Oldest and Youngest

This was a rough weekend. We lost both Blacky and Joey a day apart. Blacky was 18 in March and I think his kidneys just shut down. He died in his sleep at home with us checking on him, telling him we love him, and petting him frequently. Joey, 11, had been sick for five weeks, mysteriously not eating and having bloody diarrhea. Several of the neighbors have told us of similar experiences with their pets recently, too. I force fed him all that time and he would make just enough improvement that we kept trying. Finally, last Thursday, I took him in to the vet for the third time because something was wrong with his eye. We brought him home with some choices to make, but Joey's condition made it for us Sunday night and Monday morning when he had difficulty swallowing.

These two, as with all our pets, are already sorely missed. They are such characters and such a huge part of the family. The house is quite empty and poor Ellie has been lonesome for Joey since he first got sick. I don't know how God is going to find the room, but if Heaven is all that it is supposed to be, I'll be expecting to be greeted by all my pet family when I step inside.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

We have a new addition to our house: a new chair for Mom. She likes to sit in her room and read or say the rosary part of every day and, heretofor, has been using a nice little glider with a footstool that glides as well. As you can see in the photo above, however, the footstool has become a second side table because movement is harder and getting in and out of the chair with that in front of it was tricky. Lately, though, it has become more difficult for Mom to push herself to a standing position from the glider because it moves. So, yesterday, I found another chair for her at Staples. It is very secure and the padding is quite comfortable; I was persistent about trying that out in the store...alot...for a long time. Don and I both checked out regular furniture stores as well, but this was still the winner for comfort and for fitting Mom's short stature. She is quite tickled over the purchase, but Ellie feels quite suspicious of the new chair and is sure that the only redeeming feature is the box it came in.