A+ in Pack-Ratting (I prefer to call it "archiving.")

My only excuse here is that I am trying to immortalize my children's childhood and teachers. No one is buying it so far.

Talented Haiku by Erika

My daughter tells me she is going to write a book of Haiku. Of course, I am thrilled!

Below is the start of her book. Whether or not she finishes is irrelevant. Her soul is soaring either way.

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Clouds

Clouds are great white steeds

Galloping across the sky

Great hooves bring down rain

Shadow

Dark and motionless

Covering the morning grass

Devouring light

Moon

Bright and beautiful

A glowing light in the night

Shinning forever

School

A place of laughter

A place of wonderful things

The student learns all

Hope

The light in the dark

The light that fills us all

The key to pure peace

Snow

Softly it falls down

White and shining in the sun

Like a great diamond

Tree

Tall and stands alone

In a clearing by the sea

Dancing in the breeze

Fire

Flickering flames dance

Dancing a never ending dance

Till the morning light

Water

Flowing gracefully

Over rock and under tree

Singing lonely songs

Earth

Rocks tumbling down

Showering like ice and hailstones

Then sudden silence

Wind

Whispering to me

Telling me its own story

Caressing my hair

Storm

Black clouds fill the sky

Lightning clashing their great swords

Thunder’s mighty roar

Ice

Cold and glistening

Gleaming and reflecting light

Till the sunrise comes

Cat

Meowing softly

Purring on the window sill

Lying in the sun

Rain

Dancing on the roof

Pitter patter pitter pat

Waltzing on the roof

Time

Never seen by man

Cannot be captured by man

Time is forever

To Be a Mom

Erika and Alexandra, baby pictures


(sorry for the orientation--these are scanned images).

I don't think they will ever understand how much I love them. It's actually painful.

Curious Things About Shiba

I've been thinking for awhile that I want to start a little memory log of Shiba, especially now that she is getting older (14 this year). Sure, I have some pictures from her puppy hood on up, but you know how pictures only tell part of the story. There are things I want to remember that can't be shown with pictures, especially when you have a dog that is frightened of digital cameras. I am not sure why she is--perhaps it's the high-pitched sound of the camera turning on. In any event, here are some things I want to remember, and I will add to them as I do with my kids' quotes.

--Shiba used to sit on my belly when I was pregnant with Erika in 2006-07. Shiba is six months older than Erika.

--Shiba used to try to lick Erika's diaper (a sure sign it was time for Erika to be changed).

--Shiba wore a diaper herself the first time she went into heat. I cut a hole out for her curly tail. Poor thing wouldn't even walk with it.

--When one of my best friends, Jorge, lived downstairs from us, he would knock at our door. I would yell, "Get in here!" in this hag-like voice. Shiba would always bark. Up until about last year, even when no one knocked, if I yelled "Get in here!" in that voice, she would still bark.

--Shiba used to get on her hind legs and slurp Alexandra's messy hands when Alexandra was eating in her high chair. She did the same thing to Erika. I've got photos of the girls crying a couple of times because they didn't want to share their food.

--Shiba doesn't just play. She prances, jumping sideways from two feet to two feet, left to right. One day, she pranced like that in a diagonal direction all the way across the room.

--Sometimes, Shiba sits with her paws folded in front of her. She looks like a fawn.

--Shiba likes to sit on the top of the couch and look out the front window.

--Shiba loves cheese more than anything in the world. Don't ever say "cheese."

--As noted above, Shiba hates the camera, so it's hard to get a nice photo of her with us. She shakes and shivers and runs out of the room when we turn the camera on. This has gotten worse the older she has grown.

--Shiba had terrible breath, so we took her to the vet when she was 12. She had 14 teeth removed. Even so, she tries to bite Sallie, our much younger, much bigger dog. Sallie just wags her tail.

--Shiba plays "dominatrix" with Sallie. She whips her but around, hitting Sallie on the side of her body and on the side of her face. We call this "numchuck butt." Sallie just stands there. Sallie had the same reaction when Shiba mounts her face.

--When my brother Michael used to live with us, Shiba would steal his underwear. Michael didn't like this.

--Shiba likes us to chop up her meat and biscuits into smaller pieces. If we don't, she carries the larger pieces around the house and whines. She has done this all her life, even before she had bad teeth.

--Shiba once or twice buried a hot dog under our bedroom pillow.

--For some reason, I started this thing that I say in a bad English accent: "There is a new religion spreading across South Africa, one in which we worship the Goddess Inu. Let us prostrate ourselves before her and recite the mantra: (in super high pitched voice) INU! INU!" When she was younger, Shiba used to prance when we did this.

--The "Inu bark" is a particular sound reserved for begging when we are eating on the couch in the kitchen. Shiba will stare at us as we eat, and if we ignore her, she abruptly does the "Inu bark."

--In the summer when Shiba sheds, she forms clumps on her hind legs and on her butt. These are fun collections to pull out. They come out easily, and they are easy to dispose of. However, she doesn't really like our grooming her. Neither does she enjoy being brushed.

--Shiba doesn't like baths. In fact, she just doesn't like getting wet. Usually, I shower with her. After I let her out of the shower, she prances around and then runs all over the house. She is very excited because she knows she will be rewarded for her patience, usually with cheese.

--Shiba has always been a runner. When we lived in Massachusetts, she frequently would get off a leash or find a way out of the fence and take off. She would return a few hours later. She did the same thing when we moved to Virginia. The longest time she was ever gone was over night a couple of years ago. That night, it poured rain (Shiba hates to be wet, remember) and the next day, we frantically hunted the neighborhood for her. This evil lady yelled at us to get off her farm property, and I told her we were looking for our dog. She kept yelling. (I wanted to smack her, but I was with the kids, so I behaved.) Someone in an adjoining neighborhood sent us in the right direction, and when we caught up to her, she came right to us. I picked her up, hugged her and cried, even though she smelled like horse manure, she was filthy and I was wearing a nice blouse. She never tried to run away again, even though she got a thorough bath afterward.

--Shiba's only other attempt to run out after the episode described above was when we had the massive snowstorms this past winter. She and Sallie had been cooped up for days with literally only a thin path allowing them into the backyard. We left the front door open for a minute, and Shiba casually walked out. She made her way to the end of the sidewalks and "did her business." Alexandra ran out and Shiba came right to her instead of her usual running further off. I think she really was just having some cabin fever.

--Shiba sleeps at the end of our bed by my feet. She is often the reason I get a terrible night's sleep, since I am always worried about accidentally kicking her off the bed.

--Shiba is mostly blind. We keep a light on all night long so she can see where to get on and off the bed. She usually jumps on a stool at the end of the bed, and then she jumps onto the bed. One night, she got confused and jumped onto a chair near the sewing machine. She looked around and whined, not knowing where she was. Poor baby! I had to rescue her.

--Shiba has always been terrified of storm drains. Whenever we walk her and pass by a storm drain, she pulls hard enough to choke herself in an effort to cross the street. We don't know why.

--Before going to sleep, Shiba has to groom the quilt.

--Shiba has to shake after anyone pets her. And she's like a cat. She only wants you when she wants you.

--One of Shiba's favorite places is David's parents' house. She loves their backyard. Her other favorite place to visit is David's brother's house where there is also a big yard. In each place, there are other dogs, so Shiba can feel superior as she is wont to do.

--One night in bed, my husband farted so loud that Shiba growled at him.

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Dec. 27, 2012, we had to have Shiba put down. She was blind, deaf and had little to no sense of smell. She had arthritis and kidney disease. She lived 16 years and 4 months, a good long life, but how we miss her. I've built her an alter (http://bullrunwritings.blogspot.com/2012/12/and-goddess-inu-ascends.html). There is a short video of her on YouTube (http://youtu.be/G8Kt1fepuL8).  Every breath we take is full of her and the love she radiates. Thank you, Shiba, for all you gave us.

Erika's Poem

My elder daughter Erika is showing signs of becoming a great poet! Check out this imagery.

Storm

Black clouds fill the sky,
rain lashed the trees,
thunder threatened the earth,
lightening clashed its bright blades,
the wind was like a banshee
screaming in the night.
The trees were bent over,
cowering and hiding their faces.
The storm has come.

Contrast the last post with this one!

Our spring break with family in Historic Williamsburg and Maymont Japanese gardens and wildlife center in Richmond. It was about 75 degrees each day. Amazing!

The Year Disappears

How on Earth is it the end of April 2010 already??

These pics were taken in February.

The months go by in a blur.

Weekend in Shenandoah

Enlarge the photos by clicking on the collages.

To celebrate 9 years together (that is, 9 years since our first date), we rented "Trackside Cabin" in Shenandoah, VA.

When I made the reservations, I enjoyed the irony.

The first time David and I confessed our love for each other, we stayed at a motel in Williamsburg---with a train track right beside our room.

We were woken at least three times by the blaring whistle and vibration that shook our room windows.

It was one of those extreme annoyances that you have to laugh at, and certainly, it's not something we have forgotten. So having a train track beside our getaway this weekend made us nostalgic and silly.

The cabin train actually only came by once per night, but it was enough to make us giggle.

The cabin itself is absolutely gorgeous with a breathtaking view of the mountains. The owners have gone out of their way to decorate the place in country and primitive decor, emanating a natural beauty and coziness that hotels can't provide.

The owners left us a bottle of wine with chocolates and a little welcome sign with our names on it.

The place smelled like cinnamon.

Spring had finally decided it was time to meander in, so on Saturday, we walked along the river in Luray. The air was warm--about 70 degrees--and the water clear from the too-ample rain we had earlier in the month. People brought their dogs and babies out, children rode their bikes, and I believe some anglers even were fortunate enough to catch trout.

David and I decided that when we retire, we want to live in a peaceful, simple place like this.

Too bad we have to wait until we retire, of course.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Alexandra set the table using our best silverware and antique wine glasses. She put out the candle we lit at our wedding and my wedding bouquet, as well as a plaque with a love poem on it.

We all celebrated with a delicious Valentine roast, sweet potatoes and broccoli. For dessert: dark chocolate.

We went around the dinner table and had to name one thing we love about each member of our family. Everyone had more than one thing to love, and everyone just had to include the pets.

We ate way too much chocolate.

Happy Valentine's Day, folks!

30 inches of snow!

Here are all the trees behind our townhouse. You can't see the detail, but they have cracked and are actually leaning over people's fences and into the yards.

Alexandra is upset because the "fort" she made in the "woods" is now destroyed. Poor baby!








Our back porch.



We tried to shovel the porch, but there was nowhere to put all the snow.












Opened the front door, and this is what I met. Mind you, we don't have a screen or storm door.