...that life is a very curvy road.

Had a wonderful visit from our son.  Now that he is on his way back to the other side of the globe, we now have several things to deal with, some quite serious and others quite fun.  Happy Birthday, Marc.

Lexi

Our three older dogs, Lexi (14), Jazz (12), and Sam (12) are needing a lot of extra attention, and I am the lady ready to give it.  Lexi's tumors are growing back very quickly, she is finding it very hard to get around and walk, so I am keeping her close 24/7 and helping her in every way possible.  She is too old to bear another surgery and the probable results is that the tumors would just come back like they did after the last surgery,  She will not be with us much longer so I want her to be feel comforted and loved in these days we have left with her. We have done everything humanly possible for her and now it is time for a higher power to decide how many more days we get to hug her and appreciate her. Bless her dear heart. She has spent her lifetime watching over me and is my very best doggie friend.

Jazz is still getting around pretty well, but sleeps most of the day, and is sometimes quite hard to wake up.  Both Lexi and Jazz still get their monthly acupuncture.  It keeps Jazz moving around and was doing so for Lexi, too.  Thankfully, Jazz still gets around fairly well once he has been up for a while, and still loves to amble around and bark at the younger dogs during their playtime.  Since he is mostly deaf, we have to use sign language with him, and go wake him up when it is time for a meal or to go pee.  He cannot hear us call him.

All getting a taste of ice cream

Sam is doing the best of the three at present but his quirk is that he has decided not to use the dog door.  I just have to remember to let him in and out often, and that works well.  He still gets around fine, his saliva gland is staying healthy with remedies from his homeopathic vet.  He gets two doses a day and that does the trick.  No more swollen faces, thanks to his vet.

The two middle aged dogs...Zac and Sadie are doing quite well.  Zac has tested positive for Lyme again this year (his vet called this morning with the results of his blood test) so we will have to go pick up some antibiotics for him to take.  Sadie is doing fine and acts like a much younger dog.

The young ones, Kati, Toby, and Lucy are full of energy, all healthy, and did I mention, full of energy? They do everything with great gusto and eagerness, from agility to just going for a walk.  They request several lengthy ball playing sessions a day so Ralph and I get exercised daily, too.

My great grandmother and her
twin sons.

Have been doing a lot of work on my ancestry tree and find it so interesting.  I have put up quite a few photos on Ancestry.com and plan to add more.  Tracing down my son's ancestors so he will have both my husband's and my family trees to go visit whenever he finds an interest to do so.

Have my stained glass piece close to finished so will be starting some new things very soon.  So glad to have found such a creative hobby that keeps my imaginative mind engaged.

Some of the plants I have been bringing over from the other house are beginning to get used to this new property.  My white clematis is in full bloom today down by the pond.  The spearmint and chocolate mint are growing strongly by the agility fence and will be used for tea this summer and through the next winter.  I always dry a bunch.  Also it is time to put in tomato, pepper, and cucumber plants since they always taste so much better than the supermarket rubber veggies.  Thankfully, we also have local farmers' markets with tasty Maine grown products.  A lot to be thankful for.


Life is a mixture of so many varied emotions and I plan to experience many of them in the coming weeks.  May you all embrace the many twists and turns that life brings you!
Take care,
gardeningartist

...about making lemonade when life gives lemons.

The huge moon!

This has been an unpredictable week, not that any future moment is 100% predictable, but this week has been extraordinarily odd.  For several weeks, my husband and I have been excitedly looking forward to a rare visit from our son.  We cherish these moments with him so dearly and they seem to pass much too quickly.

Our Son

When our son arrived this past Sunday evening, it was clear he was not feeling well. He had arrived with a bad cold and just not feeling up to par.  Ralph and I tried to coax him into going out and capturing some photos of the huge moon but he was just too ill and tired.

At Emergency Vet

We all turned in around 11 PM, and that was when we discovered that one of our old shelties had a large bleeding sore on her leg.  Not knowing what to do, my husband and I took her to the emergency vet in Portsmouth, NH.  It ended up being a sort of bed sore caused by sleeping on the hard floor.  Lexi has many soft beds to sleep on, but being a cold weather dog, she always chooses the cold wooden floor.  Anyway, her leg was a mess so it took a while to get it all bandaged using a doughnut sort of shape so she could not put pressure on the wound.  By 3 AM we were back home and finally got to rest.

Lexi

Monday and Tuesday went very well.  Marc rested a lot, we had supper with friends on Tuesday, Lexi went to a couple of vet visits, I had some acupuncture.  All seemed to be going along quite well.  Then Tuesday night, I got my son's cold, so now two people and one dog were ill.  By Thursday night, Ralph was added to the list.  Today, (Friday), our son is beginning to see the end of the worst part of his cold, I am in the middle of mine, and Ralph is at the beginning of his.  Lexi needs lots of care, but her leg is slowly healing.

When one thinks of our son visiting and all the ways we could have spent it, this is definitely a time when we have to settle just making lemonade when life gives us lemons.  We have all stayed in fairly good moods, taken good care of one another, and taken good care of all our dear dogs, too.  We have gone nowhere, and done nothing, but sometimes, just making lemonade is the best we can do.

Me

We are warm, we are all safe, we have a roof over our heads, we share a lot of love and humor, and are just waiting for our colds to take a hike.  They will eventually.  My husband's birthday, Mother's Day, and our son's birthday will all be honored in the next days, no matter if we party or just quietly support one another quietly through these special days.  It really doesn't matter.  What matters is that we are all together and share a bond of caring.  It can't get any better than that.  We are a family and that is what truly counts.



Take care,
gardeningartist