Bear Paw Meanderings

I turned 75 this January. That is a monument for me and for those who would say I am just a spring chicken yet, not true. I feel every one of those 75 years most of the time.

How did I get this far?

It was simple, brandy, martinis on Friday and Saturday nights and a huge white sheepskin rug to make me feel good every time I look at it!

There was a time I was the holder of a huge collection of stuffed animals. Real stuffed animals. It was a collection that had belonged to the Lou Lucke Company and I added to it through the years.

It got too big for me. The museum in Havre didn’t want the collection so I donated it to the Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park where it is to this day.

Still left in my possession are several stuffed ducks, pheasants, a large Canadian goose and a mountain goat head.

When Mother and I moved back to Havre and bought a house that had a huge space for a den, I needed a rug for the tile floor. I had some Navahos but needed something striking to make the den look rustic. So, I bought this huge sheepskin rug made out of six sheep. It is about 10 by 10 and filled with tall and beautiful while hair. It was to be the showpiece of the den. Only trouble was that my dog Fallie loved to wet on it! Seemed the tall fur touching his you know what gave his tingles a special feeling. So, the rug could not be used there. It sort of floated from place to place for a few years.

Then we moved it to mother’s bedroom. Her bedroom was large, had hardwood floors which she didn’t like because her feet were always cold. So, we had put oriental carpets on the floor but they were not enough. Finally we got the idea to put that giant white rug on the floor. We knew Fallie would not get into it because we could keep the door closed.

Never did a rug fit into a room as perfectly as that rug does in that bedroom. Everyone should have a six sheepskin rug by their bed in their bedroom. It is so soft to walk on and so warm and feels so good on bare feet. It is simply the cat’s meow so to speak!

So, that is my advice in getting to 75. Plenty of brandy, a martini or three every Friday and Saturday night before dinner but most of all, living with a large sheepskin rug to tickle your toes and make your life just simply better every time you see it in a bedroom or wherever you keep it!