No Rest For The Weary

Time, wouldn't it be cool if we could just slow it down a little bit? I am always so busy I'm afraid if I stop, I'll miss something. The other night, I went back with Katie, Vinnie, and Riley for another 4-D ultra sound. The girl that did the first one messed it up, so the new one was amazing. Loved getting a sneak preview of my new grandson. Now, I just need to find the time to get the CD with all his pictures on it from Katie, download it, and share! Again, the magic word, "time". I finished up my "hoarding swap out". I like the less cluttered look and I now officially have a "kids table", even if one of the "kids" isn't even born yet! It's funny how you move one thing, re-arrange some other stuff in your house, and it not only gives it a new look, but it is much more functional as well. Only thing that I bought was the table, the rest of the stuff I had, I know, "stuff"! Just moved that "stuff" around and got a different look! I'm not a big yellow fan, but when I bought this house, the walls were ALL covered with dark paneling. Paint was a quick fix. This part of my house is still a project, some day, yes some day! All that is left of the previous mess that was on my harvest table is this little pile at the end, which will be going to Country Roads with me on Saturday to sell. I did do this swap pretty fast, but I also had motivation. We are having a first birthday party for Morgan on Saturday night. Her birthday isn't until June 5th, but Bryce always goes up North to sell at the Alameda Flea Market. This is the down side of this business and being open every day, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and 4th of July! We are always working. As I mentioned, we have a special birthday party to get ready for, AND I also work the entire Memorial week-end at Country Roads. Needless to say, I'm trying hard to organize my time right now. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on today. Sometimes it does become a burden when my three office assistants need extra attention. Mak (Makena) is pictured above, and he really isn't a devil cat, my photo program wouldn't take the red out of his eyes, so his beautiful blue eyes would shine. Mak is huge and sweet, and a little slow in the brain department. He often falls off my desk. He was a rescue kitty a few years back! Someone rescued Mak and Kona (pictured above) from a construction site down by the beach. They were trapped inside of a wall as kittens. Kona is still a bit shy, and will only sit with me on her terms. But when she does sit with me, she too makes it a bit difficult to work. And lastly is Fluffy, another rescue. Bryce found her and her litter mates a few years back. The red in Fluffy really should be the color of her eyes since she has a bit of the bitchy attitude to match the eyes. Fluffy really does have beautiful blue eyes, and longs to be an only cat! She is in my lap constantly, and makes it hard at times to work. Leonard is no longer and office cat, but don't worry he is doing fine. He is out in the sunroom with a couple of my other cats that were rescued several years ago and use to enjoy peeing in the house! Now they happily use the cat box in the sunroom. Leonard is doing okay for his age. I put him out in the sunroom since he no longer felt like cleaning himself up and often has litter stuck on his feet. But, hey, he is OLD. Why am I writing about cats right now? This is a picture of Mary and her son Jake. She is why I am talking about cats. I guess it has been a little over a year since Mary and Jack died along with Mary's boyfriend. And hopefully my link works so you can read the entire story. Mary and her small family were about to become homeless, and Mary and Jake both had MS. And sadly, Mary's boyfriend thought shooting them and himself was a better solution. It breaks my heart that our world these days brings people to make that kind of decision. Mary was a big believer in saving our "furry friends". This, as many of you know, is big time "kitty" season. Many kittens are born and have no homes and many will be feral and continue to breed. Most of us already know this, but if you have cats and dogs, you need to do the "right" thing and have them fixed so they don't reproduce. There are awesome dogs in the shelter, many pure breeds for those of you that desire that. I'm a mutt girl myself! And the same with cats and kittens. Our pet population is exploding!! Mary use to always email me with adoption events for our furry friends and I would post the events on my blog. Her MS had prevented her from physically shopping at Country Roads anymore. Each of Mary's emails had this little poem at the end. . . "Just when the caterpillar thought her world was over. . .SHE became a butterfly"!! I now know that Mary has finally become the most beautiful, loving butterfly ever! You know, there are some people that come into our lives for just a brief period time, yet you always remember them. And a year later, I still think of Mary. This post is for you Mary, and our furry friends!

Farewell to My Furry Friend

Today, my guest writer, Brande, will do my "BSC Sundays" post. I was off yesterday. Today is one of those things for those of us that love our pets go through. As I get ready to leave for "the store" here in the next hour or so, I'm also getting ready to say my last good-bye to Leonard. It is never easy to make the decision that it is time to say good-bye when our furry friends are old and not doing too well. But, unlike with people, we have that option with our pets. Leonard is just old and worn out, actually as old as dirt! Lately he has begun to show his age. He went from jumping on my desk from the floor, to jumping to a foot stool next to my desk, to a few days ago a pillow on the floor next to me. For those of you that I have cats, you know the look in their eyes as their bodies begin to fail. They are telling you it's time to let them go.I'm guessing Leonard is around 20 years old in people life. He showed up right after my divorce from Mr.Wonderful. I always said I got the better deal on that one! He was old when he magically became our new cat. He was a tomcat through and through. Pieces of his ear missing, always looking for a fight, and leaving me wonderful gifts on my doormat such as dead rats, birds, and such. When I sold the "not so wonderful" house, and moved to my current home, Leonard came with me. Everyone knew Leonard and they would stop and greet him on their walks. He would stand head to head with any dog without fear. And I'm sure Brande will never forget the cat fight she broke up one early morning. She knew better than to try and break up Leonard in the middle of a fight and made a trip to Urgent Care immediately after the fight. Leonard was fine, Brande not so fine.Not long after that, retirement made Leonard a house cat, and he adjusted to that life very easily. What he liked best, or at least most of the time was his buddy, Riley. These pictures of Riley & Leonard were taken a couple of years ago. When Riley started talking more, she would call Leonard her "little buddy". Riley could do just about anything to him and he would allow it. I think there were only a handful of times that he nipped at her. And she would cry and cry! Not so much because it hurt, but because her feelings were hurt that her little buddy was mad at her.Riley and Leonard truly have shared a love affair. And because of that, when she comes over tomorrow to stay with me for the day, if she asks where her little buddy is, I'm going to tell her that he went to live with my sister. I could never break her little heart and see her heartbroken. So, Gramma is telling a big, fat white lie! You know, some of our pets we always remember, they always hold a special place in our hearts. As I get ready to say my final good-bye to Leonard in a little bit, I think he knows that he will always remain on the top of my favorite cats list. I'll miss you "little buddy"! And "thank you" Bryce for taking Leonard to the Vet this morning, I couldn't do it this time!

***Breaking update: Leonard is back from the dead!!!! Sue is at Country Roads working, and I called to get the 'morning updates' (ie: did the store flood from the rain last night? Is the roof leaking? Is the garden blown to pieces? Did Bryce take Leonard on his final car trip?) and she wanted me to share the news that Leonard was taken to the vet this am for his 'goodbye', and the vet informed Bryce that he 'probably just needs a shot and some medicine'. Bryce called to share this news - a fight ensued when Sue asked 'did you take him to the right vet???' - and yes, it was our friendly vet who knows when the time is up, and apparently, despite his old age, he is convinced that Leonard in fact has more time left. To her defense, my mom was not trying to put the cat down unnecessarily, he kinda looks like death warmed over, but the mighty Leonard has risen! Stay tuned for more updates....
-Brande

Our Furry Friends

Leonard is getting old! Of course, Leonard was as old as dirt when he showed up on my doorstep after the ex had departed almost 11 years ago. He's having more trouble jumping up on my desk these days but as Riley can tell you, Leonard still carries a good set of teeth! When you have pets, you have that "sense" when they really start to age. I watch Leonard and see him slow down a bit, see him lose some weight and know even though he's not in pain, his age is slowly catching him. I think about his time that is left, and how will Riley cope after he is gone? I remember when my kids were small and our little dog, Lucy died. I think explaining to them about death is a part of life, but not a happy part. So, for now, we will continue to endure Leonard's little "love" bites that leave marks, and I've got a chair by my desk so its easier for him to jump up on. And after all, this is Leonard, who may fool us all and live much longer than any of us expected!!

My Office Assistants

I spend a lot of time in my home office working. And most of the time, my four "assistants" are always near by as I work. There are times it becomes a little difficult to work as you see Leonard, Fluffy, and Mak all trying to get the closest spot to me!Kona only comes to sit with me when she feels like it. Her and Mak were feral cats that were stuck in a wall at a construction site as kittens. Mak is pretty calm now, but it takes Kona a bit more time, and it is always on her terms!Sadly, Fluffy wants to be an only cat, and ignorantly enough she often tries to take on Leonard, who use to be a hardcore tomcat when he showed up on my door step over ten years ago. He can knock Fluffy off the desk in one swing of his paw! It doesn't stop Fluffy though. It's not always easy working with my furry little office assistants, but knowing how sweet they can be makes it all worthwhile. As you can see by these photos, rescued cats make wonderful pets. Our shelters are overflowing right now with cats and dogs that need homes. If you are thinking about getting a cat or dog in the near future, please stop by a shelter and pick one out. The love they return is more than you could ever imagine!

The Riley & Leonard Love Affair

Every time when Riley comes over to my house, she looks for her buddy, Leonard.This is how Riley looks if Leonard won't sit with her.And when Leonard jumps up to sit with her, Riley is so happy! I think it is so important for little kids to have that special connection with pets, such as Leonard.For being a senior, Leonard is so patient with Riley.I think both Leonard and Riley share in this love affair they have for each other.
There is a really important role that animals play in not only little kids lives, like Riley's, but for everyone. It's all about unconditional love. Pets are also great for the elderly as well. I think one of the last times I saw my mom smile really big before she passed away was when a pet therapy group brought a little dog to visit her. Thank God for our furry little friends!

Our Furry Friends

You know, I'm always writing on my blog and wondering, "does anyone ever read this stuff"? Awhile back, one of my customers, Mary Striley, who I KNOW reads my blog asked if I would mention a pet rescue that was coming up on a Saturday. She knows I'm a big lover of animals and I was more than happy to do a post about the pet adoption. The photo above,(not sure why the dog's eyes are that color) is PROOF that people actually DO read my ramblings. Cindy Finch, one of my most favorite dealers at Country Roads, is pictured with her little rescued dog she went to get after she read my blog that day. And her husband Bill just brought home another rescued dog from the shelter as well. Rescued pets ALWAYS give so much love and turn out to be the best little pets ever! You have to look really close at this picture. These are two, of four little kittens that were born in our Johnnye Merle Gardens last week. Mama cat was in the process of trying to move them when I took this picture. We have been trying to catch her so we can keep her inside with her kittens until they are old enough to adopt. Our customers are SO cool! We have a jar on the counter to collect money for their food and when the time comes to pay for the vet costs. We intend to have the cat "altered", I think that is the right word. Apparently some little girl from the neighborhood came looking for her cat. She said her mom has two female cats that keep having kittens. I just don't understand that kind of neglect, you know? Katie told the little girl to tell her mom she needs to get her cats fixed!! Of course the mom has yet to make an appearance in the store or take any responsibility. At least it's good to know that we have the chance to try and get mama cat fixed and the baby's new homes. So, thank you Mary for sharing the information on the pet adoption, thanks Cindy and Bill for rescuing two dogs, and thanks to all of you that do the same. And while I'm at it, I want to thank you guys for taking the time to read my ramblings. It means a lot and please, leave me a note here and there so I know I'm not just writing to empty cyberspace ;0}