Hello Old Friend

 Well, I guess the nothing of a Pandemic has made me miss writing!  Gosh so much has changed since I last posted...and so much is the same. 

I'm a dang school teacher, fully credentialed as of this year! Something I never wanted to be but... hey, there's health insurance and a pension. I love the kids but I've been so disillusioned about how little of teaching is about the kids! It's a business that rarely accounts of the kids involved. 

I had been teaching a behavior based program... which I loved but...I had a principal that was a "box-checker." Behavior programs do not check boxes... we are soooo outside the box! I spent an entire year teaching with my back to a student. We had a whole checklist of what that student had to do to earn my attention. If attention was paid for the wrong things...we were off and running toward a very bad day! I loved working that program...save for the crazy boss. I had to leave the district to get away from her. 

Loved the next job (High school algebra! Ha! I haven't used algebra in 37 years and why the state of California makes us torture special needs kids with it...UGH!) ...until Covid sent all teacher specialists back to the classroom, bumping newbies like me. 

So, I'm jobless and awaiting a re-entry interview at my old district. I'm honestly so exhausted from the last four years, I really don't mind the lack of work. 

My goodness... I started working on a credential in July 2016 not understanding that I would be a classroom teacher by late August! (Thought I could do that and just sub.) 10 days into my new job, Mom's house flooded with 38" of water. Spent the year flying back and forth dealing with FEMA and contractors all while trying to get Mom to leave the house so the work could be done. (She won that argument!)  So much craziness at work...constant meetings about my students, data tracking and reports to be written. I took NO time off, working every holiday. Worked all summer on salary points. 

Mom in the boat when the Cajun Navy finally got her to leave her flooded house after 3 days! 

Mom's house after we tore out the walls and tossed the furniture.

Fall of 2017 brought crazy fires. One side of the mountains would catch on fire and I would pack a car with clothes, dog food, hard drives and vital papers and drop it off on the opposite mountain. Weeks later, the other mountain was on fire! Lather, rinse repeat. The morning the Creek Fire took off, even though it was close to me, the smoke was at my school. Of course, my school was the only one that didn't close! By midday, I was getting texts that I need to get home and get Macy Blue. It was a harrowing drive home with fires breaking out and taking multiple back roads to get into our valley. The next morning, my school still open, I took surface streets as the freeway was jammed. I noticed police blocking the way back toward home. I stopped and asked what was up... I could leave but I could not come home! NO WAY was I leaving Macy Blue in that fire ridden valley when I couldn't get home to her! 

Creek Fire as seen from space. 

Our pal, Osa, days before Creek Fire

(Front to back) Osa, Riley, Aria, Macy Blue - same spot as above - after Creek Fire

And  after the fires, you know it, came the flood! I got home on January 9th to 10" of mud surrounding my house and in my pool! 

It took months of shoveling to get all the mud out! 

Backyard and pool

Spring was spent trying to dig out and repair the pool. It was ready for summer, thank goodness. Especially during COVID, the pool has been my sanity. I swim about 90 -120 minutes a day! 

All better! 

June  brought coyote drama. Macy Blue and I were hiking the dark side. We had just emerged from the swimming spot when I heard Macy growl...totally out of the norm. Ten feet away, she was on her hind legs in an embrace with a small coyote. He must have noticed her limp and took her for an easy target. She was NOT! Plus, her momma is part rottweiler... I screamed so loud, I terrified them both! The coyote took off and Macy ran to me. I thought she was fine but took her in anyway... it was a severe bite! My poor baby! 

Fall was more craziness, dealing with Mom's dementia. January, I was part of the one of the largest teacher strikes in history. It poured rain the whole time we were on strike. In the end, I feel special education lost out...our numbers actually INCREASED. 

And then came February. Macy Blue had been on a weird eating streak for months. I kept wondering if she had pica! She ate most of a letter. She ate beads... glass ones. She passed those. But in early February, she ate most of two different dish towels.  And here's where I was stupid: When I lived in my previous house, I was friends with a hair dresser and her rottweiler. He loved to get his lips on any towel she had used to do hair! Seriously, this dog would eat and entire towel. When he would pass it, she would don gloves and pull! DON'T DO THIS! Rags can get impacted. 

Macy had a helluva week...overnight at the hospital, radio active beads confirmed nothing was moving. Day at her vets. I would have to pick her up when the overnight place closed at 7 am, drive her home so I could get to work by 7:40. I would leave her in my dog car and the bestie would drive  her to the vet at 8:15. Back and forth for days...finally, my vet operated, found the rags and I was SO hopeful (and broke! $4K+). I took her for what I hoped would be her last overnight, begging her to live. Just after midnight on Valentine's Day, she crashed. I knew she could take no more. Her limp exhausted her and her heart murmur...it was too much! I told them to leave her in peace. 

The last photo of Macy Blue.

And that brings me to the ray of sunshine at the top of this blog. Maizy... The first time I kept the M name a dog arrived here with. It just fit her and it was so weird. I really wanted to name Macy Maizy...but there were a number of bloggers with that name. So Macy it was... and Blue because she was so sad. Maizy's family wanted to name her Macy because the mom loved to shop there but she made them change it.  And I kept thinking of the dream I had of Mabel...where she left me a pot of gold. 

Maizy was rehomed. She was such a high energy pup, I wondered what the hell I was going to do with her. But big hikes have tamed her! She often hikes right by my side. She is the happiest, smartest little thing ever! She reminds me of Mabel... capable of understanding conversations and reasoning... but without the arguments and disagreements! I'm over the moon with her!  Middle name: True (short for Truelove - but that would embarrass her so please don't mention it!)

Day nine - Maizy True giving me a run for my money!

My job at the high school was really demanding... I had a huge case load (26!) and saw 80 students throughout the day. But Maizy was kinda thrilled with lockdown. Long walks twice a day and Mom always at home. 

Not sure what's next... but I have a great pup by my side! 

Tough as Nails / Smarter Than Expected

For those of you who aren't aware, my family went missing this week in the Louisiana Flood. It was a gut wrenching 24 hours before I, along with my niece, finally found my brother-in-law only to find that when he went in a rescuer's boat to get my mom, she was not home! We spent Monday thinking that she had been rescued with neighbors and trying helplessly to find which of the many shelters she had been taken to...Red Cross' Safe and Well Website is a freaking joke!

To make matters worse, I started my new job teaching in an emotionally disturbed classroom and could not work the phones during the day. By Monday afternoon, I found out Mom was rescued...but not on Sunday as I had thought. We still have no idea where she was when my brother-in-law and the Cajun Navy went to look for her! But Monday, a deputy from another parish was volunteering on his day off and Mom stopped them to ask if they could boat down to the back of her property where the water was waist deep to get her trash can that floated away...she needed to clean now that the 2' in her house was receding! They made her leave the house.

She spent a cold night in the Centroplex River Center (concert hall) and by this morning, she had someone find my number and they were begging me to get my brother -in-law to come get her. (His truck was still trapped at his house.) My little cousin was already on the way and the lady on the phone seemed relieved!

Mom is safe and sound and anxious to get to to work on rebuilding her house! Not bad for 93!

Here she is on her river boat cruise down her street:

Mom is just amazing... and one tough broad! 
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With me being in teacher training and driving to school 3 hours a day all summer (12 hours a day away from home! UGH!) Macy Blue has been getting the short end of the stick!

With the stress of so many friends and family losing homes this week and the search for Mom and the brother in law and starting a new job...I was just spent when I walked Macy last night. I had taken her to a park over the mountain about six miles because the ocean breezes flow up that canyon. It was 90 something at 6:30 on my porch and I swear it was around 80 there!

My feet were killing me as well as my back and knees. I cut our walk short by about 2/3.  It was still blazing hot tonight and I decided a repeat was in order.

We arrived at the park and I started toward the gate where we always start. Only Macy would NOT budge. No... she wanted to go the way we usually come out of the park! Wha????

I realized, she was making certain that she got her WHOLE hike...not the short version she got the night before!

That, my friends, is the smartest thing Miss Blue has ever done!

She Giveth; She Taketh Away

Those of you who follow us on Facebook or Instagram probably know that I started "bed training" Macy a few weeks ago.

#proof of the FOUR in a row bed #cuddles I've gotten #briberyworks @chewy #cookies #treats ❤💕💜💓💛 my silly #pup #dogs #macyblue

That came to a grinding halt when, the day before my birthday, I picked up norovirus at school. Eight days later and I'm still not right in the gut! We had done zero days of bed training from the 1st of the month. I had a relapse at work this past Tuesday...found out I had made myself sicker by taking Imodium.  I spent the afternoon really ill and was so relieved when it was over around 8pm. We turned in early and I was so grateful for the sleep. Hard, stupid sleep. 

Suddenly my bed was moving! Living in earthquake country, I always try to steal a glance at the clock just to get a sense of time before we lose power. It was 10:54 and that was no earthquake! It was Macy Blue! Getting on my bed with NO cookies in sight! In the middle of the night!!!!!! 

I petted her a bit but was so exhausted... we both slept til 7:30 am! I was over joyed that she was still by my side come morning and we cuddled and lingered until I heard her tummy growling! 

I couldn't wait to call Mom and tell her I was certain we'd turned a corner. 

Cut to...

Wednesday afternoon, a sunny bedroom just down the hall. 

Since Macy Blue was so sweet to sleep all night with me, it clearly must be time to continue her training. Instead of putting nap treats in her bed, I placed them in her "bed lure" spots:  One on top of the stairs, one on the foot of the bed and three in her "spot." 

She gobbled them up, sniffed for more and... jumped down and curled up in her bed!

Sigh... Three steps forward... five steps back.

November Bittids

I keep thinking I will get here for a proper update ... and then only feel terribly guilty that I don't. Life just seems to be throwing me one curve ball after another. Just this month alone has been a doozy and the whole year has been like that!

• While I've passed two of the three teaching credential exams with flying colors, I keep delaying the math and science test...and if I continue to delay, it'll cost me another year in the sub pool. And yet I cannot find time to study...
• Macy Blue had managed to learn what to do with toys. While I would like to take creidt for all my running around and tossing toys in the air...it was Sue living here that really taught her about interacting with humans and playing with toys. I got a text one day at school... Macy was cleaning out the toy box! The day our pals left for Portland, we couldn't bear to watch them drive away, so we went to PetSmart for all new toys for the girl. 

 

• For the first time all year, I had scheduled bookings in the larger school district. But two weeks ago,  I got a bad sore throat and while hiking that Sunday, I could barely move. I just felt weak. I drove to urgent care with Macy in the car. They took my temperature and it was 103! I usually get tingly lips with the slightest fever...but not that day. I was shocked! A trip to the drug store followed by hours of phone calls / faxes and emails to cover my jobs before I could take to my bed. 
• Barely 24 hours later, still with a fever, I found out my mother was mugged at the casino. Before I could talk to her, I jumped online and started closing her accounts and phone and sending AAA her way. This led to days of work restoring her life to normal. The asshat takes a purse but nearly rendered her helpless... New drivers license... she is 92. New glasses, new credit cards... The thief took her only electronic key to her car... $80 bucks and a half hour digital programming. New phone. Those things have finally all been restored...but the confidence she lost is gone. 
• And on the same day, I learned my long time tenant at my condo had lost her mother in England... and I have no rent coming in this month...when I've lost so much work already. 
• A few nights before I got sick, I got to go and visit Dave. I was so upset at being sick as I knew I wouldn't get to see him again...and I didn't. While his death was expected, it has hurt so bad. He's my first adult friend I've lost. I've lost lots of family, but not a friend til now. It's just so terribly sad to lose someone I thought of as "young." 

•  Thanksgiving was small and quiet. I spent too much time cooking food that came out awful... but got to visit with an old and dear friend on Friday. 
• Saturday was a dog beach day. Macy just loves the ocean. I never see her smile the way she does at the beach. She often races to the water and dives in the breakwater. The full moon brought the highest tides I've ever seen. Luckily the girl used such good judgement and didn't go too deep while enjoying a romp with her boys! 
• I'm prepping for my annual holiday trunk next weekend... making jewelry into the wee hours. 
• My glass guild will have our annual holiday party next weekend and the following one brings two more events... making me more social than I've been in months. I don't do sockial well.
• Mother is coming for Christmas in a few weeks.
• My bestie's niece that we all helped raise is expecting her first child in March... a girl. I'm gonna be a Gramma! We are all over the moon! So many boys in the family. The niece is the only girl... and now a little girl to spoil!! 

Maybe you'll get why my head is spinning... 

Product Review: CRAPPY Dog Beds Galore!

Let me state right up front: This is NOT  a Chewy review. No, it's a review written out of sheer exasperation and frustration on the part of a dog owner who buys A LOT of dog beds!

WHERE are all the good dog beds?? Seriously, I want to know! If you know, please tell me!

There are about a dozen dog beds in my house. I work in every room. My dog wants to be with me and pardon me if I think she should have somewhere comfortable to hang out!  That being said, I still have the first two dog beds I ever bought some 21 years ago!

I happened on my first great dog bed by accident. I had been looking for a bed for Milly but they were pricey back then - over $130 for the model I had seen most often. Cut to: I'm shopping in the JC Penney Outlet, helping a guy friend decorate his apartment when I see the same bed for $25... I bought it tossed it in the car and after making 6 trips back to the car with my friend's stuff throughout the day, I only noticed why it was so cheap on the final trip! It had a name embroidered one it! "Maggie" ... I thought of returning it...but Milly couldn't read, so I turned the name to the wall. When I got Maggie, I named her after the bed!

Maggie May

I bought a second of the same brand when I found them on sale for $30 at a discount store that same year.  Here's Mabel Lou on the same bed. (Mother cut out Maggie's name and patched the bed when Maggie died.)

 Mabel Lou on the most excellent dog bed

HOW have these beds held up for 20 years? They probably weren't made in China... or maybe they were but the companies that put their name on them had better standards??? I don't know... they were well made. The covers were heavy cotton with a plain side and a warm fuzzy side. I would flip them over as the temps and dogs demanded. The inner liner was a thinner cotton and had a inner zipper; inside that was fiber fill and cedar shavings.

Care and Handling of a Most Excellent Dog Bed: To make them last 20 + years, I remove the outer cover and toss it in the washer. If it is shedding season, I run it through the dryer on no heat to remove some hair BEFORE washing. I dry them in the sun.

That cotton inner liner is just fabulous. The zipper allows easy access so if the filling is stained, I remove some and replace it. I addmore cedar shavings from time to time.  Every time I wash the outer cover, I take the innards outside, spray it with  Pure Cedarwood Oil (Juniperus Virginiana) (Link provided cause it's hard to find the real deal that's not half alcohol these days!) This is a natural deodorizer and flea / tick repellant. I sun the inner bed 1/2 a day, flip it, spray that side down the second side and sun it. Replace the cover at the end of the day.

The result is a clean, fresh dog bed for 20 + years! Never had any kind of insect issue or stain issue... the sun will bleach the inner cover and the pure cedar oil  takes care of the rest. And it's not overly smelly from cedar either!

The Problem with Modern Dog Beds...circa 2015

Again, my snarky opinion has something to do with not finding one made anywhere but China. But after spending several DAYS looking for one, the biggest issue is the inner liner...It's not made of cotton any more... it's made of this ..... I'm struggling to not curse... cacca!

Crappy Dog Bed by Cynthia Rowley

Yes, that's a hole in it where my finger is. I can't tell you what it's made of... diaphanous gauze would be the best description. No one tells you what it's made of cause it's not supposed to come in contact with the dog.

I first came in contact with this crap when I bought Macy a bed.  I like to buy a new dog her very own sleeping bed so that her primary bed smells like her. A month later, I go to wash the cover and the fiber fill and cedar is all over the carpet! That gauze cacca had DRY ROTTED! In only a MONTH! GRRRRR!

I was pressed for time so I just stuffed it back into the outer cover and forgot about it for another month. I've made many attempts at finding a new one... to no avail and then spent a solid weekend driving anywhere I could think off looking at dog beds.

That one up there with the hole in it??? It's a Cynthia Rowley Dog Bed. The outer fabric was some of the best, thickest sueded canvas I've ever seen in a dog bed. I wanted it to be "the one" based on that alone... but I opened the zipper and found... gauze cacca...that already had a HOLE in it. If you have any slight length to your fingernails, it will tear the gauze cacca when picked up the outer bed! GRRR

I kept looking... I found one at PetSmart with a label... "the only one strong enough to be called a Kong." MY TAIL FEATHERS! Inside...you guessed it! Gauze Cacca. Strong enough to be called a Kong??? Yeah, until it dry rots in a month!

So we still have no bed. After every single bed I found had this inner liner, I terrified to buy one online.  I don't want to pay shipping to return the thing!

JUST IN CASE THERE ARE ANY DOG BED DESIGNERS PAYING ATTENTION

Here are my gripes:

• NO gauze caca inner liner! Cotton please! With a zipper or good velcro!
• Inside should either be poly fill + cedar or memory foam. Nothing else is acceptable.
• And by the way... Memory foam PIECES is NOT the same as a memory foam bed! My baby's bed is not a way for you to get rid of your manufacturing garbage! SOLID memory foam only!
• Outside liner should be thick and washable. Natural fabric please! It should be reversible. 
• NO rubber feet on the bottom! 

Pet owners, we need to start a revolt! Until they start making better beds... please stop buying them! 

Traveling Dog

Hello Good People and Pups of Blogville! Macy Blue here, fresh from my vacay in Loosiana! I had a great time.

I wasn't so sure about flying....lotsa people around.

But Momma kept telling me I was OK and I believed her...but I think she slipped me some "funny cheese" to help me chill out! Momma said she really didn't like the accommodations on Delta - that the bulkheads were way too small compared to the other airlines she's traveled...but this was my first pair of flights. It was pretty tight!

But I loved being at my Granny's even if "someone" didn't walk me for the whole 10 days we were there!  But I got lotsa exercise. My Granny's yard is hooooge!!! And she's got lotsa lizards!

We went there cause my Mom hasn't made a trip in two years... she lost my angel sis Mabel Lou last spring and I had so many issues, Momma was uncertain about traveling with me. But Gran needed lotsa help around her big yard and house so we had to go. Momma stayed so busy! She trimmed the trees for three days! Hauled limbs to the street, chopped firewood, cleaned gutters, picked veggies, showed Gran how to use the weedwhacker. During the "heat of the day"... that's a joke but I think Mom means the middle of the day, she worked in the house. Cleaning, redoing Granny's clocks, fixing the stove, fixing the phones, etc. Momma just stayed busy busy!

But as for the heat of the day... it was always hot! Momma kept complaining of something called "flop sweat" and was always wiping her face with a towel.  She was changing clothes twice a day!  It was  hot even at night! This is me drinking some of my Granny's captured Loosiana rainwater:

Momma didn't like me doing that but...my water bowl was a whole 'nother 10 feet away! Geez!  And don't I look hotified here:

The main reason I was so hot was I invented a new sport or lizard hunting technique called Hosta Diving. See that row of green plants??? Those are my Granny's hostas.

Momma said I reminded her of those snow foxes that know there is a rat deep under the snow and they leap in the air and dive under the snow. Only I knew there was a lizard in the hostas... so I would leap up and dive in and disappear! Momma and Granny laughed at my efforts until they saw the bounty of my hunts!

Even though we rarely left my Granny's no wifi zone... and Mom was too popped to walk me, we got to the dog park once... I made a friend and my Granny even came with...she's watching me from the shade back there... Every dog in the place loved my Granny! They all came up to her for pets. I got a little jealous at this one chichi that kept sitting in her lap...not that I want to sit in her lap or anything!

Momma did take me to meet my cousin Bailey who lives 10 houses from Granny. Seriously in the midday Loosiana heat, that was enough of a walk. We drove there a few times it was so hot. But I LOVED my cousin...he's so cool!!!  He let me play with his toys and we both try to "out pee" one another in the yard.

But the best part, was my Granny. She had spoiled me a bit here at Christmas but she spoiled me even more at her house. She was amazed that, now, I let her pet me! I've learned to trust the humans my Momma likes a bit! I even stayed alone with my Granny when my Mom had to run to the store and I didn't complain at all!

I really enjoyed my vacay but Momma says she hurts all over. She's moving mighty slow since we got back!

The First Cuddle of the New Year

I've been "out of the nook" with Macy since Granny left. Her affections for me have regressed to when I brought her home. No kisses, no cuddles. Creekhiker is NOT a happy momma! She's no longer sleeping in her bed at the foot of her sofa. No, she now favors the one across the room from me.

Macy has shown some favoritism for Mom's chair. She's never sat there before, but I frequently find her in it now. It dawned on me that this all started when Mom left. Since I brought Granny home in the car and then took her away in the car... Does Macy assume that will happen to her???

I've been trying to be patient, thinking this too shall pass. But I'm a lonely girl... I get more hugs from my dog than I do from people... I'm fine with that - as long as said dog is affectionate!

Then out of the blue yesterday morning, she decided I was O.K. again and justlikethat, I was back in the nook! I got a cuddle and kisses and she was all lovey dovey!

She still has her weird things... She can't be petted too vigorously. She can't feel "cornered" while being petted. She doesn't do close very well.

Today, I was on the floor, next to her sofa. I had found her napping there and took the opportunity to love her up a bit. Petting her softly, cooing to her about how pretty and sweet I thought she was, sent her out the back door in a matter of seconds!

And I saw myself in my dog. I don't do compliments. I'm certain the person must be mistaken. And while my self esteem issues are a whole 'nother Oprah, I remembered that phrase, "You don't get the dog you want. You get the one you need."

I guess we both have a lot to learn.

Waiting on Granny

Hello good pups and peeps of Blogville! Macy Blue here! 

I liked meeting my Granny. She petted me a little scary a few times and sent me running for my bed...I just don't trust peeps not to hurt me... But we worked it out. I know she loves me cause she was so generous with the vittels and the coffee. Even though I had to wait sometimes...

It's pretty nice having a Granny!

Last Christmas

I've been thinking a lot about last Christmases this week... I guess because the previous two were my very last with two of the dearest souls in my life.

I didn't realize that last Christmas would be Mabel's last. I didn't even take pictures of her opening the tennie ball and cookies I'm certain she got.  We had such a quiet and laid back Christmas...just the two of us. Mabel was clearly not into any toys any more but her inner labradork still loved "tennie balls."

The only photo I took anywhere near Christmas was this shot of Mabel and Sue greeting one another with a kiss the day after Christmas... Hank is in the background...his last Christmas too.

I was so relaxed and happy... I don't know what would have been different had I known.

The Christmas of 2012 was the last with my sister.  This is my sister's last Christmas tree. My brother in law and I struggled to get it up and get the ornaments just right to please my perfectionist sister. In the end, she got out of her sick bed in the middle of the night and rearranged everything to her liking just in time for Christmas Eve.

I didn't take pictures of my sister...she looked too frail and I might would have had to admit it was our last Christmas, even though some part of me certainly knew.

This Christmas, my 91 year old mom joined Macy and I for the holiday. Macy's first Christmas ever apparently... 

She clearly had no idea what gifts were...

Or what to do with them... 

I had to open it for her... Then, she was a happy girl! 

Mother brought swine flu with her...coughed everywhere and got me sick two days before surgery... Yes my second shoulder surgery date...and still no surgery! Macy just loved on us both.

We took a two plus hour hike on Christmas Day...Macy has spotted her Otto and her auntie RottRover here.

This Christmas was pretty nice... But I keep having that nagging feeling…like there something I should be paying attention to...just in case it's another last Christmas.

Her Life In Pictures: Twelve

Our twelfth year began in Baton Rouge, nursing Mabel Lou's granny back from hip replacement. Mabel hated the heat and never wanted to be outside. I had to force exercise upon her. But she adored her little cousin Bailey and her granny and uncle. She certainly made the best of five weeks away from home!  Here, she and Bailey are taking Granny for her daily walk. They would pace the long driveway with her, always staying close!

July was blessed and uneventful. Mabel and I were both overjoyed to be back home and in our own house and bed!  Mabel had issues getting in our tall bed after sleeping in Granny's low bed. One of her "creek uncles" made her a nice set of stairs!  Here she is posing with her Baby Lou...who took the trip with us to Louisana (naturally!). There are some funny posts about Baby and Mabel's adventures HERE.

Mabel was enjoying the new wider / longer fainting couch!

We were both sick girls in September. Me with a sinus infection and Mabel had giardia and a bladder infection! She was always such a love when she work up! I miss these mornings ...and reaching for her in the night.

We got some rain and cooler temps but our creek was mostly dry. But we had delicious hikes to the ponds with Otto Rotto. Mabel is stealing his stick here:

She got mad at me for putting a different blanket on my side of the bed and made me sleep on her side....

Even though she was getting older and complained (even more than usual), she remained a curious and playful girl til the very end.

Mabel and Baby Lou had a falling out. I don't know what happened. But they did make up... at 3 am!

I took Mabel to the lower Arroyo for her 12th birthday, hoping these trails would allow her a river exploration without a long mountain walk. I was right! She had a blast. I kept meaning to share the pics with you... but I had to do some editing because the aerospace company is in a lot of the pics and I refuse to print photos that may be a terrorist target... (I know, I'm silly!) Then, it just seemed silly to put them up. But this is my favorite from her special day:

She still adored finding a tennis ball on the trail:

And it's weird how the Universe gives you little premonitions. I wrote of my fears of losing her...just weeks before it happened! My girl at her beloved ponds:

And the last hike I took photos of... Mabel bossing Otto... three days before she passed. Note the placement of her forearms!

I'm certain she was fussing at him about something....She was bossy, domineering and The Queen Bitch of Everything to the very end!

Mabel hiked every day of her life, rain or shine, illness, fever, you name it...we hiked. I'm grateful for every single one.