Lagniappe

Fairy Tails

Fairy Tales Tails can come true. It can happen to you.

Are you old enough to remember Jimmy Durante? When I think of those song lyrics from “Young at Heart,” I don’t think of Frank Sinatra, who made them famous. I think of Durante, singing in his gravelly voice.

We’re just back from visiting our 92-year-old friend, Katie, in Baton Rouge. She is definitely young at heart – and awesome. We’ll have more food details about the trip at a later date, but suffice it to say, it was great to introduce our grandsons, ages 20 and 17, to the home and culture where their mama grew up (though they may have been more delighted by their side trip to New Orleans!).

Today our neighbor Deb is our guest blogger. She has a fairy tale tail to share with you, made all the more appropriate because we have tended to overdo dogs (Wynn, specifically) in our blog. Cats have taken the back burner – and they shouldn’t – especially one with a hint of Siamese. So here is the Story of Lumi, as written by Deb; it’s a great and happy one, sure to make you smile.

I have wanted a cat for about 3 years now.  My husband, who loves cats, didn’t want more dependents, but I needed a cat.

Lumi’s journey began in Texas.  Via two friends, he joined our family on November 30th, but let’s retrace the time before.  

Lois was visiting her two adult daughters in Texas over Thanksgiving.  When coming out of a restaurant in San Antonio, it was evening, dark, cold and raining, but there in the parking lot, was a young kitten.  He seemed to be asking each patron as they left with his “meow, meow, meow will you take me home”????  They scanned the parking lot to try and understand his origin, but all they saw were warehouses, business buildings and the question was, where did he come from?  He was persistent in his need, so they scooped him up, took him home, and gave him a bath.  The next day, they posted on Facebook his picture, the location where he was found and contact information.  They also sought out an animal rescue facility, in hopes of placing him, so he would have a future, but they were told him “we will take him, but would put him down”, so they then went to Austin, where the other daughter lived.  Again they sought out a shelter, but they were told “we will take him, but we will just turn him back out” (he wasn’t neutered, so they would probably neuter him and then release???)  Because neither option was a viable option for any of them, nor could either daughter take another pet, Lois paid to have this kitten fly back with her to California in a soft carrier, under the seat in front of her!

Upon her return to Sonoma, Lois knew she had too many animals to keep him, so she reached out to her good friend Pamela, who knew I was looking for a cat.  We met outside at a coffee shop, off a busy highway, for our first meeting.  There he was this lovely creamed colored, small cat with light orange ears and tufts, and a light orange banded tail and BIG blue eyes staring calmly back at me.  He was stretched out in the cat carrier with no concerns, rubbing his check on the nylon mesh, and just looking around; it took me seconds to decide, he just seemed so grateful!!

Lumi hanging out in Glen Ellen

I think it maybe took a week for my husband to say how happy he was we had a cat, and what a GREAT cat this one was.  It took us a while to name him, but after multiple trials and looking up things we settled on Lumi, which means “white in Finnish”.  

Lumi and Randall hanging out in Glen Ellen

Lumi is a grateful cat.  He asks for hugs after he wakes up from his naps.  He loves to rub on your face and wrap his soft paws around your neck and on your face.  He plays chase with our 15 year old Chihuahua/terrier mix, Randall, and is so lively and curious.  We are smitten!

So that’s Lumi’s Fairy Tail.

In his honor we have the perfect recipe, combining our trip to Baton Rouge and Lumi. After all, who can go to Louisiana without seeking out the perfect…you guessed it…CATFISH.

The Worst Christmas Song – Ever

I had no idea that ranking Christmas songs (from worst to best) is all over the web, so when I saw the ranking by Alexandra Petri in the The Washington Post, I was intrigued. Petri picked “The Little Drummer Boy” as the worst ever. I beg to disagree. IMHO the worst Christmas song ever is John Denver’s “Please Daddy Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas.” What was he thinking?

If only John and I could have a conversation, I’d say…

“Oh, John, you were such an important part of my young life. How I loved “Rocky Mountain High,” “Annie’s Song,” “I Guess He’d Rather Be In Colorado,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders.”

Your lyrics to “Rhymes and Reasons” still resound today – especially during this on-Covid-alert holiday season:

So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way

And, John, I’m sure we’d all agree that your songs were generally a little schmaltzy, a little philosophical, kinda sweet – and usually uplifting. Yet the song you wrote that will stay with me forever is Leaving on a Jet Plane” (“I’m leaving on a jet plane; don’t know when I’ll be back again”). You recorded it in 1969, and in March of that year Andy and I hugged and kissed and cried and said good-bye to each other at the San Francisco airport; I flew back to Colorado and he flew to Vietnam for the start of his one year of service there. We were practically newlyweds. So I guess it’s not surprising that both Andy and I tear up and get goosebumps when we hear that song – even now more than 50 years later.

Lyrics from Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane

I was getting my holiday music organized the other day (I traditionally begin overwhelming Andy with my Christmas song tracks on the day after Thanksgiving) and was humming this one…and that one…and inadvertently started humming The Worst Christmas Song – Ever. The lyrics are brutal and sad and anything but Christmasy.

Why in god’s name did you record “Please Daddy Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas,” John? We found out after you died in that plane crash that you had a dark side most of us weren’t aware of, so maybe that explains a little. But you first recorded this in 1973, when it seemed you were on top of the world. Didn’t you realize how dreadful that song was – and how wrong for the holiday season?”

I guess we all have dark sides. In today’s Andy’s Corner we get a closer look at the dark bark side of Wynn, our 5-month-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi.

Now – to lift our holiday spirits – and to counter John’s depressing song – I’d like to propose a toast…and hope that a toast is not inappropriate under the circumstances. Here’s to holiday Mocktails!

You Win Some and You Lose Some

I won this one. Or maybe to win is to lose. Or to lose is to win. It remains to be seen. But WynnSome, a 10-week-old brindle and white Cardigan Welsh Corgi, arrived at our home on August 31st. And she is indeed winsome.

WynnSome D

Suddenly Senior says 70 is a good age to adopt a pup (we’ll let you run the numbers to figure out why). Let’s just say we overshot that by a bit, but we were seizing the “Wynn-dow” of opportunity.

It’s been almost 2 years since Ancho Antwerp Walden Hill was to arrive at SFO – bound for our Sonoma home. A red merle Australian Shepherd puppy, with much the same bloodlines as our beloved Oakley Devine. But Fortuna intervened and she went to Maine instead of Glen Ellen. So we’ve had two years of “should we?” “could we?” “maybe yes?’ “maybe no?” There’s been many talks around our dinner table….about puppies.

Even after 54 years of marital bliss (if you believe that, I’ll tell you another funny story), Andy and I still manage to have some pretty tense exchanges. And getting a new pet is certifiably guaranteed to cause a little huff and puff and drama with us both. Our cat ChocoLatte’s entrance into our family is a case in point. After we had put him – a scrawny 8-week-old kitten – back into his cage at Sonoma’s Pets Lifeline, having decided he wasn’t something we were meant to have, we turned and walked, slowly and sadly and sans new kitty, back to our car. And then I burst into tears. And then we went back and got Choco.

ChocoLatte – at our home and no longer a kitten

Of course you know that there are two kinds of Welsh Corgis – the Cardigan and the Pembroke. And, of course you know that Queen Elizabeth is famous for her Pembroke Corgis. And Queen Elizabeth was WAY over 70 when she got her two most recent Corgi puppies. Guess you could say we’re just living like royalty!

2016: Queen Elizabeth II at 90 years young
1936: Queen Elizabeth at 10 years of age; kind of fascinating to note the difference in appearance between the 1936 Corgis and the 2016 Corgis.

WynnSome is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, unlike the Queen’s. These little Welsh herding dogs, who always have a tail, date back centuries and are descended from the Dachshund family. What a surprise! We’re already impressed with Wynn’s intelligence, speed, and determination – and her love of good (or even bad) food! She’ll clearly fit in well to this foodie family.

As for her name, read today’s Andy’s Corner. It reveals the complexity of animal-name-choosing in our family. The fact that “Wynn” is an old Welsh female name – which some sources say means “joy” or “friend” – certainly influenced our decision-making.

from the AKC: Cardigan above, Pembroke below

As we enter into this new phase of our life, with fingers crossed, I want to dedicate this “Cat” Stevens song not to our cats but to Andy (and to WynnSome). Here’s hoping “I love my dog as much as I love you.” You’ll have to listen to the next line of the lyrics to fully appreciate the message. 🙂

Our recipe choice is an obvious one – in many ways. We’re SO looking forward to traveling again, and New York is our favorite destination – followed closely by Mexico, but we’ve done lots of Mexican recipes. And New York adoptable dogs are being seriously looked at by our New York kiddos. May their next dog be a winner – not a wiener. (OMG – save me from the corn – but keep the corn dogs!)

Our New York Dog
Scroll to Top