The Good, The Bad, The Funny, The Sad

Many of you will agree with me and wonder what happened to January.  Wasn't it just Christmas?  This is our monthly Fly On The Wall post where bloggers share their goings-on in their homes over the past month -- the Good, the Bad and sometimes the Ugly!  Along with the Funny and the Sad.

In the past three months we have lost three dogs.  Two of them were my daughters, Dakota and Willow, and then we lost our 18 year old Texas, the sunshine of my hubby's life.
For that tear-jerking yet heart-warming story click here.

Most of you will remember the posts I have written about Mercedez, my black Lab.  After Texas died, I wondered if Mercedez would make it through another month.  She has grieved deeply with each buddy she lost.  Although she is in good health, with a beautiful shiny coat, she is definitely slowing down -- especially this past month.

Can Dogs Have Dementia?

Do you know if dogs can get dementia?  Sometimes in the middle of the night I will find her standing in the hallway staring at the walls.  It is like she does not know where she is or why.


The most unusual thing that has happened with her this past month is that she has attached herself to Hubby.  For her 15 years, she has been Mama's girl.  But since Texas has passed she follows my husband around like a puppy.  I realize he is a dog magnet but why?

As a surprise present for Hubby's birthday next month, I am trying to adopt two long-haired mini Dachshunds.   Hubby is still finding it difficult dealing with Texas' passing.  The hoops I have to jump through to adopt these two are almost as difficult as when we adopted our son.  At this point we are 'top' of the list, whatever that means.  These two are six and nine years old and have been neglected.  If they are meant to be ours, then it will happen.  I think they look very sad and I will change that! I'll keep you posted.

We were planning on going out with friends on New Year's Eve but after losing Texas two days earlier, we were not up for celebrating.  When Hubby called to cancel, his friend said, "That's okay because I lost my best friend (a German Shepherd) two days ago.  I felt like such an idiot when I was in the clinic crying like a baby!"

As it turned out, both of these men were in the same clinic at the same time when their best buds passed.  Even though it was very sad, it was also very refreshing to hear these two men share their stories with each other, laughing at their memories and choking back the tears. 

In the meantime, daughter Rochelle adopted Nayla to take the place of their Husky, Willow, who died three months ago.  Nothing like a puppy to replace the sadness with joy! Did you ever see anything so cute?

Christmas Joy

Hopefully all of you had a wonderful Christmas.  We spent it with Rochelle and her husband's family.  It was the first time we were together for the holiday and it was wonderful.  Lots of good food and laughs!  Have any of you played the game "Heads Up" which is an app for your iPad? There were ten of us -- five young people and five over the hill.  It was great competition and hilarious.  Gets pretty loud but I highly recommend it.  It's a little like Password and Charades, only better.

A lot of couples our age have stopped exchanging gifts at Christmas as we have.  And I think you will agree with me that most men are not that great at keeping secrets so try to imagine how I reacted when I opened this HAND MADE gift from Paul:

I was flabbergasted -- it's been a long time since I used that word!  I did not have any clue he was working on that.  Christmas in the jewelry business is the busiest time of year and the most stressful.  The fact that he took the time to make this for me along with all the other custom pieces he needed to finish, was a true token of his love.  If you read my post about Paul's car accident and his brain damage (click here), you will appreciate how this is even more special.

I couldn't end this month's post without saying something about my precious William, three-year-old grandson.  I think he's got rhythm (especially towards the end)  what do you think?  In case you are wondering, that's a rice cake in his mouth.



One more thing..........I don't believe in MALE BASHING but......I saw these pearls of wisdom that made me laugh out loud and I must pass them on to you:

Listening to your wife is like reading the Terms and Conditions of a website.

You understand NOTHING, yet you agree.

Chess is the only game in the world which reflects the status of the husband.

The poor King can take only one step at a time.....

While the mighty Queen can do whatever she likes! 

And one more.....

All men are brave.  Horror movies don't scare them, But....

Five missed calls from the wife.....that's another story.