Cancer Anniversary

Two years ago today I was diagnosed with Medullary Thyroid Cancer.  So far I've been lucky that   regularly scheduled blood draws and neck ultrasounds are the only impact on my life.  I feel absolutely fine.  Let's just hope this continues for many, many more years!

I don't remember anyone ever telling me to check my neck area for lumps.   Two and a half years ago, while talking to someone about their thyroid issues, I just happened to touch my neck and discover a funny little bump right in the center.  That led to an early diagnosis and a much better prognosis.  So check your neck!

More importantly April 23 is the day of the wonderful St. Jordi's festival in Barcelona.....I blogged about it way back in 2009.   http://bondia2000.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-st-jordis-day.html.

Today the streets of Barcelona are lined with stands selling books

And flowers.

And Las Ramblas, the famous pedestrian street of Barcelona looks like this!

Oh how I wish I were there to celebrate once more - the day of the book and the rose!

A Repeat Visitor

Foster Guide Dog #20 is actually a repeat visitor.  He was originally Guide Dog #8 - Armando!

http://bondia2000.blogspot.com/2013/09/8-armando.html

Now he is a retired guide dog just waiting to be adopted by some lucky family.  He's 78 pounds of love and pure joy!  Obedient, super smart and lots of fun!

Here's an illustration of his obedience and 'smarts'.  When we had him in the summer of 2012 we decided to have him go in his crate while we ate our dinner.  Guide Dogs are not supposed to be beggars and we wanted to discourage any interest in our food.  Tonight when we sat down to eat, before we said a word, he went right in the crate and stayed there until we were finished eating and invited him to come out!  I can hardly believe he remembered that after a year and a half!

Going for walks is one of his great joys!  Here are my two favorite old guys!

And in case you were wondering, he did remember us and greeted us like his long lost family!!

You can just call me GRANDMA!

Happy day!   George's Dad said those exact words every time we called to let Grandma and Grandpa Lewis know that we were having another baby!  So I'll repeat them here as I share the news that Johnny and Monica are expecting a baby!  The due date is October 30th, which just happens to be Grandpa Lewis's birthday!  Now that would be a happy day....of course whatever day he or she is born is going to be a happy day!

  

#19 Has Stolen Our Hearts!

It is difficult for me to believe that we have had 19 foster dogs from Guide Dogs for the Blind in our home . I have loved every one of them but #19 is special!  Vashon, #19, is just waiting to be matched with a blind person.  Her house manners are impeccable!  She is easy to walk, full of love and always willing to play.  George says that she is a perfect dog!  I think one reason he likes her so much is that she is the first of our dogs to prefer him to me!  She likes me but she LOVES him!

And she loves her bones in all their varieties!  Last week she even snitched a bone from Guide Dogs.  I walked out to the car to take her home and she had a bone in her mouth.  It has become a favorite.  I hope her kleptomaniac tendencies won't cause her to be career changed!  Is she now on the path to a life of crime????

 I recently learned that an empty water or pop bottle is her absolute favorite!  She thinks they are the best! Squishy, squeaky and the right size to fit in her mouth and carry around!

Vashon also discovered that George's I-pad pillow is perfect for catching a little nap!

But the best place of all for a nap is on top of the clothes I lay out to wear the next day!  Jeans? No problem.  The white shirt? Well I am glad I have a lint roller and believe that 'no outfit is complete without dog hair."

We will miss her when she leaves us!

A Story that Makes me Happy

Every now and then it is so satisfying to have an experience that just reaffirms your belief that people around the world are basically good.  We had one of those experiences while on our recent Southeast Asia trip.

Once we all got to Singapore from our homes in America we still had 9 short flights to get us around SE Asia.  First Singapore to Rangoon, Myanmar; then Rangoon to Bagan; next to Inle Lake; then back to Rangoon; from Rangoon to Bangkok; Bangkok to Siam Reap, Cambodia; then back to Bangkok and on to Chaing Mai, Thailand and finally back to Singapore. Lots of time spent in airports and airport gate areas!

One of the very sweet women on our trip had two carry-on bags.  When we arrived in Chaing Mai nearing the end of the trip she realized that she had left one bag in the gate area at the airport in Bangkok.  In the missing bag she had her I-phone, I-pad and $400 in cash.  Naturally our tour guides immediately contacted the airport to see if by any chance the bag had been turned in.  For a couple of days we heard nothing.  The lady assumed that her bag was lost forever.  She spent time telling herself that it was only 'stuff' and all 'stuff' could be replaced.  Her trip insurance would help her recoup some of the cost.  Nothing serious had happened and it would all be ok.

Imagine her delight and the delight of the entire group when the tour directors were notified that her bag had been recovered and was being delivered to her at the hotel!  What about the contents?  Well it was all there.  I-pad, I-phone, and $400 in cash!

I truly believe that most people are good and honest.  Is it the light of Christ?  The influence of Buddhism in a country 95% Buddhist? It doesn't really matter.  I'm just so happy that she got everything back and that we all got to share her joy!

Buddha Hands

During our Southeast Asia trip we saw literally hundreds of statues of the Buddha. Did you know that the position of his hands has meaning?  I am sure the hands are to remind followers of his teachings.

The reclining Buddha represents his serene and composed posture before his death    This is the moment when Buddha enters "nirvana'.  According to Buddhist belief, a person who attains this state does not continue on the cycle of life and death and rebirth and is entirely free from the confines of destiny and misery.  Michael Wilcox explained to us that 'nirvana' is actually a state when all individual desires go away.  A person in nirvana is totally self-less and only thinks of others.  

 As you can see this reclining Buddha was quite large!

This posture with one hand in his lap and one pointing down is known as "Calling the Earth to Witness" and it is the moment of enlightenment for the Buddha.  It is the story of how after six years, he was at the verge of enlightenment but Mara, the Demon of Illusion, tried to dissuade The Buddha from the final last steps.  Buddha meditated all night to overcome the fears and temptations sent by Mara and then called the Earth Goddess to witness that he had achieved enlightenment. In this way he shared his enlightenment with the rest of the world. 

This position is known as the 'teaching Buddha'.  The cupped hand denotes charity and the upraised hand depicts tranquility, a sort of 'calm down' sign.  

In this pose, Buddha is touching his 3rd finger.

This denotes the 'middle way'.  Buddha didn't encourage luxury or asceticism. He wanted his followers to choose a balanced approach to life and the regulation of impulses and behavior.

                                                

I believe there is much to admire in these teachings.  Didn't Jesus of Nazareth teach many similar things?  

As we approach death we can be peaceful because of our knowledge of the plan of salvation and the power of the atonement and the resurrection. 

We believe that all the earth "shall see the salvation of the Lord....every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed." (2Ne 19:17)

Luke 17:33 "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."  In other words, he who lives only unto himself withers and dies, while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms in this life and in eternity. It is in forgetting self that we become tranquil. Charity equals tranquility. Luke 16:25 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." 

Don't we as Christians seek to live a balanced life and to learn to regulate our appetites, passions, and behavior?  By doing this we become like the Savior.  We learn HEAVEN!

Doctrine and Covenants 84:45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

 46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

Every man.....including Buddha!

Elephant Art

Remember the elephant artist from Thailand?  One of the actual elephants who paints not someone who paints elephants???

Well I bought one of his paintings and had it framed.

Pretty cool huh?  But I decided to also display a photo of the elephant painting, in case anyone who didn't know it was done by a pachyderm questioned my artistic taste!!!