Puppies!

The puppies eyes are open now, and they are tumbling over each other, staggering around trying to play, what joy! Cara is so patient with them, unless they come anywhere near her food bowl, then all bets are off. Sometimes when she's feeding them I'll put her bowl in the bed so she can eat too. If any of the puppies come anywhere near the bowl, she will growl and rumble at them like they are the enemy. She doesn't hurt them, but she sure let's them know who's boss.

A few of the braver pups are already crawling out of the bed, then holler long and loud until someone rescues them. I haven't seen Cara pick them up and move them yet, since we humans seem to jump in first. I want to move the whole group and the bed outside on the porch, and out of the laundry room, but so far I've been outvoted by Nic and David. Heaven forbid they have to live outside like dogs.....

Oceanside and mortality

Well, now I can say I drove "from sea to shining sea" this year. Mom called me last week and asked if I could go with her to Oceanside, CA. Her brother had 3 strokes and a heart attack within the past month, and wasn't expected to live, and she wanted to see him before he died.

We left last Friday and got to see Uncle Marvin on Saturday and Sunday. Monday afternoon he passed away, but not until he was able to see all of his family. He was just waiting for his son Tom to fly in from Chicago, and for Mom. While we were there he was able to make jokes, and Mom had a good visit with him. She told him goodbye on Sunday, and told him "Mommy and Daddy are waiting for you." While it was hard to lose him, we are all glad that he's not immobilized and suffering any more.

Sunday my cousins and I went for a drive along the ocean. Tom, Kathy and I walked along the beach, and it was so beautiful. I called Heather and sang "From sea to shining sea" to her, pretty off-key, but so what! I was able to drive from Maine to California in the past 6 months. It was cloudy in New Hampshire, and 40 degrees in April, and it was about 75 degrees and cloudy in Oceanside. A little cool for a desert rat like me, but I love the ocean. While Wes was driving us down the coast, we found the Carlsbad State Park, which is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It has lots of trees and shrubbery, and an amazing view of the sea, I decided we needed to spend the night there before we left. We booked a spot before we went to see Marvin, and got all the stuff to have a cookout with the cousins.

We went to see Marvin, and he was passing as I walked through his door. I've never been with someone as they were dying, it was a very intense experience. He had let the nurse shave him and cut his hair. He put on his dress pants and a shirt that day. It seemed that once he saw all of his family, he was ready to go and wanted to look good. I feel bad that we didn't get there a little earlier, but I believe that things happen the way they are supposed to, so I have to trust that we really weren't late. Wes and Tom decided to still have the cookout, and Tom made a great meal for everyone. We reminisced about Marvin, talked about his great sense of humor, and how all his kids have inherited it. Tina, Wes' wife, was very close to Marvin, and had some good stories about him. It was healing for me to be on the ocean, feel the breeze, listen to the surf. It gives a broader perspective on eternity, and it was a good way to honor Marvin's memory.

Stormy

I was sitting outside for dinner this evening when I heard thunder. Very few clouds, but the evening was rather pink. I looked toward Mingus mountain and there was one cloud, and one small section of it was raining, but with the sun in the west, it looked gold coming down. I wish I could capture that on film, but at least the pink showed up. On the eastern horizon, there was an inverted arc of color. Just amazing really, so I put the slideshow on, I wish pictures could show the marvelous panaroma.

I saw both specialists this week, the cardialogist told me I had gas. So much for the heart theory, but actually that's a great blessing. My ole ticker is strong, and no clogged blood vessels. The gastro doctor told me I am the lucky owner of a bad case of IBS, and it's genetic/stress oriented. She was great, asked a lot of questions and really listened to me, so I am much encouraged that life will get better quickly.

Now that I know my heart won't kick off on me when I'm not paying attention, it's time to get out and do some yardwork. Time to build up some stamina! We've moved Betty, Lucy and the twins back to the side yard. They did a great job of cleaning up a lot of the grasshoppers in the back yard, but then they discovered the porch. The past week they've been wandering around the porch, leaving 'calling cards' everywhere, including right in front of the door. Ughh! Time to move them on the other side of the fence...

We have Puppies!

Boy, do we have puppies, 9 of them! Sweet Cara is a great mom, and the kids nurse in shifts, so she is hardly able to get out of the crib. Nic made her a big bed, so we can keep the pups corraled, at least for a little while. There are 5 males and 4 females, and they vary in color from deep milk chocolate to a tan. Several of them have a white blaze on their heads, they are so cute! Nic was up most of the night on Monday, helping deliver puppies. I supervised for a little while, but I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning. Once Nic had a little practice, he sent me back to bed, and stayed up until 3 to make sure she was done. There were 11 puppies, but 2 were stillborn, sadly. Still, that's a lot of pups for a first-time mother, and Cara is doing great, she is very nurturing and loving with them. We're taking orders now, if someone wants a beautiful, medium sized dog!

Just Gas

According to the hospitalist and my primary doc, I have gas. Gastritis, to be specific. That doesn't exactly explain the erratic blood pressure I had, or the feeling that someone was sitting on my chest twice, but for now that's all I got. My good friend Julie, a nurse, said this "Forget those local yokels in Hooterville, and go see the cardialogist in Phoenix." Well said, and so that's what I'm doing. I have an appointment with the cardi surgeon in Scottsdale next week, and another with the cardi here, just for good measure.

We'll be having puppies within the week, I think. We thought Cara was due in October, but surprise! She is getting bigger every day, poor thing. The last couple nights she has been pacing around the house, too antsy to settle down. She's a beautiful caramel colored medium sized dog, and bred with a Red Heeler, so they should be sweet, smart, medium sized dogs. If anyone wants a cute little puppy in 2 months, please let me know!