Dogs and Dessert

Dogs and dessert....what an odd combination. You're thinking she has clearly lost it. Post Valentines insanity.  A sugar high gone wrong.  A dogged loss of her natural grip on reality.

I think not.  I'm thinking of some of the sweeter things in life, so naturally dogs and dessert come to mind.  Both take time.  Case in point the wonderful dessert that Reno made for me.  Decadent chocolate cake made mostly with eggs, butter and cocoa.  A champagne sauce with whipped cream, eggs, and more butter. A mango puree sauce. Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries.  All layered in a mind boggling trifle. No he's not a chef by trade.  He is an adventurous cook. It didn't come out quite like the picture, but the flavor is sublime. I learned he knows more about double boilers than I do.  Let me say this publicly.  He was right.  For the record...yes, he was right.  Makes his day when I say those words.  I can grovel and he can gloat.  Makes for a happy marriage.

Good things take time...like dessert, wine, quilts, good books, fishing, gardening, relationships and yes, dogs.  Time and loving.  

Several friends are grieving the loss of furry friends.  Some have new paws to love. Others are opening their hearts to new fosters. It takes time to grow to love them. Mere seconds, or a bit longer in some cases.  It's hard to let them go.  We crave the sweetness and want it to last.  In all cases we must savor both the moment and later the memory. Much like a good dessert.

Many Hands Make Light Work

I have been to adoption events, a national dog show, to market as a buyer, to meetings, quilt groups, even a random book club.  For a while I belonged to a group that made sandwiches for the poor.  I've been fortunate to help others move, regroup after a house fire, heal from surgery and other heartbreaks. We are given hands to reach out to one another.  Each opportunity is a blessing.  

There is a guy in town who currently wears my blue hat.  He came in the store recently on a bitterly cold day to warm his feet.  He left with my hat.  How can his feet be warm if his head is cold?  I only wish I'd thought to give him my spare gloves too.  

I'm learning all about my sense of community, now that my whole community is way less than my previous subdivision.  We all have those support systems that make up our community.  Family community, rescue community, pet therapy community, work community, faith community.  Some of these groups are large, some are small yet mighty.

Yesterday I enjoyed a community that worked together in the process of butchering hogs to feed their families.  Okay, city girl here.  It was a first. Now, in my defense, I missed the butchering part due to being at work.  I got in on the tail end, so to speak of the process.  I was fascinated and happy to be a part of it in a very small way.  Next year I hope to be there for more of it. The end result feeds the hungry.  The process nourishes the soul. Many hands make light work.  I didn't do much, but every little bit helps.  I came away full and happy to have put my hands to a community task.  May your hands reach out to help, and come away blessed too. 

New Loves

I'm a sucker for babies, puppies and old dogs. Jewelry, flowers, babies and old dogs. In no particular order.

Babies are simply amazing.  Even though I "know" how they get in and how they get out I am always baffled by the process.  Puppies are irresistible.  But I love them when they are sleeping best.  Old dogs are just rock.  Gray muzzles, cloudy eyes, stiff joints. They are priceless just the way they are.

You could say I'm two-for-two this month. Sort of a red letter month if you ask me. Every day with my old boy, Mickey is a special blessing. He is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.  I hope I age as well as he has. God bless the old loves in our life.

Then there is a new love in our lives.  He falls into the baby column of life.  It takes a grand baby to help you realize how precious infants really are. Sometimes when you are in the midst of raising your own kids you miss out on a tiny part of the miracle they represent.  A grand parent can just soak up the magic. I'm not sure who coo's more, a baby or a grand parent. Either way something special happens when you love up on your grand child.

Now I know you wonder at my ability to link old dogs and babies in one blog. Truthfully, I'd throw in a puppy if I could, but  I'm fresh out of puppies.  They are things to marvel at, to treasure, to laugh at, to love. So give me the magic and let me learn about love again. It's found in the eyes of babies, old dogs and puppies.    

Empty Nesters

For the first time in years we are empty nesters...again.  Sorta.  No, we didn't have any children leave the nest, but we did have our foster dog Addy get adopted.

Here is the deal, she was with us for almost a year.  This has happened before.  With Kobe, with Sophie, with Mr. Hanky...and Addy.  Usually if they are here over a year I figure they were meant to stay.  But, sometimes, life has other plans and in swoops the perfect adopter. You gotta love that.  

In the past 28 months we've had Layla, Snowflake, Jesse, Chukar, Wallace, Addy, and Buck come through our revolving foster door.  What might you deduct from this. 1) We're nuts.  2) We have trouble saying no.  3) Our house is a zoo.  4) We've crossed over to the crazy dog people side.  Gonna have to plead the 5th on these comments.

So naturally, right now the house is very quiet.  Only two dogs in residence. Mr. Mick, who started this whole process off when I adopted him all those years ago, and Layla our most recent foster failure.  Even that happened over a year ago.  

Two dogs is quiet, easy, and feels very much like an empty nest.  Maybe it's just these two that feel that way. The last two fosters, Addy and Wallace were anything but quiet.  But they helped us appreciate this state of emptiness. Naturally we are thrilled for Addy, for Wallace, for us.  For the peace and quiet.  Ahhhhhhh......

Merry & Happy

So Christmas has come and gone and with it most of my to-do lists.  I did not get the cards written, or a tree decorated.  The wrapping was done at the very last minute possible.  Yes, some got wrapped, some only got bows, at least one didn't get labeled.  But the show goes on and we celebrated anyway.  I wish I'd done more.  I wish I'd done less.

It's been a great year, so bear with me while I run through the highlights.  We got two foster dogs in and got two foster dogs adopted.  One was a puppy who barely got settled here, the other was the size of small pony.  Miss them both, thrilled they are adopted!!  We transported dogs...to Omaha, to Lincoln, to Grand Island, to Omaha, to Aurora, to Omaha, to Stockham...repeat.  Good miles driven helping dogs.  

We were blessed with company this year.  We had quick overnight guests, surprise guests, long awaited visit guests, we had so many tents in the yard it looked like a KOA campground. Thank you for gracing us with your friendship and your laughter. Never thought so many would find us on our little piece of heaven, but love that you did.  

Our kids are thriving.  That says it all for us.  We have a newborn grandson, thanks to Reno's daughter and son-in-law.  Icing on the cake.  

We planted some curly willows, a cherry tree, a couple of raspberry bushes and several roses bushes. We built garden beds and a compost pile.  "We" mostly means Reno, but one of us is brains and one of us brawn. We watched the corn fields go from seed to harvest in our first full growing season in the country. Basically we put down a whole lot of roots this year and loved every minute of it.  Okay, so maybe there were one or two times that we faltered. We all know sometimes shit happens. Strong roots help you through them.

There was partying, growing, mowing, trenching, building, entertaining, planting, canning, shoveling, poop scooping, cooking, and drinking...life can be thirsty work.  And we put a few miles on the car too.  Last but not least, there was Sooner football.

Of course this doesn't cover all we did, the fun we had, the growth we experienced. It does hold our gratitude for the year past, and the laughter shared. Thank you for being part of our life and our adventures.  We wish you a Merry, a healthy and a Happy today and always.  God Bless.

Warm Blankets.

Warm blankets come in many shape and sizes.  Some are not technically blankets at all.  Sure we love the comfort of pulling a blanket up to our chin on cold nights.  But I like the other blankets in my life. 

The warmth of knowing our most recent foster, Wallace has found his forever home. We miss the big goober, but we love the quietness of the house since he's left.  I know his new owner's life has changed for the better.  He comes with so many gifts and the slingers on the wall are the icing on the cake. I will admit it is hard to let them go.  Fosters take a piece of your heart with them, just like that little piece of the coffee table that went as well.  But the blanket of satisfaction is that another one was saved.  That's why we do this.

The blanket of snow in the yard has got nothing on a good blanket of joy and love. A thick blanket of humor makes life bearable on the hard days and terrific on the hilarious days. The blanket I have the most trouble keeping track of is that of patience. That one is always to small and often hides from me.  

Our newest blanket is the softest and sweetest one of all.  It came in the form of our new grandchild.  Yup, Reno's daughter and husband became parents so we have entered a new realm of gratitude.  Now, we haven't gotten our hands on this precious babe yet, but our love for him grows daily.

So today I pull close all those warm blankets in my life.  I hope you can do the same.  

Am I Doing Enough

A little reflection is a good thing.  I've been envying my friends who are posting each day of this month something they are grateful for.  In a way I'm vicariously grateful through them.  Naturally I wish I'd done that too.  So often we overlook how much we have in our quest to get more, do more, be more. 

Some might say my quest has always been more dogs.  Well certainly Reno would verify that.  I can't keep them all so fostering gives me a temporary fix of owning them, loving them and sending them home.  Perhaps Grandparent's feel this way too.  At times I wonder am I doing enough?  Do I do it well enough?  Am I nuts?  I'm not always the world's best trainer, but I am a really good dog lover. 

Our house has "marks" of our little failures.  Teeth marks on the coffee table corners, spots on the rug, doors that are scratched.  It's like a legend that says...Wallace was here, Mick did this, Addy did that.  There will always be dog fur collecting in the corners. And a pile of dog bones scattered throughout the house. Having dogs is messy sometimes, fostering is challenging.  But I really wouldn't have it any other way.  Okay, sometimes in my dreams I visualize the perfect dog world where the house stays clean, they are model canine citizens and I'm Victoria Stillwell. It's good to dream isn't it?

So even as I ask, am I doing enough...I have to remember doing something is always better than doing nothing.  I am ever so grateful for that.