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Posts Tagged ‘nature’

Sandy

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , on October 29, 2012| 2 Comments »

The weather gods are predicting a one in a hundred year storm. When we moved back to NJ and bought a Mid-Century Modern Jetson-style ranch in Rumson, the realtor told us we’d have a flood once in a hundred years. We then had the December 11th No Name Storm almost 20 years ago, exactly one month after we moved in. The full moon was aligned with the rising tide.

Our old kitchen appliances went sailing down the street in brackish river water from our garage, and since we were out of state at a conference, our children had to be rescued…along with the babysitter. The babysitter who left the Corgis to fend for themselves in the laundry room. They never named the storm because it caught everyone by surprise.

I am hoping and praying that all my friends and family, and everyone who is living on the east coast in the track of this super storm named Sandy, will be safe. If you are thinking of evacuating, then please pack up your essentials and consider heading west. Now. Believe me, you’ll be glad you did!

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Healing Touch

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2012| 2 Comments »

Once upon a time, in a town between two rivers, we had 2 Welsh Corgis. One was the mama, Tootsie Roll, and Blaze was her son. When I opened the door in the morning, they would zoom out in perfect Blue Angel formation, zig-zagging across the yard warning all creatures great and small to stay clear of our territory. Our Vet was Dr Poole, and his daughter Heather was our dog sitter. Here is a painting my sister Kay did of the dynamic duo.

Heather was studying Chinese Medicine in NYC, and so we were agreeable subjects for her acupuncture needles. It wasn’t until we returned from a long trip, to an elderly Tootsie’s tepid reception, that we realized she had been practicing massage on our dogs. It was as if Toots was saying, “What, oh, it’s you again?” No happy, jumping, slobbering kisses for us!

Naturally I jumped at the chance to learn dog massage when our wonderful friend and vet, Dr Barbara Butler, offered a workshop this weekend: “Therapeutic Massage: Chinese Wisdom in Your Hands.” She brought along 2 of her beautiful and very well mannered English Setters, Pearl and Rusty. We learned that “An Shen” and “Tui Na” are methods that originated in different parts of China, but today are used simultaneously to describe all manner of animal massage. Dr Barbara showed us how to calm our dogs during a thunderstorm by rubbing gently in the hollow behind the ears. She also demonstrated how to massage the bladder channel running down a dog’s back to improve their health and well being. Earlysville Animal Hospital will post the diagrams of a dog’s meridian points in the near future. http://earlysvilleanimalhospital.com


Targeted massage can reduce pain, and help with muscle spasms by increasing circulation. It can also soothe joints and connective tissue in geriatric or arthritic dogs. It’s almost like yoga for dogs, an immediate stress reliever. Since our own special needs rescue pup has hip dysplasia, I was eager to try it on her. Ms Bean’s eyes glazed over and she immediately had to lay down. Thank you Dr Barbara and also Dr. Emily Kinnaird, her able assistant, and the staff at Earlysville – the best little animal hospital in central VA! Oh and thanks to Pearl and Rusty too. I have to think they returned to their farm for a nice long nap!

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Slow Start

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , on October 18, 2012| 3 Comments »

It’s turning out to be a very slow day. First I woke up to Ms Bean barking on the back deck, and looked out to see another hot air ballon coming our way through the morning fog. Can you see the mountains starting to turn orange?

Then I started researching New Zealand. http://www.newzealand.com/us/Places/?cid=p:con:us:specialinterest
Why? Because we had a lovely dinner last night on the mall with a new Emergency Physician Bob is recruiting from Richmond and her husband and some friends, and we talked about New Zealand. They were lucky enough to have been there and have me convinced it is the next place to see! Of course, it’s the last place on earth where an ancient nearly extinct lizard can be found, so…
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/10/16/163015959/tough-old-lizard-to-face-grave-romantic-troubles-say-scientists

And then, I started making a new Shutterfly book. How the hours just whiz by when you’re combing through baby pictures. Shhh, it’s a secret, but a certain Great Grandmother believes that pictures need to be held in one’s hands, and not viewed in small phones or on computer screens! I love Shutterfly, even though their constant barrage of emails can be off-putting. http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books

So don’t hate me because I’m procrastinating. Yesterday I showed up at the Albemarle County Office Building and voted early for the first time in my life. I’ll be in Nashville when our nation goes to the polls. It’s an important election! We women want our grand daughters in Brag Books – not binders after all!

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