Feel Like Complaining

This was the last time Scott was at our house, in 2001. On Saturday the 16th, we all drove to Lewiston, ID to see Scott's grave. It takes about 2 hours and it's always a pretty drive. It's a smaller cemetery than it appears on a map, so it was very easy to find. It's a shiny bronze color, next to his sister and grandparents.  I had been crying all week so I was pretty empty at that moment. I have never felt so much grief from someone's death other than a family member. I remember in past conversations with him that he didn't believe in life after death and just thought 'when you're dead, your dead, that's it'. Alone, in a hot tub crying, I asked for a sign that he was wrong and he is fine and with us, just in a different form.  Faith cut what flowers we had available, Snapdragons, and they looked nice, even in a plastic container. I bought his favorite drink, Mountain Dew, and we all took a drink and left the rest. I had also painted a rock, but ...

Last week I stayed with Pippin and Chloe; not very exciting but they sure keep me busy. They're both 14 now. Chloe is mostly blind and deaf and wears a diaper all the time. She has to be carried down/up the stairs to go outside, mostly so she won't fall. Pippin is in better shape but takes a few meds a day and wears a diaper at night. They no longer sleep in their crate in their mom's bedroom because Chloe screams, so they just sleep upstairs in their beds.  They've eaten special dog food for years and it doesn't look very appetizing so after they eat 2 plates of food, they get Cheerios! You better believe that Chloe knows how to count and prances around after the second plate. She still has some fun energy, just doesn't always know where she's going and bumps into things. My day consists of removing diapers in the morning to take them out, put Chloe's diaper back on and feed them. If that plate is gone, more food goes on the plate. When that's gone ...

You know I complain about my feet a lot and am (was) pretty convinced that they supinated. Several months ago Faith went to a foot doctor for her issues and was able to get custom orthotics. She still has pain because she's on her feet about 9 hours a day but overall they're a lot better. We have the same insurance so I got a referral to the same place. Long story short (is that really a thing?), my feet do not supinate and are structurally in good shape. She thinks the issue is coming from my hips and the fact my left leg is shorter, plus Faith and I walk like little twin ducks. She referred me to physical therapy but in the meantime she suggested I go to Fleet Feet and get some good shoes (aka expensive). I guess $100 Sketchers are not expensive enough. Faith has got several pair there as well as shoe inserts. She needed another pair of shoes so off we went. I went there with her the very first time and boy have they changed. They have a 3-D scanner and a pad to walk on so th...

After Julie's 4 cats I had some time before the holiday weekend. Those people cancelled and I decided not to fill it so I could do some things around the house. I started weeding with this side of the back yard and worked towards an area that gets overlooked a lot. Mostly it has dill and snapdragons growing in it. It's an odd combo but when seeds get out of hand and it's contained, we let it go. It all looks better now. We have 4 smallish trees in between the houses and next to Curtis's fence. The trees must have come first because the fence is right up against them and a hard area to reach. We're taking turns with a hedge trimmer, manual trimmers, and my new favorite tool; a 6 inch chainsaw. I feel like a bad ass hacking my way through the woods. Three down and one to go; it's a lot of work and my hand isn't too happy about it. We will definitely have to pay to have this stuff hauled. I also wanted to do some work on our paver path in the front yard. Some h...