The lovely, the bad & the ugly...and the hopeful

Let me start with the warm fuzzies. Tonight I hosted my parents, my sister and her family, my brother in law's family and a family friend at my cabin for an evening of yummy North African & Middle Eastern treats. I made fish curry couscous and Shelly, Sam's sister, brough all sorts of goodies from the Jerusalem Deli in Greensboro. We had hummas, pita, spanakopita, dolmas & baklava. My sister brought a blintz casserole and a fabulous salad. It was fun and laughter and warmth. Kali, my blue heeler mix, mooched LOTS of food including about half a loaf of challah. I lit a path of candles from the top of the driveway to the big front porch. Inside, the cabin glowed with flowers and candles in every room. It was really fun. So, THIS is what it is like to have family in one's life. I've never ever had this before as an adult and I'm really enjoying it. Everyone ate to their heart's content and then just visited and hung out. It was so much fun for me, especially since I absolutely love cooking for people and entertaining. Tonight was kind of a warm-up for my niece's Bat Mitzvah coming up in September.

Unfortunately, Mom wasn't there. She has been having some very scary blood pressure spikes. Last night at around 11pm, we ended up calling 911 from the hotel. They brought her to Mission Hospital in Asheville with my dad sitting up front in the cab. Lots of tests and waiting. We finally got home around 4am. She was admitted but then discharged late this afternoon. She stayed back at the hotel and rested. I am worried about her health and wonder how they are going to get home all the way back to Wilmington, over 350 miles.

Prior to that, we all enjoyed dinner at Asiana buffet. Are you noticing the food theme here??

Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from the man who fancies himself the reining king of Catahoulas, Don Abney. Honestly, I don't want to rehash the whole conversation but, Lord, that man is pompous. As the head of COBRA (Catahoula Owners, Breeders & Research Association) he was trying to broker a resolution between myself and the people from Chaos Catahoulas who refused to take Chinook back when his aggression finally became too much to handle (for more info on this subject, read back in the blog to the dozen or so entries about the heartache and torment I experienced with that puppy). I made complaints to the BBB, the WI State Attorney General's Office, the National Association of Louisiana Catahoulas (who have not responded yet) and Don's organization, COBRA. The whole thing was very upsetting with him essentially being blaming, accusing, rude and demeaning. Really, he ought to consider meds & therapy with that nger problem. After ignoring my request for COBRA support, I got an email yesterday trying to get me to sign up for one of his classes! That was what brought this whole thing up again - I asked him to remove me from his list since I had not received the support I needed from them. In the end, he told me that b/c I had not euthanized Chinook that he did not believe I was entitled to any money back and that in order to do so, I had to promise and provide documentation of putting Chinook down. Well, he's not an attorney, a judge, a god or even a demi-god. I will say that if you can wade through the muck, he was making an effort to help, albeit in a somewhat self-serving way.

On a happier note, I talked to Derek (not his real name) in Tennessee who's got Chinook now. He's just starting to learn to be a cow dog and, according to Derek, is doing quite well. He's had no behavior problems with him at all. Granted, he doesn't have that much interaction with other humans and is being kept separate from the other dogs for now. It sounds promising and I am hopeful. I plan to go out and see him next month. Incidentally, I intend to contribute to the cost of his upkeep. I am so very grateful to Derek. Thank you.