Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: fun stuff


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A funny

funky art 033 This morning  Katie and I were wandering around the house picking up the last bits of holiday party trash.  We both kept hearing a sound that sounded like ice scraping down the roof.  But we didn’t have ice on the roof.  Katie would bark, I’d check out the windows.  Nothing.  We’d start working again.  Then the same noise would happen and off she’d go to bark.  We’d look out all the windows.  Nothing.

Eventually we were in the kitchen and I heard the noise again.  As Katie ran off to bark I looked up.  And there, on the kitchen skylights were several mourning doves, eating birch seeds that had fallen on the glass which was covered in ice.  They were sliding down the window as they ate, then they’d flap their wings and get back to the top, then slide down again.  Silly birds!

Even more silly was the dog, who has no concept that something might be up in the ceiling!  I couldn’t get her to look up.  She just ran around growling and barking each time a bird slid down the window.  Finally I picked her up, held her chin up and when the birds flapped their wings she finally noticed.

Now she’s sitting in the kitchen staring intently up at the skylights.  On guard.   If those terrorist birds arrive again she’ll be ready!  Can’t get anything past a vigilant sheltie girl!  No siree!

Katie 1395


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Chistmas is past

Katie 2119 I know for most of you Christmas is right around the corner.  But for us Christmas was last night when we entertained my husband’s family here at the house.  We planned for days the seating and menu, worried about the weather and the guest list.  I cooked for a couple of days before and finally the day arrived.  Husband and I moved worriedly among the rented tables, adjusting table cloths, finding the odd spiderweb up along the ceiling, checking the butter dishes, napkins and plate numbers repeatedly.  So much last minute stuff and I knew the family would arrive early and set me all off  kilter.

Which of course they did.  The invites said 4:00 p.m., dinner at 5:00.  Most everyone had arrived by 3:30, and they arrived hungry.  Thank goodness I had made one extra h’orderve dish’!  So they munched on ham roll-ups (including some with dill pickle inside, based on the grocery store cashier’s recommendation.) and cheese and peppers dip and the last minute artichoke heart, spinach and cream cheese dip along with crackers, pita chips and other munchies.   The teenagers made short work of all of that and then everyone was waiting for us to finish with the roast beef and ham.  And of course the beef wasn’t cooperating and wouldn’t come up to temperature even when we cranked up the oven in a panic at the end.

Finally at 5:20, which wasn’t all that late considering the original plan, we sat down to eat.  I was so frazzled by then I don’t really remember things, but I am pretty sure all the food was wonderful because when everyone left last night there were hardly any leftovers!  I guess I should measure the success of a dinner party by the amount of food I have to put away later..the less the better…right?

Katie stayed in the bedroom, occasionally barking and even howling, but mostly she stayed quiet and probably slept.  I checked on her a couple of times and she was anxious to see what all the commotion was out in the living room, but we had too many little kids running around and screaming in play to let her have free reign.  She’s not used to little kids and we didn’t want to risk having a crisis, so she waited it out until the little ones left.  Then she came out and entrained the adults with her obedience and rollover tricks.  She even played fetch with our 94 year old aunt!  They thought she was adorable.   And of course she is.

So our Christmas is pretty well finished, at least the large part of it.  Christmas Day my aunt will come up from Ann Arbor for dinner, but it will be a quiet, small affair.  I guess I should figure out what that menu will be but in reality I’m not going to get excited about it till at least Tuesday!  Today is a day to sit with feet up and eat the few leftovers we have.

And maybe take Katie to the park.

Katie 502


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A busy day for the Sheltie girl…Mama's back in town!

Katie got to spend almost 3 weeks with her Dad while I traveled about.  No school.  No responsibilities.  Just playtime and nap time..oh…and SUPPER TIME!  This morning I told her that we had Rally class later in the day.  So she immediately asked to go outside to her play pen, where she took a long nap in order to prepare for the riggers of school.

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Silly girl.  How she can sleep outside when it’s below freezing is beyond me!  Then we went to school where she did surprisingly well given no one has worked with her in so long.  She didn’t need to get acclimated to the building and was ready to get to work as soon as we arrived.  She still won’t heel worth a bean, but we’re working on it.  I wish I had pictures of her sitting in the long sit line with all the other really big dogs.  Maybe I’ll ask the instructor next week if it’s OK to take a non flash picture when they’re all in their long sit.

I’m having my husband’s extended family here for dinner on Saturday and there was much coming and going today as I began to prepare.  Lots of pots and pans and things banging around in the kitchen.  Katie was very observant.  After awhile she got quite antsy and I figured out that she wanted to play!  That worked out great as we had moved all the living room furniture against the wall in preparation for putting up rented tables in the middle of the room to seat people for dinner.  So there was a giant space in which to play fetch!  Great idea Katie!

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We had lots of fun until I, while talking on the phone and continuing to roll the ball past the dog, accidentally rolled the ball under a chair where she couldn’t get to it.  She told me off for sure!

Katie 2146I never was that good at multi-tasking.  So anyway, after her long day, she’s now upside down next to me in bed, sound asleep.  While I’m wide awake of course.  This is going to be trouble tomorrow morning when she’s UP and READY TO GO at her typical 6:30 or 7:00 a.m.

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Sigh.

Katie 2138


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Welcome home Mom!

Katie 2113

I arrived home yesterday evening, tired and with a terrible cold.  Katie was excited to see me and disappointed  when I went to bed early.  Today she’s been bugging me all day, barking at my coughing and sneezing, always under my feet. She’s antsy to play and the tiny bit that I threw the ball didn’t seem to satisfy her pent up energy.

This evening as I was putting ornaments on the tree I thought that she had gotten tired of following me around because she wasn’t underfoot.  Good girl I thought…you’ve settled back down!  I guess being gone for 17 days caused me to have a brain freeze…because I forgot that a quiet Sheltie is almost always….into something BAD!  Katie 2110

She was soooooo busted!  But I guess it doesn’t count if I laughed all the while I was cleaning up the shredded tissue.    Now she’s tring to make up by being the Sheltie on guard.  She thinks it gets her off the hook…I guess it does.  Silly girl.

Katie 2114


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More museums

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Today I tried to do as many inside things as possible because it’s bitter cold and the wind is just whistling down the Mall.  So I visited the Botanic Garden, The National Art Museum and The Natural History Museum.  The warm gardens were wonderful and made my cold feel lots better.  At the art museum I got lost among the Dutch masters.  I hadn’t thought I liked Dutch art, but I was wrong.  Especially the portraits which really caught my imagination.  And there was a marble bust of a little boy done in 1460 that looked just like my brothers did when they were young 500 years later.   Made me realize (again) how little has really changed over time.  This is titled “Ill Matched Lovers” by Quentin Massys and was done in 1520.  Who knew they had this kind of sense of humor way back then!

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And the Natural History Museum brought back lots of memories from when I visited it as a kid.  Especially the big elephant that greats everyone in the rotunda.  My favorite part of the museum was the section of it that dwells on the ocean.  Made me remember that as a kid I wanted to be an oceanographer.  Wonder what happened to that dream?

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Though I really have enjoyed my time in DC I’m getting tired of traipsing all over the city in the cold and wind.  And I miss my own home, my husband and of course my Katie girl.  Tomorrow I’m going to Arlington unless the weather is too horrible.  Sunday I fly home.  Can’t wait to get there.

Katie 2076


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Shoes

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Today I fought to make myself go out into the windy cold day.  On the metro for the first part of my trip I was in a car surrounded by a teacher and his six gradeschoolers.  We were all standing up and he was trying to get them to hang onto the poles so they wouldn’t fall.  “Simon says hang on to something!” he’d say and they’d all grab the poles.  He was very engaging and the six 3rd or 4th grades were really cute.  I got the impression they were going to Union Station and catching a bus somewhere.  At the transfer station I got out to get on another line that would take me to the Mall.

Man it was cold today!  And so windy my eyes were tearing up.  I walked head first into the wind down to the Washington Monument, then spent quite a bit of time at the new World War II memorial.  That’s a pretty place.  From there I walked all the way around the tidal basin to the Jefferson Monument.  And you know what?  There was the teacher, many other teachers and a whole passel of kids!  Including “my” six!  Should have followed them and ridden the bus!

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After the Jefferson Memorial I walked back over to the Holocaust Memorial.  I knew going through this memorial site could be upsetting but I thought it was important.  Plus I really didn’t know enough about the Holocaust and what better place to learn?

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Several times in the exhibits I was glad the light was low as my eyes were tearing up and there was no wind to blame.  This museum is a testament to our freedom of speech as it became painfully obvious how little the United States did to help the Jews.  And how late.  Though the focus of the exhibit was not to denigrate the US, it was obvious in the time line and in the stories of people and countries who attempted to put a stop to the killings that we were too busy fighting the war to use our resources to stop or slow the extermination of thousands.  Sounds somewhat familiar.  If you ever get to DC this exhibit is worth your time.  Please put it at the top of your list of things to see.

So what does all this have to do with shoes?  Well, I put a lot of miles on mine.  But that’s not it.  About 2/3 of the way through the Holocaust exhibit is a room piled with shoes.  Actual shoes worn by people gassed.  There were prisoners whose job it was to take valuables from the bodies, and the shoes, along with other clothes were collected and often given to Germans in need.  Sort of a Nazi second hand system.

I got through the whole exhibit without actually crying and it was tough.  But the shoes?  The shoes made me cry.


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I'm on vacation now.

On my way to the Truck Safety Office Monday I walked over to the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam wall.

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It was a cold, grey windy day which seemed somewhat appropriate while I wandered the wall.

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In contrast, after our meeting with the FMCSA yesterday I dropped by the Library of Congress with it’s Italian inspired decor.

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I had lunch at the American Indian museum which has a cafe that offers regional Native American food.

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I had scarlet bean with roasted corn and tomato salad, crayfish fritters and a rosemary pine nut tort.  It was heavenly!

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Today I went to the American Art Museum…

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…where I looked at folk art, most of it inspired by religion, especially Adam and Eve, and most of which seemed to have southern state artists.  Then I looked at a collection of art that was produced in 1934 when President Roosevelt, believing that Americans needed art for inspiration, began a Public Art Project.  I really liked these pieces depicting life as it was in 1934.  People, farms, labor and just everyday scenes were brought to life, many in bright colors that belayed the difficult times Americans were dealing with during the depression.  Maybe we should do something like that again!

I had a lovely lunch today with a friend in Chinatown.

truck safety meeting Dec 2009 166It was so nice to sit in a wonderful restaurant and talk.  Thanks for lunch!  You know who you are!  Then I walked the 9 blocks or so up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, just because.  Along the way I passed the Old Post Office and the Treasury Department decked out for Christmas.

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I finally made it to the White House…

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…and then wandered through a beautiful area of restored row houses.

truck safety meeting Dec 2009 189Finally, feet tired, I headed for the Metro for the ride back to my hotel and a nap.

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I’m having a good time exploring the city.  But I have to say the place I feel the most positive is when I’m on Capital Hill where the power is palatable and anything seems possible.  Tomorrow?  Maybe to Arlington, maybe to the Holocaust museum.  Maybe I’ll just sleep all day if the weather most of you are experiencing makes it over here.  We’ll see.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Katie and I want to wish all of you a Very Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for and your friendship is high on our list, right behind family and health!  We hope each of you has a special holiday with those you love.  I’m going south to visit family and won’t be home for over a week.  Don’t worry though, Katie is going to party it up with her Dad!

Katie 2041


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Thanks Ludo!

Gee Ludo, while your Mum is away you have been very busy!  Katie got a package in the mail from you, and she was very excited!  She begged me to open it, but I told her she had to wait until her Dad was home so he could see what it was too!

Katie 2081

This morning we opened it up.  First out of the bag was the Pedigree Meaty Sticks which Katie was VERY interested in sniffing…until she heard me rattle the paper wrapping a bit as I struggled to extract……a PINK doggie stuffie!!!!!!

WELL!  Katie grabbed that even before I had time to take the tag off and ran off with it!

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Notice the eyes.  She’s saying “This is MY toy and you can’t have it!”  She’s not so much about sharing.  I chased her around a bit trying to get a good picture, and steal it from her to cut off the tag.

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Katie 2101Finally I got it away from her, cut off the tag, and made her take a picture with the toy so you all could see how cute it is. (The toy, not Katie.  Katie, as you can tell, is mad at me.)

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As soon as I released her from her sit, it was back to this:

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She hasn’t even noticed the other bag of treats, the “Scrumptious Rolls of Red Fish!”  The bag says:  “Remember – dogs who don’t get lots of fresh water get poorly, grumpy and sad!”  True!  The bag made me smile, but then I haven’t opened it yet for that wonderful aroma of fish –  “dried in the cool Icelandic air, these delicious rolls are made with 100% red fish skin to make the perfect fishy treat for your dog.  What a lucky dog!”  Katie is going to LOVE these!  As soon as she stops playing with pink doggie that is!

Thanks Ludo!

Katie 2092