One Wonderful Weekend

We spent the weekend with our good friends Nurse Nancy, Fly Boy and Junior Birdman, attending their annual picnic. We were blessed with good weather - sunshine, low humidity and comfortable temperatures.

We enjoyed visiting with the family and friends of our friends, people we have come to know over the past 18 years of attending their picnics.

Next weekend they will be visiting us to celebrate the Fourth of July with baseball, hot dogs and hopefully some fireworks. Oh, and some Guavaberry Coladas, reminiscent of the trip Nurse Nancy and I took to Saint Martin/Sint Maarten!

Friday Funny

My son is king of the grill in our house. Most times he's way more experimental than me. And the results are always good.

Rain, rain go away!

Is anyone else starting to feel this way?

How's your ark coming?

This and That Thursday

Random thoughts going through my mind:

• Real Housewives of NJ - OMG, NJ has a bad enough rep with out this show adding to it
• Rain, rain go away - the mold is killing me! And I'd like to get into the pool too.
• Swimming bunnies - who'd have thought they could swim?
• Tasted the new Frosty from Wendy's, the toffee one. Pretty good!
• Has any one ever gone into the Wal-Marts and bought only what was on their list? Is it even possible? I've never been able to do it.
• Ironing - is it weird that I don't mind this task?

Comments. Questions? Suggestions. Referrals for psychotherapists?

Baby Bunnies

So this past week has not been one of the best ones of my life. But this evening I picked up Maxie's ashes and now she is home with us. I may entertain you with some funny remembrances from time to time, but it is time to work on healing my broken heart. That being said, I must tell you about our baby bunnies.

I didn't know that we had bunny babies in our yard until the day after we lost Maxie. I went out to mow the lawn and saw one jump out of the grass in the backyard and run off. I hadn't seen any nesting activity in the yard as I have seen in the past, so I assumed that the now relocated groundhog family were the only ones procreating in our yard. Apparently not.

Then Sunday when I went out to turn on the pool heater, I noticed a drowned bunny in the pool. I figured it was the one I saw last week, removed and disposed of it and didn't think much more about it. Until this morning. I checked the skimmer on the pool and lo an behold, another deceased baby bunny. Again, removed and disposed and hoping this is the last of them.

This afternoon I decided to mow the lawn and as I was taking the mower out of the shed, I saw something run out from under one of the hydrangea bushes. It was yet another baby bunny. It ran into the vegetable garden section of the yard. As I walked back there to see if I could find it I heard a loud "plop" in the pool. I rounded the bushes that surround the garden to said bunny swimming from the deep end of the pool to the shallow end steps where it stopped on the top step and after three attempts, jumped out of the pool, shook off and ran off.

Here's the thing, I didn't know that rabbits could swim. Did you? It was really quite funny as it dog - or should I say bunny paddled along the side of the pool with it's little head held as high above the water as possible.

I have come to the conclusion that the unlucky bunnies found themselves in the pool in the dark and could not find the shallow water of the steps or could not make it out safely.

This now concludes today's biology lesson on the common rabbit. Any questions? None. Test tomorrow.

One Week

It's been one week since Maxie left our lives. It's quieter here - no clicking of toe nails on the hard floors, no barking when some one is at the door, no begging at the dinner table. I picked snow peas last week - about ten pounds worth. Usually picking snow peas meant one for the bowl and two for Maxie. This time they all went into the bowl.

I miss my baby. But I am glad she isn't suffering. Will my heart ever heal?

Friday Funny

Do you ever feel this way?

One cute dog

This photo of Maxie was taken on Saturday with my husband's phone, then edited with iPhoto.  It was taken after her first series of seizures.  By Monday, she could not sit up like this, nor could she hold her head straight.  I'm so glad we got one last good photo of our little girl.

Puppy love

Missing you so much Maxie.  I would have carried you to the ends of the earth if it would have made you better.

Rest in Peace Maxie

It was time for her to go.  Yesterday's seizure had lasting damage.  It was the toughest decision we've ever had to make, but it was the right one.  We all held her as she slipped away.  

We will always love you our sweet little girl.  She gave us 15 years of love and laughs and a lifetime of memories.  Until we meet again, my sweet one sleep well.

Puppy problems

Had a dog emergency yesterday.  Came home from a morning outing to find our Maxie not well.  She had accidents in the house, had thrown up for our son and was now dragging her body on the floor and shaking.  So we packed her up and took her to the emergency animal hospital.  

After checking in and her initial assessment, she started shaking again.  The tech notices her eyes shaking.  The vet did her exam and Maxie had a more intense seizure - she had apparently had several small ones.  We discussed the treatment plan and possible diagnoses.  With teary eyes, we left her in the hands of the staff for tests, fearing the worst.

We received a call a few hours later.  While she had had one more small seizure, her tests were negative - blood work good with only one liver function off and x-rays of her body revealed no tumors or cancer.  It's possible that there may be something in her head, but because of her age we have decided to not pursue this any further - at 15 plus, the risk of her going under anesthesia for an MRI are great and the cost is in the neighborhood of $2,000.  We love her, but could not justify putting her or us through this.  She was put on Phenobarbital for the seizures and was kept over night for observation.

This morning we were told that we could pick her up.  With the exception of her being a little unsteady on her feet from the medication (this should subside after her body adjusts to it), she's pretty much back to her old self.  She's begging for food, following me around like my shadow and barking when someone comes to the door.

Her prognosis is okay for now.  Not knowing the exact cause of the seizures doesn't help, but hopefully the medication will keep the seizures under control and her without pain or distress.  We'll follow up with her regular vet this week.

We love you Maxie!

Friday Funny

I feel the same way.