front.

Steve at Wheel Away told us to come back in a couple of hours, as they always service the bikes before they go out the door. We went back that afternoon with the bike rack on the car. I threw my helmet it the car at the last minute. We were on our way to my mom's to pick up our dog, Lucy.

I decided to ride over to Mom's - only about a mile. It was so much fun. Here I was sitting upright and comfy, riding down the streets in my old neighborhood. So what if I'm 49 years old, I felt like the little girl in the black and white picture and it felt GREAT!

Why I Love Sons of Norway, part II

I found out tonight that one of our dear lodge members passed away last night. She was 88 and in ill health, so it should not have been a shock, but it was for me.
Ruth and her husband, Harold, moved away from our community a few years ago to be closer to their daughter, but before they moved, they did a huge thing for me that they may not have even realized at the time.
I was newly divorced with two small children. My ex-husband and I had joint custody, which meant the girls had a week here and a week there, so every other week I was alone.
There were several times when Ruth knew that I was alone that week and she would invite me for dinner. She didn't let on that she knew I was alone, but would just call me up and say "hey, would you like to join us for dinner?"
It wasn't a fancy dinner, but just food on the table and great company.
It was just a few times, but Ruth and Harold helped me get through a really rough time in my life. I was missing my girls and they gave me loving company.
Rest in peace, Ruth. I love you.

Why I love Sons of Norway

This may seem like a lame post, but it's hitting home for me tonight. Yes, we celebrate our heritage and perpetuate our culture, but the huge thing is the friends we make who become like family to us.
One of our members passed away this afternoon, a Past President of our lodge and most beloved member. In the several minutes since we all found out about John's passing, we've all branched out to give our condolences and reach out to the family. In the coming days our members will call, e-mail and bring food to the family. We will turn out in droves for the service.
In reality we interact with one another more than a lot of families do. We don't always agree, we don't always like each other, but deep down we love each other. We are there for each other. I felt it profoundly when my dad passed away and I hope to pass this love and compassion along to my lodge family.
Yes, this is why I love Sons of Norway. We are a united family who help one another. This was our forefathers' mission when they started our organization 116 years ago. I think they'd be proud that we are carrying on their tradition today.