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The Dreaming

Last night I dreamt very clearly about Bernadette coming home. She was lurking at the door and we had to lure her in with treats. She was perfectly healthy but without her collar. Once inside, she was a happy purring girl just like she’s always been. I held her in my arms and cried with happiness. That’s all I remember.

Why is my mind torturing me like this? What do these dreams mean? Is it just my wishful thinking? Are they prophetic? Is it a message to me from beyond that Bernie is OK?

If only dreams would come true…

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Bernadette the Great Striped Huntress

I’d say it’s clear that we’ve lost Bernie. I’ve already written about her in this post, so I won’t go through that again. That post is her eulogy – as much as it pains me to say that.

I still hold a tiny bit of hope that she’s still ok, maybe lost and being someone else’s feral cat. But I just don’t know. I’ve been missing her intensely since we returned from our trip. I guess I’d been hoping that she’d magically turn up while we were gone. Silly, I know. But she didn’t and it’s been about 6 weeks at this point.

I’ve been trying to console myself with the thought that if it was something bad it was quick and if she’s lost there’s someone feeding her.

That’s some hard candy consolation, I can tell you.

Bernie was a very sweet girl who made my life brighter. She will always have a special place in my heart. Bye, my girl. I miss you. :-(

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Headlines from the world and my yard

So, the first attack has happened at the Olympics in China. There will probably be more. China was a very bad choice in the first place: pollution, being Communists, crazy peasants with knives, etc., etc. Just boycott the Games this year. Don’t watch them, don’t pay any attention at all. It was dumb for the IOC to choose China and they certainly should not get any support for that decision.

When I was reading the China story I caught another headline about the comedian Bernie Mac dying. Wow. He was only 50. He’s not my fave or anything, but he was very young.

In other, brighter news, my wild bird population has returned to the buffets and the baby making continues. I’ve got about a dozen cardinals including several fledglings and at least a dozen house finches with fledglings. I’ve also spotted a mourning dove fledgling or two. The doves are hard to spot because they all look the same – even babies! I’ve learned that the babies have rougher looking feathers (as all fledglings do) and no head markings at all. I also have a female Ruby Throat hummingbird partaking of the feeder and the lantana to prepare for her journey to South America. Did you know that hummers double their weight prior to their trek? They fly 500 miles STRAIGHT when they cross the Gulf of Mexico. Cool, huh?

I still miss my Bernadette. She was such an integral part of my backyard.  Damn it sucks to have a pet disappear. :-(

Today is about taqueria work. I’ve got to get a bunch of invoices coded and enter a butt ton of checks. I almost got Quickbooks to enter a deposit! It added the money, but called it a check rather than a deposit. ::sigh:: That program really bugs the SHIT out of me. Why it’s so difficult to put in a damn deposit is beyond me. Anyway. Gotta get exercised and on to the task.

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Cultural notes from the trip

First up is food. I tell you, being Southern really does affect how you view food. This is not the first time I’ve looked at a party buffet and thought “Where’s the food?” but this time was the most extreme. At the family cookout, there were 13 people in attendance and they grilled only 4# of beef and 2 chickens. Which would be barely OK if everyone hadn’t wanted the beef. To top that off, the “buffet” was one small bowl (I’m talking SOUP bowl here, folks) of baked beans and one of potato salad. Everyone was taking about 2 oz of beef and about a tablespoon of beans and salad. !! I was about to panic! How can you make 4# of beef for 13 people??!! In ANY cookbook they’ll tell you about a half pound for each person, which puts us at twice that amount real quick. It’s always odd to me to attend any sort of function where there is not enough food for an army. I know it’s a Southern thang, but DAMN, it just seems, well, chintzy to scrimp on the chow. There’s always time for doggie bags! That’s MY motto!

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The Rest of Nick and Angela’s Big CA Trip

After Comic-Con, we took Amtrak up to San Luis Obispo to visit Nick’s Godmother and her hubby. Amtrak is pleasant, but very slow. You can take on food, drinks, whatever, and the seats are very comfy. As we were waiting to board in San Diego, there was a big earthquake up in Chino – Nick felt it, but sadly, I did not. It was just a small ripple in San Diego, but it was big enough to cause Amtrak to travel at about 20mph all the way up to L.A. so they could check the tracks in front of the train. Amtrak trains travel at about 55mph most of the time despite the trains being rated for 89mph top speed. We finally arrived at SLO around 9:30pm. (Why this country can’t get behind high speed rail, I’ll NEVER understand.) As slow as it is, Amtrak beats the SHIT out of flying as far as comfort and hassle goes.

The visit with Nick’s godmother was great. Thanks to Lorie and Chuck for putting us up and treating us to a lovely dinner. We hopped back aboard Amtrak for the trip up to Walnut Creek CA for the family reunion. Once again, Amtrak was late to the destination – but it was not their fault: some moron left a shopping cart on the tracks and when the train struck it, a hose was knocked loose. It took about 30 minutes to fix.

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