Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 - Mattie died 656 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2008. Mattie typically had two birthday cakes. One big one for his actual party and a second small one for just us. The second one was ALWAYS an ice cream cake. It was a tradition I passed down to Mattie, as I always had a carvel ice cream cake for my birthdays as a child. Those of you who knew Mattie, knew he HATED chocolate. So you will notice his cake pieces had the chocolate removed. We were a match made in heaven as I am not a vanilla fan and was happy to swap Mattie's chocolate for my vanilla. 

Quote of the day: Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~ Lao Tzu

When we bought our house, the former owner had statues of frogs all over the back yard. I thought it was ODD and over time we removed each and every one. Now I get it! In a way it was a tribute to what lives in the backyard!

Look who was outside the other night. The frogs are making a racket at night, you can't be outside without hearing them. This fellow is lucky we were outside, because Sunny was after him. 

Isn't this a precious face! Last night, Sunny's new vet called me. He and I are like oil and water. Basically he thinks it is fine for a dog to wait three weeks to see an oncologist. Let me tell you in human terms, this would NOT be acceptable. I of course don't know cancer in dogs like I do in humans, but let's say I am NOT happy with the system. The vet knows this and when he calls me 'Sunny's mama,' I want to scream. It's how he says it. 

Today was the last day my dad had in-home occupational therapy (OT) and nursing. We have been working with my dad's OT since the beginning of January. I am very fond of her, and I wrote her a thank you note and bought her a big Gerber daisy. I am now working on transitioning my dad's PT, OT, and Speech Therapy to the memory care center he attends three times a week. 

The highlight of my day was a 2.5 mile walk with Sunny in the woods near our home. I just love this trail. It is so green and so peaceful. 

Sunny is now 11 years old. Which makes him a senior dog. I do notice that Sunny has slowed down significantly. Yet his spirit is there, and I just adjust my pace to accommodate him. I also bring a back pack filled with water and his portable doggie bowl. 

The azaleas are glorious in our backyard. One things I knew when buying this house is that we would be spending a lot of time in it. Therefore, I needed a yard and beauty around me. 

The colors are so vibrant!

There are four azalea colors in the backyard. This is the second one. 

This is the third color. The fourth is white, but those plants haven't opened up yet. 

This big Adirondack chair used to be green. The former owners had it tucked away in the bushes. Peter got it out of the bushes, painted in Mattie Miracle orange and I think it adds a wonderful pop of color in the backyard.