Keeping busy (a little too busy)!

This week has been the longest in my life. I feel like the events that I went through on Monday seems like a months ago instead of days ago. I threw myself into work on Tuesday at church. We had to get ready for "Kindergarten Roundup" and the youth groups meetings for the next day. I didn't turn up at church on Wednesday. I was too busy here cleaning for my own family and one of S's friends. That night L helped me out by dumping trash (twice!) . Then I came in today to check if there was anything to do to clean up for a funeral luncheon scheduled at 11 AM. Still there was trash to dump, wastebaskets to find in unknown places, doors to close, nursery to rearrange, and cups and paper products to restock before coming out to help with the funeral luncheon.

I have been in and up/down mode since Monday and wasn't looking forward to helping at the funeral luncheon. So I got to church nearly at 11 AM and asked what I could do to help. MS said it was taken care of. I actually smiled for the first time in days!! Relief!! I'll just come back tonight and do the BIG CLEANUP. I rather prefer to do that. I think since most of the people could be in a sad mood it was probably a great idea I wasn't there. I might have started to cry too but not for the same reason. Maybe another time I might be open to help out for a funeral luncheon, but not now. Give me some time.
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I've been looking online for dogs. I found one for free from H town. It was not housebroken and was an outdoor dog. I have my preferences. It has to be housebroken, likes cats (or at least tolerates them), would really like a black or chocolate lab, and gets along with the family. It would be great if the dog could be male and neutered and free. This may take a while but we are ready to share our home. We already have the name picked out. If anyone knows of a dog that fits that criteria please let me know (that is if you live in this city/county).
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I'm checking my activities for March. The first two weeks looks to very busy for us. I'm going to train to be a Forensics judge. I think that should be interesting. Technically speaking, English/communications was my minor in college, so I think it will be fun to judge the kids on how well they do their speeches, orations, and acting. Then there will be spring break. I already know where we will be going to on one of those days. The land of Crimson and Blue. I wonder if we will be eating at "The Longhorn" or somewhere else? I'll be turning another "number" in March. Oh boy! At least I'm still in good health! Sprinkled in between those days will be the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament. Just hope KU does well down the stretch.
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KU basketball senior speeches are on March 3rd. I will have to find some way in recording these for S as her favorite player, RR will be delivering his. We have watched him and others grow into gangly freshman to strong seniors. Last year KU had no seniors on the team. But this year we have Sasha K, RussRob, Darnell J, RodrickS, JeremyC (who is actually a grad student), and BWitherspoon (a bench player). S said she will cry when RR leaves KU. I'll cry when Darnell leaves, he's such a nice guy!! Then next year Mario (my fave) will be a senior. We will have to look for new players as they come through the ranks. Tyrel Reed and Cole Aldrich are the new ones whom we like.

Something to Smile About

Brandon Rush was laughing while Iowa State was at the free-throw line. He had fouled a player in the act of shooting a 3. So that player went to the line to shoot three free throws (and made them all). The Iowa State player next him is looking to say, "If I did that I would have to run a bunch of suicides." Or "You're crazy man, what are you laughing at?" Rush fouled the player late in the game and it was Rush's first foul. I'll bet Self wasn't laughing.

KU finally got their road win against the "Hamburger Team," ISU. (note their colors of red and yellow). They did really great from 3 point shooting and seemingly got their confidence back. Rush rang in three three pointers, Mario Chalmers put in two three pointers and Sherron Collins had one three pointer. Mario's points were from way out! Like an NBA 3 pointer. Sasha Kaun played well despite back pain. The team didn't have as many fouls as they did against OSU on Saturday. In fact they only had 2 fouls and 5 turnovers in the first half. A nice tight game. The refs (from KU standpoint) weren't too bad. This time I enjoyed listening to the ESPN announcer. Steve Bardo. He played for Illinois before Bill Self coached there. Bardo and the other guy were pretty good anouncers; way better than Ron and Fran.

Next game is KU--KSU....the revenge game, college game day, the game we wanted to go to. It's a showdown starting at 8 PM. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS!
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During the game someone was calling us. I will not answer the phone when KU is playing. I don't care if you are my long lost cousin bequeathing me tons of money, I just will not answer the phone. The phone rang twice. Both times not for me.
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I have good times and bad times since Monday. I was thinking about an incident when I lost my old pair of glasses. I looked for them all over the place and they weren't in the house. So when I was outdoors patting Daisy I looked down in her tail. Guess what? The glasses were stuck in her tail!! They were quite scratched but they were intact. Daisy didn't even wimper when those things were in her tail. It was funny. I just need to remember the silly times with her.

Life without Daisy

I've been keeping plenty busy at my work, it's a good thing since I am mourning my dog. But looking at this sunny day, I think how much she would have enjoyed today running in the yard and sunning her fur.

When I came in the yard today, I kept thinking she would welcome me home. Racing up to the back porch, wagging her tail and looking for some approval from me. I blinked my eyes and remembered, "Oh yeah, that's right. She's gone." Other places remind me of her too. I look out at the sandbox where the kids didn't play much in it but she did. She would often lay on the sand and look around the yard. Other times playing basketball in the yard. We would dribble the ball and she would bark at us. We would shoot the ball and she would come up to "bother" us. The backyard was hers and if we were back there it was to play with her and nothing else.

A friend told me that I should take some time to grieve about the loss. But how long should that be? If I had another dog in our backyard soon, I wouldn't forget Daisy. I haven't forgot Liberty either. I think it depends when you are ready to move on with life. The quickest way to do this (for me) is finding the perfect dog for us that will mesh into our "pack." That's my opinion.

R.I.P. Daisy Mae (ca 1997---2008)

She came into our lives when we had nowhere else to turn to. Liberty, was put down about 2 years before. We had been through several dogs none worked out. Then we walked into the vet clinic and there she was panting and "smiling." We loaded her into the van and took her home. She lived with us for seven and a half years. We remember the times when she chased J around the yard and how she barked, yipped, and "talked." When she would come in and wanting attention, placing her paw on our knee until we satistified her need. Sitting on the floor just patting her as she looked deep into my eyes, laying her head on my chest. Scared because of fireworks, running into the hall. Watching her ears lift up when she heard thunder wanting to hide under the bed. When we would pull into the driveway how she would bark endlessly until we saw her. She always wanted to be first in line to get into the house when it rained. Make several turns before she "decided" she would walk into the house. Hearing the clicking of toenails on the kitchen floor. Chewing on dog toys, lapping up water noisly, burping when she ate too much.

Now I look at the empty yard thinking about our life with her. Looking at her feeding mat, thinking she would be laying her head in my lap watching me work on the computer.

Looking forward to seeing her along with Liberty in "Dog Heaven."

Now we are looking forward to find another dog who needs a new home. We at least hold on to that new hope and bright new day.

Depressing Loss!

I was hoping that KU would win this afternoon at Stillwater. They didn't they lost by 1 point at the last second. It looked like maybe we could have pulled out the win in the last few minutes. The loss happened in the first half. This is where KU didn't score any 3 pointers and that KU had way too many fouls in the first half. O-State went to the line constantly, in particular that Byron Eaton. He was hit like 17 out of 18 free-throws alone. Yes, it was free throws (OSU's tally) that got us. We were done in by 21 turnovers, this in itself was a record for KU and lack of 3 point shooting. But we did get two 3 pointers in the second half. Compare that with OSU's total 3 pointers, they had 8. We didn't execute well. Everyone played the way I've been feeling all week...depressed. Darnell Jackson's cousin died in OKC this past week and Rodrick Stewart's brother died as well this week. It's been rough on these kids lately. Now the 'Hawks need to regroup and start playing better against Iowa State on the road on Wednesday. Practice will probably hard tomorrow as I kind of doubt it that Coach Self will let them have the day off.

During the game we got so sick of listening to the TV announcers. So we did like all good Jayhawk fans do and turned down the sound to the TV and listen to Bob Davis and Chris Piper.
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It's a rainy, sleeting, muddy day in Harper. Depressing skies and cold temps. Tomorrow is suppose to be warmer and sunny. I can't wait. I love those days. I certainly hope that Spring comes next week. I am not a rainy type person.
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Still taking care of Josiah once in a while. She is a nice little lively dog. Even though her "parents" are looking for a new home for her, I am still wanting a younger dog preferably a lab.
It's so rough to watch your dog of 8 years succumb to death. I am ready to get the vet out here and just ask him to euthanize her no matter the costs. We go outside and check on Daisy. We know that she will not get better, no miracle is in there for her, she doesn't eat or drink water and she has lost the sparkle in her eyes. It's time for her to gently close her eyes and be put down. I've accepted this. I don't like it but I can't do anything for her. It's frustrating.

Rambling Friday

Today has been an interesting day. L and I was commenting about S's text messaging. We thought she had unlimited access. Ha! I called the cell phone company and found out just EXACTLY what we owed. I was like....AGGGGHHH!!! It wasn't the national debt, but it was at least 3 times higher than the last bill. So apparently we didn't have unlimited access. I texted her and told her the bill. So meanwhile, I am looking through the company's site to see if there is anything about changing our plan and getting unlimited messages. I call the service rep up from that company and thankfully I got this nice man who actually spoke English. He sounded like an old friend of ours when it said, "By jove I think I've got it." (Randy). So I explain to him that I thought we had it and boy, I was wrong! He accessed the info and said about the same thing that I was thinking. He tells us that he can knock off some money off of that bill. Thank you God, there are some nice people out there! Then we changed the service so instead of paying a high amount (like this month) it will be slightly lowered with unlimited texting. Whew! If only credit card companies would be that nice to talk with!!
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Daisy is still hanging in there. She raises her head when we say her name but other than that she just looks pathetic in her dog loo. She never got in this before. It was like "I'm not going there unless I die." Guess that's how it is now. :( I have left her food and water in her igloo and she has not touched it. My vet drove by to check on her. He said she wouldn't last a month but he wasn't sure how long she had. She could die tomorrow or two weeks from now. Euthanizing costs and since she isn't moaning she will die a natural death.
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I have resigned that we will get another dog. I am having our vet look around for us. We want a lab. Liberty was a great dog and she was a lab. Our vet told us not to buy one as there are plenty of dogs who need a home. I know buying is the wrong way to go. We learned that lesson over 8 years ago before we got Daisy.
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KU is playing tomorrow!!! That will take my mind off of the dog/cell phone/satellite bill thing. I need a distraction. This was the game that I should have gotten tickets for. Maybe I still can!! I think I'll check the OSU ticket office!! No, tickets don't go on for sale until 6 pm tonight. Oh well, guess I won't go. But I'll be watching on TV tomorrow!!
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Been snacking on Girls scout cookies. I ordered a few boxes from a church girl scout and now I wished that I would have got something else besides the cinnamon snack cookies. The Thanks Alot are so good, even though they are so fattening!! I need that bit of chocolate to get me through this week!

My Years With Dogs

When I was 8 my family got a dog. It was my first dog. We were basically a cat family and when our cat disappeared, presumed dead. I can remember going to our Humane Society in Hutch and my brother picking out this little black and yellow dog. The people said that he was half daschuand and half terrier. He resembled a miniature Doberman. My brother taught him how to sit, beg, and jump over his legs. We fed him cheese and chocolate chip cookies. Now I know in this day and age chocolate is a no-no for dogs to snack on. But we did it back then. We named our dog Floppy. During life events (such as my brother getting married and having a couple of kids) the dog was around. Then when I was at Sterling I got a call from my parents telling me that Floppy had died. We had Floppy from when I was in 3rd grade until I was a junior in college.
After that I didn't get another dog/pet for 10 years!!

Then I finally adopted Liberty when I bought my first house in W town. I was single and Liberty turned out to be a great companion. She even got along with L after we got married. We moved down to H town and she was there when I had S and J. She died after 13 years, when S was 6 and J was 3.

Then we got Daisy, 8 years ago. As Pastor B would say, "That's been quite a long time ago." S just turned 7 and J was 4. Now S is in high school and J will be in middle school next year. How time flies.

As I think about getting another I wonder what dog I should get. Should I get a dog that's big, which carries a big responsibility (like Daisy was a big Collie), or do I get a little dog, small expense (such as vet bills, boarding fees would be much less). It's a decision that I just don't know which way to take. It's a decision that I didn't want to make for at least another 5 years.

My next dog depending on size and health will possibly be with us when both kids are away from home. If my next dog would live over 9 years then S will be out of college and J will be in college. It's something to think about.