Since I have been in a book club, I have read more consistently then ever. And while many of my friends read several books a month (yes, Victoria, Ginny, Lynn, Pam . . . I mean you), I am lucky to get my book club offering read. But I keep at it.
I had put off reading The Orphan Train, mostly because I was so busy. But when we took a trip to Kansas City to see our new grandson, I decided to take the opportunity to read it.
Although I am usually glad I have read the books, I have to work at finishing them. Not with The Orphan Train. I loved, loved, loved it! The captivating characters, the transitions in time, the story line . . . I didn't want it to end. As a matter of fact, I was disappointed that it did.
Although the book was fiction, it was based on a true story and was researched, including in Concordia, KS at the Orphan Train Museum. And despite many awful stories of what happened to some of the children on the Orphan Train, this book left me with a feeling of hope - that no matter what happens, people can and will survive.
This is a book I can easily recommend - a fast but wonderful read.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
The Blogs I Did Not Write
I have thought of several blogs to write, none of which were done. I started on several but did not want to become the ranter. So I did not write about:
1. My lack of understanding for the hype about Fifty Shades of Grey. Seems to me it is a film that appears to condone domestic violence (does no really mean no?), porn, and perversion. I don't believe these should be something women promote. But I am old.
2. My lack of understanding over the attack on education. Yes, I am a private school person, but yes, I believe we need strong public schools. It is for the betterment of everyone if parents have good solid choices for their children's education. Right now, everyone in education is in trouble.
3. My frustration with people who do not clean up after their dogs in areas where many people walk. I get it if the dogs are in fields or rarely visited areas, but poop on the sidewalk or right next to it drives me crazy.
I have forgotten some of the others that I knew I needed to pen, so they must not have been as important to me. But these are the rants I decided not to post!
1. My lack of understanding for the hype about Fifty Shades of Grey. Seems to me it is a film that appears to condone domestic violence (does no really mean no?), porn, and perversion. I don't believe these should be something women promote. But I am old.
2. My lack of understanding over the attack on education. Yes, I am a private school person, but yes, I believe we need strong public schools. It is for the betterment of everyone if parents have good solid choices for their children's education. Right now, everyone in education is in trouble.
3. My frustration with people who do not clean up after their dogs in areas where many people walk. I get it if the dogs are in fields or rarely visited areas, but poop on the sidewalk or right next to it drives me crazy.
I have forgotten some of the others that I knew I needed to pen, so they must not have been as important to me. But these are the rants I decided not to post!
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Puppy Love
We knew life would change when we picked up the puppies right before Christmas. I had forgotten how much fun . . . and work . . . puppies are.
First, we had to begin potty training. When we first started, it was really cold. Remember, it was January and February. We had snow on the ground. Wind chills were low, low, and lower. Yet there I was in the back yard, freezing to death, saying, "Go potty, go potty, go potty, good boy, good boy, good boy." Perhaps the neighbors thought I was crazy? Jordy caught on rather quickly, and if we caught him going to the door, he rarely goofed up. Nelson, not so much. We are still having occasional accidents with him, but they are becoming fewer and farther between. Now that the weather is getting better, they are able to spend more time outside, which is helping. I knew that having puppies in the winter would be hard, but by summer, they will be trained, and it will be behind us.
Second, teaching them to sit/stay/come, etc. takes a long time. They caught on to the rattling of the keys very quickly. When I shake them, they come running and get a treat. They are catching onto sit and stay, but it is taking a lot of repetition.
Third, the vacuum is getting a workout. Their fur attracts every leaf, frond, and stick in the yard, and they end up all over the living room (mostly). We have had to run the vacuum nearly every day, which is normal for some people, but unusual for us.
Fourth, they have stolen our hearts. Their little faces, the way they wiggle when they see us, their curiosity, their rough and tumble play . . . and then their collapse when they fall asleep. They make us laugh.
If we feel like this about a dog, I cannot wait to hold our grandbaby!
First, we had to begin potty training. When we first started, it was really cold. Remember, it was January and February. We had snow on the ground. Wind chills were low, low, and lower. Yet there I was in the back yard, freezing to death, saying, "Go potty, go potty, go potty, good boy, good boy, good boy." Perhaps the neighbors thought I was crazy? Jordy caught on rather quickly, and if we caught him going to the door, he rarely goofed up. Nelson, not so much. We are still having occasional accidents with him, but they are becoming fewer and farther between. Now that the weather is getting better, they are able to spend more time outside, which is helping. I knew that having puppies in the winter would be hard, but by summer, they will be trained, and it will be behind us.
Second, teaching them to sit/stay/come, etc. takes a long time. They caught on to the rattling of the keys very quickly. When I shake them, they come running and get a treat. They are catching onto sit and stay, but it is taking a lot of repetition.
Third, the vacuum is getting a workout. Their fur attracts every leaf, frond, and stick in the yard, and they end up all over the living room (mostly). We have had to run the vacuum nearly every day, which is normal for some people, but unusual for us.
Fourth, they have stolen our hearts. Their little faces, the way they wiggle when they see us, their curiosity, their rough and tumble play . . . and then their collapse when they fall asleep. They make us laugh.
If we feel like this about a dog, I cannot wait to hold our grandbaby!
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
The Rest
Diana and Nick left for Austin on Sunday, but Di stopped at her cousin's in Dallas, as she was concerned about driving eight hours (her doc was nervous about it, too). When I called her on Monday, it was obvious she had been crying. She expressed that she was rethinking the whole wedding idea. It was too fast, too much had happened . . . it just wasn't right.
Once she arrived in Austin, she and Nick agreed to postpone the wedding, but by the weekend, Diana knew that she was not ready to go through with it. She took back the ring, and that was it.
I have never gone through anything like this before. It is hard to see one's child in pain, and I couldn't fix it. Only she could do that. It is also hard to see someone else in pain . . . I couldn't fix that, either. Both of them were hurting, but love does that.
When Don and I were dating, a priest with whom we talked told us love makes one the most vulnerable ever, can hurt worse than anything, but is worth all of the pain it can cause. I would agree, but it doesn't make it any easier.
I am proud of the way both parties have handled this. It could have been nightmarishly awful, but the respect they have shown for each other has been heartening. There are no gory details, they are not spreading stories . . . it is just a case of two people figuring out that although they loved each other, they were not right for each other. Reminds me of the movie The Way We Were, with Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand.
Anyway, it has been a busy three months. I am hoping that things calm down a little, and that Diana finds peace with her decision. I am sure she will.
Once she arrived in Austin, she and Nick agreed to postpone the wedding, but by the weekend, Diana knew that she was not ready to go through with it. She took back the ring, and that was it.
I have never gone through anything like this before. It is hard to see one's child in pain, and I couldn't fix it. Only she could do that. It is also hard to see someone else in pain . . . I couldn't fix that, either. Both of them were hurting, but love does that.
When Don and I were dating, a priest with whom we talked told us love makes one the most vulnerable ever, can hurt worse than anything, but is worth all of the pain it can cause. I would agree, but it doesn't make it any easier.
I am proud of the way both parties have handled this. It could have been nightmarishly awful, but the respect they have shown for each other has been heartening. There are no gory details, they are not spreading stories . . . it is just a case of two people figuring out that although they loved each other, they were not right for each other. Reminds me of the movie The Way We Were, with Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand.
Anyway, it has been a busy three months. I am hoping that things calm down a little, and that Diana finds peace with her decision. I am sure she will.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
What a month!
Yikes. The last day of January. I had better hurry to write something about January . . . and there is a lot to tell. I promised in my only other January blog that there would be more later, so I guess this is the time.
We loaded the pups, packed the RV, and drove into the hospital parking lot by noon on January 9. Di was still in the emergency room, but by the end of the day, she was in a room and was prepared for surgery the next day. The kidney stone had passed, but the CT scan and MRI showed a 6" diameter cyst. Perhaps she could have waited, but all involved thought a 6" mass in one's gut is nothing to wait for.
Di's fiance left Austin at 3:00 p.m. to be there for the surgery, and despite his arrival in KC at 2:30 a.m., he was at the hospital by 7:30 a.m. We were able to see Di before they wheeled her into surgery, and an hour and a half later, she was done. A 6" "chocolate" cyst was taken out, and amazingly there was not damage to any other organs.
We had noticed when Di was trying on wedding dresses that her abdomen seemed to be "poofy" but we didn't think much about it. Amazing how losing a softball in that area flattens it right up! I keep thinking maybe that is my excuse . . . but I don't think so.
Anyway, the surgery went well, and on Sunday, we headed for Wichita for Di's recuperation. She rested until Thursday, when she and Nick returned to KC, both for Di to complete her research and to see the doctor again. She was given the green light to return to Austin, and on Sunday morning, they headed out.
Although the kidney stone was the most painful experience Di has ever had, we all are grateful for it, because if she had not had the CT scan, the cyst would have never been spotted. She has commented several times that this experience had the hands of God all over it. We agree wholeheartedly . . . we just didn't know what more was to come.
We loaded the pups, packed the RV, and drove into the hospital parking lot by noon on January 9. Di was still in the emergency room, but by the end of the day, she was in a room and was prepared for surgery the next day. The kidney stone had passed, but the CT scan and MRI showed a 6" diameter cyst. Perhaps she could have waited, but all involved thought a 6" mass in one's gut is nothing to wait for.
Di's fiance left Austin at 3:00 p.m. to be there for the surgery, and despite his arrival in KC at 2:30 a.m., he was at the hospital by 7:30 a.m. We were able to see Di before they wheeled her into surgery, and an hour and a half later, she was done. A 6" "chocolate" cyst was taken out, and amazingly there was not damage to any other organs.
We had noticed when Di was trying on wedding dresses that her abdomen seemed to be "poofy" but we didn't think much about it. Amazing how losing a softball in that area flattens it right up! I keep thinking maybe that is my excuse . . . but I don't think so.
Anyway, the surgery went well, and on Sunday, we headed for Wichita for Di's recuperation. She rested until Thursday, when she and Nick returned to KC, both for Di to complete her research and to see the doctor again. She was given the green light to return to Austin, and on Sunday morning, they headed out.
Although the kidney stone was the most painful experience Di has ever had, we all are grateful for it, because if she had not had the CT scan, the cyst would have never been spotted. She has commented several times that this experience had the hands of God all over it. We agree wholeheartedly . . . we just didn't know what more was to come.
Monday, January 12, 2015
It is Already January?
Wow. Life has been a whirlwind since Thanksgiving. Two trips to KC before Christmas, the arrival of Nick and Blue, Christmas Eve dinner at the Morgans (and beautiful luminarias at our house), Christmas Day here, New Year's Eve basketball in Manhappenin' (terrible game, by the way), and preparations to go back to KC. Whew.
Due to the weather, Nick left on New Year's Day, and we ended up not going to Kansas City, as the conditions for driving were less than optimal. Di left on Saturday for Kansas City to do her research at the Truman Library, and for the first time in awhile, it was just Don and me . . . and the pups.
We have been working on potty training, and Jordy has done a good job scratching at the door. Nelson, though the first to grasp that he needed to go outside, has not been as reliable, so we have some work to do.
Things were just settling down when on Thursday morning, January 8, we received a call from Melinda that Di was in the hospital. Kidney stone but something else, too.
Well, that changed things quickly. By 8:00, Don had picked up the Willie, by 8:45, we were packed, and by noon we were in Kansas City checking on Di. Although we were planning to go to KC on Friday, the extra day added a little stress for everyone. But the visit turned out well . . .
More later.
Due to the weather, Nick left on New Year's Day, and we ended up not going to Kansas City, as the conditions for driving were less than optimal. Di left on Saturday for Kansas City to do her research at the Truman Library, and for the first time in awhile, it was just Don and me . . . and the pups.
We have been working on potty training, and Jordy has done a good job scratching at the door. Nelson, though the first to grasp that he needed to go outside, has not been as reliable, so we have some work to do.
Things were just settling down when on Thursday morning, January 8, we received a call from Melinda that Di was in the hospital. Kidney stone but something else, too.
Well, that changed things quickly. By 8:00, Don had picked up the Willie, by 8:45, we were packed, and by noon we were in Kansas City checking on Di. Although we were planning to go to KC on Friday, the extra day added a little stress for everyone. But the visit turned out well . . .
More later.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Puppies Act 2
We have had the puppies for two weeks now. Jordy has learned to scratch at the door to go outside - reliably. Nelson was really good at first but has regressed a little. But they are having few accidents now, though I think the neighbors wonder about the woman roaming the back yard in the freezing cold saying "Go potty, go potty, go potty, good boy, Jordy."
They roll and tumble with the best of them. Jordy attacks Nelson, who screams when things get out of control. Then Nelson attacks Jordy, who screams when things get out of control. They roll in the snow, and the first one to the tree stump is king of the mountain.
The Monks of New Skete recommend that the owners teach the dogs to respond to the rattling of keys. Rattle the keys, provide a treat, repeat. I only had to repeat once, and they both got it. Now anytime I want them to come, I rattle the keys and they are right there. It is awesome!
One of the cutest things is the dishwasher. It did not take them long to begin to lick the dishes in the dishwasher. Babs and Sepia used to do that with regularity, and at times one of them would crawl up onto the door of the dishwasher. Just look at Jordy. He already has it figured out.
They roll and tumble with the best of them. Jordy attacks Nelson, who screams when things get out of control. Then Nelson attacks Jordy, who screams when things get out of control. They roll in the snow, and the first one to the tree stump is king of the mountain.
The Monks of New Skete recommend that the owners teach the dogs to respond to the rattling of keys. Rattle the keys, provide a treat, repeat. I only had to repeat once, and they both got it. Now anytime I want them to come, I rattle the keys and they are right there. It is awesome!
One of the cutest things is the dishwasher. It did not take them long to begin to lick the dishes in the dishwasher. Babs and Sepia used to do that with regularity, and at times one of them would crawl up onto the door of the dishwasher. Just look at Jordy. He already has it figured out.
But the cutest is when they are sleeping.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)