Wordless New Year's Eve

Post Christmas Post

My mom came back on Saturday. But before she could get home there was a call from a rescue friend with an emergency. My mom went to help and came home with two new doggies.

We have Dottie with the laser eyes. She is a wiggly, sweet girl.Look at the dots on that girl!! And here is Brinx. He looks like a sad, little lion. He has severe heartworms so he has to stay in cage rest for a long time. Right now he needs a good brushing. And he is already better--he is coming up to my mom for attention.Meanwhile, over Christmas my mom went to Smithfield, even passed by the ham (Gwaltney, Smithfield and Edwards) place. Here is a cool Victorian house.
Here are shops on the Pagan River. Pagan means 'little fish' in Indian language.This is St. Luke's, an old old church, like from the 1600s. That's my grandmom in the picture.Boats on the river were decorated for Christmas.
My grandmom had a money tree for her 2 girls. My mom got some cash!She bought me a wubba!! Here is Georgia checking it out, too. It's mine! All mine!
And more cards came today! From Homer in Rotterdam and Togo and Tagar in Malaysia, beautiful! Thank you all!

I practiced the command FOOT while my mom was gone and had to show her how good I was at doing it.

I got this great award from Kess and her mom. Thank you! The award, which was started in Portugal states that "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!" In other clearer words, "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

We are supposed to choose 8 but all our friends deserve it!

The Christmas card exchange was terrific. BUT, we know we need to start several months in advance to get ready for it. We would like to try making cards ourselves. My mom hopes to join the chat tomorrow night for New Year's Eve.

Christmas Window

My mom spent all weekend decorating our Christmas window. It's in the wall between the living room and the kitchen. She says it's the perfect place for the tree and the best place for all the cards we received.

Count is: me 60, mom 8. I win!!

Here are some photos of the window. I hope you can see your card there--our camera is very low end.

My mom can look at the window all day when she's home working on the computer. All those cards help us feel so much better.

I got a cool package of presents from Addie & Zoe. Yum! I went straight for the green star chewie. Thank you!!

nom nom nom

This is one of those bad signs again. It means my mom is leaving us AGAIN. She wants to go visit her family which means we will be alone on Christmas. I am not happy about this. I don't even want her to go to work everyday! She says she needs to go, that there are times when she needs a hug from HER mom. I know what she means but I need her to stay!

{Mom note: I will be gone only 4 days and all my furbabies will be cared for by their favorite petsitter. I hate to be away on Christmas but everyone will be okay. Merry Christmas to all our friends!}

Christmas Card

We've sent off all the cards and finished the email cards. If you did not get a card from me, this is for you. Merry Christmas!

Everyone is leaving!

This is good news although I think it's sad news.

Tabitha is leaving tomorrow to go to her new home for Christmas in Connecticut. (Tabitha is an Eduardo the Snuggle Puggle look-alike).

Ernie is leaving to go to Kim's Foster Dogs -- she specializes in adopting out puppies and is very, very particular in choosing a home. He will go fast he's so little and cute.

And Natalie is going, too, to her new home in Rhode Island. My mom is having a hard time letting her go but she thinks Natalie will be very happy where she is the only dog and can get lots and lots of cuddles. I will miss her a lot. A whole lot. But I'm trying to be brave.

Three gone! The pack is shrinking fast.

There are no pictures because my mom (space cadet!) has misplaced the camera--which usually means she put SOMEthing where one of us could get it and now it's out in the yard...in the rain...Well, really, if it's dog accessible, it's ours, right? So she is linking to some earlier pictures of everybody.

I have received an award from The Dughallmor Beagles. Thank you furiends!!

And I got a great haul of pressies from Addie & Zoe. Thank you, Addie! Thank you, Zoe! My mom opened them but told me I had to wait until she found the camera before I could have one. Bummer.

We are missing Sasha terribly. My mom still looks for her at bedtime because she had to lift her specially onto our high bed. I just move closer to her to fill in the gap and put my head on her shoulder. She says I'm a big help.

We're okay

We are doing okay. The pain is bad but Sasha would not want us to stop living. We will always remember her sweet spirit. And every single message from our DWB friends has helped ease the pain a little more. Thank you from our hearts. There is no other group of furiends so compassionate and caring. I am snuggling with my mom, keeping her heart-side warm.

Part of going on is, naturally, taking care of us. We have to eat and go out and play some. Then my mom had to pick up Tabitha from the rescue so she could foster her a little bit longer--to ease the burden on the rescue. Tabitha goes to her furever home on Friday. Hurray! Home for Christmas!!

Meanwhile, Tabitha had made a new best friend at the rescue and they asked if my mom would take him too. She said, of course. So we have a new baby named Ernie to love.

He's about 5 lbs, looks like part Joe Stains and maybe an Italian grey hound. He is so gentle and cuddly and tiny. My mom has him in the crook of her elbow as she types.

My furiend, Tatum Tot, has a new furkid they are fostering...her name is SASHA. Isn't life amazing sometimes?

Sad news--Sasha has gone to the Bridge

1993-2008

River's mom here. This is Sasha as I'd like to remember her, still strong and happy. This was taken just a few months ago. We fought her inoperable tumor for so long with diet and with her own will to live. But it won today. I'm sorry to bring such sad news at Christmas but you can understand why we've been so quiet this week.

I am so grateful she waited until I came back from vacation so I could have a few more days with her.

Once upon a time I had 5 dogs from a rural county in Virginia. George, an old dog who lived his last year with us. Colby, the big cheese, who was the biggest beagle and the goofiest I've ever known. Humphrey, a sweet old boy with a low soft howl like an oboe. And Kali and Sasha, both very tiny beagles--15 lbs.--from the same litter. All my Virginia hounds are angels now.

Here Natalie laid down with her to comfort her last night. Natalie looks sad, too.
Then Hootie laid down with her. River is beside me on the chair, more focused on me. He is a great comfort. How wonderfully sensitive dogs can be.

Rest in peace my sweet little Sasha. You are now with my other angels at the Bridge.

Vacation Photos

My mom is back!
She caught me snuggling with Natalie. Oops!! Well, after all, she turned down the heat and we had to huddle up to stay warm.

My mom and her mom visited the gardens where they saw 50 bazillion poinsettias.

They visited the horticulture center with lots of plants and waterfalls.

They saw hawks and owls at the sanctuary.

And here are the lights! 8 million. The lights tour is FIVE miles long. This is what one scene looks like in the daytime. Then watch the movie of what my mom saw at night of the same thing.

Here are poinsettias in lights--the flowers were 5 feet tall. My mom & her mom were on an open trolley. It was 30 degrees. They had lots of blankets.

Here is a blizzard in lights. You can hear my mom singing along.

And we got so MANY cards in the mail and online. It's wonderful, it's marvelous! We will put them up as part of our holiday decorations. And I got some awards! Thank you, Holly & Zac! And a prize from Addie!

A sign of things to come

This is a sign.

This is a bad sign.

Not only does it say my mom is a lousy packer but it means she's GOING AWAY.

My mom explained that she is traveling with HER mom to see a Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Gardens and that it would only be 3 days. Three days? How long is that really?

Please don't go, Mom!!

Please???

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Monday morning:

Scooby: Okay everyone she's gone! Great job distracting her, Riv. She totally forgot to put the goodie box back up.

PAWTAY!! THREE WHOLE DAYS!!

What the UPS guy brought

OMD!! Look at this box. I must be dreaming!

Look at Hootie just climbing right in and pawing at my stuff.

Then Bitey thinks he can have some goodies. I might share some if he asks nicely. It all stinks so good! Tennis balls, towels, and boxes and boxes of treats!

Oh yeah! I see what I want.

{Mom note: this is an incredible box of goodies from our friend Carol in NJ. She adopted 2 beagles from me: Twinkie and Sweet Pea. What a wonderful life they have. Thank you, Carol! We love you!!}

Black Friday

This is what we're doing on Black Friday. No shopping! Too crazy for my mom.

Can you find all the treadmills in the picture? Our backyard is a Treadmill Graveyard. My mom wears them out then what do you do with them? You put them in the backyard so doggies can use them as sundecks! I'm running to claim this one. See Scooby racing, too, just behind me.

I got dibs!! Scooby is mad. Haha, he was too slow.

Later I keep watch at the window.

Mom! Look! It's the UPS guy!

He's bringing us presents!!