Smith-Bentley Blog

The Mattie Scare

I returned from work as usual on Wednesday night, let Mattie Silks outside to go potty and went about the usual evening business. When I let Mattie back inside, I noticed that she had vomited on the back steps. When she came inside, she drank a big bunch of water and was a little “burpy” and “belchy”. After a few minutes, she threw up again. I confined her in an area so I could keep and eye on her. I also wanted to keep her away from Max in case it happened again. It did.

We waited a while before giving her more food or water. When we gave her more, it came back up most immediately. She wasn’t keeping anything down – and she was anxious.

After a while, we gave her dinner and she seemed OK – except that she was still gurgly and grunty. It sounded as if she had something in her throat.

Mattie had difficulty breathing the rest of the night. Overnight, it reminded us of having a newborn baby – as Brendan comforted (pet) her each time she awoke herself when gasping for air. By 3am we were quite concerned and started formulating a plan to get her to the vet in the morning. With each of us having important meetings on our calendars, it wasn’t as easy to think through as one would hope. For the rest of the night, Mattie woke herself every 15 – 20 minutes and Brendan was at her side each time to calm her through each breath-taking-gasping episode. It was exhausting to think that morning was approaching and we couldn’t stop it.

Luckily, the vet opened at 7:00am and was able to get Mattie in right away. I canceled a few morning meetings, and we were there by 7:20am. They evaluated Mattie but were unable to make a diagnosis at the time. To them – she seemed to be rendering typical English Bulldog behaviors with their snub nose breathing issues. Despite this, they offered/suggested that she receive a dose of steroids to decrease inflammation/improve breathing and that I leave Mattie for observation for the day. They would call me if issues arose during the day.

We were relieved to have Mattie under watch. At least we wouldn’t have to wonder how she was doing at home alone. She was a phone call away!

By 9:30am the vet called me at work to report that Mattie had another vomiting episode after they attempted to feed her breakfast. She also demonstrated the symptoms described in the initial consult. They believed she had severely irritated her airway, aspirated vomit and reported that she was “turning blue” from lack of oxygen. To get her breathing under control they wanted to sedate her, give her additional steroids, and start an IV as a back-up. They also wanted to do X-Rays to diagnose the problem. If Mattie didn’t stabilize soon, they recommended transferring her to a “medical unit” vet hospital for oxygen therapy.

My heart crumbled to a thousand pieces at the thought of losing Mattie Silks. And because she’s been driving me nutty the past several months (dog hair, neediness, stinkiness, dirtiness, poopiness etc), I suddenly felt overwhelming guilt. Just because she bugs me doesn’t mean I don’t love her.

By the end of the day, they were able to stabilize Mattie, and she came home. We are so grateful that she is OK. Having a furry friend is such a rewarding experience – and I often ponder that concept…wondering how it is that we allow such creatures into our homes. However, pets are capable of giving, receiving, and feeling love – and this adds fulfillment to our lives.

Brendan, Mysti and Max celebrated Mattie’s return home and exchanged lots of hugs and kisses. Mattie is still recovering from the debacle, but she’s already camping out under Maxwell’s high chair waiting for food to drop – and that means she’s back!

Mattie returns home - and zonks out after her long day at the "doggie hospital"

 

Turkey Trotters

Brendan, Mysti and Maxwell joined 6100 others to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.

Breaking News

News of Bladders Reunion Leaks to Public

Dateline: Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Digital Recording Savant Warren K. Smith, renowned for pioneering the famed “Tequila Wall of Sound” confirmed today the imminent return of alterna-folk outfit The Bladders.

“The Tri-Fecta of rock comebacks is now complete,” said Smith, from his East Coast recording studios off Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, commenting on the wave of reunions marking the 2007 summer. “First it was Sting, Andy and Stewart who buried the hatchet. Then Eddie and “Diamond” Dave JUMPed back into the fray. Now it’s The Bladders turn to re-Rock the world.”

The group will hole up in a cabin on the beautiful shores of Lake Tahoe, reminiscent of Bob Dylan and the Band’s famed Basement Tapes sessions recorded at Dylan’s Woodstock, NY home.

“Not even the sub prime mortgage crisis, nor the death Merv Griffin can stop the rock,” noted Smith. “Prepare to be Bladder infected.”

Fraturday

When a Holiday falls on a Wednesday, Tuesday night is "Fraturday".

Tuesday night before the Holiday is kind of like a Friday, except that Wednesday is like Sunday since Thursday is Monday again. So Tuesday is more like Saturday - but the day was probably spent working - which is not like a Saturday at all.

So Brendan coined it as "Fraturday".

Atomic Birthday

I never would have imagined what Brendan would request for his 31st birthday.

A trip to the park with his new son? Perhaps the dogpark to enjoy all family members (don't forget Mattie Silks)?

Or maybe a night out with his wife?

No?

Strippers?

Nope.

When we asked Brendan what he wanted for his birthday...it surprised us:

"I want to watch my wife eat the spiciest hot wings in San Jose."

Below are the rules:

• no napkin
• no beverage to wash it down
• no blue cheese or celery sticks
• must BEG for any of the above

This...all to take place at the new Wing Stop in San Jose.

Womb of Baby Smith-Bentley

It’s not everyday that you get a chance to see your life through someone else’s eyes.

We were fortunate to host our aunt and uncle, Barb and Warren, at our house in October. While they were visiting, Warren began a sketch of our back yard while sitting on our patio. Last week, he sent us a scanned version of the finished copy. Thanks Warren.

We look forward to this being the first piece of art we hang in our new studio.

And then I guess, according to Warren’s perspective, I might need to clean up the chaos that is our backyard…

Below is the finished sketch:

Warren's Notes:

"Here is a digital copy of a ballpoint drawing of your back yard, made from a sketch I did one morning when we were visiting, initially called "Backyard sunrise, 224 South Morrison, San Jose, California, 7 Oct 2006."

I've worked on it most every weekend for the past five months. Because the sketchbook is a little too big to fit in my backpack, I couldn't bring it along with me on workdays to work in it before reporting to the design studios (which is when I do most of my drawing), so it got relegated to those early morning drawing sessions on Saturdays and Sundays at either the Mule or Ozzie's coffeehouses.

This morning - at the Mule - I decided it is as finished as it is going to get.

I will be this first to admit it is a weird drawing - and that it has its problems as a visual statement. First off, it's way too dense. Very little "big" elements pop out of - and therefore it does not
transcend - the detail. There are certain stylistic elements that keep it from being a fully-integrated work - the most obvious one to me is the textural differences between the top right and left sides of the picture - that the rendering of the cypress trees on the right has a different stroke-feel than the smoother natural elements of the left. And even with all of the shadows I have added, the drawing remains extremely flat.

That said - my goal was never pure realism. When I make "landscape" drawings, usually I start from a sketch made on the spot, but then let it become an abstraction that plays with shape and line and texture and dimensionality until it becomes a mixture of fantasy and reality. Yet this piece, for all of the odd shapes and strange creatures that manifested while the drawing developed into a firm visual expression, resilently clung to its realistic roots ... and eventually acquired two new titles.

The second title is much more dramatic in a classical sense: "The Battle of the Sun and the Oranges." At times it felt like some Aesopian fable was taking place - which has more saturation, the oranges on the tree or the rising sun? The rays of the sun seemed to be crossing swords with the branches of the tree.

Then a third theme developed during a weird coincidence. I had noticed there was a fetus-like shape in the lower right portion of the drawing, which seemed appropriate given Mysti's pregnancy. Then you guys sent the 3-D ultrasound of BSB, and suddenly it became apparent that image was a perfect model to emulate - so a new title evolved, "Womb of Baby Smith-Bentley."

Hopefully, the drawing is all of these things - and more. I've attached a little pictorial guide pointing out the main visual features."

Wheels

The weekend before last, Brendan and I decided to go test drive a few automobiles.

We've been talking about getting a new car - and had looked at some at the San Jose Car Expo several weeks back. We didn't have any plans - so we headed down to the "Auto Mall" in South San Jose.

We started off test driving the Toyota Camry which won 2007 Motor Trend Car of the Year. We liked it. Very fun and sporty.

Next, we headed next door to Honda to check out the Accord. Our vote: boring. In comparison to the Camry, it couldn't compete.

Last, we stopped off to drive the Saturn Aura. No complaints about that car, except that I we just liked the Toyota better.

And then - we did a strange thing. We went home. We slept on it.

This - for us - was new. The last two (three?) cars we bought were spur of the moment purchases. We drove off the lot the same day we test drove. But this time was going to be different. Was Brendan trying to prepare his game face for the dealer? Was he going to wheel and deal to get the price down?

No.

We just thought it would be better to wait.

But the next day - we drove our new car home and we love it!

We also had a buyer for our "sports car" - the 2000 Ford Escort ZX2.

Megan is a happy girl!

 

Everybody up! We're going to the beach!

On Saturday morning, instead of going to our usual breakfast joint in Willow Glen, we decided to get up and head to the coast.

I woke up and said "Everybody up! We're going to the beach!"

This is a phrase that Brendan taught me. I was thinking it was a "Schleif" (Brendan's cousins) thing, but he says it's a "Grandpa Buzzy" thing. He told the story of when he was visiting G&G Buzzy in Texas, that Grandpa Buzzy would say this before going to the beach near the South Padre Islands. Then again - Brendan doesn't remember what we had for dinner last night.

If anyone (Smiths? Shleifs?) remembers more on this - please share.

We had breakfast at Zelda's in Capitola. Mattie guarded the jeep (View this photo ) while we ate breakfast. Brendan pooped in the bathroom there - which only had a curtain - not a door. He didn't like it.

After breakfast, we went to Santa Cruz. Mattie loved the beach! It was a bit cold and foggy, but we had a nice walk. Mattie believes she was almost swept away to sea.

Capitola and Santa Cruz Beaches

Feliz Navidad Peeps

Merry Christmas Compadres,

Mysti and I are enjoying a quiet Christmas Eve here inside the Smith-Bentley compound. I have disavowed doing much of the traditional Holiday hullabaloo today and am instead, enjoying fine Coors products (since starting this post I have switched over to J. Lohr Merlot) while taking in the 12 football matches happening across our great Land (an early Christmas gift courtesy of Fox and CBS).

I have significant cash riding on the outcomes of these games, which has my sphincter (by finding this link I just learned a lot more about sphincters than I ever knew...I write about the ones in my anus) a little tighter than it normally would be come a Holiday weekend when I don’t have to be back at work for 5 days. Right now it’s not looking great for me and my bets. So be it…money is made to be lost, that’s my motto.

We took Mattie Silks to the dog park this morning and she did her usual. This involves feigning disinterest in all other dogs for the first 10 minutes, then becoming a “bully” and picking on the younger dogs. This tuckered her out and she proceeded to take a 2 hour nap upon our return to the homestead. Mattie is talking a lot to us today and keeps asking if the unborn child inside of mom is Baby Jesus. I tell her “yes.”

Mysti spent the morning on the Internet(s) shopping for cribs. With Baby Bargains in hand, she did her best comparison shopping, which only ended up getting her a bit stressed and wound up. After she knocked back a few Whisky shots (with a Coors Light back) to calm her nerves, she finally settled on the Sorelle Nicole Four in One. I think it will make a fine addition to the home.

Soon we will eat Dungeness Crab, along with Garlic Mash Potatoes. What are you having? Whatever it is, I hope it is tasty and enjoyed alongside of loved ones. I add these sentimental touches because this post serves as our Christmas Card this year and I want you all to know how much we care.

May all of you (and Marion Barber and L.J. Smith…I need big Fantasy Points from them) have a fantastic (and high-scoring) Christmas day.

Peace. Brendan, Mysti, Mattie (and Baby Jesus)

Mom...I'm sorry for writing about sphincters and making up stuff about Mysti drinking and Baby Jesus.

Christmas Tree

Last week - we got our Christmas Tree.

Here are a couple of pics - including one of Brendan hanging his "Batman" ornament that he's had since he was a kid!