happy first day of spring and march madness!

it's like christmas around here!

time sure flies

 
there are very few things in my life that i have done for consistently for 5 years straight. 

i haven't stayed at one school, or played soccer, or played clarinet, or played tennis, or given up eating meat, or kept the same job, or lived in california, or lived by myself, for 5 years straight. 

 i HAVE, however, been (as facebook says) In A Relationship for 5 years as of today. 

 it was 5 years ago that kevin & i met up in hickory for dinner, and nothing's been the same since! 

i have changed my sleep pattern completely - i used to sleep midnight to 8AM, now i sleep 9PM to crack of dawn. i have learned to can it when it should be canned, and speak up when it should be said. for the most part. 

the sum total of my relationship advice is - if you love retriever dogs, pick a partner who acts like a retriever dog! 

i happen to love retriever dogs. they are loyal and friendly and smart and cute and love to be outdoors. i am not saying i couldn't love somebody who didn't have these traits, but it is soooo much more natural for me to love somebody who does! 

basically, i didn't mature and grow as a person in patience and compassion to get to 5 years - more like i found somebody from the start with whom i am highly compatible. when you share values and a general direction, they can get 'their way' and it not be offensive to you. and vice versa. things that could be struggles with a different person, are more like win-win. it's nice.

onward!

sweetest pouncey ever

snuggling with miss maizey, the almost-13 year old golden retriever. 

also, if you haven't already, get your grubby paws on "hands on a hardbody" - documentary made in 1997 about people in texas who go to a car dealership and put their hands on a pickup truck. for 3 days. last one standing drives it away. you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be astounded.

the two faces of pouncey

pouncey at play


pouncey at rest

scenes from a thrift store

designed for bouffant hairstyles. what a fabulous word. 

bouffant. 

*****

scene: an elderly woman puttering around the goodwill store. she has a shopping cart. the only thing in the cart is a panini maker in a box.  her very elderly husband joins her.

he: what's 'at?

she: a pantini maker.

he: pantini maker? what's it fer?

she: it mashes bread together and gits hot.

he: fer makin sandwiches?

she: yeah, pantinis.

he: how much it cost?

she: seven dollar.

he: aight then.

three balls

happy birthday POUNCEY!

to the dog affectionately referred to as:

pounce-ters
pounce-to-pounce
pouncey de leon
pounce diggity
sir pounce-a-lot
pantsy
pansy
bouncy
jumpy
puppysnuggs

woooo hoooo! it's pouncey's birthday! he made it! one whole year! he has eaten a few magazines, 1 pair of shoes, a piece of the gutter off the house, corners from a few pillows, buttons from a handful of shorts. nothing major.

he has learned all of his tricks, and is working hard on a new one for when people come to the door. instead of barking and trampling, he gets on his bed and stays until i say 'okay.' then he pounces at me full steam for a piece of bacon.  



from his first day when he was just barely hatched and probably still blind, til today when he snuggles nacho's butt for a nap, he has been a real joy!

happy birthday pouncey puppy!

the tow truck driver made me cry

got in the car this morning at 730 AM, excited to get to 2 local thrift stores early when the first racks came out and the aisles would not be clogged with nit wits and their shopping carts.

the lights on the dashboard came on, but the engine didn't start, and i could not shift the car into drive, reverse, neutral - nothing. the digital clock was flickering. then i could not turn the car off. this is a potential problem with a battery car. it's a 2005 prius, basically a golf cart with windshield wipers. it was stuck "on" but unable to move in any direction. crazy.

i called the dealer and they thought it needed a new 12 volt battery, a google search confirmed that was probably the problem, and i called a tow truck to bring me and the car to the dealer.

when the tow truck arrived an hour later i asked the guy how he was doing and he said it was the best day of his life.

i thought he was being sarcastic. i said 'oh really, why's that?'

let me say that this was a good ol country boy, probably in his early 50's, bald, scruffy gray beard, a little on the heavy side, cheeks full of chewing tobacco that he was spitting into a mountain dew bottle. 

he said 'i lost my daughter. about 10 years ago. her mama took her from me and i couldn't see her anymore...(me: "oh, i'm sorry...") on the way here i got a call from a girl in oklahoma city. my little girl called me and i got to talk to her for the first time since she was 5 years old. i prayed every single day for this to happen.'

he was crying. i was crying.

turns out she found him through facebook, is about to graduate high school in may, and has a baby boy. she saved all the letters he had ever sent her. he is now saving money to go out there and see her graduate, saying 'that's a big'un...can't miss that."

he dropped me at the dealer, i got a new battery, and went on my merry way. 

let your love flow

this song was #1 the week i was born.

i love everything about this video!

the clothes. the hair. the synchronized strumming. the lyrics. the "country folk song with a disco beat."



the lyrics:

There's a reason for the sunshine in the sky
There's a reason why I'm feelin' so high
Must be the season
When that lovelight shines all around us

So let that feeling grab you deep inside
And send you reeling
Where your love can't hide
And then go stealing through the moonless night
With your lover.

Just let your love flow
Like a mountain stream
And let your love grow
With the smallest of dreams
And let your love show
And you know what I mean
It's the season

Let your love fly
Like a bird on a wing
And let your love bind you
To all living things and
Let your love shine
And you'll know what I mean
That's the reason.

There's a reason for the warm sweet nights
And there's a reason for the candle lights
Must be the season
When those love rites shine all around us

So let that wonder take you into space
And lay you under its loving embrace
Just feel the thunder as it warms your face
You can't hold back.

Just let your love flow
Like a mountain stream
And let your love grow
With the smallest of dreams
And let your love show
And you know what I mean
It's the season

Let your love fly
Like a bird on a wing
And let your love bind you
To all living things and
Let your love shine
And you'll know what I mean
That's the reason.

Just let your love flow
Like a mountain stream
And let your love grow
With the smallest of dreams
And let your love show
And you know what I mean
It's the season

Let your love fly
Like a bird on a wing
And let your love bind you
To all living things and
Let your love shine
And you'll know what I mean

great valentine's day message!

service dog puppy live cam

the cutest site on the internet:

Misty's Pups - Nursery Cam

Meet Misty's litter of future service puppies. These five Labrador Retriever pups were born on December 28th and have already begun very important work — helping to heal the invisible wounds of our Nation’s Combat Veterans. Recovering Service Members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in Bethesda, MD are engaged in the critical task of socializing the pups through puppy petting. The litter will spend the next two years lifting the spirits of Wounded Warriors and giving them a therapeutic and purposeful mission. By volunteering to train the pups through the Warrior Canine Connection program, these Warriors will both address their symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress and prepare the pups for future lives as service dogs for their disabled comrades.

holding hands...and feet

is that cunnin or what?

chris smither

i won another contest!

my answer "new orleans" gained me 2 tickets for the chris smither show last night at the grey eagle from the sweet blog ashvegas.

i love his songwriting. the lyrics ring true. i love his guitar playing. his fingers are confident.

 "Leave the Light on"

If I were young again, I’d pay attention
To that little-known dimension
That tastes of endless time
It's just like water, it runs right through our fingers
But the flavor of it lingers
Like a rich, red wine

In those days we were single – and we lived 'em one by one  
Now we hardly see ‘em – they don’t walk - they run
But I got plenty left I’ve set my sight on
Don’t wait up - Leave the light on
I’ll be – home - soon

I’ve never seen my life in such a hurry  -  
But if I start to worry – 
I get left behind
It’s like a party, but you don’t get invitations – 
and there’s just one destination
You better be on time

For years we rhymed in couplets - 
And we sang ‘em two by two
Now we hardly rhyme at all – but here’s a few
And if they hurt, there’s bullets left to bite on 
Don’t wait up - Leave the light on  -  
I’ll be – home - soon

That drummer in my head needs inspiration
There’s a lack of syncopation – 
the holes need to align.
It’s just so hard to leave these cages that we think in
By stages we just sink in - 
to a slow decline

For years we lived in waltz time – 
and we danced three by three
Now it’s hard to dance, but if you'll stick with me –
We’ve got what we need to spend the night on -  
Don’t wait up - Leave the light on  - 
I’ll be – home - soon

These races that we’ve run were not for glory - 
No moral to this story –
We run for peace of mind 
But the race we’re running now is never-ending. 
Since space and time are bending, 
There’s no finish line - 

But I'll live to be a hundred  - 
I was born in ’44 -  
32 to go, but I ain’t keepin’ score - 

I've been left for dead before  - but I still fight on – Don’t wait up  

Leave the light on
I’ll be home soon

I been left for dead before  - but I still fight on Don’t wait up 

Leave the light on
I’ll be home soon

the show ended with this cover "killin' the blues"



good lord 

live music is best

week at the beach

a week at the beach was awesome.

we took the dogs, and they were good boys.




pouncey had some trouble staying in control. he wanted to pounce after everything he saw. dogs are not allowed off-leash until november 15, so this was a challenge. nacho and eli had a ball.



we took some loooooong walks on the beach.



we ate like kings. the place had a kitchen and kevin made seafood feast after seafood feast. we had an awesome dinner at the fat hen.



we turned a gift bottle of grey goose into daily 'boat drinks' that improved the tone of the whole week. we played lots of pro-kadima.



we boogie boarded. scrabble. rummy. chillin.



celebrated 4 years of dating. all was well. all is well.

as fantastic as the beach is, there's no place like home. 

busted

i tried to take a sneak picture of all 5 of us sleeping on the bed, and instead caught kevin & pouncey holding hands/paws.

fine howdy do

5 dog salute!

pouncey sleeping on flappy

dressers of a feather

could these dressers be any more similar? 

identical size. 3 drawers. top drawer opens with round pulls. bottom drawer pulls are 95% identical. 

 the one on the right was in my bedroom growing up in rhode island, the one on the left in kevin's while he was growing up in tallahassee. 

i was shocked when i went to visit him for the first time in 2008 and saw it. 

i think it's so strange that we both kept them, and ended up with them as adults. 

they're old and scratched and dinged and heavy and his is missing a drawer pull, but they're sturdy as hell and i love them.

sing alongs

the wood brothers put on a great show. 

gotta love when they call for an encore sing-a-long and the crowd is not too pretentious to oblige. 

orange peel on wednesday night such a thing happened. 

so damn heartwarming!

runnin' is useless, fightin' is foolish
you're not gonna win but still
you're the luckiest man
you're up against
too many horses
and mysterious forces
whatcha don't know is
you are the luckiest man

queen of my soul

i found this at the value village in gastonia. 

i left this at the value village in gastonia. 

i would like to know:

1. how many of these were made? 
2. how many of these were sold? 
3. did anybody hang this in their house? 
4. where in their house would such a thing hang? 
5. do these people know each other?

the blow stops here

There are some guys who can return good for evil...Every brave man will think so. He will not want to live by passing on the wrath. A hit B? B hit C? -- we have not enough alphabet to cover the condition. A brave man will try to make the evil stop with him. He shall keep the blow. No man shall get it from him and that is a sublime ambition. 

- saul bellow 'henderson the rain king' 

sublime ambition indeed. keep the blow. return evil with good. don't pass on the wrath. is this humanly possible? even if it's not, it feels good to try.