You’ve made this world a better place to live in. And it’s not just me, our friends that met you only last week thought you were just the most interesting woman they’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. The nurses at the hospital adored you. You were a truly unique lady. I am going to miss you so much. The girls are having a hard time comprehending the idea that you won’t be back. I am just having a hard time believing that I won’t get to hear about your interesting life, or that we won’t get to draw the violets together (the girls will actually be drawing the violets tomorrow while I’m cleaning out the refrigerator).
Life is just so unfair! There are so many people out there that cause other people pain or that are just so miserable and hate life. You were so giving and loving. You had so much to offer the world. And you are gone.
I will always consider myself lucky to have been your friend, even if it was for such a short portion of our lives.
The memories and happiness will always live in my heart. You’ve made a difference in the way I look at life and how I plan on living it from now on.
But I still miss you so much it hurts.
:(
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I’d like to share my friend Lila Klute with the world
Lila is my neighbor and she’s a wonderful, kind woman. She is an artist that has lived all over the world, and was taught by some very famous people. She’s been teaching my kids art for a while. They are already budding artists but we love spending time with her and you really can never learn too much.
She had a heart attack last week and we spent a few days at the hospital. She came back home over the weekend and holiday and then we had to go back to the hospital again last night.
Well, it seems that the damage done during her heart attack is not repairable, and she is not expected to make it much longer.
I’m sure her sons are really trying to get here to be with her. At least I hope they are. She had been looking forward to it so much.
I am taking care of her house and cat until someone else from her family can get here. I am going to take some pictures of her paintings so that the world can share in her joy. Maybe I’ll even share some of her adventures that she liked to tell about.
And now I’m off to the hospital…
She had a heart attack last week and we spent a few days at the hospital. She came back home over the weekend and holiday and then we had to go back to the hospital again last night.
Well, it seems that the damage done during her heart attack is not repairable, and she is not expected to make it much longer.
I’m sure her sons are really trying to get here to be with her. At least I hope they are. She had been looking forward to it so much.
I am taking care of her house and cat until someone else from her family can get here. I am going to take some pictures of her paintings so that the world can share in her joy. Maybe I’ll even share some of her adventures that she liked to tell about.
And now I’m off to the hospital…
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Winter needs a new home!
I’m not sure how many people outside of the Tampa area have really been paying attention to her, but Winter is a young dolphin that was rescued off the coast of Florida after being caught in a crab trap. Despite all of the odds being against her, and the fact that her tail had to be amputated, she is thriving! She is also getting too big for her current tank. She’s also been fitted with a prosthetic tail which allows her to swim faster and farther…so she NEEDS a bigger place to live.
She is at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and they are asking for donations to get a larger holding tank up to par for Winter to live in. This tank will have windows for viewing, so you can see how this amazing dolphin can swim with her prosthetic tail.
You can read the details here, and see some video about this amazing little dolphin.
She is at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and they are asking for donations to get a larger holding tank up to par for Winter to live in. This tank will have windows for viewing, so you can see how this amazing dolphin can swim with her prosthetic tail.
You can read the details here, and see some video about this amazing little dolphin.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
OH MY GOD! Are we gonna have a Triple Crown Winner???
I am soooooooo excited! Big Brown totally kicked ass today. And he wasn’t even trying!!!!
I’m very excited!! I was actually jumping up and down trying to make sure he ran fast enough. You never know…it COULD help! LOL
Time for me to start planning a Belmont party. Too bad I won’t be up there to see it in person. Although, I imagine Elmont, New York is gonna be a total madhouse on that day.
Oh…I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait! Big Brown so reminds me of Secretariat. Could we dare to hope that he can pull off all three of the Triple Crown races? The anticipation will be tremendous. The papers will go nuts. I think something like this, especially with the stories surrounding Big Brown’s team…oh the hope it would bring! (I’ll go in to the stories when I’m not exhausted beyond description
)
Ok, enough for one day, I am so beat it’s not funny. I’m going to get some sleep
See ya’ll tomorrow!!
:)
I’m very excited!! I was actually jumping up and down trying to make sure he ran fast enough. You never know…it COULD help! LOL
Time for me to start planning a Belmont party. Too bad I won’t be up there to see it in person. Although, I imagine Elmont, New York is gonna be a total madhouse on that day.
Oh…I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait! Big Brown so reminds me of Secretariat. Could we dare to hope that he can pull off all three of the Triple Crown races? The anticipation will be tremendous. The papers will go nuts. I think something like this, especially with the stories surrounding Big Brown’s team…oh the hope it would bring! (I’ll go in to the stories when I’m not exhausted beyond description
)Ok, enough for one day, I am so beat it’s not funny. I’m going to get some sleep
See ya’ll tomorrow!!
:)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
I’ve found where I want to be buried!!
This is so incredibly awesome!!
I want to be part of a reef and support ocean life forever after I’m gone…check it out here!
:)
I want to be part of a reef and support ocean life forever after I’m gone…check it out here!
:)
Monday, May 05, 2008
While I believe that people should watch out for one another…
and help out when someone or something needs help, I also believe that people should mind their own business when they don’t know what they are talking about.
Two athletes got hurt this week. One got hurt bad enough to end her life. If these weren’t highly trained athletes that had been conditioned to be able to handle their sport, I’d say these were avoidable injuries. BUT these athletes got hurt just like others get hurt. Just like basketball players, gymnasts and runners get hurt. The only problem here is, human athletes can get hurt and go lay on their backside or front or side or upside freaking down if need be, and not die from it. Equine athletes can NOT lay down after an injury and recover. It would kill them. They can not put all their weight on anything less than all feet, or they risk laminitis setting in. Equine athletes are not built like we are. Period.
Some people claim that horse racing is barbaric. And I’m not going to say it’s not a bit warped to have horses run like mad for a mile and then give money to who ever guessed the winner. I have only bet once in my entire life. It was $2 on Hug A Slew at the Meadowlands in New Jersey a long time ago. I vaguely remember her not finishing the race or coming in like 40 lengths behind the rest of the pack. I decided that betting was really a waste of time, I was there for the horses, pure and simple.
But, betting pays the bills for a lot of people. It provides an income for the track families. The jockeys, grooms, stablehands, trainers, owners, concession workers, betting window clerks…it’s income and it’s not going to go anywhere real soon.
What the naysayers and screaming whiney people don’t realize is… 1. they are bitching and not making a difference in an effective way. Which means they are wasting their time and getting in the way of real change by annoying the crap out of those who are doing something to make a difference and 2. They have no clue what really goes on. If they did, they’d not be bitching. If they cared enough to put some effort into it, they’d be making changes that are effective.
While making a difference in track surfaces, medication and schedules won’t bring back Eight Belles or make Chelokee’s leg heal magically overnight…it does keep this from happening in the future.
Screaming, pointing fingers and making blatantly incorrect comments about horse racing does no one any good, now or in the future.
I’m sure the loud opinionated jerks out there don’t know that Barbaro’s breakdown and then his death has contributed to more synthetic track surfaces being used (are they safer? that i don’t know but it seems that the people who know these things think so. I am guessing we will find out in time), to advancements in finding a cure for laminitis (which, by the way, effects horses AND cattle, not just race horses).
Here are articles and whole websites that outlines the incredible things that people have done in the name of Barbaro:
So, you can sit there and blubber on about how horrible the sport is and do nothing about it (in other words be a really noisy annoying good for nothing)…or you can get educated about the problems (real education, not one you got reading the newspaper) and make changes that help everyone.
Bottom line? Shut up! OR Do Something About it!
Two athletes got hurt this week. One got hurt bad enough to end her life. If these weren’t highly trained athletes that had been conditioned to be able to handle their sport, I’d say these were avoidable injuries. BUT these athletes got hurt just like others get hurt. Just like basketball players, gymnasts and runners get hurt. The only problem here is, human athletes can get hurt and go lay on their backside or front or side or upside freaking down if need be, and not die from it. Equine athletes can NOT lay down after an injury and recover. It would kill them. They can not put all their weight on anything less than all feet, or they risk laminitis setting in. Equine athletes are not built like we are. Period.
Some people claim that horse racing is barbaric. And I’m not going to say it’s not a bit warped to have horses run like mad for a mile and then give money to who ever guessed the winner. I have only bet once in my entire life. It was $2 on Hug A Slew at the Meadowlands in New Jersey a long time ago. I vaguely remember her not finishing the race or coming in like 40 lengths behind the rest of the pack. I decided that betting was really a waste of time, I was there for the horses, pure and simple.
But, betting pays the bills for a lot of people. It provides an income for the track families. The jockeys, grooms, stablehands, trainers, owners, concession workers, betting window clerks…it’s income and it’s not going to go anywhere real soon.
What the naysayers and screaming whiney people don’t realize is… 1. they are bitching and not making a difference in an effective way. Which means they are wasting their time and getting in the way of real change by annoying the crap out of those who are doing something to make a difference and 2. They have no clue what really goes on. If they did, they’d not be bitching. If they cared enough to put some effort into it, they’d be making changes that are effective.
While making a difference in track surfaces, medication and schedules won’t bring back Eight Belles or make Chelokee’s leg heal magically overnight…it does keep this from happening in the future.
Screaming, pointing fingers and making blatantly incorrect comments about horse racing does no one any good, now or in the future.
I’m sure the loud opinionated jerks out there don’t know that Barbaro’s breakdown and then his death has contributed to more synthetic track surfaces being used (are they safer? that i don’t know but it seems that the people who know these things think so. I am guessing we will find out in time), to advancements in finding a cure for laminitis (which, by the way, effects horses AND cattle, not just race horses).
Here are articles and whole websites that outlines the incredible things that people have done in the name of Barbaro:
- article: Barbaro’s Legacy Continues
- article: Barbaro’s Legacy: Better Life for Horses
- article: Breyer Donates Portion of Sales to Barbaro Fund
- New Bolton Center: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/barbaro/index.html
- Tim Woolley Racing: http://www.timwoolleyracing.com
- New Jersey Equine Clinic: http://www.njequine.com
- National Thoroughbred Racing Association: http://ntra.com
- Breeders’ Cup: http://breederscup.com
- Angel Acres: http://www.angelacreshorsehavenrescue.com
- Fans of Barbaro: http://www.fansofbarbaro.com
So, you can sit there and blubber on about how horrible the sport is and do nothing about it (in other words be a really noisy annoying good for nothing)…or you can get educated about the problems (real education, not one you got reading the newspaper) and make changes that help everyone.
Bottom line? Shut up! OR Do Something About it!
Saturday, May 03, 2008
I was going to run right in here and write about how exciting that was
then I noticed Eight Belles laying on the track and suddenly it wasn’t so exciting. My heart goes out to her people, that has got to be the hardest thing to do. She ran an incredible race, she really had me thinking she was going to take it when she went blasting after Big Brown, and then she suddenly slowed down (at least it looked that way to me). I’m not sure if the breaks occurred there or after the finish, I just hope she wasn’t in pain for very long. She had the Champion Spirit she needed to go all the way.
I don’t feel much like writing now, I think I’ll go make dinner and see if Meg calls me.
Later all!
:(
I don’t feel much like writing now, I think I’ll go make dinner and see if Meg calls me.
Later all!
:(
It’s officially DERBY DAY!!!!!
Are ya excited? HUH? HUH? Well…I AM!!!!!
Told you I was a horse nut. There is one thing I enforce around here: I get approximately 6 guaranteed minutes of silence in this house every year. 2 minutes for the running of the Kentucky Derby, 2 minutes for the Preakness and 2 minutes for the Belmont. Those are approximate. I know the actual averages and records and for this purpose…2 minutes works just fine.
So…I was searching for TV schedules so I wouldn’t miss the damned race…at some point, the post time changed from around 5:38 to closer to 6:04…of course, this was a while ago but after actually MISSING a freaking race one year…I’m totally paranoid now. I happened to have found some incredibly awesome videos of past races on YouTube. Check these out:
SECRETARIAT - 1973 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby 132 - Barbaro (2006) (ok, this one had me crying…he was such an amazing amazing horse - and I’m NOT linking to his breakdown video cause I just can’t bear to watch Edgar Prado reacting to the situation or Barbaro holding up his leg)
2007 Kentucky Derby - Street Sense This was such an amazing trip for Street Sense and Calvin Borel - Watch the rail just open up for them as they work their way from the back of the pack to the front position!
There are a ton more and I’m tired, so….I’ll probably look through more tomorrow, but you can always just check out the related videos yourself
Going to dream of Twin Spires and Post Parades…nite!!
:)
Told you I was a horse nut. There is one thing I enforce around here: I get approximately 6 guaranteed minutes of silence in this house every year. 2 minutes for the running of the Kentucky Derby, 2 minutes for the Preakness and 2 minutes for the Belmont. Those are approximate. I know the actual averages and records and for this purpose…2 minutes works just fine.
So…I was searching for TV schedules so I wouldn’t miss the damned race…at some point, the post time changed from around 5:38 to closer to 6:04…of course, this was a while ago but after actually MISSING a freaking race one year…I’m totally paranoid now. I happened to have found some incredibly awesome videos of past races on YouTube. Check these out:
SECRETARIAT - 1973 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby 132 - Barbaro (2006) (ok, this one had me crying…he was such an amazing amazing horse - and I’m NOT linking to his breakdown video cause I just can’t bear to watch Edgar Prado reacting to the situation or Barbaro holding up his leg)
2007 Kentucky Derby - Street Sense This was such an amazing trip for Street Sense and Calvin Borel - Watch the rail just open up for them as they work their way from the back of the pack to the front position!
There are a ton more and I’m tired, so….I’ll probably look through more tomorrow, but you can always just check out the related videos yourself
Going to dream of Twin Spires and Post Parades…nite!!
:)
Tornados and “Holy shit!”
I just took a look at the news, and HOLY SHIT. The headline “Terrifying night gives way to ordeal of cleanup after storms” on KansasCity.com got my attention. I glanced through the article and right away I saw Gladstone was hit by a tornado…I grew up in Gladstone….so I kept reading…Euclid and 77th? Crap! I think that was what used to be the old horse farm behind the first house we lived in in Gladstone. So I google mapped it…and sure enough, that sucker blew up a whole neighborhood less than a mile from my old house. Wow. And the damage was major. It’s heartbreaking to see what it did.
I can’t say I know what it’s like to lose everything like that. I know what it is to be terrified by a tornado. I know what it is to be terrified by a hurricane (or five) and to have had significant damage from hurricanes. But to have your home turned into toothpicks in a matter of seconds…to have your whole world ripped out of your grasp and thrown back at you in a convoluted pile of debris…that is totally inconceivable. How do you make that better?
Here is the article I found, in case you are interested
I can’t say I know what it’s like to lose everything like that. I know what it is to be terrified by a tornado. I know what it is to be terrified by a hurricane (or five) and to have had significant damage from hurricanes. But to have your home turned into toothpicks in a matter of seconds…to have your whole world ripped out of your grasp and thrown back at you in a convoluted pile of debris…that is totally inconceivable. How do you make that better?
Here is the article I found, in case you are interested
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