Saturday ...

      We've had a bit of excitement this past week, with some good news, and some worrisome "turn it over to God" nights.

     First the worrisome ...  Charlie was attacked by a neighboring pit bull that got loose and targeted him, but before you clasp your heart and cry "Oh No!" he is fine.  I had canceled his haircut when I was unexpectedly unemployed sooner than expected, and so his shaggy bear hairstyle of the moment saved him from serious injury when the other dog could not get a grasp on his skin.

     He'd been out on his lead in our backyard while I finished washing dishes, and I heard him barking and went out to see what was going on.  I was able to pull him away, but the dog also attempted to attack me before we got into the house.

     I did call the police and report a loose dog and asked that they be cited for that, but because I know and believe that dogs are not born bullies, people make them that way, I did not want the dog taken away, and euthanized.  I did not blame the dog, but the people who owned her knew she was dangerous.  They had multiple Beware of Dog signs around the property and once warned me not to try to friend and pet her through or over the fence since she would bite.  A warning I heeded.

     The "turn it over" comes because that same night I heard the pit screaming and when I went out to see what was going on, the sound stopped and several men came out of the owner's garage, got into cars, and left.  I have not seen or heard the dog since that night, and usually, she was outside all day and barked constantly.   My heart fears that they murdered her, and I feel horribly guilty for that.  But I know, in my rational mind, that it was not me that did it, but people who never loved or cared for her in the first place and she is in a much better place.

     [UPDATE: She is fine! I just saw her! Yay!]

     Enough of those painful thoughts ...

     Good news now ... bloodwork done on Thursday came back 100% normal.  Yay me!  My new insurance will kick in this March, and while I can't miss any training, I am scheduling all the follow-up tests for May.  Happy Birthday, here's a colonoscopy!

Click to enlarge.

     Fun stuff ... I will share pictures in February of my seasonal tree, already decorated, but until then, here are some fashionable photos of my Mom that I got this week.  They were on slides she had kept from her childhood that I had sent in before Christmas to be printed.  [Note to self:  a very expensive process not to be repeated.]

     Some of these surprised me because Mom had always indicated that she was the "least favored" daughter (she had two older sisters), and so seeing her dressed in so many fancy dresses that must have been costly for the times makes me believe that she was not as "unloved" as she wanted us to believe.  I certainly never had fancy dresses, altho, I was never asked to attend a prom or school dance either.  I was very shy (hard to believe, I know) when I was in school.

 

    < There were no dates or notes on any of the slides to indicate how old she might have been, and some of them I can only guess because of her facial features and hairstyle.  This one seems to be very Audry Hepburn-ish of her, and I think Mom might have once had dreams of being a model or actress.

 

    > This dress has a collar style that I recall seeing on several of Jackie Kennedy's dresses, and I'm certain was all the rage during that time.  She was skirting the public arena during that time when JFK was running for Congress, but had been on the cover of the Life magazine with him and may have been in other magazines as she worked for the Washington-Times Herald and was part of the "upper-class" in the US, the fashionable and elite that I think Mom wished she'd been born into.

     < Mom was beautiful, and even though I don't remember many times when I was growing up that she and my Dad got into fancy dress and went to events, I know that there were a few.  She kept this dress for quite a while because I have a photo of me wearing it when I must have been 4 years old.  I remember her telling me that it has been her prom dress, and may have been the last prom she attended.

     > While there were several photos of her with boys she must have dated, this was the first one in which she made an appearance with my father.  I think it must have been taken Christmas of 1957 because the hairstyle matches the previous photo, but the next photo shows her with longer hair and glasses.

     < In this photo, she is sitting on my father's lap, and to his right is his twin brother, Uncle Ron, and my Aunt Nancy (one of Mom's older sisters).  On the floor in front of her is my Uncle Brian, Mom and Nan's younger brother, and their mother, my grandmother.  Ron and Nan married in 1957, and this may have been taken in 1959 after Mom and Dad were married.  I cannot imagine my conservative Methodist grandparents letting her sit on Dad's lap before marriage!

     > Of course, we all know what happens with relaxed lap-sitting ... here I am in May 1962, screaming at my helpless grandfathers.  My maternal grandfather on the left, and my paternal grandfather on the right.

                    Enjoy your weekend!

                            Hugs,  Ci