This evening was nursing home night for me and the dogs. It didn’t take Shelby long to ask for a belly rub.
Nikki spent part of the time in a chair between two residents. That way two of them can pet her at the same time.
Another resident came and we gave her the chair, so Nikki moved to a lap and was very happy.
I’m never sure who has a better time, me, the dogs, or the people we visit.
This evening is my last night of free yoga. I have been attending these sessions at the local library and they are so much fun. Every Monday evening for the month of January the classes were offered.
It has been a great opportunity to hang out with new people as well as sharing the experience with someone who was a coworker before I retired and remains a friend. I have found yoga to be a time of relaxation, peace, and meditation, as well as exercise.
I always knew that stretching was good for you, but I never realized just how good. My knee that I hurt while hiking last spring, barely hurts at all now. The injury has caused me pain all these months and with just a few weeks of yoga, I rarely notice any pain in my knee.
At the last class they were collecting signatures to ask that the library continue the class. I sincerely hope that they do. It is a wonderful experience. People with different physical capabilities are all at home in the same room. I find it fascinating that there are exercises that I can do, but the person next to me cannot do. A few movements later, I cannot hold the pose, but that same person next to me can do it just fine. We all have different abilities.
I also like the names of the poses. Visualizing them helps me to do the pose more accurately. When I see an actual dog doing “downward dog”, I am able to do downward or upward dog better.
With any luck, the library will extend the free yoga sessions. They have been popular. Most sessions there is barely enough floor space! If not, I already have Yoga On the Courthouse Lawn marked on my schedule for summer.
I found a free yoga class that meets for an hour every Monday for the month of January. That’s a deal I can’t pass up so I adjusted my schedule accordingly. I love yoga.
It’s a good workout and can accommodate everyone’s level of ability. It’s really cool how I notice that I can do some things that someone near me can’t do. And there are things that they can do that I can’t. Everyone’s abilities are unique.
I am taking this class with a friend. I feel good about the fact that I am finally one of those people who does a workout as a social activity, rather than just meeting my friend and going out to consume large amounts of calories, although that can be fun too. It is fun to hang out with someone who gets me. The instructor told us to imagine our leg was a log as we held it. My friend and I chuckled.
Me: Oh, no it’s the log lady!
Friend: My log has something to tell you.
Laughter ensues.
Fans of the Twin Peaks series will understand this reference. I never watched Twin Peaks until last year. I don’t know why I waited so long. I recommend it.
I also recommend yoga. It is satisfying to the muscles and organs, as well as the soul.
Namaste.
And so it begins…
We have many daffodils, and soon narcissis too. This is just a small fraction of the daffodils we have blooming today and they are just getting started. Many more to come.
This lady vase is special. She was given to me by a friend and former co-worker. The vase belonged to her parents and she chose to share it with me! I reserve the Lady Vase mostly for spring flowers which are special after a long winter. I keep the vase up on our living room mantel so it is safe.
This is why. Kitties love biting and batting flowers around. And I cannot be around 24 hours a day. So up out of harm’s way she goes.
May you have spring flowers to enjoy and friends to share them with!
It was a busy week for the dogs and me. One benefit of having so many dogs is there is one for every occasion. On Monday Nikki, Shelby, Cassius and I went to visit our resident friends at a local nursing home. This is the pups posing in front of the facility’s festively decorated fireplace
Cassius wants to stay close to me so this is the best picture I have of him from that evening. We always have a good time when we go there.
Two day’s later I took the same group of dogs to a meet and greet with some Kent State students.
This was to provide a de-stressing session for the students and to promote our Sheltie Rescue group. I know Cassius is a greyhound, not a sheltie but he likes to support his sheltie friends. And ride in the car. Sometimes I take Baxter but this week I took Cassius along and we enjoyed meeting other doggy friends there too.
This morning my husband and I took four dogs for a walk on the Hike and Bike trail. Nikki stayed home and rested her 12 year old bones but Shelby, Cassius, Zekie, and Baxter all went.
I think we wore them out because this is what we saw not too long after we got home. Baxter did find the energy to go out and catch the frisbee until it started to rain.
A life with dogs is a good life.
It’s always good to catch up with old friends. This is a picture of an old friend. Sky (formerly known as Skylar) spent the past week with us while his humans were away. He was our foster dog for a number of months about three years ago. Fortunately, his humans are also friends of ours so he gets to stay with us every once in a while.
Sky got to spend some time with us on the patio on the one nice day we had. This was a treat because it wasn’t totally fenced in back when he lived with us.
At first he just watched everyone else play. See him peeking from behind the plant?
But then he remembered how things work around here and started to join in.
By the end of the afternoon, Sky was tired and ready for a rest.
He is back home with his own family now but it sure was nice to spend some time with him.
To you my friend. I’ll hold you in my heart until we meet again in the wild blue yonder.
I miss finishing each other’s sentences with the exact right thing. I miss laughing with you until I double over. I miss the way that you encouraged me to do things.
With you I learned that I could:
You also taught me that no matter what happens there is some good to be found. And that when times are rough, they will be good again.
You made my life better by being the bright spot that you were to so many. I miss you but a little bit of you goes wherever I go.
It’s been a red letter day! I spent most of it working as a team with Shelby and Nikki. And I was blessed today for many reasons.
First we conducted therapy dog testing at All Breed Training Club of Akron. They are kind enough to allow me to use the building and they have most of the equipment that I use so I don’t have to load up the car with much. There are now several more dogs eligible to visit nursing homes, hospitals, etc. ! If you’re wondering how Shelby and Nikki help me with this, they are my assistants to check the testees for reaction to a neutral dog. They work as the neutral dog.
Ways I was blessed during this event:
Then after the test I got to have lunch with my friend Erin who drove an hour and a half to have her dogs tested as a team. I first met Erin about two years ago when I tested her first therapy dog. We connected on Facebook and over time have discovered that we have more and more in common. We had such a good time talking about dogs and connecting!
Then Shelby, Nikki, and I came home for a while where they got to spend some time outside with our other dogs and bark at their brother Baxter while he chased the frisbee.
Then on to more therapy work! I recently met someone at work who’s parents live about a half mile down the road from me. The father is not able to get around like he once was and could really use a visit from a sheltie, I was told. Shelby and Nikki to the rescue! We walked down the road for a visit and now have even more friends.
I was so proud of Nikki. She sat on this gentleman’s lap for 45 minutes and I do believe she made his day.
Blessings from this encounter:
Life is good. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings and what opportunities I have to spread happiness.
Nikki, Shelby and I visit our friends at the nursing home twice every month. We love them! How could you not?
Last evening when we arrived, Bernice said to me “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been waiting for you all day!” We are listed on the monthly activity calendar as Pet Therapy on the second and fourth Mondays of every month. Bob, Andy, Norma, George, Max, Helen, and an ever changing assortment of others sit and visit with us for an hour.
Bernice then went on to tell me that she told the servers at supper that she needed her ice cream now! They commented that she wasn’t done with her meal yet. She said it didn’t matter, she needed her ice cream because the dogs were coming and she didn’t want to be late! Bernice said “I pushed that food aside and ate my ice cream and got out here to wait for you.” She ate the best, most important part. A woman after my own heart.
We meet in a main area where people congregate so that we can visit with a number of people. Nikki likes to stay on the couch unless I put her on someone’s lap. No touching the floor for that girl. She sits in the middle so the first people to make it to the ends of the couch get to spend lots of time with Nikki.
Shelby is more a working kind of girl. She likes to keep making the rounds and visiting new arrivals and passers by. If someone goes by without petting her, she tries to follow them down the hall. She knows her job and is determined to do it.
So although we are visiting with the group, Bernice tells everyone that goes by “this is my dog Nikki. And that one over there,Shelby, is my dog too.” Sometimes I take the leash and make sure everyone gets a chance to pet the dogs. This makes Bernice say, in a pitiful voice, “but I want to hold her”. Still, we try to play fair and take turns.
All the residents thank me for coming every time we visit. And Bernice tells me over and over how happy she is that we come to visit. I think I’m making a real impression. Bernice asked me what my name was last night! That is quite a rarity. I am just the dogs’ chauffeur most of the time.
At the end of our visit, I ask Nikki if she is hungry and wanting her food. Her ears go up, she deigns to jump on the floor, to everyone’s amusement, and we say our goodbyes. Two more weeks and we do it all again. I can’t wait!
This is Lacey of The Silvery Paws. She was dubbed with this name by one of my daughter’s friends from high school . The name fit her well. Lacey was given to me, at my request, by my sister-in-law and friend. I have had Lacey for about 16 years now.
We always thought that Lacey wasn’t the world’s smartest cat, although maybe we were wrong. She did have a way of always getting what she wanted . She was the one who let us know if the food bowl or the water bowl were empty. And kept letting us know until they were full.
It didn’t matter if she wasn’t the world’s smartest cat because she was the world’s nicest cat. She loved everyone. Dogs, other cats, people . Above is a photo of her when she was only a couple of years old. She was hanging out with our greyhound Merlin, who joined our clan when he ran by our house one day as a stray.
Dogs were admittedly her favorite. Here she snoozes with our dog Baxter, who was dumped in our yard as a pup. See a pattern here?
But her very favorite were the foster dogs. She seemed to sense that they needed the extra comfort and affection. And here she is sleeping under the Christmas tree with our foster dog Maizie a few years ago. Lacey dearly loved Maizie. Even more than all the others. Lacey could be found sleeping by Maizie ‘ s side no matter where she was. She would snuggle right up next to her.
Maizie died a couple years ago. She was in renal failure when she was pulled from the shelter. So she lived her last 18 months here with us. I’m sure Lacey was grateful for this.
Lacey died this morning. She gave the good fight but after battling cancer and infection for a year and a half, her time had come. I buried her earlier today with Maizie ‘ s ashes. It seems fitting that they are together again.
Sanctuary Acres 