Never ruin an apology with an excuse. ~Kimberly Johnson

And so I apologize! I have been

MIA and just... well, to lazy to sit and write. The summer passed by in a blur it seems. So to recap.....

*May... puppies! Patrick graduated from High School and I graduated with from my master's program.

*June.... I was laid off from my job... yep, and right now,

teaching jobs are not abundant!

*July... law suit settled and life felt less burdened.

Patrick turned 18 and Meri turned 14! House construction also began with ripping out some horse hair plaster walls and laying new floors... I love how the house now flows!

*August...We felt we need to build an ark with the

amount of rain that fell over the summer. Summer was technically over before it began!

*September.. School came back in session with Meri joining the ranks of high schoolers and we moved Patrick into his New York dorm... I began to feel 'old'

*October... Sam turned 16 and obtained a learner's permit... yes, student driver here we come again! We welcomed a new puppy to the mix (a dachshund and said goodbye to the chickens)

Which brings us up to speed and to November!

Yesterday amid my busy schedule of tutoring, running people to and from school, and general errands, I celebrated a birthday. Today would have been Tom's birthday.

These gave me pause and I took some time to sit with my thoughts and think of the past with Tom and wonder who he would have been today. Would our values, wants, desires and future goals have been the same? I look at who I have evolved into the past 8 years and know I am not the same Lisa I was back then. I speak my truth about who I am and what it is I would like out of life these days. I am far from the uncertain woman I was.

Another Bunch

And adorable ones at that! Chloe gave birth to another litter of little puppies. Wednesday night in the middle of the season finale of Lost, she went into labor. I deposited her into the maternity ward and the waiting began. The poor thing looked like a big tick ready to pop at any moment. She was a real trooper though and just lay down and waited without a sound.

Her water broke soon after her entrance into the 'ward' and within an hour and a half, she gave birth to a cute little boy. We nicknamed him "Hooie" as May 13Th is also my niece Hilary's birthday and who lives with the nickname "Hooie" compliments of my nephew Zack who couldn't say Hilary as a toddler.

The evening wore on with puppies arriving 15 minutes here, to anywhere from 1/2 an hour to an hour there.

All in all she delivered 4 black puppies with a small white splotch on their chests 2 boys and 2 girls.

She also delivered a little blonde girl so 5 pups in all!

We've had a very positive response to the sale of these little ones. Sam does want to keep the little blonde girl but we have Chloe and Libby... I'm not certain I want to take on another dog, let alone a puppy!

Word has begun to spread on Facebook, at work, and within the family...so I believe they will all be placed in loving homes.... and that's a good thing!

I had to laugh at the cartoon I found above. For anyone who has been in or is in the process of a graduate level program... it hurts! As does staring into a high-powered flashlight! Two years ago I took on a task that I only dreamed would come to fruition. I decided with a lot of prodding from my friend Paula to get my Masters in Education. We looked at different programs and finally agreed to enroll in an online degree program through the University of New England located in Biddeford ME.
Last summer I was lucky enough to go to a summer workshop for Every Day Mathematics and visit this campus. It was in a beautiful setting. The only connection I'd had was through a keyboard and words on a computer screen.
Tomorrow is graduation day for all MsEd candidates who've completed the work. I am proud to be among them even though I will not travel to Maine tomorrow to walk across the stage.
I will think of the men and women who are attending graduation and send out my best wishes and thoughts to them. I am very proud to have been in the program with all of them.
It is funny though... I turned in my final paper the other night and having been so used to working on projects, writing papers or responding to online journals each and every day... I found myself a little lost and guilty feeling for coming home and just sitting. Looks like I can now finally get to my piled up fiction I've been wanting to read!

Goodbye Friend

As a little boy, our friend Richard had the job of tending his family's goat herd. He told us he would get up, take the goats to a field and sit with them while they grazed. His job was to keep them safe from harm. His job was to scare off lions and other hungry beasts that would love to have a tasty goat for supper. Richard was 8 yrs old.

Once he told my children that when he took his goats out, he was confronted by a hungry lion. He was very scared and climbed a tree to save himself. The lion got one of the goats and ate it. He told my children that when he got home his grandfather was angry with him and switched him. The goats were their lively hood. My children loved that story.

This past Friday, we got a call from my best friend Paula, Richard's wife. Richard suffered a heart attack at work and died. Our reactions went from shock to tears. We have gathered with our friends and shared loving hugs and handed round tissues for the tears we've shed with one another.

I met Richard when I befriended his wife Paula back in 1993. We both had two boys who became good friends and remain so to this day. Meri came along and soon would be known as "Queenie" in this small circle. Out of my 3 children, I believe Meri had the closest relationship with Richard. She loved him very much and I believe the feeling was mutual. When Tom died, Paula was my anchor always there with a hug or wise words to help. Richard would take the kids to the movies or babysit. These friends became more like family to us. Richard would often tease Meri telling her that when she went on her first date, he would be there with a baseball bat to greet the young man! When she heard of Richard's death, Meri made mention of that.... Richard's sons told her not to worry, they will be there along with her two big brothers.

This week we will celebrate Richard's life, the life he lived as a young African boy and the life he came to love here as an American citizen. We will also hold and support Paula, Richie and Matthew as they walk along the path of grief we have known so intimately.

My children and I will miss his stories, wise cracks, and tidbits of wisdom...but mostly we will miss his wonderful hugs and his friendship.

Kidney troubles

I guess one who is dealing with kidney stones would find the humor in this little cartoon. I sure do!
Tomorrow I'm off to have a stone surgically removed. I've been dealing with 'attacks' for the last week and a half. Each time I've contacted the doctor he's told me that it will pass any time ...only thing is, nobody seems to be telling the stone that! After some pretty intense periods of pain, the dr. has decided that tomorrow morning the stone is to be removed.
Wish me luck!

Farewell to the shrubbery....

Ummmm I mean to Bush.

This past week seems to have a taste of 'camelot' to it. We've reveled in photos of the inaugruation, pictures of people wiping away tears as President Obama was sworn in, pictures of President and First Lady Obama dancing, kissing and enjoying the many balls they attended.... BUT my favorite photo out of all these?

Its this one.... Goodbye Bush. New blood, new hopes and aspirations have entered into the White House. :)

In memory

In Memory Thomas R. Brennan 11/19/1962- 1/21/02

" 'Death, be not long.

Death, be not hard,'

we prayed.
But days stretched year-like

and when death came, God

it was not easy

as we had prayed.
Quiet, but not easy.
Forgive my complaints;

for precious to You

is the death of Your saints."

-Ruth Bell Graham