Molly is our 13-year-old black Lab. She’s been sick for quite a while. We’ve been putting off the decision to put her down. She can move only one leg properly, limping along when she has to walk. Some of her medicine no longer works, or we’ve had to stop it because the vet said it’s destroying other vital organs. But her mind is as sharp as ever. We even have to protect her from our new kitten, who likes to play with Molly’s tail and legs and realizes the big dog will do it no harm.

This is the problem with dogs: they wiggle their way into your heart and mind, becoming indispensable to your view of the world, then they die long before you’re ready to give them up. Molly has become part of our family. She is a superb animal — calm with kids but fiercely protective against those who she perceived as outsiders. She’s never bitten anyone, and she’ll take a treat from your hand like you offered it on a silk handkerchief. We’ve all got our stories about her.  How do you put a member of your family down? How do you deal with the memories. It seems barbaric, even after rationalizing in the suffering you’re trying to alleviate.

Lenie and I told our kids we’d consult with them before any decision is made. I’m still searching for a way out of this.

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I drove 17½ hours Tuesday from Winnemucca, Nevada to Gold Beach, Oregon. Wednesday I had jet lag and slept mightily. Today I played 18 holes of golf and unwound completely.

The Self Reliance Expo was a fine success for us. We took 49 subscriptions and I had a chance to hang out with readers and advertisers.

Jeff Gleason, “the Berkey guy” who has been advertising Berkey water filters with us for years, had the booth opposite from us. I use the Berkey filter. Everyone should have one, even if only stored away for an emergency. This is an absolute must in any future survival scenario.

Tattler resusable canning lids was there too. My wife and daughter use these. This is another “no brainer” addition to a preparedness budget.

Humless was there also with their very useful “silent generator.” They’ve only been advertising on the website but we made a deal so they will soon be advertising in the print issue. Glenn Jakins and St. John (pronounced SIN-JIN in South Africa) Holloway of South Africa are two very cool representatives of that company. I’m buying one of these “generators” but will have to wait a few more weeks for delivery. This is a good complement for the magazine’s new motorhome. I got the solar panel charger with mine.

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We made it to Utah, through a lot of light snow and heavier rain. Interesting keynote speaker, Fernando (FerFAL) Aguirre, who has an interesting website. He’s from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and lived through that country’s 2001 economic collapse. He’ll do an article for us, possibly for next issue.

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We got the motorhome, and John and I will be off early tomorrow morning to show the magazine at the Self Reliance Expo in Sandy, Utah. Unfortunately our first storm of the year has moved in so we’ll be driving through wind and rain, with snow at elevations above 5,000 feet. It’s a two-day drive.

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