My Life.Feeding 3 dogs & 11 fish

We landed in Los Angeles at 5:00AM Saturday morning after a sleepless night on the airplane. After a two hour lay over, we boarded the next plane for a short trip to Sacramento. Within a half hour of landing, we had our luggage, retrieved the car and we were on our way home to greet our three screaming dogs.

I had kind of a feeling that there was something up with the dogs but I had not acted on those feeling by calling our wonderful pet sitter. Well, it was nothing but my poor pet sitter had a bit of a problem. On thursday, he went out to walk the dogs and our front door lock jammed. He is a resourceful guy and he and our neighbor attempted to unjam the lock. But after that failed, he found a way to get into the house that was very resourceful.

Now if he had called me, or I had used my intuition and called him, I could have made life a bit easier for him, but as I said, he did very well. Wait a minute, I have to make a call to a Locksmith!!

Done, appointment made!!! 

Hawaii was wonderful as usual. Kauaii is our favorite Island and this is our fourth trip in four years to the Island. We bought a time share at the Marriott to years ago and it was almost like going home. This time we asked for and received a ground floor, garden view unit that allowed us to sit outside and watch the people and birds pass on by.

Did I say birds?? Yes and the majority of the birds were chickens. In 1992 Kauaii was hit with a severe hurricane and I have heard several reasons why there are so many chickens. One was that was a great deal of Cock fighting and as the hurricane approached the breeders protected their prize birds and left the others to fend for themselves. Another is that the chickens are raised "free range" and with no natural enemies they were and are free to range.

There are chickens everywhere and having a ground floor unit was a great opportunity to visit with them up close and personal. Every morning we sat outside on the patio and fed the birds as they multiplied exponentially. One turned into two,two turned into four and soon we had sixteen or more birds and chickens. The Roosters were a bit agressive and tended to chase away the smaller birds. So my son-in-law asserted himself and the rooster stayed away.

We spent our days swimming at the pool and the beach, walking and just plain relaxing. Other than our three trips to the grocery store and an occasional lunch out, we cooked and ate at home. The resort has banks of barbeques and at dinner time they are full of men who wait their turn to grill their dinner.

There are many beautiful sights on the island of Kauaii but this being our fourth trip, we had already visited the Wiamea Canyon three times, once by helicopter and twice by car. We also had sailed to the Napali Coast on a Catamaran and we visited Hanalei on the other side of the island.

I also celebrated my birthday on Kauaii and in honor of my birthday, Alyssa and I spent the afternoon of my birthday at the Hyatt Spa. It was amazing as always.

The best part of the trip was time spent with the kids and Blake. He is adorable and so grown up at almost seven months. His smile traveled with him wherever he went and kept us all smilling away. Everything made him laugh especially when we sneezed. Looking at life through the eyes of a child made me realize how simple life could be if we lived in the now, like babies and dogs.

I am still very mixed up with the time and I didn't even realize that it is five o'clock, time to feed the dogs. I think that my time will be even more crazy as I head out to New Orleans on Thursday. Three hours behind in Hawaii and I think two hours ahead in New Orleans. I will never get the time straight.

Meanwhile I savor every moment of our magical trip to Kauaii! I only have to look at the sunburn on my body (ouch!!) to remember standing at the beach as the waves washed over me. Until next year..ALoha Kauaii!!

We just got back from Seattle and it was way cooler. I tagged along with Ira when he went there on business. It was so much fun to hang out with Hirsch and his parents. At 6.5 months he has turned into a little boy who moves around, screams in delight, laughs and eats from a spoon as well as from the boob and bottle!

I had the priviledge of feeding him his rice cereal,banana and breast milk. The first day of feedind we tried avocado and he disliked it so much that he shook when it went down the pipe. The expression on his face was soemthing to see.

When we switched to the above mentioned combo he got the hang of it. The first time, more came out then went on in. Then he got the hang of it and by the second try, he openend his mouth in anticipation. It is amazing how such a small thing was such a big thrill for me (LOL)!

He has also found his voice and he uses it loud and clear. His screams of delight last a minute or so. I think he is not far off from talking.

It will not be long before I see him again as I am going to travel to New Orleans and babysit for Hirsch while his parents attend a wedding. That will be just after we come back from Hawaii.

I am looking forward to Hawaii for several reasons. First we are going to our time share so we know the place. Therefore vacation starts immedietely when we step off of the plane. Second, Blake and his parents are going with us so it means another week of being a grandma, up close and personal!!

This is a busy fall for us so I cannot complain that I am bored!!  Tomorrow is Monday and I have lots to do!!  So I will sign off for now!! 

I am really not journaling enough and I am really not accomplishing a lot! It is summer and being back on an accademic schedule of sorts I am multi-tasking at its worst.

First it has been very hot here and I am reluctant to go out in the heat. I walk in the early morning and late evening, 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM and hibernate during the day.

Second I have lots of things to do...a new responsibility with my volunteer work for the SCHOOLS group (Sun City Helping Our Outstanding Lincoln Schools). I am now in charge of providing volunteers to the five Lincoln elementary schools. It is a new job with a large learning curve. I see it as a challange that will eventually get easier!

JCCARE (Japanese Chin Care And Rescue) has also kept me busy. I am on my third home visit and my second foster. I am not complaining, just busy! It was very interesting vacationing (an Oxymoron) with four dogs! I am happy to report that Tychee is settled into his forever home!

Ira is traveling a bit having just returned from Chicago and leaving on Sunday for a Golf Tournament. He traveled when I had the four dogs and that was very interesting. I have to make a point of going out and being with people.

Did I mention Summer School. I volunteered in the first grade and the fourth grade twice a week and now that summer school is over, I miss it! But it was also my responsibility to staff the summer school volunteers and that kept me busy!

It is Yoga that has definitely saver the day. I have made the time to attend class four or five times a week. I am bummed that I could not go today due to the fact that I await a shipment from UPS that requires a signature. My body, mind and soul missed this day of Yoga!

I love shopping the internet but having to be around from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM to await a shipment means that I have to keep busy at home. We actually ordered a set of Patio furniture on line and Fed Ex delivered it right to our garage.  That day I had two deliveries and the second deliver arrived after 7:00 PM.

Next in line of to do's is my by-weekly column in the Lincoln News Messenger. My last column was a piece of writing was on our Oxymoron Vacation to Lake Tahoe with four dogs. It was a bit cathartic for me as loving and letting go of Tychee was difficult and rewarding at the same time. He was a sweety but he really disrupted our family of dogs. His attatchment to me turned into aggression towards my other dogs, especially Taiko and it took Taiko several weeks to both forgive and forget.

This week I wrote an article about a local band. I started writing after lunch and when  I finished I it was about 4:30. Writing with the aid of a computer is so much easier than writing with paper and pencil. The editing is so much easier. I continuously write, read it out loud, and edit. When I think I am finished, I read the entire piece three or four more times, changing as I need to.

When I am confident that it is my best work, I email it off to my editor. She does some editing and it appears in the paper the following week. I am very happily suprised with the amount of people who tell me that they read my column, "The Heart of Lincoln". I focus on positive aspects of life in Lincoln!!

What else is going on?? Well we purchased the patio furniture for our new front courtyard. This is a job that has gone on way too long. The contractor who is also our landscaper is a multi-tasker at it's worst. He is working on three projects at one time and not successfully completing any of these projects.

The big question is.....Will the project be complete before we come back from Alaska? The answer is yes or no. Yes will be great and no will cost the contractor money! I will keep you posted!

That leads me to Alaska. We are going on an Alaskan Cruise, leaving from Seattle. It is a family affair as it was organized by my sister Janet. Her family, my brother Andy and his family and my parents are all cruising with us.

The cruise departs from Seattle and Alyssa, Vince and Blake are joining us at the home of Sheryl Heath and Hirsch for a pre-cruise weekend.  The Ackley's are hosting a Saturday evening barbeque for all of us!

This is our third cruise on the Alaskan Inside Passage! It will be wonderful to see my family and spend an entire week together and as the time to leaves grows nearer I am really getting excited.

The inside passage is indeed "eye candy" to the soul! I can't wait to depart. Each time we cruise Alaska we find amazing excursions and this time is no exception to that rule. On the last two cruises, we flew and landed on the Mendenhal Glacier. We have been Salmon Fishing and Whale Watching. On the last cruise about four years ago, we ended up walking into the wilderness to canoe on a Glacier Lake. Rule number one, don't stand up, rule number two, no swimming. If you don't break rule number one , you won't break rule number two!

Just yesterday, we booked out excursions for this cruise. Ira recently  bought a very fancy camera and it will get some great use in Alaska. All but one port of call is a new port, Sitka was replaced by Skagway and so we will revisit Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria.

I can't wait to visit Ketchikan and the shop where I purchased my beautiful stained glass!! I can't wait to take a buggy ride so that the guide can tell me that when looking for a man in Alaska, "the odds are good but the goods are odd!"

We have booked an excursion in Juneau. Ira will definitely use his camera on this Land and Sea Photography Tour. Our guide will be a photography expert and his/her expertise will be fabulous!

In Sitka we will join another water/land tour, a Sea Otter Tour that promises that we will see all kinds of animals. Even better, we are joining my  my sister and her family.

So I begin my process of getting ready to leave and I think I will wish this week away. I need to get the dogs settled in with their new dog sitter. I need to get their food ready. I have already started to gather items that I need to pack and mostly have my wardrobe (adventuresome for day and nice for evening) ready to go!!

The list goes on but I am in that state of anticipation! But what I love about cruising is the fact that once we board, I can breath a big, big, sigh of relief and relax!  I can't wait!!!

It has been a while since I have written in this journal. I have been busy with another dog, a vacation in Lake Tahoe, my column and my volunteer work. I have so many other things to do but writing is always a pleasure and never a chore.

I know what you are thinking? "Another dog? She already has three. Well two weeks ago I picked up another male at the SPCA. His owner died and relatives dropped him off. They called JCCARE (Japanese Chin Care and Rescue) and I picked him up. I ended up keeping him with us and we went to Lake Tahoe with four dogs.

Not to worry, he is not staying, he is a foster. But his new family is going on vacation and he will be with us until July 30th. Needles to say four dogs is a lot of dogs and a lot of work. Here in Lincoln, I walk them two times a day and when Ira isn't home it means two walks two times a day.

In Tahoe, we have thirteen outside steps to get to a "pee place" and I think I lost about five pounds walking up and down the stairs. I also realized that my back felt so much better after the five or six times I walked up and down the steps. 

The babies and their parents were with us in Tahoe to celebrate July 4th and Ira's 60th birthday. Where has the time gone?? We all agreed that is was different being up there with the babies. Yes the babies hiked with us but naps and feedings were always first priority. We did find out that Blake loved the swimming pool.

Luckily, it won't be too long before we see the babies and their parents.  We are cruising to Alaska on August first and leaving out of Seattle. Alyssa and Vince are coming to visit. We are cruising with my sister, brother and my parents and they too will get the opportunity to see the babies 

The phone rang the other morning at around 6 AM my time. When I opened my eyes and looked at caller ID I noticed that it was a call from my sister. Over the years of living on the west coast I know that those off hour calls are either an ooops..I forgot it was three hours earlier in CA or not good news.

This call was not good news, but not terrible news. My sister was calling to tell me that our father had slipped and fallen and was in the hospital. It has been a few days since that call and I am happy to say that he is doing better and will be home soon!

I would have been happier if the early morning call was from Ira. He is even farther away in Germany. The time difference is nine hours so if he calls me early in the morning it is late afternoon in CA. We have had to perfect the art of timing calls so that we do not wake each other up. But with the long hours that he works while he is in Germany, any time of the day or night is a great time to connect.

I have also realized that email is a wonderful way to communicate. He has an i-phone and is in touch via email anytime of the day or night. I work hard at not emailing in the middle of his night because I know that the sound of the "bing" will wake him up. But, we have a chance to communicate and that is a good thing.

Ira has been out of town since last Saturday and it is just me and the dogs. I don't know who misses him more, me or Marty? Marty has been a regular butt head each and every night. Someone explained that he is acting like the "alpha male" in absence of the "alpha male".

Bed time means that Marty jumps into bed and antagonizes all three of us girls. He attempts to bite my feet while barking humping Taiko. Ping finally steps in to rescue me and she humps Marty. Bedtime has become a "three ring circus".

Today is Wednesday and Ira is landing in San Francisco at noon on Friday...I am not counting the hours or anything. He has been traveling back and forth to Europe for two years but...it is hard on both of us. Luckily he doesn't go to often, only two or three times a year.

When Ira is out of town I go shopping, but not in the normal sense of the world. I have found some wonderful discount stores that allow me to shop and shop, and touch and feel the items and think about whether or not I need it. It is great concentration to pick out the perfect frame, journal or new place mats for my table.

This week I went to the Home Goods and Tuesday Morning stores for my "shopping fix". At Home Goods I found this stain remover and it was so good I went back again to buy some more. I had stained a top that I loved and paid a lot of money for and could not get that stain out of that top until I tried this stuff. Eureka...I now can wear the top again.

I have to sign off as I am going to dinner with a friend and then to a MAC Users group with her. And then I will go home to another night calming down my alpha male dog who misses his dad, almost as much as I do!!  Hugs Eileen!!

I think that it is easier for me when I am busier and I am busy with Summer School and preparing for the fall volunteer placement.