Cold Hands Warm Heart

It's freezing here, I say to a friend.

How did you ever manage to live two years in Kapuskasing? she asks.

And I snivel. In kapuskasing I had a parka, I had thickly lined boots, great big woollen scarves, gloves, mitts and all you could see were my eyes. In Houston, I am unprepared for the cold. I gave away my parka and scarves and mitts and inch-thick socks, because I never wanted to have to use them again. Any trips to Canada or elsewhere would have to be in the summer.

I forget how cold it can get even here, in winter. Why did GM have to go all the way to Kapuskasing to do their cold weather vehicle testing when they could have done both the hot and cold weather vehicle testing right here in Texas?

And guess who takes Murphy out in the cold morning? Though I seem to be the only one in the neighborhood with a hoodie. Perhaps my blood is not designed for the cold. In Montreal, a friend of mine and I went looking for her Afghan hound, Melinda, and at the end of the walk around the block, my hands were like dead fish and her seventy year old hands were so warm as she took mine in hers and massaged them back to life. Even on warm days, anytime I have to shake hands with someone, I have to first rub my hand on my clothes before offering it. And then I wonder what was the last thing that the other hand touched before it grasped mine. Here, my imagination runs wild....

We Need More People Like George W Bush Now

An in-law forwarded me a list of Bushisms. And I was laughing and laughing and laughing. If laughter is good for the mind and body and soul, then surely George W Bush is the best thing that ever happened to America. Now. In this desperate times. It's a good thing I didn't go out and say this, because I hear that he's the one that caused all this in the first place.

I have posted the forward below. Are these quotes for real? Some of them could easily have come out of my mouth, for instance, 'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.' George W Bush and also said by Anu Jayanth.

Actually, one of the reasons I was terrified to do public speaking, because I really can say the darnedest things. Think, my husband always tells me, think, before you say or write something. I have taken his advice and I do think a bit before I press the publish button. Or do I?



'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
- George W. Bush



'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
- George W. Bush



'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
-George W. Bush




'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
- George W. Bush



'The future will be better tomorrow.'
- George W. Bush



'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
- George W. Bush



'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
- George W Bush



'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe . We are a part of Europe '
- George W. Bush



'Public speaking is very easy.'
- George W. Bush



'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
- George W. Bush

'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.'
-George Bush



'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
- George W. Bush



'For NASA, space is still a high priority.'
-George W. Bush



'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.'
-George W. Bush



'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
- George W. Bush

Birdwatching

He sends her pictures of birds that come to his backyard. He keeps a bird book and binoculars on his kitchen counter and is quite an ornithologist. Odd, she says, the way people are crazy about watching birds in the wild and then gobble a farm raised bird on their plate. As if because they have raised them, they have a right to kill them.

Well, that is correct, he says. They wouldn't have a life if it weren't for us.

In that case, she says, shouldn't we be eating our children? After all, they wouldn't have a life if it weren't for us.

Taking the Grrrr out of Murphy

I can hug Murphy, roll him over, scratch his tummy, do just about everything I used to with Sirocco and he greedily laps up all the fuss and attention. But there is a Grrr in him. And that comes out when he's gnawing on a chewie.

Murphy, no grring, I said, laying my hand on his head.

Grr.

Disregarding his grrrrr, I brought my hand toward his paws. He snapped his great big jaws at me.

This happened on the second day he was with us. Murphy was not the only dog in his previous home, so it's possible that his little doggie friend might have attempted to steal Murphy's treats. I want Murphy to have absolute trust in me, so if ever I need to take something from his mouth, I will be able to, without him biting my hand. I started handfeeding him his meals and then, later on, every time he was eating, I draped my hand inside his bowl, so he got accustomed to my hand being close to his mouth and to eat his food carefully without chewing up my fingers. And when I gave him a chewie, I held on to one end, so Murphy was forced to stop chewing as the chewie grew smaller and smaller and my fingers got in the way.

Today I gave him his chewie and after a few minutes, as he was working his way into it, I slipped my hand between his paws, he stiffened, covered the chewie swiftly with his paws, but did not grr. It's only couple of weeks now. I'm sure in a few months, he will be fine with my taking his chewie from his mouth when he's eating it. If not, I get bitten, no big deal. After all, he’s had his rabies shot.

Which reminds me, when we were living in Kapuskasing, I had a lab mutt called Karun (I had named him after my brother-in-law). Karun had a bit of the terrier in him and was a biting dog. Once, when the newspaper boy reached out to pat him on his head, Karun bit him hard, drew a lot of blood. I rushed the boy to the hospital and then phoned his dad, told him what happened.

“As long as it was not a wolf, that’s OK,’ said the dad.

Back in Houston

On the drive back to Houston, Murphy nudged my shoulder with his nose when he wanted to step out and I pulled into the nearest gas station that had a good patch of grass. We stopped at Bastrop and La Grange. Between these two towns, I came upon Still Forest Dr. Can a forest really be still? Yes, in winter, says a friend. I’m not convinced.

We got back well before my zumba class. I have also added cardio-dance to my morning routine. Many of the moves we make are very Bollywoodian. Fun. And what a workout of the hips and belly. When I left the house this morning, it was sooo cold and I had actually worn my heavy winter jacket, but when I came out of the club, all I had on was my gym wear and I was feeling uncomfortably warm. I lovvvvvve dancing.

Pizza with real cheese

I asked my son to pick up a vegetarian pizza from Conans. But please, please can we have regular cheese this time? Yadav is vegan and so he usually orders soy cheese and it just isn't the same.

OK, pizza's arrived....with real cheese!

We leave for Houston tomorrow. Murphy does not care for the apartment -- No big glass doors and windows to look out of, he says, mournfully.

Oh the Things I do!

Nueces and Rio Grande are one-way and run parallel to each other. I found myself driving in the wrong way and had to turn around and go with the traffic flow, while everyone waited good-naturedly. In Houston, I once entered a narrow alley beside a strip mall along the 59, there was a delivery truck coming toward me and I did not want to back out on Hillcroft, which is a very busy street. I got out of my car, gave the keys to the truck driver and said, please could you turn my car around for me? And he did cheerily.

Your luck with people is going to run out one of these days, my husband warns me, because I really can do the stupidest of things. For instance, when I was in my twenties and walking down the street in downtown Chicago, I met a young man with a dog, a black lab. I stroked the the dog's head and I chatted with the young man. You're an artist, he declared and was very interested in the pencil portrait I was working on. Oh, would you like to see it? And I invited him, this total stranger, to the apartment -- in my husband's absence! To this day, my trust in people has not been betrayed, perhaps I have a dog's nose for finding the right people. Touch wood :-)