Remembering Memphis

Recently, we lost a special member of the family. My mom's black lab, Memphis, was killed by a car.

We had Memphis for about 8 years. I was 20 or so when Joey and I got him from a man who couldn't keep him but who wanted to make sure he was going to a good home. We couldn't believe how beautiful he was! We're pretty sure he was a pure bred lab. He had all the instincts of a good hunting dog and loved nothing more than to go on a hunt. Joey named him Memphis.

Especially when he was younger, he was a hard core fetcher of the stick. If you got into a fetching match with Memphis, expect to throw the stick at least 20 times. If you were walking around the farm doing something other than throwing a stick, Memphis would often trail after you, stick in mouth.

Pebbles

A few days after we got Memphis, Pebbles came to us, my mom's other giant dog. Clearly abused and starved, she dragged herself to my mom's property (the other dogs around had probably told her that my mom has a soft spot for animals), and she's been with us every since. She and Memphis became fast friends, although Memphis' sweet disposition made him a passive partner to Pebbles' Alpha Female personality. I'm sure she misses him terribly.

Memphis and Pebbles frequently went on "night hunts" together on my mom's land and wouldn't return until morning. We suspect they did things like kill coyotes, harass nutria, just generally terrorize anything willing to be terrorized. They brought a few bits of evidence to Mom as gifts of love.

Memphis was Mom's faithful companion as she drove the truck to the different pastures feeding the horses. He loved riding in cars.

It's hard to imagine a better dog than Memphis. We were really lucky to have this gallant dog in our lives for as long as we did. He'll be greatly missed.

We love you Memphis. We'll never forget you.

good dog. rest now.

The Next Big Thing

After Christmas, Joey and I decided to go on yet another adventure. Why not, right? But this time, we would stay within our own country.

As I have mentioned in another post, once we came back from Europe, our plan was to relocate to another state other than our own. I've gone into our reasoning for doing this in other posts, so no need to do into now, but I'll just say that although we love Louisiana, we really value and enjoy living and experiencing other places.

We had several places in mind, mainly in the western part of the country, and we figured since we weren't working, why not explore those places to see if they're a good fit? And why not have some fun on the way? And why not take Polly Browne? We like to say YES! :)

So on New Year's Day, we packed up my CRV, scooped up our little one and hit the road for the wild west. I started calling our tour the Williams' Western Whoa! Tour, or the WWW Tour. We had a great time. We were considering Austin, Texas; Flagstaff, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; San Francisco, L.A., and Napa Valley. Also, we were open to any city we might fancy along the route. We figured this way we could really get a feel for a place.

Of course it wasn't all business. We got to see some things we had never seen before, like the Grand Canyon. It was breathtakingly beautiful!

We visited Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Boulder Basin. Our country has such beauty!

Hoover Dam



Family Portrait at Boulder Basin



I believe the bridge over the dam was Memorial Bridge. It was quite the sight to see.

Of course we couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Sin City! I hadn't been since high school and Joey had not yet been. We had a wonderful time, even though it was freezing walking around. Joey even tried his hand at the craps table. He played for about an hour and walked away with the same amount he put in. Pretty good, I thought! I made "friends" with a gambler's wife who was also watching her spouse play. Interesting life style, I'll just say that.

Las Vegas

 Next, we headed up to California. Unfortunately the weather was not great while we were there. I was a bit disappointed because I'm sure Napa Valley is gorgeous when it's pretty out, so we'll have to come back another time. But they still serve wine when it's raining, so that's a plus!

We made some friends with some wine-drinking Sicilian miniature donkeys...

San Francisco

Polly enjoying one of many treats she was adorned with while on this trip. This was from the Sonoma Dog Camp organization while we were in Sonoma. No, we did not send her to dog camp...

So if we haven't told you already, we did make a decision as a result of the road trip, and we chose...

Probably not a shocker if you know us! We love this city, and we always said if we ever moved, this would be a top destination. And the truth is we didn't find anywhere we loved as much as Austin. It has everything we're looking for in a city, plus it's close enough to drive home if we need to, which is a big plus. Plus Austin is weird, like us, so I think we're fit right on in :) We're excited! Although we will greatly miss our friends and family, this is the right move for our little family. And we welcome visitors!!

I have to end with a great big thank you to our dear friends, the Charlet family. We are incredibly grateful for the kindness, support and generosity they showed us while we were checking out Austin. They are newcomers themselves to the area, but they opened up their home to us on numerous occasions with such graceful hospitality. They are a true example of serving others in the name of the Lord, and we have been and will always be blessed for having them in our lives. We love you Charlets!!

We indeed would appreciate your prayers as we quickly move in the next few days while also searching for (and hopefully finding) employment in our new city! We love you all!

I'm movin' to Austin, y'all!