Hubbell

On Tuesday,our Hubbell will undergo surgery to have his right eye removed.  

It was just under a year ago that we learned that he was suffering from a disease called Golden Retriever Uveitis.  One complication of the disease is Glaucoma and Hubbell definitely has this in both eyes.  Since he was diagnosed, we've been treating him with anti-inflammatory medications.  This condition is not treatable, however, and these measures were undertaken to hopefully decrease pressure in his eye and prolong surgery.

Last Wednesday Hubbell awoke and we could tell immediately that something was seriously wrong.  After just a couple of minutes, it was pretty clear that he was totally blind.  Hubbs was scared and frantic.  He didn't want to move from our bedroom and, each time he attempted to walk anywhere, he'd run into furniture or toys.  A visit to the doctor proved that the pressure in his right eye was "off the charts", Hubbs was in some pretty serious pain and it was time for surgery.  The eye specialist did say that he has some limited vision remaining in his left eye but, honestly, I don't see it.  He's slowly adjusting to his new state but he does need a lot of help.  

At first, when the doc said it was time for surgery, I was very emotional and started crying.  I don't know why.  I knew this day would come....I just didn't know exactly when.  It didn't take long for me to realize how silly it is to have an emotional attachment to something causing him so much pain!?!  The surgery will make him so much more comfortable and may even help with the vision in his left eye.  I'm trying not to worry too much about the surgery or his recovery although I'm very curious about how his wound will look and how quickly he will adjust.  For me, I don't care how he looks....to me, he will always be the most gorgeous red Golden that ever existed.  And it's hard to be sad when he's had a lifetime of looking like this.......

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, how I will miss these gorgeous eyes......

Hubbsie, my whole life I dreamt of having a red Golden Retriever.....and you not only fulfilled that dream but you smoked it.  You are truly the most handsome dog I've ever known.  Thank you for being a dream come true, as well as the purest and most gentle soul I've ever known.  I can't wait to take care of you for the rest of your days!

Happiness is.....

~ This little birdhouse that Sophie painted....

~ Realizing I recently hit my 400th post!! (See 300 & 200)

~ Clara wearing her new handknit cap from my sweet, sweet grandmother!  Mom arrived today for a week-long visit (YAY!) and she brought them down with her.  Thanks to my lovely Grammy and to Mom for being the lucky delivery person! (Still attempting to get a shot of Sophie wearing hers.....)

~ This yummy cinnamon/chocolate chip cake that I made tonight. It may not look great but it sure does taste great!  (Found here.)

~ Getting through the last few chapters of this book.  I'm so glad I've read it.  It's a hard read but important.  Makes me feel so very thankful for every little thing I have in my life.  I wish more people would read this book. 

~ Hubbell.  My favorite old guy.  My anchor.  He had a rough day today.  But I can't stop thanking my lucky stars that he's ours.  It's such a pleasure in my life to take care of him in his old age.....to give him everything he needs and to make him feel loved....the way he's always done for me. Senior dogs are the best dogs!

 

Spending a Day With Friends

Well, hello there!

It's been a while, no?

Life has been so busy. Sophie was pretty sick at the beginning of last week and we even made a trip to the emergency room Tuesday night after Soph suffered an allergic reaction to an antibiotic.  It was scary and I was so relieved and happy when we got past that.  This long weekend came just in time.  Today the weather was mild and sunny.  After breakfast Alain had the great idea to go to the zoo. It was late but we packed up everyone quickly and drove the hour and a half to get there.

SO GLAD WE DID.

The North Carolina Zoo is an amazing place. The best zoo I've ever been to.  It's the most friendly to animals, attempting to mimic their natural habitats and giving them places to hide and rest if they get stressed out by all the people.  Some visitors complain because they don't get to see all the animals they'd hoped to see.  As for me, I care about the animals infinitely more than my selfish needs to feel entertained. Don't we go to zoos to learn more about the animals?  I'll never like zoos but, as long as they exist, I will feel better about going to one that tries to do what's best for the animals.  And, as you can see from some of our pictures, we saw plenty!!!!

{Chilean Flamingo}

{Blue-Naped Mousebird}

{Scarlet Ibis}

{Eclectus Parrot}

{Western Lowland Gorillas ~ look closely at the female on the left to see one of the baby gorillas hanging out on Momma's arm}

{Nkosi, the Silverback Male ~ he was sitting right in the sun and, of the 20 or so pictures I took, I couldn't manage to get one without that sunny glare ~ still, how gorgeous is he?}

{Acacia, the smallest female in the group and the only one without a baby ~ she shared a moment with Clara who stood right at her level}

{Two of the Momma chimps watch over as their babies play}

 

{Two of the chimp babies playing & swinging}

{Amazing little baby chimp exploring the world}

{A great view of the baby giraffe}

Three chimpanzee babies, two gorilla babies and one giraffe baby.  Pretty amazing stuff.

And the Aviary there is certainly one of the best I've ever visited. My girls loved it as much as we did and that makes me pretty happy. In the years that I volunteered at this zoo, I usually experienced kids complaining to their parents and asking to see something more exciting!!!  What?

Today just happened to be Clara's very first trip to the zoo.  Silly us.....we were so busy taking photos of the animals that we forgot to take a picture of Clara!

On the way home, Alain asked Sophie if she'd had a fun time at the zoo today, and she replied (I do quote), "AMAZING!".  Our hearts soared. Any parent reading here can understand that!

NC Zoo, we'd missed you!

A Friendly Reminder

Have you fed your birds this winter?

Last week I brought our bird feeder inside, took the entire thing apart, and scrubbed it down. Now it's back up, full of sunflower seeds, and the birds are having a blast.

A little seed = A lot of happiness!

Tweet tweet!

What fills us is real, sweet, dopey, funny life.

Who wrote that?  Oh how I wish it was me. What a beautiful little sentence.  But it's actually Anne Lamott.  Have you ever read one of her books?  If not, get thee to a library or bookstore pronto. She is a genius writer.  But I didn't come here to discuss Anne Lamott.  I came here today to share this wonderful article that she wrote (which I found on Simple Mom's Weekend Links post).  

I couldn't agree with Anne more.  My house looks like a pigsty most days. Paper, unread mail, old catalogs and half-read magazines litter the counters. It happens more often than I'd care to admit that I don't invite people over because it's too messy or my house needs updating.  BUT it's because I let those things go that I feel pretty full inside and I feel like my kids are happy and healthy and have a beautiful sense of wonder. People often tell me they don't have pets because dogs are too messy and birds are too loud.  Yet those folks don't know much about the endless, unconditional, affectionate love of a dog or the quirky fun and beautiful songs I get from my birds. Standing in my kitchen and having the birds fly around  me divebombing my head brings me so much joy! That's their language and their way of communicating and playing with me.  My house might be full of fur and bird feathers and seeds but my family knows the soul of these animals. It's such a gift and so priceless!  I don't wear makeup or fix my hair often but I read some damn good books. Our bed isn't always made but my girls and I have fabulous tea parties. Aren't those the things that make life worth living? When my end comes, I like to think that people won't remember my messy house or that my hair never looked good but the more important things.

Anne Lamott, thanks for bringing some soul into my morning.

Note: These photos have absolutely nothing to do with this post. But I couldn't have two photo-less posts in a row and these self-portraits of Clara & I making dinner seemed somewhat appropriate.  If only you could see the disastrous mess on the counters behind us!

Books Read in 2012

As I was putting together yesterday's post, I realized I hadn't yet posted about all the books I read in 2012. Last year was the first year I took the time to track each and every book I read.  I loved it. This year I kept track by pinning the books on a board.  So, here's my list for 2012 with my favorites marked with asterisks. Please do tell if you've read any of these and your thoughts/opinions.

1. The Element by Ken Robinson  *****
2. A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison ***
3. The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar ***
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
6. Heaven Is Here by Stephanie Nielson ***
7. The Blueberry Years by Jim Minick
8. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
9. Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
10. The Mesh by Lisa Gansky
11. Waiting for Birdy by Catherine Newman
12. In The Pleasure Groove by John Taylor ***
13. You Can Buy Happiness (And It's Cheap) by Tammy Strobel
14. Active Hope by Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone ***
15. Too Much Magic by James Howard Kunstler
16. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I've included the Amazon link to each book in case you want to read the summary, see the reviews, read an excerpt, etc.  I also added a few notes for each book on my Pinterest board.

Tell me, did you read a lot this year?  Any favorites? What do you intend to read in 2013?  The book I most look forward to reading in 2013 is Brene Brown's Daring Greatly.

Note: Ken Robinson's book got some extra stars because I find his books particularly inspiring. Have you ever seen his original TED talk?  I read recently that it's the most watched TED video of all time.

Reading, Watching, Listening

HELLO 2013!!!

As I usher in 2013, I've been reading, watching and listening a lot.  Hence my lack of blog posts.  Here's a peek at what I've been reading, watching and listening to......now, it's your turn, how about you???

READING:

Just finished...

Now reading...

With this one on the backburner just waiting....

WATCHING:

Just finished watching Season 1 of this show.....(thanks, Little Brother!)...

Not sure yet what my opinion is on the show but let's just say that I intend to watch Season 2. (Obvi, we're the ladies! ~ love that!) I'm intrigued by Lena Dunham. She's obviously talented and I LOVE how she puts herself out there.  I admire it, actually. For this reason, I watched her movie...

...but I quickly found myself wishing I'd spent that hour and a half doing something else.  Sorry, Lena.

Also, I recently watched this movie:

....and let's just say that I liked it enough to add it as one of my favorites on my Google profile.  I cannot wait to own this on DVD.  And the music is so incredible!

LISTENING:

I have a confession ~ in general, I really do not like children's music.  At all. There are some exceptions, like certain Raffi songs. But I usually stick to artists like Bob Marley or Van Morrison or Miles Davis or Nina Simone....beautiful music that (luckily) appeals to my children as well.  How pleased I have been to discover Elizabeth Mitchell.  My mom bought us both of these CD's....

.....and I find myself wondering how I've managed to be a parent for 6+ years without music THIS GOOD. I'm not at all embarrassed to admit that I listen to it even if my children are not in the car.  It's so, so, so beautiful.  I'm hard pressed to even say which of these two CD's I like better.  Elizabeth Mitchell, thank you.

So what am I missing?  Tell me,what are you reading, watching, listing to????