Thanksgiving Weekend

My Thanksgiving was good...

My daughter came home from Seattle, arriving here in Boise, late the Sunday before Thanksgiving. She had to leave Thanksgiving morning to be in Los Angeles that evening. So, time spent with her felt way too short. I had to work and my son had school, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the whole time she was here. The evenings just were not enough time when she's been gone so long! Of course, I would take what I could get, and we made the best of the time we had together. I miss her, but love that she's enjoying the life she lives. She spent alot of time with my parents this visit.

My brother and his four kids, ages 20, 19, 17, and 15, and his first grandchild (above, and who was featured in my previous entry), starting arriving Wednesday. They all stayed at my parents' home just four miles up the road, joining our holiday celebration. My brother drove up from the central coast of California. He was able to visit with my daughter for a few hours.

His oldest, my niece, flew in from Louisiana with our precious little angel, her daughter, Gabrielle. My brother's oldest son flew in from Santa Barbara, California, where he attends UCSB. His youngest two sons flew in from West Virginia. These two missed a connecting flight in Washington, DC and didn't arrive until Thanksgiving morning, more than 9 hours late and missing their luggage! The poor guys were exhausted. They all missed my daughter.

My guy got in Wednesday as well. I surprised him at his load destination, not far from our home, while he was waiting to be unloaded. I remember driving right up to the front of his truck, as it was backed-up to the dock. We were talking to eachother on our cell phones, and he didn't even see me pull up. He was very surprised.

After checking to see how long it would be to get unloaded, we went and had an early dinner together at a great local barbecue rib place. Mmm... it was so good! We talked about kids and family and how this holiday would be different for us. See, after dropping my daughter off at the airport Thanksgiving morning, he and his son would be going to his brother's for their Thanksgiving feast, a two hour drive away, in Twin Falls. And, my son and I would stay in town with my family. This is the first time in many years, my guy and I have spent the holiday apart! By the time we got back to his truck, it was unloaded and ready to go. We met at home later. It would be our last evening spent with my daughter together.

Thanksgiving... I woke up feeling a bit under the weather. Even so, I fixed a special breakfast to have some sort of celebration with my daughter while we were all together, before she had to leave. By noon, she would be on her flight to California, my guy would be on his way to Twin Falls with his son, and my son and I would be headed to my parents' home. I was back home and in bed by 5pm. Whatever I woke up with was hitting me hard and strong. I slept until 8pm (I set my alarm... lol). I wanted to see The Apprentice! My guy got home about 11pm.

Friday... I fixed a Thanksgiving dinner for us at our home. My guy's son joined us. The four of us, our two boys and us. It was very nice and simple. I love the smell of home cooked meals, especially those that roast all afternoon. It was worth all the time and effort getting it together. I was surprised at how easy everything came together, the timing was perfect for everything. Mmm.

Saturday morning... My guy had to leave to pick up a load in Ontario, OR. He left at 5am. I awoke hours later to our first valley floor snow! This photo was taken from my dining room window onto my frozen roses in the backyard! It snowed, off and on, all day. By the end of the day, the snow had all melted away. My guy was back in town and home by 6pm. I spent the afternoon with my family, and was home just after my guy. We watched the BSU game on t.v. together before he had to leave for southern California. Great game against University of Nevada, Reno!

Saturday night... BSU WINS WAC CHAMPIONSHIP! BSU is undefeated, 11-0 for the season! They are waiting for an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tennessee, against Louisville. Whoo-hoo! Go team! It's possible they may go BCS to the Fiesta Bowl. BSU is number 8 in the BCS listings, and needs to be at number 6 to be in the Fiesta Bowl.

I've not ever really followed football before, but the last couple of years, my school, BSU, has done very well. They won the WAC Championship outright the last three years in a row. This year I didn't miss one game!

Puppy update... We now have three of Harley's sons from this last litter. Remember, we received Rodney as our stud fee about six weeks ago. He's just as cute as can be. I need to get more pictures of all of them! Then, two weeks later, Harley's horrible accident happened. We came home with Ozzy, later that same week. Ozzy and Rodney were then eight weeks old. About two weeks after Ozzy entered our lives, we went to the litter home to keep our end of our financial agreement, and ended up with Peanut. Peanut is very special.

At about six weeks old, we and the litter family, took Peanut to the Vet. He just wasn't doing as well as the other pups. Peanut weighed only 11 ounces, was pretty much blind, maybe seeing shadows, and had a condition called hydrocephalitis (water on the brain) which was causing his head to swell and pressure to his little eyes.
Peanut had been my guy's "pick of the litter" since the pups were born, September 8th. After this particular visit to the Vet, we just didn't think we had what we thought it would take to care for such a sick puppy. The Vet was talking about shunts at the cost of $2500/3000; this, that and the other thing, this pup might need or go through.

All four of us came out of that first Vet visit in shock. None of us had thought little Peanut was that bad off. We all went home without making any decisions on Peanut. After a couple of days, our gathered group thoughts were Peanut would live a happy life with his momma and familar surroundings with his litter family. We brought Rodney home. The Vet promised to contact Washington State University in Pullman, WA, to see if there was something else we could do for Peanut.

When I picked up Ozzy that Friday night, the pups were eight weeks old. I was totally amazed at Peanut. He looked really good. I was impressed at the difference in him from the Vet visit just a couple of weeks prior. I thought even, maybe he was able to see. I wasn't sure, but he looked really good.

My guy wanted to make his payments for Ozzy to the litter family in person so we could see Peanut and how he was doing. The pups were now ten weeks old when we went to make this first payment. Peanut looked great! The litter family had heard back from the Vet and were giving Peanut step-down doses of prednisone. His head swelling was shrinking, his eyes appeared to be clearer and he looked as if he was seeing just fine. We had brought Rodney and Ozzy with us that night, and Peanut was playing right along side with these pups.

The litter family practically begged us to take Peanut, if we had any inkling to do so! See, the wife fell at home last January and broke her femur. She's been in a wheelchair ever since. They are in the midst of remodeling their home to make it wheelchair friendly. And being in a wheelchair, she just isn't able to care for Peanut. Housebreaking was impossible. Peanut looked perfect, he had gained weight, appeared to be seeing fine, and was as active as the other pups. The litter family told us they would only let Peanut go to us or her mother, who has the only female pup from this same litter. We took Peanut home that night.

This week the pups will be twelve weeks old! Ozzy goes trucking with my guy, coming home two to four days after five to ten days out. Rodney and Peanut go to work with me everyday. Peanut's just about the same size as Rodney now, it's amazing! Peanut weighed 1# 15z last week. Rodney weighed 2# 3z. We take Peanut to the Vet every two weeks and so far, there's been no charge for his visits, just the cost of his meds, less than $6. His swelling has gone done to nearly nothing, his eyes are bright and clear, and he's on the tiniest dose of prednisone, every other day for now. If you know what you're looking for, you can find a couple of things that make Peanut special, but Peanut is doing GREAT!

Peanut! First night home with us at 10 weeks old. Dang camera! Blurry, a bit like Peanut.

Photo Scavenger Hunt #6

What a Face!

I cannot take credit for this photo of my little niece,

but I couldn't resist sharing with you all.

A Landscape... North end of Payette Lake, Idaho.

Far Away... My son fishing at Scout Pond near McCall, Idaho.

Close Up... Wigs, my cat.

Thinking About Harley

Harley, I miss you so much!

Saturday Six - Episode 31

1. Who is the last house guest you invited into your home and was it a pleasant visit?
It was my daughter, last February. Though I was at work most of this visit, it was nice to come home to a houseful of young adults, the band HIMSA stayed here too. The lead singer of HIMSA is my daughter's boyfriend.

2. Other than to work or school, where was the last place you drove?
Salt Lake City last weekend to see my daughter in concert with her band KiTTie.

3. In terms of emergency supplies, how many of the following do you have in your home?
A) Candles B) Fresh batteries C) Containers of bottled water
A) tons of candles
B) quite a few new batteries laying around, definitely should have more on hand for emergencies
C) actually, I have three 3 gallon water bottles waiting to replenish the 46 gallon fresh water fish tank, but for us and emergencies, none

4. You're invited to a pot-luck dinner: what specialty do you offer to bring? (It has to be something you can cook yourself, not something you bring from a store!)
Easy. I'd bring a pot of my Mexican Stew! Especially during this time of year when it's cool to cold out.

5. Which of the following do you feel is the most true based on your own life experiences:
A) It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
B) The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
C) To have a friend, you must first be a friend.
D) Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
E) Never judge a book by itscover.
F) The tree of knowledge bears the noblest fruit.
A. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. To know what love is, to feel it, is priceless.

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #31 from Cherie: We have all watched movies and TV shows that have inspired us to want to do what the characters in the show are doing, (doctors, lawyers, politicians, fire fighters, etc). Has there ever been program that you watched that made you realize that the occupation of the characters was something you could NEVER become?
Though I have worked in hospitals most all of my adult life, I could never be an ER Nurse. Some of the blood and gore these people see is much too much for me. I am very grateful they are there for us, I could never do what they do!

Get your Saturday Six at PatricksPlace

Salt Lake City Weekend

It's been since February... since I've seen my daughter! Her home is in Seattle. In April, after auditions, she was asked to be the fourth member and second guitar player for Kittie, an all girl, heavy metal band. I remember a phone call from her last year sometime, all she wanted to be is a "rock star." She's played piano since she was three years old, and taught herself guitar.

Last weekend, we drove to Salt Lake City to see her play guitar, it was our first time to see her in concert. We weren't quite sure where the venue was. Then, my son spots it. He pipes up and says, "There! The black line!" He meant all the kids dressed in black. The crowd surrounded the building. It was quite a site. The show was sold out.

We drove behind the venue to find the tour bus. OMG! It was huge! One I would expect to see any huge named artist in. It was dark green with dark windows. I phoned my daughter's cell. "We're outside! Come get us!" I was so excited!

This wasn't the exact bus, but theirs is very similar.

Again, these are very similar to the bunks in my daughter's tour bus. There are twelve bunks on the bus like the ones above, two lobbies - one in front and one at the back, on either ends of the bunk area. A nice kitchenette with fridge, microwave, sink, etc.; and restrooms. Really nice inside. We hung out with the band, meeting Morgan Lander (lead singer) and Jennifer Arroyo (bass), the tour manager, and a couple of others. Backstage passes were hand out to us. Us old folks were given earplugs. Their band was the headliner, two other bands touring with them, lined up for them. At each venue, there's always a couple of local bands that also play, first up. So there can be like five or six bands that play in a night.

I need a new camera! This is the best photo out of all the shots I took during the show. It was a very loud show. And, this photo also makes you feel the show. It was a good show. Though I do not really care for the music, I sure was proud of my daughter! She's a great kid.

After the show, the girls do a "meet and greet" with the fans. We caught up with them before this got under way and was able to get this photo. That's my son in the center. His sister is the blonde, to his right.

The next morning, the band was gone. We got an early start heading home. Poor Ozzy... we had just picked him up from his litter home Friday night. And, Saturday night, he was at a hotel in Salt Lake City! Sunday, we drove home.

This is Molly riding in the back of the truck on our way out of Salt Lake City. She really didn't care to be on the road and hung out ontop of the luggage in the back most of the way home.

Leaving Salt Lake City, about 30 miles northwest of Salt Lake City. This mountain range is so incredible! They're huge. On a clear evening, to watch the sunset against these mountains... oh, what a sight!

Ozzy

Puppies, puppies everywhere...

This is Ozzy!

A couple of days after Harley was gone, my guy called the family that had Harley's puppies to see if they had any left. They had one male left! My guy asked if nobody was interested in him, he would like to have the pup.

Ozzy, 8 weeks old.

Ozzy looks a lot like Harley! Lots of gold. Remember when we got Harley, we talked about his "black with gold trim." I picked up Ozzy, late Friday night. My guy wouldn't be home until the morning. Once home, I gave both pups a bath. These pictures were taken immediately after baths. My guy hadn't seen Ozzy since we picked up Rodney, when they were 6 weeks old.

The next morning, I picked up my guy up for the first time without Harley. I had Lucy, Molly, Rodney and Ozzy with me. Harley will be there in heart and soul.

I was afraid of picking up my guy. Afraid of how I would react knowing Harley was really gone. When I got there to the truck, my guy was still in the sleeper finishing up paperwork. His boss was hanging onto the passenger side of the truck, leaning in the window, talking to my guy.

I wanted to just run up to my guy and give him a gigantic hug, but it was all business. Unloaded his belongings into our little truck and chatted with the boss.

I grabbed Rodney and Ozzy and brought them to my guy. The boss came over and checked out both the pups. He gave his condolences about Harley and then got the greatest face washing he had all day! These little guys were so sweet! The boss even said he wanted to get one like them.

The next thing I knew, another older trucker came up to us. He explained that he had to put his Yorkie he'd had for years, down just last week. OMG! Here's a pup! I let him hold one of the boys while I got Lucy and Molly out to show. I told him that the pups' daddy was killed just last week. It felt good to share the babies with this old trucker. I could see he was really missing his Yorkie.

Everyone got their puppy kisses and we were off. On the way home, my teary-eyed guy told me how sorry he was about Harley, how he blamed himself, how he missed Harley more than anything in the world. When we got home, he handed me Harley's collar. At this point, I lost it... again. This was real, this wasn't a bad dream, Harley was not coming home.

Ozzy, or Rodney for that matter, will never, ever replace Harley. But Harley lives on through them. We would have never gotten another puppy if it hadn't been Harley's pup. Immediately after the accident, I even thought to give all the dogs away! I didn't want to feel this deep, heartwrenching pain ever again! Of course, after a couple of nights sleep and clearer thinking, I would never give these little guys away! I love them! We love them!

Rodney

After breakfast out and a quick clean up and packing, my guy, my son and I left for Salt Lake City with four of the cutest Yorkies ever! We wanted to be in Midvale, Utah, by 6 or 7 p.m. to meet up with my daughter and her band. With two 8 week old pups, we would be making lots of potty stops along the way. And remember, my 15 year old son has his driving permit, so he'll get to drive tons of miles! He was pretty excited!

Here's Lucy!


...and last, but not least, Molly.

Life Goes On

Life does go on.

I have cried a river of tears over the death of my little Harley. I still cannot believe it's true. I remember asking my guy, "Are you sure he's gone? Are you sure?" As if maybe, just maybe, only the air had been knocked out of the little guy. Because my guy and Harley are out for a week at a time, it's hard for me to truely believe Harley is gone. For my guy, it's very real. He lived this horrible nightmare. For me, my guy hasn't been home since the day of the accident, their first morning out. My guy will be home tomorrow morning for the first time since the accident. Harley will not be there. This will then become so very real to me.

Yes, that's a Harley my Harley is on. He loved to go! He didn't care how or where he went as long as he got to go!

A couple of days after the accident, my guy made a call to the people we had bred Harley with their little Meggie, to see if they had any puppies left. The puppies are 8 weeks old. We got Rodney for our stud fee a couple of weeks ago. They had one puppy left, it's a male. He's twice the size of Rodney, more like Harley. My guy then told them that Harley was gone and he would like this puppy if they didn't have anyone interested in him. They felt so bad. The puppy was ours if we wanted him. They would hold the puppy until my guy was back in town.

My guy hadn't finalized this deal with them yet, but tonight, the lady called me to see if we still wanted this little guy. She knew how upset we had been over losing Harley and wanted to make sure we weren't having second thoughts about taking another puppy, now that some time had gone by. I assured her we were still very interested in having another puppy. She said to come by tonight and pick up "Andre", we'd work out the finances later. Wow!

Early tomorrow morning, I will be picking up my guy from his run without Harley for the first time. Immediately after his arrival home, we are going to Salt Lake City to see my daughter and her band play a club there. Got the tires rotated today, the oil was changed last week. I had our girls, Lucy and Molly, groomed today. They are so pretty. This was Molly's first grooming. She turned out beautiful! Rodney had his ears and toes nails trimmed. And then, I picked up Andre. In the morning, I will pick up my guy with a puppy for him. I haven't seen my daughter since last February.

Harley's Gone

I'm so very sad...

I can't tell you how upset I am about Harley. I feel like we've lost a child. I know that must sound silly. I can't believe I feel this bad. I keep telling myself, I'm being a big boob, he was just a dog. But, Harley was more than just a dog to us. He went everywhere with us, he did everything with us, he slept with us, he was part of our family, and I can't stop crying.

Harley was hit by a big rig at a rest area in Oregon yesterday morning. My guy had stopped to stretch for a minute, and give Harley some time out of the truck. They were the only ones there. They had walked to the pet area and were walking back to the truck when another truck drove in. Harley got under the trailer of this truck. My guy had only enough time to holler for Harley before the trailer tires got him. It was just a horrible accident. The other driver never even knew he had hit Harley. Immediately afterwards, Harley lifted his head for a second, and then he was gone. My guy was right there.

When I finally talked with my guy, I had no idea what had happened just hours before. I cried hysterically. I couldn't believe it. Harley was so good, he minded us so well, always by our sides, so eager to please us. Always happy to see us, even if it had only been just 10 minutes since he saw us last.

When my guy hollered for him in panic, Harley just froze. Harley didn't know or understand what was happening. It happened so fast. I've heard this from so many other people when they've lost their dogs tragically.

My guy ran back to his truck to get something to wrap Harley in. Harley just looked like he was sleeping. My guy picked Harley up and took him with him, hours up the road, hoping all the while that Harley would wake up. My guy arrived at his load destination and then was back on the road again before he stopped to buy a shovel and flashlight. It was now dark. My guy found another rest area they stop at all thetime and buried Harley under a tree there. My guy feels just horrible.

I'm sorry to have gone on and on here. I know I will be okay. I know accidents happen. (I just wish this accident happened to someone else!) I will miss this little guy. I can't imagine the pain my guy is going through; the what if's, the blame, the guilt, the emptiness he must feel without Harley there with him, the hours of driving along with nothing more to think about, the replays of the whole incident the mind goes through, etc.

Anyway... it will take time.