Flash Back Monday -- A Work In Progress

Way back in 2016 our Field was a brand new baby full of weeds and brush and chain link fences and more weeds and people who hugged eachother . . . how weird.

I thought it would be fun to have a Look Back.

Happy Memorial Day!

MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016

Field Work

Having a Field can be hard work.

And Mistah has risen to the task.

He's always out there raking and chopping and lopping and clearing.

And voilà, a new hole in the fence.

I get into the act, too. See all that brush?

Cleared it right out.

And then the best part? One gets to admire one's work.

(Why yes, we are still wearing hats in late May.)

Speaking of late May, it's Iri Season around here.

But anyway, back to The Field.

The other best part is sending Mistah out into it with his camera.

I can't get enough of the view of the back of our house 800 miles away.

The worm's eye view.

Mistah and Frankie have taken to Frisbee Frolicking in The Field.

And sometimes we like to have photo sessions on the Weed Tree Trunk:

(Remind me to tell you about that weird house in the background. Seriously.)

But then, always, it's back to work . . .

. . . A Work In Progress.

flashback friday: speaking of rocks

There are quite a few rock related posts in our history! Here's my fave:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Obligatory

When Jacquie and her young'uns come to visit our fair shores every summer, they and their Uncle Schleckah wander off from Ocean Beach to the rocks at Neptune Park, and have themselves a righteous photo shoot.

2008:

I know, right? The awesomeness of it almost makes one want to keel over into a heap of love.

This photo has officially made it onto the walls of the Ledgie Loo.

Honestly. Could you die?

2009:
Well, we, as a giant family, went to the Poconos to celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. So, no OB that year, but we made up for it in sheer joy at Pocmont.

But, the very next year . . .

2010:

The hand on the leg? I die.

Not even an Olympic year. Still, I die.

2011:

Uncle Mistah Schleckah can talk them into anything.

Goodbye, 2011 . . . 

. . . and hello . . .

2012:

Oooh, the John H behind them!

There's not a lot we can depend on in this big bad world . . .

. . . but we still have these two knuckleheads to save the day.

chilly scenes from winter...

... hahaha just kidding - it's 75 degrees out and I'm sweating in a tank top. Sorry, suckers!

It's been a delightful week of Christmas and staycation and friends and food and fun, and I want to get right back into it so please indulge the following most lazy and maddeningly incomplete phone dump of some favorite moments.

well, shit. my laptop is speaking in tongues when I plug the phone in to download photos. Ain't nobody got time for dat. Sorry, here's some *other* photos of *other* things:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010

checking it twice

I've been sitting here for a good 10 minutes trying to think of a clever way to introduce my kids' Christmas lists. I don't think they made lists last year, we were much too focused on packing for Hawaii. It was last year when we first started dropping hints that Santa often went light for kids who had great travel plans. Don't ask me to explain, it's magic! The year before that, though, in 2008, my boy presented an epic list that made blog history.

Go ahead, take a little remember, I'll wait:

My boy's 2008 Christmas list

Priceless!

This year, we've once again been quietly promoting a less is moreattitude. Christmas is different this year. They feel it, too. We'll also be away from home on the day itself, which presents the perfect opportunity to create new traditions that overshadow the logistical challenges facing poor Santa. Don't even start with me about Santa. I will hold my ground as long as there is breath in my body.

Despite the understanding that we're keeping it modest, I encouraged my kids to make their lists as usual, ignoring their attempts at conspiratorial winks and knowing glances. "Ask Santa for whatever you want," I insist, "just don't expect to get it."            

New traditions, perhaps... right alongside the legacy of awesomeness:

flashback friday -hellpup

Our devil dog is all grown up now. In fact, she's quite gray in the chin and has a pretty hard time getting up once she's gotten down. She is officially the best dog ever, and I can't believe I ever suspected that she was the spawn of Satan. 

TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2008

Devil Dog

It’s been twelve days since we brought the puppy home.

We had been counting down the days since the demise of our beloved Porgie, waiting for summer vacation to get a new puppy. I campaigned to adopt an adult dog, teasing with promises of the gratitude and potty trained greatness that a one or two year old pooch would offer. But then someone we know went and got himself a golden retriever puppy, and the minute we met Sonny we were all pretty much done for. A puppy it would be. So we got the house ready, we bought little food and water bowls and some puppy toys and biscuits, we even inherited Sonny’s crate to ease the burden of housebreaking. We were open for business, and kept a keen eye on the shelters and the classifieds and petfinder for puppies who were ready for us. I saw an ad in the paper one day for “lab-weillers” or was it “rott-bradors”? I can’t remember, but I was interested. Porgie was a rott mix, and a better dog has never been known. So I called the guy, and it sounded great right up until he told me that they were only 6 weeks old. That was way too young for them to leave their mommas. So I let them go, but kept the guy’s number and called him back 2 weeks later to see if there were any left. There were two, and we set up a time and met them both. I did the puppy temperament tests I had read about and had used to pick Porgie out back in 1994. One of the pups did great, the other one freaked out. We had our girl!




We brought her home and the anarchy fun began!

She was so cute and nervous on her first day, and she shyly explored every inch and then cried every hour for her first two nights with us.






We got her all cleaned up




She was pensive and calm, a total dreamboat.





Then she started to get more comfortable, and began to discover new interests and hobbies



Like shoes



with or without feet inside



And cold beverages





And our broom named Sassy (with a 7 year old girl in the house, you will find that many inanimate objects have names)




And Bambi




And Barbie's giant head





And boardwalk property





Even green beans from the kids' "garden", although they're not quite interesting enough to stay awake over



Just as she has implanted herself firmly in our hearts, we are beginning to suspect that the sparkle in her eye is not so much charm as it is evil.




I sent the following e-mail out to four people today:

Hello, I found your webpage during a somewhat desperate search for "puppy training, san diego". My family has just welcomed a new member - a 9 week old rott/lab mix we call Moki. She is adorable and affectionate, but she has a wild side that worries me. She has one or two super active periods each day during which it is impossible to be near her without getting bitten or scratched. This is particularly difficult for my 7 and 9 year old children, who are becoming fearful of the puppy and react in a way that I know is reinforcing Moki's naughty behavior. I think Moki's bites are mostly playful, but she also sometimes growls when I pick her up to redirect her. We are experienced dogowners, we had another rott mix who we had to put down in January, just before her 14th birthday, for health reasons. My husband and I were young and childless when we trained her though, and this time it's a whole new ballgame! We realize that we need professional help if we want Moki to grow up to be a happy and SAFE member of our family. She is going to be a big dog, and we want to learn how to live together sooner rather than later. Can you help? It is heartbreaking to struggle like this at a time we want so badly to celebrate our new baby! I look forward to any recommendations you have for training and/or consultation. 

Update: I have a phone consultation scheduled for 8:00.


[Hawaiian Dictionary(Hwn to Eng)]

mokī
vi. To spurt, shoot forth.




Yeah.

Birthday Girls!

I'm still a broad abroad! Please join me in wishing both Jadeykins and the lovely Beth the very happiest of birthdays tomorrow! I'm sorry I don't have a really long introductory post about when I found YOU, Beth! mwah - hope you're dancing in Catalina :)

Jadeykins

Wanna hear a really boring story? I asked mom that question countless times during her lovely visit to San Diego last week, and she always said yes. She also always assured me afterwards that the stories were not at all boring, but I think she had to say that because she's my mom. You are under no such obligation.

Last Monday was a big day. Julie, Mom and Colleen were in town, I had taken the day off from work, and we had been on the go since dawn (ish) with a stunning variety of activities that had challenged each of us on physical, culinary, and leisurely levels. James was hanging out with a friend at home.  Bill and Clara had suffered through a work/school day, the poor fools, but he had packed up surf gear and picked Clara up from school and we were all set to meet up in OB for a celebratory Bucket of Love and some surf spectating. Although Tower 2 was inexplicably closed, it was an idyllic scene nonetheless with the sun just beginning to set and an acceptable albeit lesser patio table secured for happy hour.  

OB is a dog town, if you are on a patio you can be sure that there will be dogs nearby. The patio where we sat had built in leash hooks, water bowls on the ground, and a menu of selections for your canine kids. This day was no different, there were various dogs around on the patio and Clara made herself familiar with all of them, including a little brown spaz who was chasing the birds around with abandon. We couldn’t figure out who her people were because she was visiting everyone, and we all assumed that she belonged to another table. We soon heard some murmurs from the restaurant staff that informed us that this dog was on the loose and had been around for a few hours. Animal Control was mentioned, glances were exchanged, and something was going to happen.

Clara jumped to action, sitting with the dog and keeping her in line so no one would kick her out. The dog responded, practically crawling into  my girl's lap and finally sitting still for a second. I went in to the restaurant to ask if they had a leash or rope of some sort that we could use to secure the pup while we ate, then we’d figure out what to do with her.

Here’s the thing: my people are dog people, through and through. We’ve always had an explicit family agreement that although we were not allowed to seek out dogs by doing foolish things like visiting the shelter, we would most definitely rescue one if the situation ever presented itself.

A guy came out of the restaurant with a shoelace, of all things. He called the dog and tried to get the lace around her neck to lead her off. We asked if it was his dog, he nodded and coaxed her away. My brave girl ran right up to him and said: “are you sure that’s your dog?” and he let us know in broken English that he was told to get the stray off the patio. He said he was taking her out back to the alley and would let her loose down there.

Not on our watch, he wasn’t.

We took the shoelace, we took the dog, we talked about calling animal control but giving them our contact info so that we’d have first dibs at adopting her if her owners weren’t found. We hadn’t been down to the beach yet and wanted to watch Clara surf before sunset… we were a little flummoxed, and also pretty buzzed. Then a young couple walked over and asked what we were going to do, we explained our idea about animal control and they said that they love rescuing dogs! They would take her home, put up signs, post an ad on Craig’s list, etc. I immediately handed over the shoelace, it was perfect. I gave the girl my cell phone number and said I’d help in any way that I could. Off we went for fun in the sunset! 

And we got right on with our happy vacation lives. 

The next day, I got a text from the rescue hero saying that she'd had the dog scanned and she had a microchip! Her name was Sam. Hooray for found dogs! The owners were in Utah, she was reaching out to them and had also posted ads and messages as discussed. If I'm ever a lost dog, she is the person I want in charge. We kept in touch over the next several days. She heard from the Utah owners who said that they'd had to rehome their two dogs, Sam and Jade, because their baby girl was allergic. But it was Jade who had been adopted out to a family travelling to San Diego in their RV, Sam had been adopted locally. Turns out the microchips were mixed up somehow, this was Jade.

You see where this is going, right?

The RV couple hadn't even looked for her. After days of texting and talking back and forth with the rescue hero and the original Utah owner, we realized that our family promise had been put exactly into the perfect course of action to bring our baby Jade home to us. She's a total dreamboat, almost 2 years old and will be in perfect health once she packs a few pounds on that bony frame. 

Welcome home, kiddo. We can no longer imagine living without you, and we didn't even know we were waiting for you.