Author: paedwards

Sweet Lorane Community News, May 19, 2022

May 19, 2022Newspaper Columns, Leave a comment

Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
May 19, 2022
By Pat Edwards

As many know from past columns, Jim and I are big animal lovers. We had an “Old McDonald’s Farm” when our children were growing up… horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, dogs, cats, birds (parakeets, a cockatiel, and a miniature parrot), to name only a few. We passed that love on to our descendants, thankfully, and more recently have chosen to give homes to rescue animals. Both of our dogs and our three cats were all adopted as rescues. Our daughter, Kelly, has worked with Jack Russell rescue groups for many years and my heart breaks for the thousands of pets that are still being euthanized in some “high-kill” areas.

Yesterday, Raining Dogs Rescue, a local rescue group that I follow, announced its search for a foster family that would be willing to take in a dog recently discovered in Creswell whose “owners” had starved her, obviously for quite some time, and then abandoned her when they were served an eviction notice. Apparently, they had not only failed to pay their rent, but they had not given even basic care to their dog. When they left their home, they left a starved and emaciated Luna behind, locked up in a dog crate inside the house without food or water. Her skin was literally hanging over her skeletal frame and much of her hair had fallen out. Neighbors were apparently notified by the landlord about the dog, and one of them, Desi Lovenburg, took her in and began trying to nurse her back to health. In the month and a half Desi has had her, Luna has gained eight pounds and they are working with a Cottage Grove veterinarian to carefully get her back to good health. According to Desi, “Luna has a couple of wounds on her paws that are almost healed, but we have to spray them to keep her from licking the wounds. The vet said she needs carbs added to her food so we have been feeding her rice with her meals just to get some meat on her bones.”

BEFORE

Luna on the day after she was rescued by Desi

BEFORE – Luna with her “puppy” that was adopted by Desi at least a year ago

Desi is due to deliver her 4th child soon. They live in a small house with two other dogs and three cats, so she cannot keep Luna. She contacted Raining Dogs Rescue which was recommended to her, and they are trying to help her find a foster family who will continue nursing her back to health until a permanent—and loving—“forever” home can be found for her.

Luna is 4-years old and is a Border Collie mixed breed. Desi knows that Luna had one litter of puppies at least a year ago because she adopted one of them which she still has.

Despite all that Luna has had to go through in her life, Desi says that she is “the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet and is smart and eager to learn.” She loves Desi’s three children, all under 11 years of age, as well as her two other dogs and the cats. She craves being cuddled by the kids, and wants to be a lap dog. “It has been a pleasure watching her become a dog again. She is so full of love still and that, to me, is amazing.”

CURRENTLY

A foster family connected with the Northwest Dog Project has been found for Luna and that rescue organization will now handle Luna’s adoption. They will make sure Luna has all of her vaccinations and they will have her spayed once she puts on some more weight and before she is adopted. Adoption applications may be sent to their website at https://northwestdogproject.org/

Luna deserves to have a family who will give her the love and attention that has obviously been so lacking in her life up to now. Thank you to Raining Dogs Rescue, the Northwest Dog Project and most of all, Desi, for all that you have done for this sweet girl, and for being Luna’s spokesperson.

 

Sweet Lorane Community News, May 12, 2022

May 12, 2022Newspaper Columns, Leave a comment

Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
May 12, 2022
By Pat Edwards

I was shopping in one of the big-box stores the other day when I passed a lady pushing her cart in the opposite direction. She had a little support dog on a leash and wore a frown on her face. As she went by, she commented, “I can’t believe the prices these days!” Without thinking, I replied, “I just wish I could find what I’m looking for!” Both scenarios are understandable, but at the time, for me, mine was the most frustrating.

Having a husband who was a manager of Mayfair Markets for many years in the area before they sold their Oregon stores, I know that the strategy is to keep moving merchandise around so that people, in looking for what they come in for, will find other things to buy that they ordinarily would not see if the displays stayed in the same places. But, come on!… some of the recent “remodels” don’t have any rhyme or reason any more.

Part of my frustration, I know, comes from the fact that I no longer have the “luxury” of leisurely shopping for anything these days. I’ve never been a die-hard shopper… I’ve always had too many things on my plate to spend much time (or money) looking at or buying things I really didn’t need. But, I have enjoyed occasionally walking up and down the aisles to see what’s available should I need it without worrying about having to run into the store, grab what I went there for and head back out to the car. I’m finding, though, that with the change in our circumstances since I now have a fully-retired husband, I’m saving money while at the same time finding myself dashing to and fro to pick up what’s on our list and heading back out to the car. Jim has never been a shopper; he’s always hated it, but with so much time on his hands during the day now, he wants to go with me on every errand that needs to be run in town. Many times, he just waits in the car for me, so the “leisure” has been completely taken out of any shopping I now do and it is so frustrating to try and find the things I want in a hurry and not being able to find them. The hot summer days will soon be here. I never even take our dogs with me and leave them in the car when I go into town on errands, so something’s going to have to change. (Do they give tickets for leaving husbands in hot cars?)

Ok… I don’t want to make it sound as though I don’t enjoy my husband’s company. We have been trying out different restaurants and enjoying one or two lunches together each week when we have appointments or errands to do in town. And, our schedules are so open that we are usually able to go to our great-grandkids’ dance recitals and t-ball games, play bingo at the local granges and the Elks Club in Eugene and, on the occasional weekend, head to Seven Feathers for a few hours of recreation. Vacations and short trips are being planned, but we’re waiting for the sunnier weather to embark on those. I’m now the “designated driver”—someone who has never really enjoyed driving before. I was always the one content to sit back and enjoy the scenery while he drove, but Jim’s finding that he loves the role-reversal.

While at home, I am still trying to get some writing in when I can… I’m working on another book. Jim’s trying to develop interests that will give him things to do now that his life’s work in the grocery business and ranching are behind him. For now, we enjoy the antics of our pets and watching the birds flock to the feeders we’ve set out or the little wild rabbits romping around in the tall grass we haven’t been able to mow in the backyard lately. Life in retirement has taken on a type of comfort in each other’s company that we didn’t experience when we were both busy doing our own things. It’s different and the transition hasn’t always been easy, but I believe that we all need to accept change, because it’s going to happen anyway.

Happiness comes from adapting and seeing the positives in life.

Sweet Lorane Community News, May 5, 2022

May 5, 2022Newspaper Columns, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fern Ridge-Tribune News
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
May 5, 2022
By Pat Edwards

Well, I feel like we’re living in Oregon again. This spring, with all of its spring rains interspersed by a few warmer, sunny days, seems familiar. We haven’t had one of these in awhile and although I’m not a huge fan of long strings of wet, rainy days when I’m wanting to get out and work in the yard, I’m thankful that maybe this might mean that we won’t be experiencing drought conditions this summer. Fingers crossed.

Yesterday, it was 73 degrees and I ventured outside in shirt sleeves to clean out the bird feeders I had left out over the winter. I brought them in, cleaned them up and took them outside again for the birds that I knew had been waiting for them for quite some time. I really neglected my little feathered friends this year, I’m afraid. It didn’t take them long to find the feeders and there were a lot of Black-headed Grosbeaks, House Finches and Sparrows enjoying the fresh food this morning. I need to get my hummingbird feeder out today.

For me, and for many of my friends, one of the biggest perks of being on the verge of becoming an octogenarian is the joy that having so many young great grandchildren, living close-by, brings to our lives. The transition that comes with aging and, in our case, the sale of the business that we had for over 44 years, has seemed a bit difficult to transcend. Accepting the limitations that infirmities put on us as well as dealing with the times that we are living in is not easy.

But fortunately, several years ago, with the arrival of our first great-grandbabies (they now number 12), I turned one of our extra bedrooms into a playroom for the littles. I equipped it with a miniature bright-blue card table with red, blue, green and yellow folding chairs for putting puzzles together or looking at books. They also have a well-used easel with a blackboard and eraser on which they practice their writing and artwork and I’ve filled it with toys and stuffed animals that they love to play with. Their favorites are an antique wooden dog pull toy that has obediently followed each of the kids around the whole house over the years; then there’s the toy “popcorn-popper” on wheels that is pushed over the same routes. “Rock ‘n Roll Elmo” and Gi-Gi, as they all call me, have taught many one year olds how to dance along with Elmo’s music to be had with a push of the red button. They’ve learned to fit stars and squares and ovals into the correct holes in a plastic ball while honing their hand-eye coordination skills and watched their little battery-operated car bump into Gi-Gi’s toes. Papa (Jim) has a fitness vibrating deck that they love to stand on while listening to their little voices, singing and vibrating “Aaaah…!” Giggles are contagious.

Because each of our littles have multiple grandparents and great-grandparents, Jim and I are “Gi-Gi” and “Papa” to them—or more correctly, for a couple of them, we are now combined to a singular “Gigipapa.” We’re told that when passing our house or even the intersection that leads to our house in a car, they point to it, exclaiming “Gigipapa’s house!”

“Huddie Buddy”aka Hudson Scott Haxby

While on a weekend outing to the coast with his family, our little great-grandson, Hudson, who won’t be two years old until late July, surprised his parents by pointing out every car in the parking lot that had a Ford emblem on it—and even as they passed a Ford dealership in Newport—by excitedly saying “Gigipapa!” We have a Ford Edge, so apparently all things Ford are “Gigipapa” in his eyes.

So, our blessings are spilling over the top. Those big smiles and excited hugs we get in greeting from each of them as they come over to visit before heading straight back to the playroom, make up for so much of the other “stuff” of life.

Harper, Shiloh, Cora and Hayden Furlong

Hudson and Sawyer Haxby

 

 

 

 

 

Calliope Stevens

 

Axel and Cieran Wilson

 

 

 

 

 

Kai and Landon Mulder (with parents, Bethany and Cameron Mulder)

 

 

 

 

 

And, for those who have been wondering, Jim and I—just the two of us—have made plans to fly to Boston in late September where we will take an 8-day “Fall-color” bus tour of the New England states. It’s a first step in the beginning of our full retirement, and we’re going to make the most of it, by golly, knowing that there will be a lot of hugs waiting for us upon our return.