A few people have pointed out that I need to change my personal profile now that Adam is back, so there you go. It's a little non-descript, but that's sort of the way life is right now--not in any one place for very long, no real job to speak of, just moving through life experiencing...well, life. I kind of like it that way, at least for now. Being in Anywhereville, USA, has had a bit of a healing effect on me since Shabbi's passing. Or maybe travelling has just kept me from thinking about it too much, which isn't good. I think back yet again to the book "A Walk Across America". Peter Jenkins had his forever friend, Cooper, a malamute mix that stayed by his side, always, until his untimely passing. Reading that book has brought me some calm. It's like what Aunt May tells Peter Parker: "We have to be steady."
In any case, I didn't have the heart to change my titles to this blog, because she's still my Charley as far as I'm concerned. This is still the story about this girl and her dog...and her dog...even if it's just the memory of one of them.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
A Coast Less Travelled
So here we are, back again (for the umpteenth time) in a Motel 6. They seem to have become our hotel (or motel?) chain of choice for the sheer reason that they allow pets without an extra fee. Come to any Motel 6 and you're bound to see kitties in the room windows, hear dogs barking as you walk past rooms or owners walking their pets around outside. It really has become the unofficial "pet hotel" I think.
So the last 2 weeks have been awesome. When last I wrote, we were back in Roseburg, OR, where I lived and worked for 4 1/2 months this summer. I got the chance to introduce Adam to my housemates Janice and Art and several other friends I made this summer. Our first day back, Janice held a little dinner party for us so I could see friends one last time before heading back east, and so they could meet Ads. We all had such a great time. The rest of the week was spent touring around the Umpqua Valley to Eugene and to hang out at Art's house. This vegetarian even got the chance to see my first deer processing; I helped separate the deer meat and bag it. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't disgusted at all. I wasn't tempted, but I also wasn't disgusted. I guess I've come a long way since I first moved to Michigan.
After a tearful good-bye to Janice and Art, we travelled to Corvallis to see Anita, the first "Michigan friend" to see Adam since his return from Iraq. She was able to take the afternoon off to take us around downtown Corvallis and Oregon State Univ., then off for sushi for dinner. It was great to see her one last time before leaving the PNW.
Next up was Portland to see Eva-Maria and Alexandra, our next set of "Michigan friends". Since we arrived on Halloween weekend, Eva had us meet up with her friends from "Meet in Portland", a cool social group that meets throughout the city for different social activities and outings. There was a Halloween costume party going on at a club in the city, so Ads and I dressed up in costumes we got at a Goodwill we passed on the highway. He found a grim reaper costume straight away, and I managed to find a beautiful wedding dress (reminds me of my mother's) from the 1970s for $8, and a Bride of Frankenstein wig, so that's what I went as. We had a great time and I took tons of pics of the various costumes we saw at the club. The following day, we took Alexandra to the city and hit the farmer's market, a chocolatier and Powell's bookstore, my new favorite bookstore. We all three of us got lost in there. Later that night, we went to a pretty cool haunted maze complete with ghouls, ghosts and zombies. What a weekend!
Yesterday (Sunday) we left our friends and drove up to the Olympia area to see yet another set of "Michigan friends", Kate and Brad. I don't know how many years it had been since Adam had seen them, but it was great to hang out again. Their kids Ella and Jack were cutie-pies as usual, and we had a nice walk around the neighborhood on a beautiful fall day. They have a great view of Mt. Rainier so we soaked up the sights.
After leaving their place, we drove up to Kirkland, WA, to spend the night. That's about 20 miles outside of Seattle. A good friend of Adam's from the navy, Chris, lives in these parts and met up with us at Pike Place Market this morning. We had a wonderful day walking around the city, buying pumpkin muffins for breakfast, stopping for soothing tea at a little teahouse on this overcast Seattle day, then catching lunch at an Irish pub. After we bid Chris adieu, Ads and I walked around the city a bit more, trying to decide if we could see ourselves living here. I definitely could; I think Adam might still be leaning more toward California's warm weather.
So here we are now, back at the hotel for a little QT with Kika before we head back into the city for dinner. As I remember, restaurants in Seattle close kind of early, so I guess we'd better get going. We're starting the trip back east tomorrow. As much as I'll be happy to be back in our house around our friends and all the familiar trappings of home, I am so bummed to leave the PNW. I am so sold on living out here.
See y'all soon...
So the last 2 weeks have been awesome. When last I wrote, we were back in Roseburg, OR, where I lived and worked for 4 1/2 months this summer. I got the chance to introduce Adam to my housemates Janice and Art and several other friends I made this summer. Our first day back, Janice held a little dinner party for us so I could see friends one last time before heading back east, and so they could meet Ads. We all had such a great time. The rest of the week was spent touring around the Umpqua Valley to Eugene and to hang out at Art's house. This vegetarian even got the chance to see my first deer processing; I helped separate the deer meat and bag it. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't disgusted at all. I wasn't tempted, but I also wasn't disgusted. I guess I've come a long way since I first moved to Michigan.
After a tearful good-bye to Janice and Art, we travelled to Corvallis to see Anita, the first "Michigan friend" to see Adam since his return from Iraq. She was able to take the afternoon off to take us around downtown Corvallis and Oregon State Univ., then off for sushi for dinner. It was great to see her one last time before leaving the PNW.
Next up was Portland to see Eva-Maria and Alexandra, our next set of "Michigan friends". Since we arrived on Halloween weekend, Eva had us meet up with her friends from "Meet in Portland", a cool social group that meets throughout the city for different social activities and outings. There was a Halloween costume party going on at a club in the city, so Ads and I dressed up in costumes we got at a Goodwill we passed on the highway. He found a grim reaper costume straight away, and I managed to find a beautiful wedding dress (reminds me of my mother's) from the 1970s for $8, and a Bride of Frankenstein wig, so that's what I went as. We had a great time and I took tons of pics of the various costumes we saw at the club. The following day, we took Alexandra to the city and hit the farmer's market, a chocolatier and Powell's bookstore, my new favorite bookstore. We all three of us got lost in there. Later that night, we went to a pretty cool haunted maze complete with ghouls, ghosts and zombies. What a weekend!
Yesterday (Sunday) we left our friends and drove up to the Olympia area to see yet another set of "Michigan friends", Kate and Brad. I don't know how many years it had been since Adam had seen them, but it was great to hang out again. Their kids Ella and Jack were cutie-pies as usual, and we had a nice walk around the neighborhood on a beautiful fall day. They have a great view of Mt. Rainier so we soaked up the sights.
After leaving their place, we drove up to Kirkland, WA, to spend the night. That's about 20 miles outside of Seattle. A good friend of Adam's from the navy, Chris, lives in these parts and met up with us at Pike Place Market this morning. We had a wonderful day walking around the city, buying pumpkin muffins for breakfast, stopping for soothing tea at a little teahouse on this overcast Seattle day, then catching lunch at an Irish pub. After we bid Chris adieu, Ads and I walked around the city a bit more, trying to decide if we could see ourselves living here. I definitely could; I think Adam might still be leaning more toward California's warm weather.
So here we are now, back at the hotel for a little QT with Kika before we head back into the city for dinner. As I remember, restaurants in Seattle close kind of early, so I guess we'd better get going. We're starting the trip back east tomorrow. As much as I'll be happy to be back in our house around our friends and all the familiar trappings of home, I am so bummed to leave the PNW. I am so sold on living out here.
See y'all soon...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Trippin'
This post is a couple weeks old; I got sidetracked from posting it between Adam's arrival and Shabbi's situation, but I thought the story and pics would still be fun, so here you go.
I was so anxious to show pics of the reunion with Ads that didn't post any from my travels through California. What a trip that was! I know this is totally cliched, but I do feel like this summer has been a rite of passage for me, of sorts. I finally got a chance to do some extensive travelling, work in my field of study, and be almost completely independent. It has been wonderful. I realized as I was about to embark on the trek down through California that it would be the last week of all that. As soon as I was reunited with Adam, my summer solo adventures would come to an end. I was afraid that I would miss being on my own. While I have to say that I do look back on this past summer with fondness, and I am grateful for the experiences I had, I am very glad to have my partner back. Between his companionship, his additional support while taking care of Shabbs, and general funny self, my heart aches when I think of how much I missed him while he was gone. It aches even more now that I'm hearing about some of the experiences he and his comrades had over there. We are very very lucky to have him home safe and in one healthy piece.
But this is supposed to be about California! I set out of Oregon last Monday morning and made it across the border into Cali in about 3 hours. Only after crossing the border did I realize I'd made a slight mistake--I should have been driving along the coast instead of on I-5. The Redwood Forest and just about everything else I wanted to see was along the coastline. I decided to take Hwy 96, aka the Scenic Byway through the Coast mountains. This took a long time but it was beautiful. Hwy 96 follows the Klamath River the entire time, passing through very small logging towns before finally ending in Bigfoot country, aka Willow Creek. They had statues of Bigfoot everywhere, so I can only assume that's where most of the sightings have occurred. I finally made it to Arcata that night. Arcata is home to Humboldt State University and is renowned for being Hippie Central. I felt really at home there, and was sad that I didn't have more time to spend there.
The next morning, the girls and I left Arcata and got on Hwy 101 south toward San Francisco. My goal was to get to the Bay area by early evening so I could spend a day or so sightseeing. However, before I knew it, I had entered the Humboldt Redwood State Forest. It was incredible--the smell of the forest as soon as I stepped out of the car, the girth and height of the trees, the peacefulness of the forest. I spent about 4 hours on 32 miles of scenic routes through the forest. That drastically set me back in my travel timeline, but I was happy that I took my time and saw everything I wanted to see. I got back onto Hwy 1 afterward to drive along the coastline. The Pacific Ocean at dusk was breathtaking...but Hwy 1 at dusk is death-defying. It was a big mistake to try to navigate Hwy 1 (aka the Pacific Coast Hwy) at night, as you're dealing with hairpin turns, limited vision and loads of people driving far too fast (if you've ever seen Hitchcock's "Suspicion", you'll know what I mean). My only saving grace after navigating that road for 3 straight hours was that I somehow got sidetracked onto Hwy 138, which led me back to Hwy 101. I finally made it to Santa Rosa by 10:30pm, where the girls and I plopped gratefully into bed.
Day 3 was spent re-energizing for yet another day of driving. I decided to bypass San Francisco (you can't "do" a city in less than a day anyway) and get to Monterey that night instead. Monterey was the single most important objective of my entire summer (well, second to seeing Ads). Monterey is John Steinbeck country; I was reading "Cannery Row" before I left Michigan, and this blogsite is named after one of his more famous novels. It was important to me to get there. I made it into Monterey around 8pm that night. The girls got me up around 6am the following morning, so I got myself together and went to the beach to do some birdwatching. There were Heerman's gulls, greater blackbacked gulls, dowitchers and (endangered) snowy plovers out on the beach. I spoke to a park ranger who encouraged me to travel 10 miles north to Moss Landing, where the shoreline birding is astounding. There were dolphins, seals and tons of birds. Afterward, I went into downtown Monterey to visit Cannery Row, aka John Steinbeck land. It was wonderful to see the places he wrote about in his books and to feel a part of all that. I was glad that my guitar instructor, Dr. Batie, had lent me those books to read and encouraged me to visit Cannery Row in my travels.
About 1 hour south of Monterey, I was driving down Hwy 101, and it was like a scene out of "Top Gun" (one of my fave movies of all time, by the way). Two fighter jets were doing some practice dogfights in the canyons on either side of the highway. It was freakin' amazing. I really wanted to pull over and get some pics but didn't think it prudent to start photographing on the highway shoulder. Oh well. My only regret leaving Monterey was that I didn't get to see any California condors *sigh*
Below are some of the pics from my travels down the coast. Hope you enjoy.
Driving alongside the Klamath River on Hwy 96...this took much longer than I had prepared for, but was a beautiful drive nonetheless.
Willow Creek is Bigfoot Country...I kept my eyes open as twilight set in...
The obligatory I-am-but-a-small-nothing-in-this-big-world picture
Driving the Jetta through Chandelier Tree in the redwoods
Sunset on the Pacific; this was the first sight of the ocean I'd had once I got out of the Redwoods and the magnitude of its beauty hit me like a brick wall.
I was so anxious to show pics of the reunion with Ads that didn't post any from my travels through California. What a trip that was! I know this is totally cliched, but I do feel like this summer has been a rite of passage for me, of sorts. I finally got a chance to do some extensive travelling, work in my field of study, and be almost completely independent. It has been wonderful. I realized as I was about to embark on the trek down through California that it would be the last week of all that. As soon as I was reunited with Adam, my summer solo adventures would come to an end. I was afraid that I would miss being on my own. While I have to say that I do look back on this past summer with fondness, and I am grateful for the experiences I had, I am very glad to have my partner back. Between his companionship, his additional support while taking care of Shabbs, and general funny self, my heart aches when I think of how much I missed him while he was gone. It aches even more now that I'm hearing about some of the experiences he and his comrades had over there. We are very very lucky to have him home safe and in one healthy piece.
But this is supposed to be about California! I set out of Oregon last Monday morning and made it across the border into Cali in about 3 hours. Only after crossing the border did I realize I'd made a slight mistake--I should have been driving along the coast instead of on I-5. The Redwood Forest and just about everything else I wanted to see was along the coastline. I decided to take Hwy 96, aka the Scenic Byway through the Coast mountains. This took a long time but it was beautiful. Hwy 96 follows the Klamath River the entire time, passing through very small logging towns before finally ending in Bigfoot country, aka Willow Creek. They had statues of Bigfoot everywhere, so I can only assume that's where most of the sightings have occurred. I finally made it to Arcata that night. Arcata is home to Humboldt State University and is renowned for being Hippie Central. I felt really at home there, and was sad that I didn't have more time to spend there.
The next morning, the girls and I left Arcata and got on Hwy 101 south toward San Francisco. My goal was to get to the Bay area by early evening so I could spend a day or so sightseeing. However, before I knew it, I had entered the Humboldt Redwood State Forest. It was incredible--the smell of the forest as soon as I stepped out of the car, the girth and height of the trees, the peacefulness of the forest. I spent about 4 hours on 32 miles of scenic routes through the forest. That drastically set me back in my travel timeline, but I was happy that I took my time and saw everything I wanted to see. I got back onto Hwy 1 afterward to drive along the coastline. The Pacific Ocean at dusk was breathtaking...but Hwy 1 at dusk is death-defying. It was a big mistake to try to navigate Hwy 1 (aka the Pacific Coast Hwy) at night, as you're dealing with hairpin turns, limited vision and loads of people driving far too fast (if you've ever seen Hitchcock's "Suspicion", you'll know what I mean). My only saving grace after navigating that road for 3 straight hours was that I somehow got sidetracked onto Hwy 138, which led me back to Hwy 101. I finally made it to Santa Rosa by 10:30pm, where the girls and I plopped gratefully into bed.
Day 3 was spent re-energizing for yet another day of driving. I decided to bypass San Francisco (you can't "do" a city in less than a day anyway) and get to Monterey that night instead. Monterey was the single most important objective of my entire summer (well, second to seeing Ads). Monterey is John Steinbeck country; I was reading "Cannery Row" before I left Michigan, and this blogsite is named after one of his more famous novels. It was important to me to get there. I made it into Monterey around 8pm that night. The girls got me up around 6am the following morning, so I got myself together and went to the beach to do some birdwatching. There were Heerman's gulls, greater blackbacked gulls, dowitchers and (endangered) snowy plovers out on the beach. I spoke to a park ranger who encouraged me to travel 10 miles north to Moss Landing, where the shoreline birding is astounding. There were dolphins, seals and tons of birds. Afterward, I went into downtown Monterey to visit Cannery Row, aka John Steinbeck land. It was wonderful to see the places he wrote about in his books and to feel a part of all that. I was glad that my guitar instructor, Dr. Batie, had lent me those books to read and encouraged me to visit Cannery Row in my travels.
About 1 hour south of Monterey, I was driving down Hwy 101, and it was like a scene out of "Top Gun" (one of my fave movies of all time, by the way). Two fighter jets were doing some practice dogfights in the canyons on either side of the highway. It was freakin' amazing. I really wanted to pull over and get some pics but didn't think it prudent to start photographing on the highway shoulder. Oh well. My only regret leaving Monterey was that I didn't get to see any California condors *sigh*
Below are some of the pics from my travels down the coast. Hope you enjoy.
Driving alongside the Klamath River on Hwy 96...this took much longer than I had prepared for, but was a beautiful drive nonetheless.
Willow Creek is Bigfoot Country...I kept my eyes open as twilight set in...
The obligatory I-am-but-a-small-nothing-in-this-big-world picture
Driving the Jetta through Chandelier Tree in the redwoods
Sunset on the Pacific; this was the first sight of the ocean I'd had once I got out of the Redwoods and the magnitude of its beauty hit me like a brick wall.
Baby Emelia
Welcome to the world, Emelia Jayne! You're a lucky little girl to have parents as awesome as Veryan and Chad. Can't wait to meet you next time we make it to England!
Adam, Kika and I
So life has been a complicated mixture of happiness and grief as we've been travelling through California, seeing the sights as a family of three. Kika has had a difficult time adjusting to being the only dog, as her general lackluster demeanor has suggested. But we have certainly "done" the West Coast, visiting Malibu, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Francisco, the Redwood Forest and now back to Oregon. We have almost retraced my drive down from Oregon to California, with a few well-placed detours to check out additional sights.
We arrived in Oregon last night and are staying at the house I lived at this summer. We're having a special dinner tonight to introduce Ads to all the friends I made this summer, so I'm pretty excited about that.
We'll be heading north in the next few days to visit our friends in Corvallis, Portland and Olympia before heading back to Michigan via route 90 (gotta stop off and see the four heads at Mt. Rushmore, a long-time dream of Adam's and mine). Looking forward to seeing friends in Michigan and family back east, but I have to say, I am sold on moving west. My heart will stay out here when it's time for us to leave.
Will post pics from our travels as soon as we download from the camera.
We arrived in Oregon last night and are staying at the house I lived at this summer. We're having a special dinner tonight to introduce Ads to all the friends I made this summer, so I'm pretty excited about that.
We'll be heading north in the next few days to visit our friends in Corvallis, Portland and Olympia before heading back to Michigan via route 90 (gotta stop off and see the four heads at Mt. Rushmore, a long-time dream of Adam's and mine). Looking forward to seeing friends in Michigan and family back east, but I have to say, I am sold on moving west. My heart will stay out here when it's time for us to leave.
Will post pics from our travels as soon as we download from the camera.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Good-bye Charley
Shabbos "Shabbi" Mittman
February 1993-October 9, 2007
A Life Lived Well
We said good-bye to our "big girl" Shabbi this week, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. We were all present--Adam, Kika and I--when she departed the world, and we all feel the pangs of grief and loneliness from missing her.
Shabbi was by all measures, the perfect dog. She loved friends, and tennis balls and her daddy's pretzels. She loved rolling around on her back in smelly things like poop and animal carcasses. She loved getting dried off after a bath. She loved her little sister Kika. Shabbi loved sneaking food off your plate when you weren't looking and then pretending to be sorry when she was reprimanded. She loved kicking me out of the bed so she could curl up with Adam. Shabbi loved playing in the snow and bouncing around like Tigger. She loved swimming in the river and chasing ducks and squirrels and anything else that ran. Shabbi loved car rides and sticking her head out the window to smell the passing air. She loved long runs at the park. She loved having lots of people at the house who would pet her and fawn over her. She loved getting her belly scratched. She loved quiet times and she loved sleeping. She loved me and she loved life. Most of all, she loved Adam.
And we all loved her. We miss you terribly, Shabbi-girl, but will never, ever forget you. With fond memories, my sweet baby, good-bye.
February 1993-October 9, 2007
A Life Lived Well
We said good-bye to our "big girl" Shabbi this week, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. We were all present--Adam, Kika and I--when she departed the world, and we all feel the pangs of grief and loneliness from missing her.
Shabbi was by all measures, the perfect dog. She loved friends, and tennis balls and her daddy's pretzels. She loved rolling around on her back in smelly things like poop and animal carcasses. She loved getting dried off after a bath. She loved her little sister Kika. Shabbi loved sneaking food off your plate when you weren't looking and then pretending to be sorry when she was reprimanded. She loved kicking me out of the bed so she could curl up with Adam. Shabbi loved playing in the snow and bouncing around like Tigger. She loved swimming in the river and chasing ducks and squirrels and anything else that ran. Shabbi loved car rides and sticking her head out the window to smell the passing air. She loved long runs at the park. She loved having lots of people at the house who would pet her and fawn over her. She loved getting her belly scratched. She loved quiet times and she loved sleeping. She loved me and she loved life. Most of all, she loved Adam.
And we all loved her. We miss you terribly, Shabbi-girl, but will never, ever forget you. With fond memories, my sweet baby, good-bye.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Howdy Stranger
Many many many apologies for this taking so long to write, but my motel doesn't have internet access, and Adam came back with a pretty nasty cold and has been sleeping much of the time since he's been back. Needless to say, trying to find an internet cafe hasn't exactly been a top priority in the last couple days.
Having said that, we have had many happy returns. One of Adam's friends on base arranged to get me through the front gate on the day of his arrival (things are uber-secure around here), and I waited along with the handful of wives and husbands awaiting the arrival of our sailors. I was surprised by how few family members were there to welcome the unit back. In typical military "hurry up and wait" fashion, I got to the base early, only to find out that they were running about 3 hours late. I got a chance to speak to some of Adam's colleagues from Iraq who had arrived in California a week earlier; I was gratified to hear them say some really nice things about Adam and the hard work he performed over there. Once the busses rolled into view, of course we all got excited, but it took several minutes before I finally saw my tall SeaBee, looming over the heads of his fellow sailors. I ran out to him and laid a big one right on him.
As promised, we called his mother and my mother before he had to take care of some administrative stuff. If you haven't gotten a call from us yet, please don't take it personally. We have been WAY over our allotted cell phone minutes for the month and Adam has been too ill to carry on a conversation with anyone. He is feeling better now and our new minutes just kicked in, so we promise to follow up on calling all you folks who we owe a call to.
Kika was VERY happy to see her daddy again. It took her a few beats before she realized who was standing in the doorway and then she went ballistic. As I suspected, it's pretty much been "Mommy who?" ever since he's been back. Shabbi, as I also expected, is so far gone that she shows no signs of recognition. But, I am grateful that I made the effort this summer to keep her alive so that Adam has had time with her now that he's back. We are (with great difficulty) deliberating saying good-bye to her here in California. We don't know that she would comfortably make the trip back up to Oregon, much less back to Michigan. It's the hardest decision we've had to make so we're taking our time with it. I will keep you updated on that front, too.
So, yes, I am a happy lady right now. I asked Ads if I look older since the last time he saw me. His canned answer is "Yep, time for me to trade you in for a newer model!" He looks great, just very thin. With all the food they were feeding him over there, I was sure I was going to have a Mr. Stay Puff on my hands; instead, he's a little too thin, especially added to his sickness. I've been trying to get him out into the sun and onto the beach to add a little color to his pallor.
Thanks again to you all for being so supportive (and patient in the last week!) of us. It means the world, and we can't wait to see you all when we head back eastward this fall. Lansing-ites, we have a predicted arrival for the end of October, just in time for my favorite holiday, mmmmuuuhahahahhahahhahaha!!!!!
Love to you all...Lauren, Adam, Shabbi and Kika
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