Silly Schnauzers

Both Schnauzers had their birthdays in the past month. We are now officially a home full of geriatric animals. The youngest is, of course, Churro but she isn't technically ours as she is on loan from mom-in-law. Lily is now 13, Piper is 16 and Trudy is 17.

Our veterinarian decided suddenly to retire so I have spent most of today interviewing new vets and trying to find a kind and compassionate place to discuss end-of-life plans for Trudy. While we have little reason to think that Trudy is going anywhere, there are small signs each day that she is slowing down. She isn't as active, she is grumpier than normal, and her dementia is getting harder to manage. The reality is setting in that we need to prepare...

The other dogs have been quite patient and kind towards Trudy, considering her ailment. We all have our moments of reacting poorly but overall the other dogs look out for Trudy and try to help her or at least stay out of the way.

Sweet Lily

Trudy in the Springtime

Fighting over who gets the blanket

Boney little Trudy. This sweet girl just keeps hanging on.

Those back legs just aren't working the way they used to.

Piper likes to take a shower with me every morning, than sun herself afterwards.

She is a horribly, nasty cat but sometimes she can be adorable.

Can you believe she weighs 5 lbs? Tiniest old cat I have ever met.

Happy Birthday Trudy!

Trudy celebrated her "Sweet" 16th Birthday on July 26th. Getting her to this ripe old age has been a true labor of love and one that we continue to arduously pursue each day. She was diagnosed just a few weeks ago with doggie dementia. Just like with humans, our medical interference has allowed her body to grow old beyond its expectations but we are now seeing the consequences with her mind. She is on a special dementia medication that works about 50% of the time in dogs. Our vet (and probably everyone else in our lives) thinks we are nuts but she deserves every chance for a happy and healthy life! We love you T-Bear!

For those curious what doggie dementia looks like:

• Getting lost in the yard or in the house, can't find their way around familiar furniture
• Pacing and wondering, starring at random spots for long periods of time
• Sleeps heavily during the day and paces at night (Sundown syndrome)
• Easily startled, scared and shaky, does not recognize familiar people or pets
• Potties in the house, forgets commands/rituals they used to know

Silly Schnauzers

This is so ridiculous and adorable!

Still wasn't sure after surgery if the tongue was going to be permanent...

But now we know that it is!

Trudy + bed + blanket = camouflage

Churro vs. Piper competing for sunshine, I'll let you guess who won. (Hint: it was Piper)

Still such a puppy despite her 11 years

Lily hiding in Churro's kennel because she hates when we use power tools

Madam President

At the beginning of the year, the President of the "Friends" non-profit I volunteer with announced that due to health concerns he would not be running for re-election. This left the organization with a huge problem, as we are quite a small board and have a small contingent of members. After much contemplation, discussion and research, Hubs and I decided this was a challenge I should accept.

For two months, I slowly picked up more and more responsibility with the "Friends" group and still donated a ton of time doing overnights at Evergreen. I quickly realized there would be no way to volunteer with both groups, so I made a choice. I officially said goodbye to Evergreen and was voted in as the President of the Friends of Historic Champoeg on the same weekend.

It has already been a rollercoaster ride full of changes and unexpected road blocks but I am challenging myself to handle them with dignity and grace. We have a great staff, some wonderful board members and supportive Park staff which will make the next 2 years an interesting adventure!

Dogs vs. Wild Part II

Back in September of 2014 I posted about all the wildlife our dogs have been introduced to since moving to Oregon. This includes: squirrels, deer, moles and opossums (2 of these have been in Lily's mouth -- you guess which ones?) All of these animals live on our property in one way or another and our newest tenant to move in is: a rabbit! She is very sweet, is out exploring quite a bit and will stay out as long as the dogs don't bark at her.

Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center (ZWCC Sloth Sanctuary)

For Hubby's birthday I decided to surprise him with a visit to a sloth sanctuary right here in Oregon. For those of you who didn't know, sloths are Matt's favorite animal! ZWCC provides a safe environment for hundreds of sloths at their 100 acre home. On weekends they open this special place to the public for a fee. It is a fee well worth paying as all of the proceeds go to caring for these unique and endangered animals. The room we entered this afternoon had approximately 10 sloths inside varying in adult age (no babies). We fed them cucumber and pet them for about 40 minutes before our encounter was over. This sanctuary isn't just for sloths either, they also have rescued primates, wolves and cat-like carnivores. Very cool experience indeed!

Notice the wound on the sloth's hand...

this little guy got in a fight over a female.

All the ladies begging for a snack

All the sloths woke up for an afternoon treat

Sweet boy who would also let you kiss him.

Such an amazing animal!

I couldn't help but smile during our visit. These animals are so fun and gentle!

Bed time

Cobra Helicopter Visit (includes video)

Hands-down one of the coolest things about working at the museum are the visits from our active duty military, especially the helicopter crews! I have now met Army Blackhawk, Coast Guard and Army Cobra crews. 4 Cobras landed at the museum on June 16 around lunch time. I was teaching  at the museum that day and took the opportunity to show my students what awesome American power looks like!

Happy New Year!!

2014 Phillips Family Year in Review

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the things we wanted to accomplish this past year and see if any of them actually happened:

Hopes for 2014!

1.  Go on another dig (Yes -- here)

2.  Go to a convention or two -- Nope

3.  Travel and see new places (Yes -- here)

4.  Finish my Hepcat model (Yes -- here)

5.  Get the Spruce Goose to fly (we tried -- here)

6.  Have a wood insert installed in the fireplace (Yes -- here)

7.  Entertain more and have more visitors over to the house (Yes)
     We did this! We had Mitch and Joy, Dan and Amy, Matt's friend Brett and my friend Marlane over

8.  Work on the yard and plant a garden -- Nope

9.  Reach my goal weight (only a few more pounds...) (Yes)
     Did it! But put those few pounds back on during the holidays. Still a success!
10.  Find a church that we really like -- Nope

11.  Have a healthy and happy little furry family in our teeny tiny little house! :-) (Yes)
       Trudy was only broken once this year and the other animals did very well, so I consider this a victory!
12.  Due to popular request: Visit the Hudsons in CA!! (Yes -- here)

Things We Did but Didn't Plan On

1.  Saved and returned a dog to its home

2.  Went sledding for the first time

3.  Did lots of crafting and DIY stuff

4.  Almost died from mold and found out I am missing a sinus

5.  Became Vice President of a non-profit organization

6.  Lots of home improvements

7.  Threw Mitch an 80th birthday party

8.  Saw an F-22 Raptor fly!

9.  Went to an Arizona Football game (BEAR DOWN!)

10.  Matt ran a marathon! (He planned on it, but didn't include it in our "hopes" above)

11.  Got a full time job and became a teacher @ my favorite museum!

12.  My sister came to visit me!!!

Hopes for 2015!

1. Go to a convention or two

2. Work on the yard and plant a garden

3. Find a church we really like

4. Watch less television

5. Give back to our local police department

6. Run a 5K (K) and run another marathon (M)

7. Reach my goal weight -- again

8. Buy a new car

9. Get a new area rug for the living room

10. Pay off my credit card (almost there....)

11. Continue doing home improvements

12. Continue to have a healthy and happy little furry family in our teen, tiny little cabin!

May 2015 be as restful as Trudy sleeping with a pegasus!

Madam Vice President

A few months ago it came to our attention that the Friends of Historic Champoeg non-profit group was thinking about dissolving. With the dissolution would likely be the end of the Promise Program I had been teaching with. There was an emergency meeting where people from all over offered to help and contribute and thus created a new board of directors -- of which I was one. Last night we had our first board meeting with all the new board members and I was voted in as Vice President. So, in addition to being a teacher with the organization, I am also an executive officer. I am humbled, worried and excited about the year to come!

Daisy Duck is All Grown Up

Last week I visited Mitch and his wife out at their house where I also had the opportunity to visit Daisy. I cannot believe how much she has grown! In just a few short months she has gone from adorable yellow duckling to a beautiful full grown duck. The family is still debating about what to do with her as they have grown rather attached to her and she to them. :-)

Mitch Saved a Duckling

My "adoptive" grandparents, Mitch and Joy, bought a new house about 6 months ago in a very nice retirement community surrounded by wildlife. They have been keeping an eye on a not-so-good mother duck for the past few months, she spent very little time attending to her eggs and was gone a lot. Well, she was such a bad mom that after her ducklings were born 3 of the 4 didn't make it because they fell over a waterfall (I know, sad!). Mitch worked hard to find and save the last remaining baby which is now living in their garage until it gets big enough to move out to the pond. I introduce to you, Daisy, the cutest and quickest baby duck you will ever meet!

Helpless Doesn't Mean Worthless: UPDATED AGAIN

I dropped off some flyers to Carrie yesterday so she could help us canvas the neighborhood for the dog's owner. She texted this morning with some amazing news! She found the owner! Apparently her boss was walking by her desk when he saw the flyer. He recognized the dog immediately and called the owner, who is his friend. The owner was so happy and relieved! Apparently they were out for a walk when Bailey wandered away. She follows voice command and doesn't wear a collar because she hates them and chews them right off. They say they have been looking for her for over a week and were very worried. The owner is going to pick her up this afternoon.

A very happy ending indeed!!

Updated 1/24/14:

I received a message from the shelter yesterday that the dog Carrie and I found has not yet been reunited with her family. I decided to stop in to visit the pup this morning on the way to Evergreen. The volunteers say she is doing well but she is still very scared, probably because she is blind and it is so noisy with all the other dogs there. She is obviously house-trained because she always waits to go potty until the morning when they let her outside. Unfortunately, she only has about two weeks more before the shelter will have to "decide what to do with her". I asked them if it was a money issue, as Hubby and I would be happy to provide her with toys, food, and blankets if that is what she needs. The volunteer said it is about space in the facility, not money.

Only two weeks to find her family or a new home! In an effort to expedite getting her home I posted a lost/found ad on Craigslist here and Hubby made some flyers to put up.

The shelter asked me if I could swing by the U-Haul store right near where we found her and see if they had any information. The man behind the counter quickly shooed me away, claiming he hadn't seen "that particular dog" before. I sense deception!

This is Bailey!

Original Post Date: 1/18/14

I was driving to Evergreen yesterday when I noticed a woman trying to corral a dog along the side of the road. She was on her cellphone and looked a tad stressed. I parked and walked across the street to see if I could give her a hand. She exclaimed, "Oh thank God, dozens of people have honked and been irritated but no one has helped. This dog is blind and I don't know what to do." I offered to stay with the old dog while she ran to get a leash from her work. She called the animal shelter to get advice and than asked if I would be willing to take the dog to the shelter since the animal officer wasn't on duty. I agreed and we, with much difficulty and threat of harm, got this poor old, blind dog over to the truck. Poor girl was terrified and obviously had never had a leash on before. However, she jumped right in the truck and curled up near the heater.

I arrived at the animal shelter and knocked on the door and was wonderfully greeted by two volunteers. They got all the equipment they would need to get the dog out of the truck and eventually got her out and into an indoor kennel. The police arrived (-- I know, weird, they take their stray animals quite seriously around here! --) and took my "statement" and said they would attempt to find the dog's owner. Wow! The volunteers let me see where the blind dog was being housed and gave me a tour of the facility.

Before leaving I provided my name, address and phone number to the shelter so that I can stay up to date on what happens with the dog. I made sure they understood to call me before they make any life or death decisions regarding this pup. I was certain that when push came to shove, my Hubby and I couldn't let this old, blind dog get euthanized simply because she was helpless. I truly hope that this sweet pooch and her family are reunited very soon!

Before heading to Evergreen, I dropped off the leash to Carrie, the woman who originally found the dog. I updated her on what happened and that the dog made it safely to the shelter. She hugged me and thanked me for being such a loving person! She is the amazing lady who originally stopped, I just leant a hand. :-)

I urge all of you, don't hesitate to stop and help whenever you get a chance! My heart is filled with gratitude and happiness today for having this experience and for meeting a group of truly amazing people!!

A special thank you to Carrie, Newberg Animal Control and the Newberg Police Department! You were all amazing!

Happy Birthday USMC!

Evergreen celebrated the 238th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps on Friday. Fun was had by all as we witnessed the passing of the cake (and tradition) from the oldest Marine born in 1930 to the youngest Marine who will enter boot camp in February. Poor kid was overwhelmed by all the attention and advice! 

Happy birthday and thank you to all past, present and future Marines! Oohrah!

Living History Week

This past week was Living History Week at Evergreen. This is the second annual event which brings high school students from around the Willamette Valley into the museum to listen to first-hand experiences of our veterans. The overarching theme this year was thanking our POWs, in particular we honored the survivors of the Bataan Death March, of which 16 were able to make the journey. It was a beautiful and memorable experience!

Mass Effect 3

Tom and Curtis, do not read this post if you haven't finished Mass Effect 3 yet!!

Do you remember back in March when I completely lost my mind because they ended Mass Effect 3 in the most stupid and ridiculous way possible? In case you forgot, here you go. Well, I played it again (actually I played 1, 2 and 3 again back to back) after Bioware released a patch which included an extended and updated ending. It isn't perfect, but OMG it is so much better than it was before. It doesn't solve my biggest grievance which is that everyone had the same ending but it did at least answer what happened to the crew you have been working with for 3 games. I have to give Bioware some credit for listening to the fans and doing the right thing.

Happy Birthday USMC!!

Every year Evergreen celebrates the awesomeness that is the USMC! Today we sat, drank coffee, talked and enjoyed the company of many Marines and their families. Thank you to all Marines who have, do or someday will serve this great nation. We can never repay you for all that you give.