the road to recovery

Sammy finally did his little happy-dance yesterday, for the first time since his attack! Woo-hoo!! My sweet, little angel is on the road to recovery. He's eating again (he skipped one meal, which made me freak out, of course, on the same day when he was very lethargic), and acting more like himself - he's even started barking again. Never have I been so happy to hear my dog bark.

Thanks to all who have been praying for the little guy. My camera broke, so I can't take a current picture - but he's sleeping on my pillow, next to Emma (my medium sized, border collie mix).

The whole incident frightened Emma, too. She's prone to seizures, but thankfully, she hasn't had any since this happened.

At bedtime, after the attack, she tried her best to cuddle close to him. Her head is about half the size of Sammy's entire body, so I was concerned that she might inadvertently hurt him. I kept trying to keep her away; she kept trying to get closer to him. She finally settled in with her head right next to his little body, and they both drifted off to sleep.

sammy in the jaws of the pit bull

Last week, my littlest dog, Sammy, was attacked by a pit bull. My son, John, and a friend of the dog's owner came running out of the house (this happened in the side yard of our apartment) when they heard me screaming. It was a miracle that my son John, and the owner's friend, managed to pry the pit bull's mouth open and get Sammy released. I realized later that it was also a miracle that this dog didn't maul them, too, in addition to Sammy.

The grasp of this animal didn't penetrate any internal organs, or crush any bones - she did, however, give my little dog a huge break in his body wall, and after exploratory surgery, the vet said there was also extensive damage to his muscles. They put in a drain, and told me to watch him very closely for the next few days.

Yesterday, he had the drain removed. Today he seems to be much more lethargic than on the previous few days; if he doesn't improve tomorrow, we need to make another trip to the vet. I realize that his body needs time to heal, and it didn't help any that Boston had two bad snow storms since this happened, making it all the more difficult to find a place for my little, injured sweetheart to find a spot to go to the bathroom.

I can't begin to explain just how much an animal can capture one's heart. This little guy is pure love, making this aggressive attack all the more painful. I also can't explain just how helpless I have felt since this happened last Thursday.

Please pray for my little Sammy.

three dogs

creative process

When people ask me, "What do you do?"...
I sometimes think a moment before I answer.

What is it that I do, anyway?

Well - I read.

I read a lot.

I read, and I read - and then I read some more.

Then when all of it finally sinks into my head,
when one and one finally actually DOES equal two,
when all of the information finally jells together..

THEN... finally...

I write.

In between all of this - I goof off.

Or at least that what it must look like to someone
on the outside.

I love to bake bread - I've been kneading and baking
bread since I was a teenager.
Bread requires patience.
It demands touch, and shouldn't be rushed.

Kneading and baking bread seems to feed a different
part of my creative soul. Something about the process
actually helps me to think.

Good bread is thick and crusty, and it screams of twisted, ancient
pathways, hidden away somewhere in the Euganean Hills in Northern Italy.

I've never been to the Euganean Hills, nor have I even traveled to Italy.

But the name rolls of my tongue, and when I pull off a chunk of my creation...

I am there.

There are times when the right words seem to hide from me.
When that happens, the best solution is to take a break.
Taking a bit of time away from the words
seem to give my brain time to connect all the dots...
if something doesn't work right, doesn't want to fit together
my solution is to cook a pizza at the highest temperature possible,
or a loaf of bread
or maybe create a different flavor of biscotti.

I do that...then, zap!

The words will magically reappear.

Man, I love when that happens...