Half day of school on Thursday, no school on Friday or Monday...what can we do with all those days off? Get things put away and declutter of course!!
Dad took the 'photo studio' up to the classy pet resort and vet clinic in Boca hoping to drum up some photography work...hope things work out as this is our normal slow time for any work each year, but now with the economy the way it is...it's a bad time for any of us!
My son Mark spent the entire day yesterday at our friends house down the street helping them redo their sons bedroom and switching out his bedroom funiture and then was invited for a sleep-over...haven't heard from him yet today...I know he is having a good time eating at their house because she cooks good food all the time and invites us all the time over for 'food'! yummm...we love her cooking!
My daughter is watching Madagascar for the 3rd time, I hear her singing the songs with more clarity each time...she laughs out loud over certain scenes..she loves this movie! Time to get her outside on the trampoline or playing hop-scotch or something to get her body "movin movin"...like the song says!!
...as for me and what to do over the long weekend? I am still putting "things away" from the Holidays! Being out of State the entire first week in Jan has put me behind in cleaning up after the Holidays! I am still sorting out and repacking the Christmas decorations for next year...purging decorations that I just don't need to store all year long anymore! Amazing how much 'pretty stuff' we collect over the years all in the name of decorating for the Holidays! I have a tiny house with too much stuff! My husband would love for me to get rid of everything...but I can't...I won't...and I don't need to...but I do need to cut down and keep only what we really need. So I am trying...trying to get rid of the excess stuff that is too much to store anymore. I am feeling good about what I have accomplished so far but know I still have alot to do with continuing to purge and cut down on collecting. Please someone give me some praise for what has been accomplished so far...it didn't happen overnight or during a long weekend...it is years of 'collecting'...yes it's a big job! I am determined to accomplish alot of purging of 'stuff' this year...if that sounds like a resolution..than so be it...it's a good one for me!
There is a chill in the air (65 degrees) which makes it great to turn off our AC and cut down on our electric bill this time of year...letting the fresh air in and in the mood for SPRING CLEANING early! ...or would that be called WINTER CLEANING...is it because its the beginning of a New Year?
....now need to tackle those PAPER PILES!! I need to redo my entire office space that is overflowing again...I never got that bookcase that we were looking at 2 months ago...I need to get organized and declutter so I can think again with fresh ideas!
Lucy, our beloved rescue dog, a little black Schnauzer passed away yesterday on 1.13.09. She has been with us since 6.30.07. Mariah and I found her on the busy street near our house on a hot summer day. There was a lot of construction going on during that time and here was this little black dog that was darting in and out of the traffic and looked like she had been rolled a few times because she was missing a lot of her fur on her back...she looked bad when we found her and I wasn't sure how badly she was hurt. She was given a good bath in the front yard and that's where I looked her over real good...she seemed to look fine other than being more than exhausted and lost.
On the TV was playing I LOVE LUCY when I brought her home, hence her new name...LUCY. She actually seemed to be saying to all of us, "Thank you for taking me in...I was so tired!"...she didn't eat for about 3 days and just slept! Took her to the vet and had her checked out, the doctor seemed to think she was ok other than her loss of hair on her back. He didn't see any broken bones or injuries, we estimated her age to be 10 or more years old because of the condition of her teeth. She was old, but that was ok with all of us...she needed someone to take care of her and 'she found her way to us'...Mariah keeps saying she's, "my dog"...so Lucy was always been Mariah's dog...
I tried for about 4 months to find Lucy's 'humans'...she was listed on http://www.petfinder.com/ for a long time and I had put out over 10 flyers around the area replacing them once they were weathered...I really tried to find her 'parents'...but after 4 months...it was time to take her back to the vet for a check up and to get all her shots up to date. That was the day I bought her a new red collar and a new red leash...she had a new rabies tag and I ordered one of those red heart plastic 'name tags' with her name, Lucy on it with my name and phone number...to me that was the day we officially adopted her! Lucy was now ours and she found us and her new forever home! Lucy needed to go to the groomers every once in awhile, because I believe she was a Schnauzer and she always looked better after being trimmed like a Schnauzer.
Lucy was a very sweet and loving dog...she was no trouble...she wasn't a hard to handle dog. She didn't have good eyesight or good hearing...but she sure did have a good sense of smell..she always knew when we were eating and food was around...she did have some pretty bad dining room manners which we all worked on and taught her how to wait till after dinner and she would get some left overs and lick the plates. She must have been living on the streets eating whatever she found for so long, because she preferred people food over dog food.
All of us accepted Lucy just as she was and enjoyed having her around. She slept alot and would get up when someone would open the front door...she enjoyed hanging out in the front yard for longer than just to go out to do her business. She was happy living with us.
We told people that this was her 'nursing home' and that she was living out her last days with a family that loved her. Mariah took it upon herself to 'train her'...taking her for walks around the back yard, sometimes for longer than Lucy really wanted to be led around on her new red leash. Mariah really enjoyed being 'the trainer' to Lucy and even would pick her up and carry her around when really she was too big to be picked up and carried by anyone. Lucy would let Mariah do whatever...they were good for each other. Lucy had Mariah and Mariah had Lucy!
In the last 3 months we all started noticing Lucy loosing weight and her fur started falling out...her hind legs started to wobble when she walked and she started having a much harder time getting up and going down the one little front and back door step. Lucy was failing and we knew her time would be soon. Jim and I discussed which one of us wanted to take her to the vet...not something anyone ever wants to have to do but we knew it was getting to be 'that time'...
I started having talks with both my children, especially Mariah to prepare her for when Lucy wouldn't be with us anymore. We would tell her that Lucy is getting very old and that one day she would be going to heaven to be with PaPa and PaPa Bird and Mimi & Molly. She gave me some funny looks, and she understood because she knows that PaPa and her two favorite Guinea Pigs, Mimi & Molly were in heaven.
After coming home from gramma Elizabeth's funeral the other day, I told her that one day soon that Lucy would be also with Gramma. Mariah was ok with that and said, "Lucy's old, we'll get a new dog"...Jim and I had to laugh because we just wanted to help our daughter move on with the idea that soon Lucy would be going to Doggie Heaven...our conversation wasn't at all about getting a 'new dog'...we're not in a hurry to get a NEW DOG, but certainly if the right little PAP Princess came along we (I) would jump for joy!!...we have enough pets around here to keep us busy and one less for a little bit will be a good thing! *For me anyway...since 'mom' is usually the one that is 'the main caregiver' to ALL our fur/fin/feathered/shelled family members!!
So Lucy passed away just 13 days after Gramma, now my mother-in-law has Lucy with her! We had a small funeral in the back yard and each said something nice that we remembered about Lucy...we all enjoyed Lucy for the year and a half she lived with us. Bringing her home and rescuing her from the construction traffic that we found her in was a good decision. We will miss her but more importantly...we know we did a good thing by taking her in and allowing her to live her last days with a family that really loved her and cared for her.
Lucy we love you and will miss you!
Mariah will miss you the most...I bought her a new little (teeny tiny)frog for our little 'frog tank'...that's Mariah's 'new pet'...a little tiny white Africian Frog that lives in a fish tank! And to things off...someone on the eve of Lucy passing...called us at 10:30PM and asked if we had room for a 'rescue' TURTLE...of course we are set up for 'helping' out...turns out this thing is BIG...as BIG as our 10 pound Land Tortoise Olivia!! So now we have added a 3rd turtle to our family of 'pond turtles'...Lucy in the skies with Diamonds keeps ringing thru my mind when I think of our LUCY....will miss you Lucy girl!!!
Being on the road for a week and attending my mother-in-laws funeral has taken the energy out of me, I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things now that we are back home. We have been back 3 days now, both my children are getting back into the routine of 'going to school' and getting caught up with what they missed last week. Mariah has been out of school for 4 weeks because she was out the week before Christmas break because both her and I were sick. Today is Tuesday, therapy day for my daughter...each week she receives OT-PT & ST at Kids SPOT, she loves going there, they really make her 'work' on improving her skills. I like meeting and talking with the different parents I meet when I am in the waiting room.
Happy New Year? Jan. 1st, 2009
Today my mother-in-law died, at 10:30am...she waited for the first day of 2009! What a sad day for us today to loose the best mother-in-law anyone could ever wish or dream for! Elizabeth you will be much thought of daily and missed terribly! I love you!She was an amazing woman! Loved the Arts, she was an accomplished Artist and Musician...she inspired and taught so many over the years. She had a strong faith in God...she made me feel loved and the sense of humor she had was FUNNY...boy could we ham it up and laugh so much together, she sure could get me laughing and crying at the same time on many occassions! She always appreciated my humor and 'got it'...I will so miss being able to call her up and talk and laugh with her! Mom...I'm going to miss you so much! Thank you for being the best mother-in-law I could have ever dreamed for!
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