Passions of the Soul

A Horse Thief Finds Love

Title:  Lilly’s Wedding Quilt: A Patch of Heaven Novel ****
Author:  Kelly Long
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
312 pages, paperback

            Jacob Wyse has just stolen a horse. This is not acceptable behavior in civilized society, and certainly not in an Old Order Amish community. The horse’s Englisch owner is none too pleased, either, venting his displeasure with a well-aimed gun.

             Lilly Lapp is late for the wedding of the season. Local police had come by, wanting to search her outlying property for the wounded horse thief. As if any Amish person would steal a horse! Well, it could happen, but . . . it was unlikely.

             So, now, she is trying to encourage her buggy horse, Ruler, to step lively, in the hope of reaching the home where the wedding is already in progress, before the storm gets too bad. But the rain turns to sleet, which then turns to snow; Ruler is uneasy, and the King family’s barn—the site of the wedding--is still two miles away. She must find shelter for herself and Ruler.

            As the wind shifts, she sees an outlying barn set back a few hundred feet from the road. Leaving the buggy at the roadside, she leads Ruler to the barn. And there she finds that the wounded horse thief is the man she has loved and admired since she was a young girl. While Lilly does not condone Jacob’s theft of a horse, when she sees the condition of the horse and understands that Jacob stole it from its mean and abusive owner, she cannot help but admire his intent.

            Jacob had paid no attention to Lilly, over the years, as he had had eyes for only Sarah King, now the bride of the day. He knows he is expected to attend the wedding, and he knows that, under the best of circumstances, other attendees would have one eye on the happy couple, and one on the unhappy “ungroom.” Now, he will arrive very late, and under far less than the best of circumstances.

            Through a near-comedy of details, Jacob and Lilly eventually arrive at the wedding celebration, together, after the service and ceremony, as people are eating. Their arrival creates some stir, but not as much as the arrival of the local police close behind them. The first officer to enter is young and obviously ignorant of Amish society and the people who comprise it. He is as determined to get his man as the bishop is to move him out.

            By the time everything is sorted out, Jacob and Lilly find themselves engaged to be married, and the groom, a veterinarian, has discreetly disappeared with Jacob to tend to his wound. From there, Jacob and Lilly fend off questions about their presumed secret courtship, are subsequently married and begin the often painful process of learning to love and be loved.

            As unlikely as Jacob and Lilly’s situation seems to our Western culture, it offers a lesson to our general society. When they leave the wedding celebration, Lilly offers Jacob an “out,” by suggesting that they go together to see the bishop, the next day, to tell him the engagement is off. Jacob declines. He will marry her. Because of the statements each of them had made leading up to their surprise engagement, Lilly’s reputation will be ruined, if they do not marry. Jacob confesses that he probably never will love Lilly, as his heart will always belong to Sarah. Lilly accepts that, and the wedding is on.

            Divorce is not acceptable in Amish society, but couples anywhere always have the option of making the best, or the worst, of their marriage, where love is lacking or unrequited. Jacob and Lilly hold onto their Amish faith in God and their sense of honor. They will do whatever it takes to make a good marriage. We call that commitment. Having said, “I do,” they will keep the vows they made, which were unusual and tailored to the two individuals making them.

            Jacob and Lilly face challenges that can make or break them, as a couple. The process by which they become a true couple, in mutual love, trust and fidelity, makes the story worthwhile. I did enjoy Lilly’s Wedding Quilt, possibly not quite as much as I enjoyed the author’s first novel in the series, Sarah’s Garden. Or it might be that I have burned out on Amish romances, for a while, as I have read many, since reviewing Sarah’s Garden. If you’re a sucker for a good romance, you will enjoy this one.

 

Bedtime with Bailey

When (Beagle) Bailey first came to live with us, she exhibited such extreme separation anxiety (still does) that we allowed her to sleep on our bed, with us. That became undesirable for two reasons: The first had nothing to do with Bailey, exactly, but if she was allowed in the room, then we couldn't keep Kat out, and I get no sleep, if Kat is allowed in. The second reason was Bailey: No matter in what position she starts out, before long, she sleeps perpendicular to each of us, and in between. Seen from above, I imagine we'd form a kind of H, although the two verticle lines would be a little wavy.

So we moved her out to the sofa, making a nice bed for her with soft (cheap) towels and a stuffed "bone" for her head. She loves to burrow--another challenge, when she was on the bed with us--so we laid another cheap towel over her.

I don't remember why, but eventually, we started tucking her in on the guest bed, which she shares with Kat. Kat presents challenges with this arrangement, as well, because he is likely to knead her, or to crawl into her space with her. That often results in her getting up and whining for Dad to go tuck her in, again.

But here is an example of the challenge she, herself, presents at bedtime. None of our previous dogs did this, probably because they played out in the yard, ran around, chased each other, etc. Not our sedentary little doggy; she holds in all her energy until bedtime. What a trip.

The Joy of Giving

Giving a gift you know someone can use, one you know is needed or wanted by a loved one who would not be able to purchase the same, herself--then, giving is fun and a joy.

But what do you give to the proverbial person "who has everything"? More of the same? How about giving a gift that will benefit someone in real poverty?

Compassion International has produced a gift catalog, this winter, and it can be used all year 'round. There's even a calendar at the back where you can write in gift-giving occasions that will come up.

This morning I filled out (a little late) the printed order form for several gifts we will give to two family members. I had so much trouble deciding what to include, because every item is needed and of real value; also because we're still not made of money, we mostly we stayed with the lower-cost items, because we could spread the money around.

A couple of tips are in order: First, sponsors cannot designate these items for their own sponsored kids. Sponsors can, of course, call Compassion (800-336-7676) and express their interest in providing any of them for their kids, and ask about costs, which may be different from prices given in the catalog. They can then send the money, if they wish, and state in a letter their preference that the money be spent for the whatzit. But keep in mind that the child or family may have a much greater need for something else--like, say, a bed, or a school uniform, shoes, or food.

Second, I discovered today that if you order online, you can order and pay for only one item at a time, although you can order more than one of that item. They do not have an order page set up with all of the items listed so that you can order one of this, three of that, and two of something else, and then pay for all of it together. I would like to see them come up with such a page, but it isn't there, yet.

Okay. If you clicked on the link to the catalog, above, then you know that prices start as low as $10 for a treated bed net. These nets are saving lives. In many homes, all of the children--indeed, sometimes a whole family--will sleep under one net; children are more vulnerable to disease than adults, but adults get malaria, too, which can keep them from working and cause them to lose what little money they might earn.

Available for $20 and under are a soccer ball ($13), a chicken ($16), and baking supplies ($20). The chicken means food for the family, eggs to sell, and manure for a vegetable garden. The baking supplies allow for kids to learn vocational skills like making pastries and baked goods, helping them to become employed or even start their own business, once they leave school. Of course, the soccer ball is for fun; it also gives the kids a better chance to hone their soccer skills than with the homemade balls they usually have to use, and they learn teamwork in the process.

I won't list all of the items remaining--and I've not made a dent--because I provided a link above. But other animals are included, more life-saving gifts, and other gifts that will teach children, moms and fathers various vocational skills. If you have a bunch of money lying around, you can provide computers, farming equipment, clean water, and more, up to and including a $5,000 gift for the fund which covers the costs of surgery or other special medical care.

No, I did not go ahead and list everything. See for yourself! And please, keep this incredible resource in mind throughout the year. Whether you sponsor a child, or not, you can bless one or more, or a pregnant mom or an unemployed dad through one of these gifts, and do it in Jesus' name. As we often say at our church, "We are blessed to be a blessing."

Now, have a wonderful Christmas, remembering that it's all about Jesus.

Oh, Bailey, Bailey, Bailey...

What a pill. We had just settled down for naps, this afternoon, when the doorbell rang. Bruce got up to answer it. One of the elderly widows who lives on the cul-de-sac around the corner from us had some questions about our homeowners' association and dues. She claimed she had never paid and had never received newsletters from them. Bruce said she seemed befuddled, which doesn't surprise me; we were pretty sure she had gone into Alzheimer's, already, poor old soul. Her husband just succombed to it, last year. Anyway, Bruce offered to walk her home, but she refused.

Then Bruce began wondering why our little beagle hadn't come running when the doorbell rang. The upshot was that we both went out looking for her. Bruce walked around the immediate area while I drove slowly around the block. Then I branched out a bit farther--looked up and down the big wash, then drove east and north, through a different subdivision, up and down cul-de-sacs, etc. Bruce also returned home and got his car.

Finally, he called me to say he had her and they were at home. The best we can figure it is that she had gotten out when Bruce went out for the mail, maybe 90 minutes earlier. He said she was really glad to get some water.

So we gave her some more...she was absolutely filthy, so she got a bath. After we'd towel-dried her, she ran out to the yard to roll in the dirt. Then she got another bath and was corraled and put back in the house.

Nap? Nap? I've heard of those! No, we never got them. :(

Our visit to Maine

We returned night before last from a too-brief visit with our youngest grandkids, Cassia and Ethan.  Parents Jeff and Cathy are wonderful parents to these two incredibly bright kids.  NOTE:  Keep in mind that I am not grandma by blood, so I can brag on them with no shame!

I'm scrambling, these three days--yesterday, today and tomorrow--to (1) get caught up and (2) get ready to leave again, on Friday morning, so I'll just refer you to Bruce's blog, for now, to read about it and see a few of the pic's.  I may be able to do the visit better justice, later.  We did have a great time.

Oh--given that I had just had a birthday a few days before we went, and that Bruce's and Ethan's birthdays are coming up next week, Cathy had prepared for us to celebrate all three of them, during our visit.  What great fun that was!  Cathy had also asked each of us what we would like--as if there's anything we need--and I had requested a donation to Compassion International's BiteBack! campaign to help wipe out malaria.  Cathy came through, so somewhere in Africa, a child who is now terribly at risk for this disease will be protected by a treated bed net.  Thank you, Cathy and Jeff!!

Another way to help is to sponsor a child through Compassion.  The cost is $38 per month; the benefits last forever, for both the child (and family) and the sponsor (and family).  See the widget on the left?  You can click there to sponsor the child whose photo appears, or you can go here to choose the child of your heart.

Rolling dogs, blind horses (and don't forget the cats)

I have a couple of things I hope to write about before we take off for several days, next week, and I'll try to do that.  Meanwhile, if you're an animal person and would like to read about a great shelter for blind horses and other disabled animals (mostly cats and dogs), check out this place in Montana.  It is not the only shelter that we have contributed to, but it's a favorite.

We've followed Steve and Alayne, the owners and nearly-only employees, mostly through their blog, for several years.  As we've been able, we have contributed what we could, especially in times of special medical care for one of the animals.  We've read and shared their grief, when an animal has died.

Mostly, we just love animals and hate to see them suffering through neglect, abandonment, injury or disease--and don't get me started on abuse!  But I also believe God cares as much for all of His creation as He does for us.  I do not, as one well-known conservative ranted against on the radio, some time back, harbor the idea that animals have souls.  But God did tell Adam to care for the animals, and I believe He holds us responsible for how we treat them.  And having given them to us to care for and love (tho' not everyone loves them), would He leave them out of the "new heaven" and the "new earth"?  I hope not!  I'm reminded of Will Rogers' statement that, if animals/dogs (?) don't go to heaven, he wanted to go where they go!  I'm really hoping that several will come running up on my arrival, with tails wagging and tongues hanging out, to say, "Hi, Mom!  I've been waiting to see you again!"

So call me sappy.  I've been called worse.  Animals need our care, and they need people like Steve and Alayne who cared enough to save their money until they could start the ranch to care for disabled animals.  They all deserve our help, as we're able.

Aw, rats!

Okay, it was only one rat; a packrat, to be precise.  For a much briefer version of our tale, go here.

We thought we would take a nap, this afternoon, and we did...eventually.  But when I approached the bed and pulled back the covers on my side, I found a cough drop on the sheet, with its wrapper three or four inches away.  I mulled that over as I started to straighten my pillow and there he was, staring straight at me from the corner of the bed.

That didn't last long, of course.  He turned tail and scampered...somewhere. 

We looked all around and, after several minutes, Bruce saw something scooting past him, moving toward the dresser against the opposite wall from the bed.  Great.  He stayed back there for a while, and when he came out--or how we missed him--we don't know.  He was on the lam.

Wonderful.  We restored some semblance of order to the room and went to bed.  After supper, Bruce went to the hardware store, bought a Have a Heart Trap, got it ready and set it in the bedroom, near the dresser.

A couple of hours later, I went into the bedroom and decided, on a lark, to pull the covers back on my side of the bed.  Sigh.  A small bottle of Hy*oTears and a Carm*x jar had been placed between the sheets, in front of my pillow...about where my shoulders would be.  I won't mention the little bit of . . . no, I can't.

Fast forward to bedtime.  All this time, not a sound nor a sighting of Mr. Rat.  We were nearly ready for bed, with our pets settled down for the night (we thought).  I was getting nervous about going to bed; I felt too pie-eyed to sleep.

I saw him again when I was brushing my teeth.  Bruce!  My eyes did not move from the spot, although he had ducked out of sight.  Bruce moved the trap over to that corner, and we resumed getting ready for bed.  Five minutes later, out of excuses, I headed for bed, again--but wait!  The door of the trap was down and . . . could it be?  Yes!  He was inside, and none too happy about it.  Tough!

We trekked to the farthest corner of the big yard and opened the trap door.  He refused to budge, holding on for dear life to the bars on the cage bottom.  Bruce picked up the cage, turned it so that the open door was on the bottom, shook it a bit.  Out, damned rat!  Finally.

Bailey

For most of the time that we have had Bailey (not counting the early months of her puppy-stage antics and destructive behavior), she has been lethargic, occasionally off her food, easily stressed, often acts as if she just knows we're about to hit her, and exhausted on walks.  She loves walks and usually pulls her daddy along, but she often has to lie down and rest before finishing, and then she crashes on the tile floor in the entryway.  We have previously had her tested variously for Parvo, Valley Fever, Hypothyroidism and Heartworm; all tests were negative.

Last August, we decided to try a change of diet, which we did "cold turkey" because she was already in distress.   She loved the new food and stopped collapsing on the tile floor after a walk (until recently); the lethargy and other symptoms continued, however.  Then in early March, she began backing away from her morning kibble, but only in the morning.  The rest of the day she was hungry for anything.

We kept saying to each other, "Something else is going on," so we finally called the vet's office a week ago for a referral to a specialist.  Bruce took her to an internist, this morning.  Based on all the previous test results and her age and breed, the doctor kept ruling things out.  But given her age and the symptoms, he thinks she may have Addison's Disease and tested her for that.  The article describes her to the proverbial "T."  We'll find out tomorrow.

UPDATE 5/5/09:  No Addison's Disease.  No abnormalities in any of the blood work that was done.  The good news is that she is perfectly healthy, apparently; the bad news is that we still don't have an answer for the vague symptoms and uncharacteristic behavior that we see in this four-year-old doggy.

Care and feeding of Kat [with proof!]

A while back I wrote about the change in diet for our dogs, and what a stark and positive difference it had made in 's health.  Turns out, Kat likes their new combination, too, minus the kibble.  He doesn't eat much, and I simply take a little out of Hoagie's dish and put it in a small bowl.  Granted, the temperature has to be just right--warmer than lukewarm, but not hot, you understand--but when it's right, he's a happy cat.  [Note:  If you see the box with the red x in it, instead of the photo, click on the x; you should get the picture in a new screen.]

Most recently, when he stops eating from the bowl and sits up, I've learned that he isn't necessarily done, after all.  I check the temp' and, if necessary, nuke it for another 4 seconds, or so.  Then he will either start eating from the bowl, again, or wait for me to fork-feed him.  Really.  And, savvy Chief of Staff that I am, I accommodate him.  I'll have to get Bruce to take a picture.  UPDATE:  The proof is in the photo!

For your benefit, if you have a cat, here are the instructions:  With the fork used for mixing the canned potato and venison with the (Li*by's 100% pure) pumpkin, pick up a small amount of food from the bowl.  Offer him the end of the fork.  When he either eats that or it falls back into the bowl, repeat the process until food is gone, or he signals that he really has had enough.  Or, until he resumes eating from the dish, having been assured that, gosh, it really is okay.

By the way, if you are freaked by the evidence of my semi-permanent accommodation for Kat on a kitchen counter, I can assure you that the only food ever prepared, place or eaten on that counter is Kat's.  Our food never gets over there, as we never use the breakfast bar for breakfast, snacks or any other meal.  It quickly became clear that Kat would not be deterred from getting up there, so I came to terms with it the best way I could.  The "hill" I fight for is all other countertops and the stove; if we catch him, he must retreat or jump down.  Period.

Bailey's new diet

We've had Bailey for around 16 months, now.  She must have weighed about 31 lbs. when we first got her, and she weighed in at 41 lbs., last week.  She put the weight on pretty quickly, too.  But that's only one issue.

She was so uncontrollably hyperactive and destructive, when we first had her, that we had to put her on clomipramine, which she was on for several months.  Within a couple of months, she had calmed down, somewhat, but we still keep a gate across our bedroom door, most of the time; she just isn't to be trusted!  But after a few months on the clomipramine, we noticed that she slept, most of the time.  More and more, even since we stopped giving her the clomipramine a good six or seven months ago, she has reminded us of another beagle mix (Spot), when Spot was 12 or 13 years old...and Bailey is only about 3 yrs.

We had her thyroid tested in January.  That was negative.  We had her back at the vet's a couple of months ago, because she was continuing a pattern of not eating well, going off her food every few days in favor of eating grass (had previously been true about once a month, so it was getting worse), being lethargic, returning from a walk and plopping down on the entry-hall tile, not being interested in eating for a while, and generally just not acting like a well doggy.  The vet' did a basic chem' panel, which indicated that Bailey was as healthy as we could possibly want her to be.  The vet' concluded that she might have irritable bowel syndrome and suggested using Pril*sec for at least six weeks, to determine whether it had any benefit.  (It didn't.)  I asked about her food, but since we were feeding her a food that was prescribed for dogs with sensitive tummies, the vet' didn't see any point in changing.  I missed a chance, there....

Bruce took her back in about a week ago, and the vet' drew blood to test for Valley Fever.  We were positively floored, when it came back negative; it seemed such a reasonable conclusion.  The next recommended step was to take her to an internal-medicine specialist.  However, since my step-daughter has previously worked as a certified vet' tech', Bruce wrote to her, describing the symptoms and behavior.

As Cathy pointed out, the fact that Bailey was eating a prescription food didn't mean she was able to tolerate it!  Why it didn't occur to me to say that to the vet' two months ago, I don't know.  Anyway, we've now changed her diet to canned venison and potato, adding some canned, pure pumpkin, once a day.  Right now, we're feeding her small amounts, five times a day, because we made the change abruptly; she was already in discomfort, so doing the usual transition didn't make sense.  She had three feedings of the new food yesterday, and the first thing we noticed this morning was that she came back from the walk, did not plop down in the hallway, and was ready to eat.  After a few more days, we'll scale back the feedings and mix in some venison/potato dry food.  Then we'll use the pumpkin for treats.

Amazing.  Really amazing.  We have good vets, but I can't help wondering why this didn't occur to any of them. :o(

UPDATE 8/7/08:  This morning, again, Bailey did not plop down on the tile, and she was interested in eating.  I need to start adding a little water to the food, to accommodate the increase in fiber.  Hoagie already drinks a lot of water, but Bailey...not so much.

UPDATE 8/14/08:  Bailey's eating was off and on, for about four days, but for most of this week...if not all...she has eaten steadily.  She had me worried, this morning, because she didn't want her breakfast, but an hour or two later, she was ready for it.  We've cut down to three daily feedings and calculated the quantities of each part of the menu--canned and dry venison-and-potato and canned (pure) pumpkin--and the calories of each, to correspond to the per diem quantities and calories recommended by the vet', in order to effect a 10% weight loss in each dog.  Once we achieve that, we'll go for more, until we reach the 10 lb. weight-loss goal.  I'm feeling very good about this plan!