E: Ellie Belly

     There were always pets around the house where I grew up but I never identified any of them as mine.  In general, they were in the care, feeding, and attention of my siblings - mostly my younger siblings.  I didn't really want much to do with cats or dogs.  

    Although we had pets when our own kids were growing up, I didn't have a lot of interest in them. They were the territory of the kids and RR was parental back up for pet issues.  

     Somewhere around the time between Sonny Boy going off to college and Nutmeg leaving for college, I started to think that a little dog for me would be fun.  Not a big dog - we had Keeva already and she was 70 pounds of somber and sweet mutt.  No, I got to thinking about the fun of a little dog who would hang out with me.  We knew someone who fostered puppies for the Humane Society.  One day she was describing this new litter she was fostering and I wanted to see these puppies.  That was the beginning of my love affair with Ellie.

     We met Ellie along with all of her siblings when she was about three weeks old.  The best guess for her parentage included terrier and maybe dachshund and who knows what else.  She was one of the smallest in a litter of eight and we had out choice of the litter.  It was a tough choice but she really called to me.  We would visit the litter every weekend and after three weeks, I had selected this girl.  

      Ellie was exactly what I needed at that point.  She was and still is a bundle of enthusiasm.  She appears to have a perpetual smile and makes friends with everyone she meets.  She bounces up on the couch to cuddle next to me while I am reading, typing or enjoying Jon Stewart (of course, I do know what she is really looking for is crumbs!  Cookies, please?)

      Ellie is always up for a walk and an adventure.  She will go with me no matter how dark, how wet, or how warm it might be.  She will greet everyone - human or otherwise - that we happen to meet and she will wait patiently outside the grocery if I need to go inside.  Ellie does have a non human best friend and that would be, of course, Keeva.  They trundle around together and seem to play well together.  Keeva doesn't get to jump on the couch but she stands willingly by accepting all scratching that comes her way.  

    I am frankly surprised at my attachment to Ellie.  I never thought I would come to lavish affection on a dog but guess what?  Surprises happen.

Check in

      Back on January 1st, I  posted a piece which listed fifty things I wanted to do in 2012.  I'm thinking this is a good week to take a look at that list and see how I am doing. I'm not going to enumerate every item and scold or congratulate myself on my progress in that arena.  No, instead I am going to find and tell about three things I have been faithful to and three things I could refocus my energies on.  Here goes.

#26.  Order new walking shoes so I don't wreck my knees even more.  Yup.  Matter of fact, I think I did this one on January 2.  All good as I want to keep that physical activity level going strong for as long as I live.  I continue to engage in a hour or more of exercise daily and that is good for my body and my mind (as if you could separate them).

#28.  Write, write, and write some more.  Yes, I have been faithful to this one.  I post on my blog at least two times a week (which is one more time a week than I was doing in 2011) and I am writing in other arenas more as well.  I have decided to participate in the A to Z Challenge during April and that promises to encourage my writing habit even more.  I like it.

#35.  Say no when I want to say no.  This is a confusing one for me.  I chide myself constantly about what I should do or should not do.  It's hard for me to say no when I might disappoint or anger someone else but, for better or worse, I am getting more comfortable with that.

#27.  Take a good look again at a daily meditation habit.  Hmmmmm - that would be a no. The desire is still there (made more visible when Noel posted this) but I have yet to shove other things aside in order to make the time for mediation.  The year is still young?

#32.  Take Ellie for a neighborhood walk at least two afternoons a week.  That would be another no, not yet.  Okay, so I can, in part, blame the weather and the darkness, but that isn't really a good enough reason not to do this.  If I were to reinstate this habit, I would remember how much I enjoy it and I would also be practicing breathing and stopping.  Springtime is the right time to start this pattern again.

#8.  Embrace the trip to Alaska in June.  Everything changes, right?  That changed.  We realized the major expense involved (even going on the cheap it was going to amount to $5,000 - $6,000 for two of us for two weeks) and decided that we could still have fun without flying somewhere and without paying a small fortune (or to us, not so small fortune).  I'm okay with that.


     In general, I would say there are more things on the list that I am NOT doing than that I am doing.  Bummer.  But it's only March and we are coming into my productive and energetic time of the year.  Who knows?  Perhaps when I check back with this list near the summer solstice I will be able to reverse the trend.  Or not.  :)