Day 76

My sister Katie gave me this purse, and it's just so damn cool. "Get on the bus"!! "Moustache"!!

Day 75

I cannot believe this little girl is six years old today!! Time is going too fast.

Day 74

A much coveted bath.

Day 73

Willow pointed to my hair this morning and said, "Mama chicken!" Ha.

Day 72

I took a picture of a picture. This is my dad and me. He took care of me on his own for a week after I was born, because my mom was in hospital with an infection. I think it's pretty amazing.

Day 71

Step 1. Walk over and scold the teenage boys for knocking the protective covering into the sewer.
Step 2. Call local utility company to tell them that it's very dangerous to have an exposed sewer entrance where everyone walks.
Step 3. Local utility company comes out and says it's not their problem, and leaves.
Step 4. Deputy shows up at the door to ask me where the "hole in the middle of the road is"... I explain that it's not in the middle of the road, and show her where it is.
Step 5. Deputy calls local utility company and makes them come back out to put a "danger" sign up by the hole.
Step 6. (Which I have not yet done) Call the county storm-water people and explain the whole damned thing again.

Day 70

I got a new headband. It's pretty, and I love it.

Day 69

Mmm. Glorious.

Day 68

Janis really wants to go camping. I keep telling her that we're going next weekend, but she's getting impatient. So am I. I'm ready to get away, out into nature. To smell the woodsmoke of a campfire at night, and the aroma of breakfast cooking outside in the morning. To have no schedule, no obligations, no time frame to consider. To just simply be.

Day 67

This day will be a better one than yesterday. Love.

Day 66

I hate it when people go away. I hate it when people are mean. I hate my own mind, sometimes, like today. I hate being alone, and almost always wish I was. I hate feeling stuck.

Day 65 - Only 300 more days!

Drip.

Day 64

Raindrops and Janis.

Day 63

Bed-head, bird-bath, beautiful day.

Day 62

A vase

Day 61

My youngest sister gave me this necklace for Christmas. Isn't it beautiful!
*correction - my first sister gave me this!

Day 60

I love this little girl so much. I can't even describe it.

Day 59

I just can't get enough of these clear blue skies. It makes the cold weather a bit more bearable.

Day 58

There is only one problem with Sam. He barks. A lot. Time for some training, methinks.

Day 57

Today, I wonder again how it is that we live in Florida, and yet we are freezing our butts off. Brrrrrr!

Day 56: 1-11-11

My Willow. Apples are her current favorite food. I adore this girl.

Day 55

My sink is usually full of dirty dishes, but this time I appreciated them for their colors.

Day 54

There are many words that could be used to describe my seven-year-old. Included would not be words like, "sporty", or "agile", or "tough". So it was really fun to watch him in the back yard playing "fetch" with the new dog, Sam. He ran and spun and leaped and jogged, and he was smiling from ear to ear the entire time.

On pets.

The dog in this photo is "Lucky". We got him from a shelter, about three years ago, and we were not the best dog owners when it came to him. We didn't train him. We had no patience for him. We didn't take him to the vet on a regular basis. We didn't give him heartworm prevention.
He had serious emotional issues, because his previous owner was a crazy person who ended up committing suicide. Many of that owner's dogs were rescued, and Lucky went to the shelter. He tended to be extremely nervous, and had no qualms about snapping and biting if he felt upset. Yesterday was the last straw for him. He violently attacked my son's hands, leaving punctures and torn skin. He did it for no obvious reason. It was my son's twelfth birthday. Happy Birthday, son! You got bit, and your dog has to go!
I put an ad on Craigslist, and it was an angry ad. "Take this dog, now! He bites, he screams when he's being groomed, he is hateful." A woman who does rescues and who had actually rescued five of his mates from the previous owner got in touch with me. She didn't scold or patronize me for not having the dog up to date on shots. She just took him home with her.
So, we come to the conversation that Ryan and I had after the woman left. We know that we are not the best pet owners. Much of it is a result of the way we were raised. Dogs and people are not equal! It is not okay to spend more on a dog than you would on your child. In fact, living in America, we would be perfectly happy with no dogs. BUT, and this is huge - our son adores them. He plays with them every day. He feeds them. He cleans up their poop. He walks them. He brings them in at night when it's cold. He was devastated that his dog had to go because of biting him. He tried to excuse the dog, saying, "It's not his fault! He's just dumb! He didn't know any better!" He lost his dog on his birthday. Even though Ryan and I couldn't care less about seeing the dog go, we felt our son's pain keenly. We told him that maybe we could find another dog for him. His face lit up. "Really?! Can we start looking now? It's my birthday!" I agreed, of course.
We talked about how if we do get another dog, we have to promise ourselves to take him to the vet regularly, keep him up to date on his shots, all the things that are included in being a "good pet owner". We felt really bad about not keeping up with Lucky and what he needed.
I got back on Craigslist, and started looking around. I found an Australian Shepherd, who is about six months old. The same age as our other dog, Lucy. I contacted the owner, and found out that the dog is neutered, up to date on everything, housebroken, good with dogs and children. And, he is free. Free?
This morning, my son and I are going to drive across town to meet this dog. If we like him, we will bring him home.
I know that people will judge us for this. I do know. But let me say right now, I don't care. I am doing it for my son. I have learned a lesson after Lucky, and have made an agreement with myself and my husband that we will do the right thing by our pets from now on.
Today is my son's birthday party. I hope, I HOPE that for his party he will have a new dog to love. And I hope that I can properly handle the negative comments that are sure to come along with our decision.

Day 53

Yesterday was very strange. I don't know why, maybe something happened with the moon. I felt like I was in the twilight zone or stuck inside a really long dream. I am happy to be awake now. Everyone is safe, and life is starting to move along again, slowly.

Day 52

I had to wear this shirt today. It's perfect for the situation. What is the situation? Oh lord. There is kind of a lot going on right now. The biggest thing today is that I found out that NTM STILL has not paid anything to my therapist. Guess what I get to do all day? Yeah. I get to do what I have been doing for more than two years. Force the idiots to do their jobs properly. I have been pretty patient lately. But I can feel myself beginning to lose my cool once again. This is taking too long. The ridiculousness of the whole thing just blows my mind. I hope that when all is said and done, I can sleep again. Function again in a semi-normal fashion.

Day 51

Brass owl family. I need to find one more!

Day 50

I have a *thing* about colors. One of my favorite things in the world is to stumble upon a group of things that compliment each other. Like these things in my garden, for instance. They remind me of the Senegal flag, and they were just waiting there for me to photograph them!

Day 49

This is me, being irritated that I can't just say whatever I want. What look is this? Disdain?

Day 48

My brother gave me a gift card to one of my favorite stores. I got this amazing necklace!

Day 47

A bowl from my village. I was cleaning my room yesterday, and discovered it hidden under a bunch of junk on my dresser. I asked Ryan to hang it in the kitchen next to my calabash spoons, and it made me very happy.

Day 46

Today is 1-1-11. My cats don't care, they just love the morning sunshine. I'm pretty sure I interrupted a serious conversation between them...