Another One Bites the Dust

It's Sunday, November 12, 2023. Already. It's amazing how fast life speeds by. Terry is outside smoking a cigar and spending his last day off relaxing. I'm puttering around the house, cleaning, taking care of fur babies, and writing this post, all while enjoying my last day off. We are both doing what makes us happy to enjoy our time. Yes, Terry does help clean around the house too and helps take care of fur babies, just in case anyone was thinking I am subservient. Ladies, for men who are like that, there is cast iron cookware. Takes care of an out of control partner and you can cook a great meal for one afterward. Cast iron cookware. There is no substitute.  

Mallory came over on Friday, so that meant one extra day off for me. I couldn't possibly finish a file before she arrived and besides, there were few to choose from since it was a holiday weekend. For those who do not know, I am a transcriptionist and closed captioner and Terry works with the Veteran's Administration to assist vets with rides to appointments. He stays busy through the week as well. Luckily, his week consists of Monday through Wednesday. He is a retired computer programmer and chose not to take on a full time position. Can't say as I blame him. 

I work from home, which does make taking care of four pets much easier. I choose my hours and how much time I want to work for the day. The fur babies need that. With a cat that tends to bore fairly easy and get into things when that stage is reached, another elderly feline, a 15-year-old chihuahua, and of course, Togo, our newest addition to the pack, we definitely need to create that time for them. 

Each of our fur babies do have some emotional baggage, as do humans. For instance, Jasper my chihuahua was abused by a nine year old boy before I owned him. From the young age of six weeks until he was two, this boy picked on him, hit him, kicked him, teased him and all that creates an animal's nightmarish life. Instead of the previous owner taking a look at her son's behavior and maybe correcting that, they chose to dump the dog and all of his emotional baggage off on another person. Although they kept another small dog they had recently picked up. That's the baby I think about often. 

Our Togo, the husky, was dumped at the local shelter, Saving Grace. Terry saw him on the website and asked if we could go see him. Togo is five years old and also comes with some emotional baggage. He is a joy to have around with his quirky personality and gorgeous looks. He's a good dog. He is trained with hand signals, so we cannot get over the idea that someone spent all that time working with him, only to dump him at the age of five. Togo has only had one other owner. We try to give him all the love we can muster, to make him feel safe and secure and to know that we are his forever home. He will never be "dumped" again. 

Kit is two years old. Terry got him from Saving Grace. He is a gorgeous Birman kitty with beautiful ocean blue eyes. Kit is what I call our "trouble maker." He loves to run through the house and wreak havoc. Not all the time. Don't get me wrong. He is a good cat. I love him dearly. But the times he does get playful, God help the furniture and his sister, Bella. Kit loves to jump into the grocery bags, no matter where they're at. He has a thirst for everything and the curiosity sometimes gets him into trouble. Always having to poke around in the grocery bags to see what mom might have brought home for him. Standing against the lower cupboards to see what I'm cooking. There is never a dull moment with our perfect Kit. 

Then there is Bella. I have to admit, her grace and beautiful heart won me over. She won my heart when she stood on her hind legs and reached toward the sky with both paws, begging for me to pet her. I love that adorable little girl. Terry has a big space in his heart for her too, of course. She is a perfect baby. Doesn't get into things. Is quiet. Loves to have affection from her humans and actually sleeps with the two canine boys. They don't seem to be bothered as much by her. Jasper curls right up against her to take a nap. Bella found her forever home with Terry when he adopted her out of the San Diego shelter, before moving to Oregon. Great choice. 

But of course, pets take care and care equals time. I love taking care of our babies. It makes me happy. The last home I lived in, my daughter and I had five dogs, one cat, and a European starling bird named Toolie. They have all since passed on, besides Jasper and my daughter's dog, Chi. I loved having them around me. Life seemed full and complete. Every day was a fun day. Each of them were rescues and I wouldn't have traded a moment. 

We were there for them when they needed a place to land, far away from their previous abusive or abandonment situations and we were blessed to have them come into our lives, hearts, and home. Holding them while they crossed over due to old age was a privilege as well. Difficult to tell them goodbye, but at least we were able to be there to wish them a peaceful journey to the other side. I miss them dearly, every day, but am so grateful for the good times. 

With that being said, my point is that I am grateful that we can work it out to be home most of the time for the babies. They are our kids as far as we are concerned. Another great trait about my sweet man is that he adores animals like I do. Our first actual date was taking a ride on horseback along the beach in Bandon. For me, it was the perfect date. 

My horse was named Texas and Terry's cute girl was Sabrina. Lovely horses! The adventure was a joy and I couldn't believe that was Terry's choice for a date with me. It was amazing. I knew from that moment that life with him would be beautiful and I was right. 

We have nothing at all planned for the day. Absolutely nothing. Once again, we procrastinate on the bookshelf assembly idea. Hey, we're getting good at this. 

Alas, sweet shelving, we have brought you to your final resting place apparently. It's a small shelf. One that probably won't take long to assemble should we choose to accept the challenge. We even have the destructions. We just don't get around to it when the weekend rolls around. It's that one project that tends to lose importance when taking care of household chores, pets, the outside of the property, and all other tasks needing to be completed on days off. Do you all have that one task you haven't completed in a while? Or is it just in the Macrae household? 

Well, that's about it for this weekend. I have taken my sourdough starter out of the fridge to get it going for yet another delicious baked goodie. I'm going to try my hand at another sandwich loaf which is supposed to be super soft. We'll see. The last recipe didn't seem to have that soft crust that Terry would love to see. I've been looking for one that is really soft. I guess we'll find out this coming week! It has coconut oil and honey in it as well, which does add moisture, so fingers crossed. 

We do hope everyone has an amazing week. Until our next post, please take care. We wish the best for you and yours.