Rest Well Little Zena

ZENA

Around 11:00 I found Zena laying limp in her little bed, breathing shallow. I had just been holding her 20 minutes earlier. I called the vet, wrapped her in my shirt and ran out the door. We didn't make it. I told her I loved her, told her to hold on and gave her a kiss on the head. As my lips touched her head, she took her last breath. Zena had many health issues, including having seizures, a heart murmur and cushings. I didn't expect her to live to a ripe old age, but I also didn't expect her to just up and suddenly die without warning. She was 8. I am thankful that it was quick and that she didn't suffer and that she was in my arms. I just wish I had time to prepare myself.

Zena was a character. We got her from the shelter, but she was an owner surrender so we got back ground information on her. Her old owner used to breed her, and Zena was very maternal. Whenever I had a foster litter of kittens, Zena would always try to take care of them. She would groom them and keep them warm. Even when Luna and Katrina were pups, she would spend just as much time mothering them as Bonita. I don't think she ever quite got it as the puppies grew to be bigger than she was. Zena was just so little, that even my small puppies got bigger. She was so little in fact, that she was a shelf dog. She loved to take naps on the shelf of my night stand.

Zena had many nicknames, Jellybean and Princess seemed to stick the most, and eventually we just called her Jellybean Princess. And now my Jellybean Princess is gone. Two hours ago she was licking peanut butter off of my finger, and now she is buried beneath a tree next to Pip.

Rest well little one, until we meet again. I am sure I will find you resting in a sunbeam at the bridge. You always loved spending hours resting in the sunbeam.

Gardening

As mundane as it might seem, I have found myself very excited about my garden. In the past I have planted a few things here and there, but this is the first year I have planted a full fledged vegetable garden. Although I did start out with a few plants (tomatoes, peppers of different varieties) for the most part I planted seeds.

I didn't expect it to be so, but it is really exciting for me to go out each day and see how much they grow. It is oddly satisfying. The radishes were the first to sprout through the ground. The pumpkins next. Now, two weeks into it, everything is visible. The corn is even a couple of inches high.

Sometimes it is the most simple things in life that can bring a person happiness.

Irresponsible Free Speech

It seems free speech issues are at the center of the bulls eye at the moment. Don Imus, and JV and Elvis lost their jobs over jokes. Opie and Anthony were suspended for 30 days, following comments made by a man during an on the street interview on satellite radio. If the jokes were funny or not is a matter of opinion, but they were jokes none the less. I am Polish and I grew up hearing Polish jokes. It never occurred to me to be offended. It certainly never entered my mind that the people telling these jokes were anti-Polish people. It seems that it is humor that is being banned. Why do I say this?

The answer is Rosie O'Donnell.

Rosie has been saying hateful comments on ABC's The View for months. Her comments are not being said in jest. Her comments are driven by her deep rooted hatred for President Bush. As an American, Rosie O'Donnell has a right to free speech. Perhaps ABC should be held up as a champion in the media of first amendment rights. However, there is a point where free speech goes too far. A person can't yell "Fire" in a movie theater or "Bomb" on an airplane. Those things are clear, but where is the line to be drawn in other places? It is a slippery slope, that is true. But in my opinion, that line needs to be drawn when it threatens the security and safety of others.

I didn't like when O'Donnell stated her opinion that the United States was behind the 9/11 attacks. But as an event from the past, those words were hurtful but not dangerous. Although not a joke, I don't think a person needs to be silenced because they hurt feelings.

Not long after that O'Donnell stated that when the British sailors were taken and held captive by Iran, it was all a plan. Of course, she was proven incorrect (yet never apologized for her claim, yet the radio jocks all apologized for their jokes and were still taken off the air). I do think she should have been silenced after this comment because such comments could have put those people at more of a risk. They were still being held by their captors. Making such a claim could have easily cost those people their lives. Yet ABC and Barbara Walters didn't feel it was important enough to reprimand her. Since then O'Donnell's comments have become more wild and more irresponsible. Most recently calling our brave men and women serving in Iraq terrorists.

This is a transcript of the exchange between Rosie and her co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on 05/17/07 which took place on The View:


O'DONNELL: …… I just want to say something. 655,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. Who are the terrorists?

HASSELBECK: Who are the terrorists?

O'DONNELL: 655,000 Iraqis — I’m saying you have to look, we invaded –

HASSELBECK: Wait, who are you calling terrorists now? Americans?

O’DONNELL: I’m saying if you were in Iraq, and the other country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?

HASSELBECK: Are we killing their citizens or are their people also killing their citizens?

O’DONNELL: We’re invading a sovereign nation, occupying a country against the U.N.

I think this should have been the end of Rosie on The View, ABC and the media general. The act of terrorism is a crime. Terrorists are criminals. Ms. O'Donnell accused American military members of being criminals! A person should not be given a podium where they can lob false charges against people on national television. Perhaps Rosie should have charges brought against her for making false charges.

So, after a review and much thought, ABC isn't a champion for free speech. ABC is a supporter of irresponsible speech.

XM Radio and Censorship

The idea behind satellite radio is that it is a subscription service, and has its own rules...or no rules. I have been an XM subscriber for years. My husband is a truck driver, and XM helps make the long miles on the road go by a little faster. Over the years we have convinced many people to go with XM over the other satellite service. So, how does XM reward their loyal listeners? They took the Opie and Anthony show off. The reason? Because (supposedly) the hosts of the show talked about something they were not supposed to talk about. Isn't restricting what can and cannot be discussed censorship? Isn't removing them from the line-up, removing their ability to say anything at all censorship?

Of course it is!

XM has scammed the public. XM has taken subscriber dollars based on a lie. They have pulled the ultimate bait and switch. It is time to take a stand. If you are an Opie and Anthony fan, call and cancel your subscription. If you aren't a fan, call and complain about the censorship. They are taking your dollars too, based on false advertising. This week it is O&A. Next week it will be a show you listen to. If people don't take a stand, soon satellite radio will be as watered down as the public airwaves. And we will have to ask ourselves why we let it happen, and if you haven't cancelled, why you continue to pay.

A Baby Is Born

Yes, another sister-in-law has had a baby. This one, a boy, born today. It is funny the different swirl in the atmosphere which has surrounded each new baby's arrival

When the first was born, everyone was so excited. Every little step along the way seemed like a milestone worth remembering. When the second came along, some were excited, others were not. Much of that had to do with other issues of the time, and not with the baby himself.

Then there is this one, born today. I think I am one of the few who truly welcomes him to the world. His situation for joining us isn't the best. Mom just a teen, totally unplanned. Simply his being has ripped through the fabric of so many lives. Yet, here he is. Just an innocent.

The thing that has troubled me the most isn't that my young sister-in-law became pregnant, or that a baby has been born, but the reaction of some of the adults. Seemingly punishing the Mom and new baby for their crime. Viewing the child as a tragedy. It is very troubling indeed. I truly hope that this attitude passes before it does some serious emotional damage on these two young lives facing the world together.

Four Months Old

The girlies are 4 months old today. I can't believe how fast this time has gone by. It is hard to believe that they only have about 6 weeks before they are getting spayed. They went to the vet today for their final puppy shots.

Waiting for the vet

Katrina now weighs 10.2 pounds and Luna weighs 8.2 pounds. This is the last time I will be taking them in one crate. They were so heavy! I am so used to popping them both in a crate to go to the vet, I wasn't prepared.

With Dr. G

Weekend Report: Car show and old friends

We had a pretty busy weekend. My friend John came up from FL to visit. I was excited to learn he was coming for a visit, but in the end it left me with a lot of uncomfortable feelings and questions in my mind. John and I became friends in school, in 1982. We have kept in touch, but it seems in the last 5 years or so it has been less and less. A handful of emails or IMs a year. Our lives and interests have gone is such different directions, that I think our friendship is based more on tradition than any thing we actually have in common.

John is a music editor for a magazine. His life revolves around going to concerts, meeting famous people and stuff like that. When he does email me it is usually a bunch of pictures of people he interviewed and photographed recently. I honestly have no interest in that. It was exciting when he first started years ago, but I am not one that keeps up with current music fads or artists and I don't even know who most of these people are. LOL

To be fair, John is just as disinterested in my life. He doesn't like animals. I invited him to come to see the new house (which I think buying a house is a pretty major thing, and a friend would be interested). He didn't want to come over, and he used the dogs as a reason why.

We had a car show this weekend, so I asked him to come to that, but he didn't want to. He just wanted to meet at the mall for lunch. Originally that was what we agreed to, but I really didn't want to leave the car show, so I called him and he agreed to come for a couple of hours. Even then I could tell he wasn't having a good time, and we basically only made small talk. It is just an odd situation. When I talk about John, even all these years later, I still refer to him as my "best friend", but this weekend made me realize we probably aren't really friends at all. The only glue that seems to hold us together is the fact that we have a 25+ year relationship. Which really isn't much to base a relationship on at all.

Now, about the car show...

Joe and I entered our first car show. We had gone to cruise nights, and we have attended shows, but this was the first time we entered our cars. We entered both cars. Mostly just for fun. We knew that compared to other cars that would be there our cars wouldn't be anything too special. We just wanted to have a good time with our car club.

The thing that surprised me was that there were actually cars worse off than ours. Our cars are mostly tweaked for performance, but to look at them, they look pretty run of the mill. That said, they are still fairly clean. Especially for cars 13 & 16 years old. But there were cars there that were rust buckets, which struggled to run. Cars which I personally wouldn't want to be seen in driving to Walmart, let alone a car show. But as long as people enjoyed the beautiful summer day, that is what really matters.

We considered entering the Camaro in the racing contest. She can move pretty good. But the some of the other cars there meant business. Actual dragsters showed up, and it wasn't worth risking damage to my car when it seemed that it was going to be more than just a "fun" match.

We did enter both cars in the burnout contest. Both did great on their first run. The Camaro didn't do too bad on the second run. The Towncar's tires were still too hot and with all the rubber which had built up on the road at that point, she slid more than spin. It was still good fun. The person that won burned his tires right off, and that isn't something either of us were willing to do. The next time I am going to bring tires I can shred apart and go balls out.

I posted video of cars here: Burnout Contest

Puppies are 7 weeks old

The baby girls are 7 weeks old today. Every day they amaze me. The are such individuals, with distinct personalities. It really does amaze me how different they are.

They are completely trained to go on the potty pads and now have full run of the house, except at bed time. They go outside, but not each time. They are more interesting in playing outside than going potty. I will give them a couple more weeks before I really start pushing the potty outside stuff.

Lots of changes

We are all moved. I am still putting stuff away, and I probably will be for the next year. The amazing thing is the number of bags or particular boxes that I just can't find. I *know* I packed things, and I *know* we moved them, but they are nowhere to be found.

The animals are adjusting nicely to their new home. The cats were a little stressed at first, but they have settled down. The dogs loved the new place once they saw the yard. The have tons of room to run, and grass to roll in, and we even got them a little pool to cool off in (it was 112 degrees yesterday!)

The puppies are getting so grown up. They are 6 weeks old today. I still keep them gated in their own room most of the time. The house is barely people proof at this moment, it won't be puppy proof for a bit. At least until they get a little bigger and can't fit under the lazy-boy. They do get family time with supervision, but if I can't be right there, they have to be in their room. They don't seem to mind too much. They have each other, the cats visit, and Bonita checks in on them.

They are eating kibble and Bonita nurses them a few times a day. They are doing great using the potty pads. They have about 95% accuracy, so I can't ask for more. They are so funny. As soon as I put down a clean pad they toddle over and pee. They are also starting to chew. I caught Luna chewing her food bowl this morning.

We took them outside for the first time yesterday. Here are some pictures

Puppies' First Day Out

Moving!

Again, it has been a while between posts. Life has been very busy.

We just bought a house. Things have been moving so fast. We had the final signing this past Monday and we are moving on Saturday. Those who know me, know that I don't do change well. I get all sentimental. I keep looking around our current home, thinking about all that has happened here. I really should focus on the future. Yes, we have lived here for 6 years, but we will live at the new place for much longer.

I am going to miss looking out at the lake from my back porch. That was my favorite part of living here. However, I am going to like the fact that I don't have to drive 30 miles to go any place, and the roads should be better in the winter.

We have 6 acres, and still have wild life that visit (there were deer sleeping the other morning).

At the moment I am just overwhelmed, and tired from packing. I don't even want to think about how tired I will be Saturday.

Pretty soon, we will be settled then I can relax.