Missing Murdok

There has been a lot going on since my last blog, but that goes without saying since the last one was a couple months ago. Sorry for the hiatus. I’m sure the 3 of you that read this have really been lacking during this time. I must confess that I have attempted to write one, but every time I do, I just write about Harvard. I figured that not everyone is as much of a dog person as I am and you probably don’t want to hear about him all the time, so I just haven’t written anything. I will give you this update on him though:

He’s growing and his baby teeth are falling out. He also graduated from puppy class.

There. That was quick. So instead of boring you with all the little stories about Harvard, I have decided to talk about a different dog. The one and only…

Murdok

We had to say goodbye to our good buddy this morning, and it was tough. My parents think he had a stroke, and he hasn’t been able to get up from his pillow for the last few days. It was time, but it was still really sad. However, instead of making this blog a downer, I have decided to share some pictures and stories about the little guy that always make me smile.

Story #1: When Murd lived down at Andy’s house on 23^rd, he would occasionally dig his way out of the back yard and go exploring. On one particular day, he followed a guy all the way down to Home Depot AND BACK! That’s around 40 blocks of walking round trip.

Story #2: After Andy added Buster to the family, the boys would get out much more frequently. One night Andy received a call from the principal of R.A. Long saying that the dogs had wandered into the school dance (another long walk). The principal said they weren’t causing any trouble and asked if Andy would wait a little bit before coming to get them. Apparently some students would walk up to the entrance, see the dogs, and turn around and leave. They thought the boys were drug-sniffing dogs! Buster and Murdok were causing students to leave that the administration didn’t want there anyway. What good dogs.

Story #3 (Mom told me this story today): On Murdok’s first 4^th of July, he stayed up at his grandparents house. My dad was out of town and Andy thought Murd would freak out because of all the fireworks, so my mom said she would take him for the night. Mom prepared a little bed for Murd on the floor of her room, and they went to bed. Around 3 in the morning, my mom woke up and found a little spooning buddy cuddled up against her back in bed with her (a big no-no), and when she rolled over, he lifted his head up and looked at her with a look of, “What’s the big deal, Grandma?”

Story #4: This story still cracks me up to think about. I was still living at my parent’s place and Matt Tallbut came up to hang out. When anyone would drive in to the driveway, the boys would come to the driver’s door to see who it is, and this day was no exception. Matt got out, bent down to give them a scratch, and one of the dogs immediately jumped up and whacked him right in the sweets. Matt then shut his door and made his getaway. Attempting to get away from the boys, Matt went running for our garage and the other dog took out his legs, sending him tumbling to the gravel. This was easily one of the funniest things I had ever seen, and probably still is. Imagine the whole scene…

These are just a few stories that come to mind, but I’m sure Andy and my parents could add a lot more. Considering Murdok was a white boxer, he outlasted all expectations and overcame the odds. It’s amazing that he lived to almost be 10 years old when you think about all that he lived through. He jumped out of the back of Andy’s truck while he was driving down Mt. Brynion AND got run over by the back tire, he took down a pit bull with the help of his brother Buster, he had a softball-sized tumor removed from his side that was cancerous, and he sniffed a little too close to the rear end of a porcupine and he lived through it all. He had the heart of a champion. Murdok was an awesome dog, and he will surely be missed.

Haystack Harvard

This last weekend, Amber and I went down to Cannon Beach for the marriage retreat that our church puts on every year. Since Cannon Beach is so pet-friendly, we decided we would take Harvard with us to see how he liked vacations, the beach, etc. The trip definitely had its ups and downs, but overall it was a lot of fun.

After taking Harvard over to meet his great-grandmother Florence on Thursday, we headed down to the beach. He was perfect in the back seat of our car, and even did the normal dog thing and stuck his head out the window.

When we reached Warrenton, the three of us were all getting pretty hungry so we stopped at a Dairy Queen. As I took the little guy into the grass to do his business, I found a wad of cash. A whole eight dollars! Almost free dinner! Not a bad way to start the trip.

When we got to the hotel, they were very excited to accommodate Harvard. They brought him a treat, which he loved, and showed us the pet area where he was to do his thing. After he did his business in the grass, I grabbed a plastic bag and began the cleanup. As I threw the bag into the trash, the ring on my right hand slipped off and fell to its demise into the pet poo can. I opened the lid, looked in, and decided it wasn’t worth it. It was a $5 ring, had no sentimental value, and didn’t warrant the dirty recovery job. Now if it had been my wedding ring… yuck.

Harv loved our hotel room. Long and carpeted, he was able to do his sprint exercises. I have to say, the first night was a little difficult with him. He was super hyper (maybe from the puppy crack treat) and was just not being a very good dog. I even said to Amber that I was worried he would be a bad dog when he got big… really big. Well, apparently he heard me, because he was a saint the rest of the weekend. I think he found Jesus. Naturally, I baptized him with the hose when we got home (he loves the hose).

We took Harvard onto the beach for about 15 minutes, and he was a little unsure of it. Wind, sand, and waves were all somewhat troubling to him, but he did okay. I took my camera to take some pictures of him, but alas, the battery was dead. All I got was this picture with my phone:

When Amber and I adopted our Great Dane puppy, we knew he would be a topic of conversation; what we didn’t realize was how many people would want to meet him. As stated before, Cannon Beach is very pet friendly, so we took him down to the main street for some lunch. As we ate outside of Pizza a Feta, everyone who walked by wanted to meet him and know what kind of dog he was. Upon finding out he was a Dane, they were tickled to pieces. Apparently the blue color is puzzling to people, and they often think he is a Weimaraner or an oddly colored chocolate Lab.

It was a fun little work vacation with our little family, and we of course are very proud of our little buddy. He even learned a new game at the beach: hide and seek. When he finds us, he gives us big hugs. It’s very cute. By the way, he has officially doubled in size since we got him. Harvard is now 12 weeks old and just over 30 pounds.

I leave you with a picture of Harvard laughing hysterically in the back of our car...

I missed you...

As I was out on tour, I realized there are a few things that I missed from home that I don’t always consider. Of course, I missed my wife, family, friends, and things like that, but the following list is not so predictable.

My Bed – When Amber and I got married, we slept in her full size bed with a mattress that sunk to the middle like a hammock. We are not the largest people in the world, but the full size was still pretty small for us. Early on in our marriage, we decided to fork out some money on a nice mattress, so we bought ourselves a Sleep Number bed and it has certainly been worth it. I often forget how nice it is until I sleep in a different bed and wake up with a sore back. Needless to say, the bus bunk and hotel beds were not what I was used to sleeping on, so when I was reunited with my mattress after 7 weeks, I sunk right in.

Water – I’ve always said the northwest has the best water (which is why the coffee is best here), and I was again reminded of this very convenient truth out on the road. There were numerous times when I would turn on the shower and smell sulfur, or I wouldn’t be able to rinse the soap off. Our water is good.

Toilet Paper – Most hotels and music venues buy pretty cheap toilet paper. This one doesn’t need any explanation. Just imagine notebook paper… but thinner… and without the lines.

Weather – I love the feeling of cold rain, so when it is hot and rainy, I get upset. I also don’t like feeling sweaty as soon as I dry off from a shower. That’s why I enjoy the northwest.

Towels – Our towels are nothing special, but when you compare them to the hotel towels or the venue towels, they are a dream. Again, hotels and venues want to save money, so they buy cheap towels. These towels are almost as thin as the toilet paper and only slightly more absorbent.

So that is my list of the little things I missed about home. Don’t take what you have for granted. Your towels and toilet paper are a luxury.

Ups and Downs

When my brother, Andy, did his best man toast at my wedding, he said a bunch of nice things. His closing line of the toast was something to the effect of:

“May all of your ups and downs be in private.”

This has certainly been a week of ups and downs, but most of them have been quite public. For starters, I got home from the tour. I quite enjoyed the whole thing, but also missed Amber and home terribly, so I’ve had mixed emotions upon re-entering normal life. I must say, however, that there has been nothing normal about this week.

Like I said, the tour was a lot of fun. I met a lot of great people and had many a fun time. It has been a number of years since I played guitar on a stage like that, so it was a good reminder of what I love. Thankfully, this tour rekindled some of the once glowing embers in my musical mind and has me excited about music again. Some of you may be aware that I used to be in a band that didn’t end well, and that whole experience really took the wind out of my sails for a long time. Now, though, I am reminded of my love for hunting for guitar pedals, and I am excited to make some of my own music again. I’ve been on an extended recording hiatus for different reasons, but mostly because I was simply burnt out. Not anymore. Now my only enemy is time and money.

Back to the rollercoaster week… On Monday night, Amber’s brother Josh and his wife Becky welcomed a little 6lbs 10oz nugget of joy into the world. Becky gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Jaxyn, on Labor Day. Labor Day! Ha! Apparently Jaxyn got the memo. She’s a good-looking, healthy little girl, and maybe, just maybe, Josh will start his own blog someday.

As soon as they were sent home from the hospital though, littlest brother Jordan decided he wanted to have his turn. Early Thursday morning, him and a couple friends decided to take a break from their World of Warcraft and head to the gas station for some energy drinks. On their way home, one of those terrorist deer jumped in the road forcing the driver to swerve, and the boys went off-roading in a Honda Civic. The car rolled down an embankment and somehow landed on top of Jordan, who was thrown from the vehicle. Miraculously, after being pinned under the car for about an hour and being life-flighted to the hospital in Vancouver, it appears that Jordan escaped with only a big gash in his head (which has been stapled shut) and a pretty nasty concussion. His body is pretty darn sore too. The other boys are fine; one of them getting some stitches in his arm. I’d say, all in all, they were all extremely lucky. Feel free to thank the Lord for His hand in it.

Our friends Judah and Becca Kirkwood also added a baby to the world this week. His name is Noah and he is destined to be a great ship builder someday… if he chooses. Amber and I also added to our family, which can be read about in the blog below. Harvard is growing up very fast and we can see the changes in his body and mind. He is learning the house rules and getting bigger every day. We just realized that when he is a mere four months old, he will be as big or bigger than my parents’ boxers. Wow.

Harvard meets his cousin Zoe:

Sleeping Harvard:

Harvard:

It's A Boy!!!

That’s right. Amber and I have finally added to our little family. We just adopted a Great Dane yesterday, and he is awesome. His name is Harvard, but you can call him Harvey. Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking. You are thinking, “Why a Great Dane?” Well, Amber and I love big dogs, and we wanted something with a really good temperament, so all signs pointed to the “gentle giant” that is snoring at my feet at this very moment. We have been looking for a puppy for a while now, but we wanted a specific color and we wanted to do it right, so we waited until we found the right breeder. We actually went to see a different puppy a while back, but the breeder was sketchy and the puppy was not Harvey.

We actually came across this breeder while we were at the hospital for Jordan (Amber’s little brother). He was in a car accident (more on that in a blog to come) and his ICU nurse happened to have a blue Dane, and also happened to know that the breeder she got hers from had one male puppy left. It was fate. We contacted the breeder that day, and the next day we had Harvey. I would just like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Jordan for getting in a car accident, taking a helicopter ride to a hospital in Vancouver, suffering a major concussion, getting staples in his head, and freaking the entire family out all for the sake of Harvey joining the Lemiere family. What a great little brother. (he is doing well, by the way)

One concern we had about the puppy was that he was the last one picked, but that concern quickly dissipated like a dog fart in a windstorm. Most people choose their Danes from pictures over the Internet without meeting the puppy until it is delivered to their house, and they usually pick by the dogs markings. Even though Harvey was the last one to find a home, he is still the one we would have picked out of the litter. We got to see him with 3 of the other puppies who were shipping out on Tuesday, and he was our favorite. He is almost completely solid blue, he was the biggest of the litter, and he has the mildest temperament. In fact, as I was crouching down to meet the dogs, the other 3 puppies were biting at my jeans and my shoe laces and Harvey was sitting between my legs with his head resting on my thigh. Temperament was our biggest concern, so his physical qualities are just icing on the cake.

On our way home, we stopped at the hospital so the Evald family could meet their new grandson/nephew. The hospital allowed us to bring him into Jordan’s room, but as we were waiting outside, we were given a glimpse as to what our lives will be like when we take Harvey into public. Everyone that walked by commented on him and couldn’t resist petting him. Many asked if he was a Weimaraner because of his blue coat, and everyone was thrilled to find out he was a Great Dane. “I’ve never seen one so small,” was the typical comment. Don’t worry folks, he will get bigger. Much bigger. Here is a picture of Amber with Harvey’s 170 lbs dad, Apoc:

After one night of having our new son in the house, I still like him. As soon as we took him home, I instantly felt that love that only a parent can feel and finally knew what Amber’s mom is always talking about (that was for you, Sheri). So feel free to come visit our son and us. My brother, Nick, recently had a son and I know that lots of people brought him and Tiff meals since they are new parents, so feel free to do the same for us. :) Just let us know when you want to meet Harvard!!!

Wife Week

As I write this blog, I sit at a picnic table just outside our bus behind the venue at Virginia Beach. It is approaching noon, and the weather is perfect. Sipping my cup of catering coffee, I reflect on the last 7 days. This has been one of the best weeks ever. Amber got to come out here on the road with me and it was a blaster. We got to hang out in New York City for a couple days, catch a few concerts, go shopping, and spend a lot of much needed time together. When we first saw each other, there was this initial feeling of, “Oh yeah… you ARE a real person and not just a voice on my phone,” but it didn’t take long to wear off. Amber amazed and surprised me with a few things: she got her hair done and got her nose re-pierced. Even after flying a red-eye, she still looked smokin’ hot.

The first day was pretty uneventful. We attempted to walk around, but after getting about ¼ of a mile from our hotel we got dumped on by the New York clouds. At that point we decided to go back to our room and order a pizza. Enjoy a picture of us here:

The second day in New York was much more successful. We decided to take the subway everywhere instead of a cab, so we saved quite a bit of money. For the whole day, we only spent $13.50 to get around the city. It was a good thing too, because we needed all the money we could get to keep the muggers from taking our phones and bags. We only got mugged twice, but we managed to talk our way out of giving all of our stuff to them by telling them we had connections to the Chicago mob and that… ok, I’m joking. We didn’t get mugged at all. All we did was walk around, go shopping, share a couple meals together, drink coffee, and go to a concert. A friend of mine sings in a super-duo called The Civil Wars (see video at end of this blog) and they just happened to be playing in the city on our day off. Most of you know that I’m a critical perfectionist so this next statement may come as a shock to you, but The Civil Wars were flawless. Amazing. It was a great day and night with the wife of my youth.

Day three was a show day, and we played at the Jones Beach Amphitheatre. Pretty cool venue, but poorly designed. As you can see in the picture below, it is right on the water. The bad part about it is that the lower level floods all the time, and this night was no exception. Everyone in front of the stage was standing in water. You can imagine how load-in and load-out were. Good thing there is a crew that takes care of that. :)

The weather was still cool and wet, so I had a little hot cocoa date with this hot girl I found backstage.

After the show, Amber did her first overnight bus ride with us. Since neither of us are huge individuals, we decided to try to share a bunk. It was tight, but after being apart for so many nights, we were willing to make sacrifices to make it work. Sacrifices like being able to bend my knees at all while trying to sleep. By the 3^rd night drive, we had the bunk sharing down. I should add here that a bunk is smaller than a twin bed, and there is only about 2-2.5 feet of clearance from top to bottom; basically, it’s like sleeping in a coffin. If I had to be stuck in a coffin with someone though, I would definitely choose Amber as my coffin-mate.

All in all, Amber saw 7 concerts while out with us: The Civil Wars, Madi Diaz, Skillet, Creed, and Theft (3 times). I’m not sure which concert was her favorite, but I’m pretty sure I know which guitar player was her favorite. Hopefully Amber will write her own blog on here about her week with us, but I have a hard time getting her to. All of you that have either her phone number or email address, you should bug her about it repeatedly until she does.

To wrap this blog up, I would like to share a something I’ve learned over the years of my travelling: names of places are funny. Every morning when I wake up, I reach for my phone, open the weather channel app and see what the day has in store. The app uses gps to locate where you are to give you the most accurate info, and when I located myself the other day I was in Coxsackie, NY. It’s just down the road from Climax, NY. This reminded me of other humorous towns such as Blue Ball and Intercourse, which are both in PA. Lastly, and possibly the strangest, is a state park in Kentucky: Big Bone Lick State Park. It can be found where Big Bone Road intersects with Beaver Road. I kid you not.

Lovely Lady Lands

The waiting game. Lets be honest, I have been playing the waiting game for the past 26 days; but as the hour draws near, I grow restless. I have been home a total of around 80 hours in the last 936, and in that 80 you have to account for all the time spent sleeping, building the shed, and all the other little things that use up our time and cause Amber and I to be away from each other. What I’m trying to say is that I haven’t seen my beautiful wife much lately. What has been keeping me sane is a lot of time spent on the phone and iChat, making sure that Amber’s picture is the last thing I see before closing my eyes every night, and the far off thought that I will be reunited with her again in the future. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that future is in a few long, arduous hours.

Here I am, riding on the bus while she is flying through the air, and I can’t sleep. I attempted to go to bed early, but Bo seems to be lacking when it comes to graceful driving (more on that later). Mixing a rough road with the anticipation of a hug from my not-so-rough wife makes for a very unrestful night. It’s funny to think that she could be getting better sleep sitting in her airplane seat than I am laying down in a cushy tour bus. I did get her a window seat, though. Enough about that. I need to change the subject before I go crazy with excitement.

Please allow me now the opportunity to tell you a little bit about our new driver, Bo. He has been with us for about a week now, and the verdict is in: I miss Lem. Bo seems to be a nice guy, but he is like an unstoppable rebel force when he is driving. I don’t know if the roads are really that bumpy or if he is actually running over people that get in his way. Either way, he somehow managed to shave two hours off of a 13-hour trip a few nights ago.

Our first encounter with him was interesting. He started driving and immediately lit up a cig. Sorry Bo… not on this bus. Suddenly the smoky hotel room smell that hit us the first time we entered the bus made sense. This was Bo’s bus. He complied with our “no smoking on the bus” rule and kept on trucking… or bussing. The second encounter was no better. He got on the bus and Matt asked him how his hotel was, and Bo responded with a string of colorful words to describe how he felt about said hotel room. Lem? Are you there? We have since found out that Bo is ex-military, he was in Vietnam, and in the winter he transports convicts on the bus. No wonder is a little “rough around the edges.” I wasn’t aware that translated into the roads though. I swear he took the bus through a skate park the other night… half-pipe and all.

The show at Lake Winnipesauke was great the other night. It was the smallest crowd of the tour so far (somewhere in the 3000s) but we managed to sell 55 CDs… a record for Theft. After the show, the venue lit two fire pits backstage and put out all kinds of s’mores stuff. They had the traditional stuff—grams, mallows, and milk chocolate—as well as some new things, such as strawberry mallows, dark chocolate, peanut butter cups, and York peppermint patties. I tried a s’more with a peppermint patty, and I’ll tell you what… pretty darn good (excuse my language). I suggest you try it next time.

I suppose I should try to get some rest before my lovely lady lands. Enjoy your week and don’t ever take your spouse for granted!