checking in on me ...

Sam called.  To check on me.  How absolutely wonderful is that? 

He called to see if I was freezing.  I just thought that was so thoughtful, and he made me feel loved.  Just a small gesture, but amazing how it means so much.  

Mark and I went to Ruidoso this past weekend, and we found a store named "No Bones About It".  I grabbed a few things while in there ... 

I did get myself two new work shirts.  (great thing about this job - don't have to dress up!)

One shirt has a picture of a doggie with the cone around his neck, and it reads, "It's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone"

The second shirt says plainly, "Your dog doesn't know SIT" 

They made me laugh; I hope they make others do the same.

Becky...

A few weeks back, I got a call asking if I could babysit three dogs over Thanksgiving.  The owner is Becky (and her family), and the dogs are two labs and a beagle.  She wanted me to spend the night, because her dogs do still go out at least once during the night.

I agreed, and I went to meet Becky and her dogs about a week ago.
She lives in a nice, big comfortable house with a gorgeous view of the mountains.  I loved her house, because it's a beautiful house, but it's comfortable and 'lived in'.  It was clean and tidy, but not perfect.  She has kids, and it shows.  She has dogs, and it shows.

This is why we love Becky...
She's taking me on a tour of the house, and as we hit the master bedroom, she informs me that the dogs will probably sleep on the bed, and that's fine.  She has a love seat in the mater bedroom.  She says to me, "I wouldn't sit on that couch if I were you.  The dogs love it, and it's covered in dog hair.  I do vacuum it, but I think I'm losing the battle."  I LOVE pet owners like this!

I informed her that I had a lab puppy who also needs to go potty at night, so could I please bring my puppy with me?  I told her about Dolce, but I told her that Dolce would be fine to leave home alone.  Becky told me that I could bring both of my dogs.  She didn't care.  As long as everyone got along.

I spent a couple nights at Becky's house with Becky's dogs, and I did take both of my dogs along as well.  All the dogs got along wonderfully.  Well, I'm not so sure Boomer liked Dolce, as Dolce decided that chasing Boomer (the beagle) through the house was a great deal of fun.  And I'm not so sure Sage (the female lab) liked Georgia O'Keeffe as Georgia O'Keeffe kept circling Sage.  The cutest thing was when Dolce was attempting to protect Georgia O'Keeffe.  As Georgia O'Keeffe circles, Sage growls to let Georgia O'Keeffe know that her behavior is not welcomed.  Sage does not snap.  Sage does not bark.  Sage just growls.  But Dolce did not like it.  So my tiny little dauchshund decides that she is going to protect Georgia O'Keeffe (who is bigger than Dolce) against this growling lab (who is much, much bigger than Dolce).  Dolce was quite worried and barking her little head off at Sage.  I had to convince Dolce that Sage was not doing anything wrong ... she was just showing who was boss.

Sam...

Sam was in the hospital again recently.  He was in the hospital about a week, and then he went to rehab for another week.  I was surprised when he got to go back to his own apartment though, because I thought he'd be in rehab a bit longer.  So happy that he was not.  He must have done really good in rehab to get out so soon.....

Sam was very depressed for a while.  He was under the impression that he was having delayed mourning.  He decided that their was just too much change in the past year of his life, that he did not get to mourn his wife properly.  Days before he went into the hospital, he had a nightmare.  I have no idea what he dreamt, I didn't ask; he didn't tell.  But whatever it was, he was quite upset, sad, depressed ... and he stayed that way for days.  While he was in the hospital, I would sit with him and we would talk.  I mentioned that when he was back home, he might want to check into seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist.  I asked if he had ever gone to one before, and his reply was, "No.  Never."  I told him that the only time I had been to one was while going through my separation and divorce, but it had helped me immensely and made me feel so much better.  He thought that was a good idea.  He'd think about it.  He'd look into it.  He told me that just talking to me helped.  I loved that I could be there for him.

Sam has been going through a lot of pictures and photo albums.  He'll come across a picture, and he'll ask me to have it framed.  Then he'll come across another one, and he'll ask me to have that one framed.  He's told me on more than one occasion, "OK, that's it.  I'm done with the pictures.  I'm not framing anymore."  Only to find another picture that needs framing.  He came across a professionally taken one of his wife, and he told me there was a story behind that picture.  He asked his wife to please go have a picture made of herself. He realized while he was in Korea, that all of the other guys had pictures of their wives or girlfriends, but he did not have a picture of his.  He asked her to please remedy that problem.  She got all dolled up.  Her hair is fixed up, she's wearing her 'cat-eyed' glasses, and a string of pearls around her neck.  The picture is not quite sepia, but it's not black and white either.  Somewhere in between.  Sam's wife sent him the picture, but then he got sick.  He was put in the hospital, and he was sent home.  He didn't pack up his bags or pack his things.  The Army had that done for him.  He said he didn't even think about that picture for years, and by the time he did think about it, he had no idea what had ever happened to it.  He said he and his wife talked about it off and on throughout the years, but neither one of them ever knew what happened to the picture.  He found it about a month ago.  Memories came flooding back.  He asked me to have it framed, and I found a beautiful ornate gold-leaf frame.  At first Sam did not like the frame ... until I put the picture in.  His wife looked absolutely beautiful in that particular frame.  We have it placed on a shelf just across from Sam's chair.  As he sits in his chair, he can see his wife looking out at him.

Another picture he wanted framed was his wedding picture.  We put it into a nice simple frame that he already had at the house.  He and his wife are so young.  I believe she was eighteen.  He was twenty-one.  I keep telling him, "Wow, Sam, look how young y'all were." And we both smile.  He told me yesterday that framing those two pictures have helped him so much.  He thinks it was just the medicine he needed.  He has been much happier since looking at those pictures each day.

Yesterday, I spent part of my Thanksgiving with Sam.  His daughter was going from place to place to place with family and friends for the day.  She did invite Sam, but he did NOT want to do that.  He did not want any part of that.  He asked, "Why do I want to go from house to house sitting around with people I don't even know?"  He told me that for years his wife did do the big traditional family Thanksgivings, but not the last few years of her life.  Once she got sick, she couldn't.  He said Thanksgiving was not that important to him anymore.  So he and I spent the morning together.  He's not a fan of professional football (he prefers college), but he was planning on watching the Saints and Cowboys when I left him.  His daughter called me later in the day and invited me over to her house for dinner, which I thought was so so sweet of her, but I declined.  Instead I was on my way to spend the night watching five dogs ..........

By the way:  tomorrow is Sam's birthday.  He'll be 83.

Sailor...

I talked with Fred this morning, and he informed me that 'my dog' had gotten in trouble.  He was being grounded.  I asked what Sailor had done....
Fred let Sailor out this morning, and shortly thereafter, Fred heard a loud crash.  He went out, but could not find Sailor.  What he did notice though was that his large city-issued garbage can had been knocked over.  The lid was on, but the garbage can was on its side.
Fred went looking and calling for Sailor; eventually Sailor came crawling out of the garbage can.  Apparently Fred had thrown out a chicken carcass last night, and that is what Sailor was going for.  Sailor was not about to come out until the last of that chicken carcass was gone......

Sam, Fred and Sailor

I got a new puppy.  My daughter found Georgia O'Keeffe, and she picked the puppy out for me.  I had to take a weekend off to travel back to Texas to grab the puppy.  I am busy these days, which is a good thing, but it made it difficult to get back and pick up my puppy.  I sucked it up, and just did it.  

Taking time off to get Georgia O'Keeffe meant not seeing Sam that weekend.  I told him what I was doing, and he was understanding.  I also talked to his daughter to make sure that she would be in town  that weekend, just in case of an emergency.  The sweetest thing was that on Sunday night, Sam called to check on me.  He called to make sure that I was home safely.  That touched my heart.  He was worried about me.  

The next time I did see Sam we had quite a nice talk about our dogs.  I showed him pictures of Georgia O'Keeffe, and he wants to meet her at some point.  His family often had two dogs; the family dog and his hunting dog.  Sam said he had one dog who was so well trained, that Sam could take the dog into town, leave the dog sitting by his truck, and the dog would stay there until Sam returned.  I know I've seen that before, but I guarantee NONE of the dogs that I've ever had would ever be there when I returned...!  Sam lights up when he talks about the dogs in his life.  I love seeing him smile.  I love seeing the light in his eyes.  

Fred also went out of town for just a few days, and I got to take care of Sailor.  Remember how we love Fred because he saved Sailor's life?  Well, now we love Fred for another reason.  On the forms I have clients fill out, there is a question about 'in case of emergency'.  In case of emergency, if the animal needs to be taken to the vet, what dollar amount is the client willing to spend?  People will write in different amounts depending.  What amount did Fred write in? "any amount" .....  awwwwww.  I loved it.  

The nights are getting a bit cold now, so Fred wanted Sailor out in the yard during the day but in the house for the nights.  No problem.  Well, it was no problem until I locked myself out of the house.  Now, if I am going to be stupid enough to lock myself out of the house, thankfully I did have Sailor, I did have Sailor's food, I did have my phone, and I did have my keys.  I could see Fred's house key.  I just couldn't get to it.  I just stood there looking at the key telling myself how stupid I was.  Sailor kept looking at me not understanding.  Oh well .......  I took Sailor for a walk, sucked it up and called Fred to tell him what I had done.  Great way to make a first impression.  Fred is so nice.  Fred is so understanding.  Fred and I both laughed at me, but he still wants me to take care of Sailor, so it's all good.

Fred and Sailor have both met Georgia O'Keeffe.  They also met Dolce, because I could not leave Dolce at home while introducing Georgia O'Keeffe to people.  That would not be fair at all.....

I really should get some self-respect...

Yesterday I had nowhere I needed to go.  I had things to do around the house, but when I woke up yesterday morning, I honestly thought I would not be leaving the house.

I popped out of bed and spent the morning in my 'jammies'.  This time of the year my jammies consist of joe boxer plaid shorts and an old soft sweatshirt that has been washed a minimum of one million times.  (I am a bit worried though, b/c I noticed a hole in one of the sleeves, and I am not sure what I will do when the day comes that I have to 'lose' the sweatshirt.)

Then my phone rings.  It's Sam.  He tells me he has an emergency and, can I get right over?  I tell him it will take me a while as I have not even showered yet.  He replies, "Oh dear.  Oh dear.  Oh dear."
Crap.  "Sam, what is it?  What happened?"
He informs me that his scooter has, once again, died.
"Sam, where are you?"
He was in the bathroom....
"Sam, I'll be right there.  I look like crap, but I'll be right there."
I leave the house.  Dressed as I am.  No shower.  Heck, I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet.  I was saving that for after my diet coke.  I mean, no one was here but me and Dolce anyway, and she didn't seem to mind.  I didn't even grab my purse.  I just ran out the door, jammies and all.
When I got to Sam, thankfully, he was out of the bathroom and sitting in his living room.  His scooter was out of the bathroom too, and it was sitting next to its plug.  (However, as I've mentioned previously, Sam cannot plug his scooter in.  The plug on the scooter is under the scooter seat, and Sam cannot get down that low.)  I asked him how he had gotten his scooter out of the bathroom, and He replied "inch by inch."  Poor Sam.....
I got the scooter situated better and plugged it in.  I got Sam situated better.  I straightened up his apartment.  Put his house phone on its charger, put his cell phone on its charger.  Made sure everything was 'good to go'.  Sam has someone else who takes care of him on Tuesdays, but she wasn't due until later.  I know he would not be alone for long, so once everything was taken care of, I went back home.
Sam does not live far from me, and I have told him before that I do not mind coming over at night to plug in his scooter.  That way, while he sleeps, the scooter can be charging.  So far he has never called me for this though.  When I asked him who has been plugging in his scooter at night, he told me that he just grabs whoever he can.  I, again, told him that I do not mind doing it.  I live close.  Just call.

Got home and actually brushed my teeth and took a shower.  However, because I still did not have plans to leave the house, I put back on my jammies and let my hair dry naturally.
Phone rings.
Jacob (Mark's son) is having an asthma/coughing attack at school, and no one else can be reached.  Can I please come and pick him up?
Crap.
I go.  Quickly.  Again, dressed in my same jammies.  At least this time I am clean and hopefully smell better and have minty fresh breath, but I am still in my jammies, and now my hair is wet.
I get to the school and apologize to everyone I see. I tell them I was (obviously) just out of the shower and jumped in my car to come get Jacob.  Jacob is still coughing uncontrollably and having a hard time breathing.  Manage to get a Dr. appointment, but thankfully I have time to swing by the house and change clothes.  I get Jake comforted; both his coughing and his breathing are getting more normal and under control.  I change clothes.  JD (Jake's mom's boyfriend) shows up to get Jacob.  I had sent Jacob's mom an email telling her what was going on, and she wanted to take him to the doctor.  No problem.  Now I'm finally dressed, and I have no place to go.
But since I'm dressed, I stay dressed the rest of the day.  Go me.

That evening, I decide to get comfy.  I change back into my jammies, wash my face, etc.  Then I remember Sam's scooter.  I call Sam.  His scooter is not plugged in, and yes, it would be great if I could come do that for him.  It's late.  It's dark.  Who will see me now?  I go.
When I get to Sam's building, there is both an ambulance and firetruck out front.  Oh my.  I send up a quick prayer for whoever may be in need of help....  As I reach Sam's apartment, I realize the paramedics are at the apartment next door.  The door is wide open, people everywhere.  And in the midst of this, is someone I have just recently met.
(I have recently begun taking classes on how to be a tax preparer from Jackson Hewitt.  I am really loving the classes.  The teacher makes it fun, and the people are great.  Joan is one of the 'higher ups' at Jackson Hewitt's Las Cruces' offices.)
... and there she sits on the floor of the apartment next to Sam's.  I look in and get her attention.  I point to Sam's door and she asks if he's a relative.  I tell her, no, he is someone that I look in on.  She nods to a lady I cannot see and says, "She's my mother."  I tell her that I've got to go, but I'll be back.
I go and take care of Sam.  He's already in bed, so there is not much to do.  I plug in the scooter, check on a few lights and let myself out.
From what I can gather, Joan came to check on her mom and found her mom lying on the floor.  Her mom was being a bit incoherent and Joan was scared to move her for fear of making the fall worse.  Joan called 911.  Her mom seemed to be OK.  They were trying to decide whether or not to take her to the ER, but thankfully, she appeared to be OK; shaken up, but OK.
So........ the one and only time I was dressed yesterday, I went nowhere, but by golly every time I was being lazy in my jammies, well, then ... I got to go places.
I think I'll go grab a shower and get dressed.  See what today brings......

Sam and football

Sam loves college football.  He's not much of a fan of the NFL, but he loves college.  I've started taking him a newspaper each Saturday morning so he can plan his day...

He checked out the paper this morning and informed me there was so much good football on today that he would not be able to go down to lunch.  I would have to bring his lunch to him, b/c he could not leave the television.

His heart belongs to Florida State University.  As I left his house today, after dropping off his taco place from Chilitos,  he was cussing at the TV.

pet sitters' guild...

Here in Las Cruces a few of the pet sitters have gotten together to form a guild.  They meet; they share stories; they share ideas; they share laughs.  Instead of competing against one another, they help one another.  I love the idea.  I'm too new to join, but they did invite me to sit in on a meeting.

The meeting was this morning, and I got to meet most of the members of the guild.  I must say, I loved them all.  Maybe there is just something special about people who love animals ... they had varied personalities, but they were all so warm, so welcoming and so inviting.

We got some information about First Aid and CPR for animals.  Hopefully we'll be able to get together and take the class so that we can all learn something and all become certified.  Mouth to mouth on a dog snout is a bit different than mouth to mouth on a human....

Fred...

A while back, I got a phone call from Fred.  He left a message saying he thought he had the right phone number.  Was I the person who dog sat?  I called him back and got his voice mail, and he didn't call back.  I figured either he found someone else, or things had changed for him.  Wednesday night, he left another message.  I called back and got his voice mail.  I was beginning to think this was a bit ridiculous, and I didn't even really care if I ever met Fred or not.  If it was meant to be, it would work out ... but we seemed to always be missing each other, and I still wasn't really sure what Fred even wanted.
Well .....  I finally got Fred, and I am so happy that I did.  Fred is a photographer who travels the world.  Fred has the neatest house.  I absolutely love it.  Not big, but spacious and open.  Fred has a five year old lab.
Now this is why we love Fred.  Fred explained to me that he never had dogs.  He always had cats.  He travels, and cats, being so much more independent, were much more suited for his lifestyle.  However, he heard of someone who had a litter of lab puppies, and if they did not find homes for the puppies, this person was going to drown all the dogs.  Fred said there was no way he could NOT take a puppy.  So he took Sailor .... Sailor is now five.  Sailor is adorable.  I'm not sure how much I'll get to see Sailor, but it sounds like it might be often.
I'm so excited .....

Scooter...

Sam called me early this morning.  (before 6:00 am)  He'd had a bad night.  His legs had been hurting so much that he took an extra pain pill, but then the extra pain pill made him dizzy.
...but his biggest problem was that his scooter was out of 'juice'.  The battery was dead.  The thing is, he cannot plug his scooter in when it needs to be charged.  The plug on the scooter is below the seat.  In order to get the plug from the charger plugged into the scooter, one must bend down and finagle the plug into the socket UNDER the seat.  Now for me, this is easy ... but aren't these scooters mainly used by people who are either handicapped or elderly?  Seriously, is this the best they (the scooter makers) could do?  Sam cannot plug his own scooter in.  And I'm guessing, there are many others in this same situation.
I told Sam that I could start coming by each evening to plug in his scooter.....

prayers for Misty...

Misty is an adorable tiny little teacup poodle. (And, yes, I realize "tiny little" is redundant, but this poodle is that small.)  Misty is a dark charcoal gray; so dark she's almost black.  Misty has a teeny tiny little tail that is too cute when she is wagging it.  Misty belongs to a woman in Sam's building.  I often see the woman with Misty.  The woman holds on to Misty's pink leash while at the same time pushing her walker. (She just got a new walker which is also pink.)  I've stopped on occasion to pet Misty and to talk with the woman.  She lived for a while in Houston, although she's not from Houston.  She and her husband moved there when her husband was quite ill so that he could see some of the best doctors in the country.  Sadly, even with the Houston Medical Center helping, her husband's illness won.  After her husband died, a niece gave her a teacup puppy.  She's had Misty for about eight years now ... maybe nine.  I should remember that better, but I don't.  She left Houston after her husband's death, and eventually ended up in Sam's building talking to me.

I saw her again this morning, and I had to stop and pet Misty.  The woman informed me that Misty will be having surgery tomorrow.  Misty has a tumor.  I told the woman that I hoped everything went wonderfully for Misty and her surgery, and the woman picked up Misty, pet her so softly and said, "It has to be.  It just has to be."  She informed me that she has been talking to God so much about this.  I told her that I would talk to God about Misty too.  She was thankful ...

I would be thankful for any prayers that y'all can send up for Misty as well.

breakfast...

Sam has a cafeteria in his building where he goes to breakfast most mornings, but on occasion he likes me to bring him an egg mcmuffin from McDonalds.  My routine is to go thru McDonald's and get him his egg mcmuffin, then head over to Starbucks for a white mocha frappuccino.  The other morning he mentioned that he was getting a bit tired with his sandwich, so yesterday instead of the egg mcmuffin, I grabbed him a toaster sandwich from Sonic.  His only remark was, "We'll stay with the old sandwich."
I thought it was hilarious....

aaarrrggghhh...

Spent the morning with Sam.  He was up and eating breakfast when I arrived and was so happy to see me.  The doctors are rethinking the surgery option.  Sam has one artery on the back of his leg which is occluded.  His family doctor and his vascular surgeon were the ones discussing this, according to the nurse, but no one's telling Sam anything.  Hospitals can be so frustrating.  I know each person is doing the best they can; I know there are so many patients .... but when all you do is lie around waiting to see a doctor that may or may not show up, it's frustrating.  The nurses were very sweet and very kind.  They did as much as they could........

Besides the aggravation, Sam is doing good.  He was in quite the talkative mood today.  I do often wonder how much I should share about what he tells me, which is why I tend to generalize.  He was talking a great deal today about his time in the Army and the years he was at the Pentagon.  I find it all fascinating, and I love hearing his stories.  Being in the hospital though also brought some sad memories.  It was at this same hospital that his best friend died (from cancer) some twenty years ago; Sam then brought up his wife's illness and ultimate death as well.  On a positive note though, thinking of his old friend reminded him of a time when he and the friend were on their way home from hunting and stopped in at a Mexican bar.  It was one of their favorite watering holes back in the day ...  but on this particular day, as they were entering a man ran out of the door and smacked into Sam.  Then there was a gunshot.  At the time, it was quite scary, but looking back on it, Sam now laughs at how scared he and his friend were.  He also notes that he has not been back into a Mexican bar since.  (by Mexican bar, Sam means a bar down in Mexico)  Oh, and then speaking of the bar reminded him to tell me that one of his very first jobs was hauling beer.  He was around twelve or thirteen, and he would drive out to the brewery in a '37 pickup truck.  After the truck was loaded, the men would remark, "There you go little Sammy, get it to town." ... and off he'd go.  He said the men in town had to have their beer.
I love how his bright blue eyes light up when he tells a happy story.....

Scandanavian...

I think, because he's Norwegian, Sam likes the fact that I am Scandanavian.  I think he would like it better if I were Norwegian instead of Swedish, but hey,  it's close.  We've laughed about that old Amercian Express commercial where the father and son go off to Sweden to search their roots ... only to discover that they're Norwegian.  hahahaha.....  He often tells me I look Scandanavian.  Sam loves talking about his family and his family's background.  Off to see him this morning.......

Sam's in the hospital ...

Sam is back in the hospital, but hopefully not for long.  I was with him Tuesday morning, and he was not feeling good at all.  Thankfully he had a doctor's appointment that afternoon.  The doctor sent him over to the hospital for tests and decided to keep him overnight.  He was having problems with a sore on the bottom of his foot.  Sam has problems with the circulation in his legs, and this causes a few problems and pain for him.  He met with a vascular surgeon today and got good news.  He may or may not need surgery in the future, but for now ... no surgery!  He's good to go, and he should soon be out of the hospital.  I spent yesterday evening with him, and I'll be going to see him again in the morning.  (I had other commitments today, so I was unable to visit him.  Checked in with him, but that was all I was able to do....)
Keep him in your prayers please.  Thanks!

My Sam....

This happened a while back, but someone mentioned that I should go back and find it.  I posted this on facebook on June 27th:



yesterday I took Sam, the elderly gentleman that I take care of, out for a drive. He lived here 20 yrs ago and then retired to FL. After his wife died in Aug, he moved back. b/c of his health, he has not been out much except to go to the drs


on our drive, he was so cute ... he commented on EVERYTHING. If it was old, he remembered it, if it was new, he was amazed by it. His enthusiasm reminded me of how we should all see the world around us.


I love spending time with Sam. He talks about his wife of 61 years, their courtship, their life, their family, his years working at the pentagon, his wife's life as an "Army Wife" ... it's amazing I get paid for this.


Two of the biggest reasons Sam moved back here are his daughter and grand daughter, and they do check in with him often, and they do stop by ... but b/c they are also both busy with their own lives, they have hired others (me) to help take a lot of the burden off of them. Perhaps that way I can do more of the 'needed' things, and they can do more of the 'fun' things. anyway, I do love it.

getting busy ... well, maybe. hopefully.

I've got a couple jobs lined up for this weekend, and one for next weekend.

I have one friend who will be out of town for the weekend, and she has five doggies.  One or two a bit older.  She doesn't want to leave them alone, so I will be spending the nights at her house with her pets.  During the day, I'll be in and out taking care of them and checking on them, but she mainly wants someone with them over night.

She's so sweet; she informed me that she will have clean sheets on her guest room bed.  I informed her that I would more than likely fall asleep on her couch with her animals while watching tv.

Another woman, I have yet to meet  (I'm going over to her house tomorrow) will also be out of town this weekend.  She has a small terrier (Bambi) and a cat.  She doesn't want me to spend the night, but she does want me to check in a few times each day.  I'll be playing with Bambi and taking him out for a walk.

And, of course, I still have Sam who I sit with each weekend morning.  I love Sam.  He is so cute, especially now that he is a great-grandpa.  His great granddaughter is (of course) the most precious, adorable little girl ever.  If you don't believe me, just ask him.  His wife, his granddaughter and now his great granddaughter all had the same weight when they were born.  I think that is remarkable.  (So does Sam)  Sam has a book from the 1930's in which his wife and his wife's sister had their stats recorded.  Their weight, their height, head size, etc. all recorded from the 1930's, and Sam still has the book.  He's passing it on to his granddaughter so she can add her baby to the record.  Every couple of years, his wife and her sister would sign their names and date their signatures.  It's fun to see the differences in their signatures as they grow and mature.  These little girls signing their names never knowing that someday seventy-odd years later, I would be interested.....

I truly do love people.  So much to learn.  So much to share.
I thank God for this opportunity ... this life.

link ...

I added a link to my blog page ... and hopefully over time I will add a few more.  things I find helpful, fun, interesting or whatever I feel like.  (hey, it is my blog after all.)

This first link tells about a book my wonderful, warm mentor recommended I should read.  I have it.  I have not read it.  I've actually been busy the last few days, but hopefully over this weekend, I will get started on the book.

help...

I have slowly begun to start my own little business.  It's a business of pet sitting and people sitting.  Being the procrastinator that I am, it's been taking me a while to get up and going.  Being in need of employment, I've been attempting to get things accomplished.

My mom has always taught me that God takes care of the stupid, and I believe God has been taking care of me.  A wonderful lady has come into my life.  She started her pet sitting company back in 1989.  She read about me in a small local newspaper out here, and she contacted me.  She was kind enough and warm enough to take me under her wing.  This wonderful woman wants to help me and mentor me.  I think it's no accident that God put her into my life.

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet.
~~ Edith Wharton


OK, so mine is more like a heartbeat in my lap, but it's still a great quote.

eeek!!

I'm both excited and scared.  Starting a new chapter in life is never easy ... I've had so many things going on in my head and in my heart, and now God is pushing me to make it all a reality.  He is sending me the people and the help that I need exactly when I need it.  God willing, this is going to all work out!!