There have been many things happening, many things happened, and a few have yet to happen. So I know that I am making huge major glossing swipes here and will attempt to include all the biggies, but will probably miss something super~obvious; cuz sometimes I miss the trees for the forest, or the forest for the trees, but most of the times, I hit a nice balance where I can focus on both the forest AND the trees. Why? Not cuz I'm super~woman, no. Cuz I have a great supportive husband, great supportive friends, and great supportive family. Oh! And did I mention that I have a great supportive mother? She's been living here in Mississippi, just down the road now, for about a year. Yea!! It's been the first time we've lived in the same state since I was 24, let alone the same town, or the same property. It's not that we didn't get along, we always have. It's just life can take you places, if you let it.
So, this past year has been extremely difficult pet~wise for us. We adopted a lil tiny ten week old puppy last October who had major congenital issues. CoCo was with us for a month and then slipped into a coma induced by hypothermia {which apparently happens with small breed puppies very quickly}. I did get her to the vet within fifteen minutes but she had a very traumatic day and passed during the night at the vet's home. It was unreal how much she meant to us within such a short period of time.
Then we adopted Ginger, who was most likely six to nine months old. So we decided her birthday would be St Paddy's day. She was full~grown but still puppyish and weighed about 13 pounds when we brought her home. She and Sophie played and played and played. Ginger was definitely a daddy's~girl, for sure! We had her for a few months and then, she was either hit by a car or beaten. We searched for her and then that night she showed up on the front porch but we rushed her to the ER at the Vet School here at MSU cuz she was banged up pretty badly with lots of internal damage, tho not easily apparent from the outside. Turns out her spine was separated from her shattered pelvis. I have no idea how she managed to make it home at 3a. She died just before what we'd been hoping would be her first birthday.
It was horrible. So we decided that we shouldn't even think about another addition to our home for awhile. I felt bad, but I swear that Jerry was crushed to the core. So we just need to give ourselves some time and just enjoy the girls we have.
Shaddow is going to be twelve in August! She is not in the best of health, several large tumors {systematic}; but she seems to be enjoying life still and not in undue pain. She is loving her bed and during the day, she loves to either bask on the concrete apron in front of the house or stretch out in the field next to our place.
Sophie is two and a half and has mellowed somewhat tho she is very much a puppy still! She has her favorite spots, usually Jerry's recliner during the day. She has taken to stretching out in my lap {cuz Ginger was in Jerry's} as long as I put a blanket over her so that the passing yarn wouldn't tickle her while she was sleeping. Otherwise, she fidgets and glares at me.
One of Jerry's students is graduating. She has been our house and doggie sitter for us for the past four years. She got married over Christmas. So the other night, Jerry grilled chicken and corn on the cob, served up with his mashed potato salad {omg, so good!} for "The Smiths". She brought her lil tiny eight pound poodle over and Sophie welcomed the lil fuzzy curly five year old rescue like an old long lost buddy. They even sat on the chair together, watching us eat and keeping an eye out for morsels that might make it their way.
Summer is well on its way! We've hosted two cook~outs already with more planned. Here it is almost May! That means that Mother's Day is just around the corner.
Speaking of mothers, mine has been teaching basket~weaving on Wednesdays at a local center. More on that later, it deserves its own entry. And my husband's mother joined me in physical therapy for awhile. I've been going for months now, but now that the Cotton District Arts Festival is over, I've reduced to once per week, rather than twice. It's amazing how much of an improvement in general I have noticed!
Also, Jerry's youngest son and his wife are expecting their first in mid~September! So we have a new mama in the family, since I'm focused on mothers, thought this would be an excellent time to mention that. The lil girl is tremendously treasured already, at week 18 or so in~utero. I am amazed at how detailed these sonograms can be! I usually smile and nod vaguely when I look at these grey white and black scans of blobs when I am presented with a gushing mother~to~be and her shots. But this imagining now is so detailed that it's almost like seeing a sleeping newborn. And she isn't even at midTerm yet! Almost, not quite.
Especially since we will be placing the essays in to the Time~Capsule as Starkville concludes its year~long celebration of its 175th birthday. We intend for the Time~Capsule to be opened when Starkville celebrates its 200th in 2037. I'll be 66. Suddenly, that doesn't seem so far away. My mom turns 66 this October. Just to put it all into perspective.
This year was the first year that I co~chaired the Writers' Village for the Cotton District Arts Festival here in Starkville. It was really cool and I'd love to do it again. I think that this was a great group of folks to learn the ropes from and they all work well together, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the future brings. This too deserves its own entry, so more on that later.
I met some fantastic folks these last few months, in several different venues. I've been getting some knitting and crochet done. But most everything got put on hold til May, when the spring's events were completed. Now I have more than enough to do for the next few months!
So I think that brings the general over view up to date. I will be writing more, more often. That's a promise!
"Whew! Busy! Busy! Busy! You da (Wo-)Man!"
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