LiamLicks

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Pandemic Project Number 1, Done, before Phase 1

MY MOM HAS PANDEMIC PROJECT

I finished one pandemic project

Went through1300 slides

Culled out my deemed worthy 250

Shared with the family as I went

as the weeks went on, the numbers of viewers grew

I have a family FB PM chat group and occasionally shared with friends and family via text

I shared by taking iPhone photos of 1x1 inch slides thru a 2x2 inch viewer

It worked for a temp solution and having people on the current journey

The following collage has photos of the project room
the slides share the table with our GoT 4D puzzle
in the center you will see the legacy box sizes

Digital companies are vying for my business

Waiting for the best offer

I have my slides in the carts of 3different companies

I was told to wait for 60% off

They are now up to 40% from 20% and 15%

I will share via a link when digitization done

My parents documented all events and no one else has what I have

The slides are

My legacy

as well as the Ancestry tree I created

With thousands of entries

my gift to all

I told the family since I did not reproduce

Ancestry

and the slide digitization

are my contribution

to future generations

as are our Ancestry relatives

Plus now through Ancestry

we have the second McNiff family

joining in...my grandpa James McNiff had two families

one in NY and one in RI

Many more McNiffs

And we all

Look alike

Many dimples

short

blondes

we have connected

I was praised by a dear friend for my work

Our text exchange

Great work Carol.

Few can match your dedication once you commit

me-Being an addictive personality is an asset in some activities

The slides begin in 1949 with my parents, Ruth and Charlie on their Catalina honeymoon

They eloped on 1/20/49

The slides end in 1974

unknown to them Ruth's younger brother eloped the same weekend

I am familiar with some

of the photos and was looking to see them again

The ones I selected here are from the fifties and sixties

Below is a collage of some I have been delighted in rediscovering

Clockwise...starting with the large photo...

Carol, parakeet, Buddy Boy, on my glasses, sister Lois 1955

Now the minis, top right down

Carol, with my real life doll, Lois and Howdy Doody...1955

-Grandpa Mickey Coughlin Carol 1954

Cousins on the couch to the right, father Charlie in the middle

Lois, Carol Sharon, cousins 1961

Highlands NJ

Lois Carol Ruth

cousins Wedding 1966

Easter1965...I dyed my hair black

The slides show a life with a lot of Summer on the Jersey shore

a family tradition from my mother's childhood.

The Highlands

Asbury Park,

Point Pleasant

Atlantic City

I know I passed Bruce Springsteen at Asbury Park on my 9th birthday

We did not have a car so getting to these places was not easy.

We spent a lot of time at the Port Authority Bus Terminal,

and the start of any trip involved a bus and subway from our apt. in Flushing.

Our 1965 trip to Block Island RI took almost a day. Train, bus, ferry....hours, Amtrak, swimming

LIAM DEVELOPED A GREY BEARD THINKING OF THE TRAVEL TIME

The slide journey showed trips to Europe and all over the US. As I said above, we did not own a car but my father Charlie worked for TWA so we flew for free.

I am enjoying the slide trips and I am looking for a photo
I had it in my mind for 58 years
what was it?
In 1962 I attended the opening of the TWA "bird" terminal with my father.
here is the link if you don't know of it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_Center

the TWA family affectionately called it the bird

our SSA group has planned an outing to the TWA center which opened as a Hotel and a kinda museum

see link
https://www.twahotel.com/

The photo.
It was there.
A photo I had not seen since 1962.
My mother had told me it was time for a print dress for this special occasion.
I did not know 'til years later that she gave up her spot for me.
I LOVED that dress
here I am at 12.
I even had bows in my hair.
Orange anklets.
white flats
See the old TWA plane behind me!

AT TWA FLIGHT CENTER OPENING 1962

I now have many print dresses. My faves have been purchased at

The Farmer's Market in Fort Pierce Fl

I think all of them are a homage to my first print dress

Here I am with one of my evocative TWA type dresses.

left 12 year old me, right current time 2020

Ah, this one photo was worth the entire pandemic project of 1300 slides

We had difficulty getting my father off the couch in the early sixties and so Mom Ruth traveled.

Italy1961

Ruth was brave and fearless. She went to Italy by herself.

Holland and London 1965

She took my sister and I to London and Holland. An 11 and 14 year old. I remember hearing Ticket to Ride at Heaththrow airport. Beatles invasion.

Ireland 1967

In Ireland our tour guide in Killarney commented how fortunate we were to be "well

to do" Americans... able to travel. I disabused the guide of this notion. I told him we lived in a city housing project, did not own a car and both my parents had to work to support us.
Ouch.
Got him.
Ruthless

Portugal 1971

Our trip to Portugal was memorable because my father left his wallet home. In those days there were no credit cards, at least not for us and we barely survived the week on our pooled $100 among the 4 of us.

We rebelliously bought sombreros at the airport with our remaining escudos (Portuguese currency in the '60s) and wore them on the plane home.
We did not allow my father to buy one
he was known as El Cheapo
thereafter

MOM, ARE WE DONE YET?

and then it was time to pick a company

I chose Legacy because a friend had sent her slides off to them recently

also

Legacy is what I am doing

got it for 40%

of course I now have an offer for 50%

following explicit procedures

I packed 10 groups of 25 slides into zip locks, labeled them as instructed and sent them off

mine was the medium size box

I have received a notice they arrived in Texas

check out the collage for procedure and info

The slide journey was a reliving of my entire early life

I marvel at the team dedication of my two Capricorn parents (Dec 25th and January 1) Both participated in those early decades

my mother's cursive and my father's printing adorning each slide and box

showing love of family, respect for history and promotion of travel as a life enhancement

and celebrating

the exploration of places and the recordation of history exponentially expands one's life view understanding of others

I loved them more and understood them more

and I know Ruth gave me the guts to travel solo

MOM, IT IS DONE, RIGHT?

Woof, Woof

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Bottomless Pit

5 Sec Introduction The sun sets and dinner is put on the table. The whole family gathers around, sharing stories of their day and enjoying a happy and hearty meal. Soon enough, your family dog sneaks up next to your side, drooling, and begging you for a bite of your meal, even though they just ate their own meal. It is as if your dog has not eaten in days. You give him a few nibbles, and still, it isn't enough, even after he already ate dinner. It feels as if your food is better than his. When we understand how our dog’s body works, we can understand how their body act and what food they need.

Read more at: https://wagwalking.com/behavior/why-dogs-like-human-food

Liam is not a pit.
He is 4 dogs in one, Dachshund, Beagle, Dalmatian, Irish Setter. The first two may be the breeds that contribute to him being bottomless.
Have you heard of the idiomatic expression bottomless pit?

See link
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bottomless+pit

a bottomless pit

1. A person who is always hungry. Her teenage son was like a bottomless pit as he devoured every last bit of food in the house.

2. A situation that requires a seemingly endless amount of money or resources. With all the money and time we've sunk into repairs for the roof, windows, and foundation, this house has become a bottomless pit.

3. The cause or source of something, typically something difficult or problematic. Everything is going wrong lately, like challenges are coming from a bottomless pit or something

The first bolded meaning would be our dog Liam

looking kind of like this when in full on bottomless pit mode

We heard the two words bottomless pit said often in our home. Who was the bottomless pit? Not sure. Maybe it was a reference to our love of food... whose? I asked my sister. She said our mother had many expressions...okay...let it lay.

Back to first born Liam He likes his food and ours.. He is not a problem eater. We do not willingly share our food. He wants it. Watches its preparation and then approaches to get it.

here is the Saturday night special Taco casserole scenario.

left

Watching. waiting, and looking

top right the meal, already dug into by the parents

Liam ready to partake...lower right

another example. We found a recipe in a recent NYTimes pullout devoted to one pan meals...see collage below. The sausage dog was excited. After all sausage is him. Lower right is cooked, left is prep.

there are other ways to approach and Liam has tried them all

if he does not get anything,,,,he barks and barks and barks
he can go for quite a long time

and then we race after him

I move my dish to the peninsula

I go in the den and lock the door
we then crack and fill his bowl with dog food

Then he gets more of his own food

again

and again

why does he want so much?
the following article offers a description and ideas

https://www.petful.com/pet-health/why-does-my-dog-always-want-food/

excerpt
"Have you ever had a canine companion that seems to be constantly sniffing around the kitchen? Lurking around the table when you’re eating? Shadowing you about until you start to hear the theme music from Jaws run through your head?
I bet that a lot of us dog caretakers have felt that way — some dogs just never seem satisfied with the feeding that they’re getting and want more and more and…well, you get the idea.
If you find that you’re feeding your dog regularly and yet he is still gazing at you with soulful (and hungry) eyes, it may be time to consider what is causing this behavior.

The Hoover

"It may be that your dog is just a darn ol’ glutton. Some dogs are and will hoover up anything if they are given the chance. Things like dropped food, cat food, other dogs’ food and, yes, the dreaded cat litter (ew!) are all considered edible.
A full tummy is not a strong deterrent—especially when it comes to people food. Your dog knows that what you’re eating is much yummier than the kibble you’re dumping in his bowl, and he won’t miss a chance to get some of the good stuff!"

and the 50% of Liam's genes that are hound...contribute

And he is part of the family...the pack

we thwart him and he defaults to hammering his food can and then waiting in the food position right

does it impact our lives to the point of doing something

It did this week when Liam reached his all time high of 42 pounds
There will be a change
no extra bowls of food
no cheese sprinkled on his dog food
licking of siggi yogurt cup will be allowed

FOOD BETTER BE COMING

FOOD IS COMING

woof, woof

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Buddy

BUDDY 2002-2020

Liam lost his cousin Buddy right after the New Year. Buddy was put to his final sleep at his home on Sunday January 5, 2020. Buddy and Liam have lived in the world concurrently for 13 years. Liam entered this world in 2007. They never physically met but they did know each other through the yearly Christmas card exchange and the doggie smells carried back and forth between Liz, Erik, Paul and me. Our dogs know when you have been with another. I showed Liam photos. Liam felt Buddy and he were part of the Nikol doggie pack.

I told Liam of Buddy's passing. He listened. I showed him photos Liz and Erik posted on FB. I covered Liam with my houndstooth shawl and let him process the news. I read him Liz's post and I include it here for all of you. It follows the photos and is in bold italics.

From Liz

"It is with such crushing sadness that I share that Buddy (age 17) passed away peacefully at home tonight surrounded by love. He had an amazing send off filled with bacon, chocolate, cheeseburgers, farfalle pasta and ice cream. He sat outside on the porch with us and watched the cars go by, bundled up in warm towels and getting constant affection.

Funny story about Buddy before he got to me... he was adopted in Germany by a female US soldier who returned home to NJ and couldn’t keep him. I later found her (and spoke to her!) by searching the web using his rabies vaccination records. She had her own web page with pictures of her in a dominatrix getup . What an interesting start to his life! But more fun was to come....

I adopted Buddy in 2004 smack in the middle of my chemotherapy. He healed my spirit when no one else could. Together we lived in 6 different towns, in 7 different homes and he was a significant part of my 3 serious relationships. He carried me through both the saddest and happiest moments of my life.

Although he gave Erik Chamberjian a tough time when they first met, Erik quickly became the only dad he could ever remember and he loved him until the very last minute... like he had chosen Buddy for himself (and is now of course a permanent doxie dad with funny wiener shirts). I believe that both of my old fur babies have survived this long mainly because of Erik‘s home-cooked doggie food made every single week since we’ve been married.

Well... here goes, See you on the other side love of my life. There will never be another you... a piece of my heart goes with you.

I hope you RAN over that rainbow bridge... leaving 2 paralyzed legs a distant memory. Protect us and visit me in my dreams as often as you can
Til we meet again my love.

This was the absolutely the hardest moment of my life"
January 5th 2020

I have included some passages from the book by
Thich Nhat Hanh,

No Death, No Fear

recommended for my reading
by a dear childhood friend

an excerpt

“When you lose a loved one, you suffer. But if you know how to look deeply, you have a chance to realize that his or her nature is truly the nature of no birth, no death. There is manifestation and there is the cessation of manifestation in order to have another manifestation. You have to be very keen and very alert in order to recognize the new manifestations of just one person.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear

BUDDY ON HIS LAST NIGHT SURROUNDED BY HIS TOYS

“This body is not me; I am not caught in this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never died. Over there the wide ocean and the sky with many galaxies All manifests from the basis of consciousness. Since beginning less time I have always been free. Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out. Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek. So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye. Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before. We shall always be meeting again at the true source, Always meeting again on the myriad paths of life.”

― Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Death, No Fear

Buddy's ashes have returned and the Buddy tribute wall grows. I made a vertical triptych for illustration purposes

Woof, Woof

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Boy Band

I left them for 2 weeks. How did they do?

If you look on the cocktail table in the photo below
there are some items

telling a story

tea

hot water bottle

topricin

arnicare

whats all this?
I promised an update in my last blog post. It has taken a while to get this to you. Tempus fugit
my mother always said.
yes

here is a refresher on where I went, what I did and what I conquered
https://liamlicks.blogspot.com/2019_11_10_archive.html

What occurred back home.

Paul hurt his back. Liam provided support by sitting next to him on the couch.

collage of all sorts of days and positions and boy bonding of the boy band

there seemed to be a lot of laundry

wine on the floor

our housekeeper's cleaning towels dried up
not washed
stiff and standing upright in the bucket

Liam did nothing wrong I am told

no demand for treats or greenies in the early morning hours

no excessive barking

a calm good boy
i apparently am the protagonist
for
bad behavior

the first days of my return Liam
stared at me
I think he wanted to make sure I was the same person who left

In some ways I am not

and all those are good ways

in the mind of Liam

a suspicious boy
why does she leave
where does she go
and how should I react when she deigns to drop in on me and daddy

I have to figure it out