Not so cheerful

I have been very remiss in posting lately. I have been really down for a week or so. One of my students committed suicide. I was really upset. Partially because I feel like I should have noticed something was wrong, said something, done something different . . . And partially because of the really horrible things people said about suicide, depression, and mental illness. Coworkers, other students, and so forth said really ignorant, bigoted things. I think of someone who committed suicide after struggling with mental illness for years as someone who finally lost the fight with a difficult disease. I don't believe people who commit suicide go to hell, I just can't believe in that kind of God. No, people who are depressed are not worthless, the world is not better off without them, and they are not to blame for their condition any more than people with heart disease or cancer. So for a while I alternated between guilt, depression, despair and fury. That pretty much took all of my energy.


Derek fed me and took care of me and put up with me. (I recommend white foods as an antidote to the darkness of depression: pasta, alfredo sauce, clam chowder, ice cream, swiss cheese on crackers and those white chocolate Lindor truffles.) And Dharma cuddled me, licked the tears off my cheeks, and tried to cheer me up. And, eventually, it worked.



Then, just when I felt a little better and needed some cheering up, my good friend Dr. Mrs. Bloomingtonaut came to town and invited me to a party. It was just what I needed. I took a blueberry pie and had a very nice time.


Next posting: a belated list of things I am thankful for.

Cloudy, with some flurries

Yes, today we had snow flurries. Luckily, Dharma was prepared. She knew just what to wear. Pink leopard print fur.


It isn't very slimming, but it is very warm. And it keeps her tummy warm better than her tweed cape. Do you think she looks like she should be on the Flintstones? Very retro-chic.

The first time she tried it on, she didn't like it very much. So we now present, for your viewing enjoyment . . .

The Dachshund Ecdysiast

The End

Preparing for Winter

Here at Johnson's Meeting House, we have been stocking up for winter like a pair of hungry squirrels. Our cute little pantry is full.

And we have moved on to the garage for storage. It is very important not to run out of Kleenex during cold and flu season, or out of toilet paper during a snow storm.


Our freezer is full, which is supposed to help it operate more efficiently.


But it is perhaps not as organized as this one. (See more and buy stuff here.)

We went grocery shopping tonight to top off our stores. Emilie was quite proud of herself. The total was over $120, which included saving $27.32 on sale items. Then we watched it go down. We saved $14.90 in coupons. Then $1.80 in doubled coupons. Then $10 in instant rebates. In the end, the total was $76.70. We also got a credit for ten cents off per gallon of Kroger gas. And then they gave us more coupons to play with next time (annoyingly, for things we had just bought.)


I sort of feel like I won a Cracker Jack prize. We bought so many things for our $76.70 that our receipt was almost 1.5 dachshunds long!


Which is sort of like the unit of measurement known as a Smoot. But smaller and cuter. And furrier. Bearing in mind, of course, that the length of a dachshund varies with temperature.

Pie Preferences

Even if you're not going to be joining us for our pie party, I would still like to know: what is your favorite kind of pie? As a food historian, I am also curious: why is it your favorite, and where did you grow up? So, we'll see if there are regional differences. And I will have lots of good ideas for the pie party.

Left to right: pumpkin, cherry, chocolate pecan, and key lime.

Unfortunately, the survey feature on Blogger is a bit limited. You can choose one of the flavors on the survey at left, above. But to tell me the rest, you will need to post a comment.

One more question: would it be a faux pas to let Dharma wear her Tootsie Roll costume to the pie party, even though Halloween is over?

Patriotic Puppy says to Vote!

Don't forget to vote. To inspire you, here is a picture of a very patriotic puppy. (With a color-coordinated Derek, too.)

Dharma says "Now, go out there and make me proud!"

Behind the scenes

How do we get such cute pictures of Dharma? We take dozens, and usually one of them turns out okay. Here Dharma asks "Is that pumpkin following me?" It was, actually. We kept moving it in an attempt to get a picture of her next to the pumpkin.


She also asks "Is this thing edible?" It is. Or, rather, it will be. When we have our annual Pie Party the day after Thanksgiving. Any readers who want to wrangle an invitation are welcome to contact us. Of course, those of you who have been invited in the past will be invited again. I also take pie requests. I think Dharma is hoping for steak and kidney pie, but that probably won't be on the menu.

And, for our loyal reader in Greenwood, we offer the ultimate in behind-the-scenes shots: Doxie 'Tocks!

I know it's silly, but I think dachshunds have the cutest little rears. And when they walk, they try to take such big steps with their little legs that the whole back end wiggles. Tee-hee. My mom has so many pictures of her two dogs running into the pictures she takes of people that she is thinking of writing a whole book of doggie butt photos. I think she will need a faster camera, to eliminate the tail-moving blur. Which was so masterfully depicted by Balla in this painting: