Gospel Hour

Having a dog means that I don't sleep in unless I stayed up really late. Lucy wants to be up at 3:00 AM, 5:00 AM, 6:15 AM...and finally 6:30 when Mommy is finally willing to get up. So even though church starts at 11:30 for Mommy, we were up by 7:00 this morning. After taking the dog out, feeding the fish, making and eating breakfast, starting the dishwasher, getting one of my FFXI characters to the next level, ironing my clothes, showering, getting dressed, taking the dog out again (she went in her crate immediately upon coming back inside, so in order to avoid confusing her I closed the crate and went outside for a minute, then came back in and let her out - I want her to keep going in that crate when it's ordinarily time for Mommy to leave), I still had more than an hour before it was time for church. I am not usually a big fan of Sunday morning television, but I thought I'd see if anything worthwhile was on.

It turns out that one of the country music channels has the Gaither Gospel Hour on. It ends 30 minutes before church starts, so why not put it on? Basically they just show songs from their various Homecoming recordings. I am sure that some of the overdone hair (both men and women...I mean, is that really Jake Hess' hair? Looks like a rug to me...) and make-up is due to the era in which they were actually made (they're several years old, and I know that several of the people who appear have gone home by now). Underneath all that is false, however, there is a genuine love for singing praise to God. Everyone there, young, old, thin, not so thin, attractive, goofy looking...as long as they were alive they were singing. That is beautiful. It is encouraging to join in and sing, even if it's not my favorite kind of music. The substance matters. I'm going in a few minutes to sing songs of a very different style, but the spirit is the same. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Am I missing drivers?

Sometimes when I take a look at my life I feel like something's not working. It's as though I am looking at a Windows computer and see huge yellow question marks in the device manager. I'm missing drivers!

It feels like the relationships I have with all of my friends here are gone, and it's my fault for drawing back or pushing them away. Friendship driver needs to be updated.

Uncomfortable relationships make it hard to go to either of the churches I have been attending, so I find myself in a place between sucking it up and going anyway or finding a new church. It also seems to be hard to find a good fit for a single 27 year old who doesn't really want to be in a college group that they let poor, single people stay in after they graduate. I don't want to be an in the door just before service starts and out again as soon as it ends kind of attender. I'm not plugged in, and that makes it hard to get motivated to go at all. Church driver needs to be updated.

Going hand in hand with disconnection from church is a strained relationship with God. There's a reason we are encouraged to not give up meeting together. While faith is personal, keeping it too personal is never a good idea. This is very frustrating because I have known times when my relationship with God is dynamic and amazingly wonderful. Faith driver needs to be updated.

The only things that are going well are work and Lucy (the fish are fine, no babies hatched from what I can tell, by the way). I talked to someone on Friday because I had questions about some errors I saw happening on phone calls and the impact of a pending order that had completed in one system but wouldn't complete in another for a few hours. He send an instant message to his counterpart in my office (I had been asking her those questions and she wasn't sure, so she placed the call to the other individual) saying that his day was complete because he talked to me. While I am absolutely convinced that the comment was in jest, I apparently have made a good name for myself with the people in the other office who do the same stuff I do. That feels nice. I still need to learn to watch myself because I am, as always, too bold for my own good.

So other than work, I feel like I'm at that point in life where it's time to start over. Do I stay here and find a new church and get plugged in and make new friends or do I explore other avenues? The North Carolina avenue looks pretty in the late summer sunshine. I could maintain a similar financial situation down there, possibly even a slightly better one. And I would be near family again for once. I think three years of being so far from my family is starting to take its toll. I've also had a really rough year in general thus far. My grandmother died, I got two really nasty cold/flu icky illnesses rather close together, Snow White died and more than one friendship became strained.

But would moving just be trying to run from my problems? If I keep running from my problems, I will never have a moment's rest. As long as I am here on this earth, where I am my problems will be also. When I left California I had wonderful friendships and a church I loved and with which I was extremely involved. Moving didn't make sense to me then, but I thought it was the right thing to do. I am still convinced that I did the right thing, but I am not sure whether staying or moving on would be better for me now. I will not make any immediate decisions, but I will keep my ear to the ground, and in the meantime, try to get back on track with the things that matter most in life.

Hi, can I kiss you?

Lucy had a day out today. She first went to see her stylist. We arrived at the same time as a HUGE yellow lab and a slightly larger boy bichon. The other bichon really needed a bath and a haircut - he looked almost yellow and his feet were brown. We saw him again when I picked Lucy up and he had been shaved (this is what his owner requested). I didn't recognize him at first, but his tail and belly freckles made his breed rather obvious, so I knew who I was looking at from that.

The groomer said that Lucy was a sweetheart and behaved herself perfectly. She was actually done more than an hour early, but as they had offered to send her over to the vet (right next to the groomer in the Petsmart), I didn't pick her up right away. The vet instead did her treatment (tests and a shot) before I got there for the appointment time, so it shortened her day anyway.

She behaved very well for the vet and got praise for how much better she looks now than she did two weeks ago. She has put on just under half a pound, but that has made a big difference. Her spine is less pronounced and her body looks fuller. The vet says another half pound and she'll be at her ideal weight. She was friendly with everyone at the pet store - men, women and dogs, so that was good. I also enrolled her in a training class that will start on Sunday afternoon and run for 8 weeks. Yes, that means that she will finish the class just a few days before Grandma and Grandpa come to see her, so she should be a perfect angel by then :).

We then stopped by work, as a few people wanted to meet her, and she was very friendly to everyone with the exception of one man who seemed to make her a bit nervous. She kisses strangers and is comfortable and confident in strange places, so overall she seems to be rather well adjusted to life.

See how pretty she is?



And now for something completely different...

Yeah, I really did see this on my way to picking up Lucy. I don't think it's legal... (Picture was taken with the cell phone, so it's not the greatest, but it captures the moment as I saw it!)

Fish update

So far no babies (unless they hatched in the past two hours), but these are my observations on what's going on.

There are a few eggs that have turned white. These are bad eggs, could indicate that they were unfertilized or weak. Most look a similar color to when I first checked them. Because the eggs turn white within a day or two, it looks like the vast majority of them are promising.

The non-parent Jack Dempsey, which I have now named Nemo (he's missing a ventral fin, so not quite the same issue as the cartoon clownfish, but close enough!), was hanging out in a corner, looking like life wasn't so great. He would come out and eat, but other than morning feeding time, he just wouldn't come out of his corner.

I was advised by a friend who had fish breed that it might be a good idea to get more fish unless I wanted a lot of surviving babies (which I don't - what would I do with them?) and also get a chance to observe the parenting behaviors of the Jack Dempseys when there were potential threats around. They are good parents and defend their babies, even if it means risking their own lives. (I understand that they do eat their babies if it looks like they cannot protect them, however, so I'll have to watch for that.) I had to choose carefully, however, given the situation. The parents had already killed one of my fish, so I had to get fish both big enough and aggressive enough to survive. I was thinking of getting some Convict cichids, but the store didn't have any big enough to serve as more than a sacrifice. I got two Green Terror cichilds. They are a similar size to the Jack Dempseys when full grown and also very aggressive. They are slightly smaller than the parent fish, but close enough that they aren't easy prey. At first it looked like they weren't going to make it, but this morning they were moving around more and looked better. Nemo actually had better color this morning than I had seen him have in a few weeks, so I think that his situation is better because of his new friends. They are bigger than he is but I think their numbers change how Dad in particular is behaving.

Mom stays by the eggs. She is very attentive to them. I have seen her go after fish that move into the nursery area, but in general she leaves the task of bullying the threats to the babies to Dad. Dad patrols the whole aquarium. He tends to hang out much of the time down with the other fish in the corner they are allowed to be in, and if they make a move he doesn't like, he'll give chase. So far it is fascinating to watch. I guess they get even more aggressive after the babies hatch, so I'll watch for that. I guess eggs typically hatch 48-72 hours after they are laid, depending on the water temperature. If these eggs are really good and fertilized, they should be hatching sometime today or tomorrow. If they don't work out, the fish may be ready to try again as soon as two or three weeks from now.

Fish fry or caviar

The other day I had a friend ask me if I had checked my tank for eggs. My fish are too young for that. Or so I thought. The reason I was asked is that my fish had paired off and hung out in different parts of the aquarium.

I got to thinking and did some observation. The two larger fish really were hanging out with each other a lot. Then they became rather aggressive. They stressed one of my other fish (the smallest one) by chasing it around a lot, and they killed it this week. My other small cichlid only comes out of a small corner to eat, also showing signs of stress.

I was watching the belly on one of my fish. It was a bit wide, but not bloated. Could it be that it was a she, and she was getting ready to lay eggs?

Today I came home and said hi to my other tank, but didn't go in and see this tank until I had been home for a while. I noticed something immediately about it - there was a big pit dug in the gravel. That was not there this morning. I was looking at the large aquarium ornament primarily to make sure that it wasn't in danger of tipping, as the pit is actually in front of and under one of the ends. I thought something was different about the color and texture of it. I grabbed a flashlight. I'll let you see what I saw...

This is the fish that had the belly that was getting larger. See what's on the surface of the ornament behind her?

Here's what it looks like without her in the picture...
Notice the number of eggs, and the pit they dug. The pit is where the baby fish (the fry) are raised after they hatch, or so I read. This is all rather new ;).


Dad and Mom. Dad looks lighter in the picture. He's a bit washed out by the flash. The flash does reveal the colors that are on his scales. This is one of the ways you can tell this is Dad. Compare the number of colorful reflections on his body in these pictures to Mom's picture above.


Dad again.

My new quilt

I received a quilt in the mail today. It was made for me by one of the Small Paws Blanketeers. They send one to every newly adopted Small Paws Bichon! I'm a blessed little girl to be one of the Bichons they rescued!

Pet videos

First we'll start off with the Jack Dempseys. The video doesn't do the larger two justice, as they are far more colorful than they appear. The light reflects off of their scales in blues and greens. I am really glad I got these fish! The smaller two are very light in color. This is mostly likely caused by stress. The cause of the stress is most likely their tankmates. The larger are a bit aggressive toward the smaller. They will chase them around the tank. It is interesting to note that these fish were all the same size when I got them. I imagine growth is related to health and also pecking order. He who eats most grows most.

There's also a rather large algae eating fish in the tank that I did not capture on the video. It's a master of hiding, even though it's probably 4 inches long!

Then we have the other fish. You probably have seen most of them before. The largest fish does like to chase the others (notice a trend?) and the two smallest tend to hide in corners. The smaller of my two striped fish is starting to turn yellow like the big one, so it looks like I may have two males. I tried to get a good shot of the Jewel, but it's the one that seems most camera shy and darts away. It is very pretty when the light hits it right and shows some nice red tones. I did get my algae eaters in this shot, down on the bottom of the tank. The darker, larger one is the same kind of algae eater that is in my other tank, just much smaller. Again in this tank there are a lot of fish that started out similar sizes. Some fish just grow much more quickly than others, and then they pick on the little ones. The Jewel is similar size to my large Kenyi, but is a less aggressive species and finds itself lower on the pecking order, although it certainly doesn't get chased as much as the others.

And now for the grand finale!

Lucy's one week report

Lucy has survived her first week here! This is what Mommy has figured out about her so far:

She is very interested in the food preparation process but does not beg when Mommy eats. Mommy appreciates this greatly!
She seems to know two commands: sit and kisses. Yes, she kisses on command, and she aims for the mouth.
She LOVES going outside. Loves it. She even wanted to go out during a hail storm today. Mommy didn't let her.
She can't hold it all day while Mommy is at work if she is left out, but she can if she is put in her crate. She doesn't like the crate. That's a shame.
She seems to exist to go outside, get and give loving, and sleep.
Contrary to reports from her foster mom, she will play with toys, although not a lot. She seems to like an Eeyore that Mommy keeps in the living room. She won't play long and doesn't seem interested in any other toys, but this is a little bit of play that was a pleasant surprise.
She comes willingly when beckoned for a brushing. It doesn't seem like it's her favorite thing in the world, but she was very good and gave Mommy no trouble. The fur on her body doesn't seem prone to tangling, so her head and tail seem like they'll be the only parts of her that need regular grooming when her fur does grow out. She seems to shed a very little bit, but not much, so her coat may turn out to be really easy to deal with as long as she is groomed regularly.
She is a "boot scoot" expert.
Overall, she's actually a very good dog with some rough edges, and Mommy is very happy to have her!

Patellar Luxation?

The doctor says that I have something called patellar luxation. I am not in any pain, but Mommy has to watch me to make sure that she notices any problems right away. Because my kneecaps both move freely from side to side, the doctor said that it is pretty severe and will most likely require surgery, especially since they move so much when I am still as young as I am. It doesn't hinder my enthusiasm for going on walks, although Mommy says that I hold one of my legs up sometimes when I squat and I don't really like going up and down the stairs. Mommy usually carries me up and down, which is okay with me! Ultimately when I do have surgery, it will be at a hospital in Ithaca. Mommy says that it has a very good reputation, and my doctor is going to be there today and will let Mommy know about how much surgery will cost.

The doctor did a lot of mean things to me and then said I needed to put on a few pounds. Mommy hopes that I gain weight but is slightly concerned because the new food she got me to help my joints stay healthy has ingredients that are supposed to help maintain a trim form. The worst thing the doctor did was put a huge needle in me! Mommy said it was so she could find me more easily if I ever got lost, but I think Mommy should just not lose me! I was so upset that I bit the nurse who was helping me. Mommy wasn't happy to hear that and told me to apologize. I didn't.

I did get a new harness last night, which is nice because the one that I was wearing before was a bit snug. My new one is a very pretty dark purple and Mommy told me that it suits a beautiful young lady like me.

I got to meet more dogs yesterday and more people. I was really nice to the kids at the pet store and met two dogs that really stood out. I got to meet a Bichon. He was nice and definitely bigger than I am, more in girth than in height, though. I met a pretty Pomeranian who had just been groomed and smelled really nice. There was also a Great Pyrenees there. He was still a puppy, only 9 months old, and with his long, thick coat he looked absolutely huge, but I was still very pleased to meet him. He was really calm and a gentle giant.

One of Mommy's friends came to my home last night to meet me. I really surprised Mommy when I barked like crazy at him and didn't want to come near him for a few minutes. Mommy asked me who he reminded me of. She suspects that maybe someone mistreated me in the past. It turns out he was okay, but I wasn't really confident even after I let him pet me for a while. Since I am generally so friendly and outgoing, Mommy was a bit puzzled. So much about my past is a mystery to her, and I don't like to talk about it much.

Mommy might not come home to see me during her lunch break today. She said something about wanting to know how well I would do alone all day. She wanted to hire someone to come let me out a few days of the week, but she said that she should save the money she would have spent on that and put it aside to pay for my knee surgeries. I held it for 9 hours overnight, so I will do my best to not make a mess in the house today. If I am a good girl, she might leave me alone all day every day and not stop home often. Maybe I should have an "accident" so she'll come see me more often...

~Little Lapdog Lucy Lu

I'm home!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I arrived safe and sound at my new home. When my new Mommy picked me up at the airport, I wasn't sure about coming out of my crate, but I gave her a kiss on the hand right away. She let me stretch my legs on a little grassy area at the airport before the drive to my new home. I kept trying to climb in Mommy's lap in the car, but she told me that it wasn't safe, so I took a nap for the rest of the trip.

We finally got home and Mommy took me to explore outside. I can smell that there are a lot of other dogs living in my apartment complex, but I haven't met any of them yet (although I did meet one of their Mommies). I got a tour of the apartment, and then we went back outside. I was so excited to see my leash and spend more time outside! Mommy didn't let me stay outside long since she thinks it's too hot right now, but she promised that we can go out again later this evening when it cools off.

When we came inside she gave me this treat ball. I am still not quite sure how to get them out, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I can't decide whether I want to explore or get loving, so I'm taking turns between the two. I am a happy, loving, energetic and friendly girl and I think I'll really like living here in my new home!



~Lucy

Psalm 23

Sarah Hughes made this and was selling it online. I purchased it and then ordered a custom frame for it. I hung it Friday evening but this morning was the first time there was sufficient natural light to do it justice! I only wish my photography skills were a little bit better...