After the Storm...and the Earthquake.

Hurricane Irene has come and gone, but rest assured that everyone here in BritKnitterville is fine. I hope everyone reading this is safe, too. Irene was downgraded to a Category One hurricane by the time she made landfall in New Jersey. Oddly enough, this is just the third time in the State's history that a hurricane made a direct hit. This was the first time that we boarded up the windows of the Museum where I work.



Irene caused the evacuation of Cape May County (yes a whole county of people!) and most of the shore communities on the coast. Fortunately my little house in Fortescue is on the Delaware Bay side of the state, but I would say that just about everyone left the island for higher ground, even though evacuation was not mandatory. My sister and I drove down there this morning to check on things, and there were lots of trees and wires down (and no power on the island), but fortunately not a lot of property damage. My little house survived with only the loss of one of the window shutters. Whew!

Not only did we have a Hurricane this week, we also had an Earthquake! In New Jersey! Ok, so technically it wasn't centered in New Jersey, but it sure felt like it! I can't imagine what it was like in Virginia. One minute I was sitting at the computer at in the Museum's library, and my chair starts rolling. I look up, and the hanging lights are swinging. We ran out into the museum (a GLASS museum, by the way) and the ginormous chandeliers in the lobby are swinging. Being in a glass museum in an earthquake is not my idea of fun, by the way. An earthquake in New Jersey...very strange.

In other news, I have a fourth dog. Well, HAD a fourth dog. For 24 hours. He wandered into the yard last Sunday and started eating the cats' food in the garage. He had a collar, but no tags and I named him Russell. Why? He's a Jack Russell Terrier, so what better name for this sweet boy?



To make a long story short, I will never take another dog in to the local SPCA to be scanned for a microchip. I will wait until my Vet's office opens and let them scan the dog. The local SPCA took Russell from me to scan him (no chip, by the way), and wouldn't let me take him back home! I told them I would give them all of my information in case the owner turned up, but they said they couldn't legally release him to me since I wasn't the owner. I never heard of that before. I took Cooper there three years ago to be scanned and they released him to me. Not Russell. They said I could come back in 7 days and fill out an application for adoption. Let me tell you, I was a mess. I was crying, which got another woman crying, and then two more women came to see what we were crying about and they started crying. Still, I had to leave without Russell... I posted his picture on Craig's List and Missing Pet.com, and hung posters in local stores. In the end it was the posters that reunited Russell with his owner. No more SPCA for me!

I'm sharing this picture just because it's so cute:



That's my dad, with his hair all messy and dirty knees. Doesn't he look great? Especially considering that he has had a rough year with two cancer surgeries. (Still cancer free!!!) He is working on a ramp for the shed at Fortescue. He is happiest when he has a project, and the Fortescue house is an endless source of projects for him. Endless, until the money runs out, which it does on a regular basis. I just made my second mortgage payment, and oddly enough it still doesn't feel like it's MY house. I still have that "trespassing" feeling when I walk in. This helps, though:



It is a picture of my first Brittany, Scarlett. My sister had an artist friend of hers do it for me shortly before I lost my sweet Scarlett. Now, every time I walk in the front door, this is what I see:




Yep, that's my house alright. Scarlett watches over it for me while I am away.

The Dog That Changed The World

For this week's Dogs on Thursday, I bring you The Dog That Changed The World! Well, my world, anyway...
That's my Scarlett, the first dog that was mine-all-mine. I brought her home June 30, 1991, and things have never been the same! She wormed her way into my heart in about 2 seconds, and I have been head-over-heels for brittanys ever since.

She had that classic "brittany" look, and aged oh-so-gracefully.

Scarlett was outspoken, ornery, demanding, and had no patience for fools, either two-legged or four-legged. I miss her every single day.

Dogs on Thursday, Birthday Edition

For this week's Dogs on Thursday, we are celebrating the May birthdays of past and present residents of BritKnitterville. First up are Katie and Scarlett, born May 13, 1991.

Aren't they just the cutest little things? Those heads look huge compared to their little bodies. They were litter mates. Mom and dad brought Katie home, and the next day I went and got Scarlett. Eventually, Katie was so very bad for mom and dad, that they were at their wit's end. Katie ate holes in rugs, furniture and clothes, and even ate a pin cushion, and the pins! When she was almost a year old, she started climbing over the fence and running around the neighborhood. In short, her behavior was less than acceptable, and Katie needed a new home. She came to live with Scarlett, and never did another bad thing after that. I think she just missed her sister.

A few years later, Mellie came along. She was born May 12, 1997. See how light she was at a pup? That's why we started calling her Mellie Vanillie. What a good dog she was.

Here is a picture of my three May birthday girls. Left to right, that is Scarlett, Mellie and Katie. this picture was taken in 1998.

Notice the right edge of that photo? That's Mellie's handiwork. She was a chewer. She loved, loved, LOVED paper. This is a rare shot of all three dogs together, so I couldn't throw it away. Besides, I think the chewed edge add a little something to the photo, don't you?

Believe it or not, the next brittany pup added to the household was also born in May. May 12th, 2001 to be exact. That would be my beloved Emma. Here she is, all tuckered out after playing with her big sisters. She loved to lay on my garden shoes.
Not just my shoes - any old shoes would do.

Quite a coincidence that these four girls were all born in May! Emma is probably the last brittany whose birthday we will know, as I won't be buying any more dogs from breeders. Nothing against these sweet girls, but with so many homeless dogs out there, I'll always choose a rescue organization over breeders.

Oh, and there is one other resident of BritKnitterville with a May birthday... Me!

Yes, I was born May 12, 19-::cough,cough,sputter:: Excuse me--tickle in my throat. (Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes sent through Facebook yesterday.) Emma says she doesn't mind sharing her birthday with me, as long as it is clear that she is the #1 focus on that day.
Well, truth be told she has to be the #1 focus on her birthday and on every other day of the year!

Lobbying for an 11 month calendar.

For this week's Dogs on Thursday, I've decided to start a campaign. Abolish April! It's no secret that April is my least favorite month. Why? Do I have something against spring weather? Daffodils? The Easter Bunny? Ha. It's because I lost these two lovely girls in the month of April.

Scarlett and Mellie, May 1997

Yesterday was the third anniversary of Mellie's crossing over the rainbow bridge. Rough day. Rough week. Rough month.

Melanie, aka Mellie, Mellie Vanillie

May 12, 1997 - April 14, 2007

The month of May can't come soon enough.

Easter Bunny?

I had a visit from the Easter Bunny this weekend! He left me a present in the garage!

The practical side of me says it might have been the neighbor's chickens who left me these little presents....
...but I don't think so. Easter weekend...Easter Bunny!

It was a beautiful long weekend here in southern NJ. The Star Magnolia was in full bloom...

...just in time for the anniversary of sweet Scarlett's crossing the rainbow bridge on Sunday.

Scarlett c.1994
my first Brittany

May 13, 1991 - April 4, 2003

The weather was so very nice that we went to Fortescue every day. Look at who greets visitors on the road into Fortescue:
Can't quite make him out? Here's a closeup:

Spiderman...Spiderman...Friendly neighborhood Spiderman! He is wearing bunny ears, no less! Love it!

Yesterday, I even took my bicycle down to Fortescue and rode all around. My first stop, of course, was "my" house. Still vacant...still for sale... :sigh:
I should have realized that the recent nasty weather (high winds and record flooding) that brought lots of treasures up onto the beach......also brought lots of sand up onto the road. It was pretty deep in some spots. Here's a tip: Sandy roads and bicycle tires are not a good match. Can you see where this is going? Down. Yup...I completely wiped out. I'm all scraped up, bruised and sore... Ugh. Bikes are for kids.

Dogs on Thursday

I read my first book by Dean Koontz this week. I know, I know, everyone but me has read something by him. What can I say.... I'm late to the party. A friend lent me her copy of Koontz's "The Darkest Evening of the Year." I laughed, I cried... well mostly I cried. I would recommend it to any dog lover, especially Golden Retrievers, or anyone involved in rescue.

I won't give away the story line (because that's one of my top 10 pet peeves) but one paragraph practically jumped off the page and said to me, "Hey, you there...are you paying attention to this? Read this again and again, and share it with everyone you know," so here it is:

"Dogs' lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know that pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make because of those illusions."

I am so very thankful that my babes are all so healthy, but every day --every single day-- I look at Emma and Tara and Cooper, and know that the unbearable pain of losing them is coming. I can't help it. I also know that I will welcome another soul into my life when the unbearable pain becomes a little less unbearable, and the cycle will start again.

Scarlett c.1994
my first Brittany

May 13, 1991 - April 4, 2003

Eighteen Years Ago Today...

...my first Brittany came into my life! My much loved and much missed Scarlett is seen here with her big sister, Scupper the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Here is one of my last pictures of Scarlett, (a.k.a. Starlett, Star Baby, Star Belly). Left to right is Mellie, (who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2007), Scarlett, and Emma.

See how white her whole head is in that picture? Compare it to the next photo, which is one of my favorite pictures of Scarlett.

Sweet Scarlett

May 13, 1991 - April 4, 2003

I suppose someday it will stop hurting so much when I look at that photo, but it still brings me to tears every time.

Missing Two Very SpecialDogs on Thursday

All this week, I've been listening to Heidi by Johanna Spyri on my iPod. It's just one of the many, many books I have enjoyed (for free!) from Librivox. I listen while I'm at work, either cleaning the sticky fingerprints off of the cases in the mornings, or while editing photos and crap and other mindless very important work on the computer.

Anyway, as I was listening to Heidi earlier this week, the following sentence jumped out at me:

". . . the grandmother said . . . 'the heart is comforted with the assurance that some day everything that we have loved will be given back to us.' "

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this. It almost took my breath away when I heard it. Literally, it stopped me in my tracks.

You see, April is a month full of memories of loss for me. I almost want to crawl into bed on March 31 and not leave it until May 1st. I know I shouldn't feel this way. I know I have so many things to be thankful for. I know that I am so very lucky when it comes to my family, and the fact that my parents are in such good health, and Emma and Tara are as healthy as can be. Still, the incredibly unreasonable and selfish part of me wants more. I desperately want my dear Scarlett who crossed the Rainbow Bridge on April 4, 2003...

...and my dear Mellie who crossed April 14th just last year. I miss these sweet girls more than words can say. Why do I so desperately long for something I know I can never have? I guess if I knew the answer to that, the makers of Prozac would be out of business.

Speaking of loss, there are still no sign of Ducky the Duckster, that little floozy. Even Napoleon has stopped coming by. I've heard another rooster crowing from somewhere farther away than Napoleon's house. I would think it was that crafty little Napoleon (who lured away my sweet, innocent little Ducky) throwing his voice, but it's a very different "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo," so it's definitely a new rooster in the 'hood. Maybe Ducky took up with this new rooster? I'll have to do some investigating. If I don't blog for a while, it's because one of my neighbors had me thrown in jail for trespassing. Bake me a cake with a file in it, will you? Chocolate would be my preference.

Narrowing it down.....

I have been puzzling over the identity of my Secret Pal. Here are the clues I have so far:

• She is withing 500 miles of southern New Jersey
• She lives in the North Eastern section of the United States (and got snow on April 3rd)
• She is a sock knitter
• She has participated in Secret Pal exchanges before
• She is going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival next month

If she lives where she got snow yesterday, and is still going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival next month, she has got to be a pretty serious knitter and/or spinner/weaver/ fibre person to make that trek. I'm about two hours away from the festival, and haven't gone in a couple of years. Hey - maybe she has a booth there! Vendors come from all over the place.... How cool is that? Ah, well, still no idea. Not even sure if she is a "she" or a "he".

As far as my going to the festival this year, that's still up in the air. My niece graduates from college that weekend. I think on Sunday, May 6th. Maybe I can get away on Saturday. It depends on how Mellie is doing. If she's going through a bad spell, I won't want to leave her for the day.

Speaking of Mellie, she's doing great. Criquette suggested that I try giving her some tuna if she is getting tired of chicken and beef. I bought a dozen cans, and since then, she has been scarfing up the beef, both ground and shaved! Oh well, it's nice to have the tuna in the pantry as a backup. In the meantime, what to do with the tuna......

Yes, that's little Joey. He ate a whole can of tuna himself. The-Whole-Thing. He even drank all of the tuna juice. Blech! I couldn't give Joey an extra special treat without taking something to the bunnies. There was a half bag of "spring mix" lettuce in the fridge that would expire the next day, so the bunnies got it. Left to right, this is Momma Bunny, Sunshine, Little Boy and Mr. Darcy.
The last picture for today is a shot of sweet Mellie when she was a puppy, with my beloved Scarlett. We lost Scarlett four years ago today, and it still hurts...I suppose it always will. Scarlett was the first dog that was mine, all mine. She was a Christmas present (in July) from Mom and Dad.OK, just one more picture. This is Scarlett with her sister Katie when they were seven weeks old. Such sweet little things. Katie was Mom & Dad's dog for about 6 months, but she was so bad (she ate clothes, tablecloths, a chair, a pincushion, she escaped over the fence, etc.) that she came to live with me, my sister S and Scarlett. She never did another bad thing. I think she just wanted to be with her sister. That, and we had a Chesapeake Bay Retriever at the time who taught Katie manners.

Oh, you would like to see a picture of the Chesapeake? Her name was Scupper. Here she is by the pool with Scarlett. Scupper was 11 years old, and Scarlett was just 8 or 9 weeks old. Ahhhhh.

And here is Scarlett at 3 years old:

And here is Katie at 3 years old:

And this is, left to right, Mellie (at 5 years old), Scarlett (11 years), and Emma (1 year old). Scarlett would only live less than a year after this picture was taken. She was the alpha dog and had us all under her thumb, or paw as the case may be. She was loud, bossy and demanding, but I loved her like I had never loved before.

That's really an end to the pictures. If it's true that "the more you cry, the less you gotta pee", I'm good for at least a week.

My Girls Have Come Home

Yes, after a couple of weeks at the framer (is that a word?) my girls have come home.

This is a portrait of my lovely girls, past and present, done by Kristin Osgood, an artist who works with my sister. She really captured the personalities of each dog - their eyes are so true-to-life, it's almost freaky. She incorporated a lot of personalized items into the painting - forget-me-nots, their favorite toys, how they all center around Scarlett. Kristin is so very talented, and she really "got" each of the dogs and captured them magnificently. I'm afraid my photography of the painting doesn't do it justice.

Here is a picture of my funny-faced Scarlett that Kristin used for the painting. She asked for several pictures of each of the dogs, and wanted to know all about their personalities, and it really comes through in the painting. Even though Scarlett will be gone three years next month, I still miss her each and every day. She really left a hole in my heart.

Mellie is still doing well. She ate 12 chicken nuggets for breakfast, and 12 more for dinner tonight. It's a good day. Any day she eats is a very good day.