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Puppy News

jinbeth — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:28:32 +0000

It won’t happen immediately, but we ARE getting a new puppy. We found a breeder in central Pennsylvania that looks very reputable, and we will have first pick of the litter that is being born at the end of February. I am very excited!

It is painfully empty in this house without a dog. I miss Amber terribly, and although no other dog can replace her, we will move on to a new chapter in life with a new dog.

Puppy pictures to follow some time in April!

Resolutions

jinbeth — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:46:15 +0000

I tend to not make New Year’s resolutions, but I do believe in goals. One of them is to post here more often again. I got away from writing entries once I had a handle on the grief I felt over my parents’ deaths.

I watched a movie called “Rabbit Hole” yesterday, and it dealt with a mother and father coping with the accidental death of their young son. At one point in the movie, the grandmother told her daughter that grief never really goes away. It only becomes more manageable. She likened it to carrying a brick around in your pocket. Sometimes you can go about your business and not notice the brick, and then other times you take the brick out and touch it, feel it, and acknowledge it.

I am not ready to turn my grief for my dog into a brick. I miss her so badly right now.

Southern Hospitality

jinbeth — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:27:26 +0000

Ed and I took a mini vacation a few days ago. It was very impromptu, and well needed after dealing with Amber’s death. In all the 15 years of her life, we never went anywhere without her for at least the last 8 or so years of her life. So, we took this opportunity to fly to Savannah, GA for a 2-night stay.

I had not been on a plane since the early 90′s, and things sure have changed. No food service, no extra peanuts, nothing. Upon arrival, we had a bit of trouble finding our hotel, but we finally did. We were able to visit Tybee Island, which is a beach resort area in Georgia. We had a fantasic lunch at a place called The Crab Shack. We also visited Hilton Head Island and took a trolley tour of Savannah.

It was just so nice to get away. We are now back home, and we plan on a quiet New Year’s Eve. We’ll have some appetizer type foods for dinner, and we’ll probably be lucky if we make it awake at midnight. I wish anyone reading this a very happy and prosperous New Year.

I almost forgot to add—I got a phone message that Amber’s “cremains” are ready to be picked up at our convenience. Is cremains really a word? We also received a delivery of a single long stemmed rose today from the veterinary clinic. It was so thoughtful of them.

Amber is Gone

jinbeth — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:57:15 +0000

I hate to only be checking in here to post bad news, but that is all I’ve got today. Last night, we had to put our dog, Amber, down. She has been going downhill gradually, but it all came to a head yesterday. It seems that while Ed was at the store, she must have jumped out of her chair on the wrong side and landed behind it and became trapped. When Ed got home, he couldn’t find her until he heard a whimper from behind the chair. After that incident, she became more and more out of it as the afternoon went on.

When I got home from work, Amber was lying on her side in the backroom, and she just looked so bad… She did not really respond to me at all, and I told Ed we had to take her to the vet right away. We carried her out to the car, and she never really moved the entire ride there. Once there, we had to wait a bit for the doctor, but he agreed that her time had come. We both stayed with her, kissing and petting her head. It was done very gently.

So, after 15 years, my beautiful, loving, loyal chocolate lab is gone. RIP Amber.

Planting

jinbeth — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:35:27 +0000

Today is the day to plant all the fall bulbs. Ed and I line up all the pots every year, and then fill them with an assortment of tulips, daffodils, muscari, and even crocus on top. We store the pots all winter underneath a crawl space outside, and only bring them out when there is no longer any danger of freezing. Once they’re out in the sun and the warmth, they start poking through the soil. The crocus come up first in the spring with rest pushing from beneath. Bulbs are little miracles in a way. In a tiny little package, is a completely formed flower. And, that concludes the story of my flower bulbs.

Musikfest

jinbeth — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:23:48 +0000

It’s that time of year again. Today is actually the last day of Musikfest. This year, they’ve moved quite a few of the venues out of our immediate neighborhood, so it has not been quite as hectic as in the past. Ed and I will be attending the Train concert tonight–most likely in the rain. We have rain ponchos, but I’m sure it won’t help much. We’ll probably get soaked.

Friday night, several of my co-workers came over to my house, and we all walked down to Musikfest together. We got separated at one point, and we resorted to our cell phones to try and find each other. I got a call from C. and she said, “meet us by the giant ice cream cone.” Sure enough, we crossed the foot bridge, and there right in front of me was a giant ice cream cone. From there, we walked up to Main St. and then back to the house. We sat around in the backyard for a bit. I thought that it might irritate me to be spending time with people I work with eight hours a day, but I really do like these people.

Wedding

jinbeth — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:54:29 +0000

Ed’s daughter Z. got married today. I would have been there, gladly, but I really, really do not want to have any dealings with Ed’s ex-wife. So, all these years I have avoided her. The tradeoff is that I miss significant events with Ed’s kids. And, they do matter to me.

Ed is now on his way home. He said that Z. looked beautiful, and he has some pictures and a video of the actual ceremony. They were married at the Boston courthouse, so it was a civil ceremony. Afterwards, they had dinner at Blue Ginger. Ed said the restaurant was good, but highly overrated.

I am waiting up for him, because I’m not used to sleeping alone…at all.

Sunday Afternoon

jinbeth — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:25:53 +0000

The sun finally just came out. It’s been sort of chilly and overcast all weekend, so the sun is a welcome sight. I really should get my butt out there rather than sitting in here watching a marathon of “Sister Wives”. I really don’t get the concept of polygamy. I know I would not be a happy camper if Ed had multiple wives. I cannot also imagine why a man would want to be nagged by not just one wife, but several.

Writing

jinbeth — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:01:32 +0000

I am not quite sure why I’ve essentially stopped posting entries here. I suppose it’s a combination of the fact that I don’t have much time anymore now that Ed is working. By the way, it’s working out pretty well for him. And, the other thing is that I think I can see the other side of the tunnel of grief I’ve been in, and I don’t feel such a need to write about my parents’ deaths anymore. They are gone—I can do nothing about it. I miss them so much, but life goes on.

We find that the weekends are just full of errands, grocery shopping, post office, bank, etc. We don’t do nearly the number of fun things that we used to do. Now, we can add on yard work to the mix. We do have a few baseball games coming up, though, and we have tickets to a show at the new entertainment complex nearby. Something to look forward to…

My nephew’s wife is pregnant. I learned about it from her Facebook page. If my mother were still here, she would be thrilled. She loved babies. She would be living in the same house with my nephew and his wife, and I am sure she would have just been over the moon about taking care of an infant again. It was the first thing that I thought of when D. announced it on Facebook–how much would my mom have loved it!

Hectic

jinbeth — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 22:02:41 +0000

I really, really miss Ed being home all the time. I think it’s good that he’s working and getting some socialization and stimulation again. You can only watch so many soccer games. But, it does mean that we’re both rushed again, and we have to do chores on the weekend, like grocery shopping. Even my houseplants seem to be suffering.

We went to a really nice craft show at Kutztown University. We ended up buying this watercolor painting. We both love it, and it’s already hanging in the living room. Then we had lunch at the Kutztown Tavern. I had the best salad…Tuscan salad with cajun chicken and cucumber wasabi dressing. It sounds like a bizarre combination, but it was actually very good.