30 March 2009

Hi everyone...things have settled down since Friday a bit.....my heart still aches and the plate that I feed the cats at is missing a body.  The other cats are adjusting to their buddy being gone as they mourn too.  We buried Freddie by the pond at the ranch and Chet and I and Jack and Lilli Mae made a stepping stone with sparkle and glow-in-the-dark stars in it for his grave.  We pressed in his name and wrote, "We loved you so hard", on it.  I am grateful for every moment that he was with me.  I have to say that as it is so easy to dwell on the pain and loss.......

Lilli and I made some blueberry muffins and added a bunch of Partridge berries that we picked up the hill behind our house in Twillingate.  They were deeeelicious.....

 

We have been at the ranch since arriving as it is a slice of Paradise here.  We don't have hook-ups so will move over to Jon's other property in a day or two where we stayed the last time; King Salmon.  I love it here as there isn't anyone around except Jon and his worker and the kids who come to play on the week ends.  I love to look out the window and see Jon here.  It is so nice to see how much he loves it.  A rooster named "Foghorn" moved in today.  We will see him tomorrow as it was dark when we got back from Jon and Erin's.  We went in the hot tub with the kiddies, played some games, had supper and then Erin showed us some of the tiles, flooring, cabinet colors, etc., she is using in the new house.  It is very exciting and is going to be beautiful.

The other evening we went for the nicest walk around part of the property and met some of the cows.  They are about 2/3 the size of regular cows and have longer hair.  The females have straight hair and the Bull has curls.  They are really funny and the bull, Beamer, moo's back and forth with the bull across the street.  The other one gets all riled up and sputters, drools and makes us want to stay far away...we haven't been down to the other bull and cows or the goats yet.  Down means waaaay down the property; not just a short walk.  Maybe tomorrow we will go see them.  We see lots of deer running around here.  When you come through the gate you come to the sign of the "LILLI J RANCH" and Jon has put some boulders around it and planted daffodils.  What a pleasant feeling it is to enter and see it.

The weather is spectacular right now and the rain predicted for Thursday isn't coming until Sunday.  It just howled here on Sunday and last night.  We were socked in with fog for a brief time and it rained Sat. night.  It is my kind of weather right now; cold clear and sunny.

I am seriously thinking of taking myself off of the Mafia Wars game on FaceBook as it is consuming waaaaay to much of my time.  I haven't been reading of knitting and have let the muzes go.  I just have to hit remove....hmmmm......that is easy enough.  I will see.....

Take care and I appreciate all of the kind words I received after we put our poor old boy down.  Thank you............

 

27 March 2009

When we take the chance to love with all of our might, we must know we stand the chance to hurt as deeply when we lose what we have loved so hard.  I lost my Freddie cat today-we lost our Freddie cat today.  He was special to a lady who has probably had 50 to 75 cats in my life time.  I had as many as 13 at one time.  We have kept Freddie on borrowed time for 3 years now with subcutaneous saline and potassium, pills, plain saline and antibiotics.

I woke to him on my chest with his face in mine the morning after my daddy died so I know he was sent to me.  He came through the window that I used to leave open for the cats; to be loyal and by my side, sleeping in my arms for 15 years.  I figure he must have been around 2 when he came to me.  He was a beauty and everyone who met him wanted him.  He never left me and took care of kittens and attacked dogs if they came near our yard or motorhome.  He started failing 3 years ago and we knew he would let us know when it was time.  He couldn't walk more than a couple of steps at a time and couldn't stand to eat, drink or use the litter box anymore. We cared for him and he waited until we got to the ranch so we could bury him in a loving place......he waited.  He cried last night at the side of the bed so I could pick him up and let him sleep one last time in the crook of my arm...he always put his two front feet on my arm.

We took him to the vet and he is at peace now.  Jack kissed him before we left and the kids picked flowers to put in his grave.  Jack made me a picture of Freddie; the immense compassion and sensitivity of that sweet boy.  He kept wrinkling his nose at dinner and I told him he could ask or tell us anything.  He told Chet we had to change the sign in our front window to save our 4 cats in case of an emergency to read '3'...My son Jon sent me home with their "feel better bear" to hold tonight.  They use it when someone needs to feel better.

Thank you for listening.....I need this cathartic exercise, I need to let my tears flow.  I have never stayed to put an animal down before but we couldn't leave Freddie alone as he never left us.  He would sleep by our heads if we were sick.  I'm sorry, my boy.....I'm so sorry.  

See, I told you it gets more interesting when we are on the road....we were terrified we would have to leave him somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

We went to the Rosicrucian Museum yesterday in San Jose.  It has the biggest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the Western United States.  Chet had been there before and wanted to go back and share it with me.  He decided he was glad we went so we wouldn't have to go back again....!-_-!

We arrived here at 2:00 this afternoon and are staying at the ranch for now as it is soooooo magnificent here.  Tomorrow I want to meet the cows.  I got to meet the turkeys today.

It is lovely to be here and I can't tell you what it felt like to get hugs and kisses from Jack and Lilli Mae.  They are so precious and so beautiful.  Oh, how life goes on; I remember when my kids were small and my parents were around.  How they loved their grandma and poppa.

Well, my family and friends..."Va Viejo"........enjoy every minute of it as it is remarkable.........I will take a big breath now and feed the other cats.

 

25 March 2009

Happy Birthday to my Love, Chet!!!!!!!

We pulled in to the WalMart in San Jose this afternoon.  The security came by in the afternoon and then again tonight to tell us we couldn't be here.  I felt like we were back in Pacific Palisades.....we spoke to the manager and he told us not to worry.....

We went to see "Revolutionary Road" this evening for my hubby's birthday.  It was definitely a slice of life......tomorrow to the museum to see Egyptian artifacts and then to head towards Jon and Erin's.  Our Freddie is doing soooo poorly that I don't think he will make the week....it really hurts......

See, this is one of those days that all I have to tell you is that we went to the grocery store, etc., so I won't bore you.

Have a good day and live it like it is your last.....dance!!!  

 

24 March 2008

We are on the road again...I always have an ache in my heart and one in my gut when I have to leave my family.  That is something that I suppose will never change.  

We just had 6 new tires put on the coach and we think it rides smoother.....boy that would be a big +.  Sometimes it rattles so hard we can't hear ourselves think!!!!  

It is always easier to write when we are on the move, as things change and there is something to tell you about besides getting up, brushing our teeth, eating and going to bed......  It is 3:46 pm and we are headed towards the grapevine on I-5 north of Los Angeles......We figure we will get to the Flying J and spend the night somewhere near there.

Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday, the last one in his 50's.  We should be in San Jose so we will have to celebrate.....

Twilly is in my lap as he needs some comforting as he always manages to throw up when we start to travel.  It is weird but he is enjoying the comfort of his momma's lap right now.  It is a beautiful day, clear as can be which is a pleasure for here.

We made it just under our 12:00 check out at the park which is usual for us....down to the last second.  I got a call from my friend Leslie as we have a way of connecting around "children leaving" anxiety.

I just  got the message yesterday that Jack lost his first tooth on Monday.  It was so cute with his daddy prompting him in the background.  I want a picture of the toothless wonder but will see him very soon and can take one of my own...

We had a great day yesterday at Mitch and Andrea's with Brett and a wonderful swim in the pool which was close to 90 degrees.  Oh that was good and did I sleep well last night.  We had supper and watched a bit of tv and then dropped Brett off and went to our "wheel home".

Don't get me wrong, I love it when we hit the road...there is nothing quite like it.  This has been the first year we have had very little agenda and it was wonderful.  It is the freedom of doing whatever.  We actually stayed in LALA LAND for a month and hat was different.

I will add more later if something comes up before Chet posts this.  

Embrace the day.........

 

19 MARCH 2009

I am just about ready to quit the Mafia Wars game on FB as it has become rather inane.  I have over 6 billion dollars in my account and have no desire to buy anymore property to have it stolen so what to do...Such big decisions.  I just wish I could give it all to someone else as a gift .....and then write it off on my income taxes...

We cleaned our wheel home for a while after I had a total freak out from the prednisone I am taking.....I took 2 mg of valium which I never take and Chet took a nap...that may give you a hint of how lovely I feel.  I have been on 3 pills a day fro 4 days and tomorrow I reduce it to 2 pills for a few days and on for the next ten days until I am off of it.  It is making my chest feel better......that should make it worth it.  I sure hope we can avoid colds when we go to visit the grand kiddies again...

It is foggy out right now.  Yesterday we walked down to the water and ended up getting our feet wet so we just walked along the surf line like tourists and got our pants wet.  It was fun and funny as I have lived at this ocean for so many years and never looked like a tourist with wet pant legs.  We took Brett out to dinner and he was just plain grumpy and tired so we dropped him off and got home to watch American Idol.  There are some pretty good singers on there this year.

Tuesday early evening we went to Westwood to the rally for Darfur.  It was good to be there and while we were there we got word that President Obama appointed an envoy to go to Darfur...it is a beginning.  We went to see my sis before and she spoke to me for the first time in over a year.  She said “hello Gaye Ann” when I walked in.  It is amazing...she is off of all of her meds including her insulin which she has been on for over 40 years; no more blood pressure medicine, etc and she is fine...what a shame it has to happen on hospice and not when she was able to get around.  I said goodbye and I hope it won’t be the last time.....

We are going for our new tires on Tuesday and then will leave from there to start heading North.  This is the plan for now but one never knows.  We have to get the dates of our visit up north before we gel our plans.

Embrace the day and have a good one........

It is time to finish our cleaning and get some supper ready.

16 March 2009

Here it is the day before St. Patrick's Day....oh goodie.....green beer and all.  I don't think I have ever had a green beer in my life and don't plan on starting tomorrow.  We are planning to go to a rally in Westwood and hold up signs to bring attention to the genocide in Darfur.  We were there yesterday for about 2 hours and it was amazing to experience the complacent people in the hundreds of cars that went by.  We were at the Federal Building in Los Angeles where most protests, marches, rallies, etc., occur.  The turnout was very disappointing as far as we were concerned.  Lots of people don't even know where Darfur is and that people are being slaughtered.  All of the UN supported aid agencies were thrown out of there around two weeks ago.  I realize we have lots to take care of here and that there are people starving here, too.  We will be more than happy to attend rallies for the causes that plague our Nation but this is what is happening right now.  Maybe people have to take a course in Holocaust part 2, i.e.. ethnic cleansing.  It is horrific.

It has been great getting to spend a month in Los Angeles and get a fill up on my kids that are still here.  Yesterday, we started the day with breakfast at Whole Foods to celebrate a friend of my son's 90th day of sobriety.  It was nice to be able to be there.  We then went to Westwood and after, to Mitch and Andrea's.  We had a great swim, Brett came over and we all had pizza and salads from Johnnie's.  It was sooooo delicious.  We took Brett home and made it back to our wheel home in time for Brother's and Sister's on ABC television..

The park, we are at now, comes alive on the weekends and the parties roll on 'til about 1:00 a.m.  It is nice to see all of the families and friends with their barbecues and setups cooking and eating wonderful smelling food.  There was music and a good time had by all or at least it sounded like it.

I finally broke down and started a 2 week round of prednisone for my bronchitis.  The inhalers helped but not enough.  I am just about ready to crawl out of my skin right now.  I hate taking it but I have to get the inflammation quieted down.  I am not loving it.

We are going to get new tires for the motorhome on Wednesday or Thursday as we found some gouges in the sidewall of one of the rear tires.  We knew we were going to have to replace them but were hoping to make it to Oregon so we wouldn't have to pay the sales tax.  Oh well, the tax would be nothing compared to the cost if the tire blew.  It was just a fluke that I saw the problem by having to park the car along the side of the motorhome instead of in the front.  The tires have to be changed every 6 years anyway so it was time....  I'm glad I saw it!!!

It is very cold in Twillingate and the harbour is iced in.  There is a big flat iceberg outside of the mouth or the harbour.  I wish we were there to see it.

Life is good and we are going to take about a week to get up to Eureka.  Chet wants to stop in San Jose and go to the museum so that is what we will do......

I have to go out and get some cat food out of the car....the kitties are restless......Love to you all!!!  

 

10 March 2009

It's 1:27 a.m. and time for bed.  I wanted to touch base before the time got away.......

It is hard to adjust to time changes at the best...worse when I stay up ridiculously late anyhow.  We picked Brett up after work and met Andrea at Costco.  We did some shopping and then went over to their house for supper and a swim that never happened.  It got late and we ate and lost all forward momentum....a bit of tv watching transpired and then we took Brett home.  We all unloaded his groceries from Costco and we headed for our wheel home.

I was watching "Cold Case" and it hit too close to my heart so I bawled for a while as I was playing scrabble and Mafia Wars.

We have to go get my new glasses today and pick up some jewelry and my watch from the repair shop.  It will be a running around day for us as usual....

Embrace life as it flies....my cousin died and my sis is not doing well....I will say my prayers and go to sleep......