Anyone going to Ashville, N.C. for Mary Stori's trip?
I am so tired of my own company! Have been surfing the internet for some type of quilt thing sometime soon, and found one in Ashville, N. C. on Aug. 5th. It's a "bit" expensive, but includes several tours in the N.C. area.
Anyone going?
We have just about given up on the condo at the beach idea. Everything is just so expensive,
we are not even in the ballpark.
Sara in Fla
dogs
Jane in NC - I know what you mean about Kit being an investment in your mental health. That's what Sophie is to mine, after losing Alex. I did not want a dog, but needed one to pull me out of my mild grief depression. It worked. She drives me crazy, but I'm not depressed anymore. LOL She's going to be a wonderful companion for you.
Rosey P - It's currently hotter in the New England states than it is here in Tennessee. You're probably suffering the peripheral effects of that heat wave. Our highs here are 96° F but at least the humidity is below 40%. That helps. A lot. I can't believe I've been out playing golf in this stuff. I found some electrolyte supplements at REI to add to the water I drink on the golf course - like Gatorade, but without the unnecessary sugar - and I think it has really helped me tolerate the heat. That and the nice breeze make it do-able. I am verrrry grateful for air-conditioning. Rosey, I know you're suffering with this heat--I recall that you don't have AC. It's not supposed to get that hot in Canada!
I got new glasses last week, and I think the prescription is too strong. Something is not right and they are driving me --and my eyes-- bonkers. Optometrist usually has to weaken the Rx for progressives, and I think this time he forgot. I'll be calling them later this week. Argh. My eyes are impossible.....
Hugs to everyone, stay cool and hydrated, and replace electrolyes!
I'm back
and now am on broadband. It took several days and two trips from a Tec. still not going , DD growled at me and told me she could fix it,and she did , clever girl. I was ready to throw all of the mess out the window, and return to snail mail. Jane, I didn't even get time to tell you how sorry I was and now you have Kit . She looks lovely and full of life. I love Springers but my garden is much too small for a busy dog. A friend of mine has Daisy about 12 months of pure energy. She has always had Springers so knows what to expect. Gus is becoming an older dog and enjoys his comfort, so is quite happy to rest on my bed in the sun. Lazy dog. I daren't join him or I would also fall asleep and then freeze all night when I couldn't sleep. Hugs from all of us Bee in NZ.
Columbia's Snow Fox
And what a beautiful name, Jane...and Kit she is. How wonderful to happen this quickly. It helps to put this energy out to the right places, at least it's out there and the timing was right for you both. I'll be excited to hear about Kit's arrival on Friday.
Marion, you are so right about the grandchildren growing up. Ours are into football practices, hockey schedules, hip hop dancing, karate, piano lessons and so on. When they were younger, I felt like a grandma should feel. Now, I sometimes feel shelved, put up there with a label that says: Grandma Rosey and that I am where my mother was years before. The wheel keeps turning.
It's so hot and humid here in Southern Ontario that to move, melts me. I was in our pool all afternoon yesterday but the chlorine isn't good for me..burns my skin. Still, it's a fair trade-off.
Rosey
Jane..
So pleased to hear that you have a solution to your empty nest already. Kit looks lovely and will be a great companion for you. Shadow will be a part of you forever, but I'm sure you and Kit will soon forge a fun relationship..
We once lost a very much loved Labrador . She died unexpectedly at the age of three , when we were overseas. We had left her with dog loving friends and they were
devastated to find her warm but dead, one morning. Evidently she had had a heart attack. She had had a good day before retiring for the night. We felt sorry that they had to give us the news . It was very difficult to come home to a house without a dog. At first we couldn't even think of replacing her but then her breeder contacted us , saying that they had a bitch they no longer wanted to breed from (she was too much of a lounge lizard !)and would we like her ? So similar to your story Jane ! We payed for her to be spayed and collected her. From the start she seemed to know that she was onto a good thing ! She was such a good dog and gave us so much pleasure. I walked her for an hour each day, she loved all the country smells. She was with us until she died . She coped with the arrival of seven grandchildren in three and a half years, they climbed all over her, poked fingers in her ears , sat on her, stole her food and generally treated her like a large stuffed toy. She loved them all and only reluctantly and rarely , got up and walked away signaling that she had had enough. I am really hoping that Kit will give you as much pleasure, Jane.
Yes, sad but true, the older they get the less the grandchildren want to spend time with the "
olds" . Makes me pleased that I spent so much time with them when they were little. Those days were magical, watching them learn to walk and talk and finding them so loving and easy to entertain. Seems a long time ago. Four of them are teenagers now and the other three aren't far behind..
Just made my lunch for tomorrows walk... I was hoping that it might be rained off but...no.. the weather has cleared.... (!)
Marion .
KIT IN ACTION
She's either about to flush a bird or is on a hot scent. You can see the reason for the name. I love her already.
Jane in NC
NEW FUR BABY
Thanks, Marion and all the other folks who have expressed condolences. What is it about quilters that makes so many of us pet lovers and so kind? Is it some genetic anomaly?
I have advised those of you for whom I have email addies that within hours of notifying the breeder from whom we bought Shadow of her death I had an amazing response. While it has been my intention to adopt a rescue from a local group that not only rescues but fosters and gets vet services for their rescues so in the adoption you get a healthy animal whose temperament is known. I did mention to the breeder (the only one I know and in whom I have complete confidence in his very careful breeding with temperament and good health at the top of his list along with great nose and desire to hunt) that he’d told me a number of years ago that when he retires a brood bitch after a fixed number of litters he has them spayed and sells them at a bargain rate to older hunters who want a more leisurely pace than a young dog would have. They are fully field trained meaning good voice and whistle control before he breeds any of his dogs. The person who receives the older bitch has to promise that she will be a house pet, get the chance to hunt and be part of the family. He told me that never once has anyone complained about the dog adapting to family life or that they had problems with children. That says so much for this breeder. I mentioned this in the email saying that if he has one in the next six months or so and doesn’t mind that I don’t hunt I hoped he contact me. Within hours his response came expressing condolences and then said “Boy are you in luck!” He has a 3.5 year old girl that developed a uterine infection that required her to be spayed a bit prematurely and that rather than trying to sell her he wanted me to have her simply in return for giving her a loving home. I’m so excited. He’s going to try to ship her to me on Friday and I’ll drive to Charlotte, NC to pick her up from her flight from Cleveland. She’s fully recovered from the surgery and having been taken from the kennel into his home for the recovery she never made a mess and didn’t take long to decide she liked to sit in his lap on the sofa. He predicts that by three weeks or so she will adapt to me and her new home. He also says that while she’s quite dominant unlike Shadow, she has never started a fight and loves people and children. She’s fine with other dogs but “doesn’t take any crap from other dogs”. Shadow spent a fair amount of time on her back in her early years. All she needed was a hard look from us to correct her. This girl is also fairly large for a bitch field bred Springer at 40 pounds. Shadow was never more than 32 pounds and was down to 26 when she died. Maybe now I will be able to look forward to coming home when I’ve been out. It’s been dreadful coming into this house.
Marion, you’ll find that the older the grandchildren get the less time they have for Granny. I was in NY for 4 days and had very little down time with them. It was party, party all weekend due to graduations and everyone including me had a wonderful time but almost no relaxed time together. I’m not sure but what those days are over. They need to earn every penny they can get to help defray huge college costs.
Haven’t done any quilting in two weeks and the quilt show will be here in six weeks so I’d better finish up a couple of UFOs so I have something to enter. We always have a silent auction featuring small wall quilts as a fund raiser for the guild and I promised to have a couple of those. After DD’s CA king which is still unfinished I long to make a few small things and will do so. I despair of having her quilt done for her anniversary in August so will put it aside and do some quick stuff.
I feel that I’m on the road to a certain level of recovery from the loss of Shadow. I had known for a long time this was coming. At least when dear old crazy Molly died I had a back up dog. I shed tears at many unexpected times for a year afterward remembering her but the whole house did not die with her. Now that there is no roommate here the house is not a home for me. The new dog is an investment in my own mental health. By the way, her call name is Kit and when I asked the breeder where that came from he said it is based on her registered name of Columbia’s Snow Fox and of course a baby fox is a kit. When I googled snow fox I found that some are all white and some are dramatically black and white which she is. I have a picture of her and I’ll try to post it.
Time for bed for this old granny.
Jane in NC
JAne.
So sorry to hear of your sadness. Cry all you want to. All of us who have loved and lost a valued pet will understand .
My computer has been malfunctioning lately. I feel, sort of, maybe, responsible... I tried to post some photos here last week and got into all sorts of trouble. Kept getting "your post has published successfully" messages but nothing appeared on the BB. !! Wonder what happened there ? I sometimes think I should stick to pen and paper !
We've had some very cold (for us !) frosty mornings lately, followed by some sunny days. DH and I spent one day driving around, looking for anything that may interest us, property wise.... returned home with a new appreciation of what we have and wondered why we would think of moving ..... !!!!
School holidays here so I will be keeping clear of the city "mauls" where the teenagers seem to congregate ! I had hoped that some or all of the grandchildren may have come down for a few days but DD#2 has them booked into various holiday activities up there . I suppose that gives her some time on her own, which is what she needs, so I hope that works out. We will go up and stay with them next month sometime.
Have a good day. It's overcast here this morning and looking like rain.
Marion.
Happy 4th of July
For all of us here in the USA, happy 4th of July! If the weather cooperates we are having a cook out and party tonight in the back yard. Bar-B-Q ribs, potato salad, cole slaw, corn on the grill, etc. And fireworks (maybe).
JANE-I'm so sorry for your loss. My "girls" keep me company, sometimes they are a pain in the neck--such as this morning at 3:00 when they wanted out-- but mostly they are loveable balls of fur.
Off to a shower, more coffee and church.
Sara in Fla.
Jane
I am very sorry about Shadow....words are so inadequate.....just sending you hugs.....
Heather
West Mi Reporting
Jane, so sorry about your doggy. I know she was your best friend
and they are so hard to lose. Lots of hugs to you.
My niece brought me 13 large porch railing planters today. They
leave for Europe tomorrow for 16 days and I'm the plant sitter.
I hope they are alive when she comes home. She has a fortune
tied up in them. They are orange and yellow and do not go
with my house! I have cranberry colored shutters.
It has been a nice cool week here. It is going to warm up for the weekend
with humidity right on heals of the heat.
I got strawberry plants from a friend today. I hope they all live.
The sewing room I was going to clean on Monday never got done.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Hugs, Mayme
Shadow & Jane
Jane, as I've connected personally with you, thank you for the advance notice about Shadow. Some people cannot look at pictures of their animals after they die but for me, I've surrounded myself with pictures of Ceilidh and this helps me feel that she is still with me. She is in my heart. But my daughter sent this picture of her golden and our three Aussies heading back to the woods for a walk...you'd recognize the back 'lawn' and that is Ceilidh 'rabbitting' her way along with the others. She didn't have a one at a time stroke with her back legs and I'm told her aunt Courtney did the same thing, her dam's sister. If it feels right to you, keep pictures of Molly and Shadow near you until you have another spaniel to occupy those freshly laundered dog beds. I am glad you were with Shadow at the end, hard as it is to be there when they are put down. For me, I feel that being there with them to their end is part of returning the love and support that they give us in return. I'm still in tears when talking about Ceilidh or even writing about her. And I wonder that there will ever be another Ceilidh in my life just as you may wonder if there will be another Molly in your life. Hard to see them go. Let the tears come.
Rosey
Jane
So sorry to hear about Shadow. Lots of hugs, Fran
A SAD NOTE
All the posts have been rewarding. Welcome back. By the way, where is Celia P from New Brunswick?
Upon my arrival home from the
DGSs' high school graduation I stopped first at the vet's office where my dear friends had taken Shadow the day before. She was almost dead. The same palliative treatment with the addition of IV fluids used a couple of weeks ago had failed to rally her. She didn't even seem to be aware of my presence. After a teary while of stroking her and greeting her loudly in her unresponsive ear Harriet, the vet and neighbor, released her from her suffering. I've been very tearful and spent yesterday afternoon avoiding this dreadfully empty house. The multiple dog beds have been laundered but not given away. I know that I will weaken before too long.
She was so very sweet, gentle and easy to love. That is not to say, however, that she wasn't a master
manipulator. If you haven't gone to your book store and gotten the wonderful book, Training People, How to Bring Out the Best in Your Human, by Tess of Helena, do so immediately.
I am about to leave for my Friday morning with the hand quilting group. I've already notified them of my loss via email but I will probably end up in tears again. They are all animal lovers.
Jane in NC
holidays
I hope everyone had a great Canada Day. My plans for Independence Day include church and not much else, but I'm going to the Botannical Gardens today with my sister-in-law. This is the SIL that lived in Virginia until recently, so I am really enjoying have her near enough to visit.
HAPPY CANADA DAY !
It is a holiday today ! Not that it really matters too much since I don't work outside the home....but it is nice for my kids to be able to spend time with their own little families.... last nite some folks jumped the gun and we had a neighbourhood show of some great fireworks.....maybe it was a good thing since today is starting out overcast and threatening rain.....but that will probably pass......the weather gal keeps saying about the next few days....if you don't like the weather....just wait an hour or so and it will pass.....just plain unpredictable....at least she is honest about it !
wishing everyone a fun day !
Heather
