Buper Sowl Sunday

I know the football season is over - strange how it ended with the Chargers last game - but I had the most vivid dream last night. Jay made Kahlil and I go to see some strange game at a co-worker's house. Shannon, his wife (Angie) and son (Nathan) were great to invite people to see the Super Bowl. We got there about 8:30, which is pretty close to Kahlil's bed time. Kahlil didn't seem to mind though. He had a great time running around the house looking at all the cool stuff. Nathan did a great job of keeping an eye on Kahlil and keeping him entertained. Angie had made some wonderful chicken legs and there was plenty of chips and beer for all.

Some other folks were there... Carrie H. and her parents, Joe and Nancy, and Jim W. Joe is a longtime Bears fan, so this game was pretty important to him. He settled onto the couch and was ready for the night.

Kickoff here was about 11:30... far after Kahlil's bedtime. By kickoff Kahlil was cuddling with Jay or me and looking pretty sleepy. I laid with him on the floor at the back of the room and he dozed off. But then the game got going and there was some cheering every now and then - did I mention Joe is a BIG Bears fan? Anyway Kahlil moved in and out of sleep for a couple hours. By the start of the fourth quarter the game was looking pretty decided in the Colts favor. Even though the room had quieted, Kahlil was still not really sleeping. So we packed up and headed home. It was close to three by the time the three of us were in bed. Like I said, it was a very vivid dream.

Needless to say we all got a late start this morning. Luck for me, I got to take a long nap with Kahlil this afternoon.

We had a great time spending some time with other Americans. We had fun talking about some of our more unique experiences here. And we all voiced frustrations over our laundry appliances. I really feel bad for Joe; I know how it feels to have your team lose the most important game of the year. Of course his loss was a little worse.

Some good and bad news from home.

First the good... or maybe just news. Soft Star is having a big web sale in the month of February. I feel bad I'm not there to help but all those Corvallis Elves have been doing a great job of getting all those shoes packed and shipped around the world. If you need a shower gift, now is the time to stock up! http://www.softstarshoes.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=25

Now the bad... but getting better. My old horse, Ridge, has been on my mind lately. Now I know why. I got an e-mail just about an week ago from a woman in California. She asked if I was the same person on the Jockey Club papers for a twenty year old, gray, Thoroughbred that she had recently acquired. I was so happy to hear from Ridge's new owner! I replied back and said that I was and was excited to hear how he was doing.

Turns out the woman I sold him to was not what she said. She said she was in the Thoroughbred rescue business and she had a good record of placing horse in loving homes. She gave Ridge to a horse trader who then took him to the stockyard to be sold to a slaughterhouse. Luck for Ridge, a wonderful woman, Debi Locke, could tell Ridge was in the wrong place. She out bid the two slaughterhouses bidding on him. She took him home and he seemed to be doing well for a bit. Then it became apparent Ridge was having problems urinating. Turns out he has kidney stones. Debi doesn't have the means to pay for the operation needed to correct this issue. That is were Katie Moore, the woman who contacted me, comes in. She had Ridge shipped to her place in California and set up a charity to collect money for Ridge's operation and recovery. Ridge got down to California at the end of January and is settling in well. His surgery will be scheduled soon. You can follow his progress here: http://www.horsehomepages.com/watermarkfarm/

I feel awful for what happened to Ridge and I'm SO grateful to Debi and Katie for finding and caring for Ridge. I'm also thankful to the guardian angle that must have been with him that day at the stockyard. Katie invited me to come see him and I'm thinking about it when we get home.