My pup has 4 teeth pulled, And this and that

 

My adorable pup, age 14 in November, had 4 teeth extracted yesterday. Small dogs are prone to teeth problems. He went in for a teeth cleaning and they found four teeth to pull. Today he is doing lots of sunbathing on the patio. They put in stitches and he will get a check up in one week. He was found on the street ten years ago and the shelter pulled some teeth and neutered him before I adopted him. Bounce is my Best Friend. I LOVE love love this guy.

 

Fall Colors 

Zinnias, Marigold and Calendula from my garden today

This is a beautiful Hibiscus flower. In August I planted some hibiscus seeds in pots and none have sprouted. I planted some directly and some I soaked overnight. I will plant some more seeds indoors soon. The Scripture is Isaiah 26:12 "Lord, grant us peace; for all we have and are has come from you."

These signs tell people that some Muslims consider dogs filthy and asks that dogs be kept on a leash and away from Muslims. I think immigrants should adapt to the country they move to, and not push their culture on the host country. This sign is from Vancouver Canada and they are popping up in areas of the UK too. I have a book of Sharia law and it says dogs can not be family pets because they are so filthy. Some imams cite sources that allow dogs as family pets. My dear pup is adorable! He is family.

Sehnsucht or Longing, C.S. Lewis and the Welsh word Hiraeth

 

 

I first encountered the German word Sehnsucht which means "longing" in the writing of C.S. Lewis. To me this word and the emotion it alludes to are ... powerful, beautiful, wondrous, a beauty beyond what I could imagine. Elizabeth Camden wrote that Lewis described Sehnsucht as an inconsolable longing in the human heart “for which we know not what.”  It is a haunting sense of longing which Lewis first experienced in childhood and encountered throughout his life.  Sometimes the characters in his Chronicles of Narnia experience it, which he wrote about very evocatively. To my understanding these stabs of joy and longing are pointing us toward what we call heaven.

 

That longing draws me deeper in being a Christian, just as it draws countless others around the world and throughout different centuries. I feel sehnsucht when I see something that moves me beyond myself. I have put my hand on the trunk of an ancient redwood tree and felt a powerful connection to its age and perhaps a wisdom it has. Most days I stand on the shore and watch ocean waves and I find it comforting that the waves are endless, one after another. I feel God's power and his calm when I watch waves. "He hath made everything beautiful in its time" -- Ecclesiastes 3:11

Also "The heavens declare the glory of God" -- Psalm 19:1. For me the waves and the redwood declare the glory of God. Sehnsucht, such a beautiful longing.  By the way I read that it is pronounced ze.nzuxt. Blog friend Dori, is that correct? 

In Surprised by Joy, Lewis wrote about joy or sehnsucht that "All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still 'about to be' ." I see a look of longing and perhaps sehnsucht in the eyes of this dear dog.

On June 25 I am adding this note, thanking Chris and Liz Hinds for leaving comments about the Welsh word "hiraeth", which means a longing to return home to Wales. How beautiful to have a word describing your heart felt desire to return to Wales, the home of your heart. Also, Chris reminded me of the great movie "Shadowlands" about C.S. Lewis, and now I want to watch it again. I recommend it, and she said Shadowlands mentions "sehnsucht."

Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights, Anne Lamott, Tom Ryan and a happy old dog

 Books. Reading. Reading. Books. Two of my favorite things.

"Greenlights", a memoir by Matthew McConaughey turned out to be even greater than I had hoped. Plus Mr. M. is such a handsome man, isn't he? One of my favorite movies of his is Mud, not his most acclaimed movie, but excellent. Mr. M is a man of honorable character as is revealed in his memoir. It is easy to read, fun, has family photos, and lots of his words of wisdom on helping us find our own greenlights. Some of the tips are duct taped to the page in photos. Very clever format. Below is a photo of one of the tips on a page of his book. The note says "Knowin the truth, seein the truth, and tellin the truth are all different experiences." (he drops the "g" in those words for a reason).

Here are three books I recently purchased and read, all written by authors I think are honorable people. Thus their books resonate with me, and I am happy when reading them and thinking about them afterward.

"Dusk, Night, Dawn" by Anne Lamott. I buy all of her memoir/Christian ideas books. She is a free spirit. In this one we learn that she married for the first time in her life at age 60 or so. She never thought she would marry. Her essays are always interesting.

"Will's Red Coat: The Story of One Old Dog Who Chose To Live Again" by Tom Ryan. Why did I only recently discover this author, who obviously has a great heart? His earlier book "Following Atticus" is a best seller and is also about a dog Ryan loves. I aim to read that one soon. These are nonfiction. Will is an old dog who was adopted when quite deaf and almost blind and he sure grows to enjoy life.  Ryan is so attentive to Will, one clever way he helped him was by playing classical music and setting Will's bed so Will rests his head against the table leg so that even though deaf, he enjoys the vibrations of the music.

I see that all three of these are memoirs. What book treasures have you found to share?

Dog in my cat clubhouse, Teapot with Blue Lights, Peacock , Social Isolation

 

Above is Bounce tasting the catnip in the clearly signed Cat Clubhouse. He is a rebel and rule breaker, like me. Below is Princess Fluffy enjoying her clubhouse.

Just for fun, here is my new electric teapot. It is glass which I like, glass is so inert, which is healthy to boil water in. The entertaining part of the teapot is its blue lights and how they dance when the water boils.

This photo below shows the teapot when I have just turned it on.

Just some light hearted things from around my home, with the aim of bringing smiles during this difficult time of pandemic.

Here is my blue metal peacock, which my younger son assembled and installed in my garden. Some readers asked to see the peacock when in my garden.

 

Occasionally I invite a friend to come over and sit on my patio, six feet apart, while we enjoy a coffee. Now that colder weather is on its way, I will miss those outdoor chats. Perhaps we will meet indoors, I have a sitting area in my living room where chairs are 10 feet apart. That is a big decision. How are you handling social isolation? I read today that Florida schools opened a month ago and there is NO SPIKE in virus cases. In particular, no increase in Florida in school age children getting ill, that is good news. New York City has opened its schools to its 500,000 students. This social isolation is hard on children. A family friend is eager to have his children, here in California, return to school; he says they are being damaged by this isolation. These are hard choices for all of us, and especially for parents.

Oh and I am praying for quick and full healing for our President and our First Lady. These are difficult times indeed. Best of health to them both.

Cat, dog, yellow roses and more

Here are some recent photos I took of things I like.

Fluffy resting in sun near patio doors. She shows up nicely on her red blanket.

Bounce in living room on sofa with pillow that says "The day that God created Chihuahuas He sat down and smiled." We think Bounce is half Chihuahua, and part Rat Terrier and part Corgi.

I always admire this lichen on a rock in a neighbor's front yard.

I didn't go any closer because I didn't want to step on their property.

This bouquet is fabulous and my younger son gave it to me for Mothers' Day.

I picked these roses from my yellow rose bush, so pretty.

Often for joy I find it is good to look at smaller things and nearby things since the big picture and the world situation can be so daunting.

Best Dog in the World?

Ok, ok, I had to put the question mark in the blog post title, cuz we all think our dog is the best and the cutest in the world, right?
This is Bounce's favorite spot, on the back of our sofa, in the sun where he can look out the window and watch people walking past, some with dogs. Our street is a popular one for walking as it leads straight to the bay. Today Bounce brought his little squeaky toy to sit with him. I will try to get more photos of him with more light, but you get the idea. I think it is extra cute he brought his toy friend with him.
Bounce is a Chihuahua terrier mix, found on the streets in a nearby city and brought to the animal shelter. He weighed 7.8 pounds when brought in and was underweight. I adopted him in November last year and now he weighs 11 pounds which the vet says is ideal for him. I try not to overfeed so he stays at 11 pounds. He is so cute and food oriented so of course I give him treats like milk bone and Greenies.

My walk and some happy moments

On my walk today at 9 a.m. before church on March 19 I enjoyed the quiet. Few people were out. Later I know there will be many people out walking, jogging, bicycling, skate boarding, pushing baby strollers and walking dogs. On my quiet walk with my dog Bounce we discovered the same box full of free lemons we saw yesterday. Each day I took four gorgeous yellow lemons. Doesn't their cheerful color make you happy too? I treated myself to some pretty pink roses, as you can see. On that same walk I gave 3 magazines to a Little Free Library and took one book, set in Istanbul, a city I love. The book is "Arabesk" by Barbara Nadel and is the third in a detective series that is new to me. Along the bay two blocks away I saw people on a walk/run to raise money for charity. When we have moments like these it is wise to cherish them, before the tears come again. Somehow I found this walk and these moments to be healing.

My new dog companion Bounce

My sons and I visited five times to three places to pick out an ideal dog companion for me, and we found him. In the shelter he bounced up and down, meaning "pick me, pick me." He still does that.

Above is a Christmas time photo of us, and below Bounce in a favorite spot, looking outside.

At the animal shelter they pulled two of his teeth and neutered him. He is a Chihuahua Terrier mix and was found as a stray and weighed only 7.8 pounds. After a month at my house he weighs 10.4 pounds which the veterinarian says is the ideal weight for him. She said he must have been skin and bones when they picked him up. He looks a lot like my childhood dog, Chili Rey of Martini, a Chihuahua.
He is very Bouncy now and deserving of his name. I love this little guy and so do my sons and he loves us right back. My cat is fine with him, thank goodness.