BLEEDING THE RED AND WHITE

Diana gave me the best (and quite unexpected) Christmas present ever this year:  Tickets to the 2013 Rose Bowl!    I’ve been to a Rose Bowl football game before, in 2005. But, who really cares about Michigan and Texas anyhow (no offense to my many friends from Michigan)?!  Di KNEW I cared about this year’s game.  She’s acutely aware of my passion for my alma mater’s sports teams, the Wisconsin Badgers--especially the football team!

She got a ticket for herself and my son youngest son, Todd, who lives in the Los Angeles area.  What a treat for me to spend New Year’s Day watching my team in person, in the Rose Bowl no less, with two of my favoritest people in the world!

New Year’s day was absolutely gorgeous--perfect for watching a football game.  It was crowded in and everywhere around the Rose Bowl and Pasadena; but the event was well planned and coordinated, so other than waiting some in lines, the experience was painless--an awesome experience.  The only problem was that both participants (Wisconsin and Stanford) colors were red and white, so differentiating between friend and foe in the stands was problematic, but everyone in attendance were friendly and courteous.

The 2013 Rose Bowl was a delightful experience, despite the outcome (as expected, Stanford beat the Badgers, 20-14)--a great way to spend a New Year’s day; with friends, family, and my Wisconsin Badgers!

REST IN PEACE 

  ABBEY T.

1998 - 2012

On Wednesday May 9, 2012 we had to put down Abbey T., our 14 year-old Brittany.  She suffered from Esophageal Paralysis for the past few years, along with arthritis and she was beginning to suffer.  Our decision to help her pass on to whatever is next was extremely difficult for us but was, I think, gratifying for her.  I hope that she has hooked-up with Maxi (another of our Brittany who passed on in January of this year)...they were great buddies and brought a great deal of joy and love to our family.  It is hard to have them both gone.

She’d been with us for 14 years. We got her as a wee pup when we lived in Boise, ID.  She transferred with us to Seattle, then on to Pasadena.  Finally she retired with us in Cambria.  She absolutely loved the California Central Coast--especially fetching tennis balls from the ocean, which we did often.  Almost daily romps off-leash on Fiscalini Ranch was another joy in her life.

Abbey T. was a grand old lady who enjoyed life and absolutely loved people.  Her main enjoyment during her lifetime was to meet new people and accumulate a crowd of friends wherever she went.  When we took her to our local dog park she would seek out every human there, especially the “regulars,” and greet them and expect a few pats or strokes in return.  She ignored anything with four feet!  We had to laugh at her routine. 

Fortunately I had the foresight to take her to the beach last weekend, just the two of us.  We hadn’t been able to do this too often recently because of her declining health.  It was pure joy to see how excited she was to be back in her element and waddling on the sand!  The last few frames on the video are from that walk on the beach.

There were two incidents during her last day on Earth that will live with me forever;  Toby, our tripod Brittany, laid down next to her for over a hour and a half--something he has never done before.  His concern and caring for her was heartbreaking.  The other incident happened when we were walking her to the “Room” at the vet’s office.  Abbey veered over and greeted a seated lady waiting for her cat’s appointment.  Right to the end of her life she was loving and accumulating friends!

She died with calm dignity, peacefully, and in my arms.

Abbey T. is the love of my life.

Senior Brittanys Adopted By Cambrian Couple


Shortly after their beloved brittany Maxi died of cancer in late January, the Teetzels of Cambria, CA adopted two senior brittanys through American Brittany Rescue.  The brittanys, named Dax and Molly are ten years old and were being fostered in their native state of Colorado.

The wonderful foster parents, Kat and Jack Dechant  of Littleton drove to Las Vegas where they hooked up us (Diana and Roger) who had driven over from Cambria.  After some pleasant conversation, instructions and explanations were received from the Dechants, Dax and Molly were on there way to Cambria, CA, their new home.

After a week in their new home, Molly and Dax are proving to be every bit as loving and smart as ABR said.  They are great dogs, and we feel blessed to have them.  Abbey and Toby are a bit more circumspect than we are, but they are getting beginning to blend together wonderfully!

Below is a video about Dax and Molly which we hope you'll like:

R.I.P.

Maxim “Maxi” Teetzel

Born:  12/13/1999,  Detroit, MI

Died:  4:45 PM, 1/30/2012,  Davis, CA

Maxi was our “middle” Brittany, between Abbey and Toby.  He had been sick for about a month:  It all began with him drinking an inordinate amount of water, then vomiting, then salivating, then lethargy, and weight loss.  After exhausting several vets in San Luis Obispo, we went to UC Davis which has a world class veterinarian hospital and graduate school.  After a week of testing, they diagnosed Maxi as having cancer in his salivary gland and tonsils.  As if that was not enough, he had also developed irritable bowel disease.

We brought Maxi home with a regime of palliative care for what they thought would be his last three to five months of life.  He ate next to nothing and was getting progressively weaker.  So a week later I drove him up to UC Davis to see his Dr. Perry and Gloria, a fourth year student.  She immediately took him to their critical care doctors due to a rapid heart rate and elevated temperature.   Maxi was deteriorating rapidly and beginning to suffer, so I called Di and we decided to end Maxi’s discomfort.

The UC Davis vet staff were just outstanding in helping me with the process:  They ushered me into a special, softly decorated room having low light and a running fountain.  A few minutes later they wheeled in poor Maxi on a padded cart; and they left me alone with him so I could say my goodbyes--holding, hugging, and kissing him, besides drenching him with a tidal wave of tears.  The doctors came back and painlessly sent him to peace; thankfully a very short procedure.  They again left me alone with Maxi’s body to say my last words of love to him and my thankfulness for  his life.  Of course there was more holding, hugging and kisses.  Then I immediately left the hospital.

I was, and am, devastated.  Di and I became Maxi’s parents on 1/30/2000, during a visit to my ancestral home in Detroit.  The irony of his death on 1/30/2012--exactly 12 years later, just exponentially increased my grief.

Trying to contain my grief on the drive back to Cambria, I got to thinking about why people seem to get exceptionally emotional after the death of a favored pet; I have observed that people seem to grieve for a long time.

I must admit that I had thought that such people were crazy with such altitudes toward their pet’s passing from this life.

No longer:  I know EXACTLY how they feel and what they mean.  In spades.

Still, how could Maxi’s passing affect me so strongly?

Of course, a pet’s unconditional love for their owners must be a major factor in the owner’s grief; no matter how we have screwed up and no matter how we ignore them or treat them badly, they still love us!  And do not forget how cuddly and physically affectionate they are with us pet owners, how warm they make us feel!  Then there is a thousand little things they do for us that we think are soooo cute and give us those warm and fuzzy feelings we so often get just having our pet there with us.  No wonder we are almost inconsolable when a pet dies.

But it’s more than that.  I think the reason I am so emotionally hurting about Maxi’s passing is equally caused by missing what he gave ME, and by missing what I gave to HIM:  I gave him exactly who I really am; the good, bad, and ugly of Roger Teetzel.  Maxi (and Abbey and Toby) allow me to be who I really am:  They are the only creatures on this Earth with whom I can actually and fearlessly be the real me.  And my freedom to give Maxi that--my whole being and soul--makes his death an absolute and irrevocable loss in my life.

Sure, time and directly embracing the grief will help in the grieving process.  My anguish will lessen somewhat.  BUT, I will never forget Maxi or get over him.  He has grown into my heart and soul!  I am eternally grateful for having had Maxi in my life.


The following video is my tribute to Maxi:

CHRISTMAS 2011


Diana and I enjoyed our Christmas this year with Erik, Rachel, Ronan, and Nieve in Palo Alto, California.  We had an enormously wonderful time with them and their family and friends.


We feel singularly blessed:

THROUGH MY LENS

I recently returned from several weeks touring Great Britain.  It was an absolutely awesome experience, something I undoubtedly will do again!

My shutter finger developed a callus due to it's protracted use;  I love it!  I took several thousand photographs, so all I can say is thank God for digital photography!  As always, I'd like to share my experiences with you:

WARNING:  Viewing the following videos may cause eye strain, irritation, consternation, and/or insanity due to their extreme length and questionable quality.  Be fore-warned! Be prepared--have a tall, cool one at the ready!

Now, please enjoy.....


Great Britain 1:  Various traditional sites in London, Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham, Snowdonia, Wales, Llangollen, Caernarfon, Portmeirion




Great Britain 2:  Wales, Caernarfon Mens Chorus, Chester, York, Lake District, Whitby, Castle Howard, Gretna Green, Hadrian's Wall, Edinburgh, Scotland.




Animals:  During my travels I came across many interesting animals of all sorts.  Of course, the British are great dog lovers (that's why I felt so at home there) and canines were in great abundance.  But, I restrained myself from taking photos of evry dog I encountered!




Fellow Travelers  I also took photographs of humans too, when the spirit moved me.  I will admit that this was not a priority for me at all.  I took some shots of my fellow travelers and of locals who caught my eye.




Cormerion Men's Chorus:  We were privileged to attend a rehearsal of this very good mens chorus in Caernarfon, Wales.  They were terrific; and most were sung in Welsh, as was the guidance of the director, Menai Williams.

GO CARDINAL

Last weekend I traveled up to Palo Alto for a football weekend.  I took Erik and Ronan to see the Stanford versus Washington football game on Saturday night.  We went to the game on a tandem bike for Erik and I, carrying backpacks on our (of all places!) our backs.  Ronan kept his hands free so as to be able to quickly ring the bell on his bike.  What a procession, especially in a football crowd!

Some of Erik's friends had kindly invited us to their tailgate party which we finally navigated to.  Great food, friends, and fun!

After Stanford had annihilated Washington 65-21, the three of us slung on our packs and ventured into the night and an adventurous ride home.

Sunday morning we brunched on good things from the oven with a good friend of Erik and Rachel's, and his adorable pooch--who's name I can't spell!  Nieve and Ronan added playtime in the back yard to their brunching.

As usual, I took a few pix to document the action.  Enjoy!

CAMBRIA HARVEST FESTIVAL 2011

Once again it is time for Cambria's annual Harvest Festival.  It is a very effective way to add interest to an already interesting town.  Every year more and more businesses (and some individuals) are participating in the Festival.

Basically, participants in the Festival create their own "scarecrow" figure(s) and display them in front of their shops or designated common areas.  A panel of expert scarecrow judges caravan around town and judge the entries in several different categories.  They view these creative efforts with a very critical eye. These awards are quite prestigious (ha, ha!) and are highly sought after.  Bragging rights in Cambria is highly valued!

Harvest Festival, sponsored by the Cambria Historical Society, is a fun way add interest in the town during the Halloween and Thanksgiving season.  It is a real kick to see the creative ideas of our fellow townspeople.

The following slideshow features most of 2011's entries:

National Lighthouse Day

One of my favorite volunteer activities is being a tour guide at Piedras Blancas Light Station, just north of San Simeon, California.

On Saturday August 6, 2011 we celebrated National Lighthouse Day at Piedras Blancas Light Station. Volunteer reenactors portrayed PBLS personnel as they might have been in the 1890's; they dressed in period costume and did various activities of those times. We had well over 100 visitors and we ran 6 guided tours, starting at 9:45 AM. Guests and reenactor interacted at various points along the tour route. After a 2 hour tour our guests received a gift bag of several goodies commemorating their visit as they drove out the PBLS front gate. It was a great day for one and all!


Here's a little video of the day's activites:

Coastal Discovery Center's 2011 Summer Fair

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Coastal Discovery Center hosted their 2011 Summer Fair by their facility at the William Hearst State Beach in San Simeon, CA. Diana and I are both volunteers there. The Fair is primarily an educational event; local environmental and animal advocate groups provide and man booths featuring their own particular mission. There is plenty of fun activities for kids and good conversation for adults. I think it is safe to say that a great time was had by all!

MBARI!

Yesterday morning Diana and I drove up to Moss Landing and met Erik, Rachel, Ronan, and Nieve who had driven down from Palo Alto.  

View Larger Map

We spent the afternoon at the MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) Open House at their facility on Monterey Bay.  It was overcast, which was good since we didn't broil in the sun as we wandered around the exhibits, lectures, and activities.

The winner of the most popular activity of the Open House, by far,  was building the ROV (Remote Operation Vehicle) venue.  I'm not sure whether it was Ronan, Erik, or Diana who enjoyed the challenge the most!  I will say that all three of them demonstrated impressive engineering skills!

It was a fun and educational afternoon for all.  Seeing a world class research institution was very impressive.

As usual, I took a kazillion photographs.  I culled them down to these few, shown as a short movie:

Memorial Day weekend was just perfect, especially the weather:  It was a bit nippy (high in the mid 50s) and windy (30-40 mpg), but gorgeous just the same.  I couldn't resist jumping in "Bucky" (my bright red VW convertible) and cruising along the Coast checking out what was going on in Paradise.



The following video was taken earlier this year.  For some reason it disappeared from the internet (probably because it was so awful)!  It is a whale watching trip out of Morro Bay with the folks at the Coastal Discovery Center on the R/V Fulmer which was in the area doing a research project.

APRIL:  A MONTH OF BIRTHDAYS!

Have you ever heard the expression:  When it rains, it pours?  Well this month (appropriately, the month  of April showers) was that kind of month for me.  Only we're talking about birthdays.

I went down to Gainesville, FL to celebrate my father's 95th. birthday.  Admittedly it was somewhat subdued, but was very much fun anyway.  One of Dad's great granddaughters, Kim, made him a beautiful and yummy cake with loads of different varieties of blueberry, strawberries, and blackberries, all from their farm!  Especially so seeing Dad together with his new great-great grandson, Ethan.

I flew back to Cambria, then drove up to Palo Alto with Diana to be on hand to help celebrate Nieve's one year birthday and Ronan's third birthday.  Erik and Rachel threw a birthday bash for both the kids on Saturday.  Many relatives, and friends were on there to party with numerous kids.  It was an absolute blast! Grammy Borovina made a delicious cake for each of the kid, which everybody wolfed down!  A giant raspberry even showed-up unexpectedly!

Nana Holly (Teetzel) will also being celebrating (or ignoring) her birthday down in Del Mar this week.

Congratulations to one and all the birthday people for making it through another year.  You guys are awesome!

As usual, here's a video commemorating (or proving!) the events:

VISITORS…

Diana and I had several illustrious and celebrated personages visit us here in Cambria during the last several weeks.

First arrivals were Todd and Melissa who drove up from Culver City for the weekend. We had diner with Mary Ellen Lewis, friend from Templeton, and Dahlia, “daughter” who is from Indonesia and is studying at Cal Poly. Recently Melissa spent a year in Indonesia on a Fulbright Scholarship and Todd joined her there for six months teaching a few computer classes at a local university and getting several photographs published in the Indonesian Times pursuing his photographic career. It was interesting to hear them swap tales with each other, and speaking Indonesian with each other; it was a fun night all around! 

The next morning Todd braved our local dog park with me, after which we had a leisurely breakfast harbor side in Morro Bay.

The next week my cousin Karin Fowler and her husband Scott, arrived in Cambria, despite an uncooperative GPS system. They are visiting their two boys and their families in the Sacramento area for six weeks. They are both retired and looked great; they are from Grand Haven, MI but deny any coincidence that they had ten feet of snow last week!
Our main activity was exercising our mandibles exchanging updates on our respective lives. Unfortunately we don’t get to see the Fowlers very often. We did manage to partake our share of some good cuisine—a favorite family pastime!

I think the highlight of the visit was the mandatory trip to the Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blancas. It was an especially excellent time to see them: December – February is when the whole herd is in residence at various beaches on the northern central California coast. Consider that our herd is north of 18,000 animals, so there was a ton of activity: Births, nursing, fighting among the males (boys will be boys, especially when there are women at stake!), yakking, and, of course, sleeping (nothing like watching paint dry!). These are fascinating animals—just ask Karin and Scott!
Below are some snaps of our guests, which I hope you enjoy!

A LATE CHRISTMAS IN PALO ALTO, CA!


Being retired allows one to play fast and loose (or slow and loose) with time and one's schedule.  Accordingly, it wasn't until mid-January when we celebrated Christmas with Erik, Rachel, Ronan, and Nieve!


Diana and I loaded up my new sleigh with a few presents and headed up to Palo Alto on Saturday morning.  After a leisurely drive, we arrived at ERR&N's Erik, Rachel, Ronan, and Nieve) home in early afternoon.  We spent most of the rest of the day catching up on who is doing what to who and when!  Of course there was the excitement of opening packages!  We all took a long walk to, as Ronan calls it, their mysterious-hidden park, which was great fun.


Sunday morning we stopped at our favorite Starbucks, as ERR&N were being lazeboes and sleeping in!  Erik made breakfeast using their just opened ebelskiver (Danish pancakes) paraphernalia, their Christmas present.


After breakfeast we all trekked to Hidden Villa Farm, www.hiddenvilla.org/, for a day down on the farm.  This is a great and beautiful place for educating old and young alike!  What a blast!  We cruised back to Cambria later Sunday and a great weekend!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Isn't it amazing how quickly the Holiday Season comes around?  Time seems to be on permanent warp speed!

I was blessed with a terrific present from Santa Claus this year:  A used 2006 VW New Beetle Convertible!  Salsa red with tan top and interior--perfect for my palate.  I have never owned a convertible in my life--I haven't even driven one, so it's about time!

Thanks Santa for finally giving me something I really wanted!  And I don't care if people mumble about me being too old to have a mid-life crises; as they say, it's not over until it's over.

To honor such a precious (for me) gift,  I put together the video below:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Every Fall the creative spirit(s) of Cambrians blossom forth during the Halloween/Thanksgiving Scarecrow Festival.  Citizens and visitors are treated to a myriad assortment of straw stuffed apparitions throughout our hamlet.  You never know when you will come across one; sometimes they may startle you instead of the intended bird.  Speaking of which, note the crow hanging around every figure--obviously the crows are not very intimidated!.  All in all, it is great fun!

TOBY...CONTINUED


I thought I would give everyone a brief update on Toby, our rescue Brittany.  We originally were fostering him after he was picked-up wondering around in a field outside Bakersfield, CA with a severely broken leg, some broken teeth, infected ears, and several inches of matted hair and debris.


We decided, in conjunction with American Brittany Rescue and numerous veterinarians, to amputate Toby's damaged leg.  He came through that traumatic (to Diana and I, not Toby)  operation with flying colors!


It has been a couple of months since his operation and, I'm thankful to report, Toby is doing wonderfully!  He has learned to live around and with his limitations, and to develop new ways of doing things.  He loves to go to the Cambria dog park, chew-up tennis balls, and to ride in the car.  He's energetic, friendly, loving, and enthusiastic to do things--anything!  Most of all, Toby loves to snuggle with us in bed!


I am totally amazed at Toby's resiliency...his enthusiasm for life.  He is an inspiration to me; he has taught me so many life lessons and I feel very blessed to have him in my life.

THE SAGA OF TOBY TEETZEL

This chapter of Toby's life begins on 08/14/2010 when Diana and I received him from American Brittany Rescue in Kettleman City, CA (in the middle of no-where).  We had volunteered to foster Toby.

Many of you might have already seen this video that contains more early information on Toby:

After hours upon hours of research on the internet, input from a myriad of different sources, and the consultation with American Brittany Rescue, we finally came to the conclusion that it was in Toby's best interest overall to have his damaged right hind leg amputated.  This was one of the most agonizing decisions Diana and I have had to make.  There were many sleepless nights at the Teetzel House in the past few weeks!

Here is the video of Toby's experience of the amputation:

Early One Cold and Foggy Morning...

...I went on a whale watching excursion with fellow docents from the Coastal Discovery Center.  The R/V Fulmer had been in Morro Bay for the prior week doing several research projects for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.  Since CDC is part of MBNMS, they kindly agreed to lay over an extra day and take us to hunt for whales off the Central Coast of California.

We left Morro Bay early in the morning of Saturday September 4th.  Since this really isn't an ideal time to see whales, we didn't have great expectations.  Boy, we we surprised:  We saw three humpback whales, two of which hung around the boat for over half an hour, and many Dall's porpoise, a rarity in these waters.


The map below show the actual route of the R/V Fulmer (in red) and where I took the photographs (tiny cameras) in the accompanying video:

It was an exciting adventure and I would like to share it with you: