Catching up

I've been amassing photos on my phone, and I've just loaded them all onto this blog, so I'll let them guide me through the past couple of weeks.

A new acquaintance had recommended a salon and stylist in Ocean Springs, which is a good way from Bay St Louis, but I decided to try her out. She did a respectable job (you'll see some photos of me later on), and on the way back I took the shore drive through Biloxi, Gulfport, etc. Near Biloxi was a roadside park where Remy and I stopped so he could have a little constitutional.

This beautiful bird stood stock still watching a man check his crab traps. I talked to the man. He said she's always there, watching him, and waiting for him to throw her something. If you look closely, you can see that her left leg is lame. It was cool to be able to get so close to her, especially with Remy in tow.

Rick received a new hammock for Christmas from his sister. 

You may get tired of beautiful view from and of the Bay Bridge, but I never get tired of riding this route and seeing the different shows that the ocean and the sky put on. 

This photo and the next are from beneath the eastern side of the Bay Bridge between Bay St Louis and Pass Christian.

And this shows how hot and humid it was riding that day!

Crossing Lake Ponchartrain on the way into NOLA one evening, probably for my Voice Acting class. This has been an interesting experience. I've had four classes with Marc Preston, an experienced voice talent. The problem is that, each week, there's someone new, and he goes through a 45-minute spiel that I could almost recite for you after hearing it 4 times. There's a lot of good stuff in it, but it gets kind of long. 

More Bay St Louis pics. The weather has, according to the locals, been unseasonably warm. I'm not complaining. What that means here is that the temps have stayed in the mid 60s to low 70s during the day; and that means that it feels even warmer because the humidities here are much higher than they are in West Michigan at any time of year.

Another gorgeous day along the beach near our house.

On my normal, daily ride to the Treehouse Yoga studio in "downtown" Bay St Louis, I pass this park. Above, you can see children and ducks. Below is the sign seen on both sides of the park.

A sample of the mist that hangs over the area most times from dusk till dawn, at least, and sometimes well into the morning hours.

Our evening walk along the paved path of the beach road. Sometimes mist turns to rain fairly quickly, and sometimes it just hovers like this.

I got new glasses from Zenni. I think the prescription is a little better, but the biggest difference is that the lenses aren't scratched, so I can see so much better.

I had planned to march in New Orleans last Saturday, in support of women and those most threatened by new policies coming into effect with the new administration. But as the day drew closer, I realized that I didn't want to try to figure out where to park and be alone in such a large group of people. So Remy and I went to Gulfport. As it turns out, there were about 500 people marching there. Not bad for such a small community in such a red state.

I thought this sign was pretty funny!

There were a lot of children present at the march.

I met these two: Janet and Pam. They're from Michigan! They winter for about 3 weeks in Ocean Springs. I'm just sorry I didn't meet them till their stay was almost over, but we met up for supper a few days after this picture was taken; and I'm sure I'll be visiting them at their home near Grayling when I'm back in Michigan this coming summer.

This is a photo of the group getting ready to get underway. While Janet, Pam, and I stood waiting for people to come out of the building, a large pickup truck with two Confederate flags flying from the back pulled up on the side street near us. A frisson of apprehension went through the crowd, but then some of us just smiled and waved at the man in the truck in a friendly manner. No angry words were exchanged, and he went on his way.

The group marched along Highway 90. The going was rough for Pam in her scooter, so she and I turned off after a bit. She hung out while I went back and got their car, and helped her load the scooter into the back. Those things are cool! They come apart and fold up quite small. 

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the country, others were marching happily and proudly! Alice and David in LA.

Mary and friends in (or near) Penn Valley, CA.

Remy representing, wearing his rainbow collar.

After lots of rain, this sunshine was so welcome!

Our new friend, Licorice, who lives under the siding of the house and waits in absolute stillness till a bug appears, then darts out to eat.

Here's some stuff you need to know that doesn't have pictures attached. 

I gave the sermon at North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Lacombe, where I've been attending. This happened this past Sunday, 1/22. I put the text of the sermon on my other blog: sacredspacemdp.weebly.com in case anyone is interested. I felt that the service went well, and that my message was appreciated and well-received. 

Now for the hard news. Remy bit me. He didn't break the skin, but it obviously came from fear and mistrust, not just a warning. This event has permanently damaged a bond of trust that I thought we had, even though he absolutely did not trust anyone else for the entire 3 years that we have been together. Several times over the past 3 years I have considered having him euthanized because of his inability to cope with life in general, but I have persevered because of the bond that we have had. His biting me broke that bond, and I have finally come to realize that, although he not old or sick, he is not happy being in this life. He is frightened and isolated, and now that I can't trust him not to bite me, he is even more isolated. 

I have made arrangements for a mobile vet to visit us tomorrow morning to euthanize him. I am devastated to lose my companion, but I lost him the moment he bit me. I have many memories of his devotion and anxious love, and of difficult times when he lashed out at other people. I love this boy so much, but we can't continue.

I appreciate all the suggestions people have made about places to send him and people to consult. I have followed up on many of them, but the no-kill shelters are full (help fund them!), and Remy is "too old" to adapt, according to at least one of them. I have been so torn about this whole process, and just when I come to peace with the decision someone else will say, "Have you tried this?" or "Here's a no-kill shelter where he could go." That just happened a few minutes ago, and I'm sobbing again. I checked the place out and sent them an email, but their office is closed for the day, and I probably won't hear from them before morning. 

So, I'm saying good-bye to my dear friend, my nearly constant companion since May 1. The sweet things about him will live in my heart always. 

Holidays and such

First of all, thank you to Frances for reminding me that people are reading my blog, and that it was time for another post. The biggest reason I haven't been writing is that not much has been happening, at least not daily. But let's see what comes up ...

For about 3 weeks before Christmas, I played carols and Christmas songs at The Starfish Cafe completely gratis. It's that kind of place. They ask donations for their meals (which are superb, by the way), and they only pay a couple of members of their staff. It was fun. I think I would have missed Christmas had I not made Christmas music happen someplace. In exchange, I ate for free each day I played and Di, the proprietor, gave me a ticket to their New Years Eve fundraising event. Tickets were going for $50, so I felt really treated -- and I figured I should spend at least $50 on raffle tickets and bids on auction items while I was there.

I think I mentioned "Second Saturday" back in November. I missed it because I took off to go to LA and GR, but Rick went with some neighbors and said it was quite fun. I decided to check it out. It was kind of funny how it worked out. The three of us (me, Rick, and Remy) were planning to walk downtown -- maybe a mile to a mile and a half -- but just as we were starting out a train stopped on the tracks that separate us from the coast and the downtown, and it wasn't moving at all. I was halfway to the train, and Rick was yelling something to me from back at the house. I thought he was coming and we'd walk along the tracks till we found the end of the train and a way across. Apparently not. Remy and I walked downtown, and when we did find Rick it seems he had decided to drive.

Remy and I wandered about, checked out a couple of music offerings, had our picture taken with Santa, and walked back. It was chilly, but a lovely evening.

Snowflake decorations in a large tree by the Baptist church on Main Street.

More of the same along Nicholson Avenue, which runs from Hwy 90 to the Beach Road.

One comes up over the railroad tracks, and there is this bower of light.

Some of you may have seen some of these photos on FB, but let me elaborate. You know all those movies and TV shows you've seen where the southern ladies sit on the front porch and perspire and fan themselves, and the ones where the zombies or other scary things appear out of the mist. Well, that's the feel of the area, totally. It's definitely not hot right now, but it's humid enough that, at 27 degrees this morning, I couldn't see my breath when I took Remy out. The only explanation I have for this is that there's enough humidity in the air that the moisture from my breath doesn't condense into a cloud. Here are some local photos from a couple of weeks ago when it was a little warmer out.

Looking out into our backyard from the carport.

The neighborhood.

Christmas lights in the mist look just as cool as in the snow.

Brilliant daughter #2, Abby, upon hearing about my level of daily boredom, suggested that I knit her a hat. For those of you who know me, it will come as no surprise that I knitted about 11 hats, total. Each of my kids (I'm including the guys in that) got one, as did Di at the Cafe, and friend Sue in GR (Well, she hasn't received hers yet. It just went out in the mail on Saturday.) 

These are four of the hats I produced, with Murder, She Wrote in the background. I was really disappointed when Netflix took that show down on January 1. It was perfect to knit by because I didn't really have to watch much.

This is one I made for myself, along with a lovely scarf/wrap that Abby and Adam sent me for Christmas.

As Christmas grew closer, I realized that I really didn't want to stay here all by myself while Rick went to see his family  near Dallas. I contacted my brother Bill's family in Cary, NC, and they were happy to welcome me. Seems that my other brother, Jim, and his wife, son, and son's fiancee were all heading for Durham to see his daughter and her partner, and planning to have an evening at Bill's. It would have been nice to have my parents there, too, and my kids, but even just having this many together was a real treat.

I left in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. Earlier in the day, I had driven over to Jack & Diane's in Gulfport to get my first tattoo.

It's based on an original design that Chuck (Peterson) did before I met him. The dancing figures are his. The colors are added by me because, well, you know -- color! I call it joy leaping out of diversity. The tattoo is healing nicely, and I'll be going back for a bit of touch-up work next Tuesday. I really liked the tattoo place, and when I go back I'm going to ask whether they ever have need of simple counter help by someone who doesn't actually do tattoos. I could use some part time work.

When I left BSL, I thought I might make it to Atlanta in time for an 11:00 service at a big, Atlanta, Catholic church. But as I got closer and closer to Atlanta, I realized that I wouldn't get to the church till about 11:20, so I bagged it. Just before midnight, I stopped at a Waffle House in Suwannee, GA. The people working were great! I looked on my phone for a hotel for the night, but I discovered that, once midnight had passed, I couldn't make a reservation on line because I couldn't check in and out the same day. I could have just gone over to the front desk, but I decided to sleep in the van in the Waffle House parking lot. The staff at Waffle House said they'd "keep an eye on [me]". It got a bit chilly toward morning, but all in all it wasn't too bad. 

Charlotte, NC, was right on my way to Cary, so I contacted friend Patrick Hamrick to see if I would be welcome to stop at his house. He, his wife, son, and mother-in-law welcomed me to brunch about 10 a.m. I had brought grapefruit, freshly picked on Saturday by a neighbor in BSL, and I was glad to be able to leave a few of those with them. I had a nice visit. 

Google maps basically took me cross country to Cary from there. Patrick and family live southeast of Charlotte proper, so I just followed 2-lane roads over to Cary. It was a nice drive, not too busy, and it didn't take overly long. When I came back on I-85 through Charlotte a few days later, I was grateful for having not had to deal with that mess on Christmas Day. 

I arrived at Bill's about 2:30 or 3:00, I think, and the Derks were having a laid back Christmas afternoon. I got out the trinkets I had brought from the French Market for them, and Remy and I got settled. Colleen cooked up a nice meal, and everyone except Torri wore their Santa hats at dinner. (Torri put hers on for the photo, under duress.)

Remy fits right inside one of the circles on the rug. He was found in this spot more than once.

Rileigh (sp?) has his own comfy spot (which I don't think he's supposed to be in).

Monday, I had a bike ride, did some errands, and cooked dinner for all who were watching football. Tuesday, I had a bike ride, and then Jim and family came over. Colleen made chicken cordon bleu and was kind enough to make a couple without the puff pastry for me. It was delicious. I actually ended up eating some things with flour in them, and I didn't die; but I didn't especially feel good, either.

Keaton.

We were seated at two tables to accommodate everyone.

Here are a few more.

And Jim, who was on my right.

I think the brothers got together again after I left, but I decided to hit the road on Wednesday. I thought that my Voice Actors class MeetUp was going to do a make-up on Thursday evening in New Orleans and I wanted to get back for that. I decided to head for Montgomery the first day. I got an earlier start than I had on Christmas Eve, which was nice because I spent at least an hour in stop and go traffic around Charlotte. 

I found a decent place for supper before reaching Montgomery, and while I was there made an online reservation at the Alabama Hotel, which had 4 out of 5 stars in a couple of reviews I read. Guess I should have read more reviews. When I arrived, the desk did not have my reservation. This turned out not to be a problem, because there were plenty of empty rooms. (I should have taken this as a sign and moved on right then.) The desk clerk was very nice, but he didn't believe I'd made the reservation on their very own web page till I showed him the confirmation on my phone. Anyway, it was late -- about 11:30 -- so he found me a "non-smoking" room on the third floor, and Remy and I headed up. 

The room certainly didn't smell like a non-smoking room. It smelled as though the room itself smoked a pack a day. There were no ashtrays in the room, but smoke was getting in there from someplace. And the windows didn't open. I figured I'd get used to it, and I did. But yuck!

Next morning, I ousted some insect-like creature from the tub by washing it down the drain. It looked sort of like an earwig, but wasn't. Once in the shower, I noticed the bites on my right arm and immediately thought, "bedbugs!" I packed up and headed out, stopping at the desk to report the bedbug issue. The young Asian man at the desk seemed to have difficulty understanding me. He reported that the manager would not be in till noon or 1, so I said I'd call. As I drove back, I planned my afternoon.

I don't know. Maybe they're not bedbug bites. The manager said they "looked" and didn't see any bedbugs. But I looked the bites up on line, and they certainly looked like bedbug bites. 

Fortunately, the Voice Acting class had not been rescheduled, so I had a lot of open time. My plan was not to take anything into the house from the car until all had been washed and dried thoroughly. The washer and dryer at the house are right inside the back door, so I did take a couple pair of shoes in that couldn't be washed and put them directly into the dryer, where they bounced around on high heat for about 30 minutes. I took out everything that wasn't cloth and left it on the back patio and then drove to a place where a laundromat and car wash are right next to each other. 

I loaded the clothes in the washers and then washed the car and thoroughly vacuumed it out, running back and forth to feed quarters to the one dryer-load that was only drying, not washing -- pillows, a wool vest, etc. I felt pretty confident when I headed home, and (knock wood) I haven't had any problems since getting back. 

New Years Eve fundraiser at the Community Center.

I was glad to have someplace to go on NYE where I knew a few people. The band was good, although the acoustics weren't. The food was excellent. And I bid on, and won, 3 hours of training with a florist. We've scheduled for early March, not too long before I leave to go back north, and I'll have to keep practicing once I get back to Michigan so I'll be ready for Abby's wedding at the end of June.

I had a few days at home without Rick. He got back January 2, after a horrendous drive through torrential rain, which had been going on here for 4 or 5 days. 

This is a channel caused by runoff from the road heading toward the ocean. There are a number of places where the beach has completely changed from when we arrived back in October. 

I took a ride across the Bay Bridge over to Pass Christian and took a small detour off the trail.

This was a look back at the bridge from the neighborhood at its foot. 

Remy is doing his "Vanna" thing, showing you the work I've been doing on my quilt. This quilt is patchwork on the other side. This side is designated to show my cut up T-shirts. I've divided the shirt pieces into small, medium, and large. I'm starting with large and will work the other pieces into the gaps. I'm trying to do one large piece per night while watching/listening to Bones episodes, which have taken the place of Murder, She Wrote. 

New Years Eve, I took my first yoga class in probably at least 20 years. It was "Gentle Yoga," but not too easy. I enjoyed it very much and found that the meditation practice I've been doing enabled me to drop into that quiet space at the end of class very easily. I have had 3 more classes since, and I've signed up for a 6-week Yoga for Healthy Aging class that starts January 25. Besides the practice itself, I've really enjoyed being with lots of other women around my age. 

I've also started (with Kristi Szczepanek) The Artist's Way discipline, using the book by Julia Cameron. There are still a lot of open hours in the day, but I feel more focused and less at loose ends. Once the chilly weather goes (tomorrow or Tuesday), I'll be back to biking every morning and walking Remy near the beach every evening. I want to feel comfortable in the dress I got for Abby's wedding, and more comfortable in my own skin. I think I'm well on the way to doing that.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I found a masseur here and had a session on Friday. He seems very knowledgeable and really went to town on a few areas that had gotten very clogged up in the time since my last massage. Now to find a chiropractor. I'll be asking those women at yoga.