What do you do for your wonderful mother in law’s birthday cake when she is a pie person?
You search Pinterest until you find a pie recipe fitting for the occasion. Then you drive to the farm market to get the good peaches before going to the grocery store to get the other ingredients needed. You make the peach custard pie with crumb topping.
You add a decorative rose made of pie dough.
And then the hardest part, you make sure not to eat any before her big day!
When daughters grow up and become adults, they become your friend and life cheerleader.
I missed my daughter.
She came to visit yesterday.
She went home.
Now I miss her again.
I hope you have such a daughter.
BTW, the beautiful flower arrangement above is courtesy of my daughter. The flowers are from her garden and she wanted to share them with us.
Think Dog Rescues provide only one service, to re-home a dog and move on to the next? Think again.
Our Rescue adopted this dog out a couple years ago. Her owner contacted us several months back, thinking he would have to turn her back in. The owner was in poor health and scheduled to undergo a major organ transplant. See where this is going yet?
One of our members has been fostering this cutie in her home until the owner is well enough that this dog can return home. Just another instance of why I often say that Dog Rescue is about helping people as well as dogs. Not too mention, Rescue folks are some of the best people I know.
Oh, by the way, this little girl will be returning home within the next few weeks!
We may not live near the ocean but we are fortunate to have a Great Lake just over an hour away. So, we spent Monday on the beach. The weather was perfect. Warm with just enough cloud cover to keep us from roasting. And let me tell you, that SPF 50 sunscreen is good stuff! Previous years I used SPF 30 and was burnt for days afterwards. With the 50, I was just nicely tanned.
The day is also special because my husband and I spend it with our grandchildren and our daughter. We have traditions to go with our annual day at Lake Erie. Most revolve around food, especially the ice cream before we hit the road to head back home. I got the Lake Erie Salt Mine again this year-dark chocolate ice cream with swirls of salty caramel and caramel truffles. Yum!
I’m already looking forward to next year!
This is a tribute to Maizie who we fostered for Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue. She arrived in 2013 and passed on to the Rainbow Bridge about a year and a half later, while laying on a dog bed in our living room, with me by her side. She now lies buried in our woods with our others who have passed.
The letter below is one I wrote in 2013, right after we discovered she had kidney failure. We are blessed to have known her. She enriched our lives.
Dear Person Who Abandoned this Senior Dog,
Maizie was found by the pound and when they sent you a letter to come and get her, you did not come. She spent 30 days in the pound kennel waiting for you before the efforts of two rescue groups brought her to our house as a foster dog. Today we discovered that she has kidney failure and will live out the rest of her life with us however long that may be. What lesson am I supposed to learn from this? Perhaps to have compassion for you and not be judgemental? I will work on that.
I know that I have been blessed to know this dog who is sweet, loving, and grateful for every bit of attention. She smiles at us constantly and is one of the happiest dogs I have seen. Occassionally she will try to play and has a small, joyful hop to her step. Our lives have been enriched by knowing this kind dog.
My dreams will be sweeter knowing that I have helped and loved this girl. May you be able to sleep at all.
Many of our best days are spent here at home, but not all of them. Today, hubby and I went to the zoo with our dear sister in law and two nieces. It was a stellar day!
The chance to hang out and bond with Niece 1 (The Child of Questions And Amazement) and share the experiences of seeing all the animals was priceless. And Uncle (aka hubby) and Niece 1 even got to ride a camel together!
And what a blessing to share a zoo day with Niece 2 (The Child of Boundless Joy). She is happy to share everything we see and do together. Every new encounter was met with a smile. (She, would refer to herself as Miss I Talk a Lot). That was her catch phrase for the day.
After a hot and satisfying day, we partook of our zoo tradition. We all had ice cream together to cool off and round out the adventure.
Such days as these help to make our lives complete
Life is better with a belly rub!
-Quote by Baxter
Sanctuary Acres 