Wow, time goes so fast. I just heard that a dear friend passed away on Monday.

He lived on the West Coast with his family, so the last 20 years we didn’t see each other much. 

When I was a teenager, I belonged to a local church, and met my best friends ever there. We formed a folk group (it was the early 70’s) and sang everywhere together. We would sing at our church and then other churches and groups asked us to perform. We loved being together and would hold “practices” all the time. It was such a good time, and we would head out to Two Lights to be near the ocean, and talk and hang out…. such a different age then.

Mike was a couple years older than myself, and so cute! He had a white Mustang and long brown hair with rimless glasses and this ridiculous laugh that we all loved. I had a crush on him till I found out my best friend like him, then I stopped [G]. What you do for friends! 

One of our friends and her family had a camp on Sebago Lake and we would go up there and take a boat out on the lake , then play board games or just sing. We also had birthday parties all the time (and I still remember everyone’s birth date!) and any reason to get together was ok with us.We also did charity work together, and since Mike and one of the other guys was in college, we had some interesting discussions about life. 

A few years ago, Mike made a trip east. Most of us gathered at a friend’s house and pulled out guitars and spent the afternoon together, just like the old days. We taped it, thank God. 

I guess we didn’t know what a great time we were living in. Our folks never really worried about where we were, and it was safe to just get in the car and ride around, or hang out somewhere talking and laughing.  

Mike’s wife had a stroke having their last child (they had 5) This carefree “hippie” guy stayed by her side and helped her till she was recovered. He took care of the kids, and her and the house… he surprised us, but we knew the character was there all the time. 

He had 10 grandchildren when he died, wow! 

Good by Buddy, I hope you have your Mustang back. 

Val   

Sometimes I hate being right. I just heard from a recent client, a nice lady with a Golden who is very sweet. She was referred to me because her Golden wasn’t eating , seemed to have problems getting up and down, and just plain didn’t seem well. After $1300.00 in tests , her vet couldn’t find anything wrong.

While we were on the phone I felt some energy blockage in the kidney/liver area. She said they had checked everything. We discussed what to do and made the appointment. I had a lovely chat with the Golden and spent about an hour with her, doing a couple different types if energy work. I felt that she was very sluggish, achy, tired, and was having problems processing anything with toxins, chemicals, etc. During our session the words “Bone Cancer” appeared. Now this could mean anything, and I just report what I get. (for instance it could mean she was close to someone with this)

Anyway, I just heard from the Golden’s Mom, and she does indeed have cancer. She ended up taking her to Boston to a specialist, and there they found a large mass on her kidney pushing on her spine(bone) . Right now she is on meds, and we will do whatever we can to help her.

My first thought was — sometimes I hate being right. But then I had to pause. This is who I am, what I do, regardless of outcome(and I will be there with her till she crosses, which is a beautiful thing) or whether people doubt me, or I get strange looks [g], or whatever. All of it is beautiful . All of it is Life. We Love, we Learn, we move on, hopefully wiser, and with the knowledge that we are all here for a reason. Our animals are here for a reason. It is no coincidence that our lives mingle and mesh and in doing so we share what we have learned, consciously or unconsciously.

I made sure to tell the Golden’s Mom to thank her, to let her know she appreciated all she was going through. It helps, to know you are appreciated for your giving. The next time things go wrong, take a moment and thank the person responsible. This person has helped you grow and learn in a way that you might not have been able to. Now I know that it isn’t easy, and you may not do it right away, but when you have time to step back from the situation, look at things from a different angle. Take the “you” out of things and approach it as just 2 people(or 3 or whatever) and see if things look different to you.

Cher, our first Beardie had cancer. They gave her a few weeks. Eight months later, we had to let her go. She stayed that long for me. It wasn’t until the past few years that I could look at what happened, see where it has lead me, and realize that she set in motion the whole chain of events that brings me to where I am now. So yes I do thank her, every chance I get. She went through a lot, I went through a lot, as did the rest of my family, but she did it FOR us, not to us.

So maybe I don’t hate being right…….I feel sad for some that they must go through these things, but I am empathetic anyway [g] . When I look at it differently (for it isn’t my journey but theirs) I thank all of them, human or animal. We touch and are touched on our own journeys; what we do affects others. Go out on your journeys my friends, thank those that touch your lives , and leave Love wherever you go…. Forgive my rambling on this glorious day. Val

We need a new reality show….(we don’t have enough, right?!) You have heard of “Are you Smarter than 5th Grader?”…how about “Are you Smarter than Your Beardie?”

I play this on a daily basis. Every day the dogs go out to do their thing, wander the yard, check on the neighbors, etc. The boys are usually pretty good about coming back in (mostly because they are big Mama’s boys and want to make sure the other one doesn’t get too much attention) but Maddie likes to be convinced. Depending on what I am doing and how much I want her back in the house, the game varies.

“Maddie, where’s my pretty girl ?”(in a sing-song version of course)

A couple minutes later….”Maddie, Mommy has work to do, come, come , coooome” (still singing-keep that happy voice).

…and a few minutes later… ”MADDIE! Here we go! ” (I am done singing) ……

Now, the next part of this varies. I can either bribe her, or go outside and get her to come in. 

“Vanna, what did she choose?”

“Let’s take Bribery for 10.00.” (yes, I know I am mixing up my game shows)

“Maddie, come get a carrot (or birthday cake or cookie, although carrot is the stand-by — she will do anything for those).” In a few seconds I hear the pitty-pat of little Beardie feet as she makes her way to the door. I guess I lost that round, although I did get her in the house (but she did get a treat).

Let’s say I go outside to bring her in. She is usually waiting on the far side of the yard, sitting there, waiting to see what my next move will be. As I move closer to her she gets up and starts moving farther away from me. I put my head down and keep walking, moving in a circle around her, and by doing so, slowly work her toward the door. (see, I know how to herd!) Then, when she gets close enough to the door, my arms go out and I say “OK, that’s enough, let’s go in.” She will run for the stairs and when we get to the door, I tell her she is a good girl and we go in. I think I won that one, but she did get me to come out and “play”, so I’m not so sure…..

OK, here’s another one. I have to go into the way-back machine for this one. (some of you may know this story, but it is still funny)

Gracie was from my first litter of Beardies about 12 years ago. I kept her; she was just so “Beardie” to me and we just connected right from the first day. Anyway, she was about 10 weeks old or so, and I had her gated in the kitchen. I would go out and do my dishes, etc, and get my cleaning supplies.

At the time (notice I said ”at the time”) I had this big red feather duster. I could see Gracie eyeing it as I moved around the kitchen. I had to go into the other room, and thought, well she isn’t going to get this. I carefully put it in the middle of my long pine table in the kitchen (the kind with benches) and left the room for 5 minutes. Gracie was sitting in the middle of the kitchen.

When I came back she was still in the exact same spot. There was one slight difference……RED FEATHERS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are on the table, the floor, the counters, all over HER, woven into her fur, and some are gently wafting their way to the ground. I do wish I had gotten a picture of that. Her expression was simply…”What? I don’t notice anything?”

Then there is Mac…..and Traveler…and …hmmmm. Maybe I don’t want to play. Why would I want to play a game that I LOSE all the time. Oh wait, I do it everyday…right.

Well maybe it has its up sides.

Laughter, fun, friends, Love,………I guess I do win after all.

Val

Hi there. This is Traveler. I don’t rite much, as I am usually busy making sure my bruther Mac doesn’t get into trubble. (he likes to steal things in the sink,and I have to yell REAL LOUD so my Mom can tell him to get down) I also have to make sure that all of the bones and good toys are kept on my rug in the hallway. It is hard, as my sister Maddie steals them back and puts them on the couch (she thinks she’s special…just because she turned SEVEN!)

So I was taking Mom to obedience classes, and she was doing pretty good. It is hard for her to catch on sometimes, but we keep working, and I know she will get it soon. We have been working on this new thing- every night after Mom and Dad have supper, Mom is supposed to go out to the kitchen and give us something yummy. Sometimes we have a bit of chicken, or steak, sometimes it is a piece of a roll (although I like the chicken better, I reward her for that too) but the portant thing is that she does it every night. Training is hard, you have to be consistent, right?! Well I thought she was doing well and had finally learned the after supper trick.
Last night, they had supper and then she went and sat down! All that hard work I have been doing! So I waited , and when she didn’t pay attention, I had to gently nudge her. Well silly Mom, she still didn’t get it. So I jumped on her and raced out to the kitchen. I mean do I have to draw her a map?! She finally caught on, got up and came out to the kitchen. I was very glad since my favorite chicken tenders were on the menu.

Boy this training is never done is it? I know we have to keep doing things, and make sure that they get rewarded for all the good stuff, but sometimes I am not sure they will catch on. I won’t give up tho, she is nice and she likes it when I train her.

Ok, I have to go and watch Mac, and check for bones on the couch. My work is NEVER done…

Traveler