First Twenty-four Hours in Vegas

The glamour! The lights! Casinos! Shopping! I've been vegging out today. Time at the computer. A visit to my niece Michelle's classroom to meet her preschoolers with autism. Protein burger and fries at In and Out Burger (possibly gluten-free). A bit of TV-- "Housewives of Atlanta." Couch time. And best of all, time with two special relatives.

Off to Vegas

I'm leaving to visit my nieces and Canon this afternoon. Hate the journey, love the trip. Packing and preparing is not a favorite pastime of mine, nor is leaving Caprice when I'm worried about her health...

Cloudy Afternoon

Rumbling sky

Grey promise of rain

Or not

It's New Mexico

A Few More Puppy Memories- Caprice

Lest Caprice get too full of herself, a few more puppy memories:

- Worms-- enough said

- UTI- on a weekend, of course. I remember sitting in the emergency vet's waiting room for a long time on a Saturday night. Someone came out and reported that their dog was constipated and they needed to give it pumpkin. I was ready to leave and save sixty or so dollars, stop by the grocery and feed her pumpkin.

Weekend Ritual

Michael and I have had a weekend ritual for the past 22 years-going to the Frontier. The Frontier is right across from the University, known and frequented by all sorts of Albuquerqueans. A long time ago I was afraid to frequent the place. I thought it was a dive filled with all sorts of weird people. It is filled with all sorts of people, but I have ceased thinking of it as a dive.

We started going to the Frontier together when Michael was living on Vassar, near the University. At times we walked the mile from his house. Being older and lazier now, we drive all the way across time later in the day to avoid the lines.

Michael usually orders the same- Breakfast Burrito. I'm guessing he's eaten over 2000 of them in his tenure as Frontier regular. In my gluten-eating days I'd share, ordering fresh orange juice and my own tortillas. The soft, fragrant flour tortillas are made at the Frontier, where they place balls of dough in the tortilla machine, which flattens and bakes them. That's still what I consider one of my greatest losses since starting the gluten-free diet. Michael douses the burrito with the Frontier's warm, homemade, fiery salsa. Some of it invariably ends up on Michael's shirt.

Nowadays I have a salad or an enchilada. but in the good old days, we used to share a Frontier cinnamon roll. I can honestly say I've never had anything like them (and superhonestly, I haven't had one in almost 10 years!) As I remember, they're soft and sugary-cinnamony and wonderful.

The people watching at the Frontier is good as well. You see it all. University students and staff, of course, younger wannabes, young and older families, older (than us) couples, people attending performances and those performing at Popejoy Hall across the street, the extremely dressed and the conservatively dressed, and two people who have been coming together for 22 years, or approximately 1500 times!

My day started out with receiving a present I sent to myself- a tripawd pendant Not only did 4 Paws Forever create this after it was suggested by Julie, but they're donating 20% to Bone Cancer Dogs, so I have warm feelings for them (and Julie). Rondo is in my heart and over my heart right now (taking a few geographic liberties).

Mirror, Mirror

My guest bathroom is tiny and dark, so I've chosen to hang assorted mirrors around it. Today I've had two "mirror" experiences.

I've read and heard that this social networking stuff is replacing e-mail in a bad way, but Facebook amazes me again.

Today I found this posted by Margaret: Facebook Experiment: If you are reading this, even if we don't speak often, post a comment with a memory of you and me. When you've finished, post this paragraph on your own status and you'll be surprised at what people remember about you.

And people actually responded! So far a few poodle people who remember my struggles with my dogs; someone I grew up with remembers family; Wendy remembers playing with puppy Persi on the gold course; a former student remembers a comment I made. How cool is that?

Today I also took my turn volunteering as a cashier at the Bargain Box, a thrift store operated by the Assistance League. That's an experience in itself, but what was of special note to me was that today I saw Cherokee. Cherokee is someone I used to call "street girl." She's a street person who I first noticed in the university area when I was going to graduate school in the mid 90's. I noticed her 1) because she was a woman, and 2) because she seemed close to my age. Seeing her made me grateful, and sad.

Over the years I've kept an eye out for Cherokee. I've given her money, and tried to give her money that she refused. I've noticed her with only a blanket and a pair of walking shoes, with missing teeth and bruises. I hadn't seen her for a long time and wondered if she was still alive.

Cherokee, dressed in an odd assortment of clothes, some kind of wrap around footwear that was hanging in tatters, and her several plastic bags bulging came in, probably to cool off, and look around. She smelled of honey and body odors. She eventually bought a red stretch velour skirt and top, pulled out a wad of money to pay her $10, stuffed it into a tearing plastic bag, and went on her way.

I was delighted to see her and to know she was alive and a survivor. Why a mirror? Because if not for family support and a number of other things, I could be her, or worse, not a survivor. She reminds me how life takes lucky turns for some of us, and to be aware and supportive of those who don't get those opportunities. There but for the grace of G-d...

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Who's the fairest of them all?

Why I Spend So Much Time Talking About My Dog

Ben Stein on Dogs
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4920260n

Students and Teacher

Yesterday, I wrote in Facebook that "I'm in awe of my former students. You can express yourselves. You are setting out in the world and thinking and doing wonderful things!" I hope some looked at that with pride. Those laid-back little people are now those who are creating their own custom shoes, performing with highly-honed skills, studying medicine, communicating at a level I never dreamed of.

There's a sense of pride because I worked with them, but a sense of humility, because basically they did it themselves. A teacher can provide experiences and opportunities for development, but it is the individual who grows and builds on what is provided, and eventually surpasses the teacher.

As an elementary school teacher, I could safely say I was more skilled and knowledgable than my students. Now they are at an intimidating level...and I am proud!

Walking: A Puppy Memory

A little while ago, I returned from my morning walk with Caprice. It was delightful, as usual-- mostly peaceful. We don't see many people at our park. Caprice is getting better when we encounter other dogs. I'm reminding her to behave herself when we come upon another dog, and if she doesn't bark, she gets a treat.

The pleasant walk reminded me of when Caprice was a puppy. When Capricewas young, and we couldn't take her to public places yet, I walked her around the block. She wasn't the best walking companion, often sitting and refusing to budge, expecially when she heard loud noises, like garbage trucks. Dragging didn't work. Begging didn't work. One time I remember sitting on the curb waiting for Caprice to change her mind about moving. I did learn that often, if I turned around and ignored her, instead of begging, she would eventually come along.

About this time, I read Cesar's Way by Cesar Milan. I know there are a lot of people in Dog Land that don't agree with his methods, but his basic concept of being the pack leader helped me. Since Caprice was a bit of a wild child, I thought it was worth it to walk her regularly at my side, instead of where she wanted to go. Maybe she grew up a little, but she got better and easier to walk. And right now, it's great!

Caprice's Turn

So, I'm taken away from my mom (dinner) and aunt and big and little poodles, put in a little bag, and taken someplace very noisy, followed by a lot of bumping and waiting. Eventually this human tells me we're home and we sit and wait in a big room until a bigger human joins us and we move on. I'm tired, hungry, and thirsty, so I'm thrilled to finally get out of that bag.

My new home is shiny, and there are no other dogs! I have to sleep all alone my first night, and many nights after that. Something good about this place, besides these people who are really interested in me, is grass! I didn't know about this in Las Vegas. It felt good (cool) and tasted yummy!

I don't remember a lot of specifics after that- a lot of going in and out, and for some reason, eliminating in the house was not appreciated, so, after a few weeks, I learned to oblige.

I remember a special toy, though-- a pink poodle! However, with my sharp puppy teeth, mom had to take this away from me when things started coming apart.

I was absolutely precious and perky as a puppy! I pranced and danced and loved my new home and humans. I think I was a big of a wild child.

One tramatic event of my youth that Michael reminded me of. We had company over for dinner and to meet me. I very politely laid on the dining room floor and rested while the humans ate and visited. They moved on to the living room. I tried to, my tag was stuck in the floor vent. I panicked and pulled. Next think I knew, I was free, but the floor register came with me. I was scared and embarrassed, and Barbara had to chase me to free me. After that, no collar in the house for me.

Caprice Demands Equal Time!

I've spent so much time thinking about Canon and posting his pictures, Caprice was beginning to get jealous, so the first thing I did when my new camera came today was to snap a few pictures of her. It's difficult sometimes, to take a picture of a black dog. They do have eyes, but they're hard to see.

I picked Caprice up in Las Vegas three years ago. I had to put my beloved Persi to sleep in November. It seemed like everyone around me was getting puppies and I so missed Persi. I spent a lot of time on the internet and eventually found Ash's Mystical Poodles in Las Vegas-- perfect, because my nieces lived there and I could do two things at once. Caprice was born on March 13, 2006. Her mother, a white poodle named Monet, and her father, a black named Stephen.

Right before school was out at the end of May 2006 I picked her up in Las Vegas and flew home with her under my seat. I cried when I first saw her because I was so delighted to have another dog to love. She was much more beautiful in person and had little pink painted paw nails!

She was so little, but barely fit into the doggie carrier Marie lent me to take her home in.

Canon is playing!

Canon is the pup in the middle.
You can see him playing in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mFOCOgXVA
Posted by Karen July 15, 2009

And there's more!
http://picasaweb.google.com/desertreefpoodles1/VideoClip?authkey=Gv1sRgCJGlloy94sW14QE&feat=email#5359185822808795378

Numbers

I'm thinking about numbers that are in my head that I no longer need. Our old home phone number and address. My grandmothers' addresses. HHH's phone and address. The combination for the lock I used on the gym locker. I've forgotten a lot, but there are leftovers. Is there a home for old numbers?

Yes, I'm Into Facebook, Too!

I protested at first, and then, at Sharie's suggestion, I signed up for Facebook. I thought I'd check up on my nieces and nephews. The next thing I knew, I was finding out about the cousins, too. Alana was bodybuilding; Jenna & Haim were in Israel; Wendy B. had a little white poodle.

Then it became all about getting "friends." More cousins. Poodle people. Teaching friends. Acquaintances. I looked for former students to see what they were doing, where they went to school. I became a "stalker," looking at others' friends lists to see who I could add to mine. I kept track of my nephew & niece's baby bump and nursery decoration, visits from grandchildren, meanderings of the minds of others.

This was followed by the taking quizzes. Silly questions, inane answers-- but I still wanted to know. If friend X was Desdemona in a Shakespeare quiz, who was I? If Y's real age was 42, would I be older or younger?

Was that enought strange behavior? No. There's the "gift" giving, sending virtual gifts to "friends." I sent and received flowers, poodle pictures, and plants. This also became pillow fights and balloon fights, drinking and sending cyberdrinks.

Somehow I resisted Mafia Wars and building a farm/village/ whatever. That's because I became involved with the games. Rolling dice in Farkle, trying to make more words than Bonnie in Word Challenge, looking to match the high scores of dog friends in Bejeweled Blitz, or type faster than Betty in Typing Maniac.

I made myself a pledge that I would limit my visits to Facebook to twice a day. Pledge broken before the day was out.

Is Facebook an awful thing? Keeps me sitting on my butt more than I should, but I've seen some good things come out of it. I've inched into the lives of some people I care about (and some I don't). A great thrill was hearing from someone I worked with in my college days- he's a missionary in Russia now! Two people I respect discovered they have some interests in common and have become friends. I learn a little about a little. I feel connected...to something...

A Favorite Mini-Memory: Getting Ready for a Walk

I do the usual morning things- bathroom, face and teeth, dress. Then I go into the closet to get my walking shoes. Rondo and Caprice go crazy. I sit down on the floor to put on my shoes and socks. Sometimes Caprice bites at the sock, then chews on the laces until I am ready for the shoes. Rondo crawls all over me, biting at my hair every chance he gets. I finish, and there is great joy as we go to get leashes and be on our way.

Caprice is more reserved now. I get a tail wag, and then she sinks her teeth into one of her soft animals, usually her big bear. I miss the excitement of two young dogs, but I still love the walks...

Bone Cancer Dogs

Almost 11 months ago, I began a journey that changed my life. Rondo was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in August of 2008. As I do with most things I want/need to know more about, I went to the internet. I found Bone Cancer Dogs and its companion Yahoo group bonecancerdogs http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/bonecancerdogs/ . What I found there were people who were willing to advise and console, to be there to support us as we fought OS. I learned what to feed my boy, what supplements might help, how to tempt a dog whose taste for food had been destroyed by chemotherapy. I learned to be supported and to give support.

Rondo has been gone 4 months now. I've remained with the yahoo group to support others who have to take this terrible journey. I cry almost every day as I read e-mails expressing dog owners' dilemmas and grief. Every death (this is a frequent occurence here) is hard to take. Every success makes me smile.

I have a commitment now-- to this group and its members, to others who find their dogs have this terrible disease. I will reach out to help and support these people, emotionally and financially, when possible. It's what I can do now in Rondo's memory.

Note: The story I wrote about Rondo for the Bone Cancer Dogs heroes page can be found at http://www.bonecancerdogs.org/main/hero/292 .

Grooming Day

Caprice- Brush. Cotton in the ears. Into the shower. Soak. Lather up with lovely smelling rosemary soap and conditioner. Rinse. Squeeze out water . Shake water all over bathroom. Wet pictures. Run and dry in the sun. Brush. Comb. Buzzzzzz: face, feet, tail, body.

Soft! Picture time again.

Rest.

Barbara- Chase dog to bring into shower. Bend over dog in shower, straining back. Brush, clip. Brush off lots of hair. Take pictures. Vacuum hair up. Rinse hair off contacts. Shower and pick off little black hairs that remain.

Word Play

What about that B...B...B...? Not knowing what to call this blog, I settled on "Barbara Bravely Blogs." Not feeling very brave, I changed that to BBB. Could mean the same, or not.
Assuming the first word stands for Barbara, we could have...
Barely Blogs
Brightly Blogs, or Blogs Brightly
Blogs Beautifully
Beneficially Blogs...and so one with the adverbs and blogs.
How about getting rid of "Blogs?"
Barbara, Barkers, and Big (ideas)
Barely Been Busy
Barely Been Brainy

Whoops! Empty mind. No more play today, until I read a dictionary.

Gluten-Free Tea

Savories served with Summer's Bounty Tisane

• Daniel Boulod's Curried Shrimp and Crab on Watermelon
• Emeril's Corn and Basil CupJulia Child's Quiche Lorraine
• Alice Waters's Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
• Traditional Tea Sandwich: Fanny Farmer's Chicken Fresh Herb Salad with Cucumber

Scones & Bread served with Organic Orange Flower Oolong Tea

• Beth Hensperger's Maple Scone with Maple Butter
• St. James Traditional Cream Scone with Lemon Curd and Clotted Cream

Sweets served with Earl of St. James Black Tea

• Rose Levy Beranbaum's Lemon Bar
• Emily Luchetti's Chocolate Silk
• Paula Deen's Amaretto and Peach Sauce on Vanilla Gelato

A menu. Why a simple listing of food? Because this was my first tea since going gluten-free in 2000 (and a long time before that, too!). It was my first opportunity to have a slew of different foods prepared for me (and about 36 others). I'm not a foodie, or a gourmet, but it was just such a treat to visit the St. James Tearoom and be served the same as anyone else.

Mini Memories

At some point in our later teen years, my sister Nancy and I worked at getting along. We'd go on $1 (or more) shoppping sprees at Duckwall's 5 & 10 to buy each other gifts. Don't remember any of the gifts- I'm sure they were silly, but it was fun.

Neighborhood games were fun. My friend, Margaret lived a block and a half south of us. I remember playing "Capture the Flag" in the warm weather. When the Daulton's put up a basketball hoop, that was popular. Mostly we played "Horse." Then there was the time I got hit in the eye with the basketball. Next thing I knew we were at the eye doctor's office having a big swelling lanced. We played a lot of baseball with a tennis ball in our yard, the Daulton's yard, and the mesa behind us.

The mesa behind us. Great source for escaping over the wall. Playing games. Capturing lizards and horney toads (yes, I could catch them and I touched them). Cars sometimes went into the mesa at night. I could see the lights from my bedroom window. Sometimes we found some strange things there...

Canon Dining

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSz8WGV5W7E

Barbara Barely Blogging

It's harder for me than I thought to blog every day, in addition to think of what to write. Dogs are in my head, and I just can't keep writing about that.