Sickness

My brother-in-law was sick yesterday with a fever and a little bit of flu. My sister was worried about him. She put him to bed, put a cold compress on his forehead. She took care of him. She worried like a good wife does. She changed the cloth on his forehead and his neck a few times throughout the night until his fever broke. 

She came over yesterday and we went shopping while Jimmy was home sleeping away the last of his flu. She told my mom and I about taking care of her husband. We listened. I said, "Avoid him like the black freaking plague."

She ignored me. She got sick this morning. She's seven months pregnant and now she's sick with the flu. She texted me complaining that she can't hold anything down and she's so sick. I said, "Black. Plague. I told you to avoid him and you didn't. If I get sick from the two of you, I'm gonna barf all over you."

So now my sick sister and her germ spreading husband are up at the ER getting my sister taken care of. Meanwhile, I'm writing a research paper and sitting with my doggy. I sent her a picture of him and said, "Baker says, will my tweet make you feelz betta?"

Love

A year ago, I had three dogs. Shiner, Gunner and Brandy. Shiner is gone now. She's been gone for over eight months now, that's hard to believe. Gunner is still around, grumpy as ever. He's become even more attached to my mom if that's even possible. It's time for the holidays again, and I feel that he misses Shiner more now then ever. After all, it was her he spent his first Thanksgiving and Christmas with. It was her. They were friends, partners, pals before Brandy or Baker even came on the scene. If it's possible for a dog to grieve, to remember, to be depressed, I think Gunner is all those things right now.

Brandy is still trying to squeeze herself into the places she went as a puppy. She's digging holes in the yard and getting yelled at for tracking dirt into the house. She's still playful and fun. She's protective of Baker when Gunner gets mad at him. She's his mother in a way. She loves him as much as I do. Brandy and Baker are pals like Gunner and Shiner used to be.

Now, we have a puppy named Baker who keeps us so busy and crazy that it's hard to believe that so much time has past. He makes my heart whole again, after the loss of such an important part of my childhood, my past. I look at him and I immediately get this sense of comfort and love. My heart swells and it's hard to breathe for a second. I love this dog so much because he's helped me through the loss of another. He's helped me smile again. He's helped me deal with that pain. He's helped me remember the happy moments instead of thinking of those when she was so sick. He helps me remember her. He helps me.

First Snow

The first real snow of the season came today. By real snow, I mean something that actually stuck on the ground for a while. It started snowing Friday night, and when Baker woke me Saturday morning I was excited to see it covering the ground. Before letting him outside, I ran to get my camera. It was Baker's first snow. I wanted to see what he would do. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything too exciting, but he was still cute running around and trying to eat all the snow. He happens to love ice cubes, so why not snow?

It makes me want to remember the first time I every saw snow. The first time I played in it, made a snow ball, a snow angel. I wish I could remember these things. I was luck enough to grow up in an area that does get snow, so I lived with it all my life. Perhaps as a baby I had a moment when I first realized what was happening, but those moments are lost to everyone but perhaps my parents.

In a way, I envy people that have never seen snow. They get to stay somewhere warm where the snow doesn't, can't touch. They don't have to have bulky winter jackets or heavy snow boots. They get to just enjoy the weather all the time. 

At the same time though, I wish everyone could experience snow once in their lives. To wake up one morning, and see the ground covered. To see the white paradise that suddenly appears. The branches tipped in white beauty and the sun shining just enough to make the ground sparkle. The silence from the snow covering the ground and the critters tucked away safely and warmly in their homes. I love the beauty of snow.

Summer Beauty

It's summertime and my house is beautiful. We have so many flowers blooming that our gardens look amazing. Here are a few of the most beautiful. 

Lilies

Lilies are my favorite flowers. Can you tell?