Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

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Mystery solved

You know the great mystery about where the socks go that come up missing after doing laundry?  Well here at our house we’ve solved it.

This morning I pulled laundry out of the dryer, specifically looking for a pair of socks I wanted to wear to work.  There was only one.   I knew I had put two socks in the dryer!  I looked back in the washer.  No sock.  I checked the dryer again.  No sock.  Disgusted I headed back toward the bedroom to find a different pair.

And found this.

So I’m thinking that if in your house you’re missing a bunch of individual socks…you just might want to check with the pupster.

Katie likes to steal underwear too.  But I’m not going to take any pictures of that!


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Falling off a bike

So you know that I started back to work at a new/old job this week.  It’s been over four years since I was there, and the economic world has changed.  Heck the whole world has changed.  Now there are many rules and procedures, all done online, that were never in place before.  Most of them make a lot of sense, but it’s still a lot to remember.

Several people that I knew from back “in the days” have stopped by my cube and asked how I was doing.  When I expressed a doubt about something they’d all say “It’s like riding a bike, you’ll remember.”  So far I’m replying that my bike feels like it has a flat.

You probably don’t know that I also rejoined the local community band. (It’s on my list of 101 things to do in 101 days.)  I belonged seven or eight years ago, but left because they were too small and didn’t play many concerts.  Over the years I’ve checked on them, and they seemed to be growing and playing more events.  So I signed up again.  At rehearsal last week there were only 4 clarinets.  Way too few.  I stubbornly held onto the 2nd clarinet folder of music, refusing to play first.  After all it has been at least 6 years since I’ve played anything.  This week at rehearsal there were four clarinets, but not the same ones as last week.  Again I was asked if I could play the 1st part.  I told them the last time I played 1st clarinet was in1978 and I’d rather stick to 2nd.  And the director said….”It’s like riding a bike.”

Lately my world is all about getting back on that bike.  But I think I need to get the tires re-inflated first.


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Life is an 8 a.m. class

Many years ago, like many college kids,  I tried to avoid scheduling any classes at 8 in the morning.  Because it was just too hard to drag myself out of bed that early.  But when I graduated and went to work I found out that Life IS AN EIGHT O’CLOCK CLASS!  Rather than maybe having an early class a couple days a week, work meant an early start  EVERY SINGLE DAY!  That was a shock.

Over the years I got used to the early day of work, day in, day out, year in, year out.  Then I did the unimaginable and quit.  Really.  Just quit.  I went back to school where sometimes I had an early morning, sometimes a late night, but never consistency.  And I liked the variation in my days.  After graduation I found part-time work in a library and had some early days, some late nights and again I enjoyed the variation.

But the world changed when our economy went haywire  and library jobs were impossible to find.  So I’m back at the bank and getting used to waking up in the dark and driving through rush hour traffic to sit in a cubicle for the entire day.  Then it’s rush hour traffic home.  Life is once again an 8 a.m. class.

It’s exhausting and sometimes overwhelming.  But I’m working on getting settled in the groove.  The last four years have been, in effect, a very long, very wonderful vacation.  Which is more than most people get.

So I’m appreciative; even as I yawn while driving toward the rising sun each morning.


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Challenge #6 – It's Rally Time!

Today Katie and I got up extra early and traveled all of about two miles to the county fairgrounds where we got our second leg of Rally Novice!  Katie knew something was up because I was moving around collecting things and making trips to the car, and the sun wasn’t even up yet!  To her this can only mean one thing…the dreaded GROOMER!  So she went and hid in the bedroom.

Finally I had everything in the car except my dog, so I called her out of the bedroom.  Poor little girl; she shook in my arms all the way out to her crate in the back of the car.  But as soon as we arrived (approximately 5 minutes later) and she was out of the car she was fine.

See Mom?  I’m not scared!

We walked around outside for a bit, then ventured inside.  It was sort of scary in there, a big noisy room with lots of echos.  But she ate treats right from the start, so maybe I don’t have to get everywhere a whole hour early just to get her over that initial fear.  Maybe she’s been in big scary rooms with lots of other dogs enough times that we can just arrive like other people, set up and go!  Maybe.

I’m not scared in here either Mom.  Much anyway.

So…we waited through all the Excellent dogs and all the Advanced Dogs…and then we were on!  Luckily one of Katie’s favorite teachers was there with a camera, and one of Katie’s favorite shepherd owners took some video of us!  And extra luckily, Katie’s Dad figured out how to get the video to show up here on this blog!

Katie did very well.  I, however, needed to remember to take the empty poop bag out of my back pocket!  And to move a bit faster because Katie pays attention better when she’s moving along.

But I’d proud of her anyway.  We got 2nd place with a score of 96 out of a class of 6 dogs!  This judge didn’t give out any 100’s the whole morning.  The winner of our class had a 99.

I think Katie deserves the nap she’s taking right now.  But it’s an awfully pretty day, so perhaps the park later this afternoon will be a good reward for a good dog.

Ya think?


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20 years – it's a walk in the park

My husband and I have been married twenty years and we celebrated our anniversary by visiting the Meijer Gardens near Grand Rapids Michigan.  The gardens have a huge conservatory with tropical plants, and acres and acres of gardens outside that are beautifully planted and showcase giant sculpture.

The gardens are wonderful, the sculpture interesting, sometimes even funny…and right now there is a special installation of giant art glass interspersed among the waterfalls, flowers, grasses, hills, woods and sculptures.

There were so many wonderful, colorful, playful and striking things to see; I have so many pictures to show you, but I guess I’ll try to limit myself here.

It’s going to be difficult to choose…

…because there were just so many amazing things to see.

I wish you could all have been there…

…to see the glass balls bobbing in the water and nestled among the rocks in the waterfalls…

…and the tall rushes in the woods…

…and tucked in among the real rushes near the wetlands.

So much to share with you.  Maybe I’ll put a few more pictures up tomorrow.

Meanwhile, did you see the big hawk sitting on top of the huge horse sculpture?


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Knee therapy – not!

Katie was an extra specially wound up Sheltie-girl yesterday.  And if you’ve ever lived with a Sheltie — well — you know that they’re pretty much wound up enough on a normal day.  So even though I knew that I couldn’t walk around on the uneven ground of the park she had me at my wits end by late in the afternoon when I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride.

OF COURSE MOM!  A RIDE?  RIGHT NOW?  REALLY!?!?!?  YES!!!!!  LET’S GO!!!  WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?  COME ON MOM!

So we went into the neighboring village, a small quaint town with expensive homes and a tiny downtown.  Also a very busy town, lots of cars and motorcycles and people and other dogs and stuff.

We parked at the main intersection and sat there awhile getting used to all the weekend traffic.

She did pretty well, but the flat ears belay the fear.

So we moved a bit away from the corner to sit on a park wall.

That was a lot better.  For a moment.

Then we walked through the two blocks of town.  Katie got to check out the old bank and see if she had any money deposited there.  She did not.

Getting away from town was more enjoyable, we walked by old houses…

…and smelled lots of food being grilled in the back yards.

At one point she stopped on the sidewalk as if to say…”carry me Mom!”  Sorry baby, you’re going to have to walk yourself.  Mom’s knees are done!

We had a lot of fun, met some resident pups, smelled some good stuff and got a little less scared of new places.  All good things.   Except for the knee which is now elevated and being iced.  Again.

Hey Mom! Wanna PLAY?


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Training Challenge #5

Since I’ve been sitting most of the week with my leg elevated and iced Katie and I haven’t done much work on anything.  You can tell.  She wants to GO TO THE PARK RIGHT NOW MOM!!!  But I can’t walk that much, and certainly not on the uneven ground at the park.

So we went to a pet supply store and worked on keeping her attention on me rather than all the good sniffing spots.  She’s a bit of a vacuum cleaner and I’m worried about our next Rally trial, which is a week from today!  (OH NOOOO!)

I did a bit of Rally stuff; heeling, sitting, turning, lying down.  It went OK.  Pretty good I guess given all the distractions.  It all seems to depend on what the treats are.  If they’re tasty and special enough a typhoon could go by and she’d continue to stare at me.  If it’s just her regular kibble….well….lots of stuff is more important and more interesting than her regular kibble or her Mom.

Next Sunday is our Rally trial.  I guess that will be our Training Challenge #6!


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As the world turns

I’ve been unemployed since last October.  Looking for work is a sobering experience; it starts to play with your mind; makes you wonder about your worth and causes you to rethink decisions made long ago when the world was a different place.

You go to interviews smiling and hopeful, certain that the interviewers can see the value you’d bring to their libraries.  Your years of experience.  Your motivation and enthusiasm for the work.  Your fresh ideas framed in another life, adapted to fit the world of public libraries.

But after months and months of looking and writing and applying and meeting I still have no library work, and that world has become distant and even somewhat foreign to me.  Unemployment benefits are ending soon, husband is still adjusting to his forced retirement.  Tensions mount.

On a whim I applied for an underwriting job on Monster.com, never thinking that anyone would be interested in me, a person who has been out of the business for over four years.  Turns out that though that particular job didn’t work for me it did lead me to call my previous employer who has offered me a full time job and the opportunity to get my head back into the mortgage underwriting world.

It was a difficult decision to give up the dream of working in a place I feel I’m meant to be.
And to give up the freedom these last few months have afforded me.  But it’s an opportunity I can’t ignore, so the week after next I’ll be putting on grownup clothes again and heading into work with the other rush hour commuters.

I know I’m lucky.  I’ve seen what it’s like out there for the unemployed and it is not pretty.  I also know I am lucky that someone is willing to take a chance on me and let me relearn the industry.  And I’m grateful for all of that, and will give back to them more than their money’s worth.  I always did.

But I’m going to miss the way the light falls on the trees in early afternoon.  I’m going to miss long walks with Katie.  I’m going to miss staying up late reading all night if I want to.  I’m just going to miss the possibilities that hover around each morning when I get up.  The possibilities to do anything or nothing at all.

I’m gonna miss this.