A Great Big Old THANK YOU!

I'm sitting here sobbing, just marveling at the kindness of others. Of people I don't even know! That a silly little blog that got taken over by a rotten dog with a huge personality could touch people on the other side of the planet... it's all too much to take in!

 

Mabel Lou at the levy on 3.14.14

 That so many people would come together and donate wonderful things to be auctioned off to help me pay off Mabel's final surgery is unbelievable to me. That people would come together and bid and even pay money to see Easy in a mankini or buy Molly's bra boggles my mind!

I can't begin to thank everyone who donated or made a purchase from the auction! Your kindness and generosity have touched me so deeply! And Stella was a master at keeping it all organized. And Easy and Misaki helped her a lot! Hugs and scritches to all of you!!! 

I received a nice fat check from the auction that will allow me to pay off most of the ginormous vet bill and allow me to make reasonable payments for the balance. For the first time since my girl passed away, I can breathe a little!

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!

Thank you all SO MUCH! From the heart of my bottom, THANK YOU! 

Her Life in Pictures: Eleven

I adore this first photo of Mabel and Bart (in the distance). When I think of being at the creek with my girl, I think of lying back on the levy with her nearby and how, when she was done, or wanting a pet or wanting to sunset watch with me, she would come and sit beside me. Or on me! So many of my favorite sunsets have her big old head in them!

We got our fences redone thanks to a wind storm and insurance...so our pal Chloe came over to hang out with her dad while he rebuilt them. Lots of fun times on the porch, in the yard and ice cream treats for the girls:

Mabel's beloved Baby went missing for a bit that summer... there was much happiness when she was found. (This photo made me cry.... I still sleep with Baby Lou! )

I took this photo for a contest for Frosty Paws we were hosting. A rare shot of her looking in the lens!! One my all time faves. Later I would win a free 9x12 print from a printing company and this one is in my bedroom so I wake looking in those eyes!

I haven't written a lot about Macy yet...but she is the MOST agreeable dog ever. I'm not accustomed to my dog being OK with everything I do. I'm accustomed to having to argue my point! Mabel had a freaking opinion about everything! And never hesitated to let me know her views! She was pissed at me here. Now that I don't have a dog that's pissed off at me several times a day, I find it so funny!

 

Another all time fave pic is from the priceless look on Mabel's face in this next shot. She was in the airplane with me when she suddenly realized this "car" was no longer on the ground and was in fact over the ocean! The look of wonder just makes me giggle!

 

Mabel still loved her tennie balls!

And adored her "cuddle time!" I could  work a 16 hour day and Mabel simply would NOT go to bed until we cuddled. I miss that SO MUCH!

Mabel's manipulation of humans did not stop with me. She refused to save this poor drowning stick until her auntie Rottrover was off her phone. She's making sure Auntie is paying attention here:

Hilarity ensued when Baby Lou fell off the bed.

And Summer started early...90 before 9 in the morning in May. Glad she had some water!

Her Life in Pictures: Ten

As our gotcha date rolled around in June 2011, Mabel was obsessed with the ducks!

Luckily, they moved on to Twinkie's house and our life got better fast! Except, Mabel Lou and I were fighting over the bed.... which led to one of our funniest posts!

Bart and Mabel were so enjoying their hikes together:

What wonderful times they had together:

It was an endless summer of fun:

Bart got his first taste of ice cream as Ms. Lou showed him what to do:

We also explored the upper area of the Arroyo a last time... the trails were still too damaged from the fire and the climb in and out was getting too much for the girl. The fence to this pond had never been opened before and Mabel had the best swim!

 

Mabel's newest nickname officially became Queen Bitch of Everything as she stole the party hats at Chloe's birthday party. This was a hilarious six part (!) post from October all titled Chloe's Pawty.

In November, working in the shop, I took one of my all time favorite pics of Mabel... the infamous "BaconHead" photo. I dropped in a pink background and it hangs over my sofa. This is the original:

The old jeepster needed a new tranny and Mabel, as always, was so happy when her Bessie got home! Whenever Bessie was sick and prevented us from creeking every single day, Mabel was simply thrilled to see her. She would often kiss the car!

For her 10th birthday, Mabel and Bart got a trip to In N Out Burger. She was SO happy!

The old girl still loved to run and play with her pals:

And while the ducks came back in the spring of 2012, Mabel had resigned herself to keeping her distance while keeping watch.

Overall, Ten was a pretty sweet year:

Her Life in Pictures :Nine

Bart was now our constant hiking buddy. He and Mabel Lou were two of a kind. While he wasn't as social as Ms. Lou, he took comfort in knowing the Queen Bitch of Everything had his back. She could pick on him, but everyone else better think twice about it!

Mabel was still full of energy and I was forever on her six.

We posted pics are ALL of Mabel Lou's beds as part of her Mango Minster entry. And Mabel's reputation as a kitty killer grew!

And while I was not thrilled, it was hard not to forgive her.

 We had a cold winter. It snowed in the mountains and the river was icy.

 

 Our pack grew... Chloe the dobie moved to town. 

And we had big pack hikes on Friday nights.

Mabel was just full of glee so often! Her body language in this next picture is pure happy!

 

Always Happy:

 

Pedrito made his debut in our extended pack. 

 My Valentine Beauty:

And this was the spring that Mabel became a big sister to a bunch of ducks:

Looking at all these pictures of our beautiful creek and our wonderful friends, I feel so blessed.

I'm a Very Good Driver

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind

This is not exactly what I had in mind when I asked you cuddle on the sofa Macy Blue!

Last Day of the Auction

Welp, my pal Mollie has really been a busy girl!! Her wonderful auction ends today (Wednesday) but keep in mind, Mollie is in the UK so...that's good news for all you night owls in the USA!

I'm so touched by so many that would come together for my benefit!  And...rumor has it, it's "someone's" birthday over at Mollie's so leave some extra special wishes there!

And THANK YOU ALL for donating and buying goodies!!!

Hiding

Macy and Otto on the porch yesterday. Otto T. Rotto is hiding a ball in the porch sofa from Macy. Macy is hiding from the camera. These two crack me up!! Macy just adores him and he's so sweet with her, even when he shouldn't be...she bites his ankles and tail nub to discourage him from going in the pool!

Macy's integration into our larger pack is moving along. She's met all the boys except Hank. As he's so sick, that's not likely to happen. She met Ruby yesterday...we took them out for cheeseburgers and they were fast friends and sharing food like they've been pals for years!

Only Chloe and Sue are the only ones left to meet and then we'll try for Otto's pals, Roxy and Riley. The girl should be creek ready in a few more weeks.

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In one step forward, one step back department...UGH... everything I made in my sale, has to go toward my plumbing bill (my wonderful plumber doesn't take plastic!) from a sudden leak in the back yard last week! So I'm NO closer to paying off Mabel's vet bill. ARGH! Just feeling hopeless...

But Mollie's auction has been extended. There some lovely things up for grabs!

See Beautiful Flower on Friday

I take photos for See Beautiful and Friday Flowers all the time and have yet to post! But today is so special!

First, would you believe the hibiscus above is literally as big as my HEAD??? It is HUGE!!

Dory hosts Flower Friday	Sugar hosts See Beautiful

Today’s hop is dedicated to Goose and his mom Michelle. Goose recently had a medical scare that cost a lot of money. For every blog participant that joins Sugar today she is donating to Goose’s Health fund.

I have to add I am Seeing Beautiful Everywhere! I've had some wonderful sales in my trunk show to raise money fro Mabel's Vet bill...ending tonight. And Mollie's auction for us has touched me so deeply! So many people have donated items and purchases something! My heart is so full!

A Lot of Help from My Friends!

Wow... you just never know when you touch someone's life... how having a silly dog blog about the antics of one very bossy rottenweiler might impact someone else! Who knew what Mabel Lou would bring into my life?? Aside from the real life Creekerati friends, she's brought all of you! I'm feeling very loved to today!

I was very touched when Mollie and Alfie's mom suggested hosting an auction to help me pay off Mabel's final vet bill...but couldn't really figure out how it may manifest itself...but boy has it EVER! Bloggers from all over have donated and the auction is running NOW

And Walter and Millie's mom did the LOVELIEST write up in addition to donating to the auction! (I should have her write for my fan page!)

Wine Stopper in my trunk show

I haven't even mentioned it here but, the venue where I was selling jewelry in person burned down 3 days after Mabel Lou passed!

It's been such a rough month... This was one of Mabel's favorite places to go with her pal Ruby! They had the best bacon and I would get an order and share most of it with the dogs.  It just all feels like SO much loss... in the past few months, we've lost three from our extended hiking pack, Mabel, the bakery and our buddy Hank has cancer and is not eating.

But I have to come out of my grief and deal with my bills! And, thanks to my friends, I've been on fire! Realizing I would not need my jewelry stash for about a year, I got it all out and created a trunk show on Facebook!

I've got several shopping categories: bracelets / bracelet beads, necklaces, earrings, bar ware, beads and orphan beads and weirdos!

I'm told that even if you are not on Facebook, you can still view the auction. Feel free to bid by email or if that's not up your alley, I do have a website with about 100 items.

Just be sure to read the MAIN post on the auction page for navigation tips. Very helpful if you aren't sure about maneuvering Facebook.

In addition, if you are on Facebook, I'm giving away prizes!!! There is a $40 gift cert drawing. for sharing the main post about the auctions. And, that's not all!!! I'm having a $50 gift cert drawing for first prize and earrings for 2nd place for everyone who likes, comments or shares any item from the auction! Likes get one entry, comments get two and shares get three. (Guess what I'm spending Saturday counting???)

 ***BEADS*** are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/290028454505397/permalink/290258861149023/

***NECKLACES*** are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/290028454505397/permalink/290266157814960/

***EARRINGS*** are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/290028454505397/permalink/290281161146793/

***BRACELETS***are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/290028454505397/permalink/290285367813039/

***ORPHAN BEADS AND WEIRDOS*** are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/290028454505397/permalink/290289374479305/

***GIFTS*** are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/290028454505397/permalink/290494811125428/

 Thank you all for looking!

So I'm clearly not in this alone. and I'm feeling very blessed. I can't thank everyone enough for the their help and support!!