and so begins the dawn, as some go into the twilight...

it is very exciting to be so close to washington & soak up some of the pre-inaugural buzz.  i got a haircut on saturday & the stylist, who is from springfield, was planning to head up to washington on sunday to hear the music & soak up the ambiance.  from there it was onto my favorite (& only) yarn hang-out at the yarn lounge, where one of the regulars was talking about going.  she scored a ticket & was regaling us with the details of her clothing & her plan to stay warm.  it will be chilly after a few hours standing outside, although the sheer mass of humanity might provide some warmth.  i would absolutely love to be there & cannot imagine maintaining any sort of civil demeanor with the crowds.  it would be uber cool to soak up the energy & the hope as our long dark night draws to a close and a new era begins.  

this week saw the passing of two dear doggie friends. both were in somewhat advanced doggie years & had provided the companionship & love that only dogs can provide.  i have yet to lose a dog of my own as an adult- sadie is our first dog other than the dog i had growing up & he really belonged to mom.  i was told of the death of our family dog, buck, when i came home from va tech in my freshman year after a friend was murdered under some pretty horrible circumstances.  his passing took a back seat to the other events of that weekend.

this is a picture of sadie in her first year when she experienced the river for the first time.  i call it "unbridled joy."

i remember my brother's dog, leo.  leo was a huge, hulking specimen of a dog.  he had some german shepherd in him & was kind of the size of a small pony.  leo had a wonderful disposition, but was not especially blessed in the brains department.  he was loyal as they come & a wonderful dog for my niece grace as she grew up.  he allowed her to ride him, climb on him-  very patient with her.  i knew that any being that could get my  brother to say the word "walkie" with a straight face was a very powerful creature.  i would go to oregon at least every other year, sometimes yearly, to see my brother, tommy, out on the west coast.  he lived on the northwest coast of oregon, just across the highway from the pacific ocean.  i remember my last visit with leo.  he was having hip problems, as so many large dogs do, & on our walkie, he was dragging his back legs.  after that first arrival beach walk, i couldn't bear to walk him again for one of our long beach walks & witness the undeniable evidence of his aging years.  i cried the whole way back to tommy's house as i thought about leo not being there my next trip out.  & this year, as we left my brother's in portland, where he now lives, i bade a silent goodbye to louis (who is responsible for warming danny up to the idea that he could manage a dog).  just in case... so he would know what he meant to me on my annual treks out west- the ever faithful companion.   i found a wonderful quote about dogs today-    " Dogs' lives are too short.  Their only fault, really."  so i'll take just a moment to be thankful for the being that is dependent on us & asks nothing in return & also to honor homer russell brown & hannibal kubalak- they will be missed.  the pictures of these dogs are all dogs who have touched my life & taught me grace, as well as teaching me to ask for what you want (beg if you need to) loudly & without shame-  you just might get it!!

you think dogs will not be in heaven?  I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.

- robert louis stevenson