Starts and stops (and naps)

We saw just the last 8 minutes of The Grapes of Wrath the other day. That's what sums it all up for me. There's the tearful goodbye and then Ma Joad has her new attitude in the last scene...

"Man lives in jerks - baby born, or somebody dies, that's a jerk - gets a farm, or loses one, an' that's a jerk. With a woman it's all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river it goes right on."

I guess I'm enough in touch with my feminine side that life is like a river for me, too. One thing goes on into the next and the next and the next. And, what's important is the stuff that happens between the "jerks". I haven't always been that way. If I talked about my past, I'd tell you the high points that happened. But, if I tell you about my present, it's about the stuff that's going on between the high points.

I was sick this weekend. I guess I should have expected it when I got so low on Thursday. All day Friday, it was chills and sweats and chills and sweats. Put on three shirts, and in 15 minutes, strip down to my shorts and wipe off the sweat. And, never running an abnormal temperature.

Friday afternoon, I mananged to get this Jubilee block made. It's number 4 and the block name is Talitha. I didn't realize it, but all these blocks are named for stars. Talitha refers to two stars in the Ursa Major constellation; Talitha Australis and Talitha Borealis. Hey, you learn something new every day, eh?



This was one of the easier blocks to piece. It should not have taken 6 hours, except it was piece a bit and rest a bit and piece a bit and rest a bit. While I'm in Cleveland this week, I'm going to try to stop in a quilt store and see what Batiks I can pick up. I'd like to pick up a couple in any cities I visit this year to use in the Jubilee quilt.

Saturday wasn't much better, except that there was time between the chills and sweats for me to get a few things accomplished, like hemming all the curtains in the house.

Now, I could wait until all the "stuff of daily living" is put away and show you pretty, dressed up pictures of the house. But, we might all get really old, waiting for those pics, so I better show you what it really looks like. We're not quite finished yet, but all the furniture is in the house. Rob will get plates in the plate rack soon, too. But, the textbooks and eraser shavings and four pens and a pencil without a point and a half a notebook are apparently permanent parts of the decor.



By Sunday, it was do something and take a nap, do something and take a nap. I started cooking and then had to go take a nap. I woke to the smell of food. I was only asleep about 5 minutes, but I went from a reclining position to full "attention" in a single movement and then ran to the kitchen and stirred everything. I managed to stay awake until it was all ready and then I took a nap before the dishes. All day long, work for 5, sleep for 10, work for 5, sleep for 10. And, apparently I needed it because I slept all night last night, too.

And, the last thing that happened this weekend is our new addition. Right now, her name is Hazel/Mable...at least that's what I'm calling her until Rob decides. She is a pure bred beagle. We know nothing else about her except what she tells us.



Rob's been looking for a female beagle for a couple of years. After my old dogs passed, he started looking for what he wanted. We had Bella; the chihuahua/dachshund mix and she's definitely Sydney's dog.

Hazle/Mable is going to be Rob's dog. She's supposed to be about 8 months old, but I think she's a bit younger. She's quite immature for her size and she's still got big feet.

Fortunately, she doesn't look as sad as she did in this picture anymore. She's doing much better fitting in. You know those first 24 hours are rough as everybody gets to know one another better and figures out the expectations.

So, what has she told me about herself? Well, I'm pretty sure she outgrew being "cute" at her last home. Somebody tried training her, but I'm pretty sure that they weren't persistent enough (a child maybe) and gave up and that she was too big and bumblig to work out without training. That's not a problem for us. We're good at training and are persistent and will show her what it takes to fit in our pack. I think that at the end, a bit more aggressive techniques than were required might have been used to train her. She's afraid to be picked up or lifted in any way and yelps if you try. She's not completely housebroken, but she does understand the principal and we are diligent watchers, so while she's "assumed the position" a couple of times, we've been able to stop her and get her into the yard. And, the one present she gave us on the new carpet was moved to the yard and she went right to it to leave all subsequent presents. Lots and lots of subsequent presents.

She's in heat and we have to take her back this week to get her spayed. And, she's skinny, which worries me a bit, so she needs to see our vet, hopefully this week. She's bonding quite well with Rob. She's so cute trying to get Bella to play. She rolls over on her back and pulls herself along the floor, trying to be more Bella's size. But Bella is neurotic and is having nothing to do with it. If Hazel/Mable gets too close to Sydney, Bella leaps from wherever she is, snapping and growling; a german shepherd guard dog the size of a football. This too shall pass.

Oh, and she got comfortable enough this morning to chase my cat. Now that may be where she and I have a bit of trouble. I'm not gonna have any of that. Otherwise, I think she's going to fit in fine. She's one lucky dog.

Everybody take care and have a great Monday.

Lane