Our Sudden Loss

My dear cousin Rocco was helped to the Rainbow Bridge today.   He was just a pup for heaven's sake, only 7 years old.

I am so sorry I snubbed him and teased him and bared my teeth at him. in later meetings, I tolerated him because he was really very gentle and sweet.  I last saw him looking well in Calistoga on Thanksgiving Day.

They showed great compassion in allowing him to go -- he was in pain and couldn't come home from the veterinary hospital -- they recognized that it would not be a good life for him unless he could be home to run and play.

Mama DiDi came home crying -- she had  been there too.  Auntie Tracey was there as well.  She was the one who met Rocco first and saved him from a lonely life with no companions.

But mostly I felt sad for Uncle Patrick who could not be with Rocco because of his leg injury and for Auntie Teresa whose love for Rocco helped her make the right decision.

Uncle Patrick

     Poor Uncle Patrick can't catch a break.  Actually that is a very poor choice of words -- he caught a very bad break.  He was completely cleared by his cardiologist to resume his normal life.  On Saturday, December 4th, he fell from his motorcycle on a practice course and broke his left leg very badly.

     Surgery on December 7th to drill holes in the leg to bring the broken bones together.  I am not completely clear on this and when I try to visualize the problem, I feel weak and faint.  So, he is wearing some kind of big traction thing on his leg.  More surgery to come after Christmas when they repair the break with some more metal.

     Poor Uncle Patrick.  I have my paws together for him that he was not in too much pain through all this.

California Casualty

This is not a commentary on anything in our great state; it's our insurance company.  Nice people that they are, they called to hire Mama DiDi to do a small video for a new advertising campaign.  She dressed appropriately in royal blue and set off for the studio.

If I had been able to go, they would not have had to put makeup on me or "do" my hair.  I would have looked fabulous.  Alas, I cannot speak from experience and California Casualty is not MY insurance company.

Mama DiDi could barely speak as it was -- the end of her cold has given her a croaky kind of voice.  When she got home she said she was made up within an inch of her life and her little short hair was teased and smoothed into obedience.

She tried very hard to give them some usable sound bite and finally was successful (they told her) with, "We chose California Casualty because of the price, but we have stayed for the fabulous service."  Or something like that.  If you look at my blog about the kitchen flood this past February, you will see that California Casualty was wonderful to us.  So Mama DiDi was completely sincere.

Thanksgiving Day in Calistoga

Isn't this pretty?  This is a tiny part of the view from my Auntie Donna and Uncle Walter's house in the beautiful Napa Valley town of Calistoga.  I heard that the name of the town came from a man who proposed to develop tourism because of the wonderful spas, hot springs and healthy waters.  He supposedly said it would be the "Calistoga of Sarafornia".

Mama DiDi's mama sits in a lovely old, old rattan chair she gave to Auntie Donna and enjoys the view in the afternoon.

Here I am studiously ignoring my cousin Rocco as we sniff, sniff together in the front yard.  (I love him really.)

We stayed overnight in Calistoga town and had to return to Sacramento early because Mama DiDi had a bad cold.

Almost Thanksgiving

My dears, it's been lovely here but it has finally turned cold and LOOK!!  See what I am wearing to keep warm.  It is better than staying in bed.  

                                                           This is from SewGramy

Hand-knit by Miss Yvonne Tolley

 

 

Late Hallowe'en

My dear Uncle Patrick had another heart attack on Halloween day.  He was watching motorcycle races when it happened and they got an ambulance to him right away.  That night he had a new stent put in and he was out of the hospital in a couple of days.  What a miracle of modern medicine.  

He and Auntie Teresa love to greet their Trick or Treaters but that night their house was very dark and poor Cousin Rocco had to spend it alone. Sniff.

Last we saw, Uncle Pat looked marvelous! We'll see more of him on Thanksgiving when we go to Auntie Donna's house in Calistoga for Thanksgiving Day. 

Meanwhile, I was home most of the time patrolling the back yard and showing off my neck scarf.  This was made especially for me by my friend Pamela of Elegant Bow-tique.  http://elegantbow-tique.com/

Cast a Giant Shadow

They tell me my shadow is bigger than I am.  What do you think?  I truly love our daily walks and look forward to them.  You might notice I am not wearing a sweater.  Mom figured since I'd been out in the backyard all morning, I didn't need one.  Good thinking.

A Pair of Veterans of World War II

These men are part of The Greatest Generation.  They served on a patrol frigate, the USS Rockford and were both sonar operators.  The one on the right is my own Daddy Moose!  He and Mr. Townsend had lunch together yesterday to hear a speaker.  Today they got together again for lunch and to share photos.

GROOMED

Look at me.  Don't I look beautiful??  Of course, I always look beautiful, but now I look -- um -- beautiful-er. 

Fall Gifts

     My dears, here I am in my Thanksgiving dress, gift of YTNR, posed on our beautiful quilt from Cousins Sharon and Oliver.  (Oliver took first place in the quilt show with this beauty.)  I thought the quilt and I looked quite fetching together.

     We are so THANKFUL for gifts of dresses and quilts.

Yorkie Times Newsletter

My dears, Sausha Angel here. It was just heavenly to be mentioned in the Yorkie Times. In point of fact, if I may say so myself, I was prominently mentioned. In point of fact, I was displayed above the redoubtable Mary-Margaret O'Brien's column. This is a true honor for Yours Truly. Please read the whole thing and enjoy. I do hope this link works for all of you.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Yorkie-Times---Our-Labor-of-Love.html?soid=1102701997177&aid=YHdIHhH4Sf4

Which Way Now?

I enjoy this park very very much. It was recently "improved" and the paths were changed a little.

This is what all the paths used to look like.  That 's my friend Misty Lou the Silky terrier in the background.

Life is GOOD

We are really, really back to normal, my dears. Daddy Moose went off yesterday to the clinic to "donate" some blood. I waited for him from a nice perch on the back of our living room sofa. Hahaha, Mama DiDi was so surprised, and if she hadn't taken this picture Daddy Moose wouldn't have believed it.

I have lost a little weight actually. It wasn't much of a leap.

You would have been proud of me a few weeks ago, fans. We had a visitor stop to chat -- I believe his name was Pogo. He looked right at me (he's nearsighted though) and said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."  (He must have seen his reflection in my big eyes.)

Catch Up ... Maybe

My dear fans,

This is how I spent most of my days while nothing was going right. When my schedule is rearranged, I am Not Happy. Seriously.

My schedule is back to normal now. And I am Much Happier!

I will tell all, simply all, later, my dears.

Your servant,
Sausha Angel

July Already

My mood is a little better now that summer is here, although I am just getting over that awful Independence Day holiday. The holiday is fine but the firecrackers and rocket whistles that go on for days just terrify me. Mama DiDi holds me until I'm calm even if it's half the night.

But enough about me. I last told you that Scarlett Lamanteer went to the Rainbow Bridge. ON THE VERY SAME DAY, our dear seamstress Yvonne Tolley lost her little Mollie. As if that weren't enough sorrow, Rhett Lamanteer died only a few weeks after Scarlett. And even later, Yvonne lost her Maimee and Daisy both. They went to the Rainbow Bridge together. It was terrible to lose so many, and I stayed in bed most of the time.

Around the house, it was close to the end of March before the workers had finished repairing and painting the walls, installing vinyl and then carpeting everything (except MY bedroom -- what's up with that!).

My skin brother Karl came to visit and a good thing: on the evening of Friday, March 26th, Mama DiDi had to call 911 for Daddy Moose. I hid outside when the big firemen came into the house and the bedroom. Before she left for the hospital, Mama DiDi found me and carried me back into the warm house and told me to stay there, which I did.

In the hospital, after tests, xrays and an MRI or something like that, they decided he had a low intestinal obstruction. Dr. Young sharpened his scalpel and told Mama DiDi that he would operate on Sunday. But -- surprise -- sometime on Saturday, the obstruction passed on its own along with the bad pains. At first all I knew was that Mama DiDi was gone most of the time.

Daddy Moose came home late on Wednesday, March 31st. We all got a good night's sleep. My Auntie Donna came on Friday to cook for us -- making delicious food that would last a long time. Mama DiDi froze the macaroni and cheese for later. The whole thing smelled so good, I tried to wheedle some of it but with no luck at all.

Then came the Home Health people -- Saturday, Nurse Gina; Monday Nurse Tracey (we remember her from a year ago); on Wed. they went to see the primary doctor; on Thurs., they saw a specialist. Then on Friday it was MY turn. I had dental surgery. Home Nurse Tracey came for several weeks and then it was quiet again. At Last.

And so, my dear fans, that is why I haven't kept up with my Blog. I would like to do better, but I would also like to have happy times to report. We shall see about that.

For Scarlett

When all tears are shed, we will face life again. But not today.
I think that is how Scarlett's family must feel.

The New Year

Many changes have come in the first weeks of 2010. My Christmas pictures didn't get posted, sniff.

We had a flood in our kitchen which resulted in a lot of strangers in the house for the past six weeks and a lot of banging noises which I detest.

A dear friend of Mama DiDi lost her very young little girl. The Diva Scarlett O'Hara went to the Rainbow Bridge after a horribly brief illness. She was so beautiful and modeled and approved all her mom's wonderful cuddle beds (I have two of them myself). Her brothers Rhett and Hashi, boyfriend of Mary-Margaret O'Brien incidentally, are just lost without her.

I will write more about our house and perhaps even post my Christmas pictures at some inappropriate time but first I will try to write about Scarlett. Stay tuned, my fans.