Joyful, Joyful, Various & Sundry

David arrived home for the holidays on Friday evening. He finished his final exams, picked up a friend and was routed (safely, by grace) around a huge accident on the snowy interstate. I wonder if I will ever take his safety for granted (doubtful about that).

On Saturday, he and Gregg proceeded to put up lights around our house and on the Christmas tree.

He helped to put the ornaments on, and we enjoyed a cozy dinner together before he set out to see friends in the city. Since we spent last Christmas in California, after David flew in from his semester in Italy, there is special joy in returning to our tradition of being at home together at this time of year...and there is always special joy in having David with us.

There is a little story behind this huge, wide tree.

We have a cherished tradition of going to a local tree farm to cut Christmas trees with our friends, the Brogans. You may recall that we met Dr. Tom when Katie was under his care in the ICU at Seattle Children's Hospital in 2006. Tom's family-centered care made a huge difference in all of our lives, and our relationship grew beyond the walls of the hospital, beyond the duration of Katie's illness. We are family friends, now. The Brogans have been coming with us to the tree farm to choose and cut our trees for several years; we make our way all around the farm, chatting, sometimes throwing a football or jumping over canals, and we have a meal together afterward.

We missed this tradition last year due to travel, so it was lovely to pick it up again this year, the weekend after Thanksgiving. David asked us not to cut the tree at that time, but simply to mark it and return to cut it later, so that it would stay fresh through all of the holidays. We agreed, and used the tree farm's system of tagging the tree and writing the location in their ledger.

When we returned to cut the tree about a week ago, we could not find it. We saw freshly cut stumps around the area we had been looking, and guessed that our tag had blown off in the wind, or that someone else might have taken a liking to our tree...so after looking for it for some time, Gregg and I decided to pick the next best tree we could find, and go with that.

It was cut, baled, and we were in the process of tying it to the top of our car, when I looked over my right shoulder and saw some familiar handwriting on a tag...my handwriting. Yes, there was our original tree, standing tall, waiting for us, in a different section of the farm than we remembered! I casually walked over and removed the tag. I felt sheepish for a couple of days, but the tree we have is lovely.

On a completely separate note: I have new glasses, and am trying to get used to wearing them every day. Here are my new, purple-and-black-polka-dotted trifocals:

And here is our watch"dog," watching us watch the Seahawks. We are hoping for a better outcome for the team next weekend!

Wishing you a happy holiday week!

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

...but that's where I've been for five action-packed days. I went to visit Maribeth, a.k.a. MB, who you  will recognize, if you've read my book.

Maribeth grew up in Kansas, and when her husband, Alan, was offered a job there, they moved back, after living here for about 10 years. I must say, while I was happy for them, I was sad for myself. Maribeth and I had a deep and rewarding friendship. We laughed hard, prayed together, shared family joys and difficulties, partied, celebrated and supported each other. She was with us throughout Katie's cancer journey, having survived cancer herself. She "got it." No words were needed, but all words were acceptable. A true-blue friend.

The silver lining on the cloud of her moving is the fact that she comes back to Washington often because her (young adult) children still live here. I love to host her in our home, and there is nothing better than sipping morning coffee in your jammies with a friend you haven't seen in months, or staying up late, drinking wine and talking about everything under the sun. I always love it when she visits. When she invited me to come to stay with her in Kansas, I jumped at the opportunity.

Part of the significance of the timing of my visit was the fact that Beth Moore, a Bible teacher who founded Living Proof Ministries, was coming to K.C. to speak and worship. MB has told me about Beth Moore for years, but I never opened one of her books nor visited her website. This was an opportunity to hear her speak, and to be inspired by a new kind of worship experience.

If you are a regular reader here, you will know that I tend toward the contemplative and mystical aspects of Christianity. I have been over the map from Christian Science to Presbyterian to Catholic to Buddhist & Sufi, and I was blessed by all of them at one time or another - and some are still blessing me. What I haven't experienced is Southern Christianity, and this event was a revelation on many levels. I am going to share more about that in the coming days.

Starting at the beginning, I decided to let God "have at me" on this trip. I had had a few unsettling encounters here which I needed to let go, and this trip came at just the right time. I opened myself to whatever God wanted to do with me, "unplugged" from my everyday life, let Gregg take on the responsibilities of home that I shoulder when he is overseas on business, and packed to leave.

As I was waiting at the gate to board the plane, Maribeth texted me with the devastating news that their sweet Lilly (a Boston Terrier, beloved by all) had died. What an awful way for her and Alan to start the day, and to have a guest arrive in the midst of it! But they welcomed me in spite of their grief, and we all showered their baby Boxer, Cissy, with extra love and attention.

I have never had a puppy in my life, and I fell in love with this one.

I miss her!

More to come...

Fig Leaves and Mixed Metaphors

I call Gregg "The King of the Mixed Metaphor." Over the weekend, he said one of the funniest, so far.

Andrea & Mike have a yellow labrador retriever named Sam, who is super-loving and enthusiastic. He's still a puppy, and I can tell he's going to be HUGE. They also have a seven-year old dog named Lena. Lena was adopted as an older dog, and she is a bit touchy. One day a while back, she snapped at Gregg. He has given her a wide berth ever since.

On our way up to Bellingham, Gregg informed me that he was not going to "extend the fig leaf" to Lena. I said, "I think you mean the olive branch. A fig leaf is what you use to cover your private parts; the olive branch is what you extend when you want to make peace." We both laughed until we were nearly incapacitated.

I love that guy. He is very entertaining.

I'm in Print @ City Dog Magazine!

I am in print this month!

My article is in

City Dog Magazine!

The article is about the Therapeutic Play Program at Seattle Children's Hospital, focusing on animal-assisted therapy (people and dogs working together). My hope is that the article will raise awareness and support for the program.

The two wonderful women I interviewed were great resources, full of interesting information, passion, inspiring stories and great quotes. We met some of the dogs ("pet partners") when Katie was a patient, so it was rewarding to learn more about the program, and the people & pets who volunteer their time to help provide this important therapy. Pictured here is Christi Dudzik of Healing Paws, and one of her pet partners, Teddy Bear.

Teddy Bear

From the City Dog Magazine website:

"In addition to independent pet stores and newsstands, CityDog is sold at Barnes & Noble, Borders, B. Dalton, Hastings and other major bookstores throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and northern California."

If you don't live near one of these outlets, you can go the website (the link is above) and order a subscription or an issue.

Thank you, Smileygirl, for being supportive of the idea of this article!

My Boyfriend

This is a photo of me and my boyfriend.

His name is Latte.

I wish I could videotape the blissed-out cat who is sitting on my lap. He is a huge, soft, white-gold fluff-ball of purring happiness. He can't get close enough to me; he has to be in the middle of whatever I am doing. He will plop down wherever I am trying to work...and he follows me if I leave the room, dogging my footsteps. He is like a dog.

His winter coat is silky, and thicker than any I have ever seen. He is a hunka-hunka burning cat-love, and he is MINE.

He looks at me with eyes of love and adoration that are real & true. He gets so relaxed when I rub his head and his tummy that he loses his bearings, and falls off the couch...head first. Note the back foot (thumper) that is stuck into my rib cage. He does this all of the time (I don't know why).

He loves me.

I think he thinks I'm his mother. Well, now, I guess I am.

His brother, Liger, loves me too, but Liger's first love is definitely David.

I have yet to win Chumley over, but I still have hope. Wrigley loves me, but Wrigs loves EVERYONE and EVERYTHING.

I hope that you and your beasts have a wonderful weekend.

*

If you are a praying person,

please pray for Codi's family.

She went to heaven today.

Motorboat, Motorboat

One of the greatest sounds on earth, for me, is the sound of a cat purring. It never fails to make me happy.

When Latte and Liger are ecstatically happy, their purring sounds like our outboard motor, set on idle, in calm water. I LOVE that sound.

(The outboard motor I am talking about is in the photo above.)

This is one reason why I am a cat-person. Dogs have wonderful qualities, but barking vs. purring? I'm going with the motorboat.

[Lest you dog-lovers feel slighted, there is no need. Our friend Joanne came over the other night with her awesome Corgi (named Beamer). Beamer walked right into the house, and we gave him snacks; he did tricks and sat on the couch with me. And Beverly (Karyn's Yorkie from NY) came for a visit, and had snacks AND used her potty-mat, in our house. We like dogs; we LOVE cats.]

Visitors!

Smileygirl brought visitors to see me today... from far away, across the country.

Karyn and her dog, Beverly, came to Poulsbo, all the way from New York!

We had lunch on the deck here at our house, and then went to wander through our little town, shopping, and seeing the sights. After that, we came home to get Gregg and David, and returned to town, to have dinner at

Burrata Bistro. YUM!

Bev can SMILE.

She models for the camera.

Look at that face, up close. She is truly smiling.

Isn't she so pretty?

(Karyn and Smileygirl are also very pretty and photogenic, but I've never seen a dog smile for the camera before. We took lots of photos.)

Bev is so good that she was able to go everywhere with us, without barking or causing any disruption at all! We shopped, visited a bakery, a coffee shop, a toy store, a bead store, met other dogs, ate in a restaurant, and she was an angel. She didn't even bark at Latte when they were in our house together.

And she liked me...do you think it had anything to do with the doggie treats that I had waiting for her at our house? Or that cheese cracker from the bakery? I don't know, but I'm so glad that they came to visit us.

Have a wonderful time during the rest of your trip, Karyn and Bev. We loved having you (and Smileygirl) here!