G'Day!

I'm still out in the sticks (halfway between Tacoma and Eatonville, WA -- closer to Eatonville than Tacoma) critter and house-sitting for friends.  They have two horses and six dogs (three large, three small), but one of the dogs (a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog) is in the doggie hospital and has been for two days, so I haven't seen her yet this time. I may be able to pick her up today if she's feeling better. She may also get a bad diagnosis and have to be put to sleep, so we're praying for the best outcome for her. She got sick fast, so hopefully she "just" has an infection of some kind; if not, she may have pancreatic cancer.  And she's eight -- old for such a large breed  -- so the owners probably won't put her through heroic efforts if the diagnosis is dire...  She's a delightful critter and her best buddy (same breed, about the same age) would miss her terribly (in fact, I can tell he misses her right now) so we're all hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

My $2K project is on-hold for right now... so I'm actually getting a bit of a vacation this week, which is a good thing because I don't think I've taken a single day off in months. (When you work from home, it's hard to stay away, especially when you love what you do!)  I'm de-pressurizing a bit, which feels nice.

Just because I'm out in the sticks doesn't mean I'm living rustically. This is a beautiful home and spread.  I love vaulted ceilings and skylights --  I have neither at home -- so coming out here feels almost like visiting a resort. It's very nice here.

Oddly enough, I lived just a mile from here (as the crow flies) from 1978 - 1981 and again from 1985 to 1989. I've been meaning to drive by the old place while out here, but since it's farther up the road, I haven't done it yet. And it's also 800 feet off a main road, so I would have to actually access the long driveway for no earthly legitimate reason, so that's MOSTLY why I haven't driven by.  I think the new owners tore down the chalet and built something else, so it would probably make me sad to see it now. I prefer my memories to reality in this case. Same with De and Carolyn's house. I doubt I would ever drive by to see the monstrosity that replaced it, because I loved their home so much. It was as unpretentious as could be. You can still see it, inside and out, from one of my older blogs, if you want to hunt for it.  It was within the first year of my starting this blog, I'm pretty sure...

And speaking of De and Carolyn...

I've heard back from Amie Flanagan. She sent me some of the feedback from last week's KSU Radio interview. She received over 800 comments on the show and wants to do it again sometime.  Here are two of them:

Wayne from TX writes:

Just got done listening to your interview with Kristine M. Smith! I love that show! She gave great insight into the Man behind the Hypo.


I loved her readings, especally the one about being invited to have  sit down drinks with them. That comment about finding the balance between [treating De like the Pope and coming across like] Odie. LMAO!


When Molly and I went to that convention in 2007 , if you look at all the pics of me, I have an Odie-like grin on. LOL. I was unabashedly drooling. lol


And that second reading was very , very touching about [De]speaking to her mother who was undergoing cancer treatment and about how he put on his best McCoy authority-type face and voice and told her she was going to be just fine, all the while knowing that he was terminal with cancer himself .

I have always enjoyed Mr. Kelley as an actor in TOS and the films later because he made each line he spoke feel so incredibly genuiwine and real , that even if he was working on a pointed -eared alien such as Spock , you could feel his compassion and bed side manner shine through even if with the next breath he was calling him a pointed eared hobgoblin. lol


Thank you for endevouring to get this wonderful woman on your show! i thoroughly enjoyed it! *hugs*


And PAULA from MASS writes:


Thanks for sharing. I have her first book. Besides JDL, De Forest Kelley was one of the most amazing of the Trek heroes I also had a chance to meet. I've met quite a few of the actors who played roles in Trek and I have to say that these two are the ones who stand out as the most 'real' in how they treat their fans. As important as they seem to us, they leave the impression that 'you' are as important to them, if only just a fan, but more than that they treated me like I was a person who mattered. Great interview. I need to listen again, when I'm more awake. What a lucky lady to have known him so well.


From Amie (to me) : I have about 800 of them from CA, NM, TX, TN, ME, FL, MI, KS, AK and even South Africa!

Pretty cool! I can live for a week on comments like these...

What else? Hmm...

The weather here is stellar again. We just haven't had a winter this year except for a really-cold snap early on that broke a record number of water pipes across the region. The sun is out, the sky is blue and birds and squirrels are active -- even the daffodils in our front yard are springing up. (Just the stems -- they haven't opened yet.)  We're supposed to get drenched in the next day or so, but then it's supposed to clear up again to spring-like weather.  I'm a little concerned about our forests this year, if this is all the precipitation we're going to be getting over the winter...

Guess that's about it for this time. Take care and stay tuned. 

I miss my puppies!  WAAAHHHHH!!!

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Update: Star (the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog) is going to be fine!  I get to pick her up this afternoon and bring her home!
WOO HOO!