A new President

We are about to embark upon a new time in the life of America. We are ONE people let's please come together and work together as one people for the good of our country. The time has come, whether you are Democrate or Republican, the time has come for all of us to work together for the entire country. Today was an historic day for us all.

Come on Jake, this is how you swim. Don't be a whimp!!!!

More pictures of Bubba.

We said farewell to our Bubba dog this morning. My heart is so very sad. He was fourteen years old; that would be over 80 in human years. This morning, after he came back inside, he ate a few bites of food and layed down by his food plate. I went back into the living room and sat down to finish my coffee. Later, I heard him "scream" out. I went back into the kitchen and he was laying out on the floor gasping for breath. We called the vet and made an appointment to take him in. I knew what we had to do. We took him in and Dr. Walker was so wonderful. He tried to make it as easy as he possibly could. They put a catheter in so that the Dr. would not have to stick him so many times to find a vein. The tech brought Bubba back to me and I held him for a while. Dr. Walker came in and said, "You can just continue to hold him," as he gave him the injections. In a few seconds Bubba was gone. Dr. Walker walked me out and said "Mrs. Grimes I am so sorry." I looked at him and he was crying.
Bubba was a darling companion and a royal pain in the ass all at the same time. When he was out front, he went the direction his nose was pointed with little regard to whether he knew the way back home.
Once, he decided to travel and he was lost for two nights. Doggie angels were watching over him, because a loving family found him. Jessica and I made signs and posted them in the neighborhood. By the time we returned home, to print out more signs, I got a phone call from the lady whose daughters found him.
He was safe and sound and I could come pick him up. We raced over to their house--and there he was. I hugged him and then began fussing at him for running off. He looked left and then right, but never looked me in the eyes. He knew he had screwed up and I was both relieved and mad.
He loved to be held. He would come over to my chair and start whinning to be picked up. More often than not, I picked him up and held him. He loved us unconditionally. He even tugged at Kirk's heart. When he was so sick with pneumonia, Kirk was the only one who could get his medicines down him.
Why is it that animals touch our souls so deeply? Is it the unconditional love thay give us? What is it about a small ball of fur with a pink tongue that grabs your heart? Every few New Year's are sad for us. It was New Year's Eve day of 2003 that we had to put our golden, Mikey to sleep. Both Mikey and Bubba were gifts from Jessica. Mikey was a gift to Kirk because she remembered that Kirk said that he would love to have a golden retriever. She was working the rodeo and a man had these golden retriever puppies that he was giving away--well she took one for Kirk. She brought Bubba to me as present because Larry was a senior in high school and would be going away to college soon. She said that I needed a puppy to occupy my time since all of my children had left the nest. Bubba did a great job, because I did not suffer from "empty nest syndrome" as badly as my friends did.
We are going to miss him terribly. We brought him home and buried him behind the little cedar fence in the back yard. That little flower bed in going to become Bubba's Garden. It's a good place for him now because he used to crawl through the fence and lay in the sunshine. There are a million Bubba stories and periodically I will tell them. Right now...
I miss that fluffy pup.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

Kirk and I spent a wonderful New Year's Eve with Larry and Cheri in Fredericksburg at Inspiration Hill. We had a fabulous dinner at August E's in Fredericksburg. WOW!! the food there was incredible. I could get used to that. My pocket book would take a beating, but every now and then, it would be a great thing to do. New Year's Day everybody came up and we played board games and drank beer and wine and ate some great food--thanks to Larry's expertise. The view from the top of that hill is spectacular. It is an artist's dream location. I told my sister, Patsy about it. Some day I would like to take her there to experience it. The location was wonderful, but what was more wonderful was the time I spent with my children and grandchildren. Our family is growing--we will be blessed with a new baby in July--can hardly wait. I hope that everyone has a blessed New Year.