Sun; Keep on Shining, Elvis' Operation and I Need Time Management

                           Couldn't help grabbing my camera to snap hammy Angus, sunning himself.

Like Lilacs, Peonies last for such a short time. Such short life for something so beautiful; and the same can be said for people too. My best friend's older sister is in a hospice with not much time left, due to brain tumors that treatments helped multiply somehow. My friend has lost a father, a brother, and now is losing a sister. A time that I in no way, can pretend to know the feeling of; the only example being a beloved dog or cat and that was hard enough. I've been blessed with two parents, both 79 years old in a few months, that are still alive and happy and active and a brother and sister and children and a husband, the same. I think about having to experience what my friend is experiencing, and has done in the past, and I get very close to feeling that sadness but not completely because there truly must be nothing like it. While T's sister was still conscious, she would point to the left wall and smile and try to speak. My friend T says that it is her father and her brother and her grandmother, comforting her and waiting to take her on her journey. I tend to believe the same. So for all who, out there somewhere in the world, have or are facing this absence of a loved one; I wish you strength and I wish you healing and the faith that you will one day meet again.

Elvis has had fat deposits on him for quite some time. The vet had said not to worry about it, just keep an eye on them. Well we kept eying the one that grew to be very big underneath his right side. Everyone kept telling us he was too old and to just let him live his life out. An operation might kill him. But it got to the point where he had trouble getting up and his breath was so foul, the poor thing. We got him to the vet and asked if it were possible to remove this thing and how much did we need to gather together for it? He was healthy enough after the blood test for the vet to say okay to surgery and the price he gave us was, though not cheap, less than I had feared and our life remains simple so we managed. He said if the surgery went over 1 hour, he would not charge any higher than an hour's work. He is a new vet that is taking over our old vets business and I sense that he was touched that no matter what, we wanted to find a way to make an old dog more comfortable in his last years. Elvis is doing wonderfully now and just got his drains taken out after the vet removed 2 blobs of fat. One large and one small totaling 8 pounds. I had done research on these things and had seen what they looked like so I was prepared for him showing them to us. Now with this extra baggage gone and 4 teeth pulled, Elvis is much happier and so are we. The cone may come off this Saturday. Elvis is hoping.  He does have some small lumps still but the worst of it is gone. Hopefully with this and feeding him "pure" dog food as well as cottage cheese and flazseed oil and sardines, he will be able to live out a few more years in comfort and health.

This is my garden. Not as pretty as one on the ground, but believe me: a lot dryer!

This is my grandson riding his little battery operated 4x4. His Daddy bought it a long time ago and they brought it out one day. It was the cutest thing to see him bomb around on it. My son said he had been taking him up and down the sidewalk at home. He is such a sweetie-pie.

Now this is what is being called "planking" When my husband has one of his sons do some, I wondered what in the world "planking" was! It sounded like something rude. This is what it is; a balancing on odd things.

Lady Isabell, sometimes known as Izzy, posed more like a lady for this one. But Angus is once more another story.....

I forget what he was doing here, maybe yawning, but I think maybe letting out one of his "pet me" meows makes more sense because his yawns aren't that reserved looking.

This was amazing. My Dad called and said to grab my camera and go outside to the back fence in my yard . This is what I found.

Such beautiful animals and they were just as curious about me as I was them. 

Now if I could just get myself into some sort of schedule. I'm back and forth to working at this and working at that instead of staying in one spot to finish in one go. I really need to get into some sort of routine and stay with it. I need some time management lessons.