Searching for Nirvana

I met Patricia and Casey today to visit a “care facility” — the first of a marathon day for them. Patriot Heights is a nice nursing facility. But nursing facilities are end-of-life care and that is a scary thing. I do know the stats are that most people do not live longer than 2 years in a nursing home, and that is a scary stat to confront. It is an end-of-life option. Not pleasant.

Patricia, bless her heart, is trying to get her mom in an Assisted Living facility. Something that offers more social activity and the opportunity to make new friends and visit with old ones. That sounds optimal.

More later…

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No word from the travelers

I haven’t heard from Catherine or Alixe. I know that they are having some much fun being that they can’t be bothered with the day-to-day of those of us left behind.

David Diaz and Roz were here for the weekend doing a Trinity alumni thing. They enoyed it and I am sad to see them go. They breath life into the community.

It is very hot and unusually dry for here. We are hovering around 100 and with 30% humidity which is quite low for us (don’t laugh here, David). The difference between last year and this could not be more extreme.

This is the kind of summer that drives people to move back up to snow country.

I am excited about spending time with Alex. She has been in a care facility and I get to break her “out of jail” Friday. We will have a good time together and then she is reunited with her parents when they come home from an emotionally exhausting trip to the Boston area. She is most excited about being home with her family again: sleeping in her own bed, eating her mom’s great cooking and enjoying her dogs.

Goodness is just a few days away. In the meantime Patricia is here looking for the perfect living place for Casey.

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And they’re off!

About noon today I picked up Catherine and Alixe to take them to the airport for the start of their great adventure. First stop Barcelona!

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Home Grown Tomatoes

Peter’s musical tribute to these lovelies

I am so confused about how to spell it… oh my.

Thank you, Leslie! The lovely, red orbs sitting on my dining room table are visions to behold. And since my own plants are much better at producing plant rather than fruit I am very grateful for the salmonella-free culinary delights.

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Blue Bells (not the ice cream)

Two years ago I saw a blue bell (native flower for those of you not knowing native Texas flowers) growing in the drainage ditch down the road a bit. I dug it up and proudly brought it home thinking I would adore it and it would be happy. It shriveled and died within two weeks.

Surprisingly this year about a dozen of them have popped up in my drainage ditch. Not only are they lovely blue spires to admire, but most wildflowers have spent their blooming energy and thrown their seed a month past.

What a delightful gift!

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eau

It was dark, humid and hot last night. And about 11:30 my precious Petey just had to go outside to conquer the world. But in reality I could smell what conquered him in moments… damn, another skunk. So the recipe for getting rid of the smell is:
1qt. Hydrogen Peroxide
1/2 cup Baking Soda
1 teasp. Dishwashing Liquid

Use a rag to apply it. Leave it on about 10 minutes before washing it all out with your normal dog shampoo.

It can not be used on the nose or eyes. Considering Petey always has his nose in the butt of the skunk when he gets sprayed; it means that you can get rid of all of the smell except the nose, eyes and mouth. The recipe works very well elsewhere.

And the dog collar? I throw away everything but the tags. PetSmart here I come.

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Greatest Earth on Show

I arrived in Las Vegas just in time to take the tram from The Mirage to Treasure Island and see the Cirque de Soliel Mystere. It was my first time seeing a Cirque show and it was awesome! I loved every moment of it.

Met Regan the next morning for the breakfast buffet in The Mirage. We picked up our rental car and headed for Kenab, Utah. The road winds back and forth in and out of Arizona. It took 3-1/2 hours to get to the Best Friends Welcome Center.

We picked up our cabin keys, saw the orientation movie and took a tour. At the Welcome Center there are several hummingbird feeders and dozens of the little flying miracles buzzing around everywhere. It was a peaceful, quiet, gentle place.

On Wednesday I reported to the Horse Sanctuary and watched the safety video. After the video I traveled with Donna and Carrie in the feed truck to deliver feed to the horses, mules, goats and the horses pastured out in the canyon. We saw a mountain lion of the way to the last pasture on the far side of the canyon — it was gorgeous! There were lots of jack rabbits, cotton tails and wild turkeys freely roaming the property. The property consists of 2,800 acres owned by Best Friends and 38,000 acres leased from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Wednesday afternoon I reported to DogTown to walk dogs. The octagon design for the dog “homes” is ingenius. The dogs are very well cared for and happy. There is a lot of care given to introducing a new dog into a run. And the compatibility of the dogs is a primary concern for the caregivers. You can check out a dog for a day trip or an over night stay. Even the pot bellied pigs can be checked out for overnight.

I repeated the horse volunteering Thursday morning and had the pleasure of watching one of the trainers using Parelli techniques on a very adoptable, beautiful mustang named Chewy. Thursday afternoon I went up to the Fairways in DogTown. There was a new dog introduced in the “Dotty” octagon so things were pretty much shut down there while the dogs all had a chance to adapt. So I walked next door to the “Petey” octagon and scrubbed run floors and walls. All of the facilities are very, very clean.

Best vacation ever! Must go back for a longer period of time.

Regan’s pictures

Pam’s pictures

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