A love letter to Lola....

 

Dear Lola,

Three weeks ago yesterday you left us (Jan 17, 2012). It was a heartbreaking day for me. I have thought about you every day since then and I have shed tears many of those days. *Sometimes late at night and sometimes at the dinner hour, both significant periods.*

Some of those, were tears of joy that you had made me so happy during your all to brief tenure with me. On Jan 19, 2012, when after reading another friend's blog about her Scout's passing - I decided to make a list of all the gifts you gave me - gifts that I would miss and that I could recall to brighten any sad days ahead of me. I also knew on that day that I would need those for this letter to you.

Lola's gifts:

~ your presence next to my computer whenever I would log on. Sometimes you had a mission (wanting your ears 'scrunched') but mostly you just wanted to be near me. it was your form of "lap sitting".... something you only came to do for real in the last 3 years. AND always on your terms.

~ head butts. Your method of getting my attention.

~ beer-olic. You LOVED Mike's beer. (he didn't have the same enthusiasm for this behavior, but I totally got it.) your ability to know when it was 5pm and he would sit down to have his nightly beer. and to know those un-guarded moments would happen so that you could 'lick' the opening. priceless.

~ eating PetMalt straight from the tube. You refused it in any other form. once I read the ingredient list I totally got it....malt=beer=malt. smart cat. (see above reference)

~ crawling into my lap. Regardless of who/what was occupying my lap - if you wanted to be there I had best get rid of it/her/him. Books, needlepoint, your sister Lucy. gone. btw, your welcome.

~ your preference for jeans. If I wasn't wearing them, ...you preferred Mike's lap. in fact, in the early years you would leave my lap for his whenever he sat down. ouch. (words: "my cat" meant nothing?)

~ your princess-tude "don't touch me". yes, I will even miss this. life with me was really on your terms. and I came to adore this trait. (funny, I have a similar trait.)

~ your love of the bathroom fixtures. if it had water, and all 3 did...you were there whenever the water ran.

~ your dislike of the house on wheels. you hid behind the pillows on the bed. I miss finding you there.

~ sitting with your tail wrapped around your legs. your posture was regal. when I think of you now - that is the picture in my head.

 *  dinner time ~ you would wait until Mike was done than jump onto his legs for a rub down

 *  late night ~ you would come visit while I was watching TV or reading for a "ear scrunch" and you would purr. you rarely purred so this was also noted.

~ the last 3 weeks you spent on my lap, virtually every moment I was inside whether I was awake or sleeping....sort of makes up for the 10 years you refused to sit on my lap. almost.

Sweet, sweet Lola, thank you for all of these and other moments. Your sister Lucy misses you as well. It took her a few days, but now she talks, incessantly to us whenever we come through the door. There is less sadness with her here, a comfort that we would not have had you been an only child.

I know the ache of missing you will lessen, the tears will all have been cried. However, my love for you will remain true. Thank you for gracing our lives. I love you.

*******************

I wrote about Lola here, last April about her personality. You can read it here:  4/25/2011 Post re: Lola 

~ Peace.

do you rest or wash?

we've been traveling in Canada and therefore, I was somewhat surprised to discover that not only are our "restrooms" non-existent, so are toilet seat/donut hole covers....what is up with that? a "restroom" = a "washroom" in Canada, so I had to start looking for the signage and for evidence that covers would be found.

Discovering this distinction was eye-opening, to say the least. We had been staying in RV parks for the most part and some campgrounds, where you expect facilities to be at best, "minimally appointed", and I wasn't surprised that covers weren't available, they aren't available in the US campgrounds either. However, I was soon looking for the seat covers in established business where 'washrooms' were integrated. Restaurants, cafes, delis, coffee houses and grocery/department stores alike all had "washrooms" without paper seat covers...they didn't even have the wall mounted aluminum holder.

Now I am a bit of a germ-phobe when it comes to rest/wash-rooms....and while I intellectually know that thin paper seat covers are more for my mind than my derriere...it still provides a barrier, albeit thin, against a damp seat of unknown origin. Is it possible that Canadian women simply do not care if the seat is damp? Do they "remember" to take tissue and wipe it down in advance? Do they carry antiseptic wipes like I now do just for this reason? Or do their derrieres repel such nonsense and are immune to attack?

And maybe, just maybe we Americans have totally named it incorrectly and it is just suppose to be a "wash" room, where one does their business, washes their hands and then exits. As I ponder this I realize that I never really 'rest' in one of these public rooms - I'm really too wigged out about possible germs to truly "rest"...

~Ciao

transformation....Develop the length of a dancer-who me?

"Develop the length of a dancer
and the strength of an athlete
with our highly effective 60-minute workouts.
Each class follows a thoughtful sequence for fast body shaping results
and long term postural benefits."
From barre3 website home page.


On a side street off A Avenue in Lake Oswego** the transformation began on March 31, 2011 and I posted a blog about that first class on April 8th...and in my true Type A style - I obsessed about taking classes as my I moved with increasing muscle soreness  in the belief that soon, very soon that would be but a memory and I would just take the classes, enjoy them and wake up one day with new streamlined body. (Hahahahahaha....she laughed.)  (**NOTE: this is only 1 of 3 locations here in the Portland area. There are also classes in other major cities, Bellevue/Seattle, WA, Denver CO, and soon to be in WDC. Check the barre3 website for other locations.)

On any given day my body aches in every conceivable muscle - and it's not the large muscles that appear to be affected. No siree, it's those tiny muscles under the bigger muscles that ache. And it is not symmetrical this soreness I feel...although each group of muscles does get a workout each class. I have a few tiny mad muscles that continue to tell me exactly where they are at - who knew there were so many tiny hidden muscles. I can now do push-ups....not 100, but 10 and that's something for me. I hate push-ups.

That is the beauty of barre3...at least for me. Each class has been different, each instructor has their own style and variations on the body shaping sequence, and although I have taken the same time slot/instructor, NO two classes have been identical - a huge plus!  I am easily bored. I need variety. So I change it up between the basic and the foundations classes. Being supported and encouraged to challenge yourself, AND to listen to your own body...be present in class for yourself and only for yourself. Class sizes are small, pre-registered enabling the instructor to provide direction, correction and encouragement...winning!

Now just over 2 full months of classes - going 3-4x a week...I am re-visiting biceps and triceps that disappeared about 6 years ago. My glutes are becoming more toned, I have a stronger core. My chiropractor is liking the new me. I feel terrific...I am sleeping better and my appetite is shrinking. Who knew a ballet-barre, yoga strap, a squishy ball and 1-lb barbells would be so loved. Madonna is a fan...yes that Madonna. (there I said it, and I'll bend over and pick up the name I just dropped.) I don't have the body of a dancer (secret ambition: NYC Rockette as a child) yet...but maybe, just maybe sometime in the future.

Last week one of the instructors actually commented on how my body was transforming right before her eyes. (shhhh, don't tell anyone, I like her the best!) Of course, now that the transformation is occurring I am leaving town for an extended RV trip through Yellowstone and Calgary...I am fully prepared to at least manage my renewed self with the 40 min DVD version in hopes of keeping the return-to-class aches to a minimum. Don't laugh - it could happen.

Check back in August for an update.

(Ask about the 3 class special, or when they are having another athletic wear trunk show. If you want to confuse them, tell them I sent you. )

Ciao~