It All Comes to a Grinding Halt

Well, I had expected life to come to grinding halt tomorrow...when I was supposed to have surgery on my torn labrum in my shoulder. Instead, it went into some kind of limbo halt on Friday.  Black Friday was an ocean day for us... a last chance to run and breathe and play before surgery and Christmas and company.

These photos of Macy Blue - bringing three running dogs and three trotting humans to a complete halt feel a lot like my life right now!  But sometimes, distractions happen!

 

Yes, you can be trotting along having fun - or frantically cleaning your artsy fartsy house before you won't be able to - when something distracts you. Or your doctor. 

 When that happens, there's nothing you can do but go with it! Good friends can't really help much. They have to stand back and let you do what you gotta do!

Even if it takes a while... 

A long while. Sometimes, you just have to wait... and wait. 

And maybe even wait some more... My doc has his reasons for cancelling and I understand. And we just couldn't reschedule over a holiday weekend...sigh.

I haven't been reading blogs...so sorry. Housecleaning is exhausting with one overworked good arm and one painfully decorative arm! And the time change still has me loopy...wanting bed at 7 pm and up at 3! I imagine we'll catch up after surgery...whenever that is!

Snack Time

Hey Momma, I'm certain it's snack time!

The Magical Orange Balls

I know I mentioned finding forty odd balls during our beach trip. That doesn't mean they all got the paws of approval from Miss Macy Blue and her best pal Otto Rotto! Oh no!

There were hard balls and baseballs (Are you kidding us?) There were soggy nerf balls and sponge balls (Ewwww!) There were soccer balls and volley balls (Too big!) There were tennis balls which all got played with...

But none can compare to the magical orange balls! There were two. The one you see with the lines on it was a plastic squeaker ball.

But there was one that they spent most of the beach outing with. Besides being orange, it was covered in tennis ball material and appeared to have once had a rope. It was about 4" in diameter with was great for Mr. Otto and Miss Big Jowls. And it squeaked!

Oh what joy it brought!

I just loved when Otto had it in his mouth and would look behind him to see if Macy was chasing him.

Macy took great delight in tearing it's skin off...

But alas, we lost it when a certain girl dropped it and we were several "blocks" away from it when she showed her distress.

I am now searching for the ONLY object I've ever seen Macy play with... Any thoughts???

Celebrating Her

I've now spent two of my sister's birthdays without her. It hasn't gotten any easier. I always touch base with my Mom and my brother-in-law and then I always try to do something that would make Patsy happy. Whether it's a good meal or a movie or just being outside, I find some moment that she would just love and I feel her with me.

My mother is always so sad on this day, so full of longing and tears. I listen, I cry with her but I know my sister would not approve. Oh, she'd be happy we miss her...but not about the sadness.

My brother-in-law always changes her flowers at her grave and often takes her a balloon on special occasions. Patsy loved balloons. Today, as has happened before, the balloon he got for her got away from him and quickly made its way to the heavens! We often say, she wanted her balloon right away! It makes us laugh.

My brother-in-law has a special lady and, as luck would have it, today is also her birthday. I love that! We all do. It gives him and Mom and me something to celebrate on this day that has been so special to us. It's hard to be sad when you want to be happy for someone you care about.

I changed my profile pic on Facebook to one of her. It helps knowing that good friends and family know why and they often chime in on how much they miss her too.

After my check-ins, Macy and I, Otto Rotto and the Rottrover were all off to the beach. We went to a different one this time as our friend Wizard couldn't make it. One that another of our hiking buddies knew of.  It was kind of impromptu, planned earlier in the week. Patsy adored the ocean...could stare at it for hours. I knew she would approve.

Macy loves to body surf and will often dive into the waves!

As magical things go, this beach was so special! It was the beach I see in my head. You know, the one without any people? In 50 years, I've never been to this beach...I thought it didn't exist...just some kind of fantasy! But it does!!! It was amazing! We walked over four miles and saw five people and five dogs. In all that walking, we only leashed up to avoid a dead seal!

It was magical for the dogs too! I am NOT exaggerating when I tell you we found around FORTY balls to play with!!

 

Our Blue Heaven

Patsy was on my mind... I had several beautiful shells and one stunning rock wash up at my feet.  It was such a blissful day and the perfect way to celebrate a special day!

Ocean Trips

I keep thinking I'll get a post up about our ocean trips every single time we go... and I never do!
The Rottrover kept telling me how much the ocean changed Otto Rotto and I can honestly say it's changed Macy Blue as well. 

Macy with "her boys," Otto and Wizard, on her first trip to the ocean.

I must admit, I was a bit afraid of taking her. She hates the pool in spite of several of her friends coming over to enjoy it this brutal summer. Could she / would she swim? And more importantly, how would a dog who had been ignored and abused react to the expectations of her staying with the pack? And coming when called?

The little girl dove right in like she had been an ocean dog all her life. I've since realized, she prefers to barge headlong into things she knows nothing about. Oceans, ponds, cactus or the hallway, she needs to be in front, figuring it out as she goes. Even if that means she struts along looking behind her for some indication on my face as to where she should be going! OY!



But with Otto and Wizard to show her the ropes, she was, for the most part, fine. Otto is teaching her to play. And Wizard reminds them both to be kind to smaller dogs in his own gentle way. He herds the herding dogs! I've also learned that Macy is a very social dog... she wants to meet every dog on the beach - whether they want to meet her or not!  So, she spent a lot of that first trip on her leash, longing:

Oh was she ever tired that first day!  I've got a whole series of beach hangover pictures!  But by our third trip, her three day hangover was down to one!  That tells me our daily walks, and good food are getting her in great shape! What a fine hiking buddy I'm going to have!

She was  a bit more relaxed and listened much better by her second trip, above and below.

And the ocean makes her so very happy:

These next few are from our most recent trip. I just love Wizard's hair flying:

 This trip, she listened and generally came when called! I was so proud of her! Macy chasing Otto:

My happy girl running toward - not away - from her pack:

After this last trip, I feel like I brought the wrong dog home. She looks like Macy and comes to that name but she's affectionate!  From the day after that trip on to this, The little blue girl comes up to me and demands pets and gives me generous kisses. I'm still only allowed 30 seconds of cuddling on the floor with her at night... but morning cuddles and bedtime cuddles have gotten longer.

It occurred to me that as of the date of this trip, Macy Blue had lived with me as long as she was in doggie jail. I think that maybe, she's starting to realize this new life is here to stay.