Busy, Busy, Busy............

...that's what we have been for weeks....busy as bees..taking care of those little fledglings paid off.....Momma bird one day came calling and decided it was time for them to hit the road...and away they went! They have been back with Momma full time (who looks a wee bit tired now that she is feeding them without the help of moi.....but they know they are welcome here all the time!)

July is the Birthday month in our clan, and we have several weeks where they come one after the other...so party time it is.
The most special one was for Mom, who at 94 is looking just as bright eyed and bushy tailed as Becky!

We have also been spotting many of our regular Summer visitors, as well as a few new ones..


It has been a record summer harvest for our blackberries! We have already been making blackberry muffins, blackberry frosting, blackberry sauce for BBQing.
One of the best recipes we found combined both lemon thyme and blackberries for a simply scrumptious treat. We are hoping to post some pix of our next creation...that's if we can ever get back into the kitchen again with this heat wave!! When we do we will be tackling this recipe: Lemon Ricotta Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting.

We are also very happy to report that Angus is responding very well to his thyroid medication...he is however going through his annual allergy bout, and is feeling just a little cranky ( like all allergy sufferers are no doubt!)It never ceases to amaze us though, how much bringing Becky into his ( and our) life has turned him into a puppy again..he really keeps Becky on her toes and vice versa!
Keep cool everyone.....drink a lots of fluids, stay indoors and take it slow!!!

A New Beginning.....

 

Forgive all of the crew here.......we have been involved in major changes that are both painful and joyful....it required all of the physical and mental strength we had.
Many of you know that we moved my mother in with us a few years ago. At 90 we thought it was time. Mom kept here home up north and we allowed her to go back for a weekend, then a day, then an hour....finally we had to come to the realization that life would not return to the way it had been......and from that came the house sale.

 

We have a lot of memories in that home...birthday parties, graduation parties....preparing for weddings, preparing for funerals...event after event.
I grew up in that home. My family lived in it for nearly 50 years. Emotionally we were prepared to let go......we thought...

 

My parents grew up during the Depression..they knew what living without basic necessities was like...they were determined never to have that happen again. What we encountered over the last two months cured me of flea markets, maybe permanently...they saved everything....I mean EVERYTHING. Every time we thought we had gotten to the last box another appeared......and another.....and another....close to two hundred went to the Salvation Army. The furniture, another tale, involved going from not wanting to sell it, to wanting to sell it, to donating it, to pleading people to take it.

 

The poor menagerie here I suspect will not recover that quickly...total confusion while the boxes are opened and/or tossed...I am not sure who haz been most affected by all of it...certainly not Becky, who can only view it all like a big adventure. Angus, on the other hand whimpers a lot...and needs reassurance.

I don't want to visit another flea market again..not right now..maybe one day..but I have to tell you all that with the prospect of having my parents home spilled onto a blanket in a flea market, left me ill...and that was why it took that long to place everything.
Granted we have many boxes stored here now...we could not part with it all..in the end, I found myself hanging on to memories more than Mom...I think she was ready to let go...I clearly wasn't.

Clearly I am shell-shocked...I joked about the bottle of champagne we would open the day it was final...that did not happen...more of a quiet repose, following the end of an Era.Everything feels out of whack and uncertain. While we knew the day would come, I could not be there the last day..too many memories.

Now that the ranting and rambling of one very shell shocked blogger comes to a close, I have found that truly for every end, will be a new beginning....I just hope it will not involve cardboard boxes,tape and the dump.

We will be going on retreat beginning tomorrow, for a couple of days...we have to otherwise we will never be able to quiet the chatter and become grounded again..we are hoping to have the strength not to bring the laptop. The best way to unplug..don't bring anything that you have to plug in ;o)

 

In The Garden Today...........

We found this lovely rose....

 

and wonderful swiss chard.....

 

 

 

Lots of basil and garlic chive blossoms.

 

 

Even the return of our fennel for......Hey wait a minute........Becky are you hamming it up again???

 

Cucumbers and zucchini waiting to be picked finally

 

Monarchs.....

 

and Admirals

 

Painted Ladies...

 

 

Skippers......

 

and even Hummers..

 

Flowers galore........

 

 

and smiling faces

 

.........ahhhh a perfect end to a perfect day in the garden! Hoping that you have that kind of day!

 

A Place For Mom

 

Comfort Care.......Senior Connections...A Place For Mom...names that meant nothing to me until a few weeks ago.
How many of you think that you can do everything for everyone all the time and not burn out. I don't mean burn out as in,"gee I need a day to myself" or "man am I gonna crash big time tonight."

I mean the kind of burnout that leaves you feeling as though you will never be able to get out of bed and not feel whole again......the kind of tired that makes you feel helpless, hopeless.....angry, confused........

 

This is how I have been feeling for quite some time now.

Caregiving is more than a full time job.

 

It is a 24 hour, 7 days a week job. A job without pay, benefits, or time off for good behavior. There are no vacations. It goes on 365 days a year. And unlike raising a child, you do not see progress, when the person you are caring for has passed the age of ninety( I have had many people with good intentions, make that comparison.) I have for three years this month, taken on this challenge. Today I made a decision that will change the way I approach things.....and that is where A Place For Mom comes in.

 

The wonderful people there are helping me put a program in place for Mom. It will be good for her, good for me, good for everyone in our home...including the furry and feathered children. We needed to do this quite awhile ago, but then again, you think you can handle it all.......

The lesson learned.....listen to your body....don't wait until life becomes unmanageable to the point of no return. All that being said, we will do our best to keep blogging away about animal antics, gardening highs and lows, and looking at life through the camera lense ;o)

 

We forgot.............about the nature of...

the Scottie dug.........

 

just how much work one little puppy can be.....we forgot about the potty training, the crying at night when they feel alone.....the little things that they pick up and put in their tiny mouths..........

 

We forgot how much time that they need to have our company....when they are learning all about the new world they are in.........

 

We forgot that they are not little versions of bigger dogs, but in fact, are babies, that can have a major tantrum....

 

 

and feel frightened at times...........

Babies that need oh so much time, and patience.......the loving part is very easy...the training part can make you feel helpless and hopeless....

 

How an older dog will now need ten times the amount of reassurance that he's still the top dog...

 

When you add a little baby dog to a home with an elderly human Mom, it can become a lot to juggle.....especially when you begin to see the human Mom becoming more and more frail.....

So please forgive the absence....we know that you all want to see our little one everyday, while she learns and grows and discovers new things....

 

......and how we help the other critters adjust to their new sibling!