On Super Bowl Sunday we went to the mountains for a long ride.  We drove from our home near the beach to the Laguna Mountains.  I know a lot of you have snow, but to me it’s a true novelty.  That’s all I’m going to say about it.

Marilynne

On Palomar Mountain everything was frozen.

There was ice on the trees at midday.

Dirty snow edged the road.

I live that way - where the sun is setting - near the beach

We hated to leave.

Dot shows me the way

During the hot summery days of August our daughters gave us a party for our 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a glorious time.  Our daughters were all home at the same time along with an assortment of grandchildren.  I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.  At the big party I danced and danced (square dancing is our choice) and tried to talk just a little with everyone.  It was a wonderful evening.  I didn’t want to miss a minute of it – or did I say that already.

So many of our family came a long way for the party.  Anne and Bob even came from Pennsylvania just for the party.  I had a house full of company and I loved it.  I didn’t want to miss even a minute of it.

So, the day after the big party, we had a family party, and our families were all here at the house.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to cook with so much going on so we chose our favorite foods and brought them in from our favorite restaurants.  The kitchen counters were full of good things to eat.

So I did have time to visit with everyone.  The smallest and cutest member of our families is a tiny girl nicknamed Dot.  She’s a tiny little dot of a thing, but full of fun too.

By the time I sat down to talk with our guests I was so very tired, but, you know,  I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.  So I sat and tried hard to make intelligent conversation.  I wasn’t fooling anyone about how tired I was.

Then little Dot held her hand up to me and led me up the stairs, across the veranda and into the kitchen.  I wonder now if she had plans to put me to bed.   She’s a smart little girl.  Once in the kitchen, she just looked around a bit, then led me outside again.

Someone took a photo of Dot leading me up the stairs.  I look so big and so bent over and she looks so tiny and in command.  I didn’t know about the photo until Dot’s mama put it up on Facebook.  I was struck by Dot’s tiny/tall person leading my big lumpy person.  She seems so in control for someone so small.

So I painted it in watercolor.  It is what it is – a good memory from our big party.

Marilynne

Annie sent me an update on Chica’s progress.

Here they are, housemates and playmates — hangin’ out together.  BooBoo, the cat (Apex predator and King-of-the Household, is looking after newly spayed Chica.  BooB00 probably does not understand why Chica isn’t her usual zippy self.  I’m keeping her slowed down with pain/sedation pills 4x a day.  Chica spent last night in bed with me.  We both thought it was great.  I brought her upstairs because I thought if she wanted to go out in the middle of the night I wanted to hear her.  She didn’t.  She loved being under the covers.  I did, too, but I didn’t get enough sleep.  I kept waking up to check on her.

BooBoo hanging with Chica

Annie’s Blogging about Chica

Our guest blogger today is my friend Annie Holmes.  Her darling little Chica has had surgery.  Chica is so little, I asked Annie if the vet had performed microsurgery on her.

Update on Chica

Here is six-month-old Chica — still intact.  Tomorrow morning at 8 AM I will deliver her to the vet and she will be spayed.  We will all be worried sick about her until we know she will be all right.   Handsome feels the same way.  Just look at him.  If anything happened to her, he would die of a broken heart.  He adores her so.

Chica knows lots of words now.  She knows let’s go, come, stay, sit, Dudley, Annie, cookie, drink of water, walk, ride in the car, Handsome, dog food, go upstairs, get into bed, dog park and some others I can’t remember at the moment.  She loves her toys.  Everything is a toy to her, especially Handsome and Dudley’s slippers.

Vet says no food after ten.  Not to worry.  Everyone in this house is in bed by 9 PM.

Handsome watches over his friend Chica

Surgery Day

I took Chica in at 8 AM. The surgery was around noon.  I just brought her home at 3:30 this afternoon. She’s right here beside me in her little cat-carrier hideout. She’s a tired puppy. She also had her four canine teeth taken out, so her mouth is sore as well as her belly.  Gosh, I hope she doesn’t remember any of it.  She’s sedated and somewhat groggy, but has welcomed a few drops of water.  I have pain pills, and antibiotic stuff for her. She seemed more alert before I drove her home.   I think she knows she’s home now.  Her eyes keep drifting down.  Both BooBoo [the cat] and Handsome are right here, motionless and quiet, as close as they can get, keeping vigil.  Along with me.

Day After Surgery

She walks!  She eats, she pees.   She’s making little tiny frustrated squeaking noises at her ball-with-the-treat-stuffed-inside. She can’t pick it up because she has no canines at present. She has a good appetite and I was able to get both the pain meds and the antibiotic stuff aboard with a bit of thin-sliced roast beef.  Handsome was curious at first, and now is quite gentle with her.  He’s probably happy she isn’t using those lost canines on him anymore.  She got her first rabies shot yesterday, along with everything else, so I am writing a check to send with the form to Animal Services.

Chica  got so quiet  I just had to peek around the desk to see where she was, and she is asleep in her lair (BooBoo’s cat carrier).  That thing is her refuge, her “safe place.”  She crawls under that (now stinky) old quilted silk jacket and goes fast asleep.  The vet’s office just called to see how she is and I said she seems fine.   Here she is in her lair.   Chica has her own page on the vet’s website.

Chica feels safe snuggled with an old silk coat, in her carrier

Later

Chica seems just fine now. She’s come out of her hideaway and curled up with Handsome. Now when she goes to the dog park, she won’t be talking about boys with the young pups, she’ll be with the old ladies talking about her operation.

If you want to read all of Annie’s blogs, just choose the Category “Guest Bloggers” and you can see them.  Thanks for stopping by.

Marilynne