Blogging Buffet: B is for Basset Hound

The theme of my A to Z Challenge posts this year is "Blogging Buffet." In celebration of recently posting my 1000th blog post, I am revisiting posts from the past. Today's post originally published on August 3, 2011.

Well, the vet called this morning (remember, this post was originally written on August 3, 2011) with the news that Lucy passed away in the middle of the night. In her memory, I thought I'd share a few photos.

A photo from the breeder, taken before we even met Lucy:

Photo: Lucy as a young puppy, with puppy food on her face and long, black ears.

The black face and ears changed to brown. She loved her hedgehog:

Photo: Lucy holding her stuffed hedgehog

She would always listen to me:

Photo: Lucy lifts her head off the arm of the chair

Then politely ignore my dumb request to get off the furniture:

Photo: Lucy rests her head on the arm of the chair and looks away from the camera

I'm still not quite sure why her stubborn naughtiness made me laugh, but it did. Someone else, who shall remain nameless, endearingly dubbed her "Lucance the Nuisance"--but I know he didn't really mean it.

She was always game for a bellyrub:

Photo: Lucy rolls over on her back, begging for a belly rub.

She loved to eat, and was delighted whenever she found food just ready for the picking:

Photo: Lucy picks an apple off the tree

She loved to play in all kinds of weather:

Photo: Lucy anticipates catching a snowball that my youngest daughter is about to drop

Her face lightened through the years, but she was still beautiful:

Photo: White-faced Lucy smiles

We had over six wonderful years together. Good dog, Lucy, good dog!

I'm thankful for Lucy. When she passed away, I found myself dog-less for the first time in almost 2 decades. That is when I became a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street. While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...

Ten Things of Thankful: Oregon Edition, Part 3

A western bluebird, sitting at the base of a house window, looks inside Thanks (1) to those who have sent well-wishes for my mom's recovery. Her wrist is healing up nicely. I met a friend from high school for lunch this past week. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with her for a couple of hours. She is one of those friends who it doesn't matter how much time has passed, we can pick right back up into meaningful conversations. Lunch ended all too soon, but I'm so thankful (2) for her, and I'm thankful (3) that she reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others. Being in my parents' home this week, visiting with a long-time (I'm not saying old!) friend, and with Mother's Day tomorrow, my mind naturally reflects upon the women in my life. I'm thankful (4) for an incredible mom--a gentle woman who taught and loved and guided us (and still does.) I'm thankful (5) for grandmas who were different in their personalities but united in their...

Thankful Me

Search This Blog