Lost Sheep

Running did not go as expected again. It seems to be a continuing theme. Life required some extra things last week. We, the third-graders and I, finished the Armor of God study and so a new study of the Parables has begun. This meant that we needed a new bulletin board and new folders. For our final week on the Armor of God we listened to a musical for kids based on the Armor of God. One of the students and his family recommended the CD. We had Heads and Tails Oreos (Chocolate cookie on one side, vanilla on the other, double stuff cream on the inside!!), listened to the CD and colored some velvet pictures.  I used the kids velvet pictures to decorate their folders. This was not difficult, just a lot gluing. Since we are learning about the Parables of Jesus I made a sheep from the parable of the lost sheep to put on the bulletin board at the front of the class along with an explanation of what a parable is and the verses for the parable.

 There is no parable about an octopus (or any of the other pictures), we are considering these pictures to be decorative only!

In addition to ending the Armor of God study, I completed recently the Beth Moore James study. In the study Beth suggested that we might consider cleaning out some closets and giving away the things we do not use to those who might use or need them. This week I tackled a cabinet full of picture frames. Over the years when I have taken a new picture that I want to display I often buy a new frame to put it in. Since I do not have unlimited space, I usually need to take down a picture to make room for the new one. I then take the old picture, still in the frame and stuff it in the cabinet. Last week I took all the pictures out of those frames, stored the pictures in a photo box and then sorted the frames. Some went to Parker, some went to Dean for his office. The rest will go to Good Will. This was not a big deal either but it was very time consuming. It involved fighting with those little knobs and metal things on the back of frames which hold the back on the frame. Some of those were almost impossible to open, others were easy. I also cleaned all the glass for the frames that Dean and Parker wanted, sorted through pictures they might want and of course experienced a few time warps.

In the cabinet was an old album that belonged to my mother. There were lots of pictures in it of my Dad and his friends posing with dead animals. There were lots of pictures of men with inanimate deer and large dead fish. There were also some pictures of my Mom and Dad in Colorado and Utah with friends. These kinds of pictures are a mystery to me...they were taken before I was born. My parents look happy. Since they were divorced when I was three, I have never seen them together when they were happy. Both my parents are gone now. Looking at pictures like those always leaves a shadow for a while. There are so many unanswered questions. I feel a little like the lost sheep in the parable before he is found.

There was also a scrapbook from college in the cabinet. It was filled with cards and letters from people I met my first year at Baylor. It reminded me of how much fun it was to meet all those people from all those different places after growing up in small town Alvarado.

It seems like it might be a good time for some happy bunny pictures:

This is Jackson atop his bunny castle built for him by Dean! It's possible that every animal we have ever had has been spoiled beyond measure!

Eye to eye with Jackson. 

  These pictures may have been taken on what Dean called, "Special bunny Wednesday". Every day is special bunny something to Jackson. He rushes out of his cage every morning absolutely certain that today is the day that he will be allowed to eat as many dehydrated carrots, veggie treats, papaya treats, and Basic 4 cereal pieces as he wants!

 With the priority on Sunday School, cleaning out cabinets and Jackson, running becomes something I am trying to be disciplined about rather than something I am focused on. I will get there.

Here is what I did last week:

Week #	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
3		3miles repeats 9:31, 9:09, 9:20				3.95 miles scenic run	5.04 miles 52:13

 Here is what I ran in week #4

Week #	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
4		3miles repeats 9:17, 8:56, 8:59			Greenbelt run 6.06 (1:08)		3.03 29:41 Tempo

 Even though I am not working as hard as I had hoped at this point I am nevertheless improving. The mile repeats were faster and the longish run was longer. I just need to keep going, my determination and devotion will return. Happy running!

Unsound and Furry

This was a busy weekend. Dean and I traveled to College Station to see Bailey race at Texas A&M. Meanwhile, Parker was left behind to take his ACT test and hang out with friends.

Bailey placed second in the mile with a good time of 4:51! It was fun to see her race and to see her run the mile again! We have seen her compete mostly in cross country at 4, 5, and 6K distances and on the track in the 3k and 5K so it was fun to see her run a shorter distance.

 (Dean and I at Starbuck's with Bailey; inside the Texas A&M Indoor Facility- I love the flags!)

Parker and his friend, Tyler, did not oversleep (my greatest fear) and successfully showed up for the ACT on time. One test down, one SAT still to come!

(Parker supplies for ACT test-taking plus cash for food; Parker and Tyler snacks)

Parker, of course. stayed behind to take the ACT but he also stayed to care for our pets, primarily our geriatric black lab, Max. Max defies the tests of time! He is deaf and has arthritis, he is between 15 and 18 years old. He came to live with us when our neighbors could no longer keep him. At that time our vet thought he was three years old, that was about 14 years ago. We are told this is old for a lab.

 (Max, in his puppy bed)

All of our pets have lived extraordinarily long lives. Our cat, Abigail, lived to 18, with arthritis and near blindness. Even our hamsters have lived longer than expected! Bailey has told me that she always thinks this blog should be called Sound and Furry and she may be right. You would have to have lived with us these past years to fully understand why.

Bailey was thinking of our current menagerie of Max, the ancient lab; Cleo, the upstairs bunny and Jackson, the downstairs bunny but I was thinking of all the furry animals (and otherwise) who have shared our home over the years:

Dogs: Max and Zoe

Cats: Calvin, Carter and Abigail

Gerbils: Despereaux and Leonardo

Hamsters: Chester, George, Beethoven, Calvin, Albert and Gregory

Rabbits: Shakespeare, Cleo and Jackson

Others: a very sweet abandoned wild baby bunny hand-fed and later released into the wild as well as many other abandoned baby bunnies, many wild baby birds- later released,  ants (ant farm), butterflies (from chrysalis), hundreds of praying mantis' (hatched), a frog (who did not survive), as well as lady bugs and the very temporary guests: fireflies (lightening bugs), snakes and garden spiders. 

 (Jackson in the snow, taken last Spring during an unusual snowfall.)

 (Cleo in the snow)

Given all the mishaps, contortions, and intense care involved with a life with animals the blog title might better read: UNsound and Furry. I do know that I have never left my home without some sort of animal fur going along with me on clothing, purse, and especially on black pants even after using one of those sticky rollers to remove it! If there was ever a day that I successfully removed the fur from my person more would await me in my car! We like to think of dust bunnies as additional companions with whom we share our home. I do chase them with the vacuum cleaner but new ones emerge so quickly that it's best to make peace with them.

In the unsound department, I have fed a baby bird cat food with a toothpick every 2 hours and carried a baby bunny, eyes not yet opened in my purse to restaurants and track meets because she could not be left alone. We have driven the congested cat to the emergency vet clinic late at night, we lifted and supported Max constantly and for days when he suffered a bout of vertigo, and I sat with a dying hamster so he would not be alone.

I have loved almost every minute of our adventures with our animals though I must admit to having personality clashes with one of the dogs and one of the cats. And while I loved the little gerbils, one of them (Despereaux) covered his nose with his paws every time he saw me because I was the one who applied the anti-fungal nose medicine to his little nose when he was sick. His reaction, though understandable, hurt my feelings!

It is easy to see why Unsound and Furry should be the name of my blog and perhaps feature prominently on the About Me page!