Happy Birthday Snickers!

That's one pretty girl!

Her favorite thing to do? Going to see the cows around the corner………and the goats and the donkeys. She will run up and down the fence until they come to say hello and then she’ll just sit and visit….there’s a conversation going on that we don’t hear, but the baby cow moos when we leave, as if to say…’no wait, come back!’. She also loves rides in the car with Dad–being the first one to jump in and get ready for the smell-smorgasbord.  She has claimed the hot tub as her own–loves a nice cool soak on hot summer days, and watches Dooley swim to fetch a toy as though that is just so pedestrian. She rearranges the pillows to suit her lounging positions and remains mostly independent at bedtime, joining us for a snuggle and a belly rub before going to her bed-cubby in the bathroom. Secretly, she really wants to snuggle more, cuz we always find her in the bed with us again in the morning. She loves other dogs–all other dogs, Christi, Sara and Dooley. And Mom and Dad of course. Misti and Lisa are now on her Fave Peeps List but the votes still out on most Other People. Happiness for Snickers is the dog-park, long walks, the smells after a rain, fooling Dooley into thinking he’s winning, and giving you a high-five! She’s a worrier–would give Eeyore a run for his money and is best left to approach you rather than stand still for you to try pet her….until she really gets to know you. She loves her brother truly, but Connor is her BFF. She’ll happily teach you how to play woof-woof and can catch a ball or sock-roll like a champ. She can run like the wind and has gear that you don’t see coming–when it’s on, there’s no dog can catch her. She’s pretty, humble, independent and charitable….the Princess Di of dogs. Our brown-eyed girl will melt your heart and any resolve you had to cut back on treats today. And today is her birthday—Happy Three Years to you, sweetie pie! We love you!!!

Happy Birthday Dooley!

He’ll take my hand off the computer mouse when he wants to be petted, lay his head on Dad’s pillow for better snuggling, is certain that the whole bed is his for sprawling, loves observing life around him, will fetch a sock till you can’t play anymore and will sit next to anybody on the couch whether there is room or not. He’s a happy guy, ready for any adventure and loves to ride in the car–relinquishing the front seat grudgingly. He walks proudly with a stick in his mouth, rescues his sister from other dogs who don’t get her message and does the best Downward Dog yoga position I’ve ever seen. Runs like a gazelle, swims like a fish, and eats when he wants to. He’s a pouter, a lover, a stalker and a standup comedian. He’s Gomer, Houdini, Zoro and Casanova. Happy Birthday Dooley—your gifts to our family are endless love, laughter and devotion! Love, MommyDoodle, DaddyDoodle and Snickerdoodle

New Spring Masthead

Took this photo on Amelia Island last summer, where the butterflies are big as bread plates.

Amateur photographer; check.

Nice natural lighting; check.

Accidently fabulous photo; check.

Happy Spring everyone!

Hurricane Ike Pictures….

Today is the 6 month Anniversary of Hurricane Ike. While our recovery is well on the way, many areas still suffer the affect of the storm. Lest we forget that Ike is the Third Worst Storm of the Century……..this pictorial is worthy of a click:

Boston Globe: Short but Sweet Life of Ike

Animals Make the Coolest Teachers

Seriously, if they can do it, why can’t we? Live in harmony, that is.

The Animal Odd Couple

Less than a minute, you have to see this.

Happy Doodle Day!

It’s Doodle Day #1 at our house. Two years ago tonight, Snickerdoodle, the gift of a lifetime arrived. The Big Guy had the single most incredible brainstorm and wowed me for Valentine’s Day. I will always and forever associate Snickers with Love–picture floating animated hearts here.  Here is the picture that made us fall in love with her:

Snickerdoodle at 12 weeks

Isn’t she adorable?  She gets excited like this and wags her tail so hard that she walks in circles. She has brought so much laughter and love into this house we honestly don’t know how we managed life without her.  She’s also contagious, cuz one was not enough….because of her, we also brought Dooley home about six months later and he is, well, that’s an whole ‘nother post.

Snickers, honey, I thank God for you every day, thank Dad for knowing exactly what I needed, thank all my friends and family who are pet-owners and have never reminded me of how apathetic (or pathetic) I used to be about pets, and thank those same friends/family for listening to my dog stories as though these were actual human children.

She has these adorable expressions---oh my heart isn't mine at all anymore!

Not a Hoodie Virgin Any Longer

For YEARS, I have rejected any article of clothing that had anything that remotely resembled a hoodie. Extra material for no reason. Seriously, who is going to put the hood part of the thing on their head? Have never seen it done. Totally useless. And I also assumed that the hoodie would feel ‘weighty’ on my shoulders and pull the neck backward, thereby risking strangulation. I just chose to avoid the whole thing.

Last week, I bought a hoodie. And have worn it 3 times. in less than seven days. No weight on my shoulders, so far no strangulation. Ha ha-the joke’s on me!

Re – Solution

It just occured to me that when you break down the word ‘resolution’ to re-solution….it fits actually, the re-solving of habits or things you may not like about yourself or your life. I suspect that I’m so not alone in the fact that I have re-solved the same goal several times.  Some of those same things on the New Year’s Resolution List year after year.  Seems ineffective.

Yet, I love the feeling the New Year brings…the fresh start, clean slate thing.  New calendar, new me. If only it were that simple. Turning that page….and voila! I  am once again a size 6 with Hilary Swank’s pectorals and abs of steel. Hip is what I am, not what I wear things to cover up. My schedule is effortless and I have an unwavering ability to clean off the desk every day I’m in my home office. You get the picture.

So, since I really do dig the illusion of a new me….this year, when Papa Bear and I did our ‘goals’, I concentrated on what is really my intention. Like, do I intend to exercise like I’m training for the Olympics and eat less than the dogs in order to lose a larger number by mid year (the normal resolution) or….. do I intend to make better decisions daily, adding healthy things, subtracting the really offensive junk food that I sometimes indulge in? A smaller number that I actually have a chance at doing?  I chose the smaller number.

I’m tired of wearing my shoulders as earrings, so I’ve chosen to add yoga twice a week and add flexibility first. I’m already walking a lot every day, so I’ll add some push ups and stuff that I can do at home and on the road.  No Olympic medal possibility, but it’s my intention to be able to turn my head without having to turn my whole body first. I used to be able to do that….I’m so stiff now…there’s no way.

Other things on the very short list this year…..are all things that used to be part of my daily life. No big changes….just adding back things that worked before.  No brainer.

And I’ve decided that goal and resolution are not the right words this year…..it’s a New Year’s Intention Commitment. I added the word commitment, since intention is nice and necessary, but a commitment is imperative. It doesn’t sound sexy but it works for me today.

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? And how’s that working for you? I’d love to hear from the tried and true archives! Let me know.

‘…drumroll please…’ A Fabulous New Years Horoscope

Ask and the universe quite frequently answers. Sometimes through stars and I’m riding on a moonbeam. Weeeeeee!

Your life is changing quite dramatically for the better. Jupiter, planet of happiness, expansion, and good fortune, will now move into Aquarius for the first time since 1997 on January 5. Jupiter will stay in this sign for a year, until January 18, 2010.

 

Now that Jupiter will be in fellow air sign Aquarius, you will have more support from Jupiter than you’ve had in a very long time. The difference will soon become deliciously obvious as you go through your New Year – everything will be so much easier for you to achieve because the environment around you will be so much more supportive. You’ve labored through the trenches, but finally you’ll get help from VIPs and influential friends and you’ll be able to achieve your aims. In short, you are about to enter a much sweeter, softer phase.

Courtesey of Astrologyzone.com by Susan Miller….my favorite astrologist. She gives ’scopes that are more than a soap-opera reading for the masses.

Holiday Lights – “Gaughty” or Nice

or Gaudy or Nice, in case you didn’t ‘get it’.

I enjoy holiday lights. Makes everything festive and festive feels good. We put lights up, it’s matter of pride with the Big Guy. Every year we drive around and look at lights in the near neighborhoods.  Now that I walk outside with the dogs I enjoy them up close and often. Dooley likes to growl and bark at the stuff in people’s yards. Snickers is a sniffer…her nose tells her they’re pretty.

I mentioned to some folks the other day that I thought that some people decorate with tongue firmly planted in cheek. And I was vehemently corrected. See, there is always a house or two that just has EVERYTHING in their yard. You know, the Color Wheel color scheme, Everything Goes approach.  Reminds me of Truvy’s holiday decor in the movie Steel Magnolias. The gaudier the better, the more the merrier–you get the picture. And I always thought that, well, that was the point for these folks and that their aim was to put as much non-matching lights and figures out as the house and yard would hold. And I always thought I was in on the joke.

But, I’m told no, this is no joke and apparently beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder.

We put out one color of lights and have a few painted figures in the yard. They are sweet, and match and may not be your cup of tea…but we like them. I’ll admit, there are quite a few lights….and the neighbors next door may have to put black out curtains up in if they wish to get shut-eye before midnight. And this year I wondered about our carbon footprint. But we still put them up. Cowboy Matt says they are the prettiest in the neighborhood….and that was before he knew who’s house it was.

I’m not a fan of the big plastic blow up thingies…I think it’s like having pool toys in your front yard instead of the pool.  But that’s me. You are welcome to have them in your yard and I’ll admire them there. I can see the appeal. There isn’t a lot of work involved. Just throw the thing out there and it blows up and does lights all at once. There’s one down the street, Santa sitting on a chair and waving. If you stand there long enough, Santa starts talking to you. Even that got Snickers attention. The funniest thing is, when you turn the power off this guy, his head deflates right away but his body on the chair is there for oh, at least an hour….deflating veeeerrrryy sloowwlly. Apparently Dooley likes his Santas with heads because he gives a low growl and barks at this headless Santa no matter how many times we walk past and Santa has lost his head. In fact, we’ve seen Santa without his head more often than with. I think of it as “The Far Side” yard, like the cartoon.

The kids are out of school and get bored, you know…..and they have vivid imaginations.  The dogs and I walked past one yard that has lovely white deer figures. They are medium sized and are made of some twig type material and are lighted. You’ve seen them in your neighborhood, I’m sure.  One is grazing and one is looking up or straight ahead. And one day, the one that’s grazing was doing the nasty with the one looking straight ahead. Honestly, I thought it was hilarious. This isn’t vandalism, this is creative expression.  Twisted maybe, funny….definitely.

So anyhow, I really do enjoy everyone’s interpretation.  Whatever floats your boat, I say and maybe learning to like all kinds of lights is a good beginning….to liking all kinds of people, religion, politics. And if it’s okay to let people do whatever lights or decor in their own yard…..wow, what could that be the beginning of?

The Big Guy mentioned that he might want to do something different next year.  Hmmmm…I said. Really?  I’m a believer in don’t mess up what’s working but, hey…he’s in charge of the yard. And maybe my house will be as pretty as Truvy’s next year…..without the headless Santa.

What do you think?

If Anything Happens, I’ve Got It Under Control

Those were Jalen’s first words to me, “Don’t worry. I’ve read the directions and if anything happens, I’ve got it under control.”

Jalen Milek Travis will be  eight years old in February.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. I boarded the plane to return home from a business trip. When I checked in, was delighted to discover that other than my own seat assignment, my row was empty. Wow! This NEVER happens anymore. When you travel a lot, you know that this feels like hitting the jackpot! No shoulder to shoulder squishing with people you don’t know, no forced conversation…room to spread out a bit. I could definitely see a nap happening on the almost two hour flight.

Making my way to My Own Personal Row after boarding the plane, I spotted a young boy in the window seat…OF MY ROW. Ooohhh, no…this has got to be a mistake. Now, before you go thinking poorly of me, just ask any frequent traveler what they think when finding a child of any age within a seven row radius of your seat. Right, my thoughts exactly.

I managed to keep all grumbles from escaping my lips and stow briefcase and carry-on, keeping the sandwich and bottled tea out for later. Just perfect, MY row..marred with a….child! And a child traveling alone, since there was no apparently attached adult in sight. Alright, sister, let’s just make the best of this.

So, I smiled and said “hi, how are you?”

“Hi! I’m fine, thank you.”  he replied.

Thank you. He said thank you. This is already going better than anticipated. And then he said the words I will never ever forget:

“Don’t worry. I’ve read the directions and if anything happens, I’ve got it under control. See, the exit doors are here and if we are flying over water, the floating thing is under here”. He pointed out the exit right behind us and then leaned over patting the underside of the seat in between us.

“Oh well, I feel safer already.” I told him, thinking that he would probably be really handy in the event of a crisis, since I hadn’t read the ‘instruction’ card in the seat-pocket in years.

“They don’t have a boat or anything like that on this plane.” He said seriously, but shrugged as if to say, oh well. I assured him that we weren’t flying over water today. Jalen brightened a bit, “Well, that’s good then!”

And then he started talking. And talking. And talking.

And talking.

He showed me pictures in the graphic book he was reading and then carefully explained how the hero is killed not once, but three times. And how the grandmother actually throws herself in front of the hero and is stabbed and she does die. “She sacrificed herself for her family.” he said. So while I had been thinking that this is NOT appropriate material for an almost eight year old to be reading, apparently there is a lesson provided within the mayhem and Jalen has learned that lesson. While he continued to tell me the whole story, I began to unpack my food.

Jalen does not stop talking but he slows down a little. And looks at my food.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Would you like half my sandwich?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

So I give him half my sandwich and a few  SunChips. And assure him they’ll be around with the cart and something to drink soon.

And he continues to talk in between bites. But not with food in his mouth.

Let me tell you a little about Jalen. He has a number of siblings, 3 or 4, I think, but I’m not sure because the exact name, ages and relationships of all the people he talked about got a bit jumbled while I tried to keep up.  He has at least two brothers, the youngest is seven months old. He watched Scary Movie 1, 2 and 3 (?) at his auntie’s house, who said that she is NOT going to watch kid stuff all day long, no sir, she’ll watch what she wants to watch and he’ll be happy watching adult stuff too. So now I also don’t need to watch Scary Movie 1, 2 and 3 because Jalen told me all about them.

My nap is nudging me….and I can tell that there is no shut-eye in my immediate future, because Jalen is now telling me how he kills bugs at home. They are as tall as he is (about 3 and half feet) and he first hits them with a baseball bat. If that doesn’t stop them, he uses….a Samurai sword. And slashes them right in half. And then they, she actually (he clarified), has babies and he has to kill them too. I’m thinking about the fact that there is too much violence in movies and video games. More than that, I’m amused, amazed and entertained by his imagination. I invite him to come to my house and kill my bugs.

About an hour into the flight, Jalen exclaims (yes, exclaims), “Wow. This is a really good day!”

“You must be excited to be going to see your dad.” He sees his Dad once a year at Christmas.

“Yes, I am. But what I mean is that you’re a really nice lady. I mean, you shared your sandwich and your chips and you’re talking to me and everything.”

I’m totally hooked and Jalen is the fisherman. What a little sweetie pie, I’m thinking. Such a nice child, how could I have had any bad thoughts about sharing my row with this little boy.

“I’ve had coffee with my grandma and grandpa.” he says.

I’m drinking a cup of coffee. It’s almost all gone.

“Yep. They drink coffee and sometimes I drink coffee too.”

This kid is good.

Now, okay, it’s just coffee. Not beer, liquor or medicine of any kind. But let’s face, this kid does not need caffeine.  He’s only almost eight. I take a nice swallow of my coffee.

And give him a sip.

I doubt his dad will understand the reason Jalen has so much energy.

But I can’t say no. And I was around his age when I had coffee with my grandpa for the first time. So there.

“How old is your little boy?” he asks.

“I don’t have a little boy.” I tell him.

“Really? Wow, I thought you probably did.”

“I have three daughters. But I do have two grandsons. In fact, one of my grandsons looks a lot like you.” And of course, I dig out the photo album to show him pictures of the entire family. He starts laughing hysterically when he sees my older grandson…”He looks just like me!”  And they could be brothers, seriously. So I take a picture of Jalen with my camera phone to show my grandson and Jalen is happy to pose, with his book of course, cuz maybe my grandson has read that book too.

I’ve broken the rules, turned on my phone while in the air just to take a picture of Jalen.

He fishes a box out of his pocket. It has a black bottom and a clear top with a hinge and latch to keep the top closed. He has a dollar, a copper leaf on a chain and a pin. He takes the pin out of the box and hands it to me. “Look at this.”, he says. I examine the pin carefully and tell him I think it’s very cool. As I hand it back to him, he waves me off. “Please, I want you to have it. You’ve been so nice to me.” And he shows me how to pinch the little tabs together to make the back stick to the pin part.

The pin says “Kids Clubhouse” and it is still pinned to my dressy wool jacket.

I thank Jalen profusely and promise him that I will think of him every time I wear that pin and remember how much fun we had on our plane trip together.

“There’s only one thing wrong with me.”

Huh? “Oh, Jalen,” I say, “I can’t imagine that there’s anything wrong with you.” I’m now president of Jalen’s fan club.

“Well, I have nice manners and I’m a big help around the house.”

“Yes, you do have nice manners and I’m sure you are very helpful to your mom. See, nothing wrong with you!”

“Well, sometimes I talk too much.”

Jalen is already introspective.

“Who says you talk too much?”

“Everybody in my family.”

Smothering a chuckle I tell him, “You just keep right on talking and you know what? In a few years, I’m gonna turn on the TV and there you’ll be. Talking. And the whole world will be listening. Don’t worry about talking too much.”

I mean, how could I join in chastising him for talking too much. Me, the Mouth of the South. As my husband says, ask her what time it is and she’ll tell you how the watch works.

Jalen says to me very seriously, “Well, there’s a time for talking and a time for quiet.”

Jalen is wise beyond his years.

And with that, he lays his head down on the seat between us and goes to sleep.

Merry Christmas, Jalen. I wish you the best for all your life and thank you for sharing yourself with me. I’m changed because of it.

Wonder of the Season

I had to share this story from my daughter about our grandson, Brandon. Almost three years old, he’s really noticing the holiday hoopla:

He was so cute this morning…..when he walked into the living room he noticed all of the decorations on the Christmas tree and said,”oh mommy look……thank you mommy”.  I was in the kitchen putting my lunch together he came in there and said, “mommy come here…..come see” and he took my hand to pull me to the tree – he pointed to the tree and said, “look the elf is in the tree”…..I told him the elf probably moved to the tree to stay warm since it is so cold outside….    then he said, “mommy look, santa is over there” pointing to the mantle at the santa figure…..he was just precious.

I can’t wait to take him to see MORE lights this year.  Just driving around the subdivision he is so excited……it will be quiet and you will hear……”look, look, look at those lights”…..or “look over there”…..or “wow”.  He is so excited this year about the decorations and Santa.

Sunday when he woke up from his nap we had the lights on and showed him…….”those are my lights…..those are mine”.

Let It Snow!

It’s soooo cold outside!! After this morning’s walk, even the puppies weren’t interested in a return visit to the ‘north pole’ until they couldn’t avoid it. So, I bundled up in all the neck and ear warming accessories that I rarely use, and out the door we went. At the end of the driveway, near the streetlight, I noticed something flying through the air. Little bits of something………and then I felt it. Cold, wet but not really. I looked up…and sure ’nuff! Lots of little bits falling from the sky, swirling and holy cow, it’s SNOWING!!! I cannot believe it—it’s snowing!!  So I call the one person that NEEDS TO KNOW, my niece, Sara and she says…yeah, I know, it’s been snowing all afternoon. Helloooo….did nobody think to give a shout out to yours truly?  What a hoot…it’s been snowing all afternoon and I’m clueless. Of course, nothing’s on the ground…but it will be colder tonight so maybe white stuff on the ground tomorrow. According to Sara, the Jr. Weather Junkie, daughter of THE Weather Junkie, it is supposed to snow a bunch tonight.

The Doodles and I are bundled up in the house with a lovely fire. I’ll keep checking the sky to see what’s coming down!

What Happened to November?

No idea really…poof! It’s gone. There has been quite a bit going on between work travel, daughter’s wedding, start of the holidays. Something had to give…and it was the Cx3’s. I remember thinking of a lot of interesting stuff that I wanted to blog about….perhaps it will come back to me. I decided that much as I love the photo of the 1900 Storm monument in Galveston, it’s time to move on….hurricane gone but not forgotten. So new masthead for the holidays and more posts to come.

Warm Hands Actually Do Warm Hearts

Vindication for that morning java habit:  A recent study has found that we unconciously experience more positive feelings toward people after holding a warm cup of coffee. 

Anybody that knows me can attest to it!

Lesson’s Learned from Ike

It’s the little things….the silver lining…lemonade from lemons…glass half full…

Finding the lessons in adverse circumstances and hearing the laughter, sometimes through the tears.

I love the human spirit.

From my sister Lisa’s friend Barbara and Chuck:

Things Chuck and I learned during the hurricane…
~Coffee and frozen pizzas can be made on a BBQ grill.
~Hot pockets taste pretty good deep fried on the outdoor cooker!
~My car gets 23.21675 miles per gallon, EXACTLY (you can ask the people in line who helped me push it).
~He who has the biggest generator wins.
~A new method of non-lethal torture- showers without hot water.
~There are a lot more stars in the sky than most people thought.
~TV is an addiction and the withdrawal symptoms are painful.
~A 7 lb bag of ice will chill 6-12 oz Budweiser’s to a drinkable temperature in 11 minutes, and still keep a 14 lb.. turkey frozen for 8 more hours.

One Month after Hurricane Ike

Dawning with a tickle of breeze and a hint of fall, Monday was a glorious day for a walk on the beach. But on the one-month anniversary of Hurricane Ike’s brutal assault on the Texas coast, few in Southeast Texas were in the mood for seaside reverie.

In Ike’s wake, at least 36 are dead and 134 missing. Downtown Galveston, inundated by as much as 12 feet of storm-churned water, was a veritable ghost town of gutted storefronts and piled debris. At least 14,000 area utility customers remained without electricity.

Almost 700,000 households in the 29-county disaster zone sought state or federal emergency relief. The city of Houston racked up more than $87 million in Ike-related expenses. At Surfside Beach, 16 houses washed away or were wrecked; in Baytown, 60. Monday afternoon, an estimated 420 Galveston Island residents still lived in a Red Cross tent city.

Ike, which blasted into the Galveston area with 100-plus mph winds early on Sept. 13, was the worst storm to hit the Houston region in 25 years. And its impact long will be felt.

This week marks one month since Hurricane Ike changed the lives of many people. In talking with friends across the country, it appears that the national media coverage of this event has been abysmal and most people are unaware of the severe damage and lives lost to this storm. While my immediate family has been most fortunate, extended family members are homeless, friends have suffered untold losses and hundreds of people live in a tent city in Galveston. I am particularly struck by the high numbers of people still missing. No trace. Cadaver dogs have pinpointed debri piles that can’t be searched because of dangerous conditions. Refrigerators and vehicles among other things have washed ashore on South Padre Island, over 300 miles down the coast of Texas.

I find it impossible to go on as though nothing has occurred. I find it difficult to worry about my 401(k) balance while people in Galveston only want a roof over their heads. A rescheduled wedding is no comparison to families who are re-burying their loved ones in graves washed up in the storm surge.

If our country were not overwhelmed with campaign coverage or the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression, perhaps the media would be covering the story more.

Our local media has been my main source of information on the recovery, resources and they continue to uncover untold stories. The excerpt above is from the Houston Chronicle and the rest of the article can be found here.

Bush & Clinton Work Together Again

Former Presidents Clinton and Bush walk through hurricane debris at Bermuda Beach on Galveston Island. (Smiley Pool/Chronicle)

This is what makes America great.

In the midst of the mudslinging season, otherwise known as an election, and while the economic future of our country purportedly hangs in the balance, two former presidents are again working together to spotlight the devastation on Galveston Island and raise funds to assist in ways that Federal and other agencies won’t be.

Three cheers to both of them for reminding us that we live in this world together. Kindness and community is alive and well in the elder statesmen of our country.

This is the way leadership mentors a society.

See a full report here.

Donate at Bush~Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund.

What Would Paul Newman Do?

Humble, charitable, talented and handsome

Not sure why, or exactly when, I realized the value in asking the question “what would so & so do” in a given situation. Way before the WWJD bracelets ever surfaced, and though Jesus (the “J” in WWJD, in case you didn’t know) is a great ask-ee, my personal source list has leaned toward present day examples of people who have demonstrable skills at designing their own lives.  People who embody  traits that I find admirable and wish to emulate. People who go about the business of their lives in a way that honors values, ethics and character.

Paul Newman was this type of man. And I will miss him. I will remember great performances and watch them again. My favorites: The Verdict, Nobody’s Fool and Absence of Malice. I will be inspired by his philanthropic work with children and the amazing way he found to finance his favorite causes by making great salad dressing and pasta sauce. I will take note of the fact that he didn’t see himself as a one-trick pony; actor, race-car driver, director, father, husband, neighbor, donor –Paul Newman was a living example that reinventing yourself and honoring everything that you care about can include many different things.  I admire his humility, talent, grace, stoicism, sense of humor and yes, those amazing blue eyes. Even as a sarcastic curmudgeon, he could melt a woman’s heart with those eyes.

God bless you and keep you, Mr. Newman and thank you for giving so much of yourself to us.

There’s No Place Like Home

Galveston residents were allowed to return home on Wednesday, finally. Can’t say that I disagree with the mayor’s attempt to keep folks away for their own safety, however, I would want to get home as well….heck, I wanted to go home after several hours away, much less days.

There’s just no place like home.

And true to the gritty nature of most Texans, Juan Torres says “My brother and I have a plan. We’ll fix his house first, and live in it. Then we’ll fix mine.” 

Good plan Juan.  God bless you and your brother.

Read the full story here.

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season is Like Christmas

As we all try to return to “normal” here, a little humor helps. If you can laugh again, you know it’s going to be alright.

Val’s Sister Lisa (whose name really is Lisa)

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas

Number Ten:
Decorating the house (even if it is with plywood).

Number Nine:
Dragging out boxes that haven’t been used since last season.

Number Eight:
Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

Number Seven:
Regular TV shows pre-empted for ‘Specials’.

Number Six:
Family coming to stay with you.

Number Five:
Family and friends from out of state calling you.

Number Four:
Buying food you don’t normally buy . . . and in large quantities.

Number Three:
Days off from work.

Number Two:
Candles.

And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:
At some point you’re probably going to have a tree in your house!

Local ‘No-Kill’ Shelter Needs Help

Noah’s Ark no-kill animal shelter in Cypress sustained heavy damage in the storm. Dog kennels are destroyed and the cat building is flooded. Donate here.

These people are always helping during hurricane evacs etc.  Please donate to them if you can.

Reconnecting Pets With Their Owners

The Houston SPCA is working hard to reconnect lost pets with their owners, as well as rescuing animals from hard-hit areas. You can access the lost and found database here. The animal rescue hotline is 713-435-2990.

The Defenseless Get Help

I can’t imagine the circumstances that would make me leave my pets behind…however, I won’t judge until I’ve walked in that person’s shoes.

There are many victims of the storm that can’t help themselves and rely on the kindness of others: children, elderly, infirm and animals. There were many lessons learned from Katrina and helping the animals was one of them. Buses that evacuated Galveston residents last week, thankfully allowed family pets to be brought on board. How sane, how humanitarian. 

Texas shelters house hundreds of four-legged evacuees

 Still, Houston SPCA workers have taken in those rescued from the island’s debri. The shelter needs donations and foster volunteers. They have plenty of supplies, they say. Here’s the article: Ike evacuees, the furry kind, arrive in Houston

And some animal/storm related pictures.

Cat takes refuge in a tree, photo credit LM Otero, AP

A horse grazes beside a house near Winnie, TX. (Smiley Pool, AP Photo)

Lucky, a 6-year-old lab/collie mix, welcomes residents back to Galveston Island Tuesday, during

Volunteer Lydia Abuisi feeds a baby squirrel with a syringe at the Houston SPCA on Sunday. The group

Irony Arrived In The Mailbox Today

The Hurricane & Disaster Preparedness Guide showed up in the mailbox today.

Thank you, Houston Dept. of Health and Human Services for the laugh.

Complete with Evacuation Zone Charts and Hurricane Tracking Map plus a Disaster Kit Checklist, I’ll save it for next year.

Unless they know something I don’t.

Photos of damage close to home…….

More damage photos of areas close to home:

Westheimer and Voss area

Katy Freeway feeder road, 7 miles east of my area

And this new construction is about 3 miles west of us.

More Shout Outs

Thanks again to our far-flung friends and family who have sent prayers, emails or called to check on us: Bobby and Harriette, Angel, Christopher, Jen & Jared L., Linda S. and all others who have kept up with us through friends (Karen, K.G., Nelle, Diana, Sharon) since it was tough to get through.

So many folks at my employer in Albany, NY…thank you all for your words of support and concern: Jim L., Kassie, Joanne, Barb, Nicki, Don F., everyone named on the previous post and others who again, have sent support spiritually, and through others.

It always warms the heart to know that others care and we appreciate it very much!!

And many thanks to Christi & Mike for coming to check on us when phones weren’t operating, for taking us in, feeding us, giving a place to shower and relax, helping us pack food and giving said food a home in your freezer, helping to pack it all again. We love you guys and appreciate you allowing us to bunk down with you.

Whatever Gets You Thru the Night: or Hurricane Humor 101

Prior to loss of power and thru a series of email exchanges with longtime friend M.A. Watson in Charlotte, we managed a few laughs just as things were getting serious.  Ever see the movie Steel Magnolia’s?  Remember the scene where Olympia Dukakis grabs Shirley MacLaine and urges Sally Field to “give a whack at Weezer!”.  Sometimes things just get too serious and you have to laugh.  Thanks Mike for introducing much needed levity–with the stock market in turmoil, you may want to consider stand-up. I’ll give a reference for you.

Email from MIke early Saturday a.m.:

Good morning Hamilton’s (and Lisa whose name is Lisa):

Questions to ask yourself to determine the extent to which you were impacted
by Ike:

1. Are you reading this or is someone else having to read it to
   you?
2. Are you vertical, mobile, and taking nourishment?
3. Are the dogs O.K.?
4. Is your husband O.K.?
5. Is your home still at the same address? 
6. When you flush the toilet does the water go down?
7. Are your feet dry?
8. Can you walk to the street or do you have to wade, swim, row, be
   airlifted, of seek help determining where the street is located?
9. Is the storm over yet?  (If the answer is NO then put test aside
   and start over when it is over)
10. Do you find any humor in this e-mail?  If your answer is YES
    then you haven’t been hurt too badly.

Please take a moment to let us know what’s up.  We really do care.

And this one a bit later:

Re: Thump On The Roof:  We hope that these will not become your famous last words. 

I am sending this to all known E-mail addresses with the thought that one of
your computers may be on a battery pack back-up system.  The news presented
by the 1st shift workers at Weather Channel seem to indicate that about 3
million Houstonians may be without power at this time.  Hopefully you would
not be among them, but as you have not replied to my last couple of e-mails
I assume:

        1.  You are without power.

        2.  I offended you in some way with one or more of my attempts to alleviate your stress with humor of a sort.

        3.  You are busy calming down your sister Lisa whose name is Lisa.

        4.  The dogs got out and you have been swimming around the neighborhood looking for them.

        5.  You are rude!

Lack of power is my guess.  I hope it will be for only a short period of time, which I suspect will be the case,  If you would like I will e-mail the head of Houston Gas and Electric, or whoever delivers your electricity, and tell them some kind of creative story about why you should be put on the top of the list since we are depending upon being in contact with you and Tom and Lisa whose name is Lisa for our survival and well being.  As a consultant Tom needs to be able to provide his guidance on a schedule of 4 times a day.  I will make it compelling, so just tell me who to call.  The paradox of all this is that by the time you actually read this your power may be back on.

Helpful Hints and Comments from Hugo Survivors::

1. Use the gas grill for cooking.
2. Invite the neighbors over for a cookout so that the food in the freezer does not perish.
3. Acknowledge that it is drugs, alcohol, and pornography that brought this upon you.
4. Be very careful with chainsaws, noting that one should never saw a limb that is under stress.  When you finally saw through it the sucker will spring to whatever position it was trying to get into with the speed and gusto that might send the person who liberated it for a loop.
5. Adversity creates neighborhoods from sub-divisions.  People get to know and appreciate each other during times like these.
6. Keep in mind during times like these that there have always been times like these.
7. Be especially patient, kind, and appreciative to and of each other in your home.  This includes your sister Lisa whose name is Lisa.
8. It will take longer that you think, longer than they say, and longer than it takes for others who should be served after you.  Have patience in great abundance and try to face the truth that none of us are the center of the universe, and things happen when they happen.
9. Take care to not get pregnant.  This does not apply to Lisa whose name is Lisa who apparently is already waiting for a baby to arrive. It was noted that nine months after HUGO the birth rate soared in our area.  Must have been something in the water, or else people were laying around naked to beat the heat too  much of the time.
10. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
11.  Remember, it’s all small stuff.  We were never promised that we would not have problems, but we were promised that we would never have problems that we could not deal with.  It says it in the Holy Bible, somewhere.

Hurricane Ike Reprise

Lisa was correct; we lost power until Sunday afternoon…which I won’t complain about as there so many others still without. Still, as I told somebody earlier today, have been there, done that now with enough hurricanes and don’t wish to do it again.  It’s been so long since the last major storm came through Houston, my memory was dull to recall the howling and screaming and basic all-hell-breaking-lose-outside-ness of the whole thing. Unnerved is a good description. And yes, we prayed at one point. The worst came around 4:00 in morning and I think there should be a rule that hurricanes should be scheduled during daylight hours.  Windows rattling and wind blasting in the wee hours of pitch blackness is eerie to say the least. We enlisted many candles and the wiz-bang battery operated TV that Ray gave Tom several years ago.  It is a must-have for storms of this sort.

The Amazing Wiz-Bang Battery Operated TV

Thank you, Ray, the Gadget King….this one came in handy! We were able to keep up with radar loop and see how much longer the darn thing would last.

We did try to sleep, but it was fitful at best. Between helpful text msgs from Christi with info like “Red and Yellow bands headed our way”, to which I texted back “could it be worse?”; sometime between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m., I napped off and on. At daylight, it seemed appropriate to venture a look-see even if the rain was still pelting and wind blowing mightily. Tom braved it long enough to check the roof (no shingles left the building, sorry Elvis) and assessed lost tree/bush at the side of the house and large limb from oak in the front. Otherwise, we watched the white-caps roll through the pool in between bands of rain continuing to roll in. We promised the puppies that it wouldn’t be long before they could go potty and each other that we would drive far far away the next time a storm of this size threatened our little part of the Texas coast.

Felled bottlebrush tree in my driveway. We are more than grateful that this is the extent of our damage. I won't say that I thought the house was coming apart during the thick of it.....but will thank my lucky stars that I don't live in Florida every day, as that seems to be the magnet state for these things.

 

Here is the bottlebrush tree now:Nice trim job, Tom!

Our neighbors also had tree and fence damage, did I mention that the wind was just howling? Won’t bore you with tons of pictures but these are a few from within a 1/2 mile of my house.

 

Across the street

  

Around the corner from my house #1

Around the corner from my house #2

Hurricane Ike Deposits Boats on Interstate 45

This video of boats strewn across Interstate 45 going into Galveston will be one of the iconic images of this storm. It tells the story of Category 4 storm surge brought by Hurricane Ike, a Cat 2 storm that was upgraded to Cat 3 just prior to making landfall.

And here are some pictures of them:

Boats on I-45, photo credit Eric Kayne, Houston Chronicle

Boats on Interstate 45, photo credit Smiley Pool, Houston Chronicle

 

Boats on I-45, photo credit Smiley Pool, Houston Chronicle