The Shorn Snowy Saga Continues

Sarah and I were both quite touched by everyone signing in and being sympathetic to our poor, shorn doggy's plight. You all are so sweet and Snowy sends his most sincere, doggie thanks.

The other thing we hadn't considered with this hair cut is that even in the middle of the summer, he's cold all the time. Just being in a house with the a.c. set at 72, we've still had to wrap him up a little bit in order to be his "substitute" fur. Poor little guy.

Also, a couple of you mentioned a recent post that I just written about Snowy being groomed and wondered why he had to be groomed so often.

Well, that answer will reveal to you the "scheduling life" of a blogger. Sometimes I set a bunch of pictures aside and just hold on to them until I come to a day when I don't have anything current to write about; then I grab those pictures (or a story I've kept in mind) and make those into a post.

And that was the case with the most recent grooming pictures; they had been languishing in my "kept aside" photo bin for quite a while. We actually try to keep his grooming appointments to just three or four times a year, just because he's such an expensive little fella. However, the way he looks now, we may get by for a decade or two before he has to be groomed again. There's always a bright side!

In the meantime he's snuggled in beside me, pressed up against my leg, trying desperately to stay warm. And probably also trying desperately to dream of the days when he was both cute and fluffy.

Now he's cute and non-fluffy. But we love him just the same!

Please Don’t Laugh. You’ll Hurt Snowy’s Feelings.

Today was not a good day for Snowy. Not a good day at all.

The time had come for him to be groomed and since the last place we had used in Manteo was quite expensive ($50!) we shopped around to try and find something cheaper. We finally found a place that would do it for $30, even though we had to drive 45 minutes round trip to get him there.

But we thought we’d give it a whirl. I mean, twenty dollars is twenty dollars!

After Sarah and I picked him up from his very own personal appointment, he immediately went into hiding. Behind Sarah’s neck. So that no macho doggies would see him.

Macho doggies, er, dawgs, like this one.

And why did Snowy want to hide? Why was he so embarrassed?

Um. Here is the reason. Look how short his hair is! Look how chopped off his poor little ears are! He looks like a completely different breed of dog! He is humiliated! And discombobulated! And distressed! And dismayed!

“Does this haircut make me look fat?”

“Mom, you’re not going to post these pictures on Smithellaneous, are you?”

Poor, poor beloved doggie.

The only words of comfort I have for him are the ones I’ve heard a billion times in past years of my life when a hair stylist would inadvertently take seventeen inches off my bangs.

“It’ll grow out.”

I always hated hearing that. And I’m sure it’s not much comfort to Snowy either.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’ll be wearing a hat in the next pictures I take of him. You never know to what lengths a doggie’s vanity may go!

_______________________

Just so we don’t end with disturbing and distressing pictures of our shorn pooch, I’ll close with a couple pictures of Sarah and the tie dyed shirt she made during the last week of school. I’ll also be posting some pictures and stories about her graduation on her site real soon.

What a lovely (High School!) lass.

Camel Livers. Clabbered Milk.

I wrote on Monday that we had a missionary couple with us in church on Sunday and then at our house afterward for lunch.

As I was thinking through the menu earlier in the week, I started stressing just a tad thinking, “Hmmm. I wonder what they like to eat. I wonder if there are certain dishes they don’t care for.”

And then it occurred to me. These are missionaries. To Africa. They have been missionaries for thirty-four years, for Pete’s sake. They probably aren’t extremely picky.

And they weren’t. They ate my humble meal with joy and appreciation.

However, as I doing some last minute lunch prep and we were all chatting, I couldn’t resist asking Bob, “So is there anything you really do not care to eat?”

He thought briefly and then responded, “Camel livers.” And Murriell answered, “Clabbered (curdled, sour) goat’s milk.”

They had been served both of those things in their long tenure in Africa, along with numerous other “interesting” dishes. When we asked what the ramifications were of turning down food, they said something quite surprising. (I had always thought a missionary had to eat or drink anything that was offered for fear of offending the very people with whom they were trying to build relationships.)

However, they said there was actually one people group they worked with who put an extremely high priority on honesty. And so, if the McCulleys were offered something to eat that they didn’t like and ate it anyway, then that would be highly offensive to them. Quite interesting to learn!

Anyway, I informed Bob and Murriell that we were fresh out of camel livers and clabbered goat’s milk and hoped that chicken scampi would be okay instead.

They didn’t even seem to miss the livers or milk. Imagine that!

And just because I think it’s good for all of us to occasionally to take a step or two away from our comfort zones and learn about people who live in a much different world than we do, here are a few McCulley photos which show both their dedicated lifestyles and the precious African people they have given their lives to reach.

Both of the McCulleys are heavily involved in education in Africa, traveling extensively to teach, lecture, mentor, work with schools and seminaries, and even write and create curriculum.

Something that especially caught my attention during their presentation on Sunday were the pictures of the house they’re building in Africa. The house’s “core” is a metal shipping container which Bob said was a great thing to have around their bed when the bullets started flying at night.

The house with a bit more work completed on it.

Here’s Bob with the vehicle that the American teenagers of our denomination provided through their donations.

That truck has been the “star” of some amazing, heart gripping stories.

And finally, here are the two of them, doing what they do best—sowing their lives into people half a world away.

Our family was so honored to have the chance to spend time with the two of them. I was especially thankful that Sarah got to sit at the dinner table and listen to real heroes tell real stories of hardship and joy and fulfillment and miracles. Indiana Jones and the Iron Man really have to wear the “hero cape” pretty lightly when they get put in the same line up as the McCulleys. They’re such an inspiration and an example of what it means to live our lives for others.

Even when it sometimes does involve camel livers. And clabbered milk.

________________

As an interesting postscript, we found out on Sunday that Bob preached his first sermon in Manteo over forty years ago. (He said it was a terrible sermon.) Also, Bob proposed to Murriell in Manteo--he said it wasn't his first proposal to her, but it was the one she (finally) accepted.

Cleanliness Is Next To . . . Fun.

I really like to clean up messes. In fact, I even think it’s fun! (And no, I don’t have a fever.)

And at the risk of sounding a bit cocky, may I also admit to you than I am rather good at it? In fact, really, really good? In fact, almost scary good?

I know that most people might be tempted to brag about other sorts of skills—golf, playing the piano, drawing, cooking, writing songs, etc. But me? I’m good at cleaning. I certainly do hope that I don’t engender too much jealousy in your hearts as I talk about this particular gift. Especially since I was just born with it. I didn’t go to college to learn it. I don’t have a Doctorate in De-cluttering. It’s just a God-given talent that was present from the womb. In fact, when God put me on earth He said, “This particular child of mine shall verily be very and exceedingly good at cleaning!”

Now before I go any further, let me just make something clear. When I say that I am good at cleaning and that I think it’s fun, I am talking about clutter cleaning, not dirt-n-germ cleaning. Dirt-n-germ cleaning, i.e., toilets, shower stalls, kitchen floors, is no fun. At all. But give me a room full of clutter and I am one happy woman. (Yes, Steve already knows that I am so easily—and cheaply—entertained.)

So anyway, last week while Steve was out of town for four days, I decided to declare war on the clutter that had sort of just “appeared” in our home office. When we moved into this house six months ago, all of the miscellaneous miscellany seemed to float off to the second floor and congregate and coagulate in the office. (Do you have any congregated, coagulated rooms in your house?) And then to compound all the congregating and coagulating, during the weeks following my surgery, my cleaning suddenly seemed to consist of just throwing stuff into the office to be dealt with “later.”

Well, “later” finally arrived.

The first category of mess I had to deal with was our wrapping paper stuff. Gift boxes, tissue, gift bags, ribbon, wrapping paper—it was everywhere! And whenever I would run upstairs to try and do a quick wrap job on a particular gift, I would find myself spending half an eternity in the office, trying to locate just one appropriate gift bag. And matching tissue. And I would think, “Someone needs to organize this stuff!”

And so someone did.

I pulled out every gift bag, piece of tissue paper and strand of ribbon that had made its way into the awful, messy morass. I stacked them up all around me and started sorting and organizing. (Humming happily to myself as I did.)

Snowy felt compelled to place himself outside the office and guard me from any bad guys while I worked.

This is what I finally ended up with. A container just for small boxes.

A bin (which I already had) for gift bags and tissue paper.

I lifted up one of the inner containers to show that the tissue and bags are stored separately. (I had to tuck a few of the really big gift bags around the outside of the container.)

And here it is, all stacked in the closet on top of plastic drawers that will be my next organizational objective. (If you don’t have an extra closet, a lot of this could also be nicely organized in under bed boxes which I use all the time.)

Here is a container for rolls of paper and a cardboard box for shirt boxes. The little white plastic bag in the corner holds all of our packing materials, Styrofoam peanuts, etc

After attacking (and happily organizing) the gift wrap stuff, I turned my attention to the desk area. (It isn’t always that messy—I had temporarily stacked some stuff there from the closet.)

I eventually ended up with this.

And here’s our book case, finally neatened. (We have another big book case downstairs which holds some of our more lovely books.) We could actually use yet another book case in the house since we are all inveterate bibliophiles.

The bottom line? I finished my cleaning job with joy. And happiness. And gratefulness that I got to spend some time doing something I love. Also, Snowy and I got to spend quality time together with me cleaning and him guarding me while I cleaned. And he was so effective in his guarding that not even one bad guy came and got me.

Fluffy, cute watch dogs are obviously the best.

_________________________

A question was left concerning whether or not Nathan has found a job yet.

Unfortunately, no. He’s been putting in applications everywhere, including Disney World. We’re going to keep on praying for something to open up soon!

Three Down. One To Go.

Just got back from my expander-filling appointment.

Ouch. Yuck. Ug. (And any other one-syllable words denoting unpleasantness that you can think of.)

Steve had to call the pharmacy to see what I could take for pain in addition to what I'm already taking. Hopefully that will make a difference in my discomfort level.

And since my aching self doesn't feel up to making dinner, we are using a Subway gift card sent to us after my surgery. I've been saving it up for a much needed time and tonight is it! Steve and Sarah have just left to make the sandwich selections (we'll provide our own drinks, chips and desserts to make the card stretch for several more meals) while I stay at home and moan and groan. Piteously. Not to mention pitifully.

And since I'm on the subject, Nancy asked if I had the choice of whether or not to have the saline fillings. Yes, since I chose to do reconstruction, the saline fillings are part of that process. (There is another kind of reconstruction done at the same time as the mastectomy, taking tissue from the abdominal area to create breasts; I opted for the implants instead.)

She also asked how long the pain lasts. Fortunately, it's less than 24-hours or so, and then I feel pretty much back to normal.

And the really good news? Next week is my last filling! I will "top out" at 300 cc's and then I have to wait for three months before I can have the surgery to replace the expanders with permanent implants. (Which I'm sure will be loads of fun.)

So that's the news from here. And now it's off to nosh on some sandwiches and go to bed early.

With a book. And pain killers. (Not necessarily in that order.)

Monday Loveliness. And Yuckiness.

Just thought you could use a little dose of beauty with which to start your week . . .

And now, moving from black and white beauty to real life yuckiness, in just a few minutes I’ll be leaving for my third saline fill in the Ever Ongoing Expanding the Expanders Endeavor. (Last week, I took a break from the process altogether, which was lovely.) These visits are not something I look forward to (to put it mildly), but at least I did find a great thrift store near the surgeon’s office so that makes the whole outing a bit more enjoyable.  Bargains are a balm to the soul!

In other news, we had a wonderful time yesterday with Bob and Murriell McCulley, long time missionaries to Africa.   I cooked lunch for them after they spoke in our morning service and then Sarah, Steve and I sat entranced, listening to the amazing stories they had to tell.   I’ll write more about them in the next couple days but for now, here are a few pictures from our gathering. 

I love this one especially.  The McCulleys had met Sarah 6 or 7 years ago and she remembered them and they remembered her.  (Which is amazing considering how many people they’ve met in the intervening years.)   It was wonderful to see her life being impacted by spending time with these amazing people.  Murriell has her doctorate and has written a book so she and Sarah enjoyed some “book talk.”

 

 

And finally, let me answer a couple questions that have come in recently:

Q.  Are things as lovely and calm as they appear to be in Manteo? I need to visit if they are, because my life is anything but calm lately...Is it a vacation/tourist kind of town?   

--“A Mom’s Serious Blunder”

A. Although Manteo is only about five miles from the ocean, it is not as “touristy” as a lot of ocean towns  although we’ve heard that at particular times, the traffic through town can get pretty heavy, especially when all the cars and tour buses arrive each evening for The Lost Colony production.

While there are a lot of things for tourists to do (downtown harbor area with restaurants/shopping, aquarium, Elizabethan Gardens) it doesn’t at all feel like a tourist town to me—it just feels like Smalltown USA.  (Which I love!)

 

 

Q. Great photos! And that dinner party - oh my goodness! Love the decorations! Tell me more about the tulle & lights on the porch!   --Saffyres

A. Well, I would certainly love to tell you all about the tulle and lights on the porch, but I am probably even more clueless than you are!  The lights looked to me like tulle wrapped around wire cages that were hung upside down--almost like the wire forms that hold tomatoes up.

With the white lights placed inside, they were gorgeous!

 

There’s one more question that came in having to do with any tips I had to share about living frugally.   I have a few things to write about in that regard, but I thought it would be fun to also open up the Bargain Tip Blog to you, as well. What do you and your family do to save money on food, clothes, repairs, electronics, shopping, basic living?

I’ll add your tips to my post along with your blog address, if you have one.  I’m always interested in learning more about living well on less.

Sigh.

Well, it’s time.

I figured that if I sat here and typed long enough, I could just forget all about the appointment looming over me.  But alas, the clock has announced that it is time to wrap this up, and get into the car.  And drive.  And be poked.  And expanded.  And drive home.

After two weeks of feeling really good, I’ve been having some pain and discomfort in the last couple of days which means that The Procedure will probably be a bit more unpleasant than usual.

Happy, happy day.