Roscoes buddy

Roscoe adores Elizabeth. She is his playmate and provider of dinner. His very favorite thing is to wake her in the morning. They delight in playing together. 

This morning Elizabeth was sitting in a box lined with a blanket, pretending to be a puppy. Bing and Roscoe at my feet, muzzle fighting. Kate at loose ends, kind of wandering around. 

Then Kate got the idea that maybe she would like to lay in the box that Elizabeth was occupying. She nosed at Elizabeth and was asking Elizabeth to relinquish the box. Elizabeth protested.

Roscoe broke off from playing.  

He interposed himself between Kate and his Elizabeth. 

And herded Kate away.


Roscoe nuzzled Elizabeth to reassure her, then returned to muzzle fighting with Bing. Kate walked off in apparent confusion (“Huh. Did that just happen?”) and got a drink of water.

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Racetrack

I adore our home. It’s small by modern standards however it has a thoughtful layout that lends itself well to our life. 

A favorite feature is the racetrack. After you watch Elizabeth and Roscoe wear each out I’m sure you’ll agree every home needs a racetrack.  

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Kinda Christmasy

We got our tree from Minnesota Bob Sunday before last but I didn’t have much interest in decorating with stress and worry and then sorrow for papa. 

Christmas Eve arrived and the tree was still naked. I pulled the ornaments down this morning. Off to work, E home with grandma all day, home again, everybody fed. Made a few cool ornaments with Elizabeth and Scott.   

While Scott wrangled E into jammies I rummaged thru the box. Scott had started the lights. I finished them up, decorated the top part of the tree by standing on the stool Uncle Walter made for Elizabeth. 

Scott and Elizabeth completed the tree trimming. It’s a lovely tree. Elizabeth picked it out. 

 
Waiting for an over tired, over amped child to fall asleep. Then prepare her stocking and wrap presents. Thinking of my mom and sisters tonight and hoping they are finding comfort in tradition and memories. 

I miss you papa.

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Dogs, glasses, and papas teeth

I know how to raise a puppy.  I do. 

A tenant of raising any young thing is if you don’t want it destroyed don’t leave it within reach. Especially if you require them for driving, say.

 

Now this is not so bad. I have an old pair that will probably more or less do. And I actually had the thought (then acted on it shockingly) to order a set from eyebuydirect.com.
So I’ll squint for a few days. 

Papa story. He had a full set of false teeth. A legacy of a car crash in his teens. There was also a dog, Buddy. Papa placed his teeth on the night stand and began his shower as was his custom. When he returned for his teeth, gone. He searched, questioned mom, no teeth. Had they been knocked off by bed making activities? No. Had he left them somewhere odd? No. Where could they be?

Toothless papa, wandering thru the house, growing increasingly pissed, looking for the d*mn things. I can imagine mom trailing behind, frantically searching.

Then a thought – where’s the dog?

The search for papas beautifully crafted (New Zealand originals?) pearly whites carries on to the back yard. And there, between the paws of moms self proclaimed wolf dog, they were.

A rubble of porcelain and shattered gums. Sad remnant of a proud mouth. Never more to gnaw bones or rend steaks, chomp the end of a pipe. 

Papas cheeks remained hollow for weeks. I’d like to have heard the conversation with the insurance company. ‘No really Mr Henderson, we need to know what happened”grumble mutter dog grumble’.

There was a lot of soup in the weeks that followed. And a lot of good natured jibes from the men dad supported in the heavy machinery industry. The new teeth eventually made their home in his mouth. Never as white, never as good, never as comfortable as that New Zealand set.

Dog trophies. 

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Roscoe

I am very pleased with this boy. He learns quickly, enjoys meeting new people, and is fast becoming Elizabeth’s dog instead of mine.

She feeds him dinner, kennels him, and plays until they are both pooped. He revels in waking her in the morning by leaping onto her toddler bed and digging her out of her warm blankets.

What a good boy.  

 

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Rituals and grief

I hope we have papas service soon. I need the ritual of grieving to help me handle these emotions. Most fulfilling grieving process ever was when I helped wash and prepare the body of a dear friend. It was an honor and moving. We have so few rituals these days. We ignore our human need for the formal closure and grief. Struggling some with the loss of papa tonight. He was a complex man. Not very nice growing up, I was an adult before I grew to appreciate and truly love him. Gosh I miss him dreadfully.

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Goodbye, papa

Goodbye papa. I have good memories of you.

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Hyster

And on the way in we saw a piece of Hyster equipment. For years my papa travelled the west coast. First he was a mechanic called in to fix stuff that others couldn’t. Later he taught other mechanics what he knew. I don’t think there was anything mechanical papa couldn’t fix when he was younger and strong.

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Fishes

We visited Alaska Coral & Fish tonight. A nice young lady introduced Elizabeth to a variety of fresh water fish called ‘Doctor fish’. They stay small and nibble, nibble, nibble on your fingers. The young lady introduced us to lots of other species and did lots of educating. It was interesting and splendid and a real balm for a dark winter day.

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Waiting

Christmas shopping with Scott, waiting to hear that my father has died. Strange juxtaposition of emotions. I’m happy Elizabeth and I were fortunate enough spend time with him at Thanksgiving.

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