Ah love....

 A friend loaned me a DVD of a movie called "Love Actually." I had never seen it before and she felt that I really should.  It's not a movie I would watch with young children or even teenagers, but it is very good, with lots of twists and turns, and a very unusual nativity scene. I'm not sure when it was filmed but Hugh Grant looks young and it's showing in a square format on my TV.  If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.  But I may need to watch it again tomorrow to be absolutely certain it's as good as I think. Ok, they just mentioned something that happened in 2003 so it's old but not ancient.   

take a walk....

 Today is "National Take a Walk in the Park Day." That seems like an excellent day to me.  One of my great joys of living downtown is the fact that I can walk to four really lovely parks in less than twenty minutes.  One of my favorites, with the triple fountain and a view of the courthouse is only about seven minutes away.  Unfortunately, I couldn't walk today; too many other commitments, but I know my time is coming.  While I readily admit to my friends that I am a fair weather walker, my calendar tells me that it's only two days until April, when I should be able to depend on at least some sunny or at least not rainy days.  And here's another pleasure to look forward to;  when I take my longest walk, to Promenade Park, I can swing on the grown-up size swings. Yay!  I also readily admit that I am easily entertained.  A bit of history here, Fort Wayne is blessed with many beautiful parks thanks to generous donations from far sighted citizens over 100 years ago.

Puppy Love postscript...

 Continuing from yesterday's blog post, when the puppies were old enough to leave for their forever homes my father and step-mother took the little black dachshund who we had named Savage.  They renamed him Pepper, which was their right of course, and I'm pleased to report that he lived a long and happy life. I was glad that one of the pups had stayed in the family.  A few months after the last puppy left home my husband and I were having dinner with another couple and during the course of the evening, after we all updated each other on what our amazingly precocious toddlers were doing, I told them about our dogs and their puppies and what we had named them.  Suddenly the husband got very quiet. had a funny look on his face, and finally said "I have always wanted a black dachshund, and I always thought I would name him Savage." Had we only known.

time to share another memoir...

 

Puppy Love

When I was pregnant with our first child my husband and I traded in my trusty 1961 Corvair, with the rusted out floor boards and ’62 top, for a brand new 1971 VW bus camper conversion.  After bunny hopping around a large open parking lot, I learned to drive its stick shift, and when we weren’t traveling that bus became my car for the next 13 years.  

During that same spring the mother of one of my students brought a basketful of miniature dachshund puppies to school for show and tell. Clever mother.  They were about two months old and adorable.  I decided then and there that we needed a puppy and convinced my husband that the free puppy (free because he didn’t have papers) was a better deal than the shotgun he had been thinking about buying.  So we got the puppy and named him Remington.  It seemed like a fair compromise to me.  

After living and traveling with Remington and our baby (both very good travelers) for a year or so, we saw an ad in the paper for a female miniature dachshund “free to a good home” and decided that Remington needed a friend.  They hit it off right away, but it wasn’t until the first night of our first camping trip with both of them that Heidi came into heat, and they figured out all about the birds and the bees with great enthusiasm.  They truly kept that bus rocking for most of one night. A little over two months later Heidi had her litter of four perfect puppies, one blonde, one black and two reddish-brown.  Continuing the name game we had started with Remington, we named them Smith, Wesson, Savage and Winchester.  Heidi was a very good mother, and the puppies thrived.  Our son was entranced of course but learned to be careful with occasional quiet growls from Heidi.  

After two months we were able to place them all in good homes.  We sold the puppies for $20 each and thought we were in the puppy business.  Coincidentally, the last puppy went to her forever home the day before I went into labor with our second child.  

Sadly, some weeks later our vet discovered that Heidi had a congenital back problem and should not have any more puppies.  So we had her spayed and she and Remington became just friends.  When I told a cousin that Heidi couldn’t have any more puppies she asked if we were going to get rid of her and get another female?  I was shocked! You don’t give away family!  We all kept living and camping together for years after, and whenever we pulled out the camping gear to start prepping for a trip, Remington would jump on Heidi’s back.   Hope sprang eternal. 

over run with what??

I have never visited Taiwan, and probably never will have that opportunity, but, if you have the chance, here's something you might want to look into.  Once again this is information I would not have discovered if it weren't for my trusty page-a-day trivia calendar.  It seems that the tiny Taiwanese village of Houtong was once one of the country's major coal producers.  These days the mining industry has died off in that area but Houtong has become a tourist destination because they are, as the calendar says, "overrun" by cats.  Evidently cat lovers come to see all the cute kitties running around.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I am a cat lover, having had a few as pets over the years, but I think maybe cats, like so many other things are better enjoyed in moderation.  I remember once, on a bus ride through Portugal, we stopped at a charming village with an amazing view of some ancient walls.  We had time while there to enjoy refreshments in a local restaurant/bar.  We chose to take our drinks out to the arbor shaded patio.  It was a lovely cool place to sit and enjoy the view and the breeze, but there were a lot of cats roaming around.  They weren't bothering us exactly but there were a lot of them.  I'm not sure if I would enjoy a whole village full of cats.  

It's a dirty trick....

 This afternoon two friends and I visited with a high school class mate, so obviously a long term friend, who is suffering from dementia. It was a sweet happy/sad visit.  On the one hand she was delighted to see us and knew our names and even introduced us to one of the nurses.  She was well dressed and looked good.  The facility she lives in is excellent.  We talked about old times and family and friends and laughed a lot.  But as we visited sneaky little clues would pop up that all was not as it seemed.  She talked a lot about family but couldn't remember names, which isn't that unusual.  I often forget names; but not of my deceased husband or nieces and nephews.  It became obvious during our conversation that she thought she was still living in Chicago, and was somewhat distressed that she couldn't find her car.  At one point she was trying to use her tv remote control to phone her brother and didn't understand why he never answered her calls.  Then a little later, having tossed the remote aside and forgotten about trying to make a call, she told us quite clearly that she didn't have a phone any more.  I'm very glad we went.  Overall, it was a good visit, but I'm beginning to dread the time that will come when she doesn't know us anymore.  I will miss her quick smile and quirky personality.  I will miss her.

spell binding...

 I saw the musical "Godspell" at First Presbyterian Theater this evening.  I have previously seen this play performed at a different theater, not in Fort Wayne, but this production was far superior.  From the stage set to the lighting to the high energy dancing, excellent acting and powerful vocals this was an award worthy production.  Lucky for you, if you haven't seen it yet, it's on tomorrow at 2pm and next Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm at First Presbyterian Theater, 300 West Wayne.  It is well worth seeing, and the current Gallery exhibit of art done by First Pres members is also a joy to behold.