Farewell, Miss Duchess

A year ago tomorrow, March 29th, it was hard to believe that I would ever breathe again, smile again...It was a year ago that we lost our precious Duchess. 

Eric and I walked out of the emergency animal hospital, stunned, blinking in the early morning light.  Who could have imagined a few hours earlier that we would leave that place without our girl? The doors to the Jeep remained flung open, just as we had left them.  We were frantic to get Duchess into the hospital, hopeful that she would be OK.  After some tests and time, it was determined that no, Duchess was not going to be OK.  The doctor on duty and his assistant were very kind, and Duchess seemed fairly comfortable with them, which in turn comforted us, too. 

Duchess spent her last few hours on this earth surrounded by Eric and me, Dr. Johnson and Kimberly.  When the time came, and her heart beat its final beat, she was wrapped in my arms, Eric's hand was stroking her forehead, and she breathed a little sigh.  She had a tiny, peaceful smile on her face, and I could tell that she was not in any pain or even discomfort....Looking back, I am proud that I was able to put aside my own fear and anxiety to be with this magnificent creature, to provide her with the comfort and security of my mere presence. Though this was the hardest experience I have ever gone through in my life, I wouldn't trade having been there with my Duchess as she slipped the surly bonds of this earth, and reached up to touch the face of God. 

Duchess, wherever you are, we miss you and will love you always...you are forever in our hearts. 

  

Extra Day Off!

My, it has been a while...here I am. No, I did not fall off the face of this Earth!

Lots of things have happened since I last published an entry. Let's see...We did go on that Alaskan cruise, and boy was it fun. I think this was my favorite cruise, so far. Eric's younger daughter, Irene had a baby girl in December, on the 15th. Her name is Jade, and she is beautiful and healthy.

Eric's older daughter, Dawn joined the Army in May, and is currently stationed at Ft. Riley, KS. Dawn is being deployed to Iraq tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will be able to keep in contact with her while she is there. We all have joined Facebook, now, and think that will help.

Oh, one more big thing...Eric and I finally tied the knot on November 14th of 2008! It wasn't a big event, but it was so much fun, and perfect for us. We were in Las Vegas, celebrating Eric's dad's 80th birthday, and we got married while there in our city of lights. My best friend in the world, Ida was there to be our witness, and no one else. What a fun night it was! We really wanted something like this instead of some huge, fancy affair with hundreds of people...how nerve wracking, not to mention expensive. We plan to take a proper honeymoon to Europe as soon as our schedules will allow.

Also, my co-op opened a second store on January 15th of this year, and I work there on Mondays and Tuesdays. It is a very nice store, modern and gorgeous. Hopefully, we will continue to get busier and busier.

Today is an extra day off for me, and I intend to enjoy it to the max. I will head to Starbucks, and watch part of an "Ace of Cakes" marathon that starts at 11 (I do know how to live it up, don't I?). Who knows what else the day may bring, but I am happy to have this little extra time off.

Happy Day!

Today was a very happy, good day. Work went really well, as I was working with some of my favorite people, and everyone (including me) was in a pretty good mood. I swung by my favorite coffee haunt after work for an iced Americano, and then headed home. Eric's daughter called to say that all is well with her pregnancy, and that the baby's heartbeat was strong...good news!!!
Eric and I are getting ready to go on our Alaskan cruise with his family at the end of this week...we are so excited! Even if the weather is not great, we will have so much fun just being with everyone, sightseeing, relaxing, and shopping. It is cool to be on a big cruiseliner, no matter where it is headed. Everyone keeps telling me how beautiful Alaska is, so I am happy to finally get to see for myself!

Peppermint Soap, Raindrops and Evergreen Trees

Earlier this evening, I took time out to go take a relaxing, hot, peppermint- scented bath. The bathroom window was open (no one can see in, it is too high!), so I sat there in my nice hot water, and watched it rain. It was beautiful to see these huge drops of rain, against the backdrop of a very old, tall Evergreen tree...it almost seemed mystical. During this time, my noisy neighbors down the street broke into choruses of drumming and singing. Normally, that sort of thing might annoy me when I am trying to relax, meditate even. Today, however, I found it entertaining, and almost nice to hear their happy sounds...I really do appreciate living in the Pacific Northwest most of the time, this is one of those times.