...and now there are two...

I didn't want to write this. Ever. But it was inevitable; as with everything in life, change is the only constant. My heart is broken. You'd think you'd get used to it. 

Thankfully, you never get used to it. Your heart simultaneously combusts and expands.  September 11, 2021 will have an entirely different meaning for me for the rest of my life. 

TIPPI UNN SIGRID, CGC, TDI-A

2007 - 2021

It was a cold December. We had just lost our beloved Gracie, my first experience with Norwegian Elkhounds (Hubby had one as a kid). Hubby was traveling; we’d contacted Gracie’s breeder and asked about rescue organizations. We had a “list” of what we wanted…female, not a puppy. Under 5 years old. “This is going to take forever,” we remember thinking… I emailed Kari Olson, the name provided by Carol Loitfelter, and waited.

I didn’t have to wait long! Kari sent pictures…. The kids gathered around the computer, and said, “Oh yeah. We need to bring this girl home.” And then we talked about Tippi’s history. Well. That was that. When Hubby came back from his trip, we informed him that we had found our girl… Arrangements were made, and we drove up to get “Tiffany,” who was promptly re-named “Tippi” after my favorite Hitchcock actress, Tippi Hedren, who is an animal activist.

We got to the place where Tippi lived, and put her in the car. At that point, Tippi heaved a sigh, as if to say, “Here we go again,” because she didn’t realize she’d found “forever” that day. On the trip home, I kept twisting around and petting her, and we kept talking to her, hoping that she’d realize she was heading home. She met “her boys,” which caused great bouts of wiggle-butt and zoomies, and was hugged and cuddled and welcomed to her new home.

We discovered she loved fresh fruit. Her favorite was frozen blueberries. We also discovered that she loved pizza bones, and buttered toast. She tried out ALL the dog beds. She ate good food. Had clean water. Got used to being inside a house. Learned that it was ok when the garbage truck came by every week – they weren’t stealing our stuff! The first few car trips were a bit rough; there was still that lingering fear in our girl: “was I being sent somewhere else?”

The first few months, she settled in, met River, her Siberian Sister, and just relaxed into the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere. Good food, water, dog beds everywhere…she was happy. Car rides no longer caused the “am I leaving?” anxiety. We took her to training, figuring that she and I could “bond” a bit and help her settle in better, and Tippi sailed through beginning and intermediate Obedience. Her trainer, Bobbie Schultz, discovered her few tricks, especially Tippi’s talent of “talking.” She noticed that Tippi was very good around reactive dogs, and said, “You know…she might make a good therapy dog…” And there you go. She passed Advanced Obedience, achieved her Canine Good Citizen status, and then passed her TDI evaluation. After working with Tippi, Bobbie decided to go forward with her own training, and completed her certification as a TDI evaluator – Tippi had a way of convincing people that they could be their best!

During this whole time, she, River and Quinn (her daughter, who joined us as a foster [failure] 3 months after Tippi came home) enjoyed time at the dog park with Hubby, and long rambles in the various park trails. After River lost the sight in one eye, Tippi often gravitated to that side, so that she could help steer River away from obstacles at the park, and keep other dogs from surprising her. Already, she was showing her “nurturing” side. She and Quinn loved the heavy snow, where they could plow through the empty dog park with abandon, while the other dogs and owners stayed home…elkhounds + snow = a magical combination.

Her personality came out in bits at first, and then all in a rush. She was a true elk-clown, but with her own special twist. She wasn’t a big kisser and that was fine. She was, however, a champion at getting really, really close to you and wanting you to give her chin skritches, belly rubs, and butt rubs. Her ability to sling her paw over your hand to just keep you there was legendary. She participated for several years in the John Nelsen Moosedog Rescue fund (JNMRF) Howl-O-Ween contest, winning in 2010 with a “costume” called “They’ll never notice I’m on the couch…” – herself wrapped in a grey blanket with just her tail out. Yes – she challenged, and won – the battle of “no dogs on the furniture.” Then, she won again in 2017, with “I can’t believe I’m wearing bunny ears.” She just was so happy and you could see it in the photos.

She was a champion at NOT stealing food; seriously, you could leave your pizza slice on a plate next to your chair and it would be there when you got back from the kitchen…however, after chemo? All bets were off. She’d steal half my sandwich, and would look at me as if to say, “I’ve had chemo – I’m starving…and I left you half of it!”

All through training, she showed her patience with other dogs; she loved everyone, especially her trainer Bobbie, who christened her “Robo-Dog” for the willingness Tippi showed in learning everything. She loved everyone – the more she felt comfortable at home, the more friendly she got. She would often be asked to be the “non-reactive” dog in situations where Bobbie was working with private clients. She had a best friend in training: Shallot, the Chinese Crested. We thought for sure she’d try to eat her…but they became bosom buddies, kind of like Laurel and Hardy.

Tippi started her therapy dog career at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, where her big brown eyes and cheeky smiles made every nun in the place absolutely certain that she was STARVING. Which she wasn’t, of course! I had to admonish several sisters that they should only feed her the treats she was allowed, not cookies!

She worked at Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, sitting with children before they saw the social workers and police officers (her ears were privy to many a secret conversation with the kids and she really had a crush on a couple of the cops, too), also worked at several grade schools, attended meetings of Compassionate Friends, spent time with the Joliet School District 86 as Principal for a Day, visiting a school for children with different abilities, and attended Take Back the Night. She counted the Will County State’s Attorney as one of her closest friends, but it was probably that he smelled like Great Dane... Her longest tenure, though, was at Lewis University as their first (and so far, only) therapy dog.

Stories from Our Lady of Angels: One day, Tippi and I arrived and checked in. Tippi stopped for a moment, and then actually dragged me down one hallway, which was a different route than we usually took. The hallway was lined with nuns. Tippi got to the end of the line, sat down next to the nearest sister…and stayed there. Sister Marie had just died; the nuns were praying and singing as she was being prepared to go to the funeral home. Tippi would not move. She stayed there, and as the undertakers took Sister Marie out, the nuns formed a procession, which Tippi joined. They walked Sister Marie to the hearse. Tippi stood at the door and each nun touched her head as they walked back toward the chapel.

Tippi had been visiting Sister Julie, who didn’t speak. After several months of visiting, as they entered the common area where she was sitting, Sr. Julie leaned forward and said, “Dog!” Tippi always seemed to know which nuns she could be boisterous around and which nuns needed her to sit and be quiet. She learned to “back in” next to the wheelchairs so that the nuns didn’t have to lean forward to pet her. It only took her a few visits to memorize which rooms she was able to go in, and which rooms didn’t want a visit.

Starting her time at Lewis University, we initially visited outside, but the lure of many chipmunks caused a slight change in venue…to the Science Building. She was particularly fond of Dr. Rago, who used big stuffed toys in the shapes of viruses. Tippi always hoped he’d toss one her way! Not only did the students adore her, but there were several professors who were happy to get down on the ground with her and see if they could be the “First Belly Rub of the Day” – a considerable honor, as she didn’t bestow that favor lightly. She was invited to many department meetings, and also participated in Super Study Week and Opening Day Welcome Fairs. Eventually, we moved into the Library. Tippi drew lots of students into the library, and was particularly fond of several of them. Brother Chris (the university is run by the DeLaSalle Christian Brothers), who ran the Writing Center located in the library, was a special visitor. Not only was Tippi happy to see him in general, but he took to slipping little bites of chicken to her – strictly against the rules! She even got Brother Lawrence to admit that she was “quite a good girl.”

She had a story written for the student newspaper about her and the young man assigned to write it was, he said, terrified of dogs. She somehow knew this, and sat away from him…at first. As the young man and I talked, Tippi gradually moved closer and closer, till she was leaning against his leg. He looked down and said, “I guess this is what a therapy dog does.” A foreign exchange student from Israel thought she was a German Shepherd mix, and visited often. After learning about the breed, he asked, “I wonder if Elkhounds can live in Israel?” as he was preparing to go back home after finishing his degree. She was particularly well-received by many of the foreign exchange students, and was able to teach them about dogs where there were cultures who didn’t have the American experience of having a companion animal.

She would wear a hat (headband) appropriate to each season, and right before Christmas, we used to bring the whole bag of hats and let the students take selfies with Tippi in the hat of their choice. We had lots of students connecting on her Facebook page, and they were so proud to be the occasional “cover students” when we took group shots. My mom went through her fabric stash and made up a number of bandanas for Tippi to wear to “work.” She was a most stylish dog.

As Elkhounds can, she was able to sense when a student needed her. The students would gather in a circle and she would make her way from person to person. They all knew that she’d stop at each person eventually, but would often spend more time with someone if she felt that they needed it. All of them waited patiently for their turn. She did her version of “Tricky Dog” for the students – if you asked her a question, she’d clack her teeth and woof the answer. She would sit up, shake, do high-5 and do “doggie push-ups” (going from standing on hind legs to down) but she would never roll over…no matter how enticing the treat. She delighted the track teams when they were training – they’d break their run to stop and pose and ask for a picture. I've probably got at least a gigabyte of pictures of her time at Lewis. There were more than a few times when the University President’s office would call and ask, “Is Tippi available for this activity?” I was just her driver…

Her cancer diagnosis coincided with the summer break at school. The initial diagnosis was Lymphoma, both Type A and Type B (Tippi never did anything by halves). Half-way through her chemo, which Hubby organized and handled, we felt a lump in her neck. That turned out to be thyroid cancer. We were able to time the removal of part of her thyroid in between chemo treatments. The treatment was rough, but Tippi conquered it.

Before COVID-19 shut everything down, Tippi was able to make a few more visits to Lewis University once her oncologist said she was cleared; it was obvious that while Tippi’s attitude was still enthusiastic, the cancer and chemo had sapped her energy. She retired from active therapy dog duties, particularly in light of TDI’s requirement that she continue vaccinations. Her oncologist strongly recommended that we not update her vaccinations, due to the particular kind of lymphoma she had, so it was time for the “Tuesdays with Tippi” era to end. At the time of her retirement, she was TDI-A -- a dog who'd volunteered at over 200 hours of visits; she was nearing 300 when she finally had to stop visiting.

She became Queen of the House on an official basis. She enjoyed her retirement. She had 2 “bonus years” of good health after finishing chemo, and in typical Elkhound fashion, was strong right up to 48 hours before her final journey. While there’s an Elkhound-sized hole in our hearts and in our home, we know that she’s free from pain and enjoying renewing her friendship with River, Gracie, Topaz, and so many of our other Elkhound friends.

We wish there were words to convey the true depth and breadth of Tippi’s personality. She started out life a little rough. But she overcame it. She contributed to good things on this planet. She made people smile, she brought joy. She demanded her fair share of attention, as is right and proper. She was well and truly loved. My mom said she was “her favorite of the furry grand-kids.” She was beautiful, inside and out. We are so lucky that Kari Olson dropped by that gas station and saw the sign. Talk about the stars aligning. It’s as if our Gracie was directing the action from over the Bridge – she saw another Elkhound in need and pointed the humans right in Tippi’s direction. When we name our dogs, we think about it a bit. You know why we named her Tippi. “Unn” is Norwegian for “she is loved.” And Sigrid is a Norwegian name that means “beautiful.”

She was 14.9 years old. She was, and I know how lucky I am, the third "dog of my heart." And she'll be the last one. For as much as I'm attached to Quinn & Raisa, there's a Tippi-sized hole in my heart and it will always be there. We had her cremated. I plan to have a dogwood tree planted at Lewis University in her honor, and her ashes are here at home. When I go, she's going with me. 

I Tried...

...to come up with something eloquent and original to say about Robin Williams. And I've failed. Indeed, perhaps the most eloquent tribute to this man came from his daughter, Zelda. Find it here. And read it. She's a stunningly clear-eyed young woman. 

I can, however, say that I was shocked to find that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. My FIL died from that disease. It's a bugger. My FIL was a musician, mechanic, raconteur.... And Parkinson's stole that from him. I don't know what makes a person have this disease or not. The doc speculates that FIL was exposed to a lot of heavy metals. He was in the Army Air Corps way, WAYYYYYYYYY before OSHA and any reasonable safety standards. He worked around heavy machinery and aircraft all his life. Was on the Pipeline for years. Toxins abound in those arenas. 

But no real answer to the "is it genetic?" question. Believe me, I asked. 

For a person who's prone to depression and whose mental state is precarious - or not even precarious, but perhaps not necessarily (why am I having such a hard time formulating this sentence???).... Let's try again.

For a person who's in a fragile mental state, a disease like Parkinson's is truly something that shakes your already shaky core. It's a horrible, HORRIBLE disease. And while there are great strides being made, most people who have this will die a nasty death. 

My FIL was one of the lucky ones. He took a nap and never woke up. Seriously, no ill-timed jokes here. He was in the nursing home. The doc had just been to visit. He was going to have dinner, and it was about a half hour or so prior to the trays being brought. He was napping. And thankfully, he just slipped away. It was a peaceful death. 

I don't know much about living with a terminal condition - other than watching others do it. But I can honestly say that I think I can imagine the angst and the fear. 

And maybe that was just "one more thing" too much for Robin Williams. Thanks to The Internets, his memory will remain eternal.

Health...

Speaking of "conditions" - my labs came back. Urgh. I am definitely anemic. "Normal" iron levels are around 35 - 119... Mine is 19. The nurse says, "You must be weak and tired." Well, tired, yes. Weak? Not so much. 

Sooooooo - doc says 325 mg of ferrous iron supplements THREE TIMES A DAY. Not gonna happen. Let's just say, to be polite, that that much iron will turn me into an INCREDIBLY crabby woman. Particularly due to the effects that'll have on my digestive system. 

So I found a supplement at the natural foods store, that they say is "not constipating" (there - I said it). And I'm taking Vitamin B supplements. 

And I guess I'd better learn to make liver... I have it in the freezer. But it was set aside for the dogs. Luckily, I now have permission to eat dried fruits like prunes (which I really do like, by the way). 

We shall see how this all turns out. It does make me wonder what's underneath all of this. Iron deficiency can be the cause of irregular heartbeat. So was all this heart stuff "fixable" by adding more iron? Or did they find the anemia because of fixing my heart?

It's a puzzlement. 

Knitting...

Yes, it's Teal Sock #2. And yes, my system of "knit on this awhile till you can truthfully say you've made progress" is working. I have about 2" to go till I can start the toe decreases. 

The Fluro sock is still in the realm of "gusset decreases" and the baby blanket is coming along. The "ladders" aren't as bad, but it is, after all, 100% cotton, so there's no fudging this one! I'm hoping the added ruffle cancels out some sins. 

I got word from Jimmy Bean's that the rest of the yarn is in transit. Then, I can start on booties, then hat, then cardigan -- going from smallest-to-largest project. 

Oh, and my LYS just FB'd that there's MORE of the Opal "Little Prince" colorway. You're killing me, Kelly!!!

Raisa...

Well. I'll be dipped... She did it! Hubby and Raisa made it through Advanced Obedience. Next week is the CGC. Sometime in there, I have to go to the AKC and register her as a PALS dog. That's a pure-bred dog without papers. We did it for the Elkhounds, so we're doing it for her. 

At some point, I'll go forward with the TDI test. But I think at 11 months old, it has strong "disaster potential" and I'm toying with whether I should wait or not. 

I can tell you one thing. She's not going to stand for "dress-up" like Tippi does. She's not liking the hat, and the last headband I tried to get her to wear? It almost got eaten. 

But I can see that, as she gets older, and a bit calmer, she will do well in therapy work. She just has to mature a bit. And we're not in a rush. Tippi's only 7 - we have a long time till we have to worry about a trade-off of dogs. Actually, with Raisa, the longer we wait, the better it'll be anyway. I can take the time to socialize her a bit more and get her used to my handling her. We've had complications what with my recuperation, etc. so I haven't been handling her as much. I need to get her to take walks at MY pace and get used to MY style. It's all a work in progress. 

I'm sure it'll happen, and I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm also sure that the first several walks will be ... interesting. 

She views walks as a time to catch deer and play around. Not on my watch, thanks! But she'll get used to it. She's a very smart cookie. Right now, it's covered in puppy-stupid, but it's there. If you watch. 

And there are days you NEED to watch, because that mind does NOT stop whirling!

Art...

So here's the story to match the picture: River Weaving -- I've been wanting to get a picture of this, so finally Hubby and I stopped before church to grab a shot. 

It's not Native American fishing devices. It's not an anti-pollution device (though it does catch a lot of stuff that's floating by). It's nothing functional, folks. It's art. And it's cool. It's just sitting there, for the most part, and it's just "being." And in our daily 24/7 lives, with so much "connectivity" and always being "plugged in" -- well, this is unplugged at its finest. 

Come down, find a bench, sit and watch the ducks. Shut your phone off. Enjoy. Yes, you'll hear traffic, but buy yourself an ice cream cone and sit and contemplate the canal, the ducks, the weather. Just "be." 

Like art. 

Random Picture...

And then there's "Not Art"...

Really??

From the sublime to the ridiculous, right? Had to laugh because two FB friends are having an "ick" war. One keeps posting these antique ads, showing "fine dining" and munchies from the 60s and 70s (auuuuuuuuuughhhhh - antique???). These things include the finer points of spam on toast, ham with fruit cocktail (yeah, that picture), etc. 

Yessirreeeee... Those folks in the swinging 60s sure ate a lot of crap. Jello with stuff floating in it like shrimp and apple slices. All kinds of cakes, Bisquick casseroles, a jelly ring with cucumber slices for dipping?? Ick. I don't know. But it's gross. 

Lunchbox

So anyhow, MA has been grossing out D and I - so I just had to have Hubby take a picture of a gag gift he got this past Christmas. 

See, he's in computers. Spam. Get it?? Well, apparently, our friend thought it was funny. Hubby, a practical sort of guy, is kind of "Huh???" but I think this is cute... And now MA has to have it. And she can't - ha ha! The only thing missing is the thermos. 

Here's An Idea: How About a Car that Just DRIVES?

So in last Sunday's Trib section "Rides" - there's an article by someone talking about the "useful versus wasteful" new doodads on the cars. 

This reporter says that there are 5 "keepers" and 5 "wastes of space." In my humble opinion, he's got his priorities wrong. The entire list of doodads are idiotic and will greatly contribute to even more driver distraction. 

Let's start with the "waste" list:  

Picture navigation: You're supposed to meet someone and you're not sure of the exact location, so they text you a picture of the location, you download the picture and open it in Audi's smartphone app. Theoretically, the app can pull data from the photo, including GPS coordinates, and then that data is sent to the car so you can find your friends. 

How about we just give really good directions and just drive there?

Basic calendars: Ok, first, may I say that my car really doesn't need an "infotainment" center. It's for driving. The car, I mean. "Infotainment." Really? When did my car become a media center??? Anyway, these particular calendar apps in some of these cars won't sync with your smartphone and don't allow you to add anything to them. 

Why do we need these? How about we just wait on making appointments, and just drive?

Compass: Well, I'm directionally impaired. You need to tell me to go to the crossroad and turn toward the firehouse. Don't tell me to "get to the intersection and go west." My truck (a Ford Edge) has a nifty compass. So if I have to figure it out, I can do it, but this app this reporter is talking about is just a little more. Like we need "a little more" cluttering up the dashboard? 

How about we stick to the compass already in 90% of vehicles? Or, I'm sure your local auto parts store will sell you a stick on thingie you can use. And then we can just drive.

Photo galleries: Do I really have to go into the absurdity of this? I didn't think so. How about we just drive? 

Poor menus: Again. Let's just drive. 

I will tell you that I appreciate the voice controls; just that for some reason, my Ford and I don't know how to communicate above anything basic, but that's ok. 

The "keepers" this guy listed are also "wastes" in my opinion, but there was one particularly egregious one.

Action shortcuts: This includes something called "split-screen mode" where this reporter says it "allows two apps to be displayed at once, meaning the navigation doesn't have to disappear when someone wants to scroll through an iPod playlist."

Seriously, people are speeding along and someone wants to scroll through a playlist?? 

How about we just drive? 

Amelia Edge

Speaking of cars, though - I met a student at the university when I was coming out of the mail room. He laughed and said, "I haven't seen a color like that since I left the Army!" My car is green. He called it "olive drab." And we had an animated discussion of the fact that according to Ford Motor Company, the color is actually "ginger ale." I swear. And I have no idea why, unless it's because the color of a CAN of ginger ale is this pale metallic sage-y green. 

I have named her Amelia and yes, she's got some whiz-bang features, but primarily, we drive. 

Sorry about the dull photo. It's raining. And she's really only pretty when the sun shines. 

Politics...

Again, where do I start? Well, let's start in Washington. The House is set to leave on December 13 and the Senate on December 20 - for the holiday... Because, you know, they work so hard during the year. 

And they have a big honkin' bit of unfinished business, which of course nobody's talking about because we're all about "The War on Christmas." Here's one for you, Mr. Scrooge...

If they don't take care of this unfinished business, millions of Americans, including those who are unemployed, Pentagon contractors and the like, will lose their benefits. We're talking 1.3 million people who will lose federal emergency unemployment benefits after Christmas; milk prices will skyrocket due to Congress' failure to renew a farm bill; and of course, those on food stamps will face cuts. 

Because, you know, those people on food stamps are a blight on society. Like the active duty military who are on food stamps, the unemployed teachers, and seniors. Right now, even if there is an agreement, some 4 million people will potentially be kicked off the food stamp program. 

But hey - the politicians have worked hard. On average, they work in DC anywhere between 130 and 180 days per year. How nasty is it that we actually expect them to work harder for us to come up with something reasonable to help our economy AND the citizens who are currently embroiled in this slow period of growth? Once again, Republicans are refusing any tax hikes and Democrats are refusing more spending reductions. 

Here's my take on it, and no, it's not the "household budget" thing because that's a silly argument. Our country's budget is built on taxes. Those are "income" and you need taxes to fund essential government services, like food stamps, certain subsidies and the like. You can't just cut and cut and cut and find a miraculous pile of money under the cabbage in the White House garden. There has to be something put into the piggy bank as well as some judicious cutting of fluff in the budget. It's not like your household budget because it's so much more expansive than that. For your family's budget, you don't have to worry about defense, education, etc. Well, maybe education if you send your kids to private schools. But you don't have to worry about infrastructure, your police and fire protection, etc. The feds and state do have to worry about that.

And worrying needs to be resolved by actual action. Hopefully not on the backs of the poor, seniors, kids and the unemployed, but maybe on actually taxing corporations at a decent (Eisenhower-like) level, cutting benefits for those companies that "create jobs" overseas, and rebuilding our manufacturing. 

But right now, apparently, what we have to worry about is the fact that milk could go to $8/gallon. Makes $4/gallon gas look downright reasonable, doesn't it?

I'll have to tackle Illinois politics in another post. I'm still digesting what Quinn did...

However, on the ACA front, Blue Cross will allow Illinois residents to renew their crappy insurance for another year, even though those policies don't meet the basic levels of the ACA. Oh, and I bet you never saw THIS coming:  "Blue Cross said it will allow renewals of those policies for one more year, while noting they may come at a higher price." So they'll blame President Obama for that one. Even though statistically, insurance policy rates have risen EVERY year. (The emphasis in the quote is mine, by the way.)

Christmas...

Tree, 2013

There is no war on Christmas, folks. Can we just put that story in the recycle bin?? Please tell me that you're intelligent enough to realize that this is right-wing agitation in progress. We have REAL wars to worry about: the ones our service people are fighting overseas, yes, but our own local wars are important too. The war on poverty (not going so well, actually, since there are more folks living in poverty while fewer and fewer own more and more); the war on education (also not going so well, since for some odd reason, the extreme right want to have a Taliban-style of religious indoctrination instead of working with, oh... FACTS); the war on women (we're in the middle of the 16 Days of Activism - still fighting the gender wars here and in other countries)... and that's just a few off the top of my head. 

On the home front, we're going easy this year. Here's what our tree looks like. For the past few years, we've done a small tree on the dining room table. Quinn, a/k/a "crazy puppy," is just too rambunctious, even at age 3.5, to be let loose with a large tree. And Arlo the Aged Canary is still with us (at what? Age 10 or 11??) and his table sits right where our Christmas tree should go. 

Hubby is doing some new decorations outside. I have scaled down the inside stuff. I just don't want to have to put it all away!! One of our recurring goals is to get our Christmas stuff organized. And rotate it each year. Like the true Cub fan that I am, I will utter those immortal words: "Maybe next year." 

Two ornaments

Do you love the TARDIS ornament?? Oh, and by the way - the one to the left is a pierogie. It's kind of a Polish version of ravioli, if you will. My great-granny used to make them with all kinds of fillings: fruit, meat, veggies. Usually potato, and most often, potato + sauerkraut. And then plum/prune. Fried in butter. Which is why I continue to struggle with my weight. If you want a constantly renewable source of insulation, that would be Polish fat. We usually haven't met a carb we don't adore... 

Speaking of which, Mary Schmich in the Trib today made a fantastic DECEMBER resolution: "Just because I bake the cookies doesn't mean I have to eat all of them." That's going on my fridge. We're only partly done with the baking; the majority of it will come while I'm on vacation. 

For our family's Christmas Eve thing, we are doing finger foods. We had done a traditional Slovak dinner while my dad was alive; my mom changed it because she hates fish. Then, we've gradually distilled tradition even more - we still all gather on Christmas Eve and this year, we make allowances for the babies (naps, etc.). But the menu has changed. As we're all getting older and facing the need to balance our tradition of heavy foods with our reality of relatively sedentary jobs (except for my sister and BIL, who have jobs which keep them running all day), we have adjusted the menu and I have had a request from my brother to go back to the "finger foods" thing with lots of healthy options. I can do that. Still nailing down the menu, but that's where we're going.

Reading...

I just ordered Howard G. Buffett's book 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World. Here's the Amazon link if you want to look at it. It got decent reviews in the Trib, and I'm interested in what he's got to say. We try to do our bit in our community, through local volunteer work, church work and donations, but I'd still like to get some ideas. 

Still plowing away at the Jane Austen collection. I'm about 70% through Northanger Abbey. I should see if that's been made into a movie, which I'm sure it has. Well, there you go: IMDb has it... I love reading Austen, but sometimes it's as dense as Faulkner. 

Knitting...

No news to report. Still working on the sock. I did organize, sort of, some of the bags of yarn so that I have yarn + pattern in one place. I also downloaded the Booga Bag pattern, because I have some Cascade 100% Peruvian wool. It's a cute bag that takes no time to knit and you felt it like crazy. Makes a cute gift. 

I have a pattern for some sari silk yarn I bought - here's a link to what it looks like. I have a purse pattern...and I was thinking that since some of the reviews said that the sari yarn is kind of fragile in terms of wear-and-tear, I might knit along with something else. Just not sure what.

Random picture...

Puppy cuteness alert! This is Tippi & Quinn (top-bottom) last night as we were watching TV. I love that their paws are touching. Quinn is her typical "yogi dog" self, while Tippi is pretty much a lump of grey fur. 

Holding hands

She had a long day of therapy work yesterday, and by popular request of the students at Lewis University, we'll be back there next Tuesday morning (we usually go the first & third Tuesdays) because it's Final Exam Week. Tippi has guaranteed that if you study hard and rub her belly, you'll do very well on your exams. 

We will have achieved 50 visits, so we'll be applying to TDI for her TDIA designation. 

And I have to order more business cards. And update her Facebook page.

The benefit of a liberal arts education and 2 master's degrees is that you get to be the manager of your dog's therapy work... I already had to talk to Hubby because I was planning on coming out to Lewis at Tippi's normal time, but he scheduled her physical during her therapy time. He should have consulted the dog's schedule. Yeesh, some people never learn... 

It's Not Me -- It's the Dog...

"I can't wait to see you!"

"You make my day!"

"I just love it when you visit."

"Thanks so much for being here; I needed to talk to you."

"The best part of my day is when I can sit here with you."

Yes, I heard all of those comments. And I appreciated them. 

But they weren't for me. They were for Tippi - more exactly, Tippi Un Sigrid, CGC, TDI... you know - the Elkhound who occasionally takes over this blog, though she's been so overwhelmed with her celebrity that lately, she just wants to nap. 

We were at our usual "Tuesdays With Tippi" gig at Lewis University, and I heard those comments and more. Tippi is what I like to call the University's "Furry Flyer" (the school mascot is an aviator). Below is a picture of her in this year's Halloween costume - as a witch. Yes, she really wore the hat most of the visit. Check out her pictures on Facebook... here. You should be able to view her pictures. 

We had lots of visitors yesterday, and she was invited to at least 3 departmental meetings and was asked to "just run around the first floor of the LRC to calm everyone down." Ha - it's a great gig if you can get it. I took lots of pictures, and she really had a good time. Several people (including myself) indicated that when they grew up, they wanted to be Tippi. 

Tippi the Good Witch

Not bad for a rescue dog who had 4 homes prior to her 3rd birthday...And who has become one of my very special "heart dogs." You know the dog. You may have had dogs growing up, and you had dogs in your adult years. And all dogs are lovable. But sometimes, there's this one special dog. The dog IS you. She (in my case, mostly females) sees into your heart, and in spite of the crap you have inside, the way your day has gone, the madness in the world around you -- in spite of all of that, she crawls her furry little self into your heart. You feel like the Grinch after his transformation. You can feel your heart grow and grow and grow.

I am lucky enough to say that in my life, I have had THREE of those dogs. I can't believe how outstandingly fortunate I have been. Tippi didn't replace Topaz or River. She came alongside them. She showed me her soul and asked me for not one thing. Not. One. Thing. She simply is, and somehow, no matter how much garbage she came through, and no matter how horrible I may be feeling, she just is, and because of her, I'm a better person. 

Though I really, REALLY wish she wouldn't bash her butt up against my knitting chair when I'm working on very sharp double-pointed needles! Ouch! She's actually moved my chair an inch or two, depending on how much she wanted my attention.

Purses...

I decided to change my purse. Good idea, bad execution. I went from a messenger-sized bag to the style known as a "doctor's bag" purse. And of course, there's too much stuff in it. But I managed to cram everything but my phone and keys in there. I'll switch to another one when I get home. Problem is, it needs to be a purse that closes, since we're in a more crummy time of the year. I have a couple very nice purses that only have a flap to close them or they're just a cinch bag. I need something that'll zip closed firmly to keep the wet out. 

It's supposed to bucket rain today, and from the sky out there, it's pretty close. I'll be a drowned rat on my way to the truck.

I should pull out my wool Booga Bag... it's nice and wool is fairly waterproof. Please be nice and follow the request: pattern is for PERSONAL use only... please don't go making these up and selling them. It's not nice and knitting karma will come back and bite you in the circulars...

Yarn & Knitting...

Speaking of Booga Bags, I am so happy to find the pattern!! I have stash yarn somewhere in the closet for this. It's so much fun to knit then felt. Amazing how it turns out. And honestly? Making 5 FEET of I-cord is quite meditative.

I really should be working on the Fluffy Scarf today. I'll get to it. Last night I finally picked up #2 Teal Sock, finished the cuff, and started on the leg. Elizabeth Zimmerman was right: "knit your ribbing till you're sick of it, and that's enough." I was just about over it at the 12th row, which was convenient, since that's what the pattern called for. 

I know; I don't have to follow the pattern. Except this is #2 of a pair. They should be somewhat similar...

I'm wearing the Robin's Egg socks today. Nice and toasty feet. I'm hoping the MadTosh wears well; I heard from my knitting friend D that they don't usually wear as well as a sock yarn like Opal, or something with at least 10% nylon in it. Oh well. Socks wear out. One needs to get over it. 

Politics...

So now everyone's miffed because "Obama lied" (yawn...) - apparently his comment, which he probably should've confirmed first, about being able to keep your own insurance was premature. 

Let's face one big fat fact: that legislation (a) is NOT health-care reform; (b) IS a very basic run at HEALTH INSURANCE reform; and (c) was probably written in collusion with insurance companies and lobbyists. 

Therefore, you know the insurance companies (who are NOT non-profits, just look at their CEO pay...) will wring every last dollar out of each of us. For example, the CEO of United HealthCare, my provider, made $13.9 MILLION in 2012. 

Let me repeat that. THIRTEEN POINT NINE MILLION dollars. Ok, mind you, only something like $1.3 million of that was ACTUAL money. The rest is stock options.

So, dust off your econ books, and let's look at this. The guy gets paid a certain amount of actual "salary" on the books. But the rest is tied to performance-based bonuses. This means "How well do we treat our STOCKHOLDERS?" This does NOT mean "how well do we treat our INSURED CUSTOMERS?" basically because we cost them money. He gets paid a bigger bonus if WE get less services. 

So. I take a medication for seizures. There is a generic. The insurance company (NOT my doctor!!) changed to a generic for me, because "generic is equivalent." Well. It wasn't. I need the "real" drug. Honestly, do you really want to mess with seizure medicine?? It didn't work. And there's science to back up both issues. Yes, sometimes (most of the time) generics are just fine. But in a certain percentage of people, the generic Does. Not. Work. It's part of my permanent record. 

Well, I have to have my doctor write, each and every year, an appeal. Because the generic is something like $270 per month (so $810 for a 3 month Rx), and the brand name is $1,600 for a 3-month supply. This is certainly sticker shock, but it does get somewhat better.

As you can imagine, it's a whack at our $2,500 deductible...so in January, I usually pay the whole $1,600 for the refill. After that, for the next several refills, I pay only about $400 per 3-month supply. 

Obviously, let's look at the math. United HealthCare would much rather pay $810 for 3 months of meds. They'd much rather have that money go to their shareholders...they're a BUSINESS. Fact of life, folks. Rule #1 is "Your Insurance Company Does Not Care About Your Health." Keep repeating that. Oh, and they usually get nice fat tax breaks that we civilians won't ever, ever, EVER see. Corporations are people, too, my friend. 

I'm very lucky. My health care is not being cancelled. Some insurance providers ARE cancelling policies and honestly, that stinks. But it's about the money, people. It's not about the ACA - well, not all about the ACA. Look at your premiums and pay attention. I don't know about you, but MY premiums have risen every year. Every. Year. My premiums rose in double-digits. My paycheck only rose in single-digits. 

This article in the Washington Post kind of explains why it seems like it's a no-win argument. It's confusing between the fact that you may be covered, or eligible for Medicare...or you may be covered under your employer's policy. Or you may have to go out into the marketplace.

In my own very humble opinion, employers who kick their employees off their policies are not playing fair with their employees. The company AND the employees should work together to find a good solution. Screwing your employees is just a bad business decision. 

Again, luckily, Hubby's company covers us, and they put out an excellent graphic detailing the options we had and where we needed to go. And Kid #1 figured out that he will spend nearly $200 LESS for insurance on the marketplace instead of taking his company's plan. And Kid #2 has great insurance and doesn't need to change. 

Estate Stuff...

Friday is the closing on the house. I also return my brother's work stuff to his last place of employment. We already gave the car to the one kid (against all advice to the contrary...but it's not my problem any longer). So now, we just wait out the remainder of the claim period, file the Final Accounting, and then we can move to close the Estate. 

It's fast. But the attorney we're using said up-front that he "didn't like them hanging around" and neither do I. I want this done and over with. I've done the bulk of the work, so I've saved some $$$ on attorney fees, I think. 

My mother has made the difficult yet necessary decision to un-invite the 2 kids. Let me explain...

The two kids, half-brother/sister to each other, are not speaking. The girl is living with her grandmother, since her mother had also died a number of years ago. The boy, removed from our family by my brother's X (who said WE were nuts and bad influences) only recently came back after age 18 to "look us up." He has caused nothing but trouble, and while we usually want to take the high road, we are at our wit's end right now. 

The boy is bipolar and schizophrenic. The girl is just a moody 17-year-old. The boy likes to stir things up when he's ON his meds. But we also know that at least twice since my brother's death, he has gone OFF those meds. And his mother, in a fantastical burst of "magical thinking" has told him that "at age 25, your metabolism changes, so you'll no longer need those meds." She heard it on TV.

Anyone with an Internet connection and two brain cells will be able to find out that, particularly in young me, bipolar and schizophrenic behavior tends to blossom at age 25 for whatever reason. BLOSSOM - as in "gets incrementally WORSE." But this kid thinks that on the morning of his 25th birthday, he'll awaken all "normal" and he can go get a gun; he can apply to the police academy; he can get off his meds....

My mother is scared of him. And so, with a heavy heart, she decided that she really didn't want either of them there. She doesn't want or need the drama, and frankly - she knows the rest of us would (a) escort the brats out the door; and (b) then leave. We don't want the drama either. 

Random Picture...

Avon 2-Day Pedometer

This an "oldie but a goodie." From my Bucket List, a desire to walk in the Avon 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. I like it better than Komen because the vast majority of the funds stay in the community in which the walk is held. As far as I was able to find out, Komen funds don't necessarily go where I'd like to see them go (treatment of poor patients, under-served areas, etc.) and I like the "local" aspect. I was able, thanks to many kind donations, to meet the fundraising goals, and I walked. 

Mind you, I did not complete it. Right before the walk, I was diagnosed with A-fib. After trying several different meds, 3 emergency stays in the hospital and finally finding a Rx we thought worked, my cardiologist said, "Go ahead, but don't be stupid." I also had a heart monitor on. 

This was only Day One. It was a Saturday. That Sunday, my walking partner S woke up with a screaming migraine, so we went home. And that Monday, I was back in the hospital. 

No, I wasn't stupid. The new Rx wasn't the right one. (sigh) 

Anyway, I do count this as a bucket-list item because I did the walk. I would like to have finished it, but I did what I could. And in life, as long as you've tried and your intention was good, you've succeeded.