Quigs’ Corner

It’s been a busy week, with a bit of sad news as well.  Last week, R called to tell me that her cat of 15 years, Mocha had ‘gone to kitty heaven’.  After 15 years, she just couldn’t do things as she used to…finding the litter box, keeping her food down and that small matter of seeing things. On my most recent visits, Mocha was always happy to see me, and harrassed me in the incessant way that cats do when they want soemthing (usually attention). My heart goes out to R and the rest of the household for their loss.  RIP Mocha.

A friend shared this video with me today on YouTube about a special dog.  Her family took great pains to train her, and her story is sad, but inspiring. and truly amazing  Take a look…it’s worth it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLXHvBFG-CI

Well, it seems that all the worrying about DST worked out for the best.  The people that I support in my job had merely minor issues.  Personally, my BlackBerry had the right times and dates, and I was able to easily (manually) change the light timers, clocks and other things around the house.

It’s so nice to see light so late in the day.  What it does do though, is encourage me to work later, since I really thought it was still time to work.  I think I need an alarm clock in my office now! 

The animals seemed to have made the change to the new time much better than the humans here in the Q household.  I guess they sleep most of the time anyway, so an hour here or there doesn’t seem to make much of a difference to them.  

More light at night (but was way too dark at 7am) and the first day of Spring only 7 days away!  The pear trees are all in bloom now, and in some areas, it looks like it snowed on the trees.  I’ll try to get a picture and post it.  The ones I took with my phone are not worth sharing.  The cherry trees (I think they are cherries) are starting to bloom a beautiful purple now too.  What few tulips and daffodils there are around just don’t last in this Texas climate.  It’s too bad, flowers from spring bulbs are my favorite.  They work so hard against so many odds (snow, cold, frost, leaves) to pop up and brighten our days year after year after year.  A true inspiration for us all. 

Now that I’m looking and feeling somewhat human, Mr Q agreed to go out in public with me.  We went to a movie (Wild Hogs-worth the matinee admission price) and dinner.  We went to dinner at a local Tex-Mex place that makes awesome Margaritas (my first cocktail in a month) and decent food. 

As I gazed around the dining room, I saw several families in the dining room, and for once, not one of the small kids screamed throughout my entire meal.  I did see something else that troubled me though…a Game boy at the next table.  It seems that my peace comes at a price of a family enjoying a meal together and sharing the experience: a Game boy to keep the kids quiet and happy (not to mention disconnected from his parents). 

I recall when I was this boy’s age, that my parents took us to dinner at nice places.  We had no Game boys or iPods or cell phones then.  We had to—oh my goddess—talk to our parents!!!  You know what?  We learned manners.  We learned to speak to others, and we learned that mealtime was a place to learn to laugh, learn new foods, share the moment, disagree with your parents-but be able to defend it, and most of all, be together.  That same morning we went to dinner and witnessed the Game-boy at dinner, I had read Ruth Reichl’s editor’s note in a recent issue of Gourmet magazine.  She talked (she called it a rant) about a restaurant in NY that served only kids.  Her rant was that this separates them from the rest of the family, and they don’t learn things like manners, or experience new foods.  I agree with her.  As hard as it is to get the family together for a meal, it’s worth doing for all the right reasons.