That Hobbit Lady

There is a prediction of snow for the morning. By some accounts, it could be as much as one or two inches, or even up to four inches, if we get some “heavy bands.” I’m excited to think about having snow, but I have to keep reminding myself that there have been times in the past when snow was predicted, then absolutely nothing materialized. So I guess this is strictly a case of “Time will tell.”

If it snows, I’ll post some pictues. In the meantime, here’s a beautiful pic I took two years ago, when we had a fairly impressive snow.

We’ll see if tomorrow’s snow can match this one. Or…perhaps this one?

Last week, Russ’ great-aunt Dorothy died. She was 93. She lived in the Tuscaloosa area all her life and was a true “Southern Belle.” Up until only the last few weeks or so, she was extremely active, going to the beauty parlor to get her hair done twice a week, and playing cards with the girls on a regular basis. Two or three years ago she was still making divinity candy and fudge for everybody she knew for Christmas. In addition, she loved Alabama football and Atlanta Braves baseball, and could intelligently talk sports with hard-core fans one-quarter her age. She was a strong lady who will be missed.

When I moved to Alabama, it was into the old 1926 house that she had grown up in, which she had been renting to Russ for almost a decade before I arrived. That house needed some repairs, but did not lack charm. One of the things I miss most about that house is the beautiful rose bush just outside the kitchen window. By some accounts, that rose bush was nearly as old as Dorothy! Well, I’ve heard it could be up to 80 years old. And while we lived there, with absolutely no care or maintenance on our part whatsoever, it would always offer up a multitide of gorgeous red roses each spring and summer.

Lately, when we drive by the old empty house, that rose bush is not looking so good. I think it just feels it has no reason to bloom, with no people there to enjoy its flowers. And now that Dorothy is gone, it’s uncertain who will end up with the house, and what might become of it, and what might become of the rose bush.

So tomorrow (with Russ’ blessing) I’m planning to stop by the property and take a few clippings from this ancient rose bush and see if I can’t get them to root, and maybe hopefully someday propogate some roses of my own. I’ve never tried anything like this before and really have no idea if it’s going to work, but I’ve read a little about it on the internet, enough to make me think I should at least try. And I also feel that Dorothy would heartily approve of any attempt to help her roses continue to bloom.

I will keep you up to date on the progress of my clippings.

Well, it looks like it’s been several weeks since I’ve been here. In that time we’ve gone through Christmas and New Year’s, and then a nice three day vacation to the coast. Now it’s back to work (which is not as frantic and busy as it was just before the Winter Break), and last night, Alabama won the National Championship! So it’s all good.

I gained back about seven pounds over the holidays, but now it’s time to get back on track, and two pounds have come off already. But I hate this yo-yo-ing. It’s such a pain to have to re-lose the weight you’ve already lost once. But what’s done is done and the only thing I can do is to start from where I am right now.

That means I’m back to “No Flour, No Sugar,” which has worked so well for me before. In addition, I think I want to cut back on animal products as well. Maybe not “cut out” completely, but at least cut back. We got to see Mary and Ken over the break, and Mary’s looking really good, and I’m sure a lot of it has to do with her healthy eating habits. She’s eating vegan, and I do believe it’s really healthy, and someday I might get there, but for right now I just need to make baby steps in that direction.

There are levels of vegetarianism, and there are various reasons why people become vegetarians, some for health, others to be kind to animals. I agree with the “Be kind to animals” philosophy, but honestly, if I cut back on meat, that won’t be why I do it. For me, it’s more about my personal health. Basically, I’m more concerned about myself than I am about animals in general. Maybe that sounds a little self-centered and selfish, but it’s true.

So anyway, here’s what I came up with: on certain days, I may decide that “If an animal had to die to give me this food, then I won’t eat it.” I want to cut back on eating dead stuff. Now, if we’re talking cheese and yogurt and eggs, I’m okay with that. Animals don’t have to die to give us these products. I don’t think they are the healthiest things we can eat, but in comparison to a lot of the other garbage we actually eat, not really so bad. I’d rather eat eggs and cheese than Snickers bars and Krispy Kreme donuts.

So I’m putting this idea out into the world right now, to make it real for myself, and to help encourage me to eat better. No flour. No sugar. And on occassion, no DEAD animal products. I think I’d like to try that for a while. It’s too much of a drastic change to suddenly NEVER eat animals again—especially when I’m giving up flour and sugar at the same time—and I don’t want to try to do too much as once, which makes it more likely I’ll fail. So for the time being, I’ll just ease into this new way of eating.

I know from personal past experience that I FEEL better when I’m eating healthier, and I’m hoping that as I begin to feel better, I’ll be encouraged to make bigger changes. But you’ve got to start somewhere, so this is where I’m starting.

It’s been sort of a quiet Christmas, which is just the way I like it. Last night we went to Russ’ sister’s house, where I ate way too much really delicious and rich foods, which in turn led to a restless night with a tummy ache. It’s my own fault, I know, buty I am really getting ready to get back on a healthy eating plan once again. (I guess that’s why New Year’s comes right after Christmas!)

Today we stayed in all day and worked on the blog and the podcast, waiting for potential storms and tornadoes to arrive in the evening. I say “potential,” because it’s just after 6pm now, and we’re in the middle of a thunderstorm, but the map does not seem to indicate any tornado threat coming our way. I’ve got the battery-operated radio in the closet, my sneakers on my feet, rings on my fingers, driver’s license safety pinned inside my pocket, and it looks like this will have all been for naught. Good. Better safe than sorry. Hopefully, we’ve steered clear of disaster once again.

We’re getting ready to eat some dinner and watch something on TV. This is always my favorite part of the day, any day, whether it’s a regular workday, or a holiday. Maybe we’ll watch this new show we discovered on TV last night, Dead Like Me, which is so far quite entertaining.

And now there will be several more days off, with hopefully better weather than we’re having today. Hopng to get some more work done on the blog and the podcast, and around the house, but first…a good night’s sleep would be delightful!

It’s now been officially a month since Boogins is gone, and we are adjusting to our new situation at home. Squee is getting more attention than ever before. He loves being able to eat some kibble now and then in addition to canned food, and we especially enjoy the automatic feeder that drops a serving of kibble at 4:30 in the morning, so he doesn’t have to bother us at the crack of dawn, saying “Hey! Get up! Feed me! I’m hungry!”

We’re letting Squee sleep on the bed now, and he’s pretty good about staying down by the feet, rather than trying to get right up by your face, on your pillow. Boogins would try to do that, and as much as I loved him, I didn’t want to sleep with a big pile of purring cat fur in my face. But Squee feels nice and warm down by the feet.

I’ve gotten Squee to sit with me a few times. Usually, I have to start out by pretending that I’m reading, so he feels compelled to interrupt what I’m doing. (Cats are fabulous at demanding all your attention when you’re otherwise engaged.) Once he gets settled, he’ll sleep a little while, and I even hear a bit of purring, but not very loud like a motor (like Boogs)—just a soft rumbling of air.

We’ve also set up a couple of “beds” for Squee in the two front rooms, where we spend a lot of our time. Now, we could have gone to the pet store and spent anywhere from $20 to “$50 each for an official “cat bed,” but instead I grabbed some old boxes from work and laid blankets in the bottom, and he thinks this is the best seat in the house.

The biggest change for Squee, though, has definitely been that he gets a lot more playtime now. As big fans of the Jackson Galaxy show, My Cat From Hell, we learned how important it is for cats to “hunt…capture…kill…eat…groom…and sleep”—in that order. We have a couple of toys Squee really enjoys “hunting,” particularly “The Fish” and “The Bird.” These are toys that dangle from a string on a stick, and you can bop that around and drag them on the floor in front of him, and he’ll jump and pounce and catch them over and over again.

A new element of play we’ve recently added is the reintroduction of “The Cubes.” These are big, lightweight, cat-sized cubes with holes so he can walk through, and best of all, HIDE INSIDE. One of Squee’s idiosyncrycies is that he’s a “burrower.” He loves to be hidden under things, and you’ll often find him slinking behind curtains or tryng to dig his way under a blanket. So he thinks “hiding” in the cube is “the cat’s meow”!

One more thing I’ll mention: hummingbird season is over, but I’ve set up a couple of wildbird feeders in the backyard, and now we’re pulling up the blind on the back door so he can look out and hopefully see the birds feeding there. I notice the bird food is disappearing, so I know they’re out there feeding during the day—just not sure yet if Squee has figured out how to enjoy his “Reality TV for Cats.”

We’ll be home now for Winter Break for the next week and a half, so we’ll have more time to spend with Squee, and see if he looks out the window at the birds, and more time to play with The Fish and The Bird and The Cubes. And hopefully some nice times of just sitting together with an unattended book, watching a contented cat softly purring as he sleeps in my arms.

After my recent post about how dramatic the world of college football can be, Russ had the idea that I ought to have a weekly football post, talking about the most recent news and dramatic events. Believe me, there would be no end of relevant material, but honestly, I know I just don’t have the time and the discipline to do something like this on a weekly basis.

But I will mention something now.

The New Your Jets are not doing so hot. Yeah, I know they’re not a college football team, but their second string quarterback is Tim Tebow, lately of the Florida Gators, and their third string quarterback is Greg McElroy, lately of the Alabama Crimson Tide. (Two of my favorite quarterbacks!) Their first string quarterback has been doing pretty badly, lots of interceptions, so a decision has been made to elevate one of the lower quarterbacks to the starting position. But it’s not going to be Tebow—they’re moving up McElroy!

If you’re a Crimson Tide fan, this is BIG. As a quarterback, McElroy hasn’t done anything BUT win football games—almost literally. He never lost a game in high school, and he never lost a game in college, until South Carolina in 2010. All told: three losses in his entire football career as a starting quarterback.

If there’s one thing McElroy knows how to do, it’s WIN FOOTBALL GAMES. So why not start him?

I’m not a fan of the NFL but I’m anxious to see how McElroy does in his new position, and whether or not he can turn things around for the NY Jets.

Now, one more thing about football, and then it’s off to bed. The other day Russ and I found this really great You Tube of Alabama football called “Finish,” showing some of the best examples of how we finish a drive to bring in a score. One of the things I really love about this video is the great music, by Jan Hammer. It’s interesting to me how football and music can really complement each other so well sometimes. Even if you don’t like football, you’ve got to love this music! Enjoy.

This weekend the new movie The Hobbit comes out in theaters. At first, I was very excited to see it, since I am obviously a fan of Lord of the Rings movies and the whole idea of Middle Earth and hobbits. However, a few weeks ago I read an article about how 27 animals died during the shooting of the movie, many of those deaths preventable, caused by poor conditions while keeping these animals on the movie set. I don’t want to go into details, because it’s too upsetting. If you want, you can read about it here.

If you read the article linked above, you’ll see that this story is not without controversy. While a spokesperson for the movie admits that some of the deaths were “avoidable,” the producers are not taking full responsibility. They contend that the complaints by fired (and thus disgruntled) employees, were perfectly timed to do the most damage to the premeire of the movie. They contend that these complaints should have been brought up immediately, not three weeks before the movei opens. The animal handlers making these claims contend that they DID say something at the time these conditions were present and animals were being injured and killed, and THAT is what got them fired in the first place.

It’s turning into a big “He said, She said,” and at this point I don’t know how possible it would be to get to the truth behind the matter, since there are so many emotions involved, and each side has so much to protect. All I know is this: I read this story, and I was sickened, and I realized that if I were to go see this movie, every time an animal appeared on the screen, I would be jumping out of Middle Earth to wonder, “Is that one of the poor animals that did not survive the making of this film?”

So I’m boycotting The Hobbit. Somewhat because I want to send a message that I will not support any activity that engages in killing animals unnecessarily, but also because I just don’t feel I’ll be able to enjoy the movie at this point. If it hadn’t been for recently losing Boogins, I don’t know if I would feel this strongly and emotionally about these animal deaths. I think perhaps I would have felt strongly, been upset and horrified, but maybe still wanted to see the movie. Now, I don’t even want to see it.

It occurs to me that this kind of thing probably goes on all the time, and if I knew about it, I might not be able to stomach any movie in which animals appear. I’m always comforted, during the credits, by the proclamation that the American Humane Society supervised and no animals were harmed during the actual filming. However, in this case, it was not during the actual filming that the animals were killed, but rather on the facilities where they were being kept. Who supervises that?

I know, I know. Here I am going on and on about the death of animals, when yesterday in Connecticut a crazed gunman went into an elementary school and killed 28 people, 20 of them children, many of them kindergardeners. What a tragedy. I’m upset and sickened by this, even more than by the Hobbit animal story. What is happening to our world? Why do things like this go on? None of this is right. I think I might have something to say about this event as well, but it will have to wait, because the emotions are just too jumbled right now, and I simply can’t find the words to express what I’m feeling about this situation.

But I have found the words to express what I’m feeling about the movie animal deaths, and here are those words: for whatever it’s worth, I’m boycotting The Hobbit. In the big picture, my boycott is not going to make or break this film, and is going to be too quiet to “send a message” to Hollywood (though, if enough people were to boycott, it would). Mainly, I’m doing this because I feel it’s the right thing to do, and it will make me feel better not to participate in any way, shape or form to the unecessary deaths of these innocent animals.

My mom always says it takes three weeks to get used to any new situation, and I guess it’s been about three weeks since Boogs has been gone. While to some degree I would say we’ve “gotten used to” him not being with us, right now, it’s still hard to imagine I’ll ever feel it’s “normal” that a member of our family missing. But then I remember that I’ve lost pets before—Max, Fritz, Cookie—and I know from those experiences that eventually you do adjust to the new dynamics in the household, you do learn to accept the “New Normal.” I’m just not there yet.

But over the last few days, I feel myself moving more and more into knowing and accepting that as time goes on, my thoughts of Boogins will be less about how sick he was and how difficult to take care of, and the sadness of losing him will eventually be replaced by what I’m calling “The Enchantment of Legend and Lore.”

Right now, I’m still very much feeling the emptiness when I sit down and a cat does not instantly jump into my lap. I try to encourage Squee to sit with me, but that is apparently “not his style”—though I did get him to sit with me a few days ago for about a half hour, and I’ve got to tell you, at literally twice Boogin’s weight, he is a very different kind of lap cat! But eventually I’ll get used to sitting without a cat (or I’ll get used to sitting with humongous Squee!) and the memory of what it was like to sit with Boogins will become more a tale that is told: “Remember how Boogie always used to want to sit with me? How I could never sit down without him being right there? Geez! He was one clingy cat, wasn’t he?” And I will say that with a smile…remembering….

Eventually everything Boogs did, all his little idiosyncrasies, will become the stuff of legend and lore. He will become “larger than life,” a charismatic presence that will live on vividly in our family history, long after he has left our family. In that way, he will never die, because the memory of him will grow—perhaps stronger, and most decidedly fonder.

I did a little research, and the Bible says there will be animals in Heaven. That makes sense to me, since I find it hard to believe that God would not see the beauty and value in an innocent and delightful dog or cat. After all, He created them, right? And it is surely no accident that at the same time God created kitty cats and puppy dogs, He also created something in us that perceives kitty cats and puppy dogs as lovable and adorable. (God probably also finds beauty and value in ants and rhinoceroses, but here I’ll hold off on the “loveable and adorable.” I’m not evolved enough yet for that!)

My belief is that our beloved animals go ahead of us, populating Heaven, waiting for us to arrive. They may not be there in the exact same form we remember, but I believe that whatever it was about our pets pet that made them so special to us, their life force, still exists, and we will once again get to experience the joy of that very special “person to pet” relationship. After all, how could Heaven be heavenly, if we did not get to enjoy God’s most delightful creatures?

But until I get there, and meet my pets again on the other side, on this side they will all continue to live in legend and lore, and will never die in my memory. Slowly, I’m feeling that Boogs is passing into that realm where he is becoming part of history, larger than life, another of many beloved dogs and cats who contributed in molding me into the person I have become, and who will always be part of who I am, right on into eternity.

I have a plan.

I’ve divided the house into 21 sections, each having its particular issues when it comes to keeping the area neat and tidy. Some sections are as small as the hall closet, others as large as the living room/foyer/dining room. You see, the small hall closet might actually require more attention than the huge living area, which is usually fairly organized, with maybe just some attention needed to making sure all the DVD’s are shelved properly. But in the closet, there’s all kinds of stuff just…stuffed in there. Smaller space…but bigger job.

My goal is to go through each section and give complete attention to bringing that area 100% into compliance with how I would like it to look — or, at least as close to 100% as I can get. Basically, I don’t want to leave that area thinking “Well, I’ll deal with that some time in the future.” No. The future is NOW. Now is the time to deal with it.

Ideally, I would start in one corner of the house, let’s say the master bathroom, and work my way through each area, step by step, so that it would be like a bulldonzer coming through, leaving no stone unturned. Eventually all the displaced items might just end up in the guest room at the front of the house, and sooner or later I’ll have to deal with what’s in there. But the good news is that, in the meantime, the rest of the house will have undergone a pretty major overhaul.

Then I had this idea today, a brainstorm about how to deal with the “stuff.” I don’t know about you, but very often I’ll acquire something, and for whatever reason, it just doesn’t work out. Clothes that don’t fit as comfortably as I’d like, kitchen gadgets that are more trouble to clean than they’re worth, health and beauty products that seemed great on the commercial, but just don’t really deliver.

Okay, let’s get real: Mistakes.

These items are mistakes. We all make mistakes. Sometimes it’s hard for me to admit I made a mistake, so instead of getting rid of the item that isn’t working out, I let it just keep hanging around—I guess hoping that someday it will magically be transformed into a useful and worthwhile item…or at least be worth the space it’s taking up in my house. It could happen…right? But in most cases, that magical day is never going to come.

So here’s my idea: Since it’s so hard to actually let go of some of these items, instead of putting them out on the curb or boxing them up for Goodwill….how about a “Limbo” solution of just boxing them up and putting them away somewhere, out of sight? At least for a short while. This could be a box that I revisit after a certain period of time….three months? six months? After six months, when I come to the box, I might look at this stuff and wonder why in the world I was ever hanging on to it in the first place, when my life has gone on perfectly fine without it.

On the other hand, I might say “Hey! Wait! I still might need or want this someday!” So back in the box it goes. For another six months. Each time I open the box, it’s likely at least something will come out to be disposed of. And eventually someday the whole box might be emptied.

I know it’s kind of a wimpy solution. I should be like those people on the hoarders shows who go through and clean out tons and tons of junk without ever looking back. But see, my situation is not desperate, I’m not motivated by the prospect of losing my kids, or being homeless. I just want everything to be more organized. I’m internally motivated, not externally. There are no pressing reasons to deal with any of this, other than the fact that I think if I could get this done, my life would be simpler and cleaner. And that would feel good.

So I’m going to give it a shot. And by the way, when I say “cleaner,” I’m not talking about actually cleaning anything as I go through this process. Cleaning is great! But that’s not what I’m trying to accomplish here, and if I stop to clean, it will just slow me down. Maybe after I’ve gone through and dejunked the whole house, I’ll start over from the beginning and follow the same path and do a good cleaning as well.

This is an ambitious plan. What I have working in my favor: Football Season is mostly over, so that frees up my Saturdays. What I have working against me: my own natural laziness, and a reluctance to make the tough decisions. I’m tryng to combat that reluctance with my “Put it in a box” idea, but not really sure what to do about the laziness. Well….I guess it’s not really “laziness,” it’s more like “lack of energy.” It’s not that I get home from work each day and veg in front ofthe TV all night long. Far from it! There’s plenty of other stuff to do each evening, but after that other stuff is done, I’m usually too tired to start a dejunking session, moving stuff about and making decisions. By that time, I’m ready for bed!

As I am now. It’s almost ten. I’ve been trying to write this post in between working on the podcast with Russ, and doing the dishes from dinner. It’s been another busy evening, now it’s time for bed, and maybe this weekend, I can get started on this new DeJunking Project!

Yesterday I wrote extensively about why I love college football. Last night Alabama played Georgia for the SEC Chamionship and WON! This one was for all the marbles (just about), since the winner of this game meets with Notre Dame in the National Championship game on January 7. That winner being….US!!!

It was a “Game for the Ages,” somewhat stressful to watch, not knowing how it was going to turn out, and afterwards Coach Saban even said, “I just about had cardiac arrest.” Russ claims he had his eyes closed for a good portion of it. Personally, I was on the edge of my seat for most of it.

Georgia was a worthy opponent, and they got a few lucky breaks, but in the end we outran them, outplayed them, and the better team won. Big-time win!! Absolutely amazing and totally wonderful.

Enjoy here a bit of the post-game pandemonium: