The tale of Gracie.

Let me tell you the story of Gracie the wonder dog. We had a cocker spaniel for years..12 to be exact. The poor thing got sick and we had to put her out of her misery years ago. I swore off dogs. I told Bob every single time he dragged me to the pet store, "no dogs".

Well, Bob got sick and really really wanted a puppy, hence, Gracie. Against all advice we got her from a pet store. She is a cocker-chon - Cocker/Bichon mix. Doesn't shed, is hypo-allergic. I honestly thought she would be small; a cute little lap dog. I am sure I had a fever or something because she had huge paws and is a stocky, husky 32 pounds.

Poor Gracie is now home all alone. Poor Gracie is now, after being 8 years old, getting into everything she can while I am work. Poor Gracie is going to be dead if she doesn't stop it!! When I get home from work I never know what my house is going to look like but I know for sure that the mess will involve toilet paper. There is a long long flag of toilet paper from the bathroom into the kitchen every day. I thought she was pulling it off and running with it until...my sister caught the cat rolling the toilet paper off the roll!!! The cat bats at toilet paper until it is un-rolled and then the dog runs around the house with it. It would be funny if I didn't have to clean it up..well..it is kind of funny.

I am looking for suggestions to keep the dog entertained. I tried a Kong..she ate it.

Back to work

Well it looks I am back to work. I was off for a month and I sure would like to be off some more but hey, gotta pay those bills. I have to say my boss, Jennifer, has been super. She told me to take all the time I need, and I did. She also sent flowers to my office on the day I came back to work. My sister stayed with me for 2 weeks and I can't say it enough, I would not have been able to do any of the stuff that had to be done without her! Her kids came for a week and my brother David and his clan stayed for 2 weeks. After they all left my girl Nancy came up from Dallas for a week and we pretty much just drank the entire time! I had a pretty severe sore throat and laryngitis for most of that week and believe tequila is what cured me.

So, this being a widow thing is pretty crappy but if I have to look for silver linings (and I do) I can say hmmm, not having someone tell me how to load the dishwasher has been interesting. ;D I am not crying every day anymore but weird stuff will set me off. Like last night, I was talking to the dog....and started bawling. I know, weird!

It's a little uncomfortable the first time I see most people because they don't know what to say. "I am sorry for your loss" works good and then we can all move on... which is perfect and much better than the old woman at the funeral who told me, a. "it will only get worse before it gets better" and b. She made her husband's wedding ring into earrings, "just something you might want to consider."

All in all I think I am doing ok but then again, my mom has been in Seattle for 2 weeks so it could just be the peace and quiet! Just kidding, love you mom!