You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato...

Today, as I was returning to work from hitting up Subway for my choice of many, a 6 inch ham and mozarella sandwich, some chips and sweet tea, I happened across something in the street. What is that, I thought?! A round red object! Oh, it's just a tomato! As I kept riding, I saw more. Scattered... for about a half mile...in the gutters of the street...were plump, ripe, juicy, red tomatoes. Those round red objects lying there in the street were... TOMATOES!!!

As I drove by them, one by one, I thought of all the people in the world who are hungry and how they would be so happy to find these beautiful tomatoes. I thought, especially, of the people of Haiti who are having a hard time finding food and water, and even shelter. I, then prayed that some hungry person would happen across those beautiful tomatoes before the elements ruined them. That, even if for a short time, they could keep some poor soul from going hungry.

It was, at that moment, that I looked down at the bag of food I had just purchased and realized just how fortunate I am to have the priviledge of going to my restaurant of choice, order my preference of menu, take it with me in my own car, back to the job that I don't always appreciate, which paid for it and enjoy it, knowing noone was lurking behind me to take it away from me. How blessed am I?!?!

It was JUST a tomato!

The Inexperienced Thieves...

My husband, Pat is a building inspector. Today, he opted to take a call-out for a co-worker. He went to the house and was doing his inspection when two teenagers came running by, like they were going to a fire or something. He and the home owner didn't know what to think. Soon after, an old man came up. They asked him what he was looking for and he told them he was looking for two boys who had just tried to steal his car. My husband, being the kind of person he is started helping the man look for the boys. A few houses down, there was a building that looked like it had a playhouse or storage on the 2nd floor. He thought they might have hidden in there so he yelled to them "You better come out or I'm coming in there!" Next, he hears glass breaking. The boys had broken the upstairs window and jumped out. They were running away when the police rounded the corner and caught them.
Pat is notorious for getting into one form or another of situations. I guess you could say he has a very interesting life. Seems that no matter where he goes, he can always find something interesting to bring home to talk about. I am sure I will be coming up with more of his stories in the future.

This is the Life...

Outside, the air is crisp and the sky is clear. One would not expect to have such a night in south Louisiana. Inside, the crackling of the fire in the fireplace is music to my ears. Growing up, my family always had a fireplace, so it seemed only fitting to buy a house with one, even though I thought it wouldn't be used much. It feels so warm and cozy. Comforting. My puppies are sleeping in my lap and all my worries are absent from my mind. I guess you could call this my version of meditation. Like I said, "This is the life!"

A Memorial for Bandit

This is a poem I wrote for my husband, in his words. If you are a dog lover, prepare for tears. It is sad!

I can hardly see through my tears... today I sent my best friend of years and years somewhere he had to go,

Where pain and sickness he won't have to know.

He's been with me ever since he was a pup...

Today I've had to give him up.

He was sick, we both knew it

And I wouldn't put him through it.

Thinking back to the day my wife brought him,

I told her then that I didn't want him...

"Barking and mess and "No he won't sleep with us!" -I can't believe I felt that way.

Didn't know that in the end he would be my dearest friend.

Didn't know that the joy of a great gift was about to begin.

How did someone like me deserve a friend who only wanted to serve?

What was there that made him love me, with nobody else above me?

When I looked into his eyes, never did he criticize.

He sometimes judged and held a grudge, hiding under the house all day.

But he was loyal through and through, that was something I could always say.

Recently, an anxious day, "How come you don't want to play?"

I took him to the vet and thought he would be alright.

But worse than I expected, fatal illness was detected.

Nothing we could do but keep him ocmfortable through the night.

I brought him home to spend some time before he had to go.

His friends came over to say goodbye, he had touched their lives also.

He chased some squirrels, but with labored breath, then laid down on the grass.

He didn't know this one last run would be his very last.

The day had come, much to our dismay,

That he would have to go away.

When we started out to the vet, it seemed like time stood still but also went far too fast.

As always, Bandit was the perfect gentleman taking his orders with loyalty right to the very end.

He obeyed his master one last time and took his demise with ease.

I will miss you my little friend, with your cold wet nose and playful bark.

You are "One of a kind" as anyone who ever met you knows.

Nothing can ever replace you cause you've marked your place in my heart.

But now your time on earth has come to a close.

Rest in peace by little buddy!

In Memory of Bandit...

When I came home with a tiny bundle of fur, my husband wasn't very receptive to the idea. I wanted a house dog and he just didn't. Our new puppy barked all night the first couple of nights until I finally talked Pat,my husband. into letting him sleep with us. That was all it took to get a good night's sleep. Thank goodness!

During his puppy phase, he would destroy anything he could find while we were away. Major "Alone" anxiety! He would turn the garbage over & grab the toilet paper on the roll and pull it as far into the rest of the house as he could. He chewed Pat's cap-Only happened once! Pat attached several caps to his collar and left them on him all day. I thought it was cruel, but at least it wasn't a beating, and he wouldn't go near a cap ever again. Once he even pulled the lanoleum off the kitchen floor. Pat was not happy! So we put him outside during the day, which he seemed to love. My husband even made him an Acadian dog house (so cute!).

I had gotten him from my Mom and he was supposed to be a small dog. Through the years, he grew and grew! I had made a lap dog out of him and he never let me forget it.

Soon, my husband began to take him with him anywhere he could and they became the best of friends. Bandit (named for the mask on his face) loved to ride in the truck, the boat, and especially the 4-wheeler. He even climbed trees and ladders. Sometimes he would be on the 4-wheeler when my husband would get home from work, looking at him like he was saying, "Hurry up, let's go!"

Bandit wouldn't let Pat out of his sight. If Pat went into a store, Bandit would sit on the top of the truck seat and bend his head down so he could see the door, always watching for him. And as soon as he saw him again he would get so excited, wagging his little "nubbie" as fast as it would go.

We have a place Pat calls "The Shop". I call it his "man-cave!" Pat started a Monday night Football club that meets there. Bandit pretty much became their mascot. Everybody loved him! He would greet everyone as if to say "Hey man, you've been gone too long. Come on in".He was liked so much that they would fight over who was going to watch after him if we had to go out of town without him.

Bandit was with us for 8 1/2 years, of which we are so thankful for. We will never have another dog like him. He got sick and the vet said that he had a fast growing tumor attached to all of his organs. We had no choice but to put him down. It was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. We are still not over it and miss him greatly.

My sweet, precious grandmother...

I have nothing but wonderful thoughts of my grandmother. She and my grandfather had a small farm with a large garden. They always had fresh vegetables on the table. I always enjoyed going to visit. Over the years, she would teach me to sew, cross-stitch, crochet and how to can vegetables and cook. She was very crafty and there was always a project going on at her house. But the one thing that she always found a way to instill into everthing that we did was her faith in God. She has lived her life for God.

When she and my grandfather first were married, there was no church of her faith in our small town. She and my grandfather started one in their home. Eventually, they bought a piece of property in town and built a church. Until recently, even though any other day she couldn't tell you what day it is due to Dementia, she always knows when it is Sunday and is up and dressed before everyone else. She has lived a good life and I know they are waiting for her in heaven!

Dementia is a terrible thing, not just for the patient, but also for the caregiver. It consumes your life. My Maw-Maw, as everyone calls her, has had it for several years. This past Christmas, I gave her a fake puppy that breathes. My mom took all of the gifts we gave her and told her that Santa Clause brought them to her, since she doesn't remember any of our names and would be very confused.. She was so excited, like a small child, about her presents. She has to sit all day, so I thought I would give her something to do with her hands and it would soothe her. She fell and had to go to the hospital earlier this week. She called my mom to her hospital bed and said "Now you make sure my puppy is fed and kept warm while I am away. " I really got a kick out of that. You need to laugh so you don't cry.

My grandmother is now 91 years old. I could write a book on her life, and it all would be good. To this day, even with Dementia, she is always kind and considerate of others feelings. I have never met a better person. I love you, Maw-Maw!

Where do I begin...

1. 2010 - Starting to promise to be better than last year.

2. Looking forward to the Superbowl next month. The Saints have really turned their game
around this year. Was never much interested in the Saints until this year. I have to root for
the home team. And, by the way, Roll Tide Roll! If LSU couldn't win the championship, then
who better than my home state.
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3. It is FREEZING here in South Louisiana! I SO do not like the cold! Or the heat, for that
matter. Not to wish my days away, but COME ON SPRING!

4. I gave my husband a new puppy for Christmas. We lost our dear Bandit, whom we had the
privilege of knowing for 8 1/2 years, on Sept. 11th of this year. (I will have to tell a "Bandit"
story or 2 later.) So, I decided it was time to get another puppy. Her name is Patches and
there will surely be stories about her. We adore her.

5. My son-in-law killed a 12 pt. deer this hunting season. He is an avid hunter. So, I congratulate
him on his "Deer of a lifetime!"

6. Coming from West-Central Alabama, I miss the coziness of a fire in the fireplace in the winter.
No need for one very often here. Nothing like a warm, roaring fire, a good movie and your
puppies sleeping in your lap. That is my "Kodak" moment.