So Flippin' Cute

I've been pretty isolated for over

 two years now so the new normal does not

affect me as much as the rest of you.

I always have emergency supplies

so that has been Ok also. For now

 I'm having groceries delivered, 

and still being careful when handling.

What has really helped is this sweet boy.

Always busy playing by my side,

or sleeping tucked next to me

 or in his favorite spot,

on my chest.

He's a stubborn, determined pup at times,

(He has murdered two boxes of kleenex already.)

but we're working on things together.

Thought you all could use 

a sweet thought and pic

today. Walter says Hello!

Please be cautious, not fearful,

generous, not selfish,

and if you have nearby seniors 

please help them out if you can.

I have two neighbors who are checking on 

me, and there for me if I need anything.

That makes me feel less anxious, as I am 

extremely vulnerable and my kin

are so far away.

oh and BTW

vet says he's a jack russell mix.

That explains a lot

It's All About The Fringe

It's the fringe that gets me every time.

That and his sweet face 

always seeking approval and cuddles. 

Walter met his 4th human Saturday,

 my neighbor up the street, and he was

only nervous for about a minute.

Last week when meeting another neighbor

 he wouldn't go near her.

We're growing bigger and smarter each day.

The table boxes for the wedding are

done. They head to CA soon. There won't be

room in the car for them when I drive down 

for actual wedding, especially now with

the pooch in tow. 

I am feeling calmer and more myself these days.

It is amazing what a small creature can do 

for our mental health.

Even though I keep having

medical set backs, they don't seem to throw 

me off course as much, if at all. 

The world is a scary place these days.

I am respiratory compromised, so anything that

can make that worse is frightening.

I stay close to home most of the time anyway,

but it is now advisable. We must all be careful,

as we should every day of every year,

but not get caught up in the fear mongering

that social media is creating.

24/7 news is a bad thing.

They have to fill all that time and the temptation

to create hysteria is exactly that, too tempting. 

Stay healthy my friends, and 

wash your hands-wash your hands.

elbow bumps all around

Z

Little Thief

Hello Walter!

I love dogs who look into your eyes,

really listening to your words.

I love his wrinkles.

I love his "fur collar" The fringe and 

the perfect peak making another heart.

I got up to pop something in the microwave

and returned to find a little thief

 had stolen my pillow,

and my heart.

I will diligently try not to

turn this into the Life of Walter blog,

but it's all so new and wonderful.

Bear with me just a bit.

SO Happy SOOOOO Tired

Walter

His left pad has a heart or Mickey

I woke up from our couch nap 

this morning to find him tucked 

away behind me.

That belly!

Did I mention I was tired?

oh boy am I tired

Z

Where Did That Post Go?

Some of you saw a post over a week ago about 

me meeting my new best friend, and a few other things

but after my "visit" I immediately

removed the post as the visit was a nightmare.

It was not a free wonderful dog.

It was a pyramid, for lack of another name,

for breeding.

I left, drove around the corner 

and sat and cried.

That night I was so angry, my BP soared.

Fast forward to a few days ago.

Hannah had sent me links to some 

new rescue sites, urging me not to give up.

I filled out a couple. 

Within an hour, I got an email of a match.

With a face that tore open my heart.

Then after filling out the application,

I got a call within an hour,

 and passed the phone interview.

Two days later,

I met him at his
foster's home.

                                          

a few days more and this morning

I had my home visit to pass the yard and home

inspection.

This group rarely has puppies.

A mama and her 2 puppies had been dumped.

That I checked in just 1 hour after they posted

is my angels helping out. Dozens more applied.

Meet Walter

I am in love

He is so tiny, and will remain small.

I have never had a small dog in my life,

my cats weighed more than he will.

Lots of work and joy ahead.

Z

went shopping yesterday

maybe a little overboard?

hehe

A Tribute To A Dog

I am still having issues

with the loss of Howie,

So much anger because of the mistakes made

by the Drs and the animal hospital.

 I also struggle daily (hourly at times) with the fact 

that I wasn't there in his last moments.

As these past 2 years have unfolded,

with all my medical issues,

it really was Howie who got me through

the tough days and gave me a reason

to get out of bed or not retreat to it.

Not to mention the other 13 years 

he never left my side.

If you have never loved an animal

that way you most likely will not understand.

Your loss

All I know is the speech is 

 how I feel, and I'm tired of 

pretending it's getting better

 and this most of all.

"The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous... is his dog."

In 1869 A senator George Graham Vest represented a plaintiff whose dog had been shot by a neighbor who questioned the $150.00 he was asked to pay "for this mere animal."

This is the speech Senator Senator Vest of Missouri gave to the jury: It is known as A Tribute To A Dog

"Gentlemen of the jury: the best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his worst enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous... is his dog.
Gentlemen of the Jury: a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death."

I found this speech today by hearing another 

given in 1936 by Lionel Barrymore

in the film The Voice of Bugle Ann

He attributes it to the Senator

"The best friend a man may have in the world can turn agin him. A man's son or his daughter that he's raised the best way he knows how may turn agin him. Folks that he trusts more than anyone else in the world can turn out to be snakes in the grass. A man can lose all his money just when he needs it the most. Folks that are cheering a man most when he's successful is the first one to heave a rock at him when he falls down. The only absolutely unselfish friend a man can have, one that will never be ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. Yes sir, a man's dog will stand by him rich or poor, sick or well. He'll sleep on the cold ground, don't make no difference. Wind or snow, all he asks is just to stand by him. He'll kiss the hand that ain't got no food to give him; he'll guard the sleep of a pauper just like he was a king. And when all his other friends is gone there you'll find his dog. A man might not have no roof to his head; he'd be friendless and homeless, and all the faithful dog asks is just to stand by him. Guard him agin any danger, that he kin. And when it's all over, a man can lay in Potter's Field in a grave that ain't got no headstone, there you'll find his dog. With his eyes sad, but open and watchin'. With his head between his paws, just waitin' ..."

Good Stuff

I received a wonderful honey mustard

 in a Christmas gift from brother Scott.

It was unlike any I had ever tasted and 

I was bonkers for it.

It was a small jar and it was so thick,

it barely pours and much more honey than others.

Any hoot I decided to google on the slim chance

I could find locally which I did but $$$$

so after more research I found it on line 

HERE 

by the case(6) at a great price

and promptly ordered.

I spent another 40 minutes going all over their 

site and found more great things 

I never knew existed.

I registered and everything,

which I rarely do.

Two days ago Woebers Reserve

 arrived and did you notice

the packing material it was in?

Again Bonkers!!!!

I have never seen this before and wonder why

every company is not using.

Oh yeah, cheap is best and they don't care. 

I sat down and immediately wrote to them

to say thank you and ask where I can get 

that packing material.

Now I need to find and write to Woebers.

Such a small thing but such a GOOD thing.

Good, no fabulous mustard

AND a good company.

Naturesideal.com

Z

They Did It Again

Kiddos went to Ovation award show Monday evening. 

I sweetly texted "Send me a pretty photo please."

At 11:30 last night I get these

Then this one

I see a pattern forming

Sixty Six and Fifty One and ****It Bucket

Back in March of 2013 

I placed a **** It Bucket 

in my side bar.

See it over there to the right
or link above >

The idea was: bitch about whatever is

 bugging you and get    it    out. 

Unless they are a blogger and visit me

anyone you mention will never see 
and you can finally get all that 

angry, sad or generally P-off goo out of your gut.
You can alter names places whatever.
But boom shakalaka let er rip!
Man I should have been using all along 
 for #45!

I was rereading some of the comments 

51 of them and the one I left 

Nov 17 still resonates with me.

I also waxed nostalgic when I saw names

that "poof" disappeared onto other media

or just got tired of me.
I was very sad to be reminded of the loss of
Lin from a Tiny Cottage In The Woods, 
or some of you older bloggers knew her as Zuzu.

I was also happy to see many of the same 

folks who I have shared my world with 

for 11 years.

You bet I added a nugget to The **** It Bucket 
this evening.

Go on - go over and rant a little or a lot
or check to see what you said 6 years ago.

So much has changed for all of us

and that includes me for sure.

Six years ago at 60 I put this photo on my sidebar.

cannot make unfuzzy?

Today I did this one

66 years

Still here, still scrappy,

Still Suzan with a Z not an s 

Z

How Cute Are They?

Taken last night after I asked ( begged) for a photo.

I rarely get a "normal" photo.

This is what I get when I ask for photos.

97% of the time

They think it's hilarious.

I have dozens like this

When they are famous, and they will be,

I will sell these to a tabloid ( kidding).

They would not care, as their personalities 

and souls are carefree and funny. 

 

They are wonderful people

I love them so much.

My focus, my mantra, my purpose, my plan.

Embrace Goodness 

and the funny

Z

Saying Goodbye

A lovely guy came early this morning to pick up 

this table. Hannah had re-listed it for sale and this time

Bam! right away.

Slowly but surely my things are going 

away to new homes and making new memories.

As they were loading pieces onto the truck, 

I started weeping and Hannah my sweet girl

immediately understood why.

I got a tremendous buy on that table and

 bought it specifically for this house

26 years ago. I painted all the pieces

including the china cupboard that is now

also gone after the Oct sale.

So many memories took place 

around that table. Birthday parties,

holidays, my annual Christmas sit down

dinners for 12 friends,

and every night dinners when it was

still the four of us. 

So happy and grateful for our home 

and our family. 

Minutes after the buyer drove away,

I was saying goodbye to darling daughter and 

her loves Tom and David.

The tears then flowed some more.

I am so weary of saying goodbye.

Being forced to let go of loved ones 

and cherished keepsakes,

even though it is the process of life.

These two

"How lucky I am to have something

that makes saying goodbye so hard."  pooh

Ugly Cry

Every year someone gives a gift to mama

that results in an ugly cry.

This year the winner was Hannah,

with a memento of my four - four legged loves.

Gadget and Libbey came before the blog but have 

been mentioned of course.

Justice and Howie have been blog subjects 

since the first day. 

It's been hard with the granddogs here.

A constant reminder of what is missing.

The sounds of a dog jumping off a bed then

hitting the floor. Nails scrambling across the tile

as they make the sharp turn into the kitchen.

Doggie sighs as they settle down to sleep

in their chosen chairs.

Sounds of lapping at the water bowl. 

Even doggie farts, thank you David.

I miss it all until I ache.

One kid couple in Michigan since Sunday.

Other kid couple at his dad's today.

I'm going to watch movies and 

bake and eat cookies till I'm ill.

Merry Christmas to all

and may god help us next year.

I fear some more ugly cries.

Getting Comfy

The Granddog is getting comfy.

I got out of the shower this a.m. to find him 

in my bed. 

His folks worry about him but I 

think he is doing alright. 

The bed will remain unmade 

as I do not have the heart to disturb him.

I'm a pushover.

Memory Tree

For many years I had two 

large gates in my hallway

covered with memorabilia,

 many of the pieces are gifts

 from blog friends. 

The majority from my very 

special friend Carole.

I sold the gates at my last sale 

and the pieces that hung on them

 sat in a box on my bedroom 

floor for over two months.

Today I remembered this skinny tree

 tucked away in a closet

and trimmed it out with anything 

from the box that would fit.

One small star light strand up the middle. 

There are keys from my dad, 

the first wishbone from my

first turkey with my husband, 

trinkets I made long ago, milagros, 

even a pocket watch.

The memories make me happy.

Good thoughts to help me sleep.

Counting the days till kids and grand-dogs arrive.

I'm grand-dog sitting David the talking husky.

 Good thing we spent the week

sleeping together at Thanksgiving so he 

won't be worried about his folks. I hope...

Not everyone can be here at the same time,

so a very patchwork holiday.

January may bring a very special gift for me.

It is not for sure just yet, but soon I may have

another best friend to share my life.

It arrives not in the manner I had planned,

but it is a gift out of love and friendship to me.

I am cautiously excited.

How is everything going for you?

Z

Priscilla

This ball of energy came very close to being renamed

Mamie Eisenhower, an homage to Howie,

 whose real name was Eisenhower,

and coming to live with me.

 I spent last week in LA with the kids

and my DD#2 had scheduled an appointment

at the dog cafe for Saturday.

There you get to spend one hour in a large room

 playing with available dogs and then you fill out an

extensive application, home visit etc.

I went with an attitude that this is all too soon,

and I had a certain type in mind...

Priscilla hopped onto my lap within minutes 

and promptly fell asleep in my arms.

I was in love.

 She stayed there about 40 minutes

until suddenly her best friend 

Randy was adopted and left.

She was frantic.

If you go to the link and are in LA 

Vivien was also a love, but too large for me

while carrying 0/2.

We left, and Ben and Hannah

filled out the application ( right outside the door)

as time was of the essence.

It took 45 minutes doing that, and that night we answered

 a zillion questions on line and sent pics of entire home.

Fast forward we discovered she had been returned

 once already due to her super high energy 

( they referred to her as tazmanian devil) 

which did not scare me too much 

as she was only 8 months old.

But the first three weeks after adoption, 

she would have to live in 

LA with Tom and Hannah who work A LOT

and she would add stress to their schedules.

Then we planned they would drive

 her to me at Christmas.

When we discovered the hyperactivity

 I decided the timing wasn't right 

and so I removed my application.

This is not a "first serve" 

they "SELECT" the best fit for the dog. 

Ben and Helene took me to two more shelters on Sunday

but I didn't connect with any other pooches.

At first it felt like serendipity with Priscilla even though

I am still grieving, but then my practical self

said don't rush, it'll happen.

A week with the kids was amazing. 

David my grand-dog slept with me every night.

I can now tell you that Ben and Helene

bought a house. They close very soon.

They are beyond excited 

and then 5 months later the wedding!!!

Excited and uber stressed

I missed being able to see inside or help the move

by one week. Things were delayed.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious.

I made a five cheese mac and cheese

( first time we had for turkey day) that I 

will make again, and Ben made

 his famous sausage stuffing 

and Hannah cooked a perfect bird. 

Of course I came home with a horrific cold/cough

Luckily driving like a bat out of hell

 got me home in 4 hours.

I got my 0/2 and perishables out of the car

and left everything else in it.

It may stay there till the weekend.

Gonna catch up with Y'all soon.

Is it really December 3rd already!!

Damn I only have the porch decorated so far.

Maybe we'll just hang there the whole time. 

Z