Monday arrived and there is no snow yet. I wonder if weatherpeople can actually come close with their forecasts? It seems lately they have been unbelievably off.
Our snow was supposed to start in the mid-afternoon. But so far we have nary a flake! We have heating oil, groceries and Jack went to the recycling center with a full load of trash, so we are truly prepared for what may come. But so far, nothing.
The weekend flew by and I found myself once again cooking three actual meals or perhaps I should say 6 meals, as Jack does not eat what I eat. So, I’ve been busy.
I also decided that I needed to finally take down my little Christmas tree. This small tree was my Mom’s tree before she passed away. I use it now for many reasons, but remembering her is definitely one of them.
As I came close to the tree, I noticed that a lot of the lights were out on the tree. Now that’s no good! Usually, I wrap the tree up in plastic and store it until the next year. However, with these lights being out I decided to strip the tree this year and then get new lights for it for next year.
After the tinsel and garlands and ornaments were all off of the tree, I started to take off the lights. Two strings were dead, and half of the lights on the third string! Only the star shone brightly!
I went through and found replacement lights for the tree and ordered those. They were on sale, and once I am sure that they work, I will pack them with the tree.
But, the tree is down and the twinkling lights are gone. Time to get back to regular life once again!
I saw on the weather channel we are due for 6-12 inches of snow on Monday and into Tuesday. Ugh, more snow! So, I went out to the grocery store, picked up milk, bread, and eggs, and a few other things, and came home. I am now prepared for the storm!
I started my new book. This one is about Karen Carpenter and her struggles with Anorexia. It is so sad that she died so young (age 32) from this horrible illness. It makes me think that so many young girls are fat-shamed and they resort to starvation and other things to be what they think is perfect.
Oh my goodness. I finally watched a few episodes of “Sex and the City”. How did I miss watching that? Perhaps when it was on before I was too young to understand it.
But the last two days, I have laughed and laughed and really enjoyed the comical situations these women bring upon themselves. I know not everyone will like this show, but it is light fluff and cracks me up.
That pretty much wraps it up for now. I hope you all have a good week and if you are looking for a vaccination, I hope you can find one.
Recently, I was looking for a particular poem by Rudyard Kipling about the loss of his dog. I came across my picture being used by a man who does lovely readings.
I found his website and wrote telling him how much it meant to me to find this! I also told him that I didn’t mind him using it, but perhaps he could give me credit for the picture?
Today I heard from him and he sent me a new reading with credit given to me for my picture. So, gentle readers, here it is again.
What a nice man and he reads this poem perfectly!
It the end of another week and the end of the first month of 2021. So far, I am not impressed with what 2021 is offering. Oh well, not much I can do about it. In any case, here is this week’s Friday Five.
I hope that no matter where you are your weekend will be restful and warm! Stay safe, soon it is my hope that we will be done with this blasted Virus!
Since losing his sister last week, Arnie has been very sad, very needy, and very clingy to me. For fourteen years Arnie had his little sister and he’s struggling to find his place in this new world.
Arnie was the only boy in Greta’s first litter. He actually wasn’t supposed to stay. He’s been reserved by a woman in Upstate New York. But at the last minute, she changed her mind. By then, we’d fallen in love with Arnie and he stayed.
Arnie had all the girls swooning. He is such a sweet and personable doggy and everyone who met him fell in love.
Arnie always fit into our household. Besides being born here, he was the dog who always played well with the others. He was the one who actually comforted the other dogs when they were hurt or sick.
And as the others got sick and left us, Arnie has been the one that has comforted me.
He’s such a handsome old boy. At fourteen he has a few gray hairs but his eyes are still bright and he still has that marvelous swagger when he runs outside. I am hoping Arnie will be with us for a very long time. I’m not sure I can imagine a world without him in it!
Arnie age 14.
The last few days I have spent a lot of time sleeping. It seems to be working as I am finally feeling better. Good thing too. It seems Lili and Arnie really need me.
Today I actually got up and took a nice hot shower. I ate a normal breakfast and after did the dishes, mopped floors, and then cleaned bathrooms. I know, glamourous, right?
By 11:00 I was spent! I sat down with my coffee and an apple and took a break. The break lasted through lunch, and actually, I didn’t get much else done before chopping vegetables and the meat for tonight’s beef stew.
If I can manage to wake with no fever, I really need to go out tomorrow afternoon, get the mail, and a few groceries. If I still have the fever, then things will simply have to wait.
Our little dog family of two is settling in. Last night around midnight Lili began to bark like crazy. Since she did not stop, I got up to investigate. Jack had forgotten to shut off the outside lights and as I neared the door, I could see some sort of critter outside near the bird feeders. I shone the super flashlight that I got for Christmas through the door glass and caught the eyes of a very wildly beautiful Red Fox! Below is a picture of what a Red Fox looks like.
This picture was taken last summer when Red Fox decided to come calling. He is a beauty that’s for sure. But I want to keep the dogs away from him/her as foxes can carry rabies.
So I’ll keep working on getting well, and then hunting down my own dose of the vaccine. Currently, it appears I will not be eligible for the vaccine until this summer. We shall see.
My dear friend in Berlin, Germany lost her dog on Tuesday due to old age. Both times I brought Anneliese to Berlin for breeding, we stayed with Uschi and her faithful dog, Noah. Anneliese and Noah died one week apart. I like to believe that Anneliese and Noah are now free of their earthly health problems and running wild and free and healthfully over Rainbow Bridge.
Me holding Anneliese while we snuggled with dear Noah.
It’s been a tough week, but it is my hope that both sweet Anneliese and darling Noah are resting in peace. They were both such good dogs and both will be missed.
Once again I am down and out with a winter cold. This one is all in my head, making me stuffy, feverish, and very tired. I’ve spent two days in bed, only getting up to prepare meals for the dogs and for us. And even then it’s minimal.
The TV drones on and mostly I sleep through it. I’m glad I stocked up on soups and crackers.
Arnie is a very good nurse. He never leaves my side. I’m a lucky girl. Until I am better I suspect my blogging will be minimal.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a good week!
Oh my goodness, Saturday was really cold! It wasn’t just the actual temperature outside, but the wind brought the windchill down to the single digits! In fact, it was so cold, I broke out Arnie’s sweater as he was shaking like a leaf!
It brought to mind the fact that during the winter of 1999-2000, I was standing outside, with four feet of snow around me, smoking a cigarette. I had just a few left in the pack when I was overcome by good common sense. I came in, broke the cigarettes in half, and covered them with Dawn Dish Liquid.
Jack asked me what I was doing and I told him I was quitting cold turkey! He looked at me, with a concerned look of disbelief, and shook his head.
I told myself that I could never smoke another cigarette or I was done. I would be a smoker until the day I died.
But I never did start again. I never even caught myself sniffing the smoke when people were smoking near me. In fact, I really detest the smell of smoke now, unless it is in a fire-pit.
So tonight, as the wind blows, and the temperatures drop, I am so grateful that I am no longer a smoker!
In these first few days since Anneliese’s passing, we decided to leave her bed out so that Arnie and Lili would not be too confused. Well, that only worked a little. They would sniff it and then look around for our girl. Arnie spent part of yesterday quietly crying for his beloved sister.
Today we decided that the bed needed to be picked up washed and put away for later. Jack took the dogs out, I scooped up the bed and vacuumed and sprayed the area with Fabreeze Fabric spray.
However, although Lili came in and did not seem concerned, Arnie came right in and went to the spot where the bed had been, then climbed under the table the bed was next to and cried. I got him out from under the table and now he is lying in his bed.
I wish I could talk to Arnie and let him know that he is loved and that Anneliese is in a better place. All he knows is the sister he spent his entire life with is gone.
Anneliese and Arnie at about 12 weeks old. Best friends and siblings. Together always. So this is very difficult for our little boy.
Arnie cuddling his sister. He did this very often. Sometimes they would fall asleep like this. Devotion.
We will keep an eye on our boy. And try to keep him from getting lost in his grief.
The last two days have been hard. Arnie and I are still looking around the house for our Anneliese, but she is not to be found. I was feeling as if I were nothing but a weak, emotional marshmallow, but then I remembered that I am one tough cookie and I will help get Arnie through this, as well as myself.
So upon getting up on Thursday, I made my favorite breakfast, sat down, and slowly savored each bite.
In a week’s worth of sadness, here is the Friday Five. Yes, five good things I am truly thankful for.
So that is my Friday Five. Have a wonderful, safe and happy weekend!