Blog

On route to San Diego airport.

On route from California, leaving from San Diego airport.

Soon I hope to add photos from what I did in between.  :)

Last weekend Rich and I visited a zoo about an hour plus away from us.  We generally go to relax some, and I like taking pictures if anything catches my eye.  I mostly get a kick out of the various birds strutting around — although some of the roosters are way too loud.  I shot the photos of the animals above through a fence using a small f-stop.  I wrote how I did this — or lens aperture — a couple years ago; you can read it here.

There’s nothing like a rainbow to end a day!

Wow, does Bud-Z have jump!  I’ve been working with Bud-z letting him off his leash for a while to run around the backyard.  I mainly keep an eye on him to see if there are any weak spots in the fence (amazingly a rabbit ate through the bottom of one area).  Last week, rather than wanting to get out of the yard, he decided to go up a tree after a squirrel.  Initially I stayed outside with him for about 1/2 hour.  He stayed with that tree, not going anywhere else.  I then went inside while continuing to keep an eye on him through a window.  He jumped and jumped and jumped more.  He threw his body up that tree with all of his might and did it over and over.  Every half hour or so I took a bowl of water over to him.  He lapped it up and then continued jumping.  Finally, after about 3 plus hours, he came into the house, panted, drank more water, and then went to sleep.  Interestingly, since jumping up that tree for those hours, he hasn’t jumped on it again.  And, he’s been much calmer.  Hmmm ….

It will be 10 weeks since Buddy died this coming Thursday.  It still hurts like heck to think about his sad fate.  I like to believe that Buddy is glad we’re taking care of Bud-z. We don’t know what Bud-z’s background was, and the little scars on his face above his eye tell me that he probably had some difficult days.  But when I see him laying on the grass in the shade under a tree, he seems to be smiling while soaking in the breeze.  He looks very happy, and that does warm my heart.

According to ABC News, “Thousands of people from Arkansas to Tennessee are fleeing their homes ahead of recording-breaking flooding. The Mississippi River’s record crest was 48.7 feet in 1937 and the Army Corp of Engineers expects the river to rise to 48 feet by early Tuesday morning.”

Here is information on how to help and donate:

Call  1-800-RED-CROSS or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the Red Cross (which will be added to your cell phone bill).

Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and/or text “GIVE” to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army (which will be added to your cell phone bill). Checks can be made out to the Salvation Army Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 100339, Atlanta, Ga., 30384-0339. Or visit www.salvationarmyusa.org, click on their donation page, and designate “May Floods.”

The United Way is collecting donations to support local nonprofit programs that are working to provide immediate and long-term recovery in the Memphis and Mid-South area

The Memphis ASPCA is accepting animals affected by flood and tornadoes who need a place to keep them safe. They will likely need more volunteers and supplies in the coming days and weeks. Contact them for more information or to donate to their efforts.

For updates on the flood, including a list of needed donation items being collected by the Hope Presbyterian Church (acting as a hub and donation center, to supply shelters), needed visit The Great Memphis Flood of 2011 page.

I’ve received some emails asking how our new dog is doing.  Well, he’s a bit of a handful, but our trainer has been a big help. When he’s outside, he stays on a long leash to help ensure that he doesn’t find a way out of the fence.  It was quite a surprise when I checked on him to find him on top of the hot tub (which has been a bit damaged after some of the nasty weather we’ve had).  I had to take a picture, but he quickly learned that is not an acceptable area for him to be in.

When I let him in the backyard, generally he is good, sits and waits while I remove one leash and put on his long leash on that is anchored into the outside ground.  He will sit until I say go. I also do let him run around, but I or Rich has to be with him.  Our trainer also told us to leave his regular leash on so that if we need to, we can grab it.  That being said, if I’m in the process of hooking up his leash and he sees a rabbit or squirrel, he can knock me right over.  That is what happened here, and off he went.  There was a long pool of water along our fence after days of wicked rain storms.  Of course he ran back and forth through that water, happy as can be.

Generally when he’s outside he sits guard.

And while lately I call him Bud-z, and sometimes PITA <g>, we are growing more fond of each other.

Susan Schrott a an online friend who is a multi-media artist.  She contacted me a few months back for a bit of graphic layout help, and as a thank you she sent me a beautiful necklace as a lovely surprise. Susan designed this pendant, called BEHOLD — recovery, self esteem, and confidence — for the Cedar Associates Foundation.  Cedar Associates is a non-profit that “specializes in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders and the problems that often accompany them.” In addition to being an artist and yoga instructor, Susan specializes in the treatment of eating disorders.

The pendent is sterling silver with a ruby gemstone, and it measures about 1″ x 3/4″  It’s a beautiful, empowering piece of jewelry that would make a lovely gift. I’m happy to share information about the necklace not because I received one as a gift, but because I think others would enjoy owning one – especially women who need a reminder of how special they are.  100% of the profits from the sale of BEHOLD goes to providing eating disorder treatment for those who need financial assistance.  Click here to learn more about the necklace and how you can purchase one.

Derry and I were in NYC for the annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk.  Being so close to the Apple store on Fifth, we had to visit yet again.  Such fantastic architecture and design, almost temple of Apple-like.

I haven’t blogged since Buddy died.  It’s taken a few weeks before I even felt like it, as I still miss him dearly.  Rich, however, has been pouring through images of dogs on Petfinder.com.  He found a dog that got his attention, and he wanted to meet him.  The problem was the dog was in West Virginia!  We decided to visit with him, but I made no promises.  It took us the entire day to drive there from NJ!  We learned he was in the shelter for over two years.  He was always passed over because of barking too much and appearing too aggressive. The people at the shelter recommended they take him out for us to meet rather than us going inside.

As soon as Rich met him, they went off for a walk.  I was told that he only had about a three minute walk a day, for over two years, and the people at the shelter were “amazed” he was walking so well with Rich.  I realized right then that the dog was coming home with us. The picture above is from him walking at one of the rest stops on the drive home.

We call him Budster, but sometimes Bullet because he is incredibly fast.  Despite us having a fenced in back yard, he managed to get out twice.  Once it took us nearly an hour to find him, and it scared us both.  Being outside must have been incredibly fun for him, and I suspect each time he ran past us he thought we were playing.

We since reinforced the entire bottom of our fence, which was no easy task.  I found this video — How to Dog Proof your Fence, which we found helpful.  We bought the supplies, although a bit more heavy duty, and Rich, my mom, Derry, and I worked on the fence for two days.  We also contacted a trainer, Sheri Venza who is the author of Calling All Canines.  She came to our home and gave us a couple hours of instruction.  In the coming weeks, we’ll be doing more with her.  She suggested a tether while in the backyard, so we are using it too.

We also took him to the vet for an ID chip, to get checked out, and so on.  We learned that he has several breeds in him.  Our vet thinks shepherd, rotty, chow, terrier, and Rhodesian ridgeback.  All can be aggressive, so it’s good that we are getting training for him/us.

He’s ranges from very cute to kind of creepy, and he has quite a bark.  He is responding to commands very well, stays off the furniture and bed, no longer jumps on us or anyone when we tell him not to (that was after some training), and  seems very eager to make us happy and be a “good boy.”  Even so, we’re going to continue working with Sheri as I want him to learn good habits with us.  I still miss Buddy tremendously, and thinking of how he died continues to hurt.  At times Budster/Bullet can look like Buddy from certain angles.  Then I see his face and am immediately reminded that he is not Buddy.

Otherwise, I’m back from Photoshop World and from seeing a fiber exhibit.  I have photos and stories from both which I’ll be posting about in the coming days.  The opening of Photoshop World was particularly fun because it was based on Project Runway, being called Project Photoshop, and it had a fashion show based on Photoshop tools.  More on that coming soon …

Buddy in 2007. He came into our life Feb 15, 2003 - he passed on March 3, 2011

Rich and I are still in shock over Buddy’s death.  It’s partially the result of a misdiagnosis.  We took him to the vet because my friend’s dog has a heart problem, and Buddy seemed to have similar symptoms.  Although I believed it was his heart, Buddy’s vet thought he had asthma.  She took an xray, but said it was borderline.  I didn’t think asthma because we have a very good air filter in our house, and he’s an indoor dog.  She didn’t believe it was a heart problem, but sent the xrays out for further evaluation.  Thus, this past Saturday she started him on a round steroids and on Sunday she called to increase his thyroid medication when his blood work indicated it was low.  I asked if also increasing the thyroid was a good idea since he was on steroids, and she said it was. She was to call the following day if there was any problem with his report.  Monday came and no call, so I thought all was fine.  However, on Tuesday, I wondered if all way okay because he was very tired and was sometimes coughing. Tuesday night he became very sick, and we learned  he went into cardiac distress. She didn’t realize his x-ray report came back that Monday indicating heart disease (it was a very busy day and she was off Tuesday), and had she seen it sooner she would have immediately called and told us to stop the medication.  However, at that point (Wed a.m.) we had Buddy at her door as he was ill for hours and hours during the night.  She was sincere, professional, but clearly upset and very apologetic.  She told us she’d do everything she could to try and save him.  And she did try.  She had him all day, monitored him continually, and at one point thought he was getting stronger.  Then he took a turn for the worse.  She recommended an emergency facility because her place didn’t provide 24 hour care.  In retrospect I wish we took him home to die in our home, but we didn’t.  I hated seeing the tube stapled on his nose.  We took Buddy to the emergency facility, and that vet said it was 50/50.  The goal was new medication, more oxygen, and see if he improves.

At 5 a.m. we heard from our original vet who had been in touch with the new place.  There was no change in Buddy’s condition, despite the new medications, increased oxygen, and so on.  His chances were now less than 50% and dropping.  She wanted to wait for the cardiac surgeon to weigh in a few hours later.  However, we told her if Buddy had any further negative change, we didn’t want any more tests, nor did we want him to die alone on a metal table.  She was to call us.  Around 8, she did.  He was worse, and we rushed over to be with him.

We got to the place extremely fast, and luckily no cops were around to give us a speeding ticket.  We did not want him to die on a table and asked if they could put him to permanent sleep outside.  They kindly complied.  The  vets carried  a stretcher with him sitting on top like a king, and put it and him onto the grass in the sun.  There was a gentle breeze and he was covered in sunshine.   He seemed to know we were there, and despite his heavy panting seemed glad we were with him.  Rich and I hugged and kissed him into heaven. As he went, his heavy breathing calmed, his eyes gently shut, and he passed.  It is more heart-wrenching than I can say, and I feel almost unable to function (although I clearly can write about him).

We spoke again with our vet.  I credit her with being honest and sincerely apologetic.  She said she was sick that she missed the report and was so, so sorry.  I told her the other place said this type of thing happens quickly and sometimes there is nothing to be done.  But she said the medication accelerated it, and for that she was truly sorry and that she tried everything she could to save him.  I find myself wishing I listened to my instincts and waited for the report.  But I  thought I was doing the right thing.  But I did hear the voice in my head saying to wait, reminding me that when I was on steroids I was jumping off the walls for the first few days, and what if he did have a heart problem.   I blame myself for not trusting my instincts, but it is now too late.  Now I am trying to override the mental voices of why didn’t I do this or that and remind myself the he was well-loved and cared for, and he gave us love in return. Even so, I am gutted.

Rather than working today, I spent many hours going through pictures of him.  There are so many.  I’m now finished with years 2003 and 2004!  There are many more years to go.  In past blog posts, I have pictures of Buddy.  Here‘s Buddy’s big smile.  Here‘s Buddy in the snow. Here‘s Buds with a laptop.  Here‘s Buds on the cover of one of our holiday cards. Here‘s Buds lounging with a quilt. You’ll find Buddy sunning himself on the deck in this post. And Buddy coming into the basement while I’m painting.

Buddy and me in 2003, after we fell in love! He was still thin but finally starting to put on weight. He was some 40 lbs underweight when Rich got him.

Me, Rich, and Buds late 2004.

Buddy sleeping under my desk some weeks ago. Yes, sometimes navigating my chair was hard!

It comforts Rich and me to see him so happy throughout the years.  I know we gave him a good 8+ years.  Rich got him from a shelter, as he was a week from being put down because no one wanted him.  He was between 4-7 when we got him, and he was terribly underweight.  I didn’t initially want him because our first dog was put to sleep only a month plus earlier.  That was a very difficult time.  Our home was broken into, and he was apparently hit in the back of the head which caused paralysis.  I thought Rich getting Buddy was an insult to our first dog’s memory. Then I fell totally in love with him, as Rich did when he found him.  Buddy had a beautiful, loving disposition, a gentle giant.  Since I work from home, he was with me all of the time, generally sleeping on my feet, or under my desk, or close by.  He licks his lips when he wants a treat, gives me a single bark when he wants to go outside, and puts his head in my lap when he wants a massage.  He practically brings Rich his lease when he wants a walk.  I realize it’s now past tense.

Buddy also taught me that there is plenty of love to go around.  While we are shattered over the loss of Buddy, in his honor we will eventually look for  another older dog in need of a good and loving home.

While going through some images on an external drive, I found this one from late 2007.  This pictures gives me the giggles.  How do you like Buddy’s big toothy smile!!

The Journey - ©Gloria Hanse 2010

This is the last “large” (for me) piece that I completed for 2010.  It measures around 56″ in height.  It’s a digital collage and painting that’s printed on silk fabric using archival HDR Ultrachrome inkjet ink.  In some areas, I also added some additional color with pencil and paint.  It’s something I highly doubt I’ll enter into any type of traditional quilt show as I doubt it would be accepted.

This piece is very personal, and I’ve been working with the imagery on and off for a couple years.  In this small image, it’s hard to see some of what is happening.  I have another version of it that I may make this coming year.  We’ll see.