Christmas is almost here.  I hear so many saying that it "just doesn't feel like Christmas this year".  Maybe....but I think it feels more special.  Gone are the busy schedules and the "have to do" lists.  This year it feels like a true "Silent Night".  It's about Jesus.  God came to earth as a baby to rescue us from sin.  

Here's a throwback to 2 of my favorite Christmas pictures: 

1.  Sadie with Santa Claus

2.  Greta Claus.  Bless her; she hated that outfit. 

Oh how I miss Sadie and Greta.  I'm thankful for photos. 

Waxhaw had a "reverse Christmas parade" this year.  I don't really know what that means but here's a picture of Daniel in his outfit. 

All of a sudden, Dad has started making fried potatoes.  Surprisingly, they are really good!  They wouldn't win any healthy eating awards but they sure are tasty.  Maybe he has finally found a new hobby....cooking.  

Check out this picture I took of mom's walker.  As you can see, she is carrying around a bag of M&M's in her basket.  Mom has a real sweet tooth and it keeps getting sweeter by the day!

Not Mom's Cat is moving.  We don't know the day.  Dad went to the owner and asked him if they would consider leaving the cat with them (since it lives at their house).  The owner said, "No" and that they loved the cat because it "isn't any trouble".  Yes, hard to be trouble when you live at someone else's house.  There were many tears shed when Daniel found out.  Mom was very upset as well.  This cat has been a part of the family for over 3 years.  The neighbors have already moved but their horse barn is staying.  There is a rather popular riding school there and the new owners are planning to keep it going.  Every day I wonder if it is the last day I will see this cat.  My heart breaks for Mom as it has become a real friend to her.  Here's a picture of Mom and the cat watching Wheel of Fortune last week.  

Last week was my busiest work week of the year.  I had so much work to do for the end of the year.  I planned ahead and brought my neck massager with me.  

Last night I went to Mom and Dad's and found Dad in a lot of pain.  His leg bag was empty and had been for hours.  I told him that was a medical emergency and we had to go to the ER.  Unfortunately, due to Covid, I had to spend the first 3 hours in my car while Dad sat alone in the waiting room.  Someone was supposed to call me and let me know what was going on (Dad doesn't have a cell phone).  Thankfully, my Aunt Zell called and spoke to someone who told her that Dad was in a triage room and to go to the door and they would let me in.  I'm so thankful for Aunt Zell's help.  

I was let inside around 11:00 pm.  Thankfully, Dad's catheter was stopped up and was an easy fix.  Once they put a new catheter in he felt immediate relief and was asleep within 15 minutes.  

Thankful and tired, I was at home on my couch at 1:00 a.m.  6 hours later.  

Dog

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 4 years since we said goodbye to our beloved Sadie. I think I'm finally ready for another dog.

Boy, was that girl loved.  I'd be lying if I said being a one cat family doesn't have its advantages.  We love our Greta, and are very lucky that she is such a fun and loving cat.  There are so many benefits to just having a cat...like not having to wake up at a certain time to let her out.  Or, not having to worry about leaving her in the house all day by herself.  Cats aren't needy.  Our cat is just plain good. 

I've come to the conclusion that the perfect dog for Julie is a Newfoundland.  

 

The problem is that Scott (the husband) says that I absolutely cannot get a dog with black hair.  Enter the Landseer Newfoundland:

I think it looks like it is part Sadie (Great Pyrenees). If we lived in the country, or if the Pyrenees did not bark so much, it would be a no-brainer....we'd get another Pyr. 

I'd really love to get a dog that I can have certified as a therapy dog.  I hope to take it to visit hospitals and nursing homes.  I also believe it would be a great benefit to my nice who has autism. It isn't easy getting a dog certified as a TDI therapy dog.  The test is hard and requires a dog that is extensively trained and is under the handler's control at all times. 

I don't know if Scott will let me adopt a Newfie but I'm going to try.  I don't necessarily want a puppy, however, look how cute they are...

I know someone else that would love for us to adopt another dog....Sophie!  She sure loved Sadie!

Time will tell how the dog situation pans out.  I'll keep you posted.....

Sadie Claus

It's hard to believe this will be our 4th Christmas without our beloved Sadie.  We still love and miss that gentle giant.  Hopefully, 2012 will be the year we can build a fence and adopt another sweet canine. Oh well, in the meantime, here's a picture of our big, white, ball of sweetness when she met Santa Claus.

 Look at that smile.  :-)

Retro Greta

Here's a picture of the girls from July, 2000.   Greta's favorite place to sleep at the time was curled up with her best pal Sadie. 

Hopefully this wasn't one of those naps where Sadie went for a run in her sleep.  :-) 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  

Wait.  The back of that picture said 1988.  That was Mother's Day 1988 or before (depending on when I got my film developed).  I totally remember that mug.  I went through a phase where I got mom a coffee cup from Hallmark every year.  She still uses all of the ones that haven't broken yet. Let me try again and see if I can find a more recent Mother's Day picture.  OK - we're good.  After church today, everyone came to my house for lunch.  At one point, we had a baby and a cat under the table...

This picture of Rana makes me laugh.  She didn't know I was taking a picture until the last millisecond.

 Laura and Daniel helped Mom open her presents

Daniel wants a closer look at that one...

So here's to my Mom.  Mom, you are the best mom I have ever had.  I love you. 

My gosh, that fat baby has a giant head. 

OK...Speaking of Mother's Day, this has nothing to do with Mother's Day.  My friend, Michael, of  Michael and Jill fame, offered to blur out the license tag in the picture of Sadie in the back of my truck so that I could show the picture of Sadie in the back of my truck.  Try saying that sentence 3 x fast.  I'd like to shout out props and a giant "Word" to Michael.

Seems like yesterday...

And I promise that this week I will show pictures of the bird that has built a nest in my flower pot.  There are 7 eggs. I have pictures of all of the eggs but every time I try to take a picture of momma, she flies away with a really mad look on her face. 

Update:   If any of you read this post earlier...this photo is new.  Michael sent me a new photo of Sadie in her truck.  Can you spot the difference?  Thanks again, Michael. 

Keep On Truckin'

Today is a sad day for Julie.  Scott informed me that my truck, which has been in "the shop" since Tuesday, is going to need to be replaced.  My truck, a 1995 Explorer, has been with us through almost our entire marriage so far.  We bought it after we unexpectedly adopted a giant breed dog!  We needed a car that was big enough to transport our giant baby around.  Here she is: 

Sadie's most favorite thing in the world was riding in my truck.  All I had to say was, "Sadie, do you wanna..." and she would be up and running to the door.  Her most favorite words were, "Go for a ride?".  I have a couple of good pictures of Sadie sitting in the back of the truck but I need to figure out how to blur my license plate before I post them! 

Growing up I had quite a few pets but I did most of my growing up with 2 dogs in particular, Mike & Micky.  They were named after The Monkees - yes, I had Peter & Davy too but they didn't make it as long....  Anyway, Mike was with me for almost 14 years.  (The hardest thing about getting married was having to leave Mike & Micky behind.)  When it came time to put Mike "down", I let mom & dad borrow my truck and the vet came and put him down in the back of my Explorer.  Here's a picture of the good 'ol boy...

Take a look at those kids.  Every time someone took a picture, Mike made sure that he was in it.  Here's an old picture of Scott; with Mike: 

I bet some of you had no idea that Scott used to have "long" hair.  Look at Mike...he was quite the character.  But, no post with Mike would be complete without his sister, Micky.  He sure knew how to get on her nerves but they were inseparable.  Here they are together:

Oh yeah, I was writing about my truck.  OK, here's a funny story....  Scott picked out the Explorer.  I took him to the dealership that night, dropped him off, and he drove it home.  He told me that it was silver.  When I woke up the next morning and looked out the window I said, "That's not silver.  That's a metallic green."  Scott didn't believe me for a while...he is colorblind.  I will be sure and post a photo of the old thing (the Explorer...not Scott) before we trade it.  It is at the transmission shop right now and we won't get it back until Monday.  I'll keep you posted on what my new ride is.  I'm sure it won't be anything exciting.  But I am sure that I will miss my big green truck! 

Here we are....

Aren't we just the cutest!  hehehe  That's me & my husband, Scott.  Scott is a Software Engineer.  I'm not 100% sure what that is but I know it doesn't involve driving software trains.  Scott & I have been together since 1993.  Scott loves everything geeky & nerdy.  Except me...I'm just goofy. 

And this is our cat, Greta.  She has been with us since 1999.  Greta runs our house.  You'll be hearing a lot more about her later. 

But no blog about us would be complete without a picture of our beloved Sadie.  Sadie was our gentle giant.  We miss her everyday.