Doggone

Well... I have allowed myself two weeks of searching for our dog Molly and I must admit to the world now that Molly disappeared from our backyard and it is a total mystery.

I will just say that we have made every effort in our neighborhood to locate this little black and white terrier. We searched night and day calling and whistling. I have made two trips to the Humane Society and the Fort Worth City Pound (these are heart-breaking trips in themselves). I have posted flyers throughout our neighborhood.

I have been encouraged by family and friends to make peace with the fact that probably Molly may not be coming back. This is difficult and the mystery of not knowing is worse. I know with time it will get easier, she was a frantic, bouncy Jack Russell terrier yet we loved her.

Children and now Grandchildren

You know I decided the day my oldest grand-daughter was born that my mission in her life would be to rarely say "no" to her whenever possible. Teehee. This was dedicated with a twinkle in my eye towards my darling daughter who would most certainly have to say no a lot.

Well, you say 'how's that working out for you?' Great! It is always a pleasure for our grandkids to come and visit. They come for the weekend and we 'take them on the town'. These four kids range in age from nine down to 10 months and so far the sky is the limit. Indulge, indulge, indulge. It's amazing what a trip to Claires and a kid's movie with popcorn and candy can be to a wonderful set of grand-daughters. (Grand-son too young for movies yet.)

OK, yes, it will all change in time, but these young years are so innocent and what are MiMi and Grandy good for? We look through old family photographs and tell stories about our growing up years to the kids sometimes. Our most precious part of the weekend visit is Sunday mornings at church. We pass on our Christian heritage and show them they we believe just as strongly what Mom and Dad are teaching them at home. And HaHa, the "March of Happiness" down the center aisle while Mimi shows off Madison and McKenzie to every member possible is a big part of the morning.

M.C. aka MiMi

Not So Lovely Rita

"Oh, Lovely Rita meter maid,
where would I be without you.
Give us a wink and make us think about you."

As the Beatles so lovely sang, I'm afraid that Rita won't just wink on us this time.

Big prayer going up.

My Surface of 'Surface'

OK, saw Surface. Now didn't the producers kind of already tip their hat that the kids are breeding and communicating with the SURFACITTES? (harken, to 'Gremlins') Yes, I was in a work coma while viewing, but I'm already picking up on the "Close Encounter of a Third Kind" bit. You know, where the Government is controlling things and messing things up between the 'good guys' and the SURFACITTES?

I did like the main girl (pictured above),the water skiier and the Cajun guys a lot. You knew these guys didn't stand a chance against the authority FBI/CIA/NASA/SENATE/CSI/ETC when they started stuttering out the horrors they had witnessed first hand. However, the special effects so far look like a hazy whale slash manatee slash squid. (blah)

Ok, just scratched the surface. I'll Tivo it one more time.

Sweet Sassy Molassy - It's Mange !

Well - it's official. Our vet has diagnosed Sweet Sassy Molassy, or Molly, with MANGE. You should have been there to see the horrified, disgusted, flustered denials from Frank and I. Averted eyes and hung heads.

It all started with a routine check-up and we had un-wittingly even pointed out the little spot of skin where the hair was gone. We thought she had skinned her leg in the back yard. Oh no.

Dr. Morris efficiently brought in a microscope so our horrified eyes could look at mange first hand. He said you could best describe it as teeny tiny alligators. AAAARRRGHGH! We saw them! They moved! Our dog is a four legged plague. We pleaded openly "We sleep with this dog". Her favorite sleeping position is under the covers with no oxygen.

The term “mange” is used to describe a dog skin disease caused by a variety of microscopic mites. It is believed to feed on fluids present in the hair follicle. It causes inflammation in the hair follicle. This inflammation damages the hair follicle and the surrounding skin causing the hair to fall out. It is believed that all puppies acquire a small number of mites during nursing and dogs normally have a small number of mites in their skin. It is believed that susceptibility to mange can also be inherited.

Googled off the Internet

Well, God and Dr. Morris has blessed our household - humans don't get mange. Hallelujah! She has started on her antibiotic which she likes best stuffed into white meat chicken bites. She is currently "our" dog (2 sons have evaporated) and is eleven months old, is longer legged and is not quite the little adorable baby pictured above. She is a good girl at home alone with us, but a crazed MANIAC when ANYONE or anydog or anybird or anybug comes to our house. She wants to greet you with a holy kiss on the lips (literally). She needs some manners. She is truly a Jack Russell terrior through and through. Crazy...

Traversing in Oregon

Straight from Travis in Oregon-
everything is fine here. Its getting colder and the first rain started today. We will be picking wild blackberries this morning. We are jarring organic veggies as well. I'm learning so much about the ecology of this area. Soon we will check out the old growth forest just south of here, the trees there are over 1000 years old and are epic. The forest service over the last 100 years has allowed logging companys to destroy over 90 percent of the old growth forest.

People here are very environmentally friendly. I've already been inspired greatly in the fine art of organic farming. I know how to milk goats and make cheese and yogurt. I felled a few trees with Mooky for posts to make a horse stable. Tell everyone I'm doing fine and having a great time out here in the country.

I'll post periodically from Travis' travels. M.C.

The Not-So-Simple Plan

Well, I just did it! I called George W. Bush. I have a plan. Of course, I got his comment line, but I did get to talk to a nice young man and he listened to my brief synopsis of my plan.

Paraphrased - my statement - " I am a Christian mother, grandmother and support President Bush, but in light of the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, we should take this opportunity to bring home a large portion of our troops from Iraq. We need them here now, for rebuilding because we have a huge undertaking ahead. I know this is very complicated, but this is my suggestion."
I told you it was not simple. M.C.

"Gon" to Oregon

Well, last Wednesday afternoon at 2:45 in the afternoon, Travis, or "Traverse" headed for Oregon with his friend Grayson. They elected to travel by Greyhound bus to Cave Junction, Oregon where they arrived at 5:00 am on Saturday morning. They saw our beautiful sprawling America by way of Amarillo, Flagstaff, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and much, much more. A high point reported was several hands of Texas Hold Em during a ten hour lay over in Las Vegas. A low point was a drunk woman aboard at Sacramento.

Grayson is a seasoned traveler and has been to Oregon many times. The information that has slowly been fed to me, the mom, is they will be staying on a goat farm (goat milk, goat cheese, lots of vegetables) and at a neighbor's land where they have lots of acreage where they will be hiking and camping. Their friend Mookie does have a telephone and Travis has called in. This is what has been told to me so far. I will be updating you as I am updated.

I understand now that Grayson is not coming back for a while. This causes me some concern, because Travis was originally coming back in 4 weeks. Now...... he may stay 4-6 weeks ...

OK, this sounds negative, but when I get over my mother's fear, I am so excited for a young man to have this incredible adventure. He and his buddies have camped in Colorado lots of times and he is between jobs right now so this is a perfect time in his life. Seeing America is something that's incredible, they are just north of the California state line and there are scenic trees, rivers and mountains. They will also go to the coast.

Please pray for their safety and I will be giving periodic status posts. - The Mom

Hurricane Katrina Catastrophe

God Bless and Heal the Hurricane Survivors