No one should complain that there weren't enough warnings about Hurricane Sandy and what a huge threat she posed to the Northeast United States. I know that all the publicity about it certainly got me riled up and worried! I was more worried about my friends in NYC and Massachusetts than I was about where I lived. I expected horribly high winds, torrential downpours, flooding tides and all sorts of mayhem. My worry powers were in full force and my friends were all advising me to stop worrying so much. Really nothing unusual. I stayed home from work yesterday because my youngest daughter wasn't feeling well. She'd had the energy of a wet washcloth the day before so I didn't think it was wise to send her to school. She perked up a bit yesterday though and it was nice being home with her just like the good old days when I was a stay at home mom. My pup Jazzmin was worried about me because I was worried and my very dog expert friend told me I needed to calm down so she'd relax. Well Jazz and I had no problem relaxing on the couch for much of the afternoon enjoying quality snuggle time the likes of which we haven't had since last winter. My youngest perked up considerably and played with toys and actually ate so I knew she was feeling better. Back to the storm! The winds began picking up here in the afternoon just as predicted. I was concerned because they were northerly winds and all the advisories kept saying that tree root systems around here aren't used to northerly winds so the potential for them toppling was higher. I have several large trees in my yard, one of which is a towering pine tree right on the north side of my house. I didn't enjoy the thought of it blowing over and potentially wiping out my deck, my car or half my house. I moved my car out of its potential path just in case and hoped that the towering pine was strong enough to hold its own. The wind was a bit gusty but certainly nothing worse than I've experienced here before. The rain was off and on but nothing really concerning. The weather reports kept saying the worst was yet to come though so I was still bracing for the worst. Fortunately we'd had power all day and I was crossing my fingers that it would remain on. I was getting the girls ready for bed and then poof! Power was gone! I groaned in dismay because my youngest is afraid of the dark and it's rather tricky finding flashlights it utter darkness if you don't remember where you last laid them down. My oldest and I found the flashlights which helped us find some other battery powered lights to illuminate the darkness. I ended up going in the basement and digging out some Halloween LED light up ghosts for the girls to use as nightlights and I think I did an awesome job improvising. I only hoped the lights lasted through the night or until power was restored. I was awakened two hours later by the various beeps and whirs that accompany power being restored in my house. I was very happy it had been restored so quickly! I then stumbled around in the unexpectedly bright lights and turned everything off from earlier before returning to bed. The power remained on and when my phone alarm went off at 5am I came out in the living room and was confused by the amount of light coming in through the windows. I opened my deck door and was greeted by a glimpse of the nearly full moon glowing amid the swiftly moving clouds. I smiled at the sight of it and thanked all the powers that be that for me anyway, Hurricane Sandy turned out to be much ado about not that much.
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I tend to give my pets middle names and those names reflect an aspect of their personality. Before I adopted Jazzmin I thought all dogs immediately did their business when they were taken outside. Nope, not Jazz. I also believed that all dogs happily ate their food when it was placed in their bowl. Nope, not Jazz. Discovering the personality traits of my pup were quite interesting to me. Since I adopted her in the middle of winter I really wasn't excited about being outside in cold temperatures while she stuck her face into the snow up to her ears sniffing for something or other. I just wanted her to do her thing and be done. It had been hours since we'd been out last and I was sure she had to go...but she thought otherwise. After 10 minutes or so of sniffing, Jazzmin was done being outside and still hadn't answered nature. This was exasperating to me but Jazz is a quirky creature just like me so I shouldn't really have been surprised. As such occurrences continued, I started saying to Jazzmin "This is your last chance, Sundance." indicating that she needed to hurry things along. The name Sundance rattles around in my head because of the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and it just sounds like a cool name. Jazz didn't necessarily understand what I was saying but she recognized my impatient tone and sometimes she'd cooperate but mostly she'd just be Jazz, the pup who does things in her own time and when she feels like it. It's a good thing she's so adorable. So my little rhymed warning grew into her middle name and I think it fits her for more than just her delays in answering nature and eating her food. She is a fun ball of golden warmth and she does a little tap dance with her front paws when she's really happy and excited so in that respect, Sundance suits her. With Jazzmin Sundance by my side and as my shadow I'll continue to blaze a new trail and I know she'll loyally follow me to the ends of the Earth. "Must Love Dogs" starring Diane Lane and John Cusack is one of my favorite movies. I can relate to Diane Lane's character on many levels and the part in the grocery store involving how much chicken she wants to buy always makes me laugh. It's an amusing movie for those who enjoy romantic comedies like myself. I'm still personally in search of love. I'm sure I'm not alone in my belief that it is no easy task. Trying to find that one other person who connects with you in the deepest part of your heart and accepts you unconditionally is a daunting endeavor. Many have thrown in the towel or "benched" themselves feeling it hopeless, but not me. Perhaps it's the undying romantic in me that holds out hope that someday, the right one will come along. My girlfriends all want me to find someone special who can truly appreciate me and my unique quirks as much as they do. As cool and cute as I believe myself to be, I have received rather mixed signals from the opposite sex, as I'm sure everyone has. Sometimes the uncertainty and confusion of it all leads me to wonder if it might be easier to be a dog. For one thing, dogs don't really understand a majority of human conversations. If someone tells them "you're weird" in a fun praising tone, they'll think that's an awesome thing! If a person just wants to be with them to pet them, that's just peachy too! Not to mention the fact that dogs receive cookies for doing something good. Were it possible for me to reward myself with a cookie every time I did something praiseworthy without it going to my hips, I'd be all for that too! But I'm human and like ALL humans, I'm flawed. I'm beautifully imperfect me. What I find interesting about the movie "Must Love Dogs" is that neither of the main characters actually own a dog until the end credits. Obviously that isn't the main point of the movie but it's part of the theme. I do personally own a dog and I love my Jazzmin and I want a man who can love her too...just not more than he loves me. Sound peculiar? If you'd lived my life up to this point, it wouldn't sound peculiar at all. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, a majority of dog lovers that encounter Jazz comment on what a beautiful dog she is. I don't disagree with them. Jazz has gorgeous conformation when she stands alert watching for something and nearly every inch of her is sleek, and yet somehow curvaceous, muscle. Her adorable brown eyes are outlined in black giving her that 80's look and her right ear is always up a little higher than her left. She has a streak of white down her nose and down the front of her chest and she always looks so clean and well put-together. Every morning I wake up to her head on the edge of my bed as her tail thumps in a cute rhythm against my hamper and feeling that kind of love and loyalty is a great way to start the day! She has this way of flopping down on the carpet as if she's just gone "splat" and she can be oh so dramatic when laying in the middle of the kitchen trying to pretend she doesn't know I'm cooking. If that whole description of my dog just made you start to nod off then you're obviously not as appreciative of the canine form as myself. I adopted Jazz from a local shelter to keep me company, make me feel less lonely when I don't have my daughters and to make me go for walks. She did all of that and more and I am eternally grateful I found her. Judging by the huge burp she just did in my face as her comment on dinner, she's grateful I found her too. She'll be 3 years old in October (as guessed by the shelter) and she's still very much a puppy. She's a very good girl and has decent manners but I admit we could use some help coordinating our efforts out on walks. We may always be figuring each other out but I love her and she loves me and we work. Now if I can just find a man who cares about me, thinks it's cool that I have such an adorable dog and has no problem when I occasionally load her in the car to go see him where he lives...then we'll be talking. For now it's just Jules and Jazz and the never-ending adventures continue... When I first adopted Jazzmin from the local animal shelter, I walked her every day, sometimes twice a day. Impressive considering it was the middle of winter and some mornings the temperature was below freezing with a wind chill! Jazz was never bothered by the cold though and as long as I bundled up to my eyeballs I was pretty good, especially once half my body went numb. As cold as those walks were, they were a great opportunity for Jazz and I to get to know each other. I'd been living in that particular country block for four months already and had walked the roads many times so I thought I knew them well. Wrong. Walking roads with a dog is entirely different than walking them alone. Dogs are much more conscious of their surroundings, or at least Jazz is. She could see and hear every bird flap, squirrel hop, and branch twitch and spot a deer five miles away and three hills over. I might be exaggerating slightly, but she was certainly attentive! I hadn't owned a dog since I was a teenager and while Jazz listened to everything else while on a leash, she tended to ignore the leash holder, ie me. I therefore had to learn to be more aware of my surroundings so I could anticipate when she might decide to try and take mama for a drag. By the time spring arrived, I was better at spotting squirrels than she was and saw several that she never even knew were there. On my solo walks I'd already nurtured my love for observing nature as I stopped to watch birds, peer into streams and try to figure out what all the different trees were. Walking Jazz made me that much more perceptive of things and every walk I see something new. Tonight was a bit humid but the air had cooled so Jazz and I headed out on one of our shorter walks which totals about a mile. There is no such thing as a flat road anywhere near me so whatever direction we go involves walking hills. It's good for both of us and has blessed us with lovely legs and hindquarters. On the walk out I saw a family of bluebirds flitting around on the power lines. They studied me intently as I walked beneath them and I stopped to look up at them and appreciate their pretty blue wings, white bellies and the touch of orange on their breasts. I always find it amusing to think of the phrase "bluebird of happiness" because most of the bluebirds I've seen look kind of grumpy. I don't think they are actually grumpy, they're just very watchful. There were also lots of young finches and sparrows flying about and chirping nervously as their parents showed them how to find food. Further down the road I saw a couple monarch butterflies gliding lazily from leaf to leaf trying to decide where to rest. I longed for a breeze to keep the biting flies and mosquitoes at bay but the air stirred very little and after a family of three deer, a mama and two babies, crossed the road in front of us I decided to head back. I think Jazz believes she's a deer because whenever she sees them she wants to run off with them. Mama don't run with deer. I was almost back to the road I live on when I noticed some odd looking red leaves on the road. They were small and curled in such a peculiar manner they almost resembled some small creatures. Upon further inspection, I realized they weren't leaves at all, they were indeed creatures, orange lizards of some kind. I'd never seen any sort of lizard in my area before and I've lived in this region of the state for 10 years. I touched one of them gently with my fingertip because he was so small and he remained frozen in position with his little claws stuck to the pavement. I really didn't think near the edge of the road was the safest place for the first pair I found so I picked them gently up by their tails and placed them in the grass. Another 20 feet down the road I saw an even smaller lizard so I carefully relocated him too. From that point on I watched where I was walking but I didn't see any other little creatures in need of a helpful nudge out of danger. As the weather cools again Jazz and I will go on more walks and I'm eager to enjoy the sight of the leaves changing colors. I love autumn and if I could just skip winter altogether, life would be much warmer. I look forward to whatever Jazz and I discover and I'm certain my perception of the world around me will continue to bring enlightenment and joy. I've been slacking and haven't taken Jazzmin on a good walk in a while. It's been too warm or too buggy...or some other stupid excuse. Well it was cooler last night and the nastiest of the biting flies have died out for the summer so off we went! As usual, Jazz was raring to go, but as I'm teaching her not to pull, we stopped five times before we even made it to the end of my road. The local bunnies were testing her obedience by munching happily away in the shoulder of the road and while Jazz wanted to chase the adorable little fluffy things, I kept her under control and made her sit until they hopped off out of sight. That distraction dealt with, we resumed our stride. The air was a little thick but there was a nice breeze to help cool the sweat and I decided I'd take Jazz halfway up the biggest hill on our walk route. The sun had nearly set and neither of us was at our aerobic peak anymore so it seemed like a reasonable plan. We got halfway up without any trouble and I paused just a moment before deciding we were going to conquer the whole hill. Halfway had been easy enough and we weren't overly winded and continuing the uphill climb didn't seem daunting at all. After all, we'd done it many times before... I quickly remembered that the hill gets much steeper after the halfway point as my calves and thighs burned and Jazz's tongue began to drag on the ground. She certainly wasn't pulling anymore and we were both panting but we kept going at our strong pace and sure enough we made it up! The view of the surrounding countryside is amazing from the top of that hill and it's like stepping into a whole new world. I was very proud of myself and my breath soon returned. No one was there cheering me on or pushing me to go all the way up and Jazz would have been fine turning around, but I'm just not someone who can go halfway. Even if it seems crazy and risky, I go all the way and I'm constantly testing my own limits and discovering my own strength. In order to be a source of strength for those I love, I have to first be strong myself. I have to have faith that somehow things will be okay. As I told my best friend last night, there are more dimensions to faith than there are stars in the sky. My friend has told me that with Jazz I need to be the leader, he says it's up to me to show her the way. Have confidence, he says. Great words of advice for much more than training my pup! I admit that my confidence can waver on occasion and it really never should because I know in my heart that I am an amazing woman and that I can handle, and have handled, anything life throws at me. Life lessons are rarely easy and they hurt, but I know that when I keep going and push through the pain, all the suffering will be healed by the bright, beautiful light that forever shines through the darkness. People love my dog Jazzmin. Wherever I go with her, whether it's on a walk over the hills where I live or on a road trip, random strangers come up to me and tell me how beautiful she is. I've even had people stop their cars in the middle of the road to say what a pretty dog she is and ask me what breed she is. My answer varies depending on the situation but there is never any doubt about how much I love her. The simplest answer is that Jazzmin is a mutt...just like me. She is a blend of many breeds and they've all come together to make the sweetest, most loyal creature I have ever met. I like to think people who know me realize that I possess those very same qualities. Upon meeting Jazz for the first time, my dear friend said that she is just a dog version of me. While he was mostly referring to her energy, over-exuberance and tendency to resist control, I hope he was also referring to her more lovable qualities. I told my best friend last night that I strive to be like Jazz. I want to be the kind of creature that people stop their cars in traffic to notice and admire. I certainly don't want to cause any accidents or anything but sometimes I do long for a bit more attention. Even saying that makes me feel somewhat selfish and conceited but it is the truth. I don't think anyone wants to be ignored and forgotten for their entire life. Being ignored and forgotten is something Jazz will certainly never be. She simply won't allow it! No matter where I walk in my house, she is right behind me like my shadow. I appreciate her loyalty but it makes turning around abruptly somewhat tricky and we've almost had a mama and pup pileup more than once. When I work at my computer she lays right behind my chair and come 9pm she starts pacing back and forth from the bedroom to the living room/office looking longingly at me with eyes that say "bedtime mama?" She is not pleased with my later hours recently and she usually gives up trying to put me to bed by 10pm and goes in my room and onto her bed to begin snoring away. Jazzmin never skimps with her love; she loves everyone she meets. She always wants to go say hi to new people and dogs and I admire her extroverted nature. I imagine it's all part of being a dog, that seemingly limitless happiness, friendliness and curiosity. Now that I have my pup, I don't honestly know how I survived without her. She is my constant source of love and comfort. She gives me hope that if a dog can love me that much and gravitate toward the kind heart within me, then perhaps someday the man I share my love with will feel that same pull. I love road trips, always have, always will. Most people don't seem to believe me when I say I love driving to new places and seeing new sights. I truly do. I get such a sense of freedom driving on the open highway in my four door Explorer and as it has a manual transmission, I like to pretend I'm behind the wheel of a real performance vehicle. That's a huge delusion because the thing is a dog and passing anyone with any speed usually involves shifting into 3rd of even 2nd. Oh well, it's a stick so it's still hotter than most other SUVs out there and when that baby is running right it serves me well on my drives. It has cruise control too and I usually remember that about an hour into my drive which comes in very handy. Someday I'll remember that detail at the beginning of a drive...
This Friday I'm driving east to see a friend I haven't seen in 7 months and I'm so excited! Considering all of my friends are at least two hours away, I don't get to see them as often as I'd like and the further away they are, the longer between visits. The friend I'm seeing Friday was the subject of my Bravery and a Big Heart blog and he is definitely worth the drive. He's a busy guy, so nailing him down to a date hasn't been easy, obviously. I'm bringing my lovable dog Jazzmin with me and I can tell she's already as excited about a road trip as I am. She doesn't know or care what the destination is, she's just eager to go on a trip with mama lol. Road trips always go faster with good music and I've downloaded some new tunes lately that are perfect for singing and car dancing along to. I'm very "old school" in that I still burn mix CDs to listen to in my car and tonight I'll be packing my 15 case with my musical selections. I know all about plugging MP3 players into cars and such but my vehicle only has a CD player and those radio transmitter things never sound as clean as just popping a CD in. Someday I'll get on board with all the modern technology but for now I use CDs that I occasionally have to blow off and rub on my pant leg when they start skipping. If it works for the most part and it isn't broken, that's how I roll. It all adds to my uniqueness and as I often say, perfect is impossible and normal is boring. My rough edges and smooth curves ;) are what make me, me. |
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