Letting Go

So last month our 1990 Mazda went on to a new family.

A bittersweet moment as we watched her pull away.

We first got Mary (yes we named our vehicle and it is a she) in January of 2013.

She was in a wreck within a month of her purchase.  And for most people that is where the story would end.  Who would keep a car that the insurance company said would cost more than it was worth to repair?

Us!  That's who.

Along the way we learned a lot about car maintenance and painting cars.  We swapped the engine.  Once out of need and another time for more power.  She started out white and then was gray.  Then we painted her black and white.  Now she's tan and black.

We discovered the joys of driving with the top down in all the seasons.  We auto crossed and met other Miata fans.  My favorite Mary moment was driving through the Norfolk Botanical Gardens for their holiday light display with the top down.  You know you wish you could have been there.

Darby loves the convertible.  What dog wouldn't?  Top down and you feel like you're flying!

We even did a scenic cross country drive in Mary.  That was interesting.  No cruise control, power steering, A/C or radio.  There was only the driver side air bag and it's a manual transmission.

Whew!

However, we are getting older and Mary just isn't a daily driver.  A sad realization for us, but a true one.

Fortunately we have a friend on the west coast who will use her for auto crossing.  Now she's off for more adventures.

 Farewell Mary!  We'll miss you.

Year of the Monkey?

More like year of the Grim Reaper!

Dear 2016,

You suck!  And here's why!  This year we've lost the following people:

Coming To Terms

We all know that death is inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easier.  We know it's going to happen, but it's always in the distant future and not something that we are going to think of right now.

No one wants to think about the unpleasantness of that.  The thought of losing a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a friend, or even an acquaintance is just too much.  So why waste the time and energy on it?

I've been to three funerals, of people not related to me, in my adult life and it sucked.  Tomorrow, I'm going to my first military spouse funeral.  Something I honestly had never thought about.  Never expected to do.  And never wanted to do.

I know I could 'justify' not going by stating we weren't close, but I won't.  I mean, who wants to go to something like that?  It's, if I'm to be brutally honest, depressing.  But that is not going to stop me.  I'm going to honor this person and let her family know that someone cares that she's gone besides them.  Even if I haven't seen her or spoken to her in years.  That's not the point.

Funerals aren't for the dead.  They are for the living.

So today, please take a moment to cherish the people in your lives.

A Moment Of Silence

As everyone knows Robin Williams passed away August 11th.

I'm not here to talk about suicide, to judge or anything of the sort.  My soap box will stay put away.  No one knows the specifics, so out of respect to his family...  Let's keep our yaps shut!

Depression is something that many people just don't understand.  So maybe we should be respectful and not say anything that could be even slightly misconstrued.



 Instead, I just wanted to acknowledge what a wonderful actor he was.  He made me laugh and I will miss seeing him on the big screen.

Thank you for all the laughs.

You will be missed.

Rest In Peace Harold Ramis

You will be missed.

If you don't know who this man was, then go educate yourself.  Probably best known (by people my age) as Egon from Ghostbusters, but he did SO much more.

Afghans In Heaven

I meant to post this sooner, but as per usual I got side tracked. So my apologies for the tardiness on this.

I no fear your camera!

The first of this month TJ, my mom's cat, passed away.

We got TJ when I was in high school. He didn't leave with me when I left home as he was truly my mom's. He lived for 22 years. And as I type that sentence I just realized how old I am and now you will all know. Oh well, so now everyone knows I'm ancient. I think I'm okay with that.

The running joke was always that TJ was older than dirt.

I still remember him as a young cat. He'd wander the neighborhood we lived in with no fear. He used to leave 'presents' for my mom on the front door steps. It could be a mouse or a bird or any other small critter that was unfortunate enough to cross his path.

TJ napping

I still laugh at the thought of him sitting in the recliner like he was Al Bundy, if you don't understand that reference Google Al Bundy sitting on the couch and then you'll see. He'd actually have a paw over his privates. You know this thought just made you snort a little.

As he got older TJ got cranky. He got the nickname of grouchy old man and many other names that weren't very nice. His only joy in life was the afghans that we had, but I'm not going to tell you what he did to those things. I'm keeping it classy.

He had a tendency to get pissy and would attack your leg for no reason. Well I'm sure in his mind he had a reason, but we were not privy to that information. Your best bet was to show no fear. That's why my legs were relatively unscathed.

He is what started me calling certain cats 'guard cats'.

Farewell TJ!

You will be missed.

Farewell Friend

It has taken me a few days to be able to actually blog about this.

On June 1st, my husband and I had to put down our 14 year old dog. Kaiser had been diagnosed with cancer and there was nothing that could be done. It had progressed too far.

Kaiser was a smiler, as you can see from this photo. We 'rescued' him, but in reality I think he rescued us. He was so loving and protective of his pack. How can you look at that beautiful face and not smile yourself? I dare you to try. You couldn't do it could you? I know I can't.

Kaiser has been with us since just slightly before the hubby was commissioned in the Navy. So yeah, he was a Navy brat. He'd moved 7 different times. Weathered one hurricane and two tropical storms. Gone through two deployments. And even visited two battlefields with us. But most importantly was protector and friend for fourteen years.

And he was such a ladies man. I don't think he ever met a female he didn't like. Men? Well that's a different story. But he'd perk up as soon as a lady walked in the door.

Time takes it's toll on everyone. It slows us all down. I'd like to think that Kaiser had a great life. I'm not trying to look at this through rose colored glasses, I know we weren't perfect.

Farewell my wonderful friend.

You will be missed!

A Belated Nod...

To those who served and those who paid the ultimate price. Thank you.




I'm sorry it's late. I was out of town and without computer. And of course you know I can never be too serious.

Strike Two and Three

I know this is going to sound kind of odd... But hey that's me. I've noticed that celebrities tend to die in sets of three. I know it's wonky, but it's true!

Sadly Dennis Hopper passed away today. Most people more than likely know him from Easy Rider as Billy. I'm more inclined to say he was in True Grit as Moon. I've never seen the first movie, but I love the second.

I know you're saying well that's only two silly. Hopefully you noticed yesterday's blog? Well Art Linkletter also passed away this week.

So as you can see my theory holds a bit of water. Sad but true.

Whatchoo Talking Bout?

You may or may not know that Gary Coleman, a.k.a Arnold from Different Strokes, passed away today. He was an adorable child and this is a show that I remember while growing up.




I just HAD to include a clip of him with his catch phrase.

A Farewell To King

As many people know I'm big into family pets. So I was saddened to hear that my mom's dog, King, was no longer with them.

King was a misunderstood dog. And extremely lucky to have ended up at my mom's farm. He was a bit cranky and not everyone liked him, but he loved my mom.

You can't really tell from the picture, but he was a black chow. And every year before summer kicked in he would get shaved so he wouldn't be too hot. I'll miss my yearly photos of King's new haircuts. He always looked so embarrassed, but I know it helped during the hot months ahead.

So farewell King. You will be missed.

This morning my little cockatiel, Princess, passed away. I couldn't let it just go without saying something. She was a quiet and unassuming thing and always greeted me in the mornings with, of all things, a hiss and nibble on my finger nail. This is a routine that I will greatly miss.

My few lines just didn't seem enough for the joy I think she honestly gave me. She was nine years old, which is a good long life, but it seemed too short to me. I already miss you Princess.

So here's Emily Dickinson's 'In The Garden - A Bird Came Down The Walk'.

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.

And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sideways to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad, --
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head

Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home

Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.

A Woman Who's Missed

On Friday, July 17th my grandmother passed away. It was not unexpected as she'd been hospitalized on the 11th.

I thought it only fitting to post some photos as a celebration of her life. I think she would have approved, had she known how to use the Internet or a computer for that matter. So consider this a stroll down memory lane.

There's a picture of the house where she lived and I have so many childhood memories.There's the park where I spent many a summer playing with no cares.

And I remember when they built this, back then it was painted green and yellow. I remember Grandma taking me to the park when I was young and in later years going by myself. I remember the sheets of wax paper she would give me so I could go down the slide faster. And thinking to myself how smart she was to figure out a way for me to go faster.

And it wouldn't seem right if I didn't include a snapshot of her garden. I'll miss the big garden with all it's fresh veggies in the summer. And her flower were lovely. She did seem to enjoy weeding. Who will do it now?

I thought it'd be fitting to take a picture of her entire brood. It's the first time we've all been together in years. There's her two girls, my dad (her remaining son-in-law), six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. That's three generations. We've all decided that we definitely need to get together more often. And not just for funerals. Which is the reasons I've been home as of late.

I had to include a photo of me and my grandma at the end of this post. It had been three years since I had last seen her. I don't have that many pictures of the two of us together, so I will treasure this one.

Everyone has their favorite memories of her. She was a contrary person and I know we'd referred to her as a tough old bird, but she will be missed.

A Farewell To Strudel

I'm sure that there are many people out there upon viewing the title would think that I'm starting a diet. And am therefor saying goodbye to a yummy baked good. Sadly I'm not. On Monday, December 22nd my best friend, Greta, had to say goodbye to a good friend of 15 years. It took me a bit to actually write this. And for that I apologize. And you may want a hankie for this, but only if you're the sentimental type. I know I am.

That's right. Strudel was a red daschund. She was better known as Stru. Occasionally I called her competition since she loved my sweet baboo. And he adored her. And there were times I had to fight her for his attention. How could you not love her though? Just look at these pictures of her.

As I said she was 15, which is longer than most daschunds live. The breed tends to have back problems. And what a life that little darling had. She loved just about everyone that she met. The first time she met my hubby she lost control of her bladder she was so excited. From then on we had to call before coming over so that she could be put outside to greet us.

We sometimes joked that she was a life support system for a nose, because she liked to sniff so much. And as most mature women do as they age she put on a bit of weight. We jokingly referred to her as a yard cow. Not only because of her size, but because she liked to eat grass. A lot.

She had eyes that melted you. But she was smart too. She could say 'Rugrat'. And she'd dance too. And if ever she saw someone unhappy, especially Greta, she would hurry to comfort them. She didn't like to see people cry. And as you can see from the middle picture she was a bit of a ham.

When Greta and Steve brought Colten home there were concerns that she might not like having to share the attention. Instead she started mothering Colten and always wanted his toes clean.

Farewell sweet girl. You will be missed.

Saying Goodbye

Most people say that an animal has no soul. I disagree. This is Odie. He has been with me for 13 years and today I had to say goodbye to him. It was one of the hardest things that I've had to do. How can you look at this vibrant, beautiful cat and say that? Have you no feelings?

Yesterday he was a vibrant cat, climbing over my husband and grousing about the state of his litter box. Or was it because he wanted more food? I've been sidetracked though. Sorry. Mouthing off to the point that I'd shout at him to shut up. Today he couldn't breathe and was in seriously bad shape. What I would give now to hear him meow at me.

He was beautiful with his kohl rimmed eyes and lips. And his beautiful yellow fur. It was like soft sunshine. It's hard to believe that I won't have him to cuddle with anymore. And I'll miss that purr of his that starts as soon as I touched him. That purr could make anyone smile.

So this is a tribute to my darling cat.

You were known by many names. We named you Odie because your first name was too offensive, but you went by many other names. You were Chub Chub, Odiferous, Odums, Odie Oh, Odie the Great Hunter and Chubby Odie. My brother and sweet baboo preferred Chub Chub or Chubby Odie. While my buddy, Greta and I liked Odums. If I was in a whimsical mood I would sing out Odie Odie Oh and you would come running.

He liked to head butt people and that was his way of giving hugs. He would put his face up to yours and you'd have to make kissing noises to get him to back off. The only cat I've ever known of that gave out hugs and kisses. He was extremely affectionate and would purr at the drop of the hat. You had everyone under your spell the moment they touched you. You minx you!

I drink a glass of Herding Cats in your honor tonight my sweet kitten. I though it appropriate. It's a red wine. Thank you for the 13 years of companionship. The cuddles when I needed them, even when I thought you were being a pest. Thank you for seeing me through the good times and the hard. For letting me cry in your fur and for dancing with you in joy. You were a great friend. And I hope that your final journey is a good one.

I'll see you on the other side my great hunter.

RIP

For anyone who doesn't know, George Carlin passed away on Sunday of heart failure, he was 71. If you don't know who he was then I really have no clue what rock you were hiding under. He did a lot of guest appearances on TV shows and did have a very short lived show of his own. The George Carlin Show, which ran for something like 12 episodes in 1994-95. What I remember him for most, sadly, is Rufus in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and the sad movies that followed that travesty. More recently he was the voice of Fillmore in Cars and The Wizard in Happily N'Ever After.

Oh yeah and obviously he was a stand up comedian! Here's a clip of one of his routines. Warning! If you are in any way offended by crude language then don't listen to this. He was one foul mouthed little man!

Farewell Harvey Korman

If you don't recognize the man in the picture then you must have been living under a rock. Harvey Korman passed away on Thursday. If you know nothing of him, click on his name and go rent something from the IMDB list. Personally I like The Carol Burnett Show and Blazing Saddles. Some things would be hard to view since he did voices for cartoons. He was so funny. Especially once he got going with Tim Conway. He will be missed.